Chapter 72: Chapter Sixty-Eight: Secret Arts Pavilion
Translator: 549690339
“So, you’d rather be beaten for five years than use a star gem to aid your cultivation?”
In the midst of the little boy’s most despairing screams, Tang Luo’s voice seemed unaffected, like a voiceover entering his ears.
Drowning in sorrow, the little boy subconsciously replied: “But if I take the star gem to cultivate, what about my brother? Wahhhhhh-”
The crying suddenly ceased.
Realizing he had spoken his inner thoughts, the little boy, with a tear-blurred face, sobbed: “I, I, I,”
Before the boy could say more, his face was covered with a white handkerchief, and Tang Luo could only feel a surge of emotion in his chest.
He had thought the boy might fear using the star gem due to potential side effects, or perhaps he was afraid of taking it for cultivation for fear of losing his spiritual power like Tang Luo did.
But he had never thought that the reason the boy decided to give up the star gem was because he felt that if he took it for cultivation, his brother would not be able to use it.
What a foolish brother, why is he so endearing!
Tang Luo briskly wiped the little boy’s face clean with the handkerchief, then handed it to him.
The little boy, whose face was rubbed till it was red, took the handkerchief and forcefully blew his nose. He tried to return the handkerchief to Tang Luo, but seeing his brother’s distasteful look, he had to clutch it.
Feel free to use it for cultivation, I don’t need it anymore,” Tang Luo said coldly, maintaining his big brother’s authority despite being moved.
“But, brother, don’t you need the star gem to help you recover your spiritual power more than I do?” The little boy asked, puzzled.
“Whack!” He whacked the boy hard on the head, nearly knocking him to the ground.
“Stop babbling. If I say you can use it, just do it. All this talk… I’m a prodigy, I can cultivate twice as fast as you without the star gem, you know?”
The little boy, rubbing his aching head, said in a wronged voice: “Oh, I see.”
“Good, take it.” Tang Luo pointed to the star gem on the table.
The little boy stretched out his hand hesitantly to pick up the star gem, then asked Tang Luo again, “Are, are you sure?”
Tang Luo shook his head and suddenly stood up, scaring the little boy.
“Just concentrate on your training, hold on to the star gem, don’t lose it. No second one will be given to you if you lose it.”
The little boy, who thought that Tang Luo had stood up to hit him, held the star gem tightly with his eyes closed. Hearing these words, he opened his eyes in surprise, only to see that Tang Luo had already opened the door and left the training room.
The cultivation speed of the little guy with the star gem should be doubled, Tang Luo thought.
Not because he’s greedy for this little gain, an increase of 1.2 spiritual power per day doesn’t make much difference.
Adjusting the speed to twice is just because he fears the little boy’s realm will rise too quickly and his martial skills will not keep up. Being with high realm but no combat power is absolutely unacceptable.
At this rate, paired with the boy’s extraordinary talent, the next legend of Xiling will soon rise.
Tang Luo, rubbing his nose, walked to the window. He felt just right with the gentle wind and the not burning sunlight, his mood was great.
“What a lovely day-” he squinted his eyes and said.
The first of March, the Secret Arts Pavilion
“They said it was a pavilion, how come it’s turned into three basement floors?” Tang Luo knew the architecture of the Martial Hall quite well since he wandered around a bit after resigning from his teaching position. He wondered why he had never seen a building resembling the Secret Arts Pavilion.
It turned out that the Secret Arts Pavilion wasn’t on the surface at all, but instead was located one level below the scripture repository, a good ten meters underground.
Putting aside the depth of its foundation, the location was quite concealed.
A mute servant led Tang Luo through a long, dark corridor to this underground chamber, as bright as day thanks to the fire crystals embedded all around.
The sudden bright light forced Tang Luo, who had grown accustomed to the darkness, to squint his eyes. It took him quite a while to adjust to the magnificence of this underground palace.
About a dozen clan elders in long robes were seated in the center of the palace, their gazes keenly fixed on Tang Luo.
Directly in front of them was a new seat, likely prepared for Tang Luo. Tang Luo strode to the seat and bowed, saying, “This humble one, Tang Luo, pays his respect to the elders of the Secret Arts Pavilion.”
“Sit.” The commanding voice came from the white-haired old man in the center.
Tang Luo uneventfully took his seat, which provided him the opportunity to examine the dozen or so individuals before him. The assembly was indeed grand.
The elder seated in the middle was Tang Hongtao, the Elder of the Secret Arts Pavilion. His spiritual power had reached 70585 points, making him the person with the highest spiritual power Tang Luo had ever met.
Strangely enough, in this underground palace, besides the Elder who belonged to the Fierce Realm, all the rest were peak Mortal Realm martial artists.
While Tang Luo was observing the other elders of the Secret Arts Pavilion, they were observing him as well, their gazes, however, seemed particularly distant and indifferent.
Could there be some hidden trouble in today’s initiation ceremony? Tang Luo thought darkly, only to dismiss the idea. Given his current contributions to the Martial Hall, there was no way they could deny him. As Tang Bin had relayed, his contributions were already higher than some of the elders in the Secret Arts Pavilion. Obtaining a position as an elder shouldn’t pose a problem.
‘Elder’ or ‘Clan Elder’, is a title of honor bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to the clan, but the quickest way to attain this title is by becoming a member of the Secret Arts Pavilion.
As long as someone is eligible to join the Tang Clan’s Secret Arts Pavilion, they will automatically be promoted to clan elder, regardless of whether or not their surname is Tang.
Once granted the title of clan elder, the bearer practically has free reign within the Tang Clan. It’s not just the numerous privileges and benefits, but also the prestige that comes with the position.
Even if he annoys a branch family head, as a clan elder, he could demand respect without hesitation. Considering the double bonus of glory and profit that came with being a clan elder, and his own youthfulness, Tang Luo couldn’t help feeling a bit ecstatic.
As if it was scripted, Tang Luo’s entry to the Pavilion was undisputed. Everything they were going through now was just a mere formality.
Once again, the authoritative voice of Elder Tang Hongtao echoed, “Does anyone object to Tang Luo joining the Pavilion?”
No objections,” the other clan elders echoed in unison.
“So, as of today, Tang Luo is officially a member of the Secret Arts Pavilion.”
Wait, Elder. I, Guangyu, have something to say.”
A middle-aged man in his forties suddenly stood up, interrupting Tang Hongtao’s speech.
A mortal peak realm daring to interrupt a Fierce Realm Elder’s words, a scene that would be unthinkable anywhere else was happening right here in the Secret Arts Pavilion, which left Tang Luo, the person involved, somewhat stunned.
Isn’t this guy afraid that the elder will be in a bad mood, and slap him into the wall? Tang Luo thought maliciously, still maintaining his well-behaved sitting posture.
Tang Hongtao glanced at Guangyu and nodded, giving him permission to continue speaking.
In any other department of the Tang Clan, a subordinate interrupting a supervisor’s speech would be a major taboo. Only in the Secret Arts Pavilion was it different. At the monthly council meetings, countless arguments sprang up over different martial arts techniques and new ideas. Everyone was a researcher, and the lines between superior and subordinate were blurred. Tang Hongtao’s status as elder was simply due to his possessing the highest level of spiritual power and having served in the Secret Arts Pavilion the longest. Every researcher of martial arts and cultivation techniques has their own theories. And it’s impossible to determine the relative strengths of techniques in an instant. Even if similar practitioners are found to practice together, it’s hard to distinguish their levels of skill in a short time, hence arguments ’ became the mainstay for researchers in the Secret Arts Pavilion.
Sometimes their debates would last for months before conclusions were reached. Hence, Tang Hongtao was not bothered by Tang Guangyu suddenly interrupting him..
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