"Is it that the immortal does not wish to take me as a disciple?"
Jiang Taixuan raised his head, his eyes filled with endless disappointment.
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but rather that I cannot," Li Xun shook his head and said.
As an inner disciple of the Profound Sun Sect, he didn't have the authority to take on disciples until he became an elder.
"These two manuals—if you diligently cultivate them, you might achieve some accomplishments in the future," he said while handing over the manuals he held.
Initially, the system only mentioned gifting a cultivation technique and a Martial Technique but didn't specify their names. Moreover, Jiang Taixuan had poor aptitude. Even Li Xun himself couldn't be sure what would be suitable for him to cultivate. So, Li Xun just picked two at random. Whether or not Jiang Taixuan could successfully cultivate them would depend on fate.
"Thank you, Immortal!"
Jiang Taixuan's lips trembled. He reached out with shaking hands and accepted the manuals from Li Xun. Then, he knelt down again, loudly expressing his gratitude.
"Jiang Taixuan, huh?"
Li Xun's lips curled into a faint smile.
The name didn't sound ordinary, and the system had given a purple-level investment, which seemed to suggest that Jiang Taixuan would accomplish great things in the future.
However, his aptitude…
Li Xun looked at Jiang Taixuan deeply.
In the world of cultivation, aptitude was indeed important, but it wasn't the most important thing. In Li Xun's view, the most crucial element was the intangible concept of fortune—commonly referred to as the "protagonist's halo."
As long as one had enough fortune, they could always turn misfortune into blessing. But if their fortune wasn't enough, even exceptional aptitude wouldn't guarantee survival. One might fall from grace at any moment.
Thinking this, Li Xun made a move, his palm sweeping through the air, and a hundred low-grade spirit stones landed next to Jiang Taixuan.
"The road of cultivation is not easy. I give you these spirit stones today in hopes that you will diligently cultivate. Perhaps, we may meet again in the future," Li Xun said slowly.
Since the system had given a purple-level investment, he didn't mind adding an extra favor. After all, he had plenty of spirit stones. If Jiang Taixuan did indeed rise to prominence, this act could yield unimaginable returns in the future.
Having said that, Li Xun flicked his fingers, and a streak of light shot out, transforming into a large ship in the sky, spanning several dozen meters and blocking the falling rain.
With a single step, Li Xun's figure vanished from where he stood, reappearing seated within the Royal Spirit Boat.
A faint hum resonated.
The Royal Spirit Boat sliced through the rain and disappeared into the heavens.
"Farewell, Immortal!"
Jiang Taixuan remained kneeling in the rain, not rising for a long time.
Inside the Royal Spirit Boat, Li Xun glanced at the kneeling Jiang Taixuan in the rain and shook his head with a smile before withdrawing his gaze.
"System, claim the reward," he said.
As soon as his voice fell, several items appeared out of thin air before him.
The moment these items appeared, Li Xun's spiritual sense surged, suspending them in the air.
"Moonshadow Thousand Edge,"
Li Xun first picked up the High-grade Earth movement technique, giving it a careful look. Soon after, a hint of amazement appeared in his eyes.
As expected of a High-grade Earth movement technique.
It could no longer be called a Martial Technique but rather a divine ability!
This "Moonshadow Thousand Edge" wasn't adept at long-distance chases, but within a small space, it was as fast as lightning. When cultivated to mastery, it could create a thousand illusions in an instant—real and fake, impossible to distinguish.
"For long-distance travel, I can use the Royal Spirit Boat, and for close-quarters combat, this 'Moonshadow Thousand Edge' complements it perfectly," Li Xun remarked.
"If I had obtained it earlier, I wouldn't have needed to rely on the Royal Spirit Boat to match the old man in red."
Sighing, Li Xun put away the Moonshadow Thousand Edge and picked up a light purple talisman.
It was no bigger than the palm of his hand, yet it exuded a dense spiritual aura, clearly not an ordinary item.
"A Technique Advancement Token—this must be a unique creation of the system. In this world, there's no such miraculous thing," Li Xun mused as he held the talisman in his fingers. He asked the system, "Are there any limitations to using the Technique Advancement Token?"
[Master, the Technique Advancement Token is limited to techniques below the Heaven-level. It cannot be used on Heaven-level techniques or higher.]
[Each technique can only be advanced once, and each advancement raises the technique by one tier.]
"As I expected," Li Xun muttered.
It was indeed restricted, just as he thought. If it weren't, it would be far too powerful. If he had an emperor-level martial technique manual, advancing it once would make him unbeatable.
But even with the limitation of only advancing techniques below the Heaven-level, it was still incredibly strong.
Right now, he had the Moonshadow Thousand Edge, which would become a High-grade Heaven movement technique if advanced.
However, Li Xun wasn't planning to advance the Moonshadow Thousand Edge just yet. Movement techniques were useful, but cultivation was the foundation.
In his opinion, the best strategy was to advance a High-grade Earth cultivation technique to maximize the benefits.
Moreover, his current cultivation was only at the late Spirit Meridian stage. The High-grade Earth Moonshadow Thousand Edge was already deep enough for him. If it advanced to a High-grade Heaven technique, he might not even be able to comprehend it at his current level.
Li Xun wasn't one to be overambitious.
After putting away the Technique Advancement Token, Li Xun picked up the final item—a milky white pill with Daoist energy swirling around it.
It seemed to contain some sort of heavenly rule, and just holding it gave him a sense of enlightenment.
"As expected of the Enlightenment Pill," Li Xun praised.
Earlier, he had found the Moonshadow Thousand Edge somewhat profound and difficult to grasp. But with the Enlightenment Pill, all those concerns were gone.
Perhaps he could now cultivate the Moonshadow Thousand Edge to minor completion, or even major completion, in a short time!
As for achieving perfection, Li Xun wasn't too optimistic. Even among the elders of the Profound Sun Sect, few could perfect a High-grade Earth martial technique.
After taking stock of his rewards, Li Xun nodded in satisfaction.
He had to admit, the purple-level investment had not disappointed him.
The only regret was that the purple glow around Jiang Taixuan wasn't intense enough. If it had been more concentrated, the rewards might have been even richer.
Half an hour passed.
Li Xun returned to the Profound Sun Sect.
Back in his courtyard, he noticed that night had already fallen. The Azure Cloud Hall was likely closed, so he would probably have to wait until tomorrow to submit his mission.
"I'll submit the sect mission tomorrow, then start cultivating," Li Xun whispered to himself.
After a day of traveling and fighting with Liu Sandao and the old man in red, he felt exhausted. Fortunately, his energy had been restored on the Royal Spirit Boat.
Now, all he wanted was a good night's sleep.
The next morning.
In a nameless village.
After burying the villagers' corpses, Jiang Taixuan began cultivating late into the night.
However, after hours of effort, he felt no progress at all. It was as if the manual was fake—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the sense of qi that was described.
"What's going on? Could it be that I'm cultivating wrong?"
Inside the room, Jiang Taixuan sat cross-legged, staring at the cultivation manual, frowning deeply.
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