Chapter 57: Teaching the Way

The afternoon sun had already passed its peak, covering the entire Xu Clan in a blanket of white snow, bathing in the cold winter sunlight. Xu Lin’s figure gradually became hazy amidst the swirling snow…

Xu Ziyan seemed to sense something, raising her eyes to look at Xu Lin’s retreating back. From his silhouette emanated a sense of loneliness that made Xu Ziyan’s heart ache for no apparent reason.

In just a moment, Xu Ziyan understood. Because she suddenly realized her feelings for Xu Lin—it was a faint love, not yet deep, but it had indeed begun. When she confirmed this emotion, she suddenly discovered she had been neglecting her current identity. Her current father was Xu Haoran’s own younger brother. This made her Xu Lin’s first cousin—she couldn’t fall in love with Xu Lin.

She thought that ever since Xu Lin learned about their relationship, he hadn’t been able to move past his feelings. Xu Ziyan gave a bitter smile, thinking to herself: How could I just walk away without a trace of cloud? After all, this was my first love since coming to this world! Though still light, even light feelings are still feelings!

Xu Ziyan shook her head, trying hard to cast aside her thoughts, then looked up toward the clan leader’s residence. She knew the clan leader had returned long ago, and might soon summon Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and Xu Tianlang to scold them. As for herself, to maintain secrecy, her second uncle would probably come to warn her privately, telling her to focus on cultivation and not cause trouble outside!

But should she tell her second uncle about Li Nu and the others possessing Breath-Concealing Talismans? Xu Ziyan walked toward her own dwelling while pondering this.

Xu Ziyan hesitated because she had no prior experience with such matters. She didn’t know if her intuition was correct. If her feeling was right, that would be fine, but if she was wrong and gave false information to the clan, causing them to make an incorrect judgment—what consequences might follow? This was something Xu Ziyan couldn’t predict, as she still didn’t understand this world well enough.

Shaking her head, Xu Ziyan decided not to inform the clan about this matter for now. A clan that had lasted thousands of years should have its own methods. She shouldn’t worry too much and should just focus on cultivation!

Returning to her dwelling’s entrance, just as she reached to push the door open, she suddenly noticed a group of people standing quietly behind her. Scanning the crowd, she recognized they were all New Disciples who had entered the Outer Hall with her. After some had died in the Tongyou Valley battle, only twenty-five New Disciples remained, and they all stood before her now.

Xu Ziyan didn’t speak, just looked at them with questioning eyes. She noticed their gazes held longing, but didn’t understand what they were longing for. They looked at each other, none speaking, until eventually Xu Qingxue, who was usually the quietest, looked at Xu Ziyan and said softly:

“Ziyan sister, could you explain cultivation methods to us?”

“Lecture on the Way?” The thought flashed quickly through Xu Ziyan’s mind, followed by a self-mocking inner smile. When she first arrived in this world and knew nothing about anything here, she had even gone to ask Xu Qingxue for advice. She never imagined that in just a few months, the situation would reverse—now others were coming to ask her. But was she capable? Thinking this, Xu Ziyan tried her best to keep her voice gentle, afraid of hurting these New Disciples’ feelings, and asked softly:

“Don’t the teachers explain cultivation methods at the beginning of each month?”

“They only teach for the first three days each month, and there’s much we don’t understand. We want to ask, but don’t dare…” Xu Qingxue’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

By now, Xu Ziyan fully understood the urgency these New Disciples felt. Seeing her own cultivation level advance rapidly in a short time, they believed she must have unique insights into cultivation. After brief consideration—she had already read all the books on the first floor of the Library Pavilion and had gained some understanding of the legacy in her Soul—she should be able to help these New Disciples. But she couldn’t spend all day explaining and delay her own cultivation. So, after a moment’s thought, Xu Ziyan said:

“Alright, from now on, every ten days I’ll set aside one day to discuss cultivation insights with everyone. No need for formal lectures—let’s learn from each other!”

“Then… today is the last day of the month. Ziyan sister, can we start now?” Hearing Xu Ziyan’s agreement, Xu Li grew bolder, running up to Xu Ziyan, tugging her sleeve and asking eagerly.

“Alright!” Xu Ziyan nodded gently.

“Yay!” Everyone cheered excitedly.

Xu Ziyan turned and pushed the door open, smiling as she said, “Come in, all of you!”

As one of the Four Great Families of the Northern Region, the Xu Clan provided quite good accommodations for Outer Hall Disciples. First, the space was large enough to comfortably hold over twenty people.

Everyone followed Xu Ziyan into the room. Seeing there weren’t enough chairs, they hurried back to their own quarters, each bringing back a chair, then sat properly before Xu Ziyan, looking at her with longing eyes.

Seeing their eager expressions, Xu Ziyan thought for a moment. Not knowing where to begin, she said softly:

“Junior brothers and sisters, I’m not sure where to start. How about this: if you have any questions about cultivation, bring them up, and we’ll discuss them together!”

They looked at each other, momentarily silent. It wasn’t that they had no questions—they had many—but didn’t know where to start. Finally, Xu Qingxue, who had the highest cultivation level among them, stood up respectfully and said:

“Ziyan sister, recently I’ve felt I’ve reached the breakthrough point for the Seventh Layer of Houtian, and I think I’ve accumulated enough True Qi in my body. But every time I try to break through the Barrier, I fail. Please advise me, Ziyan sister.”

Hearing Xu Qingxue’s words, Xu Ziyan felt a shock. She thought, Xu Qingxue’s talent is truly exceptional! To be approaching a breakthrough in such a short time! If not for her reliance on Elixirs and her fortunate encounters in the Cangmang Mountain Range, with her original aptitude she would certainly be inferior to Xu Qingxue before her!

Sitting on her bed, Xu Ziyan waved Xu Qingxue over and said, “Qingxue, come here. Channel your energy—let me see.”

Xu Qingxue gently approached Xu Ziyan, turned her back, and sat facing away from her, then began quietly circulating her energy. Xu Ziyan placed one hand on Xu Qingxue’s back, silently examining the flow of True Qi within her body.