Chapter 534: Taking a Master (2/10, Autumn Subscription)

Lord Han merely smiled; it seemed that as long as Fang Yue had this intention, it was enough.

After a pause, Lord Han thought for quite a while, seemingly organizing his words, then began to speak.

"Within this 【Water Drop Crystal Ring】 lies my 【Frozen Canon】, centered on three arts — Heart Method, Sword Art, and Stepping Art — from which many martial arts are derived, along with my many insights.

The Frozen Heart Method is a Human-rank Heart Method; only upon reaching Human-rank can one cultivate it. Cultivating it diligently, one can reach Rain-rank directly.

As for this Heart Method… handle it as you see fit.

From my understanding, you have already cultivated the Blazing Fire Heart Method, and all your internal force is of the fire element's restless, violent nature. If you don't find a way to neutralize some of it, and forcefully cultivate this directly, you may suffer Qi Deviation on the spot, your cultivation utterly wasted.

Of course, with your current strength, you haven't yet reached the realm where you can cultivate the 【Frozen Heart Method】.

In the cultivation world, there is a saying: before Human-rank, one is merely a toddler taking unsteady steps. The martial arts learned before then are all about laying the foundation. Even if one's path goes awry, as long as one corrects it in time, one can recover.

But after Human-rank, one basically walks a path all the way to the end. Before 【Rain-rank】, very few change paths — or rather, it's essentially impossible to change. The price is too great; one would almost have to discard all one's cultivation and start over from scratch.

Therefore, those who create their own martial arts, upon finding there is no path forward behind them, can only grit their teeth and persevere, because there is no going back.

So a complete Heart Method that can cultivate one all the way from Human-rank to Rain-rank is actually extremely precious. This is the rarest aspect of a complete inheritance.

Given your current situation, taking the path of the Green Division is viable.

It's just that the Green Division is no pushover either. They can give you a cultivation method that leads directly from Human-rank to Rain-rank, but they will also hold you back, making you sign many conditions and fight for them — I said long ago that the Green Division cannot be fully trusted.

Another option is the path of sects and organizations. Generally, the top-tier great sects and large organizations of Qing Guo all have complete martial arts inheritances, similar to mine.

For example, the Extreme Ice Sect, or… the Phoenix Organization!

You have the Blazing Fire Heart Method. In theory, going to the Blazing Fire Sect and becoming a core disciple step by step, you can likewise obtain a Heart Method leading directly from Human-rank to Rain-rank. This is relatively suited to your current martial arts cultivation situation, allowing seamless advancement — after all, you'd be walking their path.

Then there are people like me, like Lan, like Mo Qing — unaffiliated wanderers who have complete inheritances but lack the inclination to found sects, or to serve Qing Guo.

For people like us, to whom we pass our inheritance is basically a matter of fate.

Some people even clutch their inheritance to the grave; even if the inheritance ends with them, they won't pass it on.

Since it's all decided by a single person on a whim, different temperaments lead to different actual situations.

If we speak in terms of the difficulty of obtaining an inheritance, among the three categories — Qing Guo Government, large organizations, and unaffiliated wanderers — the inheritances of unaffiliated wanderers are the hardest to obtain, but the quality of their inheritances also has the widest range between upper and lower limits.

Besides these three paths, there is actually one more path that can reach Rain-rank.

That is the path 【Tian Lian】 walked — creating one's own martial arts!

The difficulty is so extreme, the road ahead so treacherous, that without stunning, brilliant, peerless talent, and without a vast reserve of knowledge from extensive reading, one simply cannot walk it out.

Given your talent, Xiao Ye, I am fairly confident you can walk out a path that belongs to you.

Of course, if you wish to walk my inheritance path, that would naturally be even better. But given your current situation, you need to cultivate two or three transitional Heart Methods that mediate between fire and water elements before Human-rank, cultivating each to Human-rank, before you can smoothly cultivate my inherited martial arts.

If you wish to take the Qing Guo Government route, the Green Division is considered the relatively friendly civilian route among Qing Guo's four major departments.

Even so, without any background, after reaching Human-rank, you will still begin to find every step difficult, constrained at every turn.

Qing Guo's upper echelons are complex, with many parties vying for power. Without background, you can only skillfully maneuver among them, seeking gaps to survive, to carve out a path. Otherwise, you'll end up as some faction's puppet, bound for life.

The specifics of how to do it all depend on your own ideas.

I am unwilling to force you down any particular path, because everyone's situation is different. At most, I can help you analyze the pros and cons, let you understand what advantages and drawbacks these paths have. What to do next is for you to decide.

As I said before, if you don't inherit my inheritance, in the future, when there's a suitable person, or when Lin Ling's strength can be raised to Xiantian Realm, Human-rank, pass the inheritance to him."

Lord Han spoke, and Fang Yue listened.

Lord Han didn't speak quickly, but he spoke earnestly, thinking for a while after each sentence before saying it to Fang Yue.

Sometimes certain points were repeated, but that was merely Lord Han's thoughts returning to something he had said earlier that wasn't comprehensive, offering a supplement.

Beneath the dim Human Soul lamp.

A figure with a large head patiently taught, step by step.

A young figure bowed respectfully, head lowered, listening earnestly.

Like one teaching a disciple their final lesson, Lord Han carefully, patiently, and thoroughly explained his insights, as well as the difficulties the disciple might face in the future, in detail.

When he felt he had said enough, he paused for a moment and said: "The path of cultivation is difficult at every step. To reach Rain-rank — how arduous it is. Every martial practitioner goes against the heavens. This broken body of mine was eroded by 【Night Cold】 in my early years, leaving an ailment — that is a past I cannot bear to recall, better left unsaid. But to meet you in my later years is also my fortune. I hope that in my remaining years, I can witness with my own eyes your achievement of Rain-rank, and even… Immortal-rank!"

"Lord Han…"

Fang Yue's eyes were slightly moist.

"Don't wear such an expression. I still have at least five to seven years to live. I say I hope to witness you achieve Immortal-rank, but in truth I know well that even lasting until you reach Human-rank or Cloud-rank would be a luxury."

Fang Yue clenched his fists, his heart aching.

Lord Han's injury was not a matter of his lifespan being reduced to five or seven years, but of his body collapsing.

It was a problem with his 【Origin】; no matter how much lifespan remained, he could only live that long.

"Three years…"

"What?"

"Three years! Lord Han, within three years, I will definitely achieve Immortal-rank! So you must live until then!"

Fang Yue clenched his fists, his eyes red, and said firmly: "Even if I must charge up to Jiu Yuan, descend into Youquan, brave Tianhai, break through Wanyun, no matter how many dangers there are, I will break through to Immortal-rank. I will obtain a method to reshape your body, to extend your lifespan! This is the promise of my life! I will definitely do it!"

Saying this, Fang Yue half-knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.

"Master above, accept your disciple's bow!"

Lord Han was momentarily dazed, then merely smiled gently, without objecting.

The moment the inheritance was given, regardless of whether Fang Yue accepted the inheritance or not, the relationship between the two was already bound.

(End of this chapter)