Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

When Shi Liuli pulled Luo Yan before Elder Shi Ding, excitedly finished recounting the events, Elder Shi Ding couldn’t help but reveal a face full of question marks.

“You went to investigate a spy, and while doing so, you brought a direct disciple back to me?”

Long before Shi Liuli went to investigate him, Elder Shi Ding had also reviewed his examination footage and indeed, found no issues.

Or, to put it more precisely, how could a spy who should remain inconspicuous be foolish enough to score full marks on the entry exam?

Besides, if his comprehension was truly as exceptional as Liuli claimed, then coming here as a spy would really be a waste of talent.

Wouldn’t it be more desirable for the sect to nurture such talent carefully from within? Whether it’s alchemy techniques, the essence of treasure casting, or the “oceanic” amount of calculations required for formations, all demand exceptionally high comprehension to master.

Without ample comprehension, the speed of learning… is indeed touching!

Thinking this, Elder Shi Ding nonchalantly said,

“Your name is Luo Yan, right?”

“I have seen the elder,” Luo Yan quickly paid his respects.

“Where are you from?” Elder Shi Ding asked.

“I was born in Lin’an County, Yangzhou. My parents have passed away, leaving me alone. I spent my earlier years ghostwriting and grading papers for a teacher in a private school,” Luo Yan said respectfully.

[Falsehood, Synchronization Value +1.]

“Hmm,” Elder Shi Ding non-committally replied, “what is your date and time of birth?”

Luo Yan: ?

Does one need to calculate birthdates and horoscopes to accept a disciple?

While he was slightly stunned, Shi Liuli beside him became both ashamed and angry as she called out,

“Father! Why do you need to calculate Junior Brother’s birthdate and horoscope?!”

“Actually, what I meant was…” Elder Shi Ding realized that his question had indeed been ambiguous.

He needed Luo Yan’s date and time of birth simply to use the Tai Yi Divination, to verify if the background Luo Yan claimed was true.

But to his daughter, it sounded like he was checking if their natal charts were compatible for marriage…

Of course, Elder Shi Ding could not explain in front of Luo Yan that “I am not calculating marital compatibility, I am verifying his truthfulness,” so he could only put on a thick face and fibbed,

“I just wanted to calculate if he is suitable to be taken under my wing…”

“Then why didn’t you calculate this for the other senior brothers and sisters when they joined?” Shi Liuli asked with indignation.

“That’s because…” Elder Shi Ding couldn’t go on with the pretense and abruptly waved his hand to change the subject, “forget it, forget it, Luo Yan, let me tell you.”

“My name is Shi Ding, in my early years I entered the path of cultivation through cauldron casting, and I have now mastered various techniques of artifact refining, inheriting the ‘Heavenly Craft Workshop’.”

“In Penglai’s Yuqing View, although I dare not claim to be first in artifact refining, I can still say that I am second to none.”

“I’ve seen your entry exam, and your comprehension talent is superb, fitting to inherit my Daoist lineage.”

“So here I ask you, are you willing to become my disciple and learn the path of artifact refining?”

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan immediately became solemn and bowed respectfully,

“The disciple is willing to learn.”

[Falsehood, Synchronization Value +1.]

“Good,” Elder Shi Ding then pinched his beard and laughed.

Although Luo Yan’s decision to accept the discipleship was resolute, he had actually already thought everything through in an instant.

The cauldron is a formation-stabilizing artifact, and “entering the path” is a very stringent term to use.

To give a real-world analogy, that would almost be the equivalent of being at the pinnacle among academicians.

True Person Shi Ding claimed he “entered the path through cauldron casting,” which indicates an extraordinarily high level of expertise in formations.

Then, “mastering various artifact refining techniques” is a very weighty phrase.

Artifact refining encompasses a wide range; cauldrons, mirrors, seals, swords, zithers, bells— who dares to claim they can master them all? Hence, cultivators who practice the path of artifact refining are the fewest, causing magical treasures to commonly be priced extraordinarily high.

When it comes to “sword casting” in particular: Flying Swords are the fastest, possess powerful lethality, and can also contain sealed Daoist magic within, making them equivalent to the “firearms” of the cultivation realm, hence there is no sect that does not utilize them.

As for the current state of magic sword forging within the cultivation realm, “led by Penglai with six out of ten,” this effectively amounts to a monopoly in later times, and the immense wealth that signifies, naturally, goes without saying.

In short, cling tightly to Elder Shi Ding’s apron strings, and I won’t lack for Flying Swords, Magical Treasures, or Spirit Stones in the future!

As for Shi Liuli, she’s just a na?ve young lady who’s new to the ways of the world.

If Master doesn’t want me to be involved with her, I promise I won’t even give her the time of day!

Seeing Luo Yan make up his mind to become an apprentice without hesitation, Elder Shi Ding was also very satisfied.

Because of the faux persona of innocence and the mental suggestion of Mirror Flower Water Moon, Elder Shi Ding had an excellent first impression of Luo Yan:

Smart, with an honest personality—what’s not to love about such a disciple?

Shi Liuli pouted at the side, her mood somewhat sour.

In her mind, it should have been her father not fancying Luo Yan, then she herself strongly recommending him, making her father reluctantly accept Luo Yan as his disciple.

That way, Luo Yan would be eternally grateful to her, his senior sister, and be utterly loyal.

Then, in the end, her father would finally realize how clever Luo Yan was, look at him with new eyes, and even praise her for her foresight…

That’s how it should’ve gone! Why didn’t it follow my script?

However, with a junior brother now, she was no longer the youngest in seniority.

So, she enthusiastically took on the role of senior sister and said to Luo Yan:

“Now that you’ve also become a disciple of my father, let me show you around to get familiar with the place and introduce you to the other senior brothers and sisters~”

Elder Shi Ding watched his daughter leading Luo Yan out and couldn’t help but smile.

Setting aside matters of men and women, his daughter had been the apple of the eyes of her senior brothers and sisters since she was little and was extremely adored, which nurtured her innocent and lively personality.

If this junior brother Luo Yan could let her take on the role of senior sister and foster a sense of responsibility, that would certainly be a good thing.

As for whether his daughter might develop feelings for him later on, that would be their younger generation’s own business.

Meanwhile, Shi Liuli was taking Luo Yan on a tour around the Heavenly Craft Workshop.

They also casually visited the residences of the senior brothers and sisters.

The eldest senior brother, Linghu Chu, a Golden Core True Person, specializes in Sword Refinement and also has considerable achievements in the Penglai Sword Control Technique.

However, he seems to have a penchant for alcohol. When Shi Liuli brought Luo Yan into the hall, they found him slumped over in a grandmaster’s chair, drunk as a lord and snoring loudly.

Shi Liuli wrinkled her nose in disgust, gave a brief introduction, and then hurried Luo Yan away as if she was afraid he might catch a drinking habit.

The second senior sister, Lei Caiyan, also a Golden Core True Person, focuses on the art of zither making and is highly talented in music and Divination, though a bit slow in speech and thought.

To welcome the new junior brother, Lei Caiyan gifted a “Phoenix Tail Zither” straight away, made entirely out of thousand-year-old paulownia wood while also having its wood grain meticulously cleared with True Yuan, making it a high-quality zither-style Magical Treasure.

Qiu Changtian himself is adept in music, especially putting in a great deal of effort in flutes and recorders, planning to make a dramatic entrance in big scenes in the future with “flute melodies heralding his approach” and “arriving in a fluttering white robe.”

However, he’s not skilled at playing the zither, so Luo Yan decided to pass on the Phoenix Tail Zither to Qiu Changtian to then gift to a junior sister for her enjoyment.

The third senior sister, Liang Ruohua, still a Golden Core True Person, is focused on mirror crafting and seal casting, with a wealth of experience in Sealing Skills.

The Heaven-flipping Seal that Shi Liuli commonly uses was modeled after the acquired Spiritual Treasure Heaven-overturning Seal and crafted by her, and it was said that it had thirty percent of the power of the original treasure.

Thirty percent of the power of an acquired Spiritual Treasure is already astonishing, enough to bend a Tenth Rank Immortal Sword, just not as powerful as an “Eleventh Rank Immortal Sword” like the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword.

After some soft persuasion and hard begging, Shi Liuli got a “Life-commanding Mirror” for Luo Yan from Liang Ruohua. It was said that carrying it on oneself could block a lethal attack at a critical moment.

Luo Yan felt greatly honored and thanked them repeatedly.

The fourth senior brother, Shi Wenshi, a Refining Mansion stage cultivator, focuses on the crafting of pots and clocks, while also inherited profound space-related Daoist Techniques from his family.

It was said that nearly eighty percent of all storage bags, placement bags, and Qiankun bags on the market came from the fourth senior brother’s backing—the Shi Family of Guangling.

However, this family had never produced a Nascent Soul Cultivator throughout its generations, so it kept a very low profile, belonging to the “invisible wealthy” of the Cultivation Realm.

As a welcome gift, Shi Wenshi gave Luo Yan a “Hundred Treasures Bag,” which had an enormous space inside, even big enough to fit a large sea ship, leaving Luo Yan pleasantly surprised and thanking him profusely.

One must say, the cultivators of the Penglai Jade Pure Sect, due to their obsession with mastering various skills, rank last among the Orthodox Sects in the number of Golden Core and Nascent Soul Cultivators, no wonder the Kunlun Ziwei Master calls them “fools.”

Yet, Luo Yan found that within Elder Shi Ding’s Heavenly Craft Workshop, not only did everyone know each other well, but their relationships were so warm they could casually gift each other Magical Treasures.

It was just like a family, warming Luo Yan’s heart immensely.

By contrast, over at Kunlun, although the Ziwei Master had many Direct Disciples, besides attending the Scripture Lecture Hall together, the senior brothers and sisters barely exchanged a word.

The warmth of human relationships considerably outshone the other.