Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Becoming a Disciple of Zi Xuan
"Thirty years, and you finally deign to visit your master?" the Zi Xuan Hermit sat on the red nanmu Taishi chair, one hand supporting his sleeve, the other steeping a pot of Spiritual Tea.
He shook it, sealed it.
From beginning to end, he didn't glance at Lin Xianzhi even once.
"Please punish me, Master. Xianzhi is merely a nominal disciple, yet I've troubled my master with concerns," Lin Xianzhi kowtowed again, bowing down, with Lin Shiming following suit beside him.
The old Zi Xuan remained indifferent, picking up the tea cup, sniffing its fragrance, and then taking a delicate sip.
After a long while, he sighed.
"You know, I can settle that matter for you!"
The words spoken so lightly, yet no one doubted the power behind them.
"Xianzhi is but a mere nominal disciple. How could I dare to have Master break Sect rules on my behalf?"
The old Zi Xuan took another sip of tea, his deep eyes briefly meeting Lin Xianzhi's gaze, then continued to contemplate the tea, offering no response.
Of course, for Lin Xianzhi, no response was the best response.
"Master, I have come with two requests this time. Firstly, Xianzhi wishes to avenge the destruction of his path. Secondly, I've brought a junior whose talent is like that of Elder Zheng, able to promote the growth of Snake Vine Flowers beyond his rank, suspected to have a Wood Attribute invisible Spiritual Body.
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I earnestly request the Elder to accept him as a nominal disciple, to pass on Elder Zheng's techniques and invigorate the Lin Family!"
Lin Xianzhi's two requests not only surprised the Zi Xuan Hermit before him,
but Lin Shiming was even more shocked.
He hadn't expected that Lin Xianzhi's reason for bringing him was to bestow upon him such an enormous opportunity!
What's more, he had not expected the Snake Vine Flower to be a legacy of Elder Zheng, nor did he realize until now that Elder Zheng had practiced Wood Attribute Techniques, let alone the suggestion that he himself harbored an invisible Spiritual Body.
In this world, aside from Spirit Roots, there are those even more naturally talented, the bearers of Spiritual Bodies, who must surely possess Heavenly Spirit Roots.
Of course, the world is not without exception; some with Dual Spirit Roots or Third Spirit Roots may also possess a Spiritual Body, which necessitates the need for a Secret Technique to be elevated to a Minor Divine Ability and reveal its enhancement, that is to say, only after breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm can one know whether they possess an invisible Spiritual Body.
However, Lin Shiming also calmly thought that his seventh uncle might be getting a little ahead of himself today; these demands were far too unreasonable.
For family scions, Sects do not usually offer recruitment unless the clan members leave the family and pledge their loyalty to the Sect thereafter.
Among these, a special existence is that of the nominal disciple. For the talented individuals from families, Qingxuan Sect, as the superior Sect, would also tie these talented individuals to the Sect through Elders as nominal disciples.
But this arrangement obviously benefits the family scions even more, providing support to the Sect at critical moments while normally remaining free from Sect constraints, with the added privilege of learning the Sect's powerful Cultivation Techniques.
Lin Shiming did not consider himself a prodigy, feeling incapable of catching the eye of a Purple Mansion Elder.
Not to mention the cultivation methods of Elder Zheng, which at the very least belonged to the Purple Mansion Techniques and likely reached the earth level.
When Elder Zheng left the Sect in the past, he was unable to take his Secret Technique with him to pass on to his descendants.
Even for the first request, Lin Shiming felt it to be a bit too forced. If Lin Xianzhi wanted revenge, he would naturally have to face the Purple Mansion Family – in other words, the Zi Xuan Hermit would need to confront another Purple Mansion Loose.
Lin Shiming's heart was already in turmoil, realizing that his seventh uncle had come here, perhaps half for his own sake!
Of course, it wasn't just Lin Shiming whose heart was unsettled, but also Lin Xianzhi.
"Oh," Zi Xuan Hermit raised an eyebrow, suddenly showing interest.
"Has your Sword Light Differentiated?" His second sentence did not answer the question but instead, he asked one of his own.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xianzhi's face lit up with excitement, and a Green Lotus manifested on his body, accompanied by several leaking Sword Qi.
This was the initial accomplishment of the first realm of understanding Sword Intent.
"Alright, I agree!" Zi Xuan Hermit finally nodded.
Then, Lin Xianzhi turned to Lin Shiming:
"Shiming, aren't you going to greet your master and perform the ritual of serving tea?"
"Greetings, Master!" Lin Shiming hurriedly kowtowed and performed the ritual, then took a teacup from Lin Xianzhi with both hands.
He turned around and presented the Spiritual Tea to Zi Xuan Hermit with both hands.
The latter took the teacup, gently sipped the tea, and with that, the matter was settled. This was the ceremony for acknowledging a named disciple. If it had been for a Direct Disciple, a more substantial ceremony would have been necessary, with more complex procedures.
"Now then, for our first meeting, your teacher will gift you a Supreme Grade copper ring defense Magic Artifact, for your protection. Also, remember not to rely on your teacher's reputation to do things that harm the heavens and reason!" A simple ceremony with a simple gift-giving concluded the event.
Following that, Lin Xianzhi divided the ten shops he had acquired from the Huang Family, handing seven over to the Sect, or more accurately, to the custody of the Sect under the name of Elder Zi Xuan Hermit.
Lin Shiming watched from the side, his admiration for his great-uncle growing.
If the Huang Family behaved, it would be fine, but if they did not, they would be in for some real suffering.
After leaving contact information for further coordination, Lin Xianzhi took Lin Shiming and left. Zi Xuan Hermit would provide the Cultivation Technique to Lin Shiming in three days.
Of course, Lin Shiming had many questions, and he noticed that Zi Xuan Hermit's expression had changed the moment his great-uncle revealed the Sword Qi realm of the first layer of Sword Light Differentiation.
Moreover, regarding the Cultivation Technique of Elder Yu Zheng, Lin Shiming was puzzled as to why his ability to catalyze the Snake Vine Flower seemed to indicate the presence of an invisible Spiritual Body.
But since Lin Xianzhi did not offer explanations, as a junior, Lin Shiming had no choice but to continue following behind.
Their next destination was Qingxuan City at the foot of Qingxuan Mountain, home to the largest trade market in Qingzhou, Qingxuan Market.
Compared to the remote Xingzhou, Qingxuan Market was many times more prosperous.
Even Purple Mansion Loose practitioners, rarely seen in Xingzhou, were common here.
In this place, only the Purple Mansion Family or an extremely powerful old Foundation Establishment family could set up shops. Even the Huang Family, Lin Xianzhi's recent adversary, did not own a shop here.
And here, one could find magic items from Second Rank to Third Rank, as long as you had enough Spirit Stones.
Xingzhou needed Foundation Establishment Pills for its auction that took place once every ten years at Qingxuan Market.
And right at that moment, Lin Shiming's system notification sounded again.
"Please proceed to the stall area, you will obtain a Beast Growth Pill recipe!" Lin Shiming did not expect, upon arriving at Qingxuan City, the system would provide such an important prompt.
His two Demonic Beasts were quite strong, but far too young. They needed time to grow, and this Beast Growth Spirit Pill was like a rain after a long drought for him.