Chapter 41: The World Is Not Blind

The other disciples with weak seeds couldn’t help but feel that Qin Haoxuan seemed to be blessed by the heavens, able to challenge even the Purple Seed disciples, while they had to spend all their time trying to curry favor just to secure a decent future.

If a special seed disciple had completed the Rooting Stage in 20 days, it would have been expected. But for Qin Haoxuan to do it completely upended their sense of balance. Feeling the strange looks from the others, Qin Haoxuan felt more and more out of place.

Cultivation is the cultivation of the heart. I have indeed had my fortuitous encounters, but my heart… from the very beginning, my way of thinking has been different from theirs. That is also a crucial reason for my success.

Not only were the disciples with weak seeds filled with envy, but even Elder Chu was shocked and trying to figure out what was going on. Can a weak seed really make up for their deficiencies with just hard work? His mind was full of questions. In his decades as an Initiate Master, he had never encountered a disciple so strange and so shocking. This Qin Haoxuan either slept or meditated in class; his Dao Heart was firm but stubborn; he made enemies everywhere and was sent to confinement just days after joining the sect, yet he had defeated Spirit Sprout Realm cultivators as a mere mortal.

‘What kind of fortuitous encounter has this Qin Haoxuan had?’ Elder Chu wondered, but he couldn’t come up with an answer. He secretly decided to investigate him at night. If it was a truly significant encounter, he would report it to the Sect Master and let him decide whether to take it and give it to a Purple Seed, or let Qin Haoxuan keep it.

The stories about Qin Haoxuan were so incredible that no one would believe them, yet they were real.

The news that a weak-seeded disciple had completed the Rooting Stage in 20 days spread like wildfire through the Taichu Sect, even reaching the ears of the sect’s highest echelons. The four Hall Masters were all shaken, and numerous rumors began to circulate. Some said it was due to his diligence, while others claimed he must have practiced some demonic art.

In the Hidden Dragon Abbey, Perfected Man Huanglong was cultivating. A vast amount of spiritual energy gathered above his head, condensing into tangible, silk-like ribbons that floated in the air. With every breath, he absorbed an amount of energy equivalent to several of these ribbons.

A small paper crane flew in through the window.

This was the method his informants used to report major sect events to him while he was in seclusion. Sensing its arrival, Huanglong immediately stopped his cultivation, took the Messenger Crane, and unfolded it. After reading its contents, even he, the great Sect Master of the Taichu Sect, wore a grave and thoughtful expression.

“A weak seed completed the Rooting Stage in 20 days?” he muttered. He had been the Sect Master for centuries and knew the sect’s long history inside and out, but he could not recall a single weak seed ever achieving such a feat. He himself, a Gray Seed, had taken 20 days, and other Gray Seeds usually took a day or two longer.

He finished reading the note, and the paper crumbled to dust in his hand.

“Qin Haoxuan, it’s this Qin Haoxuan again?” Huanglong’s expression was strange. “It’s a pity you are at odds with Zhang Kuang and have some friction with Li Jing. Otherwise, you might be worth nurturing. You must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter.”

After weighing the pros and cons, Huanglong did not dwell on it further. It was shocking, but the cultivation world was full of wonders. With a bit of luck, it wasn’t impossible. But what kind of luck?

And if he had such an encounter, what should be done? Take it from him and give it to a Purple Seed? The thought made him laugh at himself. If Qin Haoxuan had a fortuitous encounter, that was his own fortune. Why take it away? It was good to have someone like him around to act as a whetstone to temper the minds of the Purple Seeds. If he were to take his fortune and give it to them, it might corrupt their character instead.

The more he thought, the more he felt this was the correct course of action. Compared to the geniuses who had completed the Rooting Stage in seven or eight days, this “shocking” achievement seemed rather insignificant. It was just his bad luck to arrive at the sect at a time when there were so many geniuses that even Gray Seeds were a dime a dozen. Otherwise, with his performance, he would have definitely been nurtured as a key talent. But now, with three Purple Seeds to train, who had time for a mere weak seed?

Master Guyun, who had informants in the Spirit Field Valley, received the news immediately. He was both overjoyed and astonished. Hearing the wild rumors, he grew afraid that his plot involving the Corrosion Pill would be exposed. The crime of harming a fellow disciple and practicing a forbidden evil art was something that even he, one of the four great Hall Masters, could not bear. So, he personally rushed to the Spirit Field Valley and said to Elder Chu and the others, “Qin Haoxuan is a disciple I have been teaching in private. I ask you all to take good care of him.”

For the master of the Ancient Cloud Hall to personally come and make such a declaration gave the other elders a new perspective on Qin Haoxuan. With a Hall Master personally teaching him, for a weak seed to complete the Rooting Stage in 20 days, while still a miracle, was at least somewhat plausible. But there were countless disciples with better aptitude than him. Why had Master Guyun chosen him?

Elder Chu, upon hearing the news, immediately dismissed all thoughts of investigating Qin Haoxuan.

Amidst the swirling rumors and the jealousy of the crowd, only Xu Yu and Murong Chao were genuinely happy for him.

Qin Haoxuan, who had just set a new record, showed no signs of arrogance. After a night of cultivation, he felt that his immortal roots were still weak and needed to be strengthened.

After completing the Rooting Stage, the thing that made him happiest was that his family’s stipend would be increased from 200 to 300 taels a year. He imagined the bright smiles on his parents’ faces when they heard the news.

While he was quietly planning his future, he didn’t know that because of him, the core members of both Zhang Kuang’s and Li Jing’s factions were holding urgent meetings to discuss how to deal with his rise.

The moment he heard the news, Li Jing had summoned his core followers to his room.

The discussion immediately turned to Qin Haoxuan.

“I think there’s definitely something strange about him!”

“Nonsense! A weak seed completing the Rooting Stage in 20 days, of course it’s strange! Why haven’t you done it then?”

“I think he has great ambitions. He’s won over Xu Yu, making her completely loyal to him, and he’s also recruited Murong Chao. Of the five special seeds of our generation, Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and you, Your Highness, have your own factions. But Xu Yu and Murong Chao have become his people! I think he plans to control them, expand his influence, and eventually make one of them the Sect Master while he pulls the strings from behind!”

This analysis was well-reasoned, and although Li Jing didn’t fully agree, he felt there was some truth to it. But with Qin Haoxuan’s weak seed, with no backing and no potential, his ambition was useless.

Just as he was silently analyzing the situation, one of his followers burst in.

“Senior Brother… Senior Brother, I just got word! The master of the Ancient Cloud Hall, Perfected Man Guyun, personally came to the Spirit Field Valley and told Elder Chu that Qin Haoxuan is his secret disciple.”

Hearing this, Li Jing shot up from his chair, unable to sit still.

Before, Qin Haoxuan was just a weak seed whom no one cared about. Even with Xu Yu and Murong Chao on his side, it didn’t mean much.

But now, things were different. He had matched the Sect Master’s own record, and he had won the appreciation of a Hall Master. For Master Guyun to personally come and claim him as a disciple was a huge statement.

With Master Guyun’s support, if this weak seed were to help Xu Yu compete for the position of Sect Master, with Murong Chao’s assistance, wouldn’t he become a real threat?

When Master Guyun had come to the valley, even Zhang Yang, who was also his secret disciple, had been filled with resentment. Why would his master go to such lengths for a mere weak seed? But then he remembered his master’s promise to “take care of” the Qin Haoxuan problem. Could this be one of his master’s moves? He was shocked but also felt a sliver of anticipation.

However, Zhang Yang was not one to sit back and watch. He thought for a long time and suddenly remembered Gu Xiaoyun, who had been humiliated by Qin Haoxuan. An idea struck him, and he immediately went to find him.

“Senior Brother Gu, do you remember that Qin Haoxuan?”

At the mention of his name, Gu Xiaoyun’s face darkened. He had tried several times to get him to trade the land, but had been refused every time.

“You probably don’t know yet, but that Qin Haoxuan has completed the Rooting Stage,” Zhang Yang said with a cold smile.

“The Rooting Stage? He’s a weak seed! He did it in 20 days?” Gu Xiaoyun stared at him in disbelief.

Zhang Yang sneered. “And what you certainly don’t know is that the one who helped him was your own dear uncle, my master, Hall Master Guyun.”

Gu Xiaoyun was shocked again and jumped to his feet, roaring, “Is that true?”

“Absolutely true.”

“That Qin Haoxuan! He received such a great benefit from my uncle, yet he wouldn’t even trade a piece of land with me! Come on, let’s go teach him a lesson!”

Knowing that Qin Haoxuan had been helped by his own uncle, Gu Xiaoyun’s confidence returned. He gathered a few of his followers and stormed off to find him. So it was my own uncle helping him all along. This makes things much simpler!