Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Supreme, By What Virtue and Ability

“He taught you Annihilation and Slaughter?”

The middle-aged Daoist’s mouth twitched. He sized up Lu Xuan again, and sure enough, he could see the true meaning of the four swords flowing within him!

He frowned at once.

“Supreme, you’re just going to let that fellow act so recklessly? Force-feeding him like this will ruin a fine talent, won’t it?”

The Old Master glanced at him sideways and said nothing.

But the Primordial Celestial King continued his tirade:

“Hmph. So many years have passed, and that fellow still hasn’t changed. He has no idea how to teach a disciple. He raised a bunch of failures back then, and now he’s going to ruin Martial Nephew Lu Xuan?”

Lu Xuan was a little bewildered. ’How am I being ruined?’

He shrank back, not daring to make a sound, and just looked pleadingly toward his master and Senior Brother Zhang.

The Old Master smiled serenely.

“This disciple of mine is quite talented. Even if he learned the true meaning of all four swords at once, it’s not a given he won’t be able to digest it. If his fortune is smooth, it’s not impossible for him to master all four swords in a thousand years…”

Lu Xuan scratched his head, muttering to himself. ’A thousand years?’

’It shouldn’t take that long, right?’

’A few decades should be enough…’

And from the infinite heights, the Primordial Celestial King’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was about to retort but suddenly remembered he was facing the Supreme, not Spirit Treasure.

Spirit Treasure might be flighty, but the Supreme would never make baseless claims…

Immediately, he said:

“Oh? Does the boy truly possess such talent? I’d really like to see for myself…”

As he spoke, the Primordial Celestial King’s gaze fell upon Lu Xuan, and he said:

“Then I shall bestow upon you a Dharma, one that surpasses the technique of the four swords!”

Lu Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed.

“Thank you, Second Senior Uncle!”

“Hmph!” The Primordial Celestial King’s face was cold as he said flatly, “Of course, whether you can learn it is up to you… One is the Innate Qi, the other, the Primordial Body. Choose one!”

In the back, Dong Chuping, who had just entered the Daoist Palace and hadn’t yet grasped the situation, staggered and nearly fell to the ground.

’What in the world?’

’Who is Master teaching? He’s brought out his most secret, ultimate techniques?!’

He quickly looked over, only to be stunned again.

’Is that… the child from seven years ago?’

At this moment, Lu Xuan didn’t notice Dong Chuping entering the Daoist Palace. He simply turned his gaze back to his own master.

The Old Master gave a light cough.

“The Innate Qi, also known as the Primordial Ancestral Qi, refers to the original, fundamental qi from which heaven, earth, humanity, and all things are born. It is the foundation that constitutes all of creation. The Dao gives birth to one qi from nothingness, which in turn transforms into Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang then separate to form the Three Treasures, and from the Three Treasures, all things are born.”

Lu Xuan listened in a daze, his eyes wide. ’Second Senior Uncle is that powerful?’

’Innate Qi, the root of all things…’

’Can a Celestial King truly possess such great power…?’

Just as this doubt first arose in his mind, the Old Master added faintly:

“The Primordial Body is a Great Skill for cultivating the inner and outer forms. At Minor Achievement, your outer form has an Innate body and wears Chaos as a robe, while your inner form contains stacked cosmoses and vast heavens and earths. At Great Success, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water gather in your chest, the Yin Yang, Four Symbols, and Eight Trigrams are above your head, and you tread upon the Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, and Nine Journeys.”

“And if you reach the Extreme Realm, you can become the Cause of All Fruits, residing at an infinite height as the fundamental Source of all things, both tangible and intangible. You can manifest the form of four dharmas: first, Heaven and Earth unformed; second, Chaos unopened; third, All Things Unborn; and fourth, Yin and Yang undivided. Only then can one be called Primordial.”

The speech left Lu Xuan feeling dizzy and light-headed, with only a single thought remaining in his mind.

’You’re telling me this is a Celestial King?’

’Even the one who performed the Creation of Heaven and Earth was probably only this powerful!’

’Hmm, Master can’t be exaggerating, can he…’

The moment that thought appeared, Lu Xuan yelped in pain and clutched his head, his eyes welling with tears. The Old Master had given him a sharp rap on the noggin.

“Hurry up and choose!”

Lu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. ’I thought Master had detected my slanderous thoughts…’

He said hurriedly:

“Second Senior Uncle, this youngster wants to learn the Primordial Body!”

“Why?” the Primordial Celestial King asked flatly.

Lu Xuan stammered, then spoke, a little embarrassed:

“Master used a lot more words to describe the Primordial Body than he did for the Innate Qi…”

The Daoist Palace fell into a dead silence.

Zhang Ling slapped a hand to his forehead in resignation. Behind him, Dong Chuping gave a wry smile. ’This kid, how can he be so… straightforward?’

’He really just says whatever comes to mind…’

But then, the Primordial Celestial King suddenly nodded.

“Good. Then I will teach you the Primordial Body… I’ll have you know, this Dharma is superior to your Third Senior Uncle’s four swords!”

With that, he gave a proud snort and pointed a single finger.

A golden light appeared and fell upon Lu Xuan’s head. He involuntarily sat down cross-legged, a rapt expression on his face.

Within the sea of his mind, an Ancient Scripture materialized. This scripture wasn’t composed of Great Dao Texts; rather, it was more like the Dao Itself—a complete, unified whole, indescribable, ineffable, and impossible to perceive!

Lu Xuan tried to understand, to comprehend it, but even after wracking his brains, he could only grasp the barest surface!

Too deep! Too profound!

’This is far beyond what I can cultivate at my current level!’

Annihilation and Slaughter and the Mediation of Creation were also supreme techniques, but at least they were composed of Great Dao Texts. They could be directly perceived and their fundamentals could be applied.

But with the Primordial Body, grasping even a sliver of its surface was already his absolute limit!

Yet even this tiny fragment of understanding benefited Lu Xuan immensely!

“Primordial Body…”

As he focused all his effort on comprehending the technique, back in the outside world…

Dong Chuping finally stepped forward and bowed to the Primordial Celestial King and the Old Master.

“Greetings, Master. Greetings, Grand Senior Uncle.”

Then, he looked at Zhang Ling and nodded slightly.

“Junior Brother Zhang Ling.”

Zhang Ling didn’t dare to be disrespectful. This was the Chief Disciple of Jade Void, whose status was equivalent to Xuandu of the Taishang Lineage and Duobao of the Shangqing Lineage!

He immediately performed a formal salute, addressing him respectfully as Senior Brother Guangcheng Zi.

The Primordial Celestial King then said to the Old Master:

“With his talent, if he can truly master Annihilation and Slaughter within a thousand years, then he should be able to grasp the surface of my Primordial Body in ten years at most. I suppose it isn’t too much like force-feeding him after all.”

Zhang Ling was fine; he knew just how terrifying his little junior brother’s talent was.

But Dong Chuping’s eyelids were twitching wildly. He was shocked by the boy’s terrifying talent, but also horrified that his Third Senior Uncle had actually imparted Annihilation and Slaughter!!

But on second thought, if his own Master could teach the Primordial Body, it didn’t seem so impossible for Third Senior Uncle to teach Annihilation and Slaughter. It was just…

It was still a bit absurd.

Dong Chuping’s doubts grew heavier. The Primordial Body was his Master’s fundamental Great Dao. How could he possibly teach it to an outsider?

’Even if he’s just competing with Third Senior Uncle, it shouldn’t go this far…’

He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

At that moment, the Old Master stroked his long beard, blinked, and said with a smile:

“Ten years? I’m afraid it won’t take that long. It wouldn’t be strange for this disciple of mine to grasp the surface in five years. One year isn’t out of the question, and he might even comprehend something in just a few months!”

“You’re that confident?” the Primordial Celestial King frowned.

“I am that confident!” the Old Master replied with a smile.

Neither of them spoke again, quietly waiting for Lu Xuan to awaken.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, a full day had gone by.

“Hmm, it’s time to wake Xiaoxuan,” the Old Master said calmly. “The time has come. We must announce to all the Celestial Realms that I have taken another disciple.”

The Primordial Celestial King’s expression was as tranquil as an old well as he said faintly:

“To be able to immerse himself in the Primordial Body for a full day, even without any comprehension, shows his talent is already excellent. No wonder you are so confident, Supreme.”

The Old Master gave a smug smile but didn’t respond. Just as he was about to raise his hand to tap Lu Xuan awake, the boy opened his eyes on his own.

“Primordial…” Lu Xuan muttered to himself. A faint darkness surrounded his body, and a thin light of Chaos flowed in his eyes, accompanied by wisps of starlight that connected to Cause and Effect and manifested nothingness.

Then, he stood up and said with regret:

“I wracked my brains for an entire day, yet only managed to grasp the surface. This student is ashamed.”

Zhang Ling’s expression went numb. Guangcheng Zi’s mind reeled in shock. The Old Master’s smile froze on his face.

And the Primordial Celestial King?

He seemed slightly dazed, muttering to himself:

“To have such a disciple… what virtue, what ability… Supreme, what have you done to deserve this!”

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