Chapter 6: Master and Disciple

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An old man with white hair saw the four leaving the tower, and one by one, he inspected the scrolls in their hands. When it came to Xiu Wenyuan, the old man, dissatisfied, said, “I made it clear before entering the tower that each of you can only have one book. What do you have to say for yourself?”

It was then that the others noticed Xiu Wenyuan was holding two scrolls.

Xiu Wenyuan, however, looked calm and unhurried, raising one of the scrolls and saying, “This one isn’t mine.” He then looked at Xia Chenyu. “He should explain this.”

Xia Chenyu looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“When we entered the tower, the three of us went straight to the second floor. Only you stayed on the first floor. If this scroll wasn’t taken by you, then who else could it be?” Xiu Wenyuan said with a relaxed and smug expression. “Just now, when we were leaving, I saw this scroll fall to the ground. Afraid you might deny it, I picked it up as evidence.”

When the scroll was handed to the old man, Xia Chenyu finally saw the words on it: Flying Rainbow Sword Technique.

Wasn’t this the same book he had seen when he first entered the tower? But he hadn’t broken the formation at that time.

He immediately denied, “I entered the tower after them, but I didn’t take any book from the first floor.”

Yang Hanrong also spoke up, “Since everyone can deal with the formations of the word-level, why need to use the yellow-word level formation?”

“Could it be that you took it yourself and are now trying to frame him?” Xiu Wenyuan yelled angrily.

Xia Chenyu shot back, “That’s a slanderous accusation. We were all together the whole time, how could I have taken a book from the first floor? Do you not know this?”

Yang Hanrong fell silent at the question, casting a glance at Xia Chenyu.

The old man took the sword technique and seemed to think for a moment before addressing Xia Chenyu, “Child, tell the truth. Did you take this scroll?”

Xia Chenyu firmly shook his head.

Several elders gathered around, asking about the situation, then questioned each person about their movements.

“It seems that only Xia Chenyu had the opportunity to take this sword technique,” the head of the Xuan Yue Sect said, then looked at An Ran and asked, “What do you think should be done, Senior Lingyun?”

An Ran already understood what was going on. He had arranged this, so he pretended to scold him sternly. “Xia Chenyu, are you not going to admit it?”

The young man looked anxious, “Master, I really didn’t…”

“Enough!” An Ran interrupted, taking a stern stance. He then turned to the white-haired old man. “I leave it to you to decide.”

The old man nodded. “Considering your status as an Immortal Master, I’ll allow you to take one of these two scrolls. Furthermore, as a punishment, this child is not allowed to step into the Tower of Heaven for ten years.”

Xia Chenyu’s heart sank upon hearing this, and he turned to An Ran with a look of desperation, but saw that his master remained unmoved.

An Ran picked up the yellow-level sword technique. “Since we’ve already touched this one, we’ll take it.”

“Master!” Xia Chenyu’s face showed both urgency and disappointment, but under An Ran’s stern gaze, he unwillingly swallowed the rest of his words.

“The inferior yellow-level?” Xiu Wenyuan sneered, saying arrogantly, “A technique like this is readily available in our Xuan Yue Sect.”

Yan Qinghong shook his head softly and whispered, “You really don’t understand how to be a little more refined.”

Lu Xiuyuan agreed, and An Ran inwardly smirked. Refined? He had planned all of this from the start.

The old man’s eyes flickered slightly, and he tentatively asked, “Immortal Master, are you sure you want this one?”

An Ran nodded without hesitation.

Seeing his master’s decisive choice, Xia Chenyu’s heart seemed to fall into an abyss, but before he could dwell in despair, he heard the old man’s next words: “As expected of Immortal Master Lingyun, sharp eyes.”

Everyone was now curious, and An Ran himself was baffled.

“What does this mean, Elder?” Lu Xiuyuan quickly asked.

“This sword technique is actually a fragmented scroll. The first half appears to be an ordinary foundational technique, which is why it was categorized as a yellow-level technique. But if one obtains the second half, the two parts together form a top-grade Heavenly-level sword technique. With it, one could dominate the world.”

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in An Ran’s mind.

Before he could flare up, the others around him cast admiring looks. Especially Xia Chenyu, whose previously dull eyes now sparkled with joy as he looked at An Ran.

He felt like smashing his head into a tofu block.

The old man continued, “Since you have chosen this scroll, you must already know where the second half is, right?”

“No,” An Ran quickly replied, “I don’t know.”

He really didn’t know, but to some people, it sounded like he was deliberately hiding the truth.

The head of the Xuan Yue Sect spoke sarcastically, “Immortal Master Lingyun truly thinks ahead for his disciple. The top-grade Heavenly-level technique is located on the eighth floor, which requires a Divine Transformation stage cultivator to access. Xia Chenyu, a mere child, gets such a technique. Forget about entering the Tower of Heaven for ten years—he could never enter for his whole life, and it wouldn’t matter.”

Upon hearing this, An Ran felt like slapping himself. He was starting to doubt the success of this mission. This kid had casually glanced at a scroll, and it turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime treasure. Truly, the child of the plane.

Lu Xiuyuan tugged at An Ran’s sleeve and whispered, “Do you really not know?”

An Ran nodded, answering seriously, “I really don’t know.”

The old man watched in silence, smiling faintly. “It’s fine not to know. A common man has no sin, but possessing treasure can bring danger.”

He then patted Xia Chenyu on the shoulder. “Child, you have a good master.”

Xia Chenyu, full of pride, nodded firmly and then turned to An Ran with admiration.

An Ran sighed deeply, closing his eyes. Well, since there was no way to find the second half, the fragmented scroll was useless anyway. The plan was not a complete failure.

Everyone left after murmuring, and the white-haired old man whispered something to Xia Chenyu, who brightened up and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Elder!”

No one else heard the words, but through the Gathering Spirit Symbol on Xia Chenyu, An Ran heard everything clearly. That sentence almost drove him insane.

“The other half is sealed in the Yu Yun Formation.”

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