Chapter 501: Self-Taught Talent

Daoist Buyu sighed, marveling that Lu Yang truly was his good disciple, capable of inventing something like the Heavenly Court Sect entirely on his own. He recalled that when he was at the Golden Core stage, he merely swindled other Golden Core cultivators. Yet, when Lu Yang was at the Golden Core stage, he was already deceiving Tribulation Transcendence ancestors and the three great demonic sects above him, and low-level cultivators and common folk below him. His talent for deception, from top to bottom, was truly astonishing.

Originally, he had wanted to secretly pass on all his deceptive arts to Lu Yang, behind Yun Zhi's back. Now, it seemed there was no need. As a master, he wondered if it was a stroke of fortune or misfortune that his most prized skill could not be passed down.

"Since I am a Heavenly King Protector, I should contribute to our sect. I can promote our sect externally," Daoist Buyu said, being very responsible and adept at leveraging his strengths.

"No," the Fourth Elder rejected Daoist Buyu's suggestion. "Your reputation in the cultivation world precedes you; you're infamous, like a rat scurrying across the street, hated by all. Mortals and low-to-mid-level cultivators might not know your true nature, but which high-level cultivator doesn't recognize you? If you promote our sect externally, your main audience would be mortals and low-to-mid-level cultivators. However, the Heavenly Court Sect is primarily designed to deceive hidden enemies, who are all high-level cultivators. Your involvement in publicizing it would actually lower its credibility."

Daoist Buyu was speechless. Setting aside the strong subjective and objective evaluations, he admitted that the Fourth Elder made a valid point.

The Eighth Elder added, "In my opinion, the Heavenly Court Sect should not operate openly for now. Frequent public appearances would raise suspicions of it being an act. The best strategy is to remain hidden, allowing enemies to rely on sparse information to guess and imagine the Heavenly Court Sect's power."

The less information available, the more room the enemy has to imagine. Moreover, with the Heavenly Court Sect's evident power, even without taking action, it will be misinterpreted as secretly plotting something. It is the enemy who will feel anxious.

As Daoist Buyu's enlightenment mentor, the Eighth Elder had his own unique theories on deception.

While listening to the elders' discussion, Lu Yang simultaneously suppressed Immortal Jing's burgeoning ambition within his spiritual space.

"Hey, hey, your master is back! Quickly make him transfer the Sect Master position to me!" Immortal Jing exclaimed, excitedly patting the edge of the bed, urging Lu Yang to reveal his ambition and usurp power.

"Immortal," Lu Yang replied, "this matter is difficult."

"What's so difficult?" she retorted. "I don't think your master is very keen on being the Sect Master anyway."

"The problem isn't with my master, but with Senior Sister," Lu Yang explained. "She has held the sect's power for eleven years and is infatuated with it; she won't easily let go. The two times she let you temporarily act as Sect Master were merely because she wanted to rest for a while. Even if my master doesn't become Sect Master, the next one will most likely still be Senior Sister."

"Then what should we do?" she asked.

"As long as you, Immortal, defeat Senior Sister, we can claim the Sect Master position whenever we wish!"

Lu Yang had to hold her back; he worried that if he genuinely suggested becoming Sect Master, his master might actually transfer the position to him.

Immortal Jing nodded, agreeing that Lu Yang's words made sense. "There's no need to rush the Sect Master matter," she said. "It's not that I'm afraid of that Yun girl; it's just that she's doing quite well as Sect Master right now. Once I recover to my peak state, then I'll contend for the position!"

"Immortal, you possess profound foresight, long-term vision, and the ability to bide your time," Lu Yang flattered her. "In the future, you will undoubtedly showcase your talents within the Dao-Seeking Sect."

"I think so too," she agreed.

The Heavenly Court Sect's impromptu meeting quickly concluded. There wasn't much to discuss; its main purpose was simply to inform Daoist Buyu that he was now a member of the Heavenly Court Sect, a fact he was previously unaware of.

After the meeting, Daoist Buyu called out to Lu Yang.

"Xiao Yang, stay for a moment."

"Master, is there something you need?"

Daoist Buyu draped his whisk over his arm, stroking his white beard as he slowly said, "It's nothing major. I just feel that ever since you became my disciple, I haven't truly taught you anything. Now is a good opportunity to teach you how to comprehend the Way of the Sword."

Lu Yang was overjoyed. Many in the sect knew sword techniques, but few truly mastered them. Lu Yang's sword moves were basic, and his understanding of the Way of the Sword largely relied on innate talent. Two years after becoming his disciple, with both master and disciple possessing sword spiritual roots, the teaching was finally about to begin.

"Take out your sword; let me see," Daoist Buyu instructed.

Lu Yang produced his Azure Edge Sword and Underworld Moon Sword.

"You keep your swords in your identity jade token?"

"Is there a problem?" Lu Yang asked, puzzled, as he had seen other sword cultivators do the same. Could it be that a sword cultivator should always maintain close contact with their weapon, carefully maintaining it so it can be wielded more effectively in battle?

"It's a big problem," Daoist Buyu said. "When I was your age, I frequently encountered sneak attacks. To counter them, I always carried my sword. If you keep it in your identity jade token like that, wouldn't your reaction be a beat too slow when danger strikes?"

"Was public order in Great Xia so bad when you were young?" Lu Yang asked, surprised. Since he began his cultivation, he had never encountered a sneak attack. He couldn't imagine Great Xia's governance being so chaotic two thousand years ago.

"Although others claim that public order in Great Xia two thousand years ago was as good as it is now," Daoist Buyu replied, "based on my personal experience, Great Xia was very chaotic back then!"

"Then did you report it to the authorities after being ambushed?" Lu Yang inquired.

"The matter was too complicated," Daoist Buyu said, "I generally didn't report it."

Lu Yang understood. The officialdom must have been corrupt.

"How was it complicated, specifically?"

"Mainly, I was the one who ambushed them first," Daoist Buyu admitted. "If the matter reached the authorities, neither of us would benefit."

Lu Yang was speechless.

Daoist Buyu took the swords. As both blades were unsheathed, revealing their length, their brilliant light shone directly into his eyes. Daoist Buyu praised the two swords profusely. "Good swords," he said. "One was given to you by Xiao Yun, and she even placed a seal on it for you. The other was meticulously refined by the Fifth Elder." His own whisk was also refined by the Fifth Elder; though it appeared to be a mere whisk, it actually contained countless strands of sword qi, capable of launching a surprise attack.

Daoist Buyu reluctantly returned the two swords to Lu Yang. Xiao Yun was truly biased; he had asked for the Azure Edge Sword many times, but she never gave it to him.

"Perform your sword moves," Daoist Buyu instructed. "Let's see how well you've mastered them."

"Understood."

With the sword hilt aligned with his chest, sword qi circulated around the blade like a flood dragon coiling around a pillar, its momentum majestic. With a loud shout, Lu Yang flicked his wrist. The sword moved like a startled swan; its fierce, irresistible moves flowed forth. The Break stance, the Point stance, the Lift stance... The basic sword moves seemed to come alive in Lu Yang's hands, connecting points into lines with fluid, flawless movements.

Daoist Buyu was speechless. Was this the level one could achieve through self-study? He felt that even with his personal guidance, the outcome would be no better.

Lu Yang sheathed his sword, the Azure Edge Sword resting vertically on his back, and bowed slightly to Daoist Buyu. "Master," Lu Yang asked, "do you think my sword moves need any improvements?"

Lu Yang felt quite uneasy. His sword moves were entirely self-taught, and while he felt good about them himself, they might be riddled with flaws in his master's eyes.

Daoist Buyu pondered for a moment, then seriously said, "Next time you demonstrate your sword moves, remember to leave a few flaws for me to point out."