Chapter Ninety-Seven: Take Me as Your Master

Ye Yun was quite curious about who had invited him to the Cloudwater Restaurant for a meeting.

He had never been one to shy away from things, so he immediately made his way toward the restaurant, arriving on the second floor a short while later.

The place was lively, filled with cultivators who drank and chatted about the upcoming auction—rumors, for example, about a certain influential figure acquiring a rare treasure for an astonishing number of spirit stones.

Ye Yun’s arrival caused no stir; he ascended the stairs, scanned the room, and suddenly his eyes fixed on a familiar figure.

It was none other than the Daoist of Everlasting Spring, appearing as disheveled as ever.

“Young friend, come and sit,” the Daoist called out, his eyes narrowing slightly as he beckoned Ye Yun over.

A wave of curiosity passed among the cultivators present, for the Daoist of Everlasting Spring was quite renowned—a master of the Golden Core stage. To see him invite a mere youth to sit with him was naturally intriguing.

“Senior Everlasting Spring,” Ye Yun greeted, cupping his hands respectfully before taking a seat across from the Daoist without further ceremony.

“How old are you this year, young friend?” the Daoist asked with a smile, raising his wine cup.

“Seventeen,” Ye Yun replied, though he had no idea what the other man’s intentions were.

“To have reached the Foundation Establishment stage at seventeen—your talent is not bad,” the Daoist said with a chuckle. This was not mere flattery; even among the great clans, achieving Foundation Establishment by seventeen was considered quite a talent.

Of course, the most exceptional prodigies of certain great families might achieve Foundation Establishment before the age of ten, and by seventeen reach late stage or even perfection in Foundation Establishment—it was not unheard of.

Progress from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment was relatively smooth with sufficient resources, good techniques, and expert guidance. But breaking through from Foundation Establishment to the Golden Core stage, or from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, was exponentially more difficult.

The higher the realm, the more rare and massive the resources required.

Thus, Foundation Establishment cultivators were common, but Golden Core masters were exceedingly rare.

“You’re from the Ye Clan, young friend? May I ask your name, and who your teacher is?” the Daoist asked with another smile.

“My name is Ye Yun. My teacher is Ye Yu,” Ye Yun replied honestly.

“As I thought!” A sharp gleam flashed in the Daoist’s eyes as he silently confirmed his guess.

Many great powers of the Sacred Dragon Dynasty knew that the Ye Clan in the remote northwest seemed insignificant, but was in fact founded by a formidable expert who had lived for more than seven centuries. Yet very few knew the name of the Ye Clan’s founder.

But the Daoist of Everlasting Spring’s background was anything but ordinary; he happened to know that the legendary founder of the Ye Clan was named Ye Yu.

“How has your teacher been lately?” the Daoist inquired.

“My teacher left more than a year ago to travel the world,” Ye Yun replied with a smile.

From the Daoist’s shifting expression, Ye Yun could guess his general purpose. The founder was always a legendary figure—not only in the Ye Clan, but throughout the Sacred Dragon Dynasty.

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill washed over Ye Yun, causing him to furrow his brow.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he shouldn’t feel cold, especially since the weather in Luzhou City was warm. The sudden chill was clearly out of place.

“Boy, your aura has been locked onto!” At that moment, the voice of the Demon Lord of Infinity echoed in his mind.

“Locked onto?” Ye Yun was confused.

“It’s probably because you killed someone, and behind that person is a Golden Core expert who’s used a bloodline secret art to track the murderer’s aura,” the Demon Lord explained.

Hearing this, Ye Yun thought carefully and immediately recalled Xu Shaodong. Of everyone he had killed, only Xu had a Golden Core master behind him.

“The other party can lock onto both your aura and your location. You’re in danger now!” The Demon Lord’s voice was grave. “Last time, I helped you kill two Golden Core cultivators, which greatly depleted my remnant soul. This time I can’t help you—if I use up all my strength, my soul will be completely annihilated.”

This sudden turn of events unsettled Ye Yun. Being targeted by a Golden Core expert with his current cultivation was tantamount to certain death.

It seemed his only option was to immediately return to the Ye Clan. The clan head Ye Min was also a Golden Core cultivator, and together with the deterrence of the founder, the Xu Clan would not dare act recklessly.

As for the Daoist of Everlasting Spring, Ye Yun was now half-distracted, responding with only perfunctory remarks.

“Young friend, to be frank, I am the current head of the Palace of Everlasting Spring. Would you be willing to become my disciple and join my sect?” the Daoist suddenly asked, capturing Ye Yun’s attention.

“Senior, that would be difficult for me. I already have a master. If I were to acknowledge you as well…” Ye Yun shook his head.

“For those who cultivate, there may be only one master who enlightens them at the beginning, but there’s no rule against having more than one teacher. As the saying goes, ‘Among any three people I walk with, there is one who can be my teacher.’ I am at least a Golden Core cultivator. Or do you look down on me?” The Daoist’s expression darkened, clearly displeased.

“You misunderstand, senior. That’s not what I meant…” Ye Yun hurried to explain. He knew the Daoist was not wrong; besides Ye Yu, he could indeed take other teachers.

But his mind was filled with the imminent threat of pursuit by a Golden Core cultivator from the Xu Clan—how could he be thinking about taking a new master?

To Ye Yun’s exasperation, the Daoist suddenly laughed, “Since it’s not what you meant, from now on you’ll be my disciple. With me as your backer, you can walk anywhere in the Sacred Dragon Dynasty without fear.”

“I…” Ye Yun began, but the Daoist cut him off.

“What do you mean, ‘I’? Your first master may be a legendary figure, but your cultivation is still shallow, and you need to learn from me,” the Daoist said, stroking his beard with a shameless air, thinking to himself, “If the disciple of the Ye Clan’s founder is now also my disciple, doesn’t that make me on par with the founder himself?”

Ye Yun had no idea what was running through the Daoist’s mind. He was thoroughly bewildered—before he even understood what was happening, he’d been claimed as a disciple?

Taking a master had always been a matter of mutual consent, but this was the first time Ye Yun had met someone like the Daoist, who insisted on making him his disciple no matter what…

“Um, senior, I…” Ye Yun began, but before he could finish, the Daoist interrupted him again.

The disheveled Daoist glared at him and said, “You’re already my disciple. Why are you still calling me ‘senior’? You should call me ‘Master’!”

Two black lines appeared on Ye Yun’s forehead. This old man was utterly shameless, acting like a scoundrel. He hadn’t even agreed—when did he become this man’s disciple?

But the Daoist was a Golden Core expert, so Ye Yun could only force himself to go along, replying helplessly, “Master, your disciple has something to tell you.”

“Go ahead, what is it?” the Daoist asked with a broad smile, clearly delighted to hear Ye Yun address him as ‘Master.’

“There’s a Golden Core cultivator coming to kill me. Master, you won’t just sit by and do nothing, will you?” Ye Yun’s eyes suddenly gleamed with cunning as he smiled.

“What?!” The Daoist’s smile froze instantly.