Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Leaving Pei Yang in the care of Elder Song, Xuan Hao made his way back to his palace for the first time in over two years. Feeling excited at finding out just how much his disciples had managed to improve during this time. Having deliberately not used his divine sense to check their cultivation beforehand.

For this reason, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression upon seeing Mui at training in the small training ground attached to the palace.

"Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm…"

Although he had already learnt about her reaching the Core Formation Realm through the system, he had never expected her to reach the Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm in such a short period of time. Even when compared to Chu Yang and Qing Yi back then, she was far faster than them. Managing to reach the Sixth Stage in a single year after breaking through to the Core Formation Realm.

Not only that, but her current age was only around 15. Making her the youngest Core Formation Realm Expert in the Star Shattering Sect, even looking to outdo him in becoming the youngest person in the Star Shattering Sect to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

Considering the fact that he had been 21 when he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm and she was already close to entering the later stages of the Core Formation Realm at the age of 15, it was almost inevitable that she would break this record…

"Hm? How come her appearance didn't change?" Outside of the fact that Mui had managed to increase her strength all the way to the Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm during his two years away from the sect, Xuan Hao also noticed that her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest during the time he had been gone.

From head to toe, Mui still looked like a kid between the ages of 10 and 12, something that should have been impossible considering 2 years had passed since he had seen her, and she was still at the age of growing rapidly.

"Master!"

As Xuan Hao was lost in thought wondering why Mui had the same appearance as when he had left the sect, the person in question seemed to discover him out of the corner of her eye. Wasting no time as she stopped what she was doing before rushing towards him at a speed easily comparable to that of a Peak Core Formation Realm Expert.

Thump~!

Not a second later, Mui crashed headfirst into him before turning to look up at him with an excited smile plastered all over her small face. "Master, I broke through the Core Formation Realm. Even senior brother Bai Ning isn't a match for me! Not only that, but my blacksmithing skills also improved a lot, look at this, and this, I made this one specifically for you master and…"

As Mui began talking about everything, she had gone through over the past two years and how much she had improved, she also began taking out all sorts of weirdly shaped chunks of melted metal. Even going as far as to present the shiniest among the metal chunks to him with a proud expression on her face.

"Thank you… It's great to see how much you improved, Mui, you have done great over the past two years." Deciding not to think about how much of the sect's spiritual metal had been wasted on his little disciple's creations, Xuan Hao decided to gently pat her small head while praising her wholeheartedly.

"Hehe~"

Smiling happily as she enjoyed the feeling of being patted on the head by her master, Mui felt that all the effort she had put into improving her strength over the years was worth it.

"Huh? Master is back!?" However, just as Mui was blissfully enjoying the head pats of her master, the sound of her senior sister echoed out from the entrance to the palace, causing the head pats to stop.

Senior sister!

Turning to the person who had caused her master to cease the head pats, Mui could not help frowning as both of her eyes narrowed dangerously. Momentarily causing Qing Yi to freeze up on the stop as she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Huh? What was that just now…" However, before Qing Yi had a chance to pinpoint where the scary feeling came from, Mui returned to her usual self.

"…"

Having seen a new side to his youngest disciple, Xuan Hao decided not to say anything and instead used the opportunity to examine his first disciple's progress over the past two years.

Hm… Peak of the Fifth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, she should be able to breakthrough to the Sixth Stage in a few weeks. Not just that, but her soul also seems to be a lot stronger than a normal Peak Fifth Stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Did she manage to breakthrough to the Artisan Realm!?

Narrowing both of his eyes upon noticing how strong her soul was, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if she had managed to break through to the Artisan Realm in alchemy. Considering that she had already been close to the peak of the Expert Realm, it was indeed possible she had broken through over the past two years…

"Qing Yi, did you manage to break through to the Artisan Realm?" Not wanting to just guess on his own, Xuan Hao decided to ask the still confused Qing Yi who had yet to fully recover from his youngest disciple's earlier stare.

"Huh? Master- Ah! Yes, I managed to experience a sudden enlightenment a few days earlier and used the opportunity to break through to the Artisan Realm. Hehe, I'm officially an Artisan Realm Alchemist now!" Recovering quickly following her master's question, Qing Yi answered honestly, while feeling surprised at how her master had managed to realize that she had become an Artisan Realm Alchemist.

After all, different from breaking through a cultivation realm, it should be impossible to tell what realm someone was in when it came to their profession.

However, her master had somehow been able to notice it. Making her admiration for her master soar to a new height. Especially considering that she hadn't told anyone about reaching the Artisan Realm yet.

"That's great, you can now be considered one of the sect's top alchemists. Not only that, but I also see that you haven't slacked off in terms of cultivation over the past two years." Not knowing about the thoughts going through his disciple's head, Xuan Hao praised her the same way he did Mui, excluding the head pats.

At the same time, deep inside, Xuan Hao realized that he soon wouldn't be able to ignore improving his professions any longer.

Other than Bai Ning whose blacksmithing realm was the same as his, Qing Yi had also managed to catch up with him.

Wait… Bai Ning's blacksmithing realm was already comparable to mine two years ago… Did he perhaps surpass me during these two years and break through to become an Artisan Realm Blacksmith-

Whoosh~!

Not even a second after he thought about Bai Ning having possibly surpassed him, a new quest popped up in front of him.

[Emergency Quest: Don't let the disciple surpass the master!]

[Description: During your absence from the sect, one of your disciples did the impossible and surpassed the master before he grew up. No matter what, it's unacceptable for the master to be inferior to the disciple and incapable of providing guidance. Ensure that you are capable of providing guidance to your disciple. Don't let him lose faith in his master and begin to doubt your strength!]

[Objective: Reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in Blacksmithing]

[Timer: 3 Months]

[Penalty: Cultivation base will be sealed for 5 years]

What in the world is this… Pseudo Saint Relam!? I just learnt about the existence of the Pseudo Saint Realm, how in the world am I supposed to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in Blacksmithing in three months' time!? And my cultivation base will be sealed for 5 years if I fail, does the system suddenly want to kill me!?

Not knowing what to say after seeing the emergency quest issued by the system, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down when he saw the penalty for failing to complete the quest. From the time he had gotten the system, this was the first time he had seen a penalty being issued instead of a reward. Showing just how seriously the system took the matter of Bai Ning surpassing him in terms of blacksmithing.

This is unreasonable, I should at-

[Reminder: It's recommended that the host does not allow disciples to surpass you in any aspect. Please keep in mind that failure to do so will result in emergency quests.]

"…"

Not even giving him a chance to complain, a new window from the system appeared in front of him.