"Hasn’t he come out yet?"
Qiao Yuan’s figure appeared in the plaza of the Inheritance Hall. For seven consecutive days, he had come to the plaza daily, just hoping to catch a glimpse of Lin Chen.
Unfortunately, the gate of the Inheritance Hall remained tightly closed and had not been opened.
"Junior Brother Qiao, are you here as well?"
Just as Qiao Yuan turned to leave, two more figures appeared on the plaza.
"Senior Brother Zhuang, Senior Brother Shen."
Upon seeing the two arrivals, Qiao Yuan spoke. These two were also Inner Sect Disciples, ranked above him.
Among the three thousand Inner Sect Disciples of the Canglan Sect, the four senior brothers ranked above him were all over twenty and had stepped into the Innate Realm.
Qiao Yuan did not stay for long, greeting them before taking his leave.
Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao watched Qiao Yuan’s departing figure, their gazes meeting. Zhuang Zhong whispered, "With the appearance of Junior Brother Lin, I’m afraid the most affected one will be Junior Brother Qiao."
"Junior Brother Qiao may have not yet reached the Innate Realm, but that’s only a matter of time. He’s the number one disciple under twenty in the sect, but with Junior Brother Lin’s appearance, his title might be in jeopardy. How could he not be concerned?"
As soon as Lin Chen arrived at the sect, he was taken in as a Direct Disciple by an Elder and achieved high marks in the assessment, astonishing many disciples in the sect. Now, he’s causing a stir at the Inheritance Hall, and there are already discussions among the Inner Sect Disciples.
At the age of under twenty, who exactly is the number one disciple between Lin Chen and Qiao Yuan?
"Once Junior Brother Lin comes out, there might be a duel between him and Qiao Yuan."
"In that case, it seems we shouldn’t go into seclusion in the coming days to avoid missing this duel."
Though the two are Innate Powerhouses, in their hearts, neither Qiao Yuan nor the new Junior Brother Lin would have any issues stepping into the Innate Realm, and they would undoubtedly be their rivals in the future.
"Since Junior Brother Lin isn’t out yet, let’s leave too."
Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao also prepared to leave, but the next moment, they seemed to sense something and immediately turned their gazes toward the direction of the main hall.
The main hall, which had been closed for several days, slowly opened at this moment.
Endless Canglan energy gushed from the hall, causing the stone towers on the plaza to tremble, with brilliant light bursting from the tips of each tower.
"He’s about to come out!"
Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao’s pupils constricted, their eyes fixed on the opening hall door.
Simultaneously, sounds of people rushing through the air came from all directions of the plaza, and many young figures landed on the plaza.
It seemed no disciples had come to the Inheritance Hall these days, but those ranked at the top among the Inner Sect Disciples had always been paying attention to the activities around the hall.
Figures landed on the ground, and like Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao, their eyes were all focused on the entrance of the main hall.
Qiao Yuan, too, returned to the plaza.
...
Inside the main hall.
Lin Chen opened his eyes, and at this moment, the Canglan Treasure Manual once again returned to its original state, with serene Canglan energy flowing out.
"Awake now?"
The gaunt old man still stood in the corner of the hall, his gaze sweeping over Lin Chen, particularly at Lin Chen’s heart, a look of satisfaction in his old eyes.
"Thank you, Senior, for watching over the disciple."
As the old man’s gaze swept over him, Lin Chen shivered. He felt a subtle wave scanning his entire body, especially at his heart, which even skipped a beat.
He didn’t know who this old man was, but anyone appearing here was certainly someone of high status in the Canglan Sect.
The gaunt old man smiled, "I initially thought you wouldn’t be able to successfully condense the Heart of Canglan. I was prepared to intervene if you couldn’t hold on, but it seems that wasn’t necessary. You didn’t need me to watch over you."
"Senior’s concern is remembered by this disciple. May I know how to address you, Senior?"
"You may call me Uncle Master."
Uncle Master?
Shock filled Lin Chen’s eyes. His master was a Sect Elder, and this old man was his master’s uncle?
This old man must be a top powerhouse of the sect.
"Disciple Lin Chen greets Uncle Master."
"No need for formalities."
Seeing Lin Chen’s salute, the gaunt old man stroked his beard, "You are the first disciple in three hundred years of our Canglan Sect who has comprehended the Heart of Canglan and received the legacy of the Canglan Divine Scripture. Du Xiaofeng has indeed accepted a good disciple this time."
"Heart of Canglan?"
Upon hearing the words of his martial uncle, Lin Chen thought of his heart, completely transformed and enveloped by Canglan energy. Is this what they call the Heart of Canglan?
Am I the first in three hundred years to comprehend this?
"Only with the Heart of Canglan can one truly grasp the true meaning of Canglan. Your current use and perception of Canglan energy should differ noticeably from before."
"Indeed, it is so."
Lin Chen nodded.
"How many pages of the Canglan Divine Scripture have you read, and how many martial arts have you comprehended?"
"Disciple is not talented, only the first page, having comprehended only the Canglan Force."
Time rewinds to a quarter-hour earlier when Lin Chen felt the Canglan Tide’s waves in the Abyss and realized the moment of Canglan’s fluctuation. The Abyss vanished, leaving only a martial arts scripture floating before him.
The martial arts scripture opened to the first page, bearing only three words: Canglan Force.
He understood then that the fluctuation of Canglan energy he comprehended was termed the Canglan Force.
As for the subsequent pages of this martial arts scripture, they remained unturnable. At this moment, the book still hovered at his heart, ready to appear in his mind with just a thought.
"It’s actually the Canglan Force. I thought you would comprehend some cultivation technique from the Divine Scripture."
An unexpected glint appeared in the elder’s eyes. The Canglan Divine Scripture contains a few extraordinarily powerful cultivation techniques of the Canglan Sect, none of which he had cultivated but had read about in the sect’s records.
As for this Canglan Force... it is not a cultivation technique, but a use of Canglan energy.
It’s something disciples with a Heart of Canglan can comprehend, but not every disciple with it can comprehend it immediately.
Sect records indicate that past predecessors who condensed a Heart of Canglan only began comprehending Canglan Force after entering the Innate Realm.
Below Innate, only one has comprehended the Heart of Canglan, and that was one of the Five Ancestors of the Canglan Sect.
"I understand. Regarding the Heart of Canglan and the Canglan Force, do not mention it to anyone other than your master."
"Yes."
Lin Chen nodded in agreement. There must be a reason for his martial uncle’s request.
"Go back for now; your master will clarify some matters for you."
"Then I take my leave, disciple."
Lin Chen walked out of the great hall, ready to find his master, but when he saw many figures standing in the square, he paused.
So many people watching me?
"Sorry for delaying all you senior and junior brothers in entering the Inheritance Hall to comprehend martial arts, I apologize to everyone."
Lin Chen thought it unlikely he would keep so many people waiting for him. The only possibility was that his reason had prevented the sect’s disciples from entering the great hall to comprehend cultivation techniques, leaving them waiting outside.
Seeing the apology on Lin Chen’s face, many disciples in the square were stunned.
In their eyes, Lin Chen did not need to apologize at all. Some disciples even needed to thank Lin Chen because some lucky individuals had comprehended the cultivation techniques on the martial arts stele due to Lin Chen.
As for wasting a few days, that was nothing significant.
"Senior Brother Lin, you’re too polite. I must thank you. If it weren’t for you, Senior Brother Lin, I wouldn’t have comprehended a martial arts technique."
"Yes, we are here specifically to thank Senior Brother Lin."
Disciples in the square spoke out one after another. Lin Chen smiled and was about to say something before leaving when a voice rang out in the square.
"Junior Brother Lin, would you be willing to duel with me?"
As the voice fell, everyone’s eyes turned towards the speaker, and upon seeing it was Qiao Yuan, many disciples displayed a look of understanding.
It’s Senior Brother Qiao, so that makes sense.
Senior Brother Qiao has always spoken bluntly, never concealing his intent. He wants to duel with Senior Brother Lin to determine who is the foremost disciple under twenty in the Canglan Sect.
Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He did not know Qiao Yuan, but the low discussions of many disciples reached his ears.
Qiao Yuan?
Before I arrived, the foremost disciple under twenty in the Canglan Sect.
"I don’t see the need for that."
Lin Chen declined, and many disciples who had expected this showed a look of disappointment at Lin Chen’s refusal.
PS: No combined Chapters yet, still a bit stuck. Allow me to think a bit more, I’ll fix it by daytime.