Chapter Ten: I Am Very Interested in You

When Mo Bufan once again carried a stone up the mountain, he caught sight of an old man in a gray robe sitting by the unused fish pond outside his house, fishing. In that instant, Mo Bufan bristled with anger.

But as he set down the stone and prepared to go over and question the old man, the words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back.

An old man in a gray robe—his attire was neither that of a core disciple nor an elder. Yet here he was, fishing at his wife’s dojo, and she hadn’t shown herself. It could only mean one thing: either this old man had somehow escaped his wife’s notice, or she was fully aware of his presence and chose not to interfere.

Moreover, the two celestial cranes, each as powerful as an Earth Immortal, were lying quietly nearby, utterly indifferent to the old man’s behavior. Clearly, this old man was anything but ordinary.

Someone capable of commanding respect from the vice sect leader could only be the sect leader himself or the Supreme Elder. Mo Bufan knew the sect leader was a middle-aged man, so the person before him must be the legendary Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Profound Sect, Wei Wuwei.

With this realization, Mo Bufan recalled the rumors of what this old man had done for his disciple in the past. The Supreme Elder had gone so far as to challenge an entire sect for the sake of his youngest student. As for himself—a son-in-law secretly married to his disciple—who knew what fate awaited him?

He braced his tired body and stepped forward, cupping his fists in greeting. “Mo Bufan pays his respects to the Supreme Elder.”

Wei Wuwei turned to scrutinize Mo Bufan. “You’ve got sharp eyes, boy. Sit with me and help feed the fish.”

Mo Bufan hesitated but eventually sat down beside the Supreme Elder.

Noticing that Wei Wuwei called it feeding fish, Mo Bufan couldn’t help but peer at his fishing line, only to discover that instead of a hook, a foot-long dragon loach dangled from it.

Mo Bufan had read about dragon loaches in the Scripture Pavilion. Such creatures were rare in the cultivation world. Any specimen this large had clearly broken through to the Transcendence Realm, and with a trace of dragon blood in its veins, it was a precious ingredient for top-tier pills.

Yet the Supreme Elder was using it as fish food. Judging by the listless state of the dragon loach, most of its cultivation had already been sealed away by Wei Wuwei.

Even so, the dragon loach wasn’t easy prey. Several koi circled, occasionally launching tentative attacks, but each time the loach evaded them, sometimes even counterattacking. It was obvious, however, that it wouldn’t last much longer.

Sensing Mo Bufan’s attention, Wei Wuwei asked, “You think it’s a waste?”

Mo Bufan scratched his head. “I’m sure you have your reasons for doing this, Senior.”

Wei Wuwei gave him another look, curled his lips in a smile, and fell silent for a while before speaking again. “Three hundred years ago, I suddenly had the idea that I’d like to raise a few dragons for fun…”

Mo Bufan’s mouth twitched at these words. Dragons were universally known in the cultivation world as the supreme divine beasts, a race few in number but powerful enough to rival the strongest humans. In fact, the most exalted among them surpassed even humankind, with one or two Dragon Ancestors ascending to the rank of Emperor.

Fortunately, relations between the dragons and humans were generally amicable. In many places, mortals even worshiped dragons as totems, and there had never been any real trouble.

But this old man actually wanted to raise dragons. Anyone would be stunned to hear it.

Wei Wuwei continued, “At first, I thought I’d visit the dragons themselves and adopt one of their young. But one of their old geezers beat me up for it; those proud creatures said I was insulting their race… So I had to look for species with dragon blood that could evolve into dragons.”

“It took me ten years, but I finally found the race with the highest concentration of dragon blood—the ichthyodragon. By the time I found them, both the male and female were gravely wounded and dying, but they left tens of thousands of eggs, which I brought back with me. Ichthyodragons have a very low fertility rate; if two hatch from ten thousand eggs, that’s already a miracle. To increase the hatch rate, I made another trip to the dragons…”

Mo Bufan was equal parts astonished by the old man’s madness and baffled as to why he was sharing all this, but he didn’t dare interrupt.

“…I secretly knocked out a dragon, drew a bucket of its blood, and used it to feed those eggs. After another ten years, I finally managed to hatch four ichthyodragons. Now every decade, I find them a beast with dragon blood to feed on. I haven’t missed a decade in over two hundred years.” With that, Wei Wuwei glanced at Mo Bufan.

Mo Bufan froze. Was he supposed to praise him?

“Uh, Senior, you’re truly… impressive. I’m in awe,” Mo Bufan quickly flattered.

Wei Wuwei shot him a glance. “And do you know why I want to raise dragons?”

Mo Bufan thought, “Because you’re willful,” but instead said, “No doubt you wish to nurture guardian beasts for the Heavenly Profound Sect and make it the greatest sect in the land.”

“Nonsense!” Wei Wuwei snapped. “Don’t flatter me. I’m just willful.”

Mo Bufan grinned sheepishly and dared not speak.

“I don’t care how powerful the sect is, or about the so-called limitless potential of the dragon race,” Wei Wuwei continued. “So your so-called Nine Yang Physique is worthless to me.”

Mo Bufan swallowed nervously. At last, the real issue had surfaced.

“If I’d known what those punks Song Yuchen and company were planning, I’d have crushed you myself before they finished,” Wei Wuwei said offhandedly. “But now, you’re rather interesting. You used my disciples’ and juniors’ expectations for your physique to advance your cultivation, and you’ve even captured my little girl’s heart… Heh. I’m quite curious about you.”

“Curious!” Mo Bufan echoed in his mind, glancing at the ichthyodragons in the pond. He suddenly felt like he and those creatures were the same in the old man’s eyes.

“Senior, you flatter me. I never tried to manipulate my seniors’ expectations—I simply received their guidance,” Mo Bufan replied.

Wei Wuwei gave him another look, then began cursing his own disciples and juniors. “Those idiots, heads full of nonsense. Not one of them noticed your breakthrough. They’re begging to be taught a lesson.”

Mo Bufan kept his head down and said nothing.

Wei Wuwei soon added, “To be honest, I have high hopes for you. I really want to see how far you’ll go. Don’t let me down—play to your heart’s content.”

“Is this his idea of praise?” Mo Bufan wondered, but he quickly cupped his fists. “I’ll do my best not to disappoint you, Senior.”

Wei Wuwei nodded.

At that moment, the dragon loach in the pond finally gave out. The four ichthyodragons struck at once, devouring it in an instant. Their bodies flashed with a brilliant light as they each swam away to their respective corners to digest their meal.

It was only then that Mo Bufan noticed the fleshy nodules on the four fins of the ichthyodragons, scales shimmering above them—a clear sign of their potential to transform into true dragons.

Before he could study them further, Wei Wuwei vanished without a trace.

Mo Bufan stood by the pond for a long time, then finally let out a sigh and lay down.

He had been exhausted to begin with, and forcing himself to chat with the old man—especially under that kind of pressure—was no joke.

…

Elsewhere, the elders of the Heavenly Profound Sect were experiencing the most disastrous day of their lives.

The Supreme Elder, absent for many years, had suddenly appeared and given this group of juniors a thorough beating. Each of them was black and blue, their dignity in tatters.

As for the reason? Naturally, it was because of Mo Bufan.

The old man also sternly warned them that from now on, Mo Bufan would be taught by Ge Qingyang. Others could assist, but must never contradict any of Ge Qingyang’s decisions regarding Mo Bufan—or they’d get another beating.

The elders, while cursing Mo Bufan’s ancestors under their breath, secretly felt relieved that the Supreme Elder approved of him. Otherwise, a simple beating would never have settled the matter.

…

After resting half the day, Mo Bufan was about to practice his Fire Manipulation Technique—hoping for a bit of leisure—when suddenly another figure appeared in the courtyard.

This newcomer was a handsome middle-aged man, though his expression was extremely cold. His distinctive blue robe marked him as a core disciple.

Mo Bufan glanced curiously at the mountain peak, but saw no sign of his wife, so he asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Ge Qingyang ignored his question. “You’ve met the Supreme Elder?”

“Yes. And you are…?” Mo Bufan’s curiosity grew.

“I am your master. From today on, I will be your instructor,” Ge Qingyang said, then continued, “What weapon do you prefer?”

“Uh… well, I… Can we clarify things first?” Mo Bufan was speechless, but seeing the other still waiting for his answer, he could only reply, “I’ve never trained with weapons.”

“Then use a sword.” As he spoke, Ge Qingyang produced a sword and tossed it casually to Mo Bufan. “Attack me.”

Mo Bufan was dumbfounded. “What the hell is going on? The first thing he wants is for me to attack him. Am I supposed to satisfy his wish, or satisfy his wish, or… satisfy his wish?”