Chapter 47

Chapter 47: You Must Cultivate My Profound Fire True Dragon Art

Master Ling Xiao’s eyes sharpened.

His Divine Sense clearly found that Shen Sang Ruo already carried a new method’s inheritance, one not inferior to his Profound Fire True Dragon Art.

His face cooled at once.

Shen Sang Ruo knew why, but she pretended not to and asked mildly: “Master, why do you look like that?”

He let out a short, cold laugh and said: “Master? Do you still take me as your Master?”

Him not teaching her and her refusing his method were two very different things.

His own disciple had again and again chosen to cultivate someone else’s method. How could he tolerate that? The Fanning Wind and Stirring Fire Art from before could be ignored; it was a low-level transition art, not worth mention.

But this new method was different. She clearly planned to stick with it. Changing methods now would be very hard.

Wasn’t this a slap to his face?

He pressed down his anger and said: “Is my method so worthless to you? You would rather cultivate some method of unknown origin than come to me?”

Wen Xuan and Luo Chu stared at Shen Sang Ruo, shocked.

When had she taken up another method?

They knew Master Ling Xiao had a Fire Spiritual Root, the same as Shen Sang Ruo. His Profound Fire True Dragon Art fit her best. With her talent and his guidance, she would advance quickly.

This was the treasure many fire cultivators begged for and never received, yet she was turning it down?

Shen Sang Ruo answered calmly: “Master, you misunderstand. This was the chance I gained in the Secret Realm.”

“If I had not accepted this inheritance, how could I have walked out of the volcano’s lava alive? In that moment, do you think I should have refused it?”

Hearing this, Master Ling Xiao’s face eased slightly, but he was still frowning.

Wen Xuan hurried to support her and said: “Master, in that mortal danger, Fifth Junior Sister had to accept another method to save her life. It was not disrespect. Please do not blame her.”

Master Ling Xiao looked straight at Shen Sang Ruo and said: “I can overlook the offense of you cultivating a different method without permission.”

“But to show you are a disciple of Thunder-Scale Peak, you must change back to my Profound Fire True Dragon Art.”

“After that, I will teach you personally as I promised before.”

Changing methods meant using Spiritual Power to forcefully cut the link between the cultivator and the old method, including the part of cultivation gained through it.

But that Spiritual Power had already merged with the body. Clearing it out brought a brutal backlash.

The whole body would suffer unspeakable pain; a drop in cultivation was common.

“I will personally sever your link to that method, then pass the Profound Fire True Dragon Art to you,” he said in a tone that left no room for refusal, eyes firm with certainty.

He was sure Shen Sang Ruo would endure what, to him, was a small bit of pain in order to cultivate his method.

Wen Xuan, too, was already thinking about preparing medicines to help her recover the moment Master Ling Xiao cut away the old method.

Everything seemed set. Master Ling Xiao had already gathered the Spiritual Power needed for a forced separation and was waiting only for Shen Sang Ruo’s answer.

Three pairs of eyes rested on her.

She lifted her gaze and said, without hesitation: “Thank you for your kindness, Master, but I do not plan to give up this method.”

“What?” Luo Chu blinked hard. [I didn’t mishear, did I? She’s insane. She really is!]

Master Ling Xiao went still for a breath. The Spiritual Power in his hand slipped and seared a small patch on his palm. He quietly dispersed the power and kept his eyes on Shen Sang Ruo; no, he studied her, as if he could see straight through her.

“You said you accepted that method to save your life. You are standing here safe now, so tell me why you refuse to give it up.”

His voice was calm in a frightening way; that calm meant he was holding back anger.

Shen Sang Ruo spoke seriously: “Master may not know this. Although I look normal, the flame in that lava was a Heavenly Flame. It invaded my body and keeps burning my organs.”

“If I end this method and switch to another, losing the protection of my current method, the Heavenly Flame will turn my organs to ash in an instant. I would die on the spot.”

Her face was solemn, and the hint of fear when she mentioned her life sounded very real.

[Total nonsense, delivered with a straight face.]

But the part about ending the method being dangerous was not a lie.

After what happened in the Red Peak Fire Sea, when her cultivation was scattered, she had rebuilt her path using the Sunset Glassfire Art.

All of her current cultivation came from the Sunset Glassfire Art. She and that method were already tightly bound.

If someone forcefully cut her bond with it, her foundation would be wrecked. She could even become a useless person who could not cast a single spell.

In this cultivation world where the strong prey on the weak, that was no different from killing her.

Wen Xuan and Luo Chu had no reason to doubt her; they believed her at once. Wen Xuan looked at her with tight worry. Luo Chu almost asked how she felt, but then remembered he and Shen Sang Ruo were still in a “cold war,” so he turned his head with a snort.

But Master Ling Xiao was not so easy to fool.

He probed her again and again with his Divine Sense, yet found no trace of any Heavenly Flame in her body.

He glanced at her and said in an icy voice: “Shen Sang Ruo, just to avoid cultivating my method, you would spin such a lie to deceive me?”

“When did your body ever hold a Heavenly Flame?”

By the end, anger had crept into his tone.

He was the Peak Master of Thunder-Scale Peak. How could he tolerate being tricked by such a clumsy lie, and about fire methods of all things?

Facing exposure, Shen Sang Ruo stayed calm. She said, unhurried: “That Heavenly Flame is strange. It is normal that you cannot see it, Master.”

The hidden meaning was clear: your knowledge is limited.

Master Ling Xiao gave a short, furious laugh and asked: “Are you mocking me?”

Shen Sang Ruo lowered her head and replied, mild and polite: “I would not dare. You misunderstand me, Master. I am only telling the truth.”