Chapter 9: Genius |
“Mm, another fragment. I’m curious—if he gathers all these fragments together, will he really get a cookbook in the end?”
Lu Fengmian shook his head, then picked up his chopsticks again, preparing to properly enjoy this hard-won lunch.
He picked up a piece of red-flame pig trotter that had been braised until tender and flavorful and put it into his mouth. The rich meat fragrance intertwined with the fresh scent of spiritual herb seasonings, instantly blooming across his taste buds.
He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, feeling that this delicious bite alone had already dispelled the morning’s fatigue.
Then he scooped up a spoonful of lotus root dragon bone soup. The milky-white broth was fresh and mellow, and as the warm soup slid down his throat, a stream of warmth spread straight through his limbs and bones.
“Mm, Master Zhao’s cooking in the dining hall today was truly at the peak of perfection.”
Lu Fengmian felt secretly pleased, thinking that the past few days of busyness had perhaps all been worth it—at least when it came to food, he had done fairly well.
He ate very quietly, his bearing elegant and composed; even while dining, he gave off a pleasant aura.
He wore a moon-white brocade robe, immaculate and spotless, his hair bound with a jade crown. The light streaming in from outside the window shone over his profile, making him look even more handsome and refined.
In the dining hall, the disciples seemed, on the surface, to be eating and whispering quietly among themselves, yet their attention kept drifting intentionally or unintentionally toward that solitary figure seated by the window.
Their gazes were full of curiosity, admiration, longing, and complicated emotions.
“Look, Senior Brother is eating in the dining hall again today.”
“Even the way Senior Brother eats is so handsome.”
“I heard that Lord Fuzhu from the Spirit Beast Garden threw a tantrum this morning, and it was Senior Brother who went to soothe him?”
“Not just that! A senior brother from my hall said that this month alone, he’s already mediated no fewer than five disciple disputes. Even the conflict between Divine Weapon Peak and Pill Peak over material allocation was settled because Senior Brother stepped in.”
“Senior Brother is really amazing. His cultivation is deep, his heart is kind, and he’s also extremely capable.”
It was not as though Lu Fengmian knew nothing of these whispers; he had simply long since grown used to them.
When he had first entered the sect, the looks directed at him had been far more complicated and much sharper than they were now.
Three years ago, when Sect Master Lingxuan had personally brought back a mortal youth with no foundation and zero cultivation, then immediately announced him as the sect master’s first disciple and the sect’s senior brother, the entire Lingyun Sect had boiled over.
As the senior brother of the number one sect in the world, what an exalted status that was! He represented the bearing of the younger generation, was a candidate for future sect master, and was the nominal leader of all disciples.
To hand such a position to a mortal parachuted in from nowhere who seemed to have nothing but a handsome face?
Dissatisfaction, doubt, disdain, jealousy... all kinds of emotions surged in the undercurrent.
At the time, Liu Xiaoming, who had just advanced to an inner sect disciple, had been one of the least convinced.
Liu Xiaoming came from a mid-sized cultivation family. Back in his hometown, he had been doted on from childhood and hailed as a genius youth. At sixteen, he had already established his foundation; at twenty, he had already reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, standing out among his peers.
With that pride and ambition, he had successfully passed the examinations and become an inner sect disciple of Lingyun Sect.
He had originally thought that entering the number one sect in the world was his chance to leap through the dragon gate, the beginning of continuing his hometown reputation as a genius on a bigger stage.
However, reality had quickly dealt him a heavy blow.
Lingyun Sect had never lacked geniuses.
Here, there were geniuses born with sword bones who comprehended sword intent within three years of entering the sect; there were monsters with special spirit bodies whose cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds; there were freaks who could instantly comprehend talismans and formations and even infer other people’s cases... the talent Liu Xiaoming had been so proud of in his hometown could only be counted as “not bad” here.
That enormous psychological gap had forced him to suppress his own energy and cultivate desperately, wanting to prove himself.
So when he heard that a mortal with no background and no cultivation had ascended to the heavens in a single bound and become the senior brother of all disciples, the indignation in his heart had nearly reached its peak.
“On what basis?”
“Someone who can’t even guide qi into his body—what right does he have to stand above all of us?”
“Just because he was brought back by the sect master? If that alone is enough, then couldn’t I, Liu Xiaoming, also be senior brother?”
Quite a few disciples had shared thoughts similar to his.
Especially during the early period when Lu Fengmian had taken over sect affairs, many people had secretly watched him, and some had even waited to enjoy the spectacle—how could a youth without any foundation possibly handle those complicated and difficult sect matters? Would he make a mess of everything and then shamefully step down?
Yet the facts had fiercely slapped every doubter in the face.
This parachuted-in senior brother had, at a jaw-dropping speed and efficiency, rapidly taken over all kinds of affairs entrusted to him by Venerable Lingxuan.
From the initial unfamiliarity and caution to later ease and fluency, he seemed naturally gifted with a sense of order and insight, always able to seize the crux of a problem and resolve it in the most appropriate way.
He could patiently mediate conflicts between disciples, fair and impartial; he could weigh the pros and cons of resource allocation among the peaks and halls, leaving all sides basically satisfied; even with something as seemingly trivial as dining hall meals, he could still notice problems and improve them—just like today: if not for Senior Brother’s occasional inspections and his pointing out those details, they might never have been able to eat such consistently delicious food.
The sect’s daily operation had originally been rather loose, with occasional laziness cropping up here and there, yet under this senior brother’s rectification, it had become orderly and efficient, even more so than before.
What was even more shocking was that while handling so many matters, this senior brother’s cultivation had advanced with astonishing speed, as though riding a flying sword.
Three years. Only three years.
From an ordinary mortal who knew nothing, to Qi Refining, to Foundation Establishment, and now firmly established in the Golden Core realm!
The common understanding in the cultivation world was this: reaching Golden Core in a hundred years counted as mediocre, in fifty years counted as outstanding, and in thirty years marked one as a rare genius.
And those who achieved Golden Core within ten years were all peerless geniuses who could shake heaven and earth and leave their names in history.
But their senior brother? Three years! From zero to Golden Core!
What kind of concept was that? This could no longer be described with the word “genius”; it was simply a cultivation speed that overturned all common understanding!
After the news spread, the commotion it caused was easy to imagine. There were even rumors questioning whether Lu Fengmian had practiced some evil art or used forbidden methods to overdraw his own potential.
As a result, several highly respected sect elders jointly carried out a detailed examination of him.
The test results left everyone dumbfounded—the foundation was incomparably solid, his spiritual power pure and refined, his divine soul stable and strong, without the slightest trace of evil methods or overconsumption.
It was completely... the result of talent and rapid cultivation.
It was said that at the time, several peak masters had beaten their chests and stamped their feet in regret, lamenting why they had not picked such a good seedling first and instead let that “hands-off” Venerable Lingxuan pick up such an enormous bargain for nothing.
Liu Xiaoming still remembered the expression on his own face when he first heard that Lu Fengmian had successfully formed his core—he had been utterly dumbstruck, his jaw nearly falling to the floor.
He himself had cultivated desperately and had only just barely reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, still far, far away from Core Formation.
And yet that senior brother, who spent all day handling all kinds of sect affairs that seemed to Liu Xiaoming to be extremely tedious, had quietly reached the Golden Core realm?!
“How is that possible? A person’s energy is limited! Does Senior Brother have twenty-four hours in a day? Or does he simply not need to rest at all?”
After the shock came a submission that was difficult to describe.
Liu Xiaoming had no choice but to admit that some people simply could break common sense. Sect Master Lingxuan’s foresight truly was not something ordinary people like them could comprehend.
“Parachuted in? He has the ability for it!”
“Average cultivation? That’s only because he entered the sect late; just look at his advancement speed now!”
“Other than being handsome? Hmph! That’s bearing! That’s grace! That’s the innate charm Senior Brother was born with!”
Now, most of Lingyun Sect’s disciples, like Liu Xiaoming, had changed from their initial dissatisfaction and contempt to shock and admiration, and finally to complete conviction.