Chapter 731 Shallow Desires

The ultimate victor of this year’s sect competition was Chen Yan, chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain.

The Peak Masters of Kongshan Sect and the outer court disciples all discussed the result at length.

Before the sect competition began, everyone, from the elders to the ordinary disciples, had been unanimous in believing that the title of champion would inevitably fall into Li Haowen’s hands.

Although everyone was surprised by this outcome, no one questioned Chen Yan’s victory.

A boy who had only just turned fifteen, with his left arm so badly injured, had still endured the excruciating pain and counterattacked decisively.

That alone was proof enough of Chen Yan’s character.

And the sect’s disciples also accepted Li Haowen’s defeat.

After all, the sect competition was nothing more than an opportunity for the disciples of the sect to spar and learn from one another.

It was entirely understandable that he would be stunned and lose the will to fight after injuring a junior fellow disciple from his own sect so badly.

Two months passed after the sect competition ended.

Kongyuan Mountain.

Chen Yan sat on the bed in his quarters, carefully unwinding the bandages around his left arm.

The arm was completely healed, with only a faint white scar remaining.

After a little more time, even that scar would all but disappear.

For cultivators, this kind of physical injury would leave no lasting effects, as long as they received proper treatment and rest.

If one’s cultivation reached the Myriad Transformations Realm or higher and one cultivated innate true energy,

then even if one’s bones were shattered, one could grow a brand-new arm from thin air, let alone have an arm severed at the root.

Over the past two months, Li Haowen of Yuanhua Mountain had also visited Kongyuan Mountain several times to check on Chen Yan’s injury.

The first two times, Li Haowen had come alone. He not only offered Chen Yan a very earnest apology, but also brought valuable pills and spirit fruits.

It left Chen Yan feeling rather embarrassed.

As time went on, Chen Yan and Li Haowen grew more familiar with each other.

On a later visit, Li Haowen brought along a boy about Chen Yan’s age.

He was Lin Xinyang, the personal disciple of He Furen, Dignity Elder of Yuanhua Mountain.

Chen Yan felt that in many ways, this boy named Lin Xinyang was very much like Li Haowen.

But somehow, he seemed more pure-hearted.

When Lin Xinyang was seven, his mother had traveled thousands of miles to bring him to Kongshan Sect’s grand ceremony for accepting disciples.

In the end, Elder He of Yuanhua Mountain had recognized his talent.

Compared with the elders of the other peaks, He Furen was usually much busier.

It was said that one of Kongshan Sect’s Grand Elders thought highly of him, and so often entrusted him with important responsibilities.

And He Furen had no other disciples who could cultivate alongside Lin Xinyang.

So from then on, Lin Xinyang had grown close to Li Haowen and Li Haowen’s master, Wei Mian, Sword Master Elder of Yuanhua Mountain.

Wei Mian was also very fond of the boy, Lin Xinyang.

So he gave him one of the twin swords once used by True Person Minghua, the Xiaohua Sword.

As for the Yuanji Sword, it was in Li Haowen’s hands.

Chen Yan gazed at the faint white scar on his left arm for a long time.

Even now, he still couldn’t understand why he was so insensitive to pain.

He still remembered an incident from when he was around fifteen, before he transmigrated to this cultivation world: he’d been riding his bicycle downhill when he hit a rock and was thrown clear off.

His left leg had broken on the spot, and before he transmigrated, two steel pins had still been lodged in his shin.

Even now, Chen Yan could vividly recall the pain he’d felt back then.

He definitely wasn’t someone who was born unafraid of pain.

Could it be a special talent he’d awakened after transmigrating to this world of cultivation?

Was it an inability to feel pain?

If that was his transmigrator’s cheat, it was rather useless.

Chen Yan thought to himself.

......

Time continued to pass.

Several white cranes flew through the clouds above Kongyuan Mountain. Sunlight spilled over the peaks and clouds, gilding everything on the mountain.

Chen Yan walked along the street and slowly raised his head.

Whenever he saw a scene like this, he would think of the gilded cloud crane patterns on the sleeves of his Kongyuan Mountain daoist robes.

Perhaps this was why Kongyuan Mountain had designed its robes that way.

“Senior Brother Chen.”

Suddenly, a soft, delicate voice sounded behind Chen Yan.

Chen Yan slowly turned around and looked at the girl behind him. She seemed quite beautiful and a little shy, and she was dressed in Kongyuan Mountain daoist robes as well.

She was a stranger to him.

Still, Chen Yan quickly gave her a warm smile and asked,

“What can I do for you, Junior Sister?”

“I-I wanted to ask you something, Senior Brother Chen.”

The girl seemed a little flustered.

“A while ago, when you went to the Scripture Hall to lecture in Protector Lu’s place, there was a part of your explanation of the Kongshan Art that I found a little confusing.”

That was true.

Some time ago, Lu Li had accompanied Kongyuan Mountain’s Solemn Martial Elder to the Northern Region of Chenping Continent to attend a Dao discussion. During that time, Chen Yan had filled in for Lu Li at the Scripture Hall a few times, lecturing on the Dao.

“What part didn’t you understand?”

Chen Yan asked.

“It’s a little complicated...”

As she spoke, the girl’s gaze wandered. She lowered her voice, her breath as fragrant as orchids.

“Why don’t you come to my quarters, Senior Brother Chen, and explain it to me properly?”

At her words, Chen Yan’s expression remained unchanged. He was perfectly calm.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have time.”

Chen Yan replied slowly.

“If it’s you, Senior Brother Chen, then you can come whenever you have time.”

The female cultivator pressed on.

“No need. I have something to do, so I’ll take my leave.”

As he spoke, Chen Yan bowed slightly in the direction of the female cultivator from Kongyuan Mountain, then immediately turned and left without paying her any further attention.

He still remembered the aspirations he had once held.

Power, wealth, and beautiful women.

Those had been the wild fantasies of Chen Yan, who had once possessed nothing.

Now, he already had the status of chief disciple of one of Kongshan Sect’s peaks.

Whether it was his talent, appearance, or standing within the sect, Chen Yan had an extraordinary allure for the vast majority of the female cultivators his age in Kongshan Sect.

Even the fairylike women who usually acted superior and cold toward their fellow male disciples

couldn’t resist a heaven-chosen talent as handsome and dashing as Chen Yan.

If he were still the Chen Yan he had once been, he would have thrown himself into a sea of women without hesitation.

But now that everything was within his grasp, he had begun to pursue things greater and farther away.

He would never sully the reputation and pride of Kongyuan Mountain’s chief disciple for the sake of shallow desires.