On the twelfth day of teaching, Chen Luo officially stepped into the Half-step Grandmaster realm! Moreover, he was a Half-step Grandmaster proficient in all five paths of protection!
To be honest, at this point, Long Ji could no longer keep up.
The Half-step Grandmaster of Array Dao was already extremely close to Long Ji's realm. Perhaps, with just a flash of inspiration, she could attain enlightenment and step into it.
Long Ji's take on it was: "Well, Young Master Chen, once one reaches the Half-step Grandmaster realm, it's all about 'yuan fa' (affinity/destiny)."
"If the affinity arrives, one might ascend to the Grandmaster realm in an instant. If the affinity doesn't arrive, one might toil for a thousand years and still fail to enter."
Long Ji's meaning was simple: this was 'yuan fa'! Sister here can't teach you anymore! Little ancestor, stop learning, stop asking, just take a break!
Long Ji truly felt drained. Previously, Chen Luo, as a master of all five paths of protection, had a knack for understanding everything. Some of his questions even baffled Long Ji, an Array Dao Grandmaster.
When forced to answer, Long Ji felt both fear and anticipation whenever she met Chen Luo.
Fear stemmed from the possibility of losing face and being completely stumped by Chen Luo.
Anticipation arose because, in just a few short days, under the pressure of Chen Luo's questions, Long Ji found that her long-stagnant Array Dao Grandmaster realm showed signs of loosening.
Long Ji's Dragon Immortal Body and her strength as an Array Dao Grandmaster were her greatest reliance in protecting a pure land for the demon race in this chaotic world.
And now, with signs of further breakthrough in this realm, how could Long Ji not be overjoyed?
But this joy, upon seeing Chen Luo's eager eyes, made Long Ji both happy and fearful.
Long Ji's peculiar state bewildered Linglong, who lived with her. She always felt that her mother had become increasingly strange since spending time alone with Chen Luo.
She would often be found in a corner, poring over books she hadn't touched in a long time, and then suddenly exclaim, "Sister has attained enlightenment!"
She even needed Linglong, her attentive little padded jacket, to help her with meals and bathing.
Yet, despite Long Ji's bizarre behavior, she still went to the island alone every day without fail. Moreover, before each visit, her expression was so peculiar that even her own daughter couldn't understand it.
...
However, on this twelfth day of teaching, when Chen Luo's five paths of protection all reached the Half-step Grandmaster realm, Long Ji was completely overwhelmed.
Sister can't teach anymore! Do whatever you want!
But even while slacking off, she had to maintain her dignity.
So, Long Ji left behind the nonsensical talk of "yuan fa" and, after leaving Chen Luo deep in thought, gracefully departed.
On this day, for the first time in nearly half a month, Long Ji didn't have a book in her hand. She could bathe and eat by herself. She even specially pulled her precious daughter into bed to sleep with her that night, her joy as if she had found a stepfather for Linglong.
The bewildered Linglong, still confused, watched her mother head to Chen Luo's floating island the next day, even forgetting to ask her mother if Chen Gongzi's fiancée could cultivate.
As Long Ji arrived excitedly beside the floating island, she couldn't help but pat her head, remembering her initial purpose for coming:
"How foolish of me, Long Ji! How could a mother forget this matter! Today, I must confirm if Fellow Daoist Chen's fiancée can cultivate."
"If she cannot cultivate, I will use my heart's blood to cleanse and strengthen her fiancée's body! I only hope Linglong can be a concubine!"
Ahem, there was no other way. The current Chen Luo was, in Long Ji's eyes, practically a favored son of heaven. If her daughter could be with him, Long Ji would be eternally grateful.
As for being the main wife?
Long Ji, the Array Dao Grandmaster, declared that as long as Fellow Daoist Chen was willing, Linglong would be fine with anything!
However, before she could even see Chen Luo, a sound like a fierce autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves erupted wildly not far away.
Long Ji skirted around the pavilion in the center of the floating island and looked closely. She saw tens of thousands of books on cultivation and the five paths of protection, along with the casual talks of experienced cultivators, all suspended neatly in mid-air.
And a young man stood where Long Ji had left him the previous day.
Every second, hundreds, even thousands, of books were flipped through.
While ordinary people might think he was just playing, Long Ji's legs went weak, and she almost knelt.
How did Fellow Daoist Chen's learning speed become increasingly terrifying?
But after a moment, Long Ji understood the reason. Chen Luo had been reading extremely fast before, but his realm was not high then, so many things must have been difficult to comprehend.
But now, with his Half-step Grandmaster realm, he was already higher than most authors in the Vast Sea Library. Therefore, his speed of flipping and understanding would naturally be faster! It was perfectly reasonable!
Reasonable my foot!!
While Long Ji roared internally, she maintained a lazy and gentle smile on her face, took a few steps, and came beside Chen Luo, asking softly:
"Well, Fellow Daoist Chen, didn't I mention yesterday that your current cultivation requires 'yuan fa'? Why are you reading books again?"
"Most of the authors of these books are only at the proficient level. Many of their viewpoints should be useless to us now."
This was Long Ji's true thought. She had also tried to read thousands of books, but after spending a millennium, she gained little. Ultimately, what truly allowed her to break through was a very accidental enlightenment.
Chen Luo, unlike before, could now answer Long Ji's questions while reading and thinking at super-high speeds.
His eyes rapidly scanned the continuously flipping books, and he casually replied, "Your Ladyship, the 'yuan fa' you speak of feels too ethereal to me. I've always believed that if one needs to rely on 'yuan fa' for anything, it's because their own effort is insufficient and their efforts are not in place."
"Therefore, I want to try reading a little more, learning from the wisdom summarized by more predecessors. Although many people's realms may not have reached the Grandmaster level, with the accumulation of countless people's experiences, I feel I am standing on the shoulders of giants."
"After all, in the civilization of spiritual energy, although there are exceptionally talented individuals paving the way, isn't the overall glory also accumulated bit by bit by generations of ordinary cultivators?"
"Your Ladyship, I believe that your breakthrough to Grandmaster, besides 'yuan fa', must also be inseparable from your past efforts."
As he spoke, Chen Luo finished flipping through all the books. He turned his head, his star-sea-like eyes seeming to flicker with a crimson light:
"Moreover, I feel that every reading is a conversation, a debate with countless predecessors. Through these countless debates, I seem to have grasped the so-called Grandmaster realm!"
A supremely mysterious fluctuation flashed across Chen Luo's body, and though extremely weak, Long Ji clearly captured it.
As someone who had been through it before, she couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Fellow Daoist Chen! Quickly close your eyes and feel! Your Grandmaster 'yuan fa' has arrived!"
But under Long Ji's horrified gaze, Chen Luo calmly turned around, gently sat on a nearby bamboo chair, and closed his eyes to rest:
"Your Ladyship, do not panic. This kind of fluctuation has appeared many times after I read a little more."
"But I feel it's still not enough. I should read more books, debate with more predecessors. I feel that if I do this, I can still reach further."
As he spoke, Chen Luo, with his eyes closed, revealed a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth: "So, Your Ladyship, please wait a bit longer. When the time is right, perhaps... I will naturally become a Grandmaster..."
As his words fell, Chen Luo's soft breathing reached Long Ji's ears.
Gazing at the serene sleeping youth before her, Long Ji complexly removed her palace dress and draped it over the young man:
"From now on, please call me Long Ji, Fellow Daoist Chen. Do not call me 'Your Ladyship' anymore."
With that, Long Ji strode towards the outside of the floating island. Spiritual energy transformed into lotuses, supporting the steps of the Lord of the Vast Sea. Clouds descended, once again transforming into the colorful robes on Long Ji's body.
Looking at Linglong, who had not yet left the floating island in the distance, Long Ji sighed inwardly:
"Daughter, Mother dare not ask anymore. I am not worthy of being your mother-in-law!!"