Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Is Qiu Yuanqing the Reincarnation of a Great Power?
The other piece of news, announced to the entire sect at the same time Du Youqian became a True Successor Candidate, was what he found most troublesome.
"To all disciples of the Zhongxuan Sect: The observation period for the fifth-generation disciple Qiu Yuanqing as a True Successor Candidate shall be ten years. For the first seven years, no one may challenge or interfere with Qiu Yuanqing for any reason. Violators will be expelled from the sect. During the latter three years, any Inner or Outer Disciple may challenge Qiu Yuanqing. Qiu Yuanqing must accept at least one challenge every seven days, and the content of the challenge shall be designated by Qiu Yuanqing himself. Should anyone defeat Qiu Yuanqing, they will inherit his status as a True Successor Candidate. If no one succeeds in their challenge within the three-year period, Qiu Yuanqing will conclude his observation and become a True Disciple. Throughout the ten-year candidacy, until he is defeated, Qiu Yuanqing shall enjoy the benefits and treatment of a True Disciple."
That morning, wherever Du Youqian went, he could hear people buzzing with discussion:
"Who in the world is this Qiu Yuanqing? Don’t tell me he’s the Sect Leader’s illegitimate son? Or maybe the favorite grandson of some Supreme Elder?"
"I heard this Qiu Yuanqing has a Celestial Spirit Root. That’s why even though he’s been in the sect for less than a year, he was made a True Successor Candidate."
"Senior Brother, do you know anything about this Qiu Yuanqing? I’ve never even heard the name. And this business about challenging a True Successor Candidate to take his place... You’ve been here longer than me, Senior Brother, have you ever heard of something like that?"
"Not in the last few hundred years, at least. And think about it—have you ever heard of a True Successor Candidate getting the full benefits of a True Disciple? This Qiu Yuanqing must be really special to get this kind of treatment. In a few years, I’ll definitely have to go and test his skills."
"Senior Sister, this is a huge opportunity! Your Magical Combat skills are top three among all the Inner Disciples. There’s no way that Qiu Yuanqing is a match for you. Once you defeat him, you’ll become a True Disciple!"
"What do you know? The challenger has to let *him* pick the contest. I’ve already asked around. Apparently, this Qiu Yuanqing’s greatest skill is Alchemy. They say he’s awakened the wisdom of a past life—he understands any alchemical knowledge instantly and masters it with a single try. His progress is just unbelievable. And you know I’m not good at Alchemy. So, unfortunately, it seems this opportunity isn’t for me."
Some people were even talking about Du Youqian’s awakened past-life wisdom.
"Master, I heard that this Qiu Yuanqing awakened some of his past-life wisdom and showed immense talent in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, which is why he has the full support of the Pill Furnace Hall and the Treasure Hall. Is that true? But don’t they say that unless you’re a Great Power, it’s nearly impossible to pierce the Mystery of the Womb? Could Qiu Yuanqing be the reincarnation of a Great Power?"
"You rebellious disciple! You never pay attention during my lectures, so your understanding is all half-baked. That Qiu Yuanqing has only awakened a minuscule portion of his past-life wisdom; he’s nowhere near piercing the Mystery of the Womb. If he really had, he would’ve gone to claim his past life’s inheritance. Why would he bother coming to our Fourth-class Sect to waste his days? A True Disciple of our Zhongxuan Sect can’t even compare to an Inner Disciple from the Second-class Sects. Besides, he definitely wasn’t a Great Power in his past life—that’s the conclusion both Master Ma and Master Xia came to. Apparently, Great Powers have this ’Guiding’ tradition. If a master’s True Spirit enters reincarnation, their disciples will go to retrieve them. If a disciple enters reincarnation, their master will do the same. Since no one has come for Qiu Yuanqing, he’s clearly not a Great Power."
In short, Du Youqian had wanted to develop in obscurity. Instead, he’d suddenly become the talk of the entire sect, which made him incredibly uncomfortable.
But on second thought, this wasn’t entirely without its benefits.
At the very least, he could now spend the next seven years cultivating peacefully within the sect, and no one would dare to bother him.
Otherwise, they would face the full wrath of the sect.
And besides, he would get to enjoy the benefits of a True Disciple for at least seven years.
He had, in fact, made a special trip today to find out exactly what those benefits entailed.
Let’s just say he’d been obsessed with the inheritance he had stashed away on Soul-shaking Mountain. He’d been trying to find an excuse to leave the sect and travel to the Wu Kingdom to retrieve it.
At his current stage, that inheritance was an absolute fortune, enough to give him a massive upgrade.
It would get him through the most difficult early stages of his cultivation.
But now that he had the benefits of a True Disciple, he could just wave his hand and say, "That pile of junk? Those Lower Grade Spirit Stones? Just leave them. It’s not worth the trip."
A single year’s stipend for a True Disciple was worth more than the entire fortune he had scraped together in his past life... and that fortune even included the inheritance Elder Tao had left him.
While this was a good thing, it rendered his carefully laid plans useless, leaving Du Youqian with the nagging frustration of someone who had been shadowboxing with thin air.
Furthermore, other disciples had to slave away at sect missions to earn enough Contribution Points to exchange for the various Secret Skills and Techniques.
But a True Disciple? They received a massive amount of Contribution Points every month automatically.
Even better, if he managed to reach Qi Cultivation Perfection while enjoying these benefits, he would get first dibs on any Foundation Establishment Pills the sect acquired. He could exchange for one directly, even going into debt with his Contribution Points if necessary.
All in all, the benefits were immense.
He resolved to make the best of it.
Since he couldn’t refuse the arrangements made by the sect and his masters, Du Youqian resigned himself to playing the part of a puppet for now, taking it one step at a time.
He spent his days alternating between lessons with Ma Chongyu and Xia Shouzheng of the Treasure Hall. Every other moment was dedicated to meditation, breathing exercises, and diligent cultivation.
In his past life, Du Youqian’s Alchemy had reached Tier Two Middle Grade. His Artifact Refining was a bit behind, but in this life, he had already reached the peak of Tier One.
But in truth, because Elder Tao hadn’t understood such arts, he had been mostly self-taught.
Much of his knowledge and many of his methods were things he had figured out on his own, so his fundamentals weren’t as solid as they could be.
Now that he finally had the guidance of true masters, he cherished every opportunity to learn.
The benefits he was enjoying as a True Disciple might one day be reclaimed or stolen by another.
But the knowledge he was gaining? No one could ever take that away from him.
Whenever he had a spare moment, Du Youqian would continue his research into Array formations.
Arrays were not just the Immortal Cultivation Technique he was most gifted in; they were also his passion.
The truth was, Arrays were incredibly complex. To an outsider, they seemed tedious. Learning them was like trying to read an arcane text—pure torture.
But it was just like how some people love crossword puzzles, and others love Sudoku.
To most people, those games might seem tedious and mentally exhausting, but for some, they are an endless source of joy.
For the time being, Du Youqian didn’t seek out knowledge on Tier Two Arrays. Instead, he located the Zhongxuan Sect’s inheritance of Tier One Arrays and compared it with his own prior learning, which proved to be quite rewarding.
As a True Successor Candidate already enjoying the full benefits of a True Disciple, Du Youqian selected a spot on the sect’s best Tier Two Spirit Vein to establish his new residence.
The process of selecting and modifying his new residence went off without a hitch. No one tampered with anything, and no one dared to give him any trouble. It was so uneventful it’s not even worth describing.
