Chapter 217 – Your Disciple Surpasses You
"I wonder how my disciple is doing now."
As Qi Chunde walked toward the ancient tree, he couldn't help but think of the disciple he had once taken in during his time at Qinglu Sect.
It had been the first disciple he ever accepted, and Qi Chunde cared for him deeply. But since he himself had been hunted, he naturally could not seek out Gu Mo—doing so would only risk bringing danger to him.
Now that Qi Chunde had finally shaken off his pursuers and returned to Shennong Valley, his thoughts inevitably drifted to Gu Mo.
"Once the Heavenly Chosen Tournament ends, I'll head to the Qinghe Realm and bring my disciple back." Qi Chunde resolved quietly. Since Gu Mo carried his identity token, finding him would be simple.
The only problem was that with his token in Gu Mo's hands, Qi Chunde himself now needed someone else to bring him back into Shennong Valley.
"Junior Brother Qi, you've finally returned!"
Qi Chunde waited outside the mountain-guarding formation for a moment before Wei Yang appeared. Seeing him, Wei Yang's face lit up with joy.
Although everyone knew Qi Chunde's life-preserving abilities weren't weak, his long absence had left many worried.
"Senior Brother Wei, how is Master these days?" Seeing a familiar face again brought a smile to Qi Chunde's lips.
"He's doing well."
Wei Yang nodded, then added with a sigh, "Ever since Nephew Gu Mo arrived, Master has been cheerful every day. The rest of us disciples have been neglected quite a bit."
"Gu Mo?"
Qi Chunde froze at the familiar name.
"Have you forgotten your own disciple?" Wei Yang asked curiously, puzzled at Qi Chunde's reaction.
"No… Senior Brother, you mean my disciple has already come here?" Qi Chunde could hardly believe it. How had a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator managed to cross the treacherous great ocean and arrive in the Tianyuan ( Heaven Origin ) Realm?
"Foundation Establishment?"
Wei Yang blinked, now the one confused. "What Foundation Establishment? He's clearly at Golden Core already."
"G–Golden Core!"
Learning that his disciple had already reached the Golden Core realm, Qi Chunde stood rooted to the spot. His mind flashed back to their first meeting, when Gu Mo had been only at the early Qi Refining stage. Yet just over a decade later, he was already Golden Core!
And here he was, a teacher, still stuck at mid Golden Core himself. The realization that his disciple's cultivation was about to catch up with his own left Qi Chunde reeling with pressure.
"Come on. Since you've returned, don't run around again." Wei Yang gave his dazed junior a moment to digest this, choosing not to mention that cultivation was actually the least of that nephew's achievements.
"Senior Brother, where is my disciple now? Please take me to him." Qi Chunde drew a deep breath. Alongside the pressure, there was excitement—he had, after all, accepted a disciple who had grown into a true prodigy.
Based on his knowledge, Gu Mo's weakest aspect had always been his cultivation aptitude. What he had valued was Gu Mo's accomplishments as a spiritual planter.
"Master sent Nephew Gu Mo out for tempering," Wei Yang explained as he led Qi Chunde into the valley, also recounting where Gu Mo had gone.
"Junior Brother Qi, you've heard of the Heavenly Chosen Tournament, haven't you?"
Qi Chunde nodded—that was the very reason he had rushed back.
"Well… Junior Brother…" Wei Yang hesitated a moment before finally speaking. "In the latest Heavenly Chosen Ranking, your name is no longer there."
The righteous and demonic sects' Heavenly Chosen Rankings were constantly updated. Having disappeared for decades, with no news of him at all, Qi Chunde's name had long since been removed.
But while he was in the Qinghe Realm, he had no way of receiving news from the Tianyuan Realm and thus never realized he had been erased from the list.
"W–what!"
Qi Chunde was dumbfounded to learn he had been delisted.
"Still, your disciple has entered the Heavenly Chosen Ranking. Master worried he lacked battle experience, so he sent him out for training." Wei Yang offered some comfort.
"I…"
Qi Chunde only felt worse at this so-called comfort.
"Go on, Master will be glad to see you." Wei Yang dropped him off at Hou Chunyu's leafy courtyard and quickly slipped away. He knew his junior brother would need a long time to adjust his mindset.
"Disciple pays respects to Master!"
Outside the courtyard, Qi Chunde knelt. He had disobeyed Master's orders and left the sect on his own; surely Master was still furious.
"Come in."
After a pause, Hou Chunyu's voice sounded, and the courtyard gate slowly swung open. Inside, he sat sipping tea. Qi Chunde immediately bowed again.
"Hmph. So you finally remember you have a master? Oh—and I suppose you also forgot you had a disciple?" Hou Chunyu snorted coldly.
"Your disciple…"
And then Hou Chunyu launched into a tirade. Every word was about Gu Mo, and every word lashed Qi Chunde like a whip.
Golden Core cultivation? That was the least of it. Refining supreme-grade Meridian-Expanding Pills and Solar Yang Pills, cultivating Sunlight Glazed Flowers, even creating brand-new spirit plants like the Torch Stump—each achievement was astonishing.
Qi Chunde himself had never attained such things, having devoted most of his energy to experimenting with a new cultivation method of his own design.
"Do you still intend to keep pursuing that half-baked method of yours?" Hou Chunyu demanded.
As a late Nascent Soul expert, he admitted that Qi Chunde's attempt was daring—but even he would not lightly attempt creating new cultivation methods. Only Void Transformation sovereigns had the vision and foundation for such things. For a mere Golden Core to dabble in this was nothing but a waste of time—and perhaps his entire future.
"Master, your disciple has made new progress. I will continue." Qi Chunde's eyes shone with determination.
"You…"
Seeing how his words had gone in one ear and out the other, Hou Chunyu was exasperated. "Do as you please. But you are forbidden from teaching that messy method to your disciple."
Qi Chunde's stubbornness left him no choice but to give up. At least the grand-disciple was obedient.
"Master, but this is my disciple…" Qi Chunde started hesitantly.
"Silence! That incomplete method of yours—do you mean to ruin him? Don't even mention it again until you've perfected it!" Hou Chunyu barked.
Scolded harshly, Qi Chunde slunk out of the courtyard. Still, inwardly he swore that one day he would succeed with his method and amaze the world.
But for now, he could only feel numb from the shock of Gu Mo's astounding accomplishments.
Back at Qi Chunde's courtyard, Wei Yang and the other fellow disciples gathered to celebrate his return. Naturally, they took turns scolding him for vanishing so long without a word.
"Senior Brother Wei, that disciple you took before I left—what realm has he reached now?" Qi Chunde suddenly changed the subject.
"He's at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection."
"Oh~~"
Qi Chunde stretched his tone deliberately. "Alas, my disciple has already reached Golden Core. Times have changed."
"Hiss—"
The others stared wide-eyed.
"You've got some nerve to boast! From what I heard, Nephew Gu Mo cultivated entirely on his own. What have you done as his master?"
"Exactly!"
"Junior Brother Qi, why don't you hand Nephew Gu Mo over to me instead?"
"Yes, since your own cultivation is about to be surpassed by him anyway, isn't it about time he graduated?"
Their words were like poking a hornet's nest—Qi Chunde was besieged from all sides until he finally raised his hands in surrender.
"By the way, where's Senior Sister Xiaohua?" he asked, changing the subject again.
"She's helping your disciple manage the spiritual fields. She'll be along later," Wei Yang answered, his expression odd. Everyone in Shennong Valley knew by now—among Elder Xiaohua's closest people, Gu Mo was number one.
Many disciples had witnessed the new elder personally delivering things to him. To be able to order around an elder like that—only Gu Mo could do it.
"What!"
Qi Chunde's mind reeled again. Every word made sense, yet together they seemed utterly surreal.
"Junior Brother Qi, you're back!"
A crisp voice rang out. Qi Chunde turned quickly toward the source—yet saw nothing.
"Down here! Look down here!"
Startled, he lowered his gaze and saw a palm-sized figure. It really was Senior Sister Xiaohua—but how had she become so small?
"No… impossible!"
Staring at the tiny figure, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Senior Sister Xiaohua, you've stepped into the fourth rank!"
"That's right! From now on, you'd better call me Elder Xiaohua!" she declared proudly, hands on her hips.
Night fell.
As his fellow disciples dispersed, Qi Chunde gazed at the sky, reflecting on the day. Slowly, a smile crept onto his lips.
What had he done to deserve such a brilliant disciple? Gu Mo had achieved all this through his own effort, not because of anything Qi Chunde had taught him.
In cultivation, in spiritual planting, Gu Mo was already no weaker than his own master. In alchemy, he had left Qi Chunde far behind.
For a moment, Qi Chunde felt there was nothing left he could teach his disciple.
"No! As a teacher, I cannot be outdone by my disciple."
Drawing a deep breath, he reminded himself of the harvest from his years of wandering. His experimental method had finally taken shape; he had found a viable path. If he succeeded, he could skip the entire Golden Core stage and directly step into Nascent Soul True Lord.
Meanwhile, in Yin Corpse Sect—
"What happened? Why has Zero's soul-lamp gone dark!"
The sect master's voice carried a chill of death. The fall of a true disciple was enough to rattle even someone of his level.
"Sect Master, Zero fell within righteous sect territory. At the moment, it is difficult for us to gather more intelligence," reported an elder in charge of intelligence.
"I see."
Hearing this, the sect master already guessed much of the truth. Most likely, while collecting materials on enemy turf, Zero had run into a righteous Nascent Soul True Lord.
The pact between righteous and demonic paths forbade striking at each other's prodigies—but only while they remained within their own domains. If they ventured into enemy territory, then all bets were off. This loss, bitter though it was, had to be swallowed.
But that meant the demonic side had lost a top contender in the Heavenly Chosen Tournament, weakening their hand. And to simply let it go was not their way.
"Spread the word: claim that a great treasure has appeared along the border, on our side."
It was clear what the Yin Corpse Sect Master intended. If they couldn't kill enemy prodigies directly, they would lure them over instead. And once a righteous prodigy stepped onto demonic soil, killing them would not break the rules.
Thus they could vent their anger and cripple their opponents' strength all at once.
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