[Reincarnation Ended]
[This Reincarnation Rating: D (Naive; standing out too much isn’t always a good thing)]
[Accumulated Cultivation: Late Qi Circulation Realm]
[Reincarnation Reward: None]
[Reincarnation settlement complete. The host will return to the previous reincarnation save point, inherit the accumulated cultivation from this reincarnation, and restart life]
……
"Senior Brother Chen."
"……"
"Senior Brother Chen?"
Chen Yan snapped his eyes open and gasped for air.
Cheng Ziying in front of him was clearly startled by him; she withdrew a step, then looked at him cautiously.
"What's wrong, Senior Brother Chen? Did you have a nightmare… Instructor Lu's scripture lecture is about to start, hurry up or there won't be any seats!"
After saying that, Cheng Ziying jogged off toward the Scripture Hall.
"Back to this moment again…"
Chen Yan scanned the surroundings. The quiet courtyard gave him an extremely unreal feeling.
It was as if it were really only a dream.
But he knew everything was real.
The true energy flowing in his body was the best proof.
Chen Yan recalled the few black shadows that had entered the room before he died.
The reason he was murdered was because he was labeled a "Cause of Calamity."
Chen Yan had originally planned to trade his outstanding talent for more cultivation resources.
Then he would break through to the Martial Spring Realm as soon as possible and gain qualification to enter the inner court.
Chen Yan raised his hand and lightly touched his throat.
Perfectly intact.
Kongshan Sect.
As one of the five great sects of Chenping Continent, Kongshan Sect was considered absolutely righteous and prestigious throughout the cultivation world.
Before someone slit his throat, Chen Yan had thought so too.
But the facts were otherwise.
Cause of Calamity?
What is a cause of calamity?
Thinking about these things, Chen Yan stood and walked toward the Scripture Hall.
The Scripture Hall was still packed; he found a corner and sat down again.
In the quiet main hall, only Lu Li's lecture voice sounded, steady and unhurried.
"Observe the emptiness of form, hear the emptiness of sound, feel the emptiness of rhythm, comprehend the way of emptiness, like the unceasing mountains and rivers."
"Forge the body to gather qi; when qi connects, a spring forms; when springs surge, they gather into a sea."
"Qi is blazing fire, Kongshan murmurs; heaven and earth condense in clarity…"
Something stirred in Chen Yan's heart; the circulation of true energy within him was drawn out again, completely beyond his control.
Spiritual energy from the world was already beginning to converge toward him.
Lu Li's gaze likewise fell on Chen Yan once more.
……
"Young friend in the east corner at the Scripture Hall entrance, wait a moment. I have something to discuss with you."
After the lecture ended, events unfolded exactly as they had in the previous life.
"Qi Circulation Realm?"
"Yes."
Chen Yan replied.
"What's your name?"
"Responding to Instructor Lu, this disciple's name is Chen Yan…"
Chen Yan paused:
"Fifteen years old, without a master."
"Hmm."
Lu Li only nodded:
"Train hard. Once you break through to the Martial Spring Realm, you can advance into the inner court."
"I understand."
"You may go."
Chen Yan was slightly stunned, then bowed:
"Yes, Instructor Lu."
This differed from the previous reincarnation's development.
Leaving already?
What about my Qi Regulation Pill?
"Wait a moment."
Just as Chen Yan was about to leave, Lu Li called him back.
"You seem to have some confusion?"
"…Yes."
"Speak it out."
Chen Yan was silent for a moment, hesitating.
In the last reincarnation, Lu Li had given him considerable help.
Whether it was that bottle of Qi Regulation Pill or Lu Li's promises to him, they had been invaluable.
That was why Chen Yan chose to come to the Scripture Hall again in this reincarnation, to listen to Lu Li's lecture.
Chen Yan thought this instructor—who would later become Martial Elder of Qingchan Peak—valued talent.
Otherwise he would not have given so much help.
To gain more cultivation resources, one needed a patron.
The current Scripture Hall instructor, the future Qingchan Peak Martial Elder Lu Li, was definitely a good choice.
This reincarnation's Lu Li was significantly colder in attitude toward Chen Yan than in the previous reincarnation.
He must have said something wrong.
Speaking the same way he had last time apparently provoked Lu Li's displeasure.
But Chen Yan still decided to take a gamble.
He looked into Lu Li's eyes sitting across from him.
It was the first time he faced someone of higher rank directly, and the first time he dared meet the eyes of a Martial Spring Realm powerhouse.
Lu Li's gaze was as calm as water, seemingly neither joyful nor sorrowful no matter what occurred.
"…Instructor Lu, may I ask—the shortest recorded time you've heard of for breaking through from Body Forging Realm to Qi Circulation Realm is?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Half a year."
Lu Li answered without hesitation:
"This record was set by our sect's current sect leader, Yun Yichen. Not only that, he took only one year to go from Qi Circulation Realm to Martial Spring Realm."
Yun Yichen had even broken through to the Passable God Realm at twenty-two, becoming the youngest cultivator to reach that realm since Kongshan Sect's founding.
Chen Yan of course knew these anecdotes; after all, Yun Yichen was the current sect leader, and Chen Yan was a disciple of Kongshan Sect.
Even the most marginal disciple was still a disciple.
"If even faster?"
Chen Yan asked.
"How much faster?"
"Far faster than Sect Leader Yun."
"……"
Lu Li fell silent.
"I answer your doubts, not entertain your idle curiosity."
"I was presumptuous, please forgive me, Instructor Lu."
Chen Yan hurriedly bowed.
"But if someone truly could do that, they would be a prodigy capable of shaking the entire Chenping Continent."
Lu Li said seriously:
"If they are a disciple of Kongshan Sect, I will certainly protect them in their path to enlightenment."
Chen Yan's mouth twitched faintly:
"I understand."
"Why ask me such a question?"
Lu Li asked.
"Just a sudden thought," Chen Yan answered.
"Hmm, you may go."
Lu Li said.
Chen Yan bowed to Lu Li again, then turned and left the Scripture Hall.
Something was off.
He had the persistent feeling that something was wrong.
He couldn't explain it.
What exactly was the problem?
Just as he was about to step out of the Scripture Hall, his chest suddenly went cold, then a sharp pain struck.
Chen Yan looked down in alarm toward his chest.
A large, pitch-black hole had appeared in his chest; looking into it, he could even see his heart still beating.
It hurt so much.
Chen Yan opened his mouth, but found he could not make a sound.
Only scalding blood kept gushing from his throat.
Ah…
Chen Yan struggled, reaching toward his chest to try to plug the wound.
But his hand passed straight through the hole in his chest.
Blood poured like a waterfall onto the ground.
His limbs began to fail him; he lost sensation and fell forward into a pool of blood.
The true energy circulating in his body was maintaining the clarity of his consciousness.
He forced his head to turn and, with his last strength, looked behind himself.
Lu Li, wearing a pale white Daoist robe, still sat steadily on the meditation cushion at the Martial Platform, his expression indifferent.
The index finger of his outstretched right hand was pointed exactly at Chen Yan's chest.
……
[Reincarnation Ended]
[This Reincarnation Rating: D (Repeating the same mistakes; the only lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity cannot learn from history)]
[Accumulated Cultivation: Late Qi Circulation Realm]
[Reincarnation Reward: None]
[Reincarnation settlement complete. The host will return to the previous reincarnation save point, inherit the accumulated cultivation from this reincarnation, and restart life]