Seeing the arrival of the two Nightmoon Valley disciples, Li Lang did not hesitate to invite them into his estate.

“Look at you, getting your own place. You’ve sure come up in the world, huh?” Sima Xue teased with a grin.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we’re on the outskirts of town, where the prices are cheap. Most mortals can afford to live around these parts, albeit in a smaller house.”

“Yeah, but how many actually do? The dark is more than just an inconvenience in their everyday lives. From what I saw, most of the people here are cultivators.”

Before they could progress their conversation, Jian Beiyun cleared his throat ostentatiously to draw attention to himself.

“Don’t think you can just change the topic and chat away with Li Lang here. We still haven’t finished our talk about your behavior. You’re not a child anymore, your actions can represent Nightmoon Valley itself. We can’t have you getting into the habit of casting Qi arts randomly on the street, even if it’s on someone you’re well acquainted with.”

“Yeah, yeah. There was no harm done. I know how to adapt to the situation. Don’t worry.”

“You telling me not to worry is exactly why I’m so troubled. Your track record speaks for itself.”

“Gosh, you said it yourself. I’m no longer a child anymore. Stop comparing me to my past.”

As the bickering continued, the three of them soon made their way into the main hall of the estate. There wasn’t a lot there, but Ouyang Jie could be seen sitting inside, reading some notes. He immediately caught sight of the two visitors and waved in a reserved manner.

“Oh, would you look at that! Is this who I think he is?” Sima Xue said as she flashed an amused smile. She exchanged a look with her senior brother, who only shook his head in response as he knew what she was planning.

The high and mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator from the premier organization of the Luminescent Realm beelined for the young teenager.

“Hi there, my name is Sima Xue. Are you a student of Li Lang over there?”

The boy was taken aback at the sudden questioning. He didn’t expect one of the guests to engage in a conversation with him. Even if he did expect it, Ouyang Jie was the type to still falter at such social interactions.

“Umm, y-yes.”

“Ohhh!”

Sima Xue then pressured the poor boy with her sparkling gaze. The fact she said nothing but gave the boy a thorough examination only made it worse.

Seeing this, Li Lang quickly got in between the two.

“Weren’t you here on official business? Let’s hurry up and get that out of the way first, okay?”

“Ehh, my Senior Brother can deal with all that. I’d rather have a little chat with your cute disciples.”

“They’re not our disciples. We haven’t formed an organization or sect. We’re simply mentors, much like the relationship between me and my craft teachers.”

“Well, they’re still all your disciple candidates. Who knows when you’ll have a change of heart and take one of them in officially as your disciple?”

In the cultivation world, master and disciple was a relationship akin to parent and child. Some said it was an even closer relationship than that. It was only with such a tight-knit bond that cultivators could entrust the future generation with their secret techniques and a lifetime of experiences.

In contrast, a mentor and student was a more casual relationship. As important as crafting skills were to cultivators, they still paled in comparison to their core cultivation techniques. Combined with their disciples often having varied interests, this casual relationship was the norm when it came to the crafts. After all, it enabled one to learn more from several teachers if they desired to dabble in more than one profession.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It was common to have many mentors, but never more than one master.

Li Lang shrugged off Sima Xue’s curious questions and guided the two to their dining hall. It was only there that they had the furniture to seat the guests.

“Senior Jian, let me be direct. Did you come here for the message I sent you?”

The man nodded.

“That’s correct. You had something to say regarding that deal you made, right?” He snapped his finger and a transparent dome enveloped them. “Then go ahead, let’s talk.”

“I wanted to move ahead of schedule and enter the pocket realm. How soon can we do that?”

“Hmm, you’re in a dire rush? Does it have anything to do with that other cultivator nearby?”

Li Lang paused for a split second before realizing he was referring to Xiao Dong, who was now in the Foundation Establishment Realm. He could be regarded as a threat now, and it was understandable how Jian Beiyun would get suspicious of a mysterious expert living among them. Based on what he knew, Li Lang’s group only had one Foundation Establishment cultivator in Long Yi.

“No, no. It’s nothing close to a life and death situation, but I’d prefer if we could enter it as soon as possible. Within reason, of course.”

“Hmm, in that case, you’re looking at a month at the very best. We’d need to start discussing with the other organizations and explain how we had taken control of the pocket realm. Then, we’ll have to put on a show to demonstrate our control of it. We’ll need your cooperation for that part.”

“Sounds like a lot of work. Sorry to spring this on you.”

“No worries. It actually works out better for me. This way, I can focus on preparing for The Dark Sea Arena after settling this matter.”

“I see—in that case, thank you.”

“Judging from your lack of reaction, it looks like you haven’t heard of The Dark Sea Arena before,” Sima Xue chimed in. “You should really get more acquainted with upcoming events, at least for the major ones.”

“It’s not so easy when it seems like there are hundreds of them, each held at different intervals of time between them. I only know that this isn’t an annual event, right?”

“Well, it’s an event for Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Hosting them year by year would be too tedious. Some of them could easily go into closed-door cultivation for several years. It’s why this event is held every five years.”

“Then it sounds like it doesn’t have anything to do with the current me. I’m still a lowly mortal.”

“But what about your friend, Long Yi?” Jian Beiyun added. “It should be a good opportunity to polish himself and gain experience against other early-stage Foundation Establishment competitors.”

“I’ll let him know about it and see where it goes from there.”

“No problem. There’s still over half a year until it starts. It’ll take place on Sword Saint Isle, though, so plan for a long trip.”

“Right.”

Jian Beiyun then went over some details of the event and how to get there until Sima Xue groaned impatiently.

“Enough about that. We’ve talked long enough. If you two want to continue, then do so without me. I’m going to go check in on your cute students.”

Seeing Sima Xue storm out of the room, the two men left behind realized the time and decided to call it there. They chased after the little princess, both wanting to ensure she didn’t do anything outrageous.

Li Lang took this opportunity to give her a tour as well. He believed it was better than allowing her to roam free.

By the time they were done, the evening had arrived and the two Nightmoon Valley disciples took their leave.

“We’ll be around for a few more days,” Jian Beiyun said as they walked out the front gates. “We’ll come to inform you of the details about the matter we discussed once we’ve finalized it.”

“Understood. Feel free to come over any time.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Sima Xue nonchalantly agreed.

Once the two were gone from sight, Li Lang finished up his remaining duties to his students, ate dinner, and conversed with Long Yi about the matter of The Dark Sea Arena before retreating back to his research.

Now that there were two Foundation Establishment cultivators amidst their group, he gained a new perspective to tap into.

Despite Xiao Dong’s breakthrough, Li Lang couldn’t attribute all the success to his techniques. After all, his student had grade-two aptitude, so there was a chance he broke through even without any additional help.

Currently, he wasn’t sure if the Lingering Impact Technique Wei Ping had brought back really helped train the muscle that allowed cultivators to compress Qi or if it did anything else. Even if it did, then he also wanted to learn exactly how. From his knowledge, regular cultivation already helped train this aspect. He wondered how one particular technique had a secret ingredient that differed from all the other techniques.

The main difference in The Lingering Impact Technique is its compression of Qi. It’s hard to maintain and imposes a lot of strain on the user. Without adequate concentration, it could easily go off prematurely.

Wait—concentration. That’s it!

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