Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Elder Lin was unperturbed at first when she sat down on the chair in a demure manner. But when she saw the shocking expressions and gleaming eyes on the faces of those elders and Luqiu Mingyue who were all standing behind Yan Liqiang, she couldn’t sit still all of a sudden as her heart was burning with restlessness. She felt the urge to look at the drawing, but she had already promised Yan Liqiang that she would sit down for a while. As an elder herself, she must at least be patient about it.
For nearly an hour or so, the entire grand hall was dead silent. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling sound by Yan Liqiang’s carbon core across the paper…
Yan Liqiang was concentrating on his drawing while the band of leaders of the Divine Sword Sect standing behind him were exceptionally patient as they gazed at how Yan Liqiang used the carbon core to create the miracle before them.
It was a good thing that Yan Liqiang understood what Elder Lin was feeling at this moment. As he finished the last stroke, he wrote down his initials with three letters of alphabet ‘LYQ’ on the bottom left corner of the paper through force of habit, which seemed like two small sea foams.
“Elder Lin, it’s done. You can come over and take a look!” Yan Liqiang put down the carbon core and called Elder Lin.
Elder Lin immediately trotted over and was instantly shocked when she saw the portraiture on Yan Liqiang’s drawing board. She gently reached out with her hand, somewhat unable to believe her eyes, and delicately stroked the paper on the board, “Ah, this… is this me?!”
No one could blame Elder Lin for being shocked because Yan Liqiang’s drawing was simply more realistic, vivid, and beautiful than the person Elder Lin saw in the mirror.
The Elder Lin on paper had her hands placed on her knees as she sat demurely on the chair. Her splendid facial appearance was painted with a seam of gentle light. The hairlines of her sideburns, her long eyelashes, her graceful figure, and the expression in her eyes had already unfolded an alluring woman’s most mature and exquisite charm in the painting. Her hands were soft and her skin was smooth. She was a beauty with enchanting eyes…
While Elder Lin was staring intently at her portrait that Yan Liqiang had created, a coat of mist began to form in her eyes. After being absent-minded for a good while, she began speaking to Yan Liqiang with a quiver in her voice, “This… this drawing, can you give it to me?”
“Of course!”
Yan Liqiang replied as he was about to pull out the embroidery needles that he had bent earlier, intending to retrieve the drawing from the wood board…
“Stop, be careful not to tamper the drawing…” Elder Lin quickly stopped Yan Liqiang’s actions. There was a hint of nervousness in her expression as she said, “It’s fine if you just give me the drawing with the wood board. You men are too rough. Let me do it…”
“Eh, alright!” Upon looking at Elder Lin’s expression, Yan Liqiang could only hand over the drawing that was fixed on the wood board to Elder Lin. Otherwise, she might even snatch it from him if he didn’t do as he was told. He carefully reminded her, “Elder Lin, drawings made with carbon cores are not the same as ink paintings. In order to avoid the color from fading and smudging, and the paper from folding, thus affecting its appearance, it is best not to roll the drawing for your collection. It’s fine to add a wooden frame around the drawing to secure it before hanging it on the wall or placing it on a table…”
“Alright, thank you very much!” Elder Lin carefully received the drawing from Yan Liqiang and expressed her gratitude toward him. It was certainly rare for an elder to express words of thanks to an external disciple in the Divine Sword Sect.
Luqiu Mingyue let out two coughs as he watched Elder Lin returning to her seat. He was the first to return to his seat, followed by the other elders as well.
With that, the look those elders gave to Yan Liqiang became different, especially the looks from the other four female elders. Their gazes toward Yan Liqiang were exceptionally ‘fiery’, which was practically undisguised.
“Those who have witnessed Yan Liqiang’s drawing techniques just now should not have any doubts about the origin of the previous drawing that was sent to the sect!” Luqiu Mingyue scanned the surroundings, and his expression became solemn as he continued, “We, the Divine Sword Sect, reward those who deserve it and punish the offenders. Yan Liqiang, your performance this time has been recognized. Not only did you manage to deliver the news of the changes in Imperial Capital at a time when the Heavenly Tribulation hit the city, but you also helped the Divine Sword Sect react and stabilize the situation in Lai Province and neighboring provinces during the emergency. You also secured the goods that the sect had entrusted to the Four Seas Escort Agency when their personnel were suffered a huge loss. Because of that, the goods were neither lost nor did they land in the hands of thieves and burglars. In the end, you also managed to protect your comrades and return them to the Divine Sword Sect through hardships and difficulties. Your great contribution, your courage, wisdom, heart, and deeds are good examples of what a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect should be!”
All the elders nodded their heads. Perhaps without Yan Liqiang noticing, because of the delivery of the drawing on the changes within Imperial Capital that he sent to Divine Sword Sect ahead of time, he had allowed the Divine Sword Sect to take the first opportunity to adopt emergency measures without delay when the mess began. The current, stable situation in Lai Province was tied to Yan Liqiang’s previous message. If it wasn’t for this major event, the elders of the Divine Sword Sect would not have gone through the trouble to come here and wait to meet Yan Liqiang face-to-face.
“You joined the Divine Sword Sect not too long ago, and now you are still an external disciple without a master. I have in mind to accept you as my disciple, will you accept my offer?” Luqiu Mingyue said with a pleasant smile on his face.
Now it was Yan Liqiang’s turn to freeze on the spot. Previously, he definitely thought that he would be rewarded by the Divine Sword Sect for his deeds, but he didn’t expect to receive this kind of reward. Becoming direct disciples of the Sect Lord and the elders in the Divine Sword Sect were guaranteed for elite disciples, and yet this was suddenly overridden and extended toward external and internal disciples. Among a myriad of disciples in the Divine Sword Sect, most of them were already satisfied just by yearning to mingle with an elite disciple for the rest of their lives. Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that he would receive or hear this type of grand reward from Luqiu Mingyue’s mouth. Moreover, as a disciple of the Sect Lord, his status in the Divine Sword Sect would not be an ordinary one. Even if he were to be compared to the elite disciples, his status would be more important than theirs by a margin.
However, he had already acknowledged Liu Guiyuan as his master. According to the established plan, he would gradually move forward one step at a time in the Divine Sword Sect and slowly be noticed by Liu Guiyuan in due time, thus allowing him to be kept at Liu Guiyuan’s side. Now that Luqiu Mingyue suddenly interfered, what should he do next?
At that moment, even though Yan Liqiang did not shoot deliberate glances at Liu Guiyuan, he managed to catch a glimpse through the corners of his eyes. Liu Guiyuan was making gentle motions by blinking his eyes at him.
Blinking and bobbing his head. That was a nod!
It’s alright! Just agree! These were the messages Liu Guiyuan was sending him.
Yan Liqiang immediately felt relieved and stopped showing the astonishment on his face. He then quickly groveled before Luqiu Mingyue in the great hall and gave three resounding kowtows on the ground, thus proceeding with the ceremony of acknowledging his master, “Yan Liqiang pays respect to master!”
“Congratulations, Sect Lord!” The elders present expressed their joy in unison.
“Alright, stand up, Liqiang! We are only establishing our relationship for today. The official ceremony to formally acknowledge me as your master will have to wait three days later at the Ancestral Hall…”
“Understood. Everything will be according to Master’s arrangement!” Yan Liqiang stood up and said in a calm tone.
“Sect Lord, I have a matter to discuss!” Liu Guiyuan, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly spoke.
“What’s the matter, Elder Liu? Please do tell!”
“I wish for the Sect Lord to permit Yan Liqiang in assisting me with the completion of the ‘Book of Herbs’ in Danyao Valley. This ‘Book of Herbs’ has been passed down Baicao Valley for more than hundreds of years and has become the Divine Sword Sect’s most precious asset. On top of that, it is the painstaking efforts of countless predecessors as well. However, the ‘Book of Herbs’ consists of only words with no pictures, which is very difficult to understand alone. The sect’s pharmacists would like to distinguish between medicinal herbs and stones, and that would require several years or even more to accomplish. Moreover, the properties of many medicinal ingredients are different, and yet their appearances are similar. Based on text alone, it is extremely difficult to differentiate and describe them. Therefore, when we train pharmacists in Danyao Valley every year, some accidents occur during the refinement of medicines. Some have died due to being poisoned and some destroy an abundance of medicinal ingredients. These are almost impossible to prevent, which greatly affects the efficiency rate of refining medicines. If the ‘Book of Herbs’ of Danyao Valley have inserts of Yan Liqiang’s vivid drawings of various herbs, even a person who doesn’t understand herbs will be able to differentiate the types with one glance. The accidents in Danyao Valley will definitely be reduced drastically and it will be much easier to train pharmacists. The efficiency in refining medicine will also greatly improve, so this will benefit the Divine Sword Sect in the long term. Please grant my request, Sect Lord!”
The reasons provided were too magnificent. Yan Liqiang could not help but feel compelled to praise Liu Guiyuan after listening to his explanation. Among the artists of various applications in his previous life, there was one type that focused mainly on drawing the shapes of a variety of plants and medicinal herbs because those things were quite useful. Like the various plants, roots, and leaves, no matter how many words were used to describe them, they could never be expressed clearly if they were not drawn out.
“Since this matter relates to the thousand-year long-term scheme of the Divine Sword Sect, I don’t have any reason to deny your request!” Luqiu Mingyue nodded and turned to look at Yan Liqiang, “Liqiang, the medical pills refined in Danyao Valley in the Divine Sword Sect are delivered to a lot of places. The Great Han Empire is currently in a dangerous state. The medicinal pills in Danyao Valley are extremely important. Your drawing skills are highly superlative and are rarely seen anywhere. The ‘Book of Herbs’ is the Divine Sword Sect Danyao Valley’s precious asset. You must do your best in doing the things that Elder Liu mentioned just now. As long as the ‘Book of Herbs’ is perfected, you will do us an extraordinary service!”
“Understood. Master, please rest assured. I will do my best to assist Elder Liu in perfecting the ‘Book of Herbs’!” Yan Liqiang then respectfully asked, “I have something I need to clarify with Master!”
“Oh, whatever it is, just tell me!”
“This time, I was lucky to give a bit of my contribution to the sect. The escorts of the Four Seas Escort Agency who accompanied me, as well as the two external disciples, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, have also contributed a lot. I do not dare to take all the credit for their effort by myself!”
He wanted to enjoy blessings and endure misfortunes together with them. At this particular moment, Yan Liqiang remembered two of his good brothers. He knew that in a time like this, whatever Luqiu Mingyue said would allow his good brothers to struggle ten years less than necessary in Divine Sword Sect. Naturally, he had to fight for that.
“I understand what you have just said. The Divine Sword Sect will never mistreat those who have performed meritorious services for them. As for the escorts of the Four Seas Escort Agency, Elder Lu will commend them. The performances of those two external disciples, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, are remarkable as well. We shall allow them to become inner disciples and continue their cultivation…” With a sentence from Luqiu Mingyue, both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were able to instantaneously become inner disciples of the Divine Sword Sect.
