Chapter 31: Second Brother, hehe, Second Brother

It is difficult to find the right words to describe Ning Xue’s beauty and grace. To put it simply and straightforwardly: Chen Yi had definitely been wrong before! Such a beautiful countenance, even when he grew into adulthood, would likely remain the height of perfection. Not only him, but the other three-year-old children were also staring blankly at Ning Xue, including the girls like Lin Xueru.

"You may call me 'Teacher' or 'Senior Sister'."

Ning Xue did not mind their gazes. After closing the door, she stood on the platform. Clad in white as snow, with skin as fair and delicate as snow, her calm expression made her look like an immortal—cold, aloof, and inviolable.

"From today on..."

With this simple opening, Ning Xue formally replaced Gu Tiangang as the teacher at the Xingwu Academy, finally clarifying for the children some of the circumstances regarding the Taixu Path and the Daoist sects. However, while Ning Xue’s arrival brought relief to the suffering of Du Yanqing and the others, it made things difficult for Chen Yi. It was unclear if Gu Tiangang also felt relieved, but he had not appeared once since Ning Xue arrived. Consequently, Chen Yi lost his source of "Counter-Attack Points." He tried to cheekily ask Ning Xue for a Spirit-Nurturing Pill, but the interface showed no reaction. Clearly, while this "immortal" was beautiful, her strength was far inferior to Gu Tiangang’s; she did not reach the level of a "Grand Cultivator" required by the system. His stroke of good luck had come to an end.

However, there were benefits. At least Chen Yi could learn new knowledge every day. For instance, Ning Xue taught all the children how to set up an "Isolation Array" for the Taixu Path’s *Elementary Array Theory* in a very easy-to-understand way. Depending on the true energy used and the materials serving as the array base, the effects of the "Isolation Array" varied. At most, it could prevent a Rank Eight Martial Arts expert of the Nascent Origin Realm from overhearing internal conversations; if the person were any stronger, it would be ineffective. In addition to *Elementary Array Theory*, there were subjects like *Pharmacology* and *A Brief History of the Daoist Sects*.

Chen Yi was most interested in *A Brief History of the Daoist Sects*. It not only recorded the introductions and evolutions of the major Daoist sects within the territory over the last millennium—ever since the founding of the Wei Dynasty—but also provided brief explanations of the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cultivation techniques. For example, the current leader of the Daoist sects, Wuliang Mountain, possessed a vast array of inheritances, but only two could be considered primary: the Heaven-Turning Path and the Sea-Covering Path. The Heaven-Turning Path originated from the secret technique *Heaven-Turning Boundless*. It was said that a Grand Cultivator who mastered this technique and reached the Rank Three Heaven-Unity Realm could move mountains and fill seas. The Sea-Covering Path, meanwhile, was known for its "vast and powerful true essence"; when fighting others, the practitioner’s true essence was infinite, as continuous and overwhelming as crashing ocean waves. The second, of course, was the Taixu Path, where Gu Tiangang and Ning Xue belonged.

However, after reading the introduction to the Taixu Daoist Sect, Chen Yi knew that *A Brief History of the Daoist Sects* could not even be considered unofficial history. At the very least, it did not mention the *Dream-Entry Dao Scripture* that the interface had previously noted. It also only had two important methods: the Taixu Path and the Sword Path. The Taixu Path, needless to say, was the core of the core, with only disciples of the main lineage having the opportunity to practice it. Chen Yi focused on the Sword Path. According to the text, the Sword Path was roughly divided into four realms: Introductory, Minor Success, Major Success, and Grandmaster. Although the first two realms differed slightly from the interface's description, the gap was not significant. This gave Chen Yi a further understanding of the evolution of subsequent sword realms.

"Minor Success is the initial glimpse of Sword Intent; Major Success is the solidification of Sword Intent, using intent to command the sword and taking a person's head from a thousand miles away."

"As for Grandmaster..."

A Sword Grandmaster surely could not reach the level of sword energy spanning thirty thousand miles as Chen Yi had imagined.

...

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Chen Yi’s time at the Xingwu Academy had been fruitful. First, his cultivation had reached the middle stage of the Mortal Realm, catching up to the progress of most of the children with top-tier talent. Secondly, under the reinforcement of the array in the Qingzheng Hall, his progress in his basic cultivation technique had reached the Major Success stage, and his cultivation speed had soared once again.

[Name: Chen Yi]
[Age: 3]
[Cultivation: Mortal Realm (Middle Stage)]
[Talent: Late Bloomer—The older the bone age, the faster the cultivation speed.]
[Basic Technique: Major Success—Droplets form a river, only then becoming a great vessel.]
[Sword Path: Minor Success—Travel the world, fight well, and use well to comprehend Sword Intent.]
[Counter-Attack Points: 40/100]

Chen Yi was very satisfied with his current progress. If he could meet Gu Tiangang again, he believed his accumulation of Counter-Attack Points would accelerate. However, his happy mood vanished quickly.

"Second Brother, hehe, Second Brother."

Leaving the Xingwu Academy that day, just after stepping out of the imperial city gate, Chen Yi heard a shout from not far away.

"Big Brother?"

Seeing Chen Yuan jumping and waving at him with a face full of smiles in front of a carriage, Chen Yi greeted Xia Wanwan and walked over.

"Elder Brother, why are you here?"

Seeing a steward with an aged face standing behind Chen Yuan, Chen Yi’s tone became more formal.

"I came to see you and, by the way, give you a gift."

Chen Yuan signaled to the old man behind him, took a long sword from his hand, and turned to hand it to Chen Yi. "This is a weapon I begged from Great-Grandfather. I heard Great-Grandfather say it is some kind of famous sword. I thought you would like it, Second Brother."

"For me?"

Chen Yi was stunned, but he did not refuse. However, after taking the sword, he asked suspiciously, "Big Brother, such a precious thing should have been brought out at home. You..."

"There is no time."

Chen Yuan’s smile faded slightly. He shook his head and said, "After discussing it with Great-Grandfather, Great-Grandmother, and Mother, they decided to send me to Wuliang Mountain."

"Wuliang Mountain?"

Chen Yi clicked his tongue in secret. If it were before, he might have tried to persuade him otherwise. But after learning about *A Brief History of the Daoist Sects*, he naturally agreed with his brother going. If little Chen Yuan could truly be admitted to Wuliang Mountain, his future achievements would certainly not be low. That was the leader of the Daoist sects!

"Yes," Chen Yuan’s little face seemed to flash with some sorrow before he squeezed out a smile. "Next time we meet, I’m afraid I will have to wait until I have finished my studies and come down from the mountain."

"This is a good thing..."

Chen Yi glanced at the steward behind Chen Yuan, smiling and promising to meet again after he returned from the mountain, then watched their carriage depart.

What he did not know was that after the carriage had traveled far away, the smile on little Chen Yuan’s face vanished. He asked in a calm tone, "Steward, Great-Grandfather promised me, he should be able to do it, right?"

The steward watched him, sighed secretly, and replied, "Young Master Yuan, rest assured. Since the Master promised you, he will not lock Young Master Yi in that dungeon."

"That is good."

Chen Yuan looked at the bustling capital outside the carriage. At this moment, his face no longer held its previous childishness and innocence; there was only calmness and a trace of deep-seated ruthlessness.

*Second Brother, I truly hope you can be admitted to the Taixu Path...*