Early the next morning, Luo Qingyan told Dongfang Che the news that their master had been resurrected.
“Second Senior Brother, Master isn’t dead.”
“What? Really?!”
“Really! He’s right in his room!”
Dongfang Che couldn’t believe it. He rushed to Lord Shuiyue’s courtyard and pounded on the door: “Master! Master! Are you really still alive?”
A long moment passed.
Lord Shuiyue’s impatient voice drifted out from inside.
“Stop knocking! It’s so noisy! Can’t you see I’m sleeping?”
Dongfang Che was stunned.
—That really was Master’s voice!
—Master really was still alive!
Dongfang Che was overcome with excitement and demanded loudly: “Master! You actually faked your death! Do you have any idea how many years we’ve spent without you? Have you considered how we felt?”
“My apologies, but your feelings have never been within my consideration.”
Lord Shuiyue’s voice said lazily: “Go cultivate or something. Don’t disturb my sleep.”
Dongfang Che said urgently: “Speaking of cultivation, there’s a magic formula I wanted to ask you about, Master…”
“Everything must be comprehended on your own. Don’t always rely on me!” Lord Shuiyue dismissed him impatiently. “I was worried you wouldn’t survive, so I specially left behind a copy of the Great Art of Survival. The rest is up to you! Go now!”
“…”
Dongfang Che looked utterly wronged.
Since Lord Shuiyue refused to teach him, he had no choice but to go back and cultivate on his own.
At noon.
A wailing cry suddenly rang out across Joyful Peak.
“I’m starving! Why hasn’t anyone come to cook yet? Where have my disciples run off to?”
Luo Qingyan and Dongfang Che hurried over at the sound and found Lord Shuiyue sitting lazily at the dining table.
He had changed into an exquisite water-blue robe of the finest quality, its cuffs embroidered with delicate golden patterns. His flowing black hair, like a waterfall, remained unbound, cascading down like a swath of dark satin. The faint red at the corners of his eyes carried a languid, springlike charm, lending him a certain lush beauty.
With that bearing and those colors, he looked like a celestial maiden descended to earth.
Luo Qingyan narrowed her eyes into slits: “Master, didn’t you say you had no money? How are you dressed so well!”
His robe was clearly expensive at a glance—the material looked like some kind of high-grade spirit silkworm silk, worth at least several thousand Spirit Stones!
Dongfang Che whispered: “It’s precisely because Master loves dressing up too much and wears such fine clothes that our mountain has no money.”
Luo Qingyan: “…”
So that was it! The mountain’s money had all been spent by this man on pretty clothes!
Lord Shuiyue ignored them, tapping an empty bowl as he complained: “What time is it already? Why isn’t the food ready yet?”
Dongfang Che said: “Little Junior Sister and I were so focused on working hard to improve ourselves that we lost track of time.”
Luo Qingyan chuckled slyly and negotiated with him: “Master, since you’re idle with nothing to do, why don’t you light the fire and cook the meal?”
“How dare you!” Lord Shuiyue scolded. “I have delicate, tender skin—how could I possibly do such rough work?!”
Lord Shuiyue said with displeasure: “Little Yan Yan, you really have no sense of propriety. You’re actually ordering your master around!”
Luo Qingyan: “…”
Master was just like a pampered young lady.
He neither taught techniques nor did chores.
Dongfang Che also looked helpless: “Fine then, I’ll go cook.”
Luo Qingyan sighed: “I’ll help you.”
Before long, the meal was served.
Lord Shuiyue stared at the shredded potatoes before him and frowned: “I’ve returned from the dead, and this is what you feed me? Where are the delicacies of land and sea?”
Dongfang Che said: “Master, wake up. When has Joyful Peak ever had delicacies of land and sea? All we have are potatoes, cabbage, and sweet potatoes.”
Luo Qingyan suddenly spoke up: “Master, do you want to eat something good?”
“Of course,” said Lord Shuiyue.
Luo Qingyan tempted him: “Then teach us some techniques, and this afternoon I’ll go catch fish in the river. Tonight I’ll make you boiled fish!”
“Boiled fish?” Lord Shuiyue had never tried it and was intrigued.
“Fine then, since your thirst for knowledge is so strong, I suppose I’ll reluctantly offer you some guidance.”
Lord Shuiyue said with great flair, instructing them: “The Great Art of Survival I passed down to you can keep your sorry lives safe under any circumstances.”
“The essence of survival has three points. The first is escape. The principle is that no matter what opponent you face—regardless of their cultivation level—do not engage them in combat. Flee immediately.”
Luo Qingyan and Dongfang Che: “…”
Lord Shuiyue told his disciples: “There are many ways to escape, and the most important of them is the Divine Escape Steps. The book explains it clearly.”
“If the opponent is too powerful to escape from, then you use the second point: the amusing method. That is, through talismans or illusion art or the like, make your opponent double over with laughter, laughing until they’re too weak to move, then take the chance to run away.”
He paused briefly, then continued: “But if the opponent’s sense of humor is too high, or they see through the illusion, then there’s one final method left: playing dead! Pretend you’re already dead to avoid further harm.”
“Playing dead is a very practical skill. Many people have used it, but only I can do it most convincingly! No one can ever see through my act. In the future, you’ll learn it gradually from me.”
Dongfang Che nodded, comprehending. “That sounds quite reasonable…”
Luo Qingyan couldn’t help but raise her hand to ask, “Master, to have invented such a magnificent cultivation technique, what level of cultivation have you actually reached?”
Lord Shuiyue said proudly, “Your master’s cultivation transcends the Three Realms and exists beyond the Five Elements—it cannot be measured by mundane ranks.”
“Wow!” Luo Qingyan exclaimed in awe. “Then what about Master’s Spirit Roots? What attribute are they?”
Lord Shuiyue said, “Your master possesses the dual Spirit Roots of Sun and Moon.”
“What?” Luo Qingyan’s eyes widened in shock.
According to legend, there were three types of Spirit Roots that were called “Spirit Roots that should not exist” because of their overwhelmingly powerful abilities—those were the Sun, Moon, and Star Spirit Roots.
Ordinary Spirit Roots manipulated the power of elements, but these three Spirit Roots manipulated the power of rules!
Among them, the Sun Spiritual Root corresponded to the power of time, the Moon Spiritual Root corresponded to the power of space, and the Star Spiritual Root corresponded to the power of destiny!
And her master actually possessed the dual Spirit Roots of Sun and Moon, which meant he could control both time and space!
Luo Qingyan immediately asked, “Master, can you travel through time and space?”
“In principle, yes,” Lord Shuiyue said lazily. “But your master can’t be bothered to travel through time—it’s too tiring.”
Just as they were discussing, a streak of white light appeared out of thin air—it was Mo Chenxue.
He had originally come to visit Luo Qingyan, but his gaze fell upon Lord Shuiyue, and a subtle change flickered in his eyes.
“Uncle-Master Shuiyue?!”
“Oh my, isn’t this our chief disciple?” Lord Shuiyue said with a grin. “What is the chief disciple doing at my Joyful Peak?”
“Uncle-Master, haven’t you already…”
“I was just fooling you all. I’m actually still alive—surprise?”
“…”
Mo Chenxue was not surprised.
He stared at Lord Shuiyue, his eyes dark and contemplative.
After Xie You Mingyao, the other competitors would be arriving one by one. Every man who suddenly appeared beside Luo Qingyan was worthy of vigilance!
And Lord Shuiyue had disappeared for several years, yet he returned not long after the system appeared…
Charm, Extinction, Desolation, Feather, Absolute.
Could Lord Shuiyue be one of them?
Although the favorability ratings on the leaderboard hadn’t changed for now, that couldn’t rule out Lord Shuiyue’s suspicion, because his own favorability hadn’t changed these past few days either.
Mo Chenxue’s mind raced as he quickly recalled everything about Lord Shuiyue, searching for possible clues…