36 Su Xuan Wu

Chapter 36- Su Xuan Wu

'From that old man's ability, it will most likely take Meng Wuya 4 to 5 years to completely unlock the seal placed on his cultivation.'

After leaving Meng Wuya's living quarters, Su Mu started walking around the High Heaven Pavilion, wondering if anything noteworthy had happened there.

It's been four days since the Heaven's Cave Inheritance closed, and the High Heaven Pavilion was done assessing their losses, along with the disciples who successfully returned alive.

Except for the ones who were in secluded cultivation, every disciple who had returned was busy accumulating their gains. Some were openly selling what they had found, while others were running around, trying to exchange their belongings for Points within the Sect.

"Hey, that's Young Master Su, isn't he?"

"I heard that he was in Secluded Cultivation."

"Do you think he was the one who inherited the main legacy?"

"Idiot, who else could it be but him? Do you think anyone else stands a chance against Young Master Su?"

"Indeed, his strength even surpasses that of Su Yan. I wonder what his real cultivation base is?"

"But the inheritance could've been searched by either Su Yan, or it could've been Hu Jiao'er from the Blood Battle Group, whose cultivation also surpasses Su Yan's."

"Did you hear about Xie Hongchen? The Elders have declared him a Traitorous Disciple already, saying that he was the reason for numerous fellow disciples' death and how Young Master Su brought justice to their deaths."

"I was there. I saw Young Master Su kill that Evil Monster Beast before killing the Traitorous Xie Hongchen, and he looked nothing short of a hero. I couldn't help but admire him from afar."

"I think Young Master Su is more suitable for the position of Top Disciple within the Pavilion."

Although the High Heaven Pavilion was more crowded than usual, upon seeing Su Mu walking by, every disciple moved aside, giving him way without any words.

And even though the disciples were only whispering among themselves while looking at Su Mu, with his senses, how could he not be aware of what they were talking about?

It was obvious that his reputation within the High Heaven Pavilion had skyrocketed enough for the Elders to label Xie Hongchen as a traitor without even asking him, or Su Yan, the one who was in charge of the disciples, about it.

But Su Mu wasn't interested in that, not in the slightest. For him, High Heaven Pavilion was nothing more than a temporary residence, one that he will soon leave, similar to this world. If it wasn't for him hearing his name, Su Mu had already completely forgotten about Xie Hongchen.

Unbothered by the crowd and their unnecessary whispering, Su Mu continued to walk around the High Heaven Pavilion without a purpose.

"Hey, did you hear that Yang Kai's Promotion exam? They say he has broken through the Qi Transformation Realm and is now given a chance to become an Ordinary Disciple."

"Yeah, but not only did that guy reject the Elder's order for his Promotion, he outright said that he never asked for it and if the Elders are willing to force the Promotion upon him."

'Hmm. I see. That's good.'

Hearing that one piece of gossip, a slight smile appeared on Su Mu's face.

'It looks like Yang Kai is about to find the Soul Warming Lotus. Considering his luck, it'll be before he reaches the Separation and Reunion Realm.'

As for how Su Mu knew about it? The answer was obvious. Unlike normal treasures which are easy to refine depending on how great a person's strength is, Soul Warming Lotus defied that logic since it wasn't something a person could refine, not even him. Soul Warming Lotus could only be passed from one person to another, never to be refined as someone's treasure. But there was a catch.

The less one's soul has developed, the easier it could be to inherit the Soul-Warming Lotus. Meaning that the easiest way to get the Soul-Warming Lotus is to get it before one's soul starts developing during cultivation.

A person's soul, although minimum, starts developing during the Separation and Reunion Realm, making Qi Transformation and the realms below it the easiest to inherit the Soul Warming Lotus.

This was one of the reasons, along with maintaining his foundation and the requirement for breaking through the 2 Rank Restriction of the Open Heaven Realm, that Su Mu was taking it easy during cultivation.

Even he, a former 8th Rank Open Heaven Realm Cultivator couldn't make any assumptions about a Heavenly Treasure such as the Soul-Warming Lotus.

Considering all that, it wasn't difficult to guess that Yang Kai got his hands on the Soul-Warming Lotus even before reaching the Separation and Reunion Realm. As for the residual Divine Soul Strength left behind by the previous holder, Su Mu knew that it would've been most likely absorbed by the Evil cultivator's Divine Soul that always accompanies Yang Kai.

All he needed to do was wait for Yang Kai to lead him towards the Soul-Warming Lotus. From his calculations, it wouldn't take more than a few months, at most a year, for Yang Kai to find the Soul-Warming Lotus.

And so, a week passed.

Inside the Elder Hall, all the Elders were present, their faces solemn as they discussed the current matters of the Sect. Ever since the Sect Master entered seclusion, the Elders are the ones looking after the Pavilion on their own.

"Brother Su, it seems that neither Su Mu nor Su Yan, are going to tell us anything about who gained the Heaven's Cave Inheritance." He Bei Shui, the third elder, sighed.

During the past week, they questioned Su Mu and Su Yan on several occasions, but alas, all their hard work was for nothing.

"Brother He, I am as helpless in this matter as you are." Su Xuan Wu, Su Yan's grandfather, gave a helpless smile.

'But ever since they returned from the Heaven's Cave Inheritance, their behaviour has been quite weird.' Su Xuan Wu thought, pondering about the situation.

When Su Yan was called back to the Sect, rather than staying in her living quarters, she moved in with Su Mu, who lived in the quarters prepared for Ordinary Disciples.

This was a surprise in everybody's eyes. Why would Su Yan leave the luxuries of a Core Disciple and start living as an Ordinary Disciple?

At first, a lot of disciples would go there, trying to get a single glimpse of Su Yan, but they were promptly shooed away by Su Mu. Even if his status wasn't as high as Su Yan, the fear and admiration every disciple had for him far surpassed Su Yan's.

The Elders also offered for Su Mu to become a Core Disciple, much like Su Yan, and although he didn't meet the conditions required, they were willing to make an exception for him.

"I refuse." Was all Su Mu said before heading back to his living quarters, leaving every Elder dumbfounded.

"But... Fellow Brothers, don't you think that the relationship between Su Mu and Su Yan is beyond that of siblings?"

"Brother, what are you trying to say?"

Hearing those words, Su Xuan Wu frowned. It wasn't that he didn't believe what they were saying, even when he asked Su Yan in private, she didn't deny his question, so he had no doubt about Su Yan and Su Mu's relationship.

In all honesty, he was surprised by how their relationship turned out. Ever since she was born, Su Xuan Wu thought that Su Yan would never be able to find herself a man, forever standing alone like a sole fairy in the mortal world.

At first, he tried to convince both Su Mu and Su Yan about this, but at the end of the day, he couldn't help but give up. Both of them were unyielding, firmly holding each other's hand.

But then again, he couldn't force them to do anything. If he were to convince them that they were wrong, it might lead them to develop Heart Demons, something he couldn't bear to witness his grandchildren suffering from.

Both of them had limitless futures ahead of them, and the last thing he wanted was to bring them down, or hold them back.

But even more than that, as their grandfather, the one thing he truly wished for was their happiness. After all, ever since his daughter and son-in-law passed away in that accident, only his grandchildren were the reason he was alive. He tried his best to never let them feel the emptiness of not having parents, and maybe that was the reason why Su Mu turned into a spoiled brat, but now, he had turned into a fine young man, something Su Xuan Wu could feel proud about.

And if he were to be the reason his grandchildren would feel sad, he knew he wouldn't be able to bear such a burden. And since that was the case, he affirmed that the day those two publicise their relationship, he'd give them their blessing from the bottom of his heart.

"There is no such thing going on, fellow Brothers can rest assured." Su Xuan Wu said, giving others a confident nod.

'Haah, no matter what the two of you do, it's not this Old Man's place to disclose your secret to the public. But the way you're doing things, it's only a matter of time. My daughter, it's just as you said. Being a grandfather is very tough, but I can't help but love those two.' Su Xuan Wu internally sighed.

"Fellow Brothers, as the Elders, we have more important matters to discuss rather than some Disciple's private life. For now, our focus should be on finding the person who gained the Heaven's Cave Inheritance."

"Should we try pressing Su Yan and Su Mu? Us forgiving him for Xie Hongchen's murder was generous enough, but he seems to think of us as pushovers."

While the meeting was going on, Treasurer Meng decided to intervene, holding the Sect Master's Token in his hands.

With mere words, and thanks to the power of the Sect Master's Token, Mang Wuya was able to stop the Elders from going any further with Su Mu and Su Yan.

Whoever held the Sect Master's Token had permission to relay the Sect Master's orders, something no Elder dared to go against.

This was merely an act of friendship on Meng Wuya's part, simply thanking Su Mu for all that he had done for his dear disciple, although he knew it was nowhere near enough.

Inside his living quarters, Su Mu was lying on the bed, not sure what to do next.

It's been a few hours since Su Yan left to cultivate inside her own living quarters.

After Dual Cultivation, Su Mu was done 'creating' the Ice Secret Art for Su Yan, along with a bunch of Martial Skills and Movement Techniques.

Since it was for Su Yan, Su Mu created an Ice Secret Art by combining all the Ice-related Secret Arts he had, giving it their best individual quality while also eliminating general weaknesses.

The base of that Secret Art was the 'Ice Empress Imperial Secret Art'. A Secret Art that belonged to an 8th Rank Open Heaven Realm Cultivator, and one of his many Cultivation Partners.

Its special quality was that it can absorb and assimilate different Ice-related Secret Arts into itself, creating a better version, and improving itself until it reached perfection.

Thanks to all the other Secret Arts Su Mu possessed thanks to his vast knowledge, it wasn't difficult to improve the 'Ice Empress Imperial Secret Art' beyond even what the original creator had intended.

It was a Secret Art tailor-made for Su Yan, who not only had the natural aptitude for Ice related Cultivation, but also inherited the Ice Phoenix Source.

He was sure that, even for Su Yan, it'll take a lot of time for her to just reach the Elementary Stage of this Secret Art.

'With that done, I should see where Yang Kai is going.' Deciding that, Su Mu sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

It's been two days since Yang Kai left the High Heaven Pavilion without clarifying the reason, but it wasn't difficult to guess that he was trying to avoid the promotion exam established by the Elders, who were suspicious about his sudden increase in cultivation.

Some even doubted if he was the one who truly gained the Heaven's Cave Inheritance, forcing him to leave the Pavilion until the dust dies down.

Outside, two women were making their way towards Su Mu's living quarters, gaining a lot of glances from all the disciples within the High Heaven Pavilion thanks to their beauty.

The first one's facial features were quite delicate, pupils like water, tender skin with a good figure, particularly her abundant chest, which didn't have an equal. She was none other than Lan Chu Die, the one who spend her time with Su Mu when she was inside the Heaven's Cave Inheritance.

Next to her was a girl whose stature was quite slender, and was not as tall as Lan Chu Die, but looked very delicate. Seeing her expression, it wasn't difficult to say that the girl was extremely shy, avoiding eye contact with any disciple within the High Heaven Pavilion. She was Du Yi Shuang.

Walking forward, the two of them arrived at Su Mu's living quarters. Not daring to be disrespectful, they knocked on the door, waiting for his permission.

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A/N-

Wrote this chapter being surrounded by a lot of kids, so it might not be the best. And the genius who suggested killing the kids, get help.

I started writing like days ago, but social gatherings took all my life energy.

And no, I couldn't proofread.