Chapter 510: Self-Taught

Daoist Buyu sighed with deep emotion, thinking that Lu Yang was truly worthy of being his finest disciple—to have devised something like the Heavenly Court Sect entirely on his own intuition was nothing short of brilliant.

Back when he himself was merely in the Golden Core Stage, he had only managed to swindle and hoodwink his fellow Golden Core peers. Yet, here was Lu Yang, also in the Golden Core Stage, already deceiving Tribulation Transcendence patriarchs and the three great demonic sects above, while tricking low-level cultivators and the common folk below. Such talent for pulling the wool over everyone's eyes was truly astonishing.

Originally, he had intended to pass on his entire repertoire of trickery to Lu Yang behind Yun Zhi's back, but now it seemed entirely unnecessary.

As a master, to find that the craft he took the most pride in could not be inherited was a matter of fortune or misfortune, he could not quite tell.

"Since I hold the rank of Heavenly King Guardian, I ought to contribute to our sect. I can promote the sect to the outside world," Daoist Buyu said with a profound sense of responsibility, ever eager to utilize his strengths.

"Absolutely not," the Fourth Elder flatly rejected Daoist Buyu's proposal.

"Your reputation in the cultivation world is far-reaching and utterly notorious; you are like a rat crossing the street, with everyone shouting for your head. While mortals and low-to-mid-tier cultivators might not know your history, which high-level cultivator doesn't recognize you?"

"If you promote our sect outside, your main targets would be mortals and lower-level cultivators. However, the Heavenly Court Sect exists primarily to deceive the enemies hiding in the shadows, all of whom are high-level cultivators. If you step forward to promote it, it will only diminish our credibility."

Daoist Buyu: "..."

Stripping away those highly subjective and objective criticisms, he had to admit the Fourth Elder made a valid point.

The Eighth Elder added, "In my view, it is best for the Heavenly Court Sect to refrain from public activities for the time being. Frequent public appearances would only arouse suspicion of a charade. Leaving them with nothing but a shred of intelligence to guess and imagine the terrifying strength of the Heavenly Court Sect is the superior strategy."

The scarcer the intelligence, the wider the enemy's imagination would run. Furthermore, the sheer strength of the Heavenly Court Sect was undeniable; even if they remained dormant, the enemy would misinterpret it as a covert operation, leaving them the ones to grow anxious.

As the enlightening mentor of Daoist Buyu, the Eighth Elder possessed his own unique set of theories when it came to deception.

While Lu Yang listened to the elders' discussion, he was simultaneously suppressing the Immortal Fairy's rapidly swelling ambition within his spiritual space.

"Hey, hey! Your master is back! Hurry up and make him pass the position of Sect Master to me!" The Immortal Fairy excitedly slapped the edge of the bed, urging Lu Yang to quickly reveal his treacherous ambitions and usurp the throne.

"Fairy, this matter presents quite a difficulty."

"What difficulty could there be? I can see your master doesn't even want to be the Sect Master that much."

"The problem lies not with my master, but with Eldest Senior Sister. She has wielded the power of the sect for eleven years and has long grown fond of authority, unwilling to relinquish it easily. Allowing you to serve as acting Sect Master twice before was merely because she wanted a brief rest. Even if my master steps down, the next Sect Master is most likely to be Eldest Senior Sister."

"Then what should we do?"

"As long as you defeat Eldest Senior Sister, Fairy, that position of Sect Master can be ours whenever we wish!"

Lu Yang had no choice but to stop her. He worried that if he actually dared to suggest becoming the Sect Master, his master might truly hand the position over to him.

The Immortal Fairy nodded, finding great merit in Lu Yang's words. "There is no need to rush the matter of the Sect Master. It is not that this Immortal fears that girl Yun, but rather that she is currently running the sect quite well. I shall wait until I return to my peak state before contesting the throne!"

"Fairy possesses profound foresight, a long-term vision, and the patience to endure hardship; you will surely display your talents in the Wendao Sect in the future."

"This Immortal thinks so too."

The temporary meeting of the Heavenly Court Sect concluded swiftly. In truth, there wasn't much to discuss; it was primarily to inform Daoist Buyu, who was already a member of the Heavenly Court Sect but had remained unaware of it himself.

After the meeting adjourned, Daoist Buyu called out to Lu Yang.

"Xiao Yang, stay behind for a moment."

"Master, is there something the matter?"

Daoist Buyu draped his horsetail whisk over his arm, stroking his white beard as he spoke unhurriedly, "Nothing major. It just occurred to me that ever since you became my disciple, I have never truly instructed you. Now happens to be an opportune moment to teach you how to comprehend the Dao of the Sword."

Lu Yang was overjoyed. There were many within the sect who knew sword techniques, but few who truly mastered them. Lu Yang's sword forms consisted entirely of basic movements, and his understanding of the Dao of the Sword relied almost entirely on innate talent.

Though they had been master and disciple for two years, and both possessed Sword Spiritual Roots, only now was instruction beginning.

"Draw your swords and let me see them."

Lu Yang retrieved the Qingfeng Sword and the Mingyue Sword.

"You keep your swords inside your identity jade plaque?"

"Is there an issue with that?" Lu Yang asked, perplexed. He had seen other sword cultivators do the exact same thing.

Could it be that, as a sword cultivator, one ought to maintain constant intimate contact with their weapon and care for it meticulously, so that it might be wielded with greater ease during battle?

"A significant issue. When I was your age, I frequently encountered ambushes. To counter these sneak attacks, I kept my sword on my person at all times. If you store it in your identity jade plaque like this, won't your reaction be a beat too slow when danger strikes?"

"Was the public security of the Great Xia so terrible during your youth?" Lu Yang was startled. Since his debut, he had never once encountered a sneak attack. He had not expected the management of the Great Xia two thousand years ago to be in such chaos.

"Although others claim that the security of Great Xia two thousand years ago was just as good as it is now, according to my personal experience, the Great Xia of that era was exceedingly chaotic!"

"Then did you report it to the authorities after being ambushed?"

"The matter was too complicated; I generally did not report it to the authorities."

Lu Yang understood. The bureaucracy must have been deeply corrupt.

"How exactly was it complicated?"

"Mainly because I was the one who launched the sneak attack first. If the matter had reached the magistrate, neither of us would have come out well."

Lu Yang: "..."

Daoist Buyu took the swords, drawing the twin blades slightly from their sheaths until a sliver of snow-bright light caught his eyes.

Daoist Buyu was full of praise for the two weapons. "Excellent swords. One was gifted to you by Xiao Yun, complete with a seal she placed upon it, while the other was meticulously refined by the Fifth Elder."

His own whisk had also been forged by the Fifth Elder; though it appeared to be a mere whisk, it actually concealed countless strands of sword qi within, capable of delivering a sudden surprise attack.

Daoist Buyu reluctantly returned the twin swords to Lu Yang. Xiao Yun was indeed biased; he had asked for the Qingfeng Sword many times, yet she had never granted it to him.

"Perform a sword routine, let me see how well you have mastered it."

"Yes."

Aligning the hilt with his chest, sword qi swirled around the blade like a dragon coiling around a pillar, its momentum magnificent.

With a sharp cry, Lu Yang flicked his wrist, the sword flashing like a startled swan, the strikes fierce and unstoppable.

The techniques of piercing, tapping, and parrying executed flawlessly...

The foundational sword forms seemed to come alive in Lu Yang's hands, linking point to line in a seamless, flawless motion.

Daoist Buyu: "..."

Was this truly a level that could be achieved through self-study?

He felt that even if he were to provide personal guidance himself, the outcome would be no better than this.

Lu Yang sheathed his weapon, holding the Qingfeng Sword vertically behind his back as he bowed slightly to Daoist Buyu.

"Master, do you feel there is anything in my sword forms that requires improvement?"

Lu Yang felt rather apprehensive. His sword techniques were entirely self-taught, and though he felt good about them, they might be riddled with flaws in his master's eyes.

Daoist Buyu pondered for a moment before speaking seriously, "Next time you perform your sword routine, remember to leave a few flaws for me to point out."

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.

(End of chapter)