Chapter 77 - 74: It’s Nothing

"What did you say?" Li Haoran nearly choked, his eyes bulging wide.

"Three days?"

His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. "It took you three days to master the first stance?"

"Yeah, about three whole days. What’s wrong?" Mo Qianqian was a bit surprised by such a dramatic reaction.

"Nothing! It’s nothing!" Li Haoran swallowed his shock.

He cursed inwardly. He had spent four years mastering that stance, yet this kid succeeded in three days and had the gall to ask what was wrong? He suddenly felt like his old heart couldn’t take the strain. It was the first time in his life he had been hit with such a devastating blow to his pride!

"As for the second stance..."

Mo Qianqian had barely started speaking when Li Haoran’s eyes widened to near-impossible proportions. "You’ve also mastered the second stance?"

"Yeah, the second stance was a bit faster. It took about half an incense stick’s time," Mo Qianqian answered honestly.

He couldn’t really give an exact timeframe. This was because he hadn’t just sat down and practiced; he had honed it through actual combat.

"I..." Li Haoran suddenly felt the urge to cough up blood.

Half an incense stick’s time... He had actually mastered it in just half an incense stick’s time! Meanwhile, as the number one genius of the Vast Sect in his youth, it had taken Li Haoran a full eight years. Had he been practicing a fake Vast Spear Technique all those years ago?

"How exactly did you practice this second stance?" Li Haoran asked.

"In combat. I was fighting a genius at the time and honed it through battle. By a stroke of luck, I mastered it in one fell swoop," Mo Qianqian replied.

"That actually works?" Li Haoran was utterly astounded.

Relying on combat to practice, and succeeding in just half an incense stick’s time? Why hadn’t he thought of that? He had spent eight whole years practicing! Li Haoran had the sudden urge to beat himself up. However, he knew that this method of combat-oriented training likely involved a great deal of luck and danger. Not everyone could succeed by practicing this way.

"Well, this talent is acceptable. It’s a bit lacking compared to me back in the day. It took me less than three days to master the first stance. As for the second... you took a shortcut. It doesn’t count as true talent, so you mustn’t let it go to your head," Li Haoran said.

He didn’t even believe his own words.

"Senior is truly extraordinary!" Mo Qianqian praised sincerely. He hadn’t thought much of it and therefore didn’t doubt Li Haoran’s words in the slightest. He simply felt that there was always someone better out there. Having been personally taught through the consciousness of the armored middle-aged man, mastering it in three days was indeed nothing to brag about.

"I will do my best to master the third stance as quickly as possible," Mo Qianqian added.

"COUGH COUGH..."

Li Haoran choked on his own breath.

Back in the day, hardly anyone in the entire Vast Sect could master the third stance. He himself had been stuck on it for decades. Yet looking at Mo Qianqian, this kid wanted to master the third stance in a short amount of time too? No matter what, Li Haoran was the Sect Leader of the Vast Sect. Having weathered countless storms, he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"Demonstrate this second stance for me to see!" Li Haoran urged with feigned composure. He wanted to see exactly what level Mo Qianqian had reached with the second stance. He wondered if it was just as pure as the first.

"Alright!"

Mo Qianqian nodded. He circulated the second stance of the Vast Spear Technique within his body, and an even more powerful burst of righteous qi radiated from him.

In an instant, Mo Qianqian seemed like a completely different person. He possessed an aura capable of swallowing mountains and rivers, dominating the past and present with an unparalleled presence.

"Righteous Qi Devouring Heaven and Earth, my generation rules the mountains and rivers!"

With a loud shout, Mo Qianqian swung the spear in his hand down heavily, smashing it into the ground.

BOOM!

A deafening crash rang out as dirt erupted outwards. The impact gouged a massive crater into the earth.

"This..." Li Haoran was stunned.

It was pure! It was far purer than the second stance of the Vast Spear Technique that he himself executed. At the same cultivation level, its power was also vastly superior to his!

"It seems you are truly fated with the Vast Sect!" Li Haoran said. "However, I must say, your Vast Spear Technique is indeed incredibly authentic!"

Mo Qianqian suddenly didn’t know how to reply. Could a spear technique be described as "authentic"? Was the Vast Spear Technique practiced by the Vast Sect not authentic?

"The Vast Spear Technique you demonstrated stems from a different source than that of the Vast Sect. Given this, I will not take you as my disciple. Instead, I shall appoint you as an Elder of the Vast Sect, allowing you to establish your own lineage. What do you say?" Li Haoran offered.

He had to admit this point to himself. Firstly, the Vast Spear Technique that Mo Qianqian practiced came from a more ancient and authentic source than theirs. Under these circumstances, he couldn’t possibly take Mo Qianqian as a disciple. It was a matter of respect for their ancestors.

Secondly, Mo Qianqian’s talent was simply too monstrous. What took him four and eight years to practice, Mo Qianqian achieved in three days and half an incense stick’s time respectively. If he really took Mo Qianqian as a disciple, he feared he would only hold the boy back. Li Haoran knew his own limits; he wasn’t qualified to teach a disciple like this.

"This..." Mo Qianqian was taken aback. Wasn’t this man trying to take him as a disciple just a moment ago? Now he was suddenly offering to make him an Elder of the Vast Sect.

But then he thought about it. The Vast Sect was currently nothing more than an empty shell with a single Sect Leader. Whether he was an Elder or not, didn’t it make no difference?

"From now on, you, Mo Qianqian, are an Elder of the Vast Sect. It’s settled!" Before Mo Qianqian could even answer, Li Haoran made the final decision. He then added, "By the way, tell me how you circulate the energy for your Vast Spear Technique. Let’s see exactly how it differs from the one passed down in the Vast Sect."

Mo Qianqian finally understood. The old man was after his spear technique! All that talk about making him an Elder was just a ruse. The Vast Spear Technique imparted by the armored middle-aged man was definitely more "authentic" than the Vast Sect’s!

However, since the other party was also an inheritor of the Vast Spear Technique, there was no harm in sharing it. Moreover, he had merely "picked up" this spear technique. It was just something the armored middle-aged man had used to test his talent. He really didn’t mind passing it on.

But he could use this opportunity to ask the man for a favor.

"Sect Leader, this junior has no objections to joining the Vast Sect and becoming an Elder. However..." Mo Qianqian paused, then said, "I have numerous enemies. I’m afraid they might bring trouble to the Vast Sect. Are you willing to accept that risk?"

"Oh? How many enemies do you have?" Li Haoran was intrigued.

"As Senior saw, those people all think I have a treasure on me, so they will likely hunt me down. But most importantly, I used to be the adopted son of the Ling family..." Mo Qianqian proceeded to explain his feud with the Ling family, as well as the Cloud Void Sect, the Qin family, and everything else.

"It seems you really do have a lot of enemies!" Li Haoran couldn’t help but sigh.

Mo Qianqian nodded and asked tentatively, "Sooner or later, I will storm the Ling family’s home and raze it to the ground. Will the Sect Leader be able to lend a hand when the time comes?

"If you can, I will join the Vast Sect and become a true Elder. I will tell you how to circulate the energy for my ’authentic’ Vast Spear Technique. And actually... in addition to the first two stances, I also know the third."