Chapter 229 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path of the Path of the Cannon Fodder (Part Twelve) Mysterious...
When Xuan Ling went down the mountain for the twelfth time, he saw Heng Mo still playing around, picking flowers and grass, fishing and hunting. He even cooked!
Although Heng Mo's cultivation progress was not slow, and he was even the one with the highest cultivation level among all the newly entered disciples, Xuan Ling just couldn't bear to see him waste his talent and time.
As for the Supreme Elder who would come to cause trouble every now and then, not to mention Heng Mo, even Shen Ting had almost gotten used to it. Anyway, this elder would not directly take action because of his status; at most, he would just grumble a few words.
Perhaps those who cultivate the path of ruthlessness are born with a taciturn personality. Xuan Ling is clumsy with words, and every time he comes, he repeats the same few sentences over and over again.
Phrases like "playing with toys leads to the loss of ambition," "incorrigible," "hopeless," and "waste of talent" might be added, with the most extreme addition being "the teacher is unfit to be a teacher" and "irresponsible."
Putting aside Xuan Ling's status as the Supreme Elder and the pressure of his Nascent Soul stage cultivation, what he said was nothing to Heng Mo, who grew up in the streets, and Shen Ting, who was a wanderer in the martial arts world.
After all, compared to the women in the streets who curse endlessly and the martial arts practitioners who spew vulgarities when drunk, Xuan Ling's cursing skills are not even at the beginner level.
The two of them seemed to listen to the instructions respectfully each time, but in reality, they just let it go in one ear and out the other. Apart from wasting a quarter of their time, Xuan Ling did not cause any impact.
Xuan Ling hadn't originally planned to take on any disciples when he was in the main hall. Even with a top-grade ice spirit root, he only reluctantly agreed out of respect for the sect leader.
But surprisingly, after Heng Mo reluctantly agreed to take him as a disciple, instead of being grateful and excited, crying and begging to become his disciple, he chose the weakest elder, the Seventh Elder, as his master and learned alchemy!
Just like some domineering CEOs in modern times, when all the women are madly in love with him, suddenly a woman who doesn't mince words appears, and the domineering CEO can't help but take a second look. If this woman is even prettier and has a more unique personality, then it's basically a typical romance novel.
This proves the classic line: Woman, you've successfully caught my attention!
Although they look quite different, they are essentially the same. Xuan Ling is now like a domineering CEO who has attracted attention, and Heng Mo's aptitude is top-notch, which happens to match his cultivation method.
Originally, he only had a slight intention to take on a disciple, but after being provoked by Heng Mo's indifferent and uncaring attitude, he really wanted to immediately force the disciple to kowtow and become his disciple, and then give him a good beating.
While a domineering CEO might have his ways of dealing with people, Xuan Ling also had his methods for disciplining his disciples. Unfortunately, after imagining a whole bunch of ways to make his disciples submit and bow down, Heng Mo had no intention of becoming his disciple at all.
Xuan Ling made his hints about wanting to take on a disciple clearer, and even subtly indicated that if Heng Mo followed him to learn swordsmanship, he would be willing to give Shen Ting some pointers.
Unfortunately, neither Heng Mo nor Shen Ting seemed to understand. They listened respectfully while he was giving his instructions, but after he left, they acted as if nothing had happened. They weren't anxious or worried at all; in fact, they ate plenty of grilled meat.
Xuan Ling felt like he was talking to a brick wall. These two had absolutely no ability to understand his words. Anyone else would have understood him with just a glance.
As for Heng Mo not planning to become a disciple, and Shen Ting not wanting him to give guidance, Xuan Ling never even considered it. He was the number one person in the cultivation world, and every cultivator would definitely want to become his disciple and be guided by him.
This inexplicable self-confidence is similar to the domineering CEO's belief that all women in the world will be attracted to him.
Although Xuan Ling always scolded Heng Mo with a cold face for not cultivating properly and wasting his time on frivolous pursuits, Heng Mo's cultivation progress was actually quite good. In just half a year, he had reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, breaking the sect's highest record.
Even Xuan Ling himself took nearly a year to learn Heng Mo, who had progressed so quickly even under the guidance of the weakest elder, the Seventh Elder. Xuan Ling felt that if he were to teach him, Heng Mo would likely advance even further.
The disciple he thought was within his grasp showed no sign of becoming his apprentice, despite Xuan Ling's repeated harassment.
Not only did the leader of the Xuan Yang Sect notice this, but even the Seventh Elder, who was not supposed to pay attention to sect gossip, heard a lot of rumors about it.
Although reluctant to part with his obedient, filial, and thoughtful little apprentice, the Seventh Elder still went to Heng Mo's courtyard to talk to the little apprentice so as not to hinder the child's future.
The Seventh Elder's doting on his child was always overt; everything he ate, wore, and used was the best. Heng Mo had been with him for half a year, and their relationship had become quite close.
Upon seeing the Seventh Elder arrive, Heng Mo immediately brought out the bubble tea he had just learned to make from Lin You. "Master, please try it. It's made with my new recipe, and it tastes amazing. My Third Uncle tried to sneak a bite, but I didn't give him any."
Sweet milk combined with fragrant tea leaves, topped with brown sugar glutinous rice pearls and tapioca starch sago pudding—all the ingredients seem to possess a spiritual essence, making the flavor even better. Even the Seventh Elder, who has lived for over four hundred years, thought it was quite delicious.
After drinking tea and eating some snacks, the Seventh Elder tentatively asked, "Little Mo, I heard you ran into the Supreme Elder again?"
Heng Mo immediately nodded with a lingering fear in his eyes: "Master, my luck is just too bad. I always get caught and scolded by the Supreme Elder. I don't know what I did to offend him. He dislikes me so much."
After saying that, she looked at the Seventh Elder with a pitiful expression: "The Supreme Elder is so fierce. I have completed all the homework assigned by Master, but he still keeps saying that I am frivolous and ambitious, and he even put pressure on me. If it weren't for the protective spiritual artifact that Master gave me, I probably wouldn't be able to see you today."
As he spoke, Heng Mo's eyes welled up with tears. "My cultivation progress is not bad at all. In fact, I heard from my third senior uncle that my cultivation progress is even faster than that of the Supreme Elder back then. Why does he have to belittle me so much?"
The Seventh Elder was heartbroken and immediately hugged and comforted his little disciple. Heng Mo was startled by the way he was holding him like a child and almost lost his composure.
Fortunately, he adjusted in time and continued to complain. "He always said bad things about Master, saying that Master didn't teach me well, but Master has always taught very well. I went to listen to Third Uncle's class, but it wasn't as good as Master's."
Heng Mo shed two tears with red eyes and choked out, "It's one thing for him to scold me, he's an elder and it's understandable for him to take his anger out on a junior, but how could he slander Master? Master is one of the most important relatives in my world."
After saying that, he didn't forget to communicate with Lin You beside him through the mental link: "Senior is also one of my most important family members."
The Seventh Elder was so distressed that he immediately forgot what he was supposed to do. He spent a long time coaxing the person back, feeding them delicious food and giving them pocket money.
Lin You, who had been watching the whole scene, hesitated for a long time before finally saying nothing. She never expected that Heng Mo would have such a green tea-like personality!
Green tea is a particularly magical species. It seems to have no offensive power, but it can overcome strength with softness, making it quite difficult to deal with. When it is an opponent, it can trip you up to your face, making you so angry that you have a heart attack and can't even speak out.
Either you can expose the scheming and plotting of a "green tea" (a manipulative woman), or you are even more cunning than her; otherwise, you won't even know where to begin retaliating.
If a scheming woman has no ulterior motives and is simply vying for favor, then she is even more impeccable. If she takes action, you'll be petty and calculating; if she doesn't, you'll only be constantly disgusted.
Some people with a narrow mind can't even tell what's wrong when they encounter a manipulative woman. They just feel that something is off and they feel uncomfortable, but they don't know how to explain it.
Take Xuan Ling, for example, who was eavesdropping right now. He felt uncomfortable with every word Heng Mo said, but everything Heng Mo said was true. He maintained his taciturn persona and listened to the Seventh Elder coaxing the child for a long time, and then nothing more happened.
He promised to come and persuade his apprentice to become his disciple!
Seeing that the Seventh Elder seemed to have forgotten what he was supposed to do, Xuan Ling sulked in the shadows for a long time and ultimately did not come out.
After all, he's the number one cultivator in the cultivation world, so he has to save face. If he showed up when Heng Mo was planning to become a disciple, it would make him seem like a prophet. But Heng Mo doesn't even want to become a disciple anymore, and instead he's crying and making a scene. What's the point of him going out? To face the accusing gaze of the Seventh Elder?!
After Xuan Ling slipped away, Lin You informed Heng Mo that she didn't need to act anymore. Although her cultivation level was indeed insufficient to detect Xuan Ling, she could use cheat codes.
While rummaging through the props earlier, they found an alarm that they had bought in the second small world. They reused it and hung it on Xuan Ling, which led to the scene where Heng Mo complained.
Since he's been spoken so badly of in private, given Xuan Ling's aloof and unapproachable personality, he definitely wouldn't directly ask Heng Mo to become his disciple. As long as he doesn't ask directly, Heng Mo isn't afraid of his hints and sarcasm.
Xuan Ling paced back and forth at the foot of the mountain, feeling conflicted. In the end, he went to the Xuan Yang Sect leader and asked him to resolve the issue. After all, the sect leader had always been the one to solve any problems he had encountered over the years.
Ignoring whether the person would be busy or not, Xuan Ling directly summoned the sect leader and rattled off a long speech: "...I want to take that top-grade ice spirit root as my disciple."
When the sect leader heard his request, he was completely dismayed. Xuan Ling did not hide the fact that he had been causing trouble for Heng Mo and that Heng Mo had been secretly complaining about him. In any case, he had a perfectly legitimate reason: he was disappointed in Heng Mo.
Sect Leader: ...?
Although they used top-grade ice spiritual roots to learn alchemy, their cultivation level didn't suffer at all!
Heng Mo is the best prospect of our sect, and the sect leader pays close attention to him. He has visited him several times. Although the child is a bit playful, his cultivation is solid and he has not fallen behind in his studies. Why should you be so worried and disappointed in him?
After all, he is only fifteen years old. I heard that life in the mortal world is not easy, sometimes hungry and sometimes full. Now that he has finally gotten to live a good life, he just likes to fish, pick fruit, and make some food. There is nothing wrong with that.
In the cultivation world, certain aspects are still highly valued, such as fate. Regarding Heng Mo's choice of the Seventh Elder as his master, although the sect leader and other elders did not approve of it, they did not stop him, because they believed that fate had its own destiny.
Besides, even if they aren't disciples, they're still junior disciples. If there's anything they don't know, they can give them some pointers. Cultivation has always relied on oneself, and as long as the Seventh Elder doesn't teach recklessly, he generally won't interfere.
Moreover, the Seventh Elder taught him very well. Heng Mo not only cultivated rapidly, but his foundation was also more solid than that of ordinary disciples. His food, clothing, and housing were all top-notch. Even if you are the Supreme Elder of the sect, you have no right to snatch someone away when the master and disciple disagree.
Of course, the sect leader didn't say it so bluntly to Xuan Ling: "Junior Uncle, don't worry, as long as Heng Mo and his master are willing, there will be absolutely no problem with him becoming an apprentice."
Xuan Ling glanced at him coldly, then lowered his eyes and remained silent.
If they were willing, why would I need to contact you? I could easily accept it myself.
The sect leader had worked with this junior uncle for many years and could indeed tell what he was thinking with just a glance, but now he could only pretend not to understand and change the subject:
"How much of a gift does Junior Uncle plan to give his new disciple? Where will he stay? How will he teach him cultivation?"
If the conditions are good, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to offer a word of advice.
Because it affects cultivation, very few people in the cultivation world have children. Therefore, the master-disciple relationship is usually the closest. Once a disciple is accepted, it is the same as having a biological child in the mortal world.
The sect leader couldn't help but complain in his heart, "You were there when you were accepting disciples. You could have just asked to take them in, but you acted all high and mighty and messed things up. Now it's been more than half a year and you're saying you want to take disciples again. Even if I'm the sect leader, I'm not that shameless!"
Upon hearing the sect leader's words, Xuan Ling immediately frowned. "Of course, he should be locked in the Heart-Refining Array and tempered for eight or ten years. Anything else is just a waste of time and energy!"
Sect Leader: ...?
Despite the sect leader's head being filled with question marks, he wanted nothing more than to shake Xuan Ling's shoulders and ask, "Are you fucking out of your mind?!"
So you're planning to take someone's carefully nurtured apprentice for free without spending a single penny? And you're planning to lock him up for ten or eight years and ignore him? Who would give up a perfectly good life to be abused by you?!
However, given Xuan Ling's martial prowess and reputation, he could only wipe his face and force a forced smile: "Junior Uncle, please rest assured, I will definitely relay your methods of teaching disciples to Xiao Qi and Junior Nephew Heng Mo truthfully."
Given how much Xiao Qi spoils children, if you dare to say that to him, you'd probably get kicked out and have your pills cut off for three months.
The sect leader held back for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Xiao Qi can also set up the Heart-Refining Array."
The implication is: We don't need you at all!
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Author's Note: Updates resumed, daily updates.
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