Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The scene unfolded exactly as Rong Yu had predicted.

When Lu Shitu entered the Scripture Pavilion, Jiang Ziliu was left waiting outside, his anxiety bordering on madness.

Jiang Ziliu's expression was so terrifying that the junior disciple from Shouzhong Peak, who was supporting him, grew a little scared and instinctively edged away.

Everyone had spoken of this senior disciple's prowess, calling him the pride of the Inner Sect. Before coming here, the junior had greatly admired him, but now... he failed to see anything impressive. As for Senior Brother Lu, though it was a pity he was crippled, his character was truly beyond reproach. And he had won the championship—wasn't that what truly meant being exceptional?

Meanwhile, Jiang Ziliu stared fixedly at Lu Shitu's retreating back as he entered the Scripture Pavilion. His jealousy wasn’t just for the empty title of champion; more importantly, disciples would enter according to their rankings to choose cultivation methods, with first come, first served. That meant if there was a method everyone coveted, Lu Shitu would undoubtedly claim it.

Most importantly, Lu Shitu had once possessed a Fire Spirit Root, meaning he was very likely to select the best fire-attribute method currently in the Scripture Pavilion—the "Heavenly Flowing Fire Art."

That was a method Jiang Ziliu had coveted for a long time!

A strange, dark light flickered in Jiang Ziliu's eyes. Lu Shitu had best not try to take it from him. Otherwise, he would have to find another way to retrieve it. That method was destined to be his!

Lu Shitu remembered Rong Yu's instructions carefully. As soon as he entered the Scripture Pavilion, he headed straight to the back and quickly found the method Rong Yu had asked him to retrieve.

He couldn't help but smile, clutching the manual to his chest as he turned to leave. He had fulfilled all his master's requests and wouldn't disappoint him.

At the entrance, he handed the manual to the attendant for recording. However, the attendant froze upon seeing it.

It was a tattered, nearly unrecognizable manual that gave off no profound aura of a Heaven-grade method. It was likely just an ordinary Human-grade method. A quick glance inside revealed very basic content, something even a novice disciple would find beneath them. The attendant even wondered why he hadn’t thrown it out during his last cleanup.

The attendant hesitated. He knew the young man before him was the champion of the trial and must be an outstanding talent. He couldn’t help but offer some advice: "Are you sure you want this one? There’s no time limit—you can take your time and look around. We recently acquired a Heaven-grade fire-attribute method called the Heavenly Flowing Fire Art. Everyone’s clamoring for it. Are you really not considering it?"

If Rong Yu were here, he would’ve grumbled inwardly: *He's acting like a salesman!*

Outside, Jiang Ziliu heard this and was so frantic he almost charged in to fight the old attendant.

But Lu Shitu lowered his eyelashes and shook his head, his tone firm. "Thank you, but I want this one."

The attendant sighed helplessly and recorded it, thinking to himself that although this kid was talented, he was a bit simple-minded and stubborn. Such an attitude wouldn’t take him far on the path of cultivation...

The junior disciple also stared at Lu Shitu, baffled, his expression as if he were looking at a fool.

*You worked so hard to win the championship, and this is what you pick?*

Jiang Ziliu’s heart soared and plunged, and he nearly laughed aloud. *Indeed, Heaven favors me! What’s mine will always be mine. Trash will always be trash—no matter how desperately some people scramble, they can’t change that!*

*What good is a ragged manual like this! Six years from now, I will repay every bit of the humiliation I suffered today!*

He shoved aside the junior disciple supporting him without a second glance, ignoring Lu Shitu entirely. With eager, hurried steps, he limped into the Scripture Pavilion to claim his method.

Lu Shitu held the "useless" manual firmly in his arms. As he passed Jiang Ziliu, Rong Yu’s words echoed in his mind: "If you see the Heavenly Flowing Fire Art, don’t touch it. Leave it for those who want it."

After hearing Lu Shitu's report, Rong Yu understood the situation. Sure enough, everything had unfolded according to his plan. Relieved, he stood up and walked toward the side room, saying, "Follow me."

Lu Shitu followed obediently without a word.

The side room was exactly as Lu Shitu had left it, except for one addition: a sword hanging on the wall.

The sword was slender and elegantly light, entirely silver. In the dim room, it was the only source of light, as if it had captured the brilliance of the stars within its form.

Rong Yu took it down and handed it to Lu Shitu. "See how it feels in your hand."

Lu Shitu accepted it respectfully. Rong Yu added casually, "I forged this sword in the past few days using materials provided by your martial uncle. Consider it his gift to you as a disciple. See if you like it. If you do, you can use it for now."

Lu Shitu’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked up at Rong Yu, seemingly both surprised and touched. For a moment, he stood frozen in place.

Rong Yu spoke lightly, his tone almost smug, but inwardly he felt somewhat uneasy.

After all, there were many famous swordsmiths in the world, and his own skills were mediocre at best. Fortunately, Rong Baichuan had helped, allowing him to produce a decent sword. In their youth, everyone wanted a famous sword—it was a time of ambition and pride. Rong Yu worried that Lu Shitu might not like it.

He asked again to confirm, "Do you like it?" If he did, the next step would be to name it and keep it.

Lu Shitu nodded immediately, as if afraid the sword would vanish the next second.

He usually acted mature beyond his years, so Rong Yu was surprised to see such a childlike reaction from him and couldn’t help but smile.

Lu Shitu looked at Rong Yu seriously and said, "I like everything Shizun gives me."

Rong Yu was taken aback and thought wryly, *This is bordering on hero worship.* He said to Lu Shitu, "Give it a name. From now on, this is your sword."

Lu Shitu lowered his eyes and gently, reverently, placed his fingers on the scabbard, slowly tracing its surface. Then he slowly drew the sword, revealing a section of the blade.

The blade was the same cool silver-white, sparkling like starlight. As it was drawn, the room seemed to brighten.

He gazed at the sword for a while, his expression soft and full of affection.

He looked up at Rong Yu and said, "Please, Shizun, bestow a name upon it."

Rong Yu was momentarily stunned. After thinking seriously for a moment, he said, "How about... Yixing (Shifting Stars)?"

The main material used to forge the sword was star sand, and the blade shone like the stars. Moreover, "star" subtly implied destiny—Rong Yu was here to change Lu Shitu’s fate, so the sword he gifted could naturally be called "Shifting Stars." As the stars shift and turn, he hoped this child’s destiny would also shift toward the best possible path.

Rong Yu looked up and noticed that Lu Shitu had been watching him all along, his eyes sparkling, lips pressed together in a faint smile.

Hearing Rong Yu’s words, he seemed unable to contain his joy. His smile grew brighter, his eyes curving into crescents, and he nodded emphatically.

As he nodded, the characters "Yixing" slowly appeared on the blade, signifying that the sword now had an owner.

Rong Yu had never seen Lu Shitu smile like this before—content and utterly like a carefree teenager.

He hadn’t expected such an ordinary sword to make the boy so happy. While pleased, he also felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow.

This child... it seemed like he had never truly been loved properly.

After lunch, Rong Yu took Lu Shitu to the quiet room to instruct him on cultivating the newly acquired method.

The method manual was just as described in the book: tattered, with a blank cover devoid of any words, and its contents exceedingly simplistic.

He instructed Lu Shitu, "Close your eyes, breathe and circulate your energy according to the first level of the Wu Wei Mind Method, then open this book and see if anything changes."

Lu Shitu obediently closed his eyes. His expression still held a trace of unease, as he had been somewhat unrestrained in front of his master earlier.

Rong Yu watched as Lu Shitu’s expression gradually calmed, as if he had sunk into his own world. Then, Lu Shitu slowly opened the book, and his expression suddenly changed.

Rong Yu felt relieved: It seemed he could see the contents of the book.

This method was also one of the ancient methods, named the *Vajra Spirit Tempering Art*. Objectively speaking, it was indeed a useless method for modern cultivators. It offered no practical combat power boost. Although classified as a defensive method, it didn’t enhance physical defense in battle—it only increased the refinement of one’s spiritual soul.

To put it simply, it was like adding an impenetrable shield to the soul. If one could cultivate it to the later stages, they could achieve an indestructible soul, capable of withstanding even the ninety-nine heavenly tribulations of ascension.

Of course, since its creation, the number of people who had cultivated it to the later stages could be counted on one hand.

In this day and age, few cultivators reached the stage where soul tempering was necessary. Like the Wu Wei Mind Method, it was essentially overkill. Most cultivators spent their lives exchanging ordinary sword techniques—there was no need to waste time on something as impractical as soul tempering.

Therefore, in the original timeline, this cultivation method remained obscure, hidden away in the sect's Scripture Pavilion, unknown to anyone. It wasn't until the Scripture Pavilion was accidentally destroyed later that this cultivation method resurfaced and was obtained by the male lead.

Now, with Rong Yu's intervention, this cultivation method has become Lu Shitu's possession much earlier.

For Lu Shitu, refining the soul is a crucial step in rebuilding his spiritual roots.

Lu Shitu kept his eyes closed, his brows tightly furrowed, and one could see his eyeballs moving beneath his thin eyelids.

Rong Yu observed this but wasn't worried, because with the Wu Wei Mind Method, Lu Shitu would not encounter any problems while practicing this cultivation method.

This cultivation method must be cultivated in conjunction with the mind method, which is the main reason Rong Yu had Lu Shitu practice the Wu Wei Mind Method.

After a moment, Lu Shitu seemed to have skimmed through the contents of the book and opened his eyes.

Rong Yu said, "Did you see the contents of the book? Any thoughts?"

Lu Shitu looked somewhat shocked, wearing the earnest expression of a top student, and replied, "Master, I indeed saw a completely different cultivation method from before. It is called... the 'Vajra Spirit Refinement Art'?"