Chapter 52: Junior Brother’s Impressive Skills

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Junior Brother’s Impressive Skills

"Junior Brother, you can’t just ignore this," Yang Haichen said slowly, following behind Liu Chen. "I heard that the senior brother who claimed to be a disciple of the Spirit Chef... well, it was your master who threw him in there. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t care about this at all. Any future manhunt or wanted notice would have nothing to do with me."

"Oh?!"

Liu Chen turned to look at Senior Brother Yang. If that was the case, then he really did need to be concerned. Since those people had managed to escape directly from Purple Cloud Valley, there was no guarantee they would be caught.

If they weren’t caught, Liu Chen and his two junior sisters might be targeted for revenge when they left Purple Cloud Valley in the future.

"That Steward is an expert at the Qi Refining Realm. Among the disciples and prisoners he broke out, five are at the Meridian Passage Realm, and the remaining seventeen are all at the Body Tempering Realm. This whole thing has caused a huge uproar. An Elder from the Law Enforcement Hall is already leading the pursuit personally."

Noticing the shift in Liu Chen’s expression, Yang Haichen directly relayed all the information he had.

"The Body Tempering Realm disciples I can understand, but what were the senior brothers at the Meridian Passage Realm thinking?"

Liu Chen couldn’t help but ask. Someone at the Meridian Passage Realm would be an Inner Sect Disciple at minimum. In Purple Cloud Valley, that status is incredibly prestigious, even more so for an Inner Sect Disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Even as he asked, Liu Chen had already guessed the reason. They had likely broken some of Purple Cloud Valley’s rules, and not running would have been a death sentence.

"Two of them used to be regulars at that Spirit Chef’s disciple’s restaurant. The other three were the Steward’s apprentices. Who the hell knows what that Steward did to make him flee in the middle of the night."

Yang Haichen shook his head. The Meridian Passage Realm was his current goal, yet in a single night, Purple Cloud Valley had lost five senior brothers of that level. If it came to a fight, even more senior brothers and sisters at the Meridian Passage Realm might fall.

The number of spots for promotion to the Inner Sect might increase because of this, which would normally be a good thing for the Outer Disciples. But for the number of openings to increase under such brutal circumstances... it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"That’s truly lamentable."

Liu Chen didn’t know what to say. It was unlikely these people would remain within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty. The Three Immortal Sects controlled all the families of the dynasty, and the Great Xia Royal Family itself was the authority selected from the competition and alliances among these families.

It was a comprehensive system. As long as the fugitives wanted to live, they would have to find a way to leave the Great Xia Dynasty—unless there were areas within the dynasty that not even the great families or the Three Immortal Sects could touch. Those places were typically dangerous lands or Secret Realms that held great opportunities.

"You can say that again."

Yang Haichen nodded. The goal he was still striving for was something those people had just thrown away. It infuriated him, but he was powerless to do anything but be angry.

"It’s getting late. I’m going to make us some food. Please wait a moment, Senior Brother Yang."

In the Bamboo Garden, Liu Chen had Senior Brother Yang take a seat and then headed for the kitchen. The major incident at Purple Cloud Valley was certainly serious, but the sect still had to function. And even when such things happened, people still had to eat.

Yang Haichen nodded and sat down, his mind wandering. Before long, his gaze was drawn to a peculiar stalk of Cyan Bamboo just outside the garden.

The base of the Cyan Bamboo looked ordinary enough, but its top fanned out like an umbrella. That alone would have been strange, but the leaves at the top were so dense they formed a solid canopy, casting a patch of cool shade in the sunlight.

’This is supposed to be an umbrella, isn’t it? How did he do this?’

Yang Haichen didn’t understand. He recalled the first time he’d been caught in the rain; he had also haphazardly fashioned an umbrella from Cyan Bamboo and leaves. His had looked even more unsightly than this one. But once he learned the Body Protection Technique, he’d simply burned that umbrella for firewood.

Why was it that Junior Brother Liu’s umbrella could be replanted? And from the looks of it, its Life Force was still vigorous, showing every sign of continued growth.

’The Recovery Technique?!’

Yang Haichen moved closer to the peculiar Cyan Bamboo for a better look. He could see traces of the Recovery Technique, but what good would that do when the bamboo was severed like this?

’Even if Junior Brother Liu’s mastery of the Recovery Technique is high, shouldn’t using it have restored the Cyan Bamboo to its original form?’

"Being a Spirit Chef is one thing, but his talent for Magic is also impressive, not to mention his Cultivation... Why do I feel like such a loser?"

Yang Haichen couldn’t help but mutter to himself. Compared to Junior Brother Liu, he felt completely useless. He couldn’t measure up in any way, and despite cultivating for so long, he was still like a naive child who’s never seen the world.

"Senior Brother, what are you looking at?"

Liu Chen returned just in time to see Senior Brother Yang studying the strange Cyan Bamboo. After acquiring the Body Protection Technique, Liu Chen no longer had a use for the bamboo umbrella, but he had still put a lot of effort into crafting it.

Moreover, Liu Chen had used the Recovery Technique to maintain the umbrella’s basic vitality; it felt like too much of a waste to simply burn it for firewood.

So, he had stuck the bamboo umbrella onto a partially harvested Bamboo Shoot. Liu Chen hadn’t expected it to actually grow, but after he casually used the Recovery Technique to connect their Spiritual Veins, the umbrella had somehow come back to life the very next day.

"Junior Brother, how did you do this?"

Yang Haichen didn’t feel the least bit awkward. He’d long since accepted that he couldn’t compare to his junior brother, so he was now just genuinely curious.

’If this Cyan Bamboo keeps growing, the space beneath it will become a natural cultivation zone.’

"After my master taught me the Body Protection Technique, I didn’t need the bamboo umbrella anymore. I was planning to use it for firewood, but when I woke up the next day, it had fallen onto a broken Bamboo Shoot. It just stubbornly came back to life on its own."

Liu Chen gazed at the bamboo umbrella with admiration. Yang Haichen felt like something was off, but he couldn’t immediately find a reason to argue. The growth power of Bamboo Shoots was incredibly strong. If the umbrella really had landed on a Bamboo Shoot, it was entirely possible for it to start growing again, as long as its Life Force hadn’t been completely extinguished.

"Since it managed to survive on its own, I couldn’t bring myself to burn it. So I just used the Recovery Technique to help it along, treating it as practice."

Yang Haichen had been a bit suspicious at first; the traces of the Recovery Technique on the Cyan Bamboo were too obvious. But after hearing Liu Chen’s explanation, his doubts disappeared. It all made sense now. ’After all,’ he thought, ’who would be so bored as to actually replant an umbrella?’

"Junior Brother, your skills are incredible! That use of the Recovery Technique is masterful. I’m truly impressed."

Yang Haichen sighed emotionally. Even if the bamboo’s own Life Force had done most of the work, he knew that with his level of understanding of the Recovery Technique, he could never have ensured it would grow so successfully.

"You’re too kind, Senior Brother. Actually, I was hoping I could trouble you to run an errand for me."

"Just say the word, Junior Brother."

"It’s nothing major. Just a letter home for a junior sister."