Chapter 5: Accepting Master

"Valley Master, you called for me?" Qing Chen knocked on the sliding door carefully and waited after two knocks.

"Yes, enter."

Qing Chen entered. It was his first time in the Valley Master's residence. The Valley Master was sitting on a meditation cushion with his eyes closed in a lotus position with a calm expression. The Valley Master was a middle-aged man that radiated positive energy.

"I have seen that you work hard the most while your other two colleagues are busy increasing their strength."

Qing Chen did not interrupt, and the Valley Master continued, "Do you want to become my disciple?" The Valley Master looked up with his eyes slightly opened and looked at Qing Chen with a hidden smirk.

"I don't dare."

"Hmm... Why? Are you saying my vision in choosing a disciple is wrong?"

"N-No... Valley Master, I meant that taking me as a disciple will only degrade your name. I am not talented in cultivation like my other brothers."

"I can give you pills which will make you able to compare with your brothers."

Qing Chen hesitated for a moment but still replied with a "No."

The Valley Master was surprised that after so much persuasion and temptation from him, Qing Chen still remained unmoved.

The Valley Master closed his eyes and gestured for Qing Chen to go back. Qing Chen, with great difficulty, turned around, his legs shivering. He had already used Harmony Detection when he entered, and what he saw made his leg give out. But he held on.

[Mu Qingfeng]

Foundation Building Ninth Layer.

Harmony: -1

Qing Chen returned to his hut in a trance, still thinking, How can someone's Harmony be in minus? The system had not informed him much, so he did not know much. But what he could be sure of was that the Valley Master, Mu Qingfeng, was not what he made the world think he was.

Which was also why he was so against becoming a disciple of such a person. He would wait and collect more evidence on what the minus symbol signified.

...

"Was I seen through?" Mu Qingfeng, who was standing on the balcony of his residence, was looking down on Qing Chen, who was walking on pure instinct towards his hut in a trance.

"... It might be just my imagination. How could a servant see through my disguise when even the other Elders of the outer sect were unable to? He might truly be afraid of me because of my status as a Valley Master."

Mu Qingfeng removed his sleeve backward and looked at the dark black spots on his arm, and muttered, "I don't have much time."

Meanwhile, Qing Chen continued his usual life. he thought that the Valley Master might make life difficult after rejecting him but he received no such hints.

It might be the calm before the storm, or he might be overthinking things.

Qing Chen's Residence

[Qing Chen]

Age: 13/59

Cultivation: None

Skills: Path of Energy: A Beginner's Guide to Cultivation Basics (2/10)

Harmony Points: 400

"Invest 8 Harmony Points in Path of Energy."

[Path of Energy: A Beginner's Guide to Cultivation Basics (10/10)]

Qing Chen felt eight strands of energy entering his dantian, and his vitality seemed to have rejuvenated. His mastery of this skill also reached its peak. He could now recite the whole skill without even looking. Now, if he claimed he was second, no one would dare claim they were first.

[Do you wish to upgrade Skill: Path of Energy?]

Qing Chen was surprised. "Could I also upgrade skills with Harmony Points?"

Yes.

[Path of Energy: Intermediate Techniques for Cultivation Mastery (0/100)]

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Qing Chen decided to max out this skill as well, as he had accumulated hundreds of Harmony Points.

[Essence of Energy: Unlocking the Core of Cultivation (0/1000)]

His mind was filled with the information of Intermediate Techniques for Cultivation Mastery. All sorts of diagrams appeared in his mind, as well as something cracking in his stomach. He felt it—it was his dantian, which was showing signs of being overloaded with the amount of spiritual energy strands.

Crack!

Energy Refinement First Layer.

He hurriedly used Intermediate Techniques for Cultivation Mastery to mask his cultivation realm. Although there was no one in this valley who could use divine sense, it did not mean there was no one outside the valley.

Thanks to his Intermediate Techniques for Cultivation Mastery reaching its peak, he was able to manipulate energy more precisely and completely cover his realm.

[Qing Chen]

Age: 13/59

Cultivation: Energy Refinement First Layer (0/10)

[New] Physique: Common Cultivator (0/10,000)

Skills: Essence of Energy: Unlocking the Core of Cultivation (0/1000)

Harmony Points: 290

There were a lot of new changes in the Status Window. In the Cultivation section, his realm had become Energy Refinement First Layer. His strength had also taken a qualitative leap, able to annihilate his previous ten selves.

A new section called "Physique" had been created. It was like a shop with Harmony Points acting as the currency. As long as he had enough points, he could improve everything—even his cultivation and physique.

He decided to invest every point in his cultivation. Only with brute strength could he feel reassured. He did not have any offensive skills and not even the amount of spiritual stones to afford one.

Spiritual stones were used as a form of currency. They were divided into Low, Middle, High, and Top Grade. One hundred Low-Grade Spiritual Stones were equal to one Middle-Grade Spiritual Stone, and 100 Middle-Grade Spiritual Stones were equal to one High-Grade Spiritual Stone, and 100 High-Grade Spiritual Stones were equal to one Top-Grade Spiritual Stone.

His monthly income was only one Low-Grade Spiritual Stone, while the average Low-Grade Skill cost a staggering 100 Low-Grade Spiritual Stones.

This was thanks to reading the books that his senior brother had given him.

"Invest all the points in cultivation."

[Investing Points in Cultivation...]

Energy Refinement First Layer (10/10)

Energy Refinement Fifth Layer (10/10)

Energy Refinement Ninth Layer (10/10)

...

Foundation Building Second Layer (90/100)

His realm stopped at the Second Layer. Qing Chen was surprised that to raise each minor realm in the Energy Refinement Realm, he only needed 100 Harmony Points in total. The same was true for the Foundation Building Realm, which required 100 points for each minor realm.

Qing Chen stood up and stretched with newfound confidence and opened the door to go out. But the fresh air he was looking forward to was nowhere to be found. In its place was a Moonlight Hare, which pounced on him and climbed into his hair.

Qing Chen did not let this small incident ruin his mood. He calmly grabbed the neck of the Moonlight Hare and picked it up from his head, holding it in his hands.

The Moonlight Hare instantly shrieked because Qing Chen had put in a lot of strength.

"It would take some time getting used to it."

"What would take time for you to get used to?" Feng Liang appeared suddenly.

Qing Chen clicked his tongue. "I meant about having this fluffy thing in my arms."

He just made up something, but he knew he was never good at lying, and it was also something that went against his principles.

"No need to force yourself to lie. If you don't want to tell, you don't need to." Feng Liang had a disappointed expression on his face. But Qing Chen was thinking, What is wrong with this guy? Suddenly acting all friendly?

"Brother Feng..." Qing Chen hesitated to come up with some excuse for why he lied.

"It's okay, I understand. My previous behavior has not been good with any of you. It is normal for you to feel uncomfortable around me."

Qing Chen had an inkling that he knew the reason for the sudden change in behavior.

Feng Liang walked back. His back looked very lonely. He walked very slowly, looking around the valley as if reminiscing about some sad memory.

Feng Liang muttered, "Nothing has changed, but... How is Qing Chen still living in the hut for servants?"

Feng Liang had come rushing toward Qing Chen because this was one of the biggest guilts in his heart. Although when he first arrived in this valley, he did not form close ties with anyone, watching someone he had seen, talked to, and worked with die so brutally left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Feng Liang was a reincarnator. In his previous life, Azure Sky Sect had been attacked by demonic sects, leaving him to become a loose cultivator wandering the continent. Encountering various risks and opportunities, he was able to elevate his talents and change his bloodline. But for these benefits, he had offended many powers that coveted his bloodline.

He was hunted to the end of the continent, forcing him to leave the continent for the very first time. He had to cross the sea that no one dared cross alone. His luck was good, and he was able to reach an island, but it had mostly drowned under the sea, with only a little space remaining above the water.

But he was eaten by a huge shark. Then he opened his eyes—back to the past. When Qing Chen had accepted becoming a disciple of the Valley Master, who was actually a spy for Grand Sanctum Plaza, the biggest enemy of Azure Sky Sect.

The Valley Master wanted to break through his realm and become a cultivator of the Golden Core Realm. For this, he had been experimenting on human bodies, trying to merge demonic beasts’ body parts with humans. One of his experiments was Qing Chen, who had died during the torturous process, unable to hold on any longer.

This was also why there were so few people in the valley.

But he heaved a sigh of relief because it seemed that Qing Chen had not become a disciple of the Valley Master. It might be because of his reincarnation that this timeline was also affected.

But first, he needed to befriend Bai Zian, as in his past life, Bai Zian was the most mysterious existence. When the sect was under attack, Bai Zian instantly vanished, but only after killing the Valley Master as a form of revenge for killing Qing Chen. Feng Liang tried to locate him, but it was as if Bai Zian had never existed in the first place.