Chapter 14: A New Cultivation Aspiration, Becoming the Temple Master!

At noon, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

"HOO... HAA... HOO..."

Mu Xiaoyu panted heavily while dropping her shoulders and throwing punches. Her sweat-soaked sleeves flung out drops of hot sweat.

She had never felt so exhausted in her life. The Quenching Essence Lock, which weighed only seventy catties yesterday, had been adjusted to eighty catties today by her evil senior brother. After being woken up from her sweet dreams this morning, she had only practiced for over half an hour, yet she was already sweating profusely.

Li Yinsheng had even specifically used the Artifact Manipulation Skill to move a large vat filled with clear, cold well water so that the heavily sweating Mu Xiaoyu could drink at any time. Unfortunately, this consideration did not earn Mu Xiaoyu's gratitude. It only earned an exasperated roll of her eyes.

"Alright, take a Nourishing Essence Pill and rest for a bit. Junior Sister, your Breathing has become a little messy."

Li Yinsheng, who was meditating on a futon to the side, opened his eyes and spoke. There was also a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. With his current Cultivation, he naturally did not fear the harsh sun. However, when he cultivated, the Blood Refining Core would automatically temper his Qi Blood. The burning heat and searing pain filling his body were not an illusion, but the influence of the C Fire Qi. Naturally, it was unavoidable for him to sweat.

Mu Xiaoyu immediately plopped down on the ground, gasping for air, completely disregarding the dirt and dust.

Li Yinsheng raised his hand, and a futon flew over to land beside Mu Xiaoyu. She struggled to crawl onto it and continued to slump there.

"Does Junior Sister want some snacks?" asked Li Yinsheng, resting with his eyes closed.

"Yes, Senior Brother. I want some dried candied dates," Mu Xiaoyu said between pants.

Li Yinsheng took a few dried candied dates out of his Qiankun Bag and made them float in front of Mu Xiaoyu, who reached out and took them.

Magical Artifacts all required Magical Power to control, and a Qiankun Bag was naturally no exception. Although Li Yinsheng had already had Mu Xiaoyu claim ownership of her Qiankun Bag by dripping blood on it, even with ownership established, it still could not be opened without Magical Power. Therefore, apart from a portion kept in her own room, most of her snacks were stored with Li Yinsheng. She would just ask him for them whenever she wanted a bite.

This was also one of the reasons why Mu Xiaoyu was working somewhat hard at her cultivation right now. By breaking through to the second layer of the Qingxuan Scripture as soon as possible, she would not only be able to control the Quenching Essence Lock inside her body that constantly burdened her, but she could also pull snacks out of her Qiankun Bag at will.

While chewing on the dried dates, Mu Xiaoyu glared at Li Yinsheng, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"Dammit! Why does Senior Brother get to meditate to cultivate, while I have to stand in stances and practice boxing every day?" she fumed inwardly. "Mom and Dad, you tricked me! You didn't send me up the mountain to cultivate immortality at all. All I've been doing here is practicing martial arts!"

"Junior Sister, why are you staring at me?" Li Yinsheng suddenly spoke up, his eyes still closed.

If her body hadn't still been sore and weak, Mu Xiaoyu would have almost jumped up from the futon. A half-swallowed piece of dried date got stuck in her throat, sending her into a coughing fit. She thumped her chest a couple of times, scrambled over to the water vat, and gulped down a large mouthful of water to wash it down.

"S-Senior Brother, aren't your eyes closed?" Mu Xiaoyu asked timidly, leaning against the edge of the water vat and looking at Li Yinsheng.

"Cultivators with Magical Power also possess Divine Sense, which allows them to perceive things around them."

"It's that amazing?" Mu Xiaoyu stuffed another dried date into her mouth and mumbled, "If I had Divine Sense, I wouldn't have always been caught when I skipped school as a kid. Divine Sense is really convenient."

"Divine Sense is indeed convenient," Li Yinsheng chuckled. "For example, if you try to slack off during your cultivation, I can discover it instantly."

Mu Xiaoyu fell silent.

She knew her senior brother was a good person, and he was more handsome than any man she had ever seen back home, but the way he spoke was truly infuriating.

She wondered when she could actually become the Temple Master, just like in her dream last night. If she became the Temple Master, she could order her senior brother to practice physical cultivation every day.

"No, just making him cultivate is letting him off too easily! I'll make him buy me snacks every day! Only the most expensive and delicious ones!" she thought.

"HEHEHE..."

At this thought, Mu Xiaoyu couldn't help but let out a few silly giggles.

"What's wrong, Junior Sister?" Li Yinsheng asked.

Mu Xiaoyu quickly suppressed her smile. "It's nothing, Senior Brother. I just thought of something happy."

"Heh, if you thought of something happy, you must have thought of something delicious to eat, right?" Li Yinsheng smiled with absolute certainty. After spending these past few days together, he had come to understand his junior sister quite a bit. He knew very well that the most important thing in her mind was food.

"You're looking down on me too much, Senior Brother!" Mu Xiaoyu took an annoyed bite of a dried date. "In your eyes, is my brain only filled with food?"

Even though a mortal identity seemed useless in the Cultivation Realm, she was still the Little Commandery Princess of the Wuwei Prince's Mansion, after all! How could her senior brother think her head was completely stuffed with delicious food? She clearly liked fun things and pretty things too!

"Oh? It wasn't about something delicious to eat?" Li Yinsheng opened his eyes and pressed further with great interest. "Then, besides rare delicacies, what else could make you so happy?"

He was genuinely curious about what else could occupy a foodie's mind besides food that would bring such joy.

"Uh... this... I was thinking, thinking..." Mu Xiaoyu began to stammer.

What was she supposed to say? "Should I tell Senior Brother that the 'happy thing' I thought of was me becoming the Temple Master and doubling my revenge on him?" she pondered. If she dared to say such a thing, she would probably be forced to train through the entire night!

Faced with Li Yinsheng's expression that practically screamed "I'm very interested," Mu Xiaoyu stuttered for a moment before an idea struck her in desperation.

"I... I'm still a Named Disciple right now. I just thought about how as long as I listen to you, Senior Brother, and work hard on my cultivation, I can become an official disciple, maybe even a True Disciple. That's why I'm happy! Yes! It's because of that!"

The same sentiment, expressed in a different way, would give off a completely different impression.

"Mu Xiaoyu, oh Mu Xiaoyu, you're so smart!" she gloated inwardly.

"Oh..." Li Yinsheng was a little surprised. "I didn't expect you to have such ambition, Junior Sister. I really couldn't tell before."

"That's not all," Mu Xiaoyu said, getting carried away. "In the future, I want to cultivate even harder and become an even higher-level disciple... Uh, Senior Brother, what is a higher-level disciple?"

"Above a True Disciple is a Direct Disciple," Li Yinsheng explained. "By taking a senior who has achieved success in their cultivation within the temple as your master and receiving their teachings, you become a True Disciple.

"And among all of that senior's True Disciples, the only one designated as the Cloth and Alms Bowl Successor is the Direct Disciple. Hmm... Just think of it as the relationship between the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the other Princes in the mortal world, and you'll understand."

"Oh..." Mu Xiaoyu nodded. "So to become a True Disciple, I have to take a master first?"

"Generally speaking, yes," Li Yinsheng said. "Only with a master's lineage can you obtain better Cultivation Techniques and receive your master's guidance."

"Then... Senior Brother, what is above the Cloth and Alms Bowl Successor?" Mu Xiaoyu grew even more curious.

"That would be taking over your master's position in the Daoist Temple after they pass away in meditation or voluntarily step down. Otherwise, why do you think it's called a 'Direct' Disciple?" Li Yinsheng elaborated, "The experts capable of taking in disciples within the Daoist Temple usually also serve as Stewards. They are in charge of various affairs such as altar rituals, enforcing discipline, teaching classes, and slaying demons and exorcising evil. The larger the Daoist Temple, the more Stewards there are."

"Then, is the Temple Master the one further up?" Mu Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Above the Stewards are the Vice Temple Masters, of which there are usually only one or two. Only the layer higher than that is the Temple Master," Li Yinsheng said. "In short, Named Disciple, official disciple, True Disciple, Direct Disciple, Steward, along with Vice Temple Master and Temple Master—these are pretty much the lifelong goals that the disciples within our Xuanzhen Temple strive for."

Of course, this was the Xuanzhen Temple of the past. As for now... these titles existed in name only.

"I wonder when I'll be able to become an official disciple. Do I have to practice the Qingxuan Scripture to the second layer?" Mu Xiaoyu mused with a hint of longing. Becoming an official disciple would be her very first step toward becoming the Temple Master!

"An official disciple?" Li Yinsheng couldn't help but laugh.

Generally speaking, Named Disciples naturally all yearned to become official disciples. Once they became official disciples, apart from being able to practice better Cultivation Techniques, they could also collect a monthly allowance of one hundred talismanic coins, as well as receive two Nourishing Essence Pills every day to assist in their cultivation.

However, Mu Xiaoyu lacked none of these things. Although she was still only a Named Disciple in name, the Qingxuan Scripture she cultivated was second only to the Town Guardian Technique. The talismanic coins in her possession equated to a hundred months' worth of an official disciple's allowance, and she had an unlimited supply of Nourishing Essence Pills. Becoming a so-called official disciple held no meaning for her whatsoever.

"What's so hard about becoming an official disciple? As long as you work hard on your cultivation today, Junior Sister, I'll make you an official disciple tomorrow," Li Yinsheng smiled.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Mu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up.

At the same time Mu Xiaoyu spoke, the familiar sounds of Huang Zhong and Da Lv echoed in Li Yinsheng's mind once again. A scroll unrolled, the full moon, lotus flowers, and lotus leaves remaining as before, while new pale Golden Characters surfaced.

[Cultivation Aspiration: Become the Temple Master of the Xuanzhen Temple!

Are Stewards and Temple Masters destined by birth? As a Cultivator, one should have high aspirations! Since the Master of the Cave Heaven has already glimpsed the possibility of promotion within the Sect, you should establish a grand aspiration to rise step by step and ultimately become the master of the Sect!

The standard of measurement for this Cultivation Aspiration is the Master of the Cave Heaven's current position within the Sect. Rewards can be obtained upon reaching or surpassing the corresponding position.

This Cultivation Aspiration will last for ten years, closing after ten years or upon the disbandment of the Sect. Each type of reward may only be claimed once; repeatedly reaching a position will not allow for repeated claims.

Cultivation Rewards:

Promotion to official disciple: Reward of one year of Cultivation;

Promotion to True Disciple: Reward of three years of Cultivation;

Promotion to Direct Disciple: Reward of ten years of Cultivation;

Promotion to Steward: Reward of twenty years of Cultivation;

Promotion to Vice Temple Master: Reward of thirty years of Cultivation;

Become Temple Master: Reward of fifty years of Cultivation]