Chapter 101: Surprise

Heaven knows, Yan Sea had lost contact with the outside world for years. Many of his old connections had vanished, and it had taken him considerable effort just to obtain the Grade-Three Longquan Enlightenment Tea.

But in the eyes of Su Yue, who came from a family of immense wealth and power, resources of this caliber were naturally second-rate.

"Mr. Yan has been exceptionally good to me. Without his help, I wouldn’t have made it this far. Ma’am, you’ve misunderstood him."

Yu Fei quickly explained, and he meant every word. There was no such thing as unmerited kindness in this world. Even with his cheat-like abilities, he never could have cultivated so quickly without Yan Sea’s help.

Putting aside everything else, during the last attack by the cultists, he would have stood no chance against a third-realm enemy if not for the Sword Intent Yan Sea had taught him.

Su Yue pouted. ’Another one of these touching master-disciple dramas,’ she thought.

"Little guy, someday soon I’ll bring you some *real* treasures to open your eyes. They’ll be a great help for your Sword Intent cultivation!"

"Then thank you, Ma’am."

Yu Fei didn’t think much of it.

Yan Sea stepped forward and ran his hand over the sword mark. Feeling the familiar Sharpness in the air, he said with a tremor in his voice, "There’s no mistake. Judging by the intensity of this Sword Intent, it’s definitely the Sword Nurturing Skill at the Greater Mastery stage..."

Yu Fei looked a little sheepish. "I just broke through and got too excited," he said, embarrassed. "I couldn’t hold back and ended up damaging the wall. I’ve already contacted the service staff to discuss compensation."

Yan Sea couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Yu Fei still had no idea who Su Yue really was.

"Ahem..."

Su Yue took a step forward and said to Yu Fei, "I happen to be the head of the Aurora Martial Arts Hall. So, little guy? What are your thoughts now!"

Yu Fei was utterly gobsmacked. ’His teacher’s wife is the head of the Aurora Martial Arts Hall?’

He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Did Mr. Yan marry a sugar mommy?’

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Jia Yun had just pushed the door open when the first person she saw was Su Yue.

"Hall Master, you’re here too? Did this little incident disturb you as well?"

Jia Yun was surprised to see the Hall Master. After all, this was a martial arts hall where people trained. Martial Artists often couldn’t control their strength, so facilities were frequently damaged. Incidents like this were common and considered minor.

Su Yue waved a hand dismissively. "I’m here for other reasons," she explained. "Get someone to fix this wall quickly. Oh, and by the way, from now on, you’ll be Yu Fei’s personal attendant. I’ll raise your monthly salary by two thousand."

Jia Yun’s face immediately lit up. "Thank you, Hall Master! I’ll get right on it."

She left humming a tune. Being a personal attendant meant less work, plus she got a raise. Today was truly her lucky day.

Yu Fei immediately apologized to Su Yue, since he had been at fault.

"I’m so sorry. I got caught up in the moment and lost control."

Su Yue patted Yu Fei’s shoulder and laughed. "Yu Fei, if you can achieve Sword Intent Perfection, forget about one wall—I’d be happy even if you tore down the entire hall."

After a long moment of reflection, Yan Sea turned to his prized disciple and asked, "Yu Fei, you must be running low on cultivation resources, aren’t you?"

Yu Fei took a mental inventory. "I still have five sticks of Nourishing Spirit Incense, one vial of Bright Spirit Liquid, and more than half of the Enlightenment Tea left."

Yan Sea was stunned to hear he still had so many resources left, especially since he had barely used the Enlightenment Tea.

"You reached Greater Mastery of the Sword Nurturing Skill with just that?"

As he recalled, those resources were barely enough for someone to advance from the introductory level of the Sword Nurturing Skill to Lesser Mastery. Yu Fei’s resource efficiency was on a completely different level from anyone else’s. It was unbelievable.

Su Yue was also surprised. Of the resources Yu Fei mentioned, the Nourishing Spirit Incense and Bright Spirit Liquid were common items, not even considered rare.

The only one worth mentioning was the Enlightenment Tea, but unfortunately, it was a Grade-Three from Longquan Mountain.

Longquan Mountain was the nation’s largest cultivation base for Enlightenment Tea. A "Grade-Three" tea meant the original leaves had already been steeped twice, reducing its primary effects by at least seventy percent.

Yu Fei just smiled and said nothing. Only he knew the real reason.

His Sword Intent cultivation was entirely supported by his red-grade talent, [Spiritual Intelligence].

His Spiritual Power, three times that of a normal person, allowed him to practice more in each session, and his soul, being a full tier higher in quality, ensured he wouldn’t suffer any fundamental damage.

Then there was his blue-grade talent, [Super Speed Reaction], which boosted his neural reaction speed by seven times, taking his training effectiveness to another level. One session of sword nurturing for him was equivalent to five or six for anyone else. That was how he had managed to reach Greater Mastery with so few resources.

"Incredible!"

Yan Sea looked at Yu Fei, overjoyed. According to the records his own master had left behind, there were known paths to reach the Lesser Mastery stage. Greater Mastery, however, depended entirely on personal fortune. As for the Perfection stage, no one had ever actually reached it.

’The Sword Nurturing Skill at Greater Mastery already gives him a fifty percent chance of forging his Dao Foundation. Those aren’t bad odds; he could risk it,’ Yan Sea thought. ’But Yu Fei’s compatibility with the Calamity Sword lineage’s Cultivation Techniques is extremely high. He might actually have a shot at the Perfection stage.’

Even though no one in recorded history had ever done it, a Martial Artist had to have the courage to create miracles.

But when he thought about the cultivation resources needed for that process, Yan Sea grew worried.

Before he could dwell on it, Su Yue spoke up. "Fei, how is your Blood Refining coming along?"

"I’m about thirty percent done. If things go smoothly, I can finish in two months."

Su Yue continued, "What kind of pills are you taking for it?"

Yan Sea quickly interjected from the side, his tone full of pride, "Yu Fei doesn’t need pills! He has perfected his stance training and can perform Body Refining from the void."

Su Yue was stunned for a moment; she hadn’t expected the young man before her to be a prodigy Martial Artist. Then she shot Yan Sea a disdainful look and said dismissively,

"Who says you don’t need pills just because you’ve perfected your stance training? Don’t let your own ignorance lead your student astray."

Yan Sea was bewildered. "But doesn’t perfecting stance training let you perform Body Refining from the void? Why would he still need pills?"

"Are you the prodigy, or am I? If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then don’t speak. You’re misleading the boy..."

At that, Yan Sea fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Yu Fei’s eyes lit up. ’Everything Su Yue is saying implies that she was a prodigy Martial Artist herself,’ he realized. Thinking this, he secretly activated his Reversing Destiny Vision and saw a brilliant orange gem appear above Su Yue’s head.

Her talent level was the same as Ye Feng from No. 1 High, but Ye Feng was good for nothing but his looks. It seemed there was a huge difference in the effects of talents at the same grade.

’I can’t believe Mr. Yan got so lucky,’ he thought. ’No matter how you look at it, standing together, he seems completely unworthy of her.’

Su Yue considered her options. ’With the right set of cultivation resources, Yu Fei could definitely reach Blood Refining Perfection within a month. Add in the twenty-year-aged Enlightenment Tea from my grandfather, and if I put together a set of resources to supplement his spirit, there’s a very high chance he could achieve Sword Intent Perfection.’

With this in mind, Su Yue announced to them both, "From now on, I will be in charge of Yu Fei’s cultivation plan until he successfully forges his Dao Foundation. Yan Sea, you will stay out of it for now.

As for you, Yu Fei, you need to cooperate with me completely and focus all your energy on cultivation. For today, just practice with the resources you have on hand. Tomorrow, come to the fourth floor, and I’ll explain everything in detail. Understand?"

Su Yue had taken complete command of the master and disciple. Yan Sea opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he just nodded and said, "Alright."

Yu Fei was left feeling a bit bewildered. ’Did I just get completely railroaded?’