Watching the Mountain

Chapter 272: Chapter 167: It’s Great to Be Young

Shen Wuchen had always been quite famous in the Cultivation Realm. During the New Domain Grand Tournament, he shattered the Cultivation Realm’s understanding of what was possible by losing five hundred consecutive matches, earning him various titles like ”Shen Wuchen, the God of Certain Defeat,” ”Shen the Sure-Loser,” and ”Shen the Guaranteed-to-Fail.”

He became the butt of every joke, a favorite topic of gossip.

Afterward, he became an inspirational benchmark for the Cultivation Realm by becoming the youngest Nascent Soul True Monarch in a hundred thousand years.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he showed his true colors, losing to the Golden Core Stage Evergreen Sword Saint despite being in the Nascent Soul Stage himself. He once again shattered the Cultivation Realm’s perception of a Nascent Soul’s combat power.

In the end, he was reduced to a mere yardstick by which the prodigies of various Sects were measured.

And this time, after he appeared, he once again redefined people’s understanding of combat support.

No one had ever achieved such a record in a support role.

The moment he entered the battlefield, he could instantly turn the tide, allowing the Evergreen Sword Saint, who had been facing certain death, to turn the tables and secure a counter-kill.

The crucial point was that many people still couldn’t figure out what had happened. After all, his Mental Realm could only be perceived by his opponents. To onlookers, it just looked like a bizarre spectacle.

What had been a perfectly normal battle would, from the moment Wuchen True Monarch appeared, devolve into a farce. His opponents would suddenly start acting as if they’d left their brains at home, becoming utterly ridiculous and comical.

This caused the many members of the Demon Race watching the battle to gasp in unison. They frowned, a tremor of fear running through their hearts, and shook their heads in dismay. They couldn’t make sense of it. They truly couldn’t.

’It’s too strange. We’d better not join the fight rashly, lest we end up in the same predicament.’

It was precisely because of this deterrent effect that the Evergreen Sword Saint and his companions were able to return safely from the territory of the Demon Race.

Even after they had returned to the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm, the people from the other Sects who had entered the Demon Race’s domain with Zhang Zhentian still felt as if it had all been a fleeting dream, their eyes filled with disbelief.

’We thought it was a hopeless situation, a certain death sentence... but we all just came back home, safe and sound?’

After snapping back to their senses, many of them turned to look at the man standing beside the Evergreen Sword Saint, his face expressionless and haughty.

Ever since he had appeared, he had been constantly shattering the Cultivation Realm’s perceptions.

Wuchen True Monarch deserved to carry himself with such arrogance.

Many people looked at the aloof Shen Wuchen with expressions of heartfelt admiration.

Even Xu Ran hadn’t expected that Shen Wuchen and Zhang Zhentian, who were supposed to be ”arch-rivals,” would end up forming the ”Chen Qing Team” and causing such a stir in the Cultivation Realm.

The two of them were already influential figures in the Cultivation Realm, and now they were even more famous. After all, this time they were operating at the Nascent Soul level. The awe they commanded was on a completely different scale compared to their time in the Golden Core Purple Mansion stage.

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After Shen Wuchen became famous once again, the person most troubled by it was his apprentice, Lu Mingchen.

He was just a simple farm boy from a remote mountain village. With his honest and unassuming nature, he already lacked confidence and even bordered on having an inferiority complex.

He was used to a life of hiding in a corner, cultivating quietly and diligently. That was how he had always been.

Recently, however, many of his fellow disciples had suddenly become incredibly enthusiastic toward him. They would swarm him, chattering and chirping all at once, trying to pry information about his master from him.

Their enthusiasm would make his mind go blank. He couldn’t make out a single word they were saying, only feeling a buzzing drone of countless voices in his head.

Yet, faced with their passion, he didn’t have the heart to refuse them, afraid that they would end up hating him. The more he thought like this, the more nervous he became, and the more nervous he became, the less he could understand what anyone was saying.

The end result was a new rumor: Wuchen True Monarch’s disciple was too arrogant and wouldn’t give anyone the time of day.

When Lu Mingchen heard these comments, he was so anxious he was on the verge of tears. But he had no idea how to explain himself.

So, for the time being, he decided to hide out at his Grandmaster’s place to get some peace and quiet until the commotion died down.

Ordinarily, Xu Ran’s place was quite peaceful. But as luck would have it, this period happened to be a rare time of liveliness for him.

Ever since Xu Ran had demonstrated his Swordsmanship for them last time, Li Daoyi, Chu Lingxiao, and Luo Qianxue had been coming over every single day.

Even if they weren’t seeking Xu Ran’s guidance on Swordsmanship, they still liked to come over to practice and spar amongst themselves. It seemed they had turned his place into their own private training ground.

Xu Ran didn’t mind. Seeing these young men and women in the prime of their youth made him feel much younger himself.

But while he didn’t mind, Lu Mingchen was miserable. He had come to his Grandmaster’s place to seek refuge and quiet, only to find it filled with so many people.

And they were all prodigies, just like the Sect’s First Senior Brother, Li Daoyi. Standing next to them, someone like him with mediocre talent and aptitude felt dull and insignificant, utterly ashamed of his own inadequacy.

He desperately wanted to hide, but it was too late.

Because Li Daoyi and the others had invited him to join their group, to defeat the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints and change the world.

The first person to suggest inviting Lu Mingchen was Luo Qianxue.

Xu Ran initially thought that Luo Qianxue, true to her name, would be an ”ice beauty”—proud and unapproachable, only showing a hint of warmth to those who earned her approval.

People like Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao.

Her behavior when she first arrived had indeed fit that description.

But now that they had grown familiar with each other, he realized how ridiculously wrong he had been.

She was vain, narcissistic, and a bit of a schemer. She might look as frosty as a winter morning, with a gaze clear and cold, but her head was full of mischievous ideas, and she loved hearing people praise her for being both beautiful and kind-hearted.

Xu Ran was there when Luo Qianxue invited Lu Mingchen.

Faced with an invitation from a prodigy as beautiful and talented as Luo Qianxue, Lu Mingchen immediately lowered his head, blushing as he refused. He stammered that someone like him wasn’t worthy.

Hearing this, Luo Qianxue replied with a perfectly straight face, ”That’s fine. You don’t need to worry about that. Your role is to stand with us and highlight how extraordinary we are.”

She finished, shook her head with a sigh, and furrowed her brow. Spreading her hands in a helpless gesture, she said in a resigned tone:

”Sigh. As you can see, your Senior Brother and Fellow Daoist Chu are both quite extraordinary. Standing with them does nothing to highlight my beauty and grace. It’s just no fun.”

Upon hearing her words, Lu Mingchen snapped his head up and stared at Luo Qianxue in disbelief. He could never have imagined that a prodigy like her would say something like that.

Meeting Lu Mingchen’s gaze, Luo Qianxue blinked and a sly smile bloomed on her face. ”What? Is this young lady not beautiful?”

Lu Mingchen nodded dazedly. ”But... the Demon Race has five prodigies. If I join, I’ll just drag you all down.”

The words had barely left his lips when, before Luo Qianxue could speak, Chu Lingxiao chimed in from the side, his voice deep. ”It doesn’t matter. It’s just five mere Demon Cultivators. We’re more than enough. You won’t need to lift a finger.”

Lu Mingchen was stunned once again. He turned his head to look at his Senior Brother, Li Daoyi.

Meeting his gaze, Li Daoyi gave him a gentle smile and said, ”I’d also like for you to join, Junior Brother. It’s good to have another person to talk with, isn’t it?”

He then added an encouraging word for Lu Mingchen. ”Junior Brother, I’ve always said that everyone has a chance to attain the Dao. You don’t need to feel inferior because of your talent or aptitude. You have to believe in yourself.”

Hearing his respected Senior Brother say this, Lu Mingchen had no more objections and agreed to join.

Seeing this, Luo Qianxue on the side pumped her fist in the air and roared with laughter. ”Fellow Daoists, let’s go make the world tremble before us!”

As her voice fell, Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao echoed her cry. Lu Mingchen, seeing this, hesitated for a moment before responding with a less confident, ”I’ll do my best.”

Luo Qianxue laughed heartily. ”It’s not about ’doing your best,’ it’s a certainty! With us here, there’s no enemy we can’t defeat. You just need to follow along and enjoy the cheers.”

Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao also smiled with confidence.

Their confidence was infectious. Lu Mingchen took a deep breath and shouted, ”Okay!”

As the sole spectator, Xu Ran leaned against a veranda pillar, watching the four youths bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Li Daoyi’s gentle determination, Chu Lingxiao’s cold sharpness, Luo Qianxue’s playful spirit beneath her dazzling flamboyance, and Lu Mingchen’s finally ignited, clumsy, yet genuine courage.

A faint smile unconsciously touched his lips as he sighed silently.

’Ah, to be young.’

’This vibrant energy, this fearless declaration, this confidence that seems bright enough to illuminate the entire dusk...’

He lifted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping past the youths’ spirited faces toward the skyline outside the courtyard, which was being dyed a deep blue by twilight.

In the distance, the silhouettes of the mountains were quietly melting into the night.

An imperceptible shadow flickered in the depths of his eyes.

’I just wonder if this world... will ultimately allow them to stay this young forever.’