In the first ten years or so of Shen Xuan’s life, only two people had ever raised objections to his swordsmanship. One was Lu Junheng, and the other was their master, Yan Hechun.
In his previous life, Shen Xuan’s first meeting with Yan Hechun had not been at Taiyi Academy, but at a banquet.
Everyone attending the banquet was either a prominent figure in the cultivation world or the most promising junior of such a figure. Officially, it was a gathering, but everyone knew what it really was—a chance to show off, assess one another, and build connections.
As Shen Chenghe’s pride and joy, Shen Xuan had been asked to spar with several outstanding cultivators of his generation. He had won with ease.
Yet amid all the praise filling the hall, Yan Hechun, who was seated in the main seat, merely stared at the young man with a solemn expression and remained silent for a long time.
Then the number-one sword cultivator in the world at the time gave an rather unfriendly assessment.
“This child… If he continues like this, I’m afraid his sword will eventually break him.”
The lively atmosphere of mutual praise suddenly froze.
Shen Xuan remained seated without showing any reaction. For some reason, he suddenly remembered something Lu Junheng had said to him before.
“Your sword is too dull. At this rate, you won’t even be able to kill a chicken. Have you ever considered taking a different path in cultivation?”
Yan Hechun was the second person to question his sword.
Shen Xuan’s talent had always far surpassed everyone around him. Ever since he began cultivating, all he had ever heard was praise. He comprehended sword techniques faster than anyone else and advanced faster than anyone else. Everything that ordinary people could only dream of achieving came naturally to him. Even Shen Chenghe’s notoriously strict standards could hardly find fault with his cultivation.
Although Shen Xuan was not an arrogant person by nature, it was inevitable that he developed the feeling that he would always be the one to win.
His path of cultivation had been far too smooth during his youth. If Lu Junheng had not later crossed paths with his fate, he might not have noticed the problems within himself for a very long time.
Amid the silence, Yan Hechun suddenly smiled.
“Why don’t you let me take him? I’ll accept him as my disciple. He might become the best successor the First Divine Hall has ever had.”
…It seemed that his earlier criticism had merely been an exaggerated joke.
The frozen atmosphere began to loosen again.
Shen Chenghe laughed along and tactfully expressed his intention to keep Shen Xuan at the academy as his successor, rather than let him join the Divine Hall.
No one brought up the subject again, and the banquet ended in a harmonious atmosphere.
Afterward, Yan Hechun found an opportunity to stop Shen Xuan when he was alone.
He first confirmed his name.
“Shen Xuan, right?”
Shen Xuan turned around and politely asked, “Does the Grand Hall Master need something?”
The gentle-looking young man studied him carefully before smiling.
“What I said earlier wasn’t a joke. I think very highly of your talent. You and your sword are better suited to developing your abilities in the Divine Hall. You will become a sword cultivator far greater than I am.”
Shen Xuan was silent for a while before replying, “I’m sorry, Grand Hall Master. I’ve already decided to remain at the academy after graduation…”
Yan Hechun shook his head and still placed his token in Shen Xuan’s hand.
“We’ve only just met, so perhaps what I’m saying may sound a little presumptuous. But… think of it as advice from someone with more experience. I don’t recommend that young people mistake the decisions their elders make for their own decisions. No matter how wise your elders are, they cannot live your life for you.”
“Anyway, you still have plenty of time. My invitation will always stand. Think about it again after you graduate from the academy.”
People’s minds tend to follow familiar patterns. It is difficult to change beliefs that have taken deep root.
This unexpected invitation was much like the first thing Lu Junheng had said to Shen Xuan. It was difficult to say how much of an impact it had on Shen Xuan’s thinking at the time, but years later, when he looked back, it seemed to have become a subtle turning point in his fate.
Following the rules, Shen Xuan led the new disciples participating in the entrance examination into the examination area before returning to the supervisors’ area.
Several water mirrors stood there, covering every blind spot in the examination grounds. They could fully monitor and record the actions of every participant, while also providing timely rescue if an emergency occurred.
Shen Xuan first glanced at Lu Junheng and confirmed that he had not caused any trouble yet. He then sat down in front of one of the water mirrors and began observing the movements of the other cultivators.
He had not been watching for long when he heard Yu Le’s voice.
“Grand Hall Master, this way, please.”
Yu Le led in a young cultivator with a gentle and refined presence.
The young man’s aura was completely concealed. At first glance, he appeared entirely harmless, but once someone got close enough, they could vaguely sense the imposing presence surrounding him, deep and immovable like an abyss or a mountain.
Seeing that the young junior guiding him seemed nervous, the man gently reassured him.
“There’s no need to be so formal. I’m only here to take a look at this year’s new talents. I’m not here to inspect your work.”
Shen Xuan looked toward the entrance.
Yan Hechun met his eyes, curved his lips into a smile, and walked over without the slightest hint of formality.
“I’ve heard for a long time that the young master of Palace Master Shen has extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. I’m rather curious and would like to have a few words with him. Would it be all right if I sit here and let him entertain me?”
Yu Le looked at Shen Xuan worriedly.
“Junior Brother?”
Although Shen Chenghe had always been grooming Shen Xuan to become his successor, Shen Xuan was still young. Facing such an influential figure alone might be difficult for him.
Shen Xuan gave him a slight nod and politely gestured for Yan Hechun to take a seat.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Grand Hall Master. It is truly an honor to receive guidance from a senior expert in swordsmanship. I am deeply honored.”
Seeing that Shen Xuan could handle it, Yu Le breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to attend to his own duties.
Soon, only Yan Hechun and Shen Xuan remained there, along with the water mirrors displaying the ongoing examination in real time.
“Do you know why I’m sitting here?”
Yan Hechun raised his hand and set up a soundproof barrier. He got straight to the point.
“A few days ago, I received something.”
Shen Xuan lowered his head and poured him some tea without interrupting, waiting for him to continue.
Yan Hechun went on.
“We’ll leave what the item was aside for now. But the person who sent it used a rather interesting name when addressing me. A very clever child. If he had used my real name, something sent to the Divine Hall under his identity probably wouldn’t have caught my attention. I might not even have bothered opening it.”
“But something addressed to ‘Zhao Chunfeng’—I’d definitely take a look. After all, that was an alias I used when I was young. It’s quite nostalgic.”
“The person who sent it… was Lu Junheng. I remember that this child is Lu Shixiong’s adopted son. But my interactions with his adoptive father only began after I entered the Divine Hall. He shouldn’t have known much about the alias I used in my youth. So there is a very good chance that this little Lu fellow never heard that name from his adoptive father.”
He reached out and lightly tapped the water mirror, where Lu Junheng could be seen walking farther and farther away from the others, apparently up to something.
Yan Hechun turned his gaze back to Shen Xuan.
“Once I found out about this little Lu fellow, it was easy enough to trace things back to you. After all… he is still holding your sword.”
At this point, he could not resist teasing him.
“A sword cultivator wouldn’t casually lend his sword to an outsider. I suppose your relationship must be very good?”
After living for so many years, Yan Hechun himself had never had anyone to whom he could lend his sword.
Shen Xuan: “…”
He had heard those exact words many times in his previous life, but he had never expected to hear Yan Hechun say them again after his rebirth.
Among all the people Shen Xuan knew, Yan Hechun was the only one who firmly insisted that he and Lu Junheng had a good relationship.
Even Shen Xuan and Lu Junheng themselves had no idea where their master’s confidence came from.
Back then, the two of them had been young and hot-tempered, and their relationship had been terrible. They were either arguing or fighting, and every month, a large portion of their allowances had to be set aside to pay for the damage they caused to public property during their fights.
When Yan Hechun suggested that Lu Junheng become Shen Xuan’s deputy in the future, many people in the Divine Hall objected. They openly and subtly advised Yan Hechun not to focus solely on the children’s abilities, but to pay more attention to their relationship with each other.
After all, having a poor relationship between the Grand Hall Master and his deputy could be disastrous.
But Yan Hechun’s answer was always the same.
“Don’t worry. They may always be bickering and fighting, but the two children in our family actually have a very good relationship.”
Even Shen Xuan could not help asking his master in private why he thought they had such a good relationship.
Yan Hechun replied, “Our Divine Hall isn’t so poor that we can’t afford even one vacant residence. Yet you two have always lived together, haven’t you?”
Shen Xuan explained, “It’s more convenient for us to live together.”
Yan Hechun was stunned for a long while. Realizing that his little disciple was not joking, he could only laugh helplessly.
“You two… really are…”
They were practically two living blocks of wood.
Although his master clearly did not understand, Shen Xuan genuinely believed that living with Lu Junheng was simply more convenient.
Not only was it convenient for private matters such as arguing and fighting, but it also made it easier to handle serious business.
And it was difficult to say that Yan Hechun bore no responsibility for the two of them eventually living together.
When they first entered the Divine Hall, they were not familiar with each other and did not have a particularly good relationship. Naturally, they each chose residences as far apart as possible, so they rarely crossed paths in their daily lives.
But Yan Hechun deliberately wanted to train the two of them together and often assigned them joint missions.
For a while, the two of them had to cross nearly half of the Divine Hall every day just to discuss matters or deliver documents to each other. After doing this for long enough, Lu Junheng simply moved some of his belongings into the guest room of Shen Xuan’s residence. Whenever they had a mission, he would stay at Shen Xuan’s place.
Later, no one knew exactly how Lu Junheng’s own residence ended up being abandoned. Somehow, by the time the two of them realized it, Lu Junheng had completely moved out, and Shen Xuan’s residence had naturally become their shared home.
Later, Yan Hechun prepared to retire and gradually began handing his responsibilities over to Shen Xuan.
During that period, Shen Xuan was extremely busy. Working continuously for several days and nights was perfectly normal for him.
Whenever he became unbearably sleepy, he would take his unfinished work to Lu Junheng’s room, tear open the door, drag Lu Junheng out of bed to work, and then crawl into the bed Lu Junheng had already warmed up and sleep there himself.
Shen Xuan found it troublesome to keep going to Lu Junheng’s room, while Lu Junheng found it troublesome to have Shen Xuan tear down his door every time he came over.
So Lu Junheng moved into the main residence, and the two of them began sharing the same room.
After that, Shen Xuan became the Hall Master, while Lu Junheng became his deputy. They had even more matters to handle together and more decisions to make together, so naturally, they simply continued living together.
…So, in the beginning, the reason they lived together really was nothing more than convenience.