Chapter 203: Heaven’s Gift Child
Chapter 203: Heaven’s Gift Child
“Don’t laugh at scholars guarding the Way; their talisman pens are faster than swords!”
Looking at the methods left by Fang Cun on the wall, the Leshui Sect Leader and Elders all stood frozen on the spot. They felt like the four lines of that verse had turned into rolling thunder at that moment, echoing endlessly in their hearts with loud booms, as if to crush their spirits!
“That Second Young Master Fang, he actually…”
“Actually…”
Inside, it was like a huge tide rising up, smashing every bit of sense in their minds. Even though the Sect Leader and Elders had cultivated for many years and were usually as steady as old dogs, right then, they still felt a surge of long-lost spirit bubbling from their hearts. Some stared at the methods on the wall, too excited to hold back. Others looked at the four-line poem, nearly howling out loud!
The higher the cultivation and the older the age, the more they understood the worth of the words left by Fang Cun.
The methods on the wall were no doubt important, but even more so were those four lines of poetry, which really stirred them up.
The Leshui Sect lay south of Yuan Nation, near the wilds, so it couldn’t avoid wars with demons. More importantly, it also faced competition with the other Five Sects. In that competition, to be honest, the Leshui Sect never gained the upper hand. After all, the Classic of Documents wasn’t suited for fighting. No matter how they cultivated or meditated, their strength fell short, so they lacked confidence in their actions!
But as soon as those lines of poetry appeared, it felt like praising them to the skies.
“We who wear scholar robes must slay demons and guard the Way; don’t mock us for being poor at battles, our talismans are swift, swifter than blades…”
This praise was simply…
…making their faces blush!
If even the Elders reacted this way, there was no need to mention the disciples.
Countless Leshui Sect disciples, who’d been guarding the Enlightenment Stone Wall all day trying to solve the three puzzles, now wanted to leap up and shout to vent their excitement. Even more, those who found Second Young Master Fang agreeable and secretly agreed with him couldn’t stop laughing or crying in joy. Cheery waves broke out across the mountains.
“Did you see that? Did you see that?”
He Zhenzhang and the group of disciples from White Xiang Academy in Willow Lake City yelled, “That’s our Second Young Master Fang!”
“All the world’s talents are like smoke; this life worships only Second Young Master Fang!”
Standing atop the peak, Ye Xuanzhen shouted loudly.
Usually, his pride made him hold back humble words, but now he feared no one could hear him.
“Turns out Second Young Master Fang is the true friend of our Leshui Sect…”
“Oh heavens, who knew such methods existed? Our Leshui Sect’s ways could be practiced like this…”
“I have hope, a path now; my talisman talent was low, so I thought it was the end, but these methods are for me…”
“Huh? The way Second Young Master Fang wrote those characters…”
“…”
“…”
The whole Leshui Sect stirred with excitement. Before the usually quiet Enlightenment Stone Wall, everything became noisy.
Disciples bowed deeply to Fang Cun, thrilled beyond words. Some went wild with excitement, hastily copying the methods onto scrolls. Others chattered endlessly to people nearby about Second Young Master Fang’s brave deeds at Crow Mountain killing the Demon Hound, not caring if anyone had heard before… Others even gathered around to beat up the person who said Second Young Master Fang’s writing was ugly!
“This Second Young Master Fang is surely no ordinary figure…”
Amid the chaos, even the Leshui Sect Leader stared at the stone wall for a long time before whispering lowly.
Beside him, an Elder tried to hold back his mood, “Sect Leader, we…”
“Come with me…”
None of the Leshui Sect Elders had anything else to say now.
Second Young Master Fang came to the Leshui Sect seeking knowledge and methods, and they agreed. This was the Leshui Sect’s way of investing, meant as a favor to him. But who could have guessed that in just one month alone, he grasped such amazing things? And even more, he didn’t take what he grasped back…
He left it on that Enlightenment Stone Wall!
Using the Leshui Sect’s books and records, this Second Young Master Fang had clearly repaired much of the Divine Nether Sect’s methods, making each magical power way stronger. If he’d taken it back to the Shoushan Sect, it’d count as a huge feat. The Leshui Sect was ready to accept this as a gain, but could anyone expect that Second Young Master Fang, before leaving, didn’t hoard his secrets and instead left a copy for the Leshui Sect too?
The Leshui Sect, mainly focused on talismans, always lacked in arts and powers, but now unknown gaps were filled…
Originally, letting him into the Scripture Hall to study was the Leshui Sect helping him.
But now, methods—he’d given.
Fame—he’d given too…
The advantage the Leshui Sect took was truly over the top!
“Thank you, esteemed ones, for the kindness in sharing your knowledge. I, Fang Cun, bid farewell!”
At that moment, Fang Cun had boarded the Dharma Ship, standing on the deck as he bowed to the people of the Leshui Sect.
“The Leshui Sect should thank Second Young Master Fang for sharing his knowledge; we shall honor this favor forever!”
On the Leshui Sect’s side, countless disciples stood below the mountain, all looking up at him with excitement. In the sky, all the Elders appeared, stepping onto clouds. Ahead of them, the Leshui Sect Leader himself, riding auspicious clouds, even flew to the air to bow and say thanks…
On arrival, he was met by Elders of Five Sects, a rare honor.
But on departure, the Sect Leader, a Golden Core expert, personally saw him off and bowed with gratitude? At such a young age and with his level of skill, disciples couldn’t recall the last time such a thing happened!
Seeing the whole Leshui Sect gathered to bid farewell, Fang Cun only smiled, bowed again, and said no more before turning back into the ship’s cabin.
“Was this what the Young Master meant by startling everyone?”
Inside the Dharma Ship, Yu Qingli looked up, seeming puzzled, “Didn’t the Leshui Sect come off with the bigger gain?”
“A flowery sedan chair gets lifted by many hands; if you’re good and I’m good, we’ll all be good!”
Fang Cun also looked in high spirits, answering with a laugh, “The more hands puffing up reputations, the greater the fame, isn’t that so?”
Yu Qingli frowned a little, “Is a good name really that important?”
Fang Cun smiled, “Yes, it is!”
He didn’t say much on the topic. After all, many in this world understood this. Even without tricks from past lives, clever people always acted this way without realizing. There were figures like Old Master Fan, the “living sage,” and Qi Refiners who shouted about slaying demons. Common sects flaunted names like the Tianshan Seven or Qingjiang’s Ten Beauties. Even that Demon Hound had picked a grand moniker, Devourer of Moons…
Yu Qingli didn’t press further, just sighed softly, “I hope the Leshui Sect pays back in good measure…”
“I’m sure they will!”
Fang Cun smiled in reply, looking toward one spot, “Why else would he come over?”
Yu Qingli also turned and saw He Zhenzhang, lounging comfortably inside the cabin and sipping tea. He looked up and rolled his eyes.
“We’re classmates, remember? If you can follow, why can’t I?”
Yu Qingli said, “I’m of the Shoushan Sect now; you’re still in the Leshui Sect!”
“I hate chatting with you…”
He Zhenzhang turned his head away, then quickly beamed a smile at Fang Cun, “But I know Second Young Master Fang won’t kick me out…”
As he spoke, he winked, “Right?”
“Kicking you out? Not likely!”
Fang Cun chuckled, “But I do wonder who sent you here?”
When he had gone to the Enlightenment Stone Wall to write those words earlier, He Zhenzhang hadn’t been around. Yet right after returning, he found the old He already sitting on his Dharma Ship in his favorite comfy spot, enjoying his best cloud-mist tea. Not only had he come, he’d brought luggage too, dead set on following him on a journey far away…
“I don’t know either! I was asleep when an Elder woke me…”
He Zhenzhang stretched lazily and said, “Back then, you had only written half of the characters on the Enlightenment Stone Wall. The Elder didn’t say much else, just that since we’re classmates, he told me to learn more from you. Even if I couldn’t help much, serving tea and water was still…”
“In the Leshui Sect, they’re all a bunch of old foxes…”
Fang Cun listened and couldn’t help but laugh: “That said, I like working with foxes!”
“From now on, your fate is tied to mine!”
Fang Cun had the Little Fox Girl bring over a meditation cushion. He sat down, poured a cup of tea, and spoke with a smile.
“What do you mean by that?”
He Zhenzhang poured himself a cup too and asked curiously.
Fang Cun smiled and said, “It means if I prosper, you prosper. If I don’t…”
…
…
“That disciple named He, was he sent over?”
Meanwhile, back in the Leshui Sect, the Sect Leader had just watched the Dharma Ship disappear into the clouds. Returning before the stone wall, he prepared to personally copy down all the techniques Fang Cun had just left behind and compile them into a book. As he worked, he seemed to ask casually of the Elder beside him.
“He was sent over. He hasn’t been sent back down yet, meaning that Second Young Master Fang has tacitly allowed him to follow.”
The Elder beside him replied seriously, then added curiously, “What is the Sect Leader’s intention in sending that disciple over?”
“This Second Young Master Fang, his talent is shockingly high!”
The Leshui Sect Leader clasped his hands behind his back under his wide sleeves and sighed softly. “At first, I thought his tour of the Five Sects was just leveraging his elder brother’s fame to secure an opportunity to study the doctrines of the Five Sects and complete his own cultivation method. Now I see, he wasn’t just looking for an easy gain. With his natural gifts, by studying the methods of the Five Sects, it’s actually the Five Sects who benefited…”
“Ah, the techniques he’s left us on this wall are practically pointing our Leshui Sect toward a new path of cultivation! Especially those four lines of poetry. If we manage wisely, even becoming famous throughout the Yuan Nation with those four lines would be a simple matter…”
“Of course, the prerequisite is that he himself truly rises to become an unrivaled talent and doesn’t perish young…”
“…One month. Just one month, and he grasped our Leshui Sect’s methods to such a profound depth? He even combined it with the Divine Nether Scriptures of the Shoushan Sect to leave behind these techniques. Such aptitude is truly rare. But… something puzzles me. He gained the benefits, and then left this behind…”
The Elder hesitated slightly. “Then, what is he plotting?”
The Sect Leader turned and looked at him. “What do you think he gained from our Leshui Sect?”
The Elder was momentarily speechless.
The answer should have been the unique techniques of the Five Sects. Yet, in reality, Fang Cun had returned the method. The one who profited was their own sect…
So, what exactly did he gain?
“Reputation!”
It was the Sect Leader who spoke the answer, chuckling softly as he looked down below.
Before the stone wall, the mountainside was packed with ecstatic Leshui disciples, staring at the wall with reverence, even worship.
“Originally, among the cultivators of Qingjiang’s various prefectures, he was merely seen as a junior riding his elder brother’s coattails, a bit arrogant and rash. But now? Just visiting our one sect, he helped enlighten others to breakthrough realms. He comprehended sixteen volumes of scriptures in merely one month. He even completed our Leshui Sect’s method! A person like this, once his star truly rises… what kind of dazzling, extraordinary existence would he become? How much attention would he draw?”
“Tell me, at that point, how many people would dare to easily move against him?”
He sighed again, his gaze shifting back to the Elder. “Seeing this level of talent… doesn’t it remind you of someone?”
The Elder pondered seriously, then suddenly gasped, lowering his voice. “The Divine Eye Young Master?”
“Exactly! That Heaven-Blessed Son… or rather, that phenomenon!”
The Leshui Sect Leader nodded slowly, his voice lowering. “The Divine Eye Young Master, jointly nurtured by the Nine Immortals Sect and the Seven Clans, is said to be born with Innate Qi close to perfection, possessing innate Divine Arts, comprehending techniques like a god. Even the techniques of a Great Qi Refiner in the Golden Core Realm, he can spot their flaws at a glance. His cultivation advances daily like a thousand miles. Ordinary cultivators fear their progress is too slow, but a freak like him… he actually has to seal his own meridians to barely restrain himself from forcibly breaking through realms too fast, forcing himself to solidify his foundation like any other cultivator…”
“Six years earlier, the moment he debuted, he stunned the entire Qingjiang Prefecture. Even Old Master Fan showered him with praise!”
“Three years ago, at the Grand Immortal Assembly, he astounded all present, claiming the title of ‘Invincible’!”
“And now? He is the Divine Son in the hearts of all junior cultivators across Qingjiang Prefecture. While he is here, the Nine Immortals Sect will forever be the top sect in Qingjiang. Even Old Master Fan dares not pressure the Nine Immortals Sect too much. Even the envoys from the Yuan Shen Kingdom treat them with deference. People even whisper that the Nine Immortals Sect aims to use this Divine Eye Young Master’s talent to wash away the stain left when they cast aside Immortal Master Fang Chi – proving to the world that Immortal Master Fang Chi grew to prominence only because of the Nine Immortals Sect’s nurturing…”
“But what would happen if Second Young Master Fang’s reputation were to truly start rising as well?”
“Second Young Master Fang’s talent is indeed extremely high…”
The Elder spoke cautiously, “But that Divine Eye Young Master has been cultivated by the Nine Immortals Sect for close to ten years! How can the two compare? And behind the Divine Eye Young Master are the Nine Immortals Sect and the Seven Clans. That’s why he dares to call himself ‘Heaven-Blessed’. Second Young Master Fang… all he has behind him is the minor Shoushan Sect…”
The Sect Leader smiled. “The Shoushan Sect certainly couldn’t nurture a Heaven-Blessed Son on its own. But what about the whole of Qingjiang?”
The Elder suddenly understood the Sect Leader’s implication. Shocked, words failed him.
“So, let that disciple follow him!”
The Leshui Sect Leader chuckled. “If he manages to learn something from Second Young Master Fang, all the better. If he learns nothing, it doesn’t matter. As long as Second Young Master Fang truly achieves the reputation of a peerless prodigy, once that disciple returns, directly promote him to True Disciple. Pour resources into him, focus your cultivation efforts on him. And if Second Young Master Fang cannot endure… find an excuse to expel that disciple.”
The Elder instantly grasped the Sect Leader’s meaning and couldn’t help but praise, “Indeed, you are worthy of being the Sect Leader…”