Chapter 727: Chen Yan Takes a Master

A highly cultivated cultivator makes a few minor mistakes in the Inner Court, so he is sent to the sect’s outer court Scripture Hall to teach and reflect on himself?

Judging by the plots of the fantasy novels Chen Yan had read in his previous life, this instructor named Lu Li definitely had something special about him.

Chen Yan made a point of asking the manager disciple who had saved him a seat in the Scripture Hall when Lu Li would be lecturing on the Dao.

In the end, he got his wish and met Instructor Lu, who came from Yuanhua Mountain.

He wore the pale robes of an outer court disciple of the Kongshan Sect. His face was lean, and he barely showed any expression.

As for what he taught, it was the Kongshan Sect’s foundational cultivation method, the Kongshan Art.

“Observe the emptiness of form, hear the emptiness of sound, feel the cadence of emptiness, comprehend the empty Dao, as mountains and rivers flow without end…”

This was not the first time Chen Yan had listened to an outer court instructor teach the Kongshan Art to disciples in the Scripture Hall.

But it was the time he had gained the most from.

The young man seated cross-legged on a meditation cushion looked barely over twenty, yet his skill was far beyond that of the useless old men who accomplished nothing in the outer court.

“That will be all for today. You may all leave.”

After the lecture, Lu Li spoke slowly to the disciples in the Scripture Hall.

“Thank you, Instructor Lu!”

The outer court disciples who had listened to the lecture rose one after another, clasped their hands, and thanked Lu Li.

Everyone present had benefited greatly today.

At that moment, there were only a little over a hundred outer court disciples of the Kongshan Sect in the Scripture Hall.

That was because today was Lu Li’s first lecture in the sect’s outer court.

Once Instructor Lu’s reputation grew throughout the outer court, every one of his lectures would likely be packed. At the very least, three or four hundred people would crowd into the Scripture Hall.

Just as Chen Yan had risen to clasp his hands toward Lu Li, Lu Li’s voice suddenly rang out again:

“You, child in the corner, stay behind for a moment.”

The person Lu Li was referring to was Chen Yan.

The outer court disciples in the Scripture Hall all turned to look at Chen Yan, though none of them found it strange.

They had all heard by now that Chen Yan was exceptionally talented and had a bright future ahead of him.

“Yes!”

Chen Yan calmly clasped his hands toward Lu Li and answered in a clear voice.

He had nothing to worry about, of course.

Chen Yan had been living in the Kongshan Sect’s outer court for almost two years. He knew just how outstanding his talent for cultivation was among the outer court disciples.

All the attention he received was only natural.

Only after everyone else had left, leaving Chen Yan and Lu Li alone in the Scripture Hall, did Lu Li finally ask the ten-year-old boy standing before him:

“What is your current cultivation level?”

“Early Qi Circulation Realm.”

Chen Yan answered.

“Oh?”

Lu Li raised an eyebrow slightly. He was clearly surprised by Chen Yan’s answer.

“How long have you been cultivating?”

“A year and a half, a little more.”

Chen Yan continued to answer.

Lu Li fell silent for a moment before speaking again:

“At your age, you’re already in the Qi Circulation Realm. That rate of cultivation can rival that of Chu Xiyao, daughter of Qingchan Peak’s Sword Master Elder Chu Chen, who has only recently begun to make a name for herself, and Li Haowen, the personal disciple of Yuanhua Mountain’s Sword Master Elder.”

“…Chu Xiyao and Li Haowen?”

Chen Yan looked a little confused.

“You can think of them as the destined Chief Disciples of Qingchan Peak and Yuanhua Mountain a few years from now. The talent you’ve displayed is no less than theirs… at least for now.”

Lu Li said:

“What’s your name?”

“Chen Yan.”

“How old are you?”

“Ten.”

“Who is your master?”

“I don’t have one.”

Chen Yan shook his head.

Lu Li gave a slight nod at Chen Yan’s answer, then said:

“Next time someone asks your name, answer all the questions I just asked you in one go.”

Chen Yan was momentarily stunned, then replied:

“Yes, Instructor Lu.”

“I haven’t been in the outer court long, and I still don’t know much about its rules, so there are some things I’d like to ask you.”

Lu Li continued.

“Please ask, Instructor Lu. I’ll answer if I know.”

Chen Yan replied.

“Now that you’re a Qi Circulation Realm disciple, I’d like to know how many Energy Channeling Pills our sect gives its outer court disciples at that level each month.”

Lu Li asked.

Chen Yan, of course, knew what Energy Channeling Pills were.

Two months earlier, just after breaking through to the Qi Circulation Realm, he had happened to run into the outer court’s pill workshop supervisor one day.

The supervisor clearly recognized Chen Yan. He smiled and chatted with him for a few words, then pressed a delicate little wooden box into his hands. Inside were four round pills.

The supervisor said they were Qi Regulation Pills, and that taking one could greatly improve a Qi Circulation Realm cultivator’s training efficiency.

After taking the Qi Regulation Pills, Chen Yan had indeed found that the faint true qi flowing through his meridians had grown stronger and more resilient.

But as far as Chen Yan knew, it was very difficult for outer court disciples to obtain Qi Regulation Pills.

They could only earn merit by completing sect missions assigned by the outer court’s Merit Hall, then use that merit to exchange for Qi Regulation Pills at the hall.

“Reporting to you, Instructor, the outer court doesn’t distribute Qi Regulation Pills to its Qi Circulation Realm disciples. But outer court disciples can exchange merit points for them at the Merit Hall.”

Chen Yan replied.

“You mean outer court disciples don’t usually have any Qi Regulation Pills to take?”

Lu Li was clearly very surprised by Chen Yan’s answer.

“That’s right.”

Chen Yan continued.

“I understand.”

As he spoke, Lu Li nodded. Then he raised his sleeve and gave it a slight shake. A small green jade bottle appeared in his hand, and he tossed it gently toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan hurriedly caught the little jade bottle Lu Li had thrown to him.

“There are twelve Qi Regulation Pills in here. Take them as a token of my thanks.”

Lu Li said indifferently.

Twelve Qi Regulation Pills?

As expected of someone from the Inner Court!

He was even more generous than the outer court’s pill workshop supervisor!

Chen Yan rejoiced inwardly, then hurriedly thanked him:

“Thank you, Instructor Lu!”

Lu Li merely looked calmly at the ten-year-old boy before him and nodded. Then he continued:

“If you have any questions in the future, you can come to me anytime.”

Then he motioned for Chen Yan to leave.

......

In the days that followed, Chen Yan never missed one of Lu Li’s lectures.

And every half month or so, sometimes after twenty days, Chen Yan would go to Lu Li for guidance after the lecture.

Lu Li always answered his questions patiently, and before Chen Yan left, he would give him a small bottle of pills.

Time flew by, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yan’s cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, while Lu Li’s reputation in the Kongshan Sect’s outer court became unrivaled.

As if it were only natural, when Chen Yan was thirteen, one month before the outer court competition began, he became Lu Li’s personal disciple.