Han De found his disciples at one of the gardens through his spiritual senses. All three were meditating in lotus position while wearing Starfall Mountain core disciple robes. He deliberately slowed his steps and assumed his Profound Expert persona. Through his tireless efforts, he could now tap into this act almost subconsciously.
He noticed Jin Shu had finally discarded her veil. Han De had already expected her to be beautiful, she was a Xianxia female MC, of course she had to be beautiful! However, as he looked at her perfect features, he realized the problem.
'If she is an icy beauty, why isn't she using the Ice element? Isn't Wood element out of place for her template? Wait, that's unimportant right now…'
His first disciple Ning Bi had 10 points in her Talent. She had reached the 4th stage of the Qi Condensation realm under a week. It was obvious that she would surpass Han De quickly and move on to the higher realms soon. She was also fated to be the Purifier of Planes, and she had that perverted Grudge skill.
At this point, Han De just wanted to give her a good impression before she moved on. That way, when she inevitably starts purifying this plane, perhaps she would spare Han De if he was still alive at that time.
His second disciple Yao Qing was a regressor. Han De didn't know how high her cultivation was in her previous timeline. Her luck wasn't that good but her total potential was still at 30 points. It was impossible for her cultivation to be too low unless she was just 50 years from the future.
In any case, her discipleship was temporary. Accepting a Core Formation expert as her master was a silly idea at best. Han De was her ticket to more resources. And she was Han De's ticket to future events. Han De had taken some measures to prolong her stay, but the results remained to be seen.
Thinking about these points, Han De was ecstatic when he first saw Jin Shu's potential. Her talent was actually low! Her total potential points were at 30, but her talent was only at 4! Not only that, she was suffering from a parasitic bloodline. She was from a lower realm too! She had no connections to this world.
A low talent disciple with a debt of gratitude towards Han De. It was nearly perfect! Her cultivation wouldn't be able to surpass Han De in the short term. He could also lead her astray by letting her focus on formations or alchemy! She would be a long term disciple, and his disciple quota problem would be solved!
That was the plan, but Han De had neglected the obvious in his excitement. Seeing her stunning beauty was like a bucket of cold water. Ning Bi was young and the age difference was big. He was able to stop his mother's attempts at artificially aging Ning Bi via the cultivation realm. But Jin Shu was only 3 years younger than Han De. His mother would definitely try to force her on him.
'Icy beauty like her would definitely get disillusion by my mother's attempts. She would lose respect, and her gratitude would swiftly fade away. Which puts me back to square one.'
Although there was a possibility that Han De could use his position to make a relationship work, he didn't seriously consider it.
First, it was unethical. It was just abuse of her gratitude. He was also posing as another person, so there was that too. This was a Xianxia world, he felt that he needed to desperately hang on to any shred of morality left within him.
Second, she was an MC. She would be involved with all kinds of Xianxia bullshit in the future. If Han De played his cards wrong, odds of her getting back at him was pretty high.
Third, she was embroiled in the power-up arc of another MC. That was a whole can of worms waiting to be opened. The situation was too unpredictable.
Fourth, she was stupidly beautiful. Even if she wasn't an MC and/or had dealings with an MC, typical Xianxia trouble would follow her wherever she went. While Han De sympathized with her, he wasn't going to risk getting involved with her troubles.
Han De keenly understood his problem. He needed a few male disciples with low talent scores. Preferably ones with low comprehension as well. That way he could safely farm Potential Points without worries. He pushed back his sigh and made a mental note to prioritize his lackeys on male MCs for now.
'All I can do is to use her past as an excuse. That won't stop mom for long but it'll buy some time. If I can get some idiot male MCs in the meantime I'll have a large breathing room for the foreseeable future.'
'Speaking of liabilities, I completely forgot about the fox woman!' Han De immediately sent his spiritual sense to the lackeys' buildings.
'She was only incarcerated for a short time. Although I did threaten them, I didn't act on it in the end. This should be enough for my face as an arrogant young master. Coupled with the compensation demands, the dealings with the fox tribe should end peacefully.'
Han De considered trying his bloodline scent on her for a moment, but there was a history between them. He wouldn't be able to get a clear feedback. He couldn't turn his bloodline off as well, so it was better not to prolong her stay.
The three disciples had long realized that their master had arrived. It was hard not to, he had a slight glow to him. They didn't dare disturb him, it seemed like he was deeply contemplating a profound problem.
When Han De returned to the real world he saw his disciples were waiting for him. He also realized his passive glowing effect was activated without him noticing it. Thankfully it was at the minimum setting. He quickly turned it off again and didn't bother giving an explanation.
"We are going to the Archives. You can use this opportunity to choose auxiliary arts and spells. You may take anything that catches your attention. It doesn't matter if it is incomplete or has other issues. Fate is the most important factor when selecting a method."
Ning Bi had already visited the Archives during her 2nd day in the sect. Even if she was a direct disciple, she couldn't just enter the Archives at will. She was looking forward to another visit. Last time she didn't even have a cultivation base.
Jin Shu didn't say a word. After her bloodline was removed, she realized her cultivation speed had improved beyond her imagination. Changes in her comprehension were even more pronounced, to the point of scaring her. In just a few days, her understanding of the current cultivation method she practiced had reached unbelievable heights.
While she was reveling in her newfound abilities, her fellow disciples' abilities shocked her as well. Their power and expertise was something she couldn't imagine from a Qi Condensation cultivator. But then again, she was reminded of her situation. She wasn't exactly conforming to the standards herself. Not to mention her standards were that of a lower realm to begin with.
Over the last 5 days, she had many interactions with the two girls. From their descriptions, it was obvious that their master wasn't simple. This was also the first time she saw a sect of a higher realm. She was looking forward to this visit to the Archives.
Yao Qing was visibly calm. She was curious, but she really didn't need anything. Her mind was on another matter entirely.
Han De knowing the Celestial Storm Scripture was shocking. Him rewriting it was shocking. Him rewriting the Blazing Sun Scripture was shocking. Him being Ning Bi's master was shocking. Him killing Shen Xing was shocking. His mastery over the spear was shocking.
From the moment she met Han De, it was one shock after the other. Him removing the parasitic bloodline of the 6th stage was shocking too. In fact that was on another scale altogether. It was the mountain that broke the camel's back.
Yao Qing had already decided not to prolong this matter after thinking things through for the last few days. She would make her move after coming back from the Archives.
* * *
Much to his disciples' relief, Han De didn't even bring up flying towards the Archives. His 5 days of practice had increased his control, but using spiritual power still affected the stability of his body. If he accidentally started glowing at random intervals his image of Profound/Hidden expert would surely take a hit. Walking was the safest option.
After 2 months Han De was finally aware that the act of walking was strange for an expert on his level. It was especially harmful to his Arrogant Young Master facade. Fortunately, most of his time was spent on his abode and the damage was insignificant. Also, it might've been helpful for his future Hidden Expert transition if he looked at it from another point of view.
Han De and his three disciples naturally caught the attention of many. Ning Bi was already a celebrity in the sect. In the past week, she was also frequently seen with two other beauties. There were many rumors about their origins, but now that they were walking behind Han De, the truth was revealed.
Openly gawking and whispering crowd didn't bother Han De. He decisively ignored everything until they were inside the Archives. After dispersing his disciples he quickly went to the forbidden section. It was time to thoroughly check it in its entirety.
* * *
[Seventh Moonlight Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]
[Through the Starlight (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]
[Immortal Bastion (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment]
[Effects: Creates a barrier made out of light.]
[Golden Spark (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: Mid-Stage Core Formation]
[Effects: Heals superficial wounds through touch.]
[Heavenly Gaze (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Minimum Cultivation: 5th level of Qi Condensation]
[Effects: Generates heat at a small spot through concentration of light. Range depends on the amount of Light Qi.]
Han De had already scoured the Core Formation section of the Archives during his previous visit. At that time his roots were only at 42% and he didn't have a good grasp of the System's abilities. Now, he didn't have to worry about incomplete methods that much. He didn't even need to worry about the available stages of the methods, the System would automatically create other stages as long as at least one stage was complete.
'My situation really isn't as bad as I thought back then. I still would prefer farming XP or some sort of auto-cultivation, but this Profound Points stuff really isn't that bad. Definitely not the worst cheat that I've seen. 6/10 easily.'
Han De profoundly nodded to himself. It was a reflex, he didn't even realize he was doing it.
'I got DPS, Tank, and Healing spells. Enough for experimentation at least for now. The footwork method isn't bad, but I'll have to be careful with the body cultivation method.'
It had taken him a few hours, but his original purpose was complete. He had also found an incomplete method for Jin Shu, which was nice.
[Yellow Grove Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Mastery: Master]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]
[Profound Points: 504]
He left the spells section of the Archives and headed down to the first floor. As he went down he realized he hadn't encountered any disciples on the way. The Archives were also strangely quiet too, he couldn't hear the usual muffled scroll sounds from the first floor.
There were only 4 people on the first floor. 3 of them were his disciples. The last one was a dignified looking man that was standing straight as a stick with hands on his back. Han De couldn't detect an aura from the man, but his features were instantly recognizable. Mid-40s, long hair with a deep black color, thin and extra long kung-fu mustache along with the accompanying beard.
Han De forced himself to calm down and consciously increase his control over the Luminescent Body's glow effect. He confidently walked towards them and spoke to the man.
"Greetings, grandfather. I did not expect you to exit your closed-door cultivation this early."
The serious-looking man slowly turned his head and looked at Han De with the corner of his eyes, then turned his attention to the disciples once again after saying "Hmmm".
The man continued scrutinizing the disciples. He looked at them from head to toe. Even the experienced Yao Qing felt that her secrets were out in the open as he looked. She didn't know if her going back in time had created a mark on her, but the man's gaze didn't linger and moved on to Jin Shu.
After a few minutes and another "Hmmm." he looked at Han De directly.
"You have chosen well. Their talents aren't that bad. Maybe I should take one of them…"
As he spoke Han De saw that he looked at Ning Bi's direction. Han De didn't hide his smirk.
"Grandfather, if you don't seek death, you will not die."
Han De's grandfather was an orthodox sect elder. He was a man that was obsessed with the concept of face. An old monster that measured his cultivation with centuries. An arrogant person that would never listen to others. A person that looked magnanimous from the outside but his pettiness was as high as the heavens. He would never forget anyone that offended him, no matter how small. Nor would he ever forgive them.
"Hmph! A mere mid-stage Core Formation cultivator dares to talk to me like that?"
At least, he was like that to outsiders. When he was with the cultivation idiot he would turn into a doting grandparent. The cultivation idiot also adored his grandfather like no other. His obsession with his face came directly from his grandfather. Since their characters were so similar to each other, their reunion would always look like a meeting between two Vegeta's.
"It is the younger generation's duty to look after the old and weak."
The grandfather and the grandson looked at each other. On the side, the 3 disciples had varying expressions on their faces. Han De didn't mind them. Although he was sure that he could convince his grandfather now, he still felt pressure after he finally met this man in the flesh. Inadvertently, his bioluminescent glow started to leak. Since his attention was fully on the greeting, he didn't notice.
The grandfather, Han Shan, had already noticed his grandson's peculiarity. He was secretly inspecting him from the beginning. This glow he released didn't look simple. Its current effects were only cleansing, but he could tell that was just the beginning.
A smile crept up on Han Shan's face. He gave an approving nod. "Good. You have improved. You are much better than your father."
Ning Bi breathed a sigh of relief on the inside. Jin Shu felt nostalgic at the interactions of her master and his grandfather. However, under her expressionless exterior, Yao Qing was baffled. Granted, she didn't know anything about the Han family other than Long Xiu and Han De, but the existence of this grandfather figure was unexpected.
"Thank you, grandfather. Although I am happy to see you, I can't help but wonder why have you cut your seclusion short." Like the cultivation idiot, his grandfather Han Shan was also cultivation obsessed freak. Even when Han De was growing he would still cultivate for a few years at a time. The last time he was supposed to close up for 10 'short' years, but only 5 had passed so far.
Han Shan nodded, there was no need to beat around the bush with his grandson.