Long Chen jumped in shock. He hadn’t expected this sweeping elder to have seen through his identity as a nine star heir. Was it just for him to hear?
“No need to be surprised. In the immortal world, there are plenty of nine star heirs. You’ve managed to disguise yourself quite well. You’ve merged the Seven Supreme Yang Technique and the Starry River of the Sky Art together to trick others. Furthermore, your Nine Star Hegemon Body Art has deviated from the normal framework, so your aura is quite different from the other nine star heirs that I’ve seen. At least for now, you don’t need to worry about your identity being exposed. You can cultivate in the academy peacefully,” said the elder.
“Many thanks, senior!” Long Chen hastily bowed in thanks. He hadn’t expected this elder to have seen through him, but this elder was actually keeping this secret for him. That made him feel much more at peace.
“Senior, you’ve seen other nine star heirs?” asked Long Chen.
“I’ve seen a few hundred I suppose.”
“Where are they?” asked Long Chen delightedly. He wanted to see them. His own Nine Star Hegemon Body Art had left its original track, so he wanted to see if he could learn the correct way to cultivate this technique.
“They’re all dead. The last one I saw was five thousand and seven hundred years ago.” The elder shook his head.
Hearing this, Long Chen was speechless. His excitement vanished.
“Don’t think about finding others. Every time a nine star heir’s identity is exposed, it will draw countless experts who hunt them down. Supreme experts will pour out until they are dead, so you should just peacefully cultivate in the academy. Don’t disturb your heart with such trifles. As the saying goes, the earth doesn’t grow nameless grass, and the heavens don’t give birth to useless people. Every person has their own fate. Whether it is to be a commoner on the streets, an imperial regent, or a peak heavenly genius, they are all parts of the pieces that move the world. Bad things aren’t necessarily bad, and good things aren’t necessarily good. Whether they are good or bad can only be determined in the future. Why worry about them now?”
Long Chen nodded. This elder’s words made him feel much better. He felt his vexation being undone as if the entire world had grown brighter.
The elder was correct. When Long Chen thought back to his past, many of his experiences had brought forth his current self. Some things that had been thoroughly terrible were not actually bad for him now. Without those things, he wouldn’t be who he was now. Before the result came, everything was still unknown. Why be vexed? The future was still unknown. Anything and everything was still possible.
“Senior, does our academy have the Nirvana Scripture?” asked Long Chen suddenly.
“Yes, we have seven of the volumes. It is rumored that the Nirvana Scripture has nine volumes, and our academy can be considered to have preserved it well. We have seven volumes, while Lord Brahma himself only has eight. The ninth volume has always been a mystery,” said the elder.
Long Chen was delighted to hear that the academy had further volumes of the Nirvana Scripture, but the elder’s later words confused him. “Wasn’t the Nirvana Scripture created by Lord Brahma? How can he only have eight volumes?”
The elder shook his head. “First came the Nirvana Scripture, then came Lord Brahma. The Nirvana Scripture was created by someone else.”
Long Chen’s heart pounded. He had always thought that the Nirvana Scripture was created by Lord Brahma, but it actually wasn’t.
“If the Nirvana Scripture wasn’t created by Lord Brahma, why did he call himself Brahma[1]?” asked Long Chen.
The elder simply smiled. “It cannot be said.”
Long Chen was finding this elder more and more mysterious. He knew many things but refused to say them.
“Here, help me up. I’ve rested enough. I have to keep sweeping.” The elder extended a hand.
Long Chen hastily helped him up. He then grabbed the broom and said, “How about disciple helps you sweep?”
The elder shook his head. “Some things look simple but are difficult to do. With your current heart and temper, you aren’t capable of this. Child, go do your own things.”
Long Chen then respectfully bowed to the elder before leaving. This elder was truly a curious existence. Just who was he?
In any case, his words today had truly enlightened Long Chen. Many principles were now clear to him.
He also came to understand many of the inexplicable parts of the academy’s system. Sometimes letting things take their own course was the best kind of government.
According to that elder, all things within heaven and earth had their own destiny. Like a river of stars, it flowed onward. All life within heaven and earth existed to push the river of stars onward.
Right and wrong, good and evil, all these forces pushed the world onward. Yin and Yang existed together, and despite being opposing forces, they complemented each other, forming a whole.
Even his bad mood was good. Hence, in high spirits, Long Chen had a beautiful sleep.
Once he awoke, he was refreshed. Any fatigue from his battle against Chu Kuang was gone. He was filled with so much energy he had an urge to find a few people for a fight. His energy was almost burning with how intense it was.
He was full of expectations for the inner academy. He had seen records of powerful flame cultivators in the Divine Scripture Pavilion, and those flame cultivators had all used the Nirvana Scripture, which was why Long Chen had suspected that the academy had the Nirvana Scripture.
He hadn’t been sure, but after asking that elder, it seemed he had asked the right person. The academy truly had the Nirvana Scripture, and seven whole volumes at that. It had to be known that he currently only had the first three volumes.
Thinking of the next four volumes, Long Chen grew itchy. He had an urge to charge into the inner academy right now and learn them.
However, there were still three days left until they were formally brought into the inner academy. Not wanting to waste time, Long Chen went to the Divine Scripture Pavilion and began reading again.
During these three days, Long Chen crazily absorbed the knowledge here. Whether or not it was useful, he packed his head with this information.
After speaking with the sweeper, Long Chen found that his view of the world had been too one-dimensional. He was a far cry from that elder.
After three days, he had a splitting headache, and only then did he stop. After absorbing all that knowledge, he would need some time to digest it all. Just as he was resting, Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, and the others arrived.
Everyone once more set out to the inner academy. This time, everyone was burning with fighting spirit. They knew that the inner academy was a whole new world waiting for them. Opportunities and challenges existed together, so they were nervous and excited.
The guards at the gate once more saw Long Chen. Some of their wounds had yet to fully heal, and they barely even checked their status plates before letting them through, not even daring to say anything during the procedure. Seeing this, Luo Bing and the others almost laughed. As expected, a wicked person was best handled by an even more wicked person. After encountering Long Chen, they instantly became obedient.
Another gate then appeared in front of them. This was the gate to the true inner academy, and there was already a group of people waiting for them in front of it.
However, when they saw one of the members of that group, Luo Bing, Luo Ning, Mu Qingyun, and the others’ expressions changed. As for Long Chen, he smiled.
“Chu Huairen, I didn’t expect you to be here to welcome me. What a surprise.”
[1] A reminder that the characters for Brahma are the same as Nirvana. Thus, one would assume that the Nirvana Scripture was made by Brahma.
