Chapter 185: Chapter 136: Second Modification
Translator: 549690339
“Who’s come back?”
Lu Yuan did not understand the personal guard’s words at first.
“It’s Zhou Qing, your direct disciple. He has returned.” The guard had no choice but to repeat himself.
“Xiaoqing has come back.”
Lu Yuan finally understood and put down the Taoist classics in his hand. He quickly stood up and paced back and forth before waving his hand: “Let him in quickly.”
“Yes.”
The personal guard chuckled inwardly at his general’s unusual excited behavior but dared not show it. He responded and hurried out to relay the message. Lu Yuan realized that he had lost his composure during this time.
However, it was not surprising.
After being away for more than three years, his disciple, whom he had mentored for several years, had finally returned. Anyone would feel the excitement of a father seeing his son return home.
Lu Yuan was not an emotionless person, so his reaction was not strange.
He sat back down, slightly adjusted his appearance, and assumed a dignified posture. He couldn’t afford to make a fool of himself in front of his apprentice.
Zhou Qing entered soon after.
The personal guard who had mentioned Zhou Qing earlier wisely did not follow him in, leaving space for the master and disciple.
As soon as he entered the study, Zhou Qing caught sight of the familiar figure he had been longing for day and night. He froze for a moment, his eyes reddening involuntarily.
Zhou Qing dropped to his knees with a thud, tears in his voice, “Disciple Zhou Qing pays his respects to Master. I have been unfilial for not being by your side all these years. Please punish me.”
Lu Yuan didn’t reply but sat in his chair, looking down at the disciple he hadn’t seen in several years.
Although Zhou Qing’s physique hadn’t changed much, his appearance and temperament had matured significantly. There was now a faint air of detachment and vicissitudes about him.
What surprised Lu Yuan even more was the realization that Zhou Qing had reached the secondary realm of cultivation.
In the three years that his disciple had been away, he had truly made a name for himself, progressing from a novice in the tertiary realm to an expert in the secondary realm.
Zhou Qing’s once-bold ambitions had come true.
‘Though he has realized his ambition, Xiaoqing must have suffered and experienced many trials and hardships along the way,’ thought Lu Yuan with a mixture of sympathy and pride. He sighed, “Stand up.”
Upon hearing his master’s command, Zhou Qing rose from the ground, his face still stained with tears and his expression a mix of shame and excitement.
Lu Yuan looked at his disciple, pleased, “Not bad, you’ve grown a lot. Your strength has also increased rapidly. Within the blink of an eye, three years have passed, and you’ve already entered the secondary realm. Your progress is not much different from my own back in the day.”
When he had broken through to the secondary realm, he was already twenty years old.
At the time Zhou Qing had left, he was twenty-two years old. Now that three years had passed, breaking through to the secondary realm at twenty-five made him far superior to his own master.
However, even so, breaking through to the secondary realm at the age of twenty-five was still an accomplishment that earned him the respect of disciples from prestigious sects in the Jianghu world.
“It’s all thanks to Master’s teachings.”
Seeing that his master did not blame him for leaving all those years ago, Zhou Qing felt relieved. Upon hearing the praise, however, he shook his head sincerely, “Without Master’s careful guidance, I would have died long ago and never achieved what I have today.”
Zhou Qing’s words were heartfelt since this was the truth.
During his years wandering the Jianghu, not only did he rely on his combat skills but also the worldly wisdom imparted by Lu Yuan, especially his stable temperament, which was his greatest asset.
Over time, Zhou Qing’s steady nature had helped him survive countless dangers and narrowly escape death, allowing him to reach where he was today.
‘…Over these years, I’ve experienced the righteousness and rivalry of the Jianghu people, seeking revenge and fighting, greed and betrayal… Without Master’s teachings, I would have been long gone,” Zhou Qing recounted his experiences over the past few years, his expression somewhat distant as if lost in the memories.
Listening to Zhou Qing’s story, Lu Yuan felt a pang of emotion, never realizing that his disciple had been through so much in those three years.
However, while Lu Yuan somewhat agreed with Zhou Qing’s words, he still shook his head and said, “All I did was teach what I knew. Whether one can learn from it and apply it in practice depends on their individual talent. It’s your own ability that you learned and made use of these teachings, and it has little to do with me.”
After finishing, seeing that Zhou Qing was about to say something more, Lu Yuan quickly raised his hand, interrupting him and changing the subject, “Now that you’re back, Xiaoqing, will you be leaving again?”
His disciple had grown up.
Leaving this time for three years, he had come back to visit his old master, which was undoubtedly pleasing.
However, Lu Yuan didn’t think that the eagle that had already grown strong wings and soared through the sky would always stay in its parents’ nest.
Those who had to leave would eventually do so.
Like Sun Siwen, who became a family man after finding a loving wife and having a fat son two months ago, now spent his days dutifully attending to his family.
For a long time, Sun Siwen hadn’t taken the initiative to visit and spend time with Lu Yuan.
If even Sun Siwen was like this, it was even more true for Zhou Qing, who was a generation younger.
‘Perhaps when Qing’er finds a like-minded female knight, he will join her to wander the Jianghu together and live a blissful life like immortals,’ thought Lu Yuan, whose nostalgia seemed to have grown in the past two years..