Chapter Ninety-Five: The “Decadent” Xu Xiaozhan

“Senior Brother Xiao, may I ask what kind of spiritual root you have?”

Liu Pan asked suddenly. Xiao Hanyi was taken aback at once, then frowned.

For cultivators, talent and spiritual roots were not any great secret; from the moment one entered a sect, they were tested before everyone’s eyes. To ordinary cultivators, it was nothing unusual.

And yet, no matter how unremarkable a thing might be, being asked about it by someone one was not close to could still stir up strange thoughts.

What was more, when Xiao Hanyi had entered the Cloudflow Gate, he had been brought in directly because of his spiritual power and had never undergone any test. In other words, only a few high-ranking figures in the Cloudflow Gate knew his exact aptitude.

To be honest, Liu Pan had asked rather too abruptly. For quite some time before that, the two of them had been eating quietly, and Liu Pan’s sudden remark had truly broken the mood.

“Senior Brother, there is no need to think too much about it.” Liu Pan still wore a faint smile. “I have heard a few things about you from Yu Yao and Zhang Pingkang. I know you are the foremost among the new disciples. And since you refused the other elders and chose to come to Azure Cloud Peak as a medicine attendant, it must be because you wanted to learn water-based alchemy. To learn water-based alchemy, one must either possess a water spiritual root or an ice spiritual root. Because I myself have an ice spiritual root, I was only curious as to which one you have. If you also have an ice spiritual root, then I would ask Senior Brother to guide me in cultivation from time to time. I would be deeply grateful.”

As he finished speaking, Liu Pan stood and bowed, his face full of hope.

Xiao Hanyi was enlightened by the explanation, though a trace of something unreadable still lingered in his eyes. After a brief silence, he said, “I am also of the ice spiritual root. If you have any questions, you may come and ask me directly.”

“Really? That is wonderful!” Liu Pan said with delight. Then, as if remembering something, he added somewhat bashfully, “To tell the truth, Senior Brother, I do have some questions I would like to ask you right now. I hope you can give me some guidance.”

“Go ahead.” Xiao Hanyi frowned slightly upon hearing this, then nodded.

“It is like this, Senior Brother. As you know, I am now at the ninth stage of the Martial Apprentice realm and am about to begin my attempt to break through into the Martial Master realm. But as for how to do that, I have no idea at all. Senior Brother has already broken through before, so I wanted to ask how you did it, so that I can prepare in advance.”

“Breaking through into the Martial Master realm…” Xiao Hanyi repeated the words, looking Liu Pan over from head to toe before continuing, “The leap from Martial Apprentice to Martial Master is one of the three greatest barriers on the path of cultivation. Once one breaks through and condenses an origin core, one will possess divine sense. As for the mysteries of divine sense, you will naturally understand them once you have it. And as for how to break through to the Martial Master realm, there is no special method. One only needs to absorb essence energy in the usual way and merge it into the dantian, then compress the whirlpool of power within the dantian. When it reaches a certain critical point, an origin core will naturally take shape. By then, so long as the origin core remains condensed and does not disperse, the advancement is considered successful.”

“So that is how it is.” Liu Pan nodded in understanding, then after a moment asked again, “Then when would be the best time to take the Earth Origin Pill for the most effective result?”

“The Earth Origin Pill?” Xiao Hanyi was startled for a moment, then smiled with some disdain. “I have never taken one. You can ask the Master about such things instead. He is an alchemist, after all, so he should know very well.”

“Ah, never mind then. The Master said that unless something truly important comes up, we should not disturb him. I think I had better ask one of the other senior brothers.” Liu Pan scratched his head, then, as if only just realizing something, stared at Xiao Hanyi with heated eyes and said, “Senior Brother, you broke through to the Martial Master realm without ever taking an Earth Origin Pill? That is truly impressive. You must be a top-grade ice spiritual root, right?”

Feeling Liu Pan’s ardent gaze upon him, Xiao Hanyi frowned. Then he rose to his feet and said, “I have finished eating.”

With that, he no longer paid Liu Pan any mind. He stood and walked directly toward the great hall, soon disappearing from Liu Pan’s sight.

Liu Pan’s eyes flickered. Though he still could not be completely certain whether Xiao Hanyi was truly a top-grade spiritual root, it was already most likely.

To break through to the Martial Master realm without taking an Earth Origin Pill was nearly impossible unless one possessed an upper-grade or top-grade spiritual root. After all, in this world, pills were the most widely used cultivation resources. Even if Xiao Hanyi had spirit stones in his storage pouch, judging by his age, his aptitude should at least be upper-grade.

However, although Xiao Hanyi’s aptitude seemed to pose no problem, Liu Pan grew even more puzzled. Even if Xiao Hanyi were only of upper-grade talent, the Gu family should never have sent him to South County. Just what kind of identity did Xiao Hanyi have?

He quickly finished his lunch, called out to Yu Yao and Zhang Pingkang, then returned to the side hall where he lived and continued his seated cultivation.

Two days later, Liu Pan left Azure Cloud Peak, accepted an assignment to go out from the Mission Hall, and departed the Cloudflow Gate.

This was not because he intended to leave the sect. Rather, he felt that his cultivation was progressing too slowly and wanted to find some way to hasten it.

……

In Cloudflow City, Liu Pan’s spiritual power spread out rapidly. Then he froze.

Xu Xiaozhan was actually wandering about not far away on one of the streets.

How was he here?

Frowning, Liu Pan moved at once, crossing two streets before stopping in front of Xu Xiaozhan.

“What are you doing here?” Liu Pan asked, truly bewildered. In his eyes, this future great tycoon should have been inside the Cloudflow Gate, cultivating diligently.

In the book, when Liu Kuang and Xu Xiaozhan met, Xu Xiaozhan already possessed the cultivation of the fourth stage of the Martial Master realm. Counting the time, that would be eight months from now. With Xu Xiaozhan’s aptitude, Liu Pan truly could not think of any way for him to raise his cultivation to the fourth stage of the Martial Master realm in just eight months other than burying himself in cultivation.

“Senior Brother Liu Pan, why have you come out? My father even said that the next time I went out, I should invite you to our home…” Seeing that the one speaking to him was Liu Pan, Xu Xiaozhan was first surprised, then brightened with excitement.

“Stop.” Liu Pan cut him off with a wave of his hand, his frown deepening. “I am asking why you are here.”

Xu Xiaozhan blinked. Liu Pan’s reaction left him genuinely at a loss, but after thinking it over, he said, “It is like this: the entire Xu family has now already been taken over by the Cloudflow Gate. Perhaps after taking stock of our assets, the Cloudflow Gate decided that our family truly had a talent for business, so it specially allowed all Xu family disciples who joined the sect to come and go freely. I imagine they want us to keep in touch with our family more, so as to cultivate more people with business talent.”

“So that is why you came out?” Liu Pan was still frowning.

“Yes. Why?” Xu Xiaozhan asked, somewhat strangely. He truly felt that Liu Pan was meddling a bit too much in this matter. But remembering that Liu Pan was the benefactor of the Xu family, he still answered obediently.

“And now, what do you intend to do?” Liu Pan asked in a calm voice, forcing down the strange impulse rising in his heart.

“I think we should find somewhere to sit and talk slowly. This is a busy street; it is not exactly the place for conversation.” Xu Xiaozhan did not answer him directly. After some thought, he said, “Let us go to my home. My father has wanted to meet you. As for the rest, we can discuss it after we get there.”

Liu Pan said nothing more. After glancing around, he too felt that the street was not a place to talk. After a brief consideration, he nodded.

Following Xu Xiaozhan, he passed through more than a dozen streets before the two of them finally stopped before an ordinary-looking manor.

“We are here. This is my home.” Xu Xiaozhan gestured, then made a welcoming motion with his hand.

Looking at the Xu residence before him, understated rather than lavish, Liu Pan was somewhat surprised. But after thinking it over, he understood. After all, the Xu family had once been merely a second-rate power in Cloudflow City. Only by remaining low-key would they avoid drawing attention.

Entering the Xu residence with Xu Xiaozhan, a servant immediately went to inform the Xu family head, Xu Yangfeng. Soon after, the family head came out personally, hosted a banquet, thanked Liu Pan profusely, and inquired after Liu Kuang’s situation before finally dismissing the banquet.

Liu Pan did not pay much heed to how the Xu family treated him. After all, the only person he cared about was Xu Xiaozhan, not the entire Xu family.

After the banquet, Liu Pan followed Xu Xiaozhan to the separate courtyard where he lived, and only then could they continue their earlier conversation. At that point, Liu Pan almost lost his composure.

According to Xu Xiaozhan, he was now planning to devote himself entirely to managing the family’s enterprises, continuing his dream of doing business and making the Xu family truly secure a place within the Cloudflow Gate. And then… and then there was nothing else.

Not a single word about cultivation. Not the slightest intention of leaving Cloudflow City.

What the hell.

Was the future great tycoon really going to be dead in the cradle like this?

Liu Pan was truly at a loss for words. As the so-called “seer” of this world, from the very moment he decided to save Xu Xiaozhan, he would not allow Xu Xiaozhan to become listless. He had already resolved to get Xu Xiaozhan to pull himself together and to give him a new outlook on the world, one that would not confine his gaze to this tiny Cloudflow City.

After Xu Xiaozhan finished speaking of his own “ideal,” Liu Pan remained silent for a long while. At last, he spoke.

“Do you still remember that you once promised to join our organization?”

Xu Xiaozhan blinked, then nodded. “Of course I remember.”

“Whatever the thing may be, its existence must have some meaning. Our organization is no different. I once told you that after joining us, whatever you want to do, whatever you like to do, you may simply go ahead and do it. The organization will never force you.” When Liu Pan said this, he was very serious, his gaze fixed firmly on Xu Xiaozhan.

Xu Xiaozhan found it odd that Liu Pan would suddenly bring up the organization. Yet upon seeing Liu Pan’s solemn expression, he immediately felt that Liu Pan must be about to say something important. At once he composed himself, nodded again, and said earnestly, “That is indeed so.”

With a slight smile, Liu Pan shifted his gaze away from Xu Xiaozhan and looked up toward the distant sky. There was something enigmatic in his voice as he said, “I think I should tell you the name of our organization now, so you can think carefully once more about whether you truly wish to join us.”