### Chapter 213: Down-to-Earth and Responsible!
It was nighttime when a streak of spiritual light from a sword zipped across the Outer Gate Disciple living area.
An alert Law Enforcement Hall member on duty noticed a cultivator flying above and immediately cast a vigilant gaze upward, only to find out it was a female cultivator!
He wanted to rush forward but was stopped by his senior brother behind him.
“Hey, newbie! Are you blind? That’s Master Youyue, one of our sect’s elders! You want to go up and stop her?”
“But… the sect rules state that female cultivators aren’t allowed in the male disciple’s residence during rest hours…”
“Yeah, that’s for disciples, not elders. Besides, who knows why Master Youyue would suddenly drop by the guys’ dorm? Let it be; it’s not our business.”
But let’s be real, Master Youyue was famously cold. There’s no way she came to check out some male disciple for a midnight raid, right?
Ha! Ridiculous!
So the Law Enforcement member shrugged it off and continued patrolling.
“Ah, the Yun kid should live around here.”
Moments later, Master Youyue landed in the central area.
She had just floated above and noticed that most Outer Gate Disciples were sound asleep. There were hardly any of them burning the midnight oil anymore.
These youngsters had access to far better resources than she ever did at their age, and their talent was off the charts, yet very few were willing to put in the actual effort.
But in the midst of all this, there was still one flickering light.
That was Master Youyue’s destination.
She suppressed her aura, tiptoeing up to a window, and what she saw made her heart swell: Yun Zhonghe was furiously engrossed in studying spells!
At that moment, Yun Zhonghe was cross-legged on his bed, reading a manual intently, practicing hand seals while chanting spells in a mock-up of spellcasting.
Still studying so late at night!
Seeing him work so hard warmed Master Youyue’s heart. Back when she was in Cangzhou City, she had secretly observed Yun Zhonghe.
He maintained a disciplined and orderly lifestyle every day and dedicated himself to practicing sword techniques. Master Youyue had often peeked at the impressive sights of the young boy practicing swordsmanship.
Every time she saw Yun Zhonghe, she felt that the world still had hard-working prodigies.
If only Mu Jixue had half the determination of Yun Zhonghe!
But alas, she already had Mu Jixue as a disciple and, according to sect rules, couldn’t take on anymore unless Mu Jixue graduated.
Master Youyue felt both admiration and regret, a flicker of pity flashing through her eyes.
“Hmm, completed another one, getting smoother by the minute!”
Just then, Yun Zhonghe had finished learning one spell and picked up another manual.
Master Youyue’s beautiful eyes blinked in curiosity.
He hadn’t studied any spells before, right? Today was the first day of classes, and per usual, new disciples would learn basic spells as a project for the end of the month.
He completed an entire spell in just one night?
From what Master Youyue gathered from Mu Jixue, both Yun Zhonghe and Mu Jixue had already reached the initial understanding stage, with Yun Zhonghe being in the mid-stage.
The higher your spiritual realm, the more efficiently you learn low-level spells.
But Master Youyue was pretty sure that someone at the initial understanding mid-stage wouldn’t be learning basic spells in just five to six days.
Spells weren’t all that easy to grasp, especially for a sword cultivator like Yun Zhonghe, who wasn’t even a professional spellcaster!
Master Youyue worried he might be rushing and only skimming over the surface.
That wouldn’t do; proper cultivation requires solid groundwork, and impatience should be avoided!
Though she didn’t really see Yun Zhonghe as the type to chase quick results; he had always seemed calm and mature beyond his years.
So, Master Youyue decided to wait a bit longer.
Let’s see what Yun Zhonghe was really up to. If there was an issue, she’d step in to offer guidance.
Not long later, Yun Zhonghe set down the manual again, got off his bed, and started practicing spells in the empty room.
“Golden Sand Technique!”
“Golden Light Technique!”
The two spells went off without a hitch!
Master Youyue’s eyes widened in amazement.
Wait… did he actually learn a spell?
While she had no clue how long it took him to master the first spell, it was crystal clear: he nailed the second spell in less than half an hour!
Such ridiculous talent—how could anyone not be astonished?
Master Youyue knew Yun Zhonghe was sharp; this was a kid who had learned sword techniques at a breakneck speed. He’d even reached sword realms in no time, making him a once-in-a-century swordsman!
But… he learned spells this fast too?!
What other secrets did this boy have hidden away?!
Master Youyue couldn’t stop her heart from pounding as she gazed at Yun Zhonghe.
It was a truly bittersweet feeling; what a pity to let such a genius go by without snagging him as her own!
Cool as she usually was, Master Youyue felt warmer in her chilly demeanor.
—
A night of diligent studying.
Yun Zhonghe lost track of how many spells he’d learned.
He spent the whole night awake, and instead of feeling tired, he was bursting with energy, feeling like a powerhouse!
His mind was clearer than ever.
“Two percent complete!”
Yun Zhonghe closed his eyes, feeling the progress of his spiritual pearl; he had made it to about two percent.
This meant he pretty much mastered ten spells in a single night!
That’s a whopping two thousand spirit stones!
“Guess learning spells isn’t as hard as I thought.”
He had spent an entire hour mastering the first spell, but the more he learned, the quicker he got it down; the second took only half an hour.
At this rate, breaking through to the late initial understanding stage, or even hitting the nurturing stage, was no longer just a dream!
“Of course, the biggest factor was that Xue Yunjian didn’t bother me last night.”
Normally, even if she wasn’t sucking up his spiritual energy, Xue Yunjian would pop out for some airtime, but surprisingly, she didn’t show her face last night.
Weird.
But Yun Zhonghe wasn’t too concerned; he was full of motivation, after all, and a very bold idea popped into his mind.
He wanted to learn all eight hundred spells!
Only someone as crazy as Yun Zhonghe would think of that.
But to break through his spiritual realms faster, he had to go for it!
This representative role was absolutely worth it!
With that motivation, Yun Zhonghe became more focused on his duties.
Today was day two.
Bright and early, Yun Zhonghe ventured out. This time, he didn’t head directly to Su Xiaoxiao’s place but began knocking on doors to remind his classmates.
“Zhao bro, you have class this morning on sword techniques; don’t forget!”
Zhao, just waking up, looked completely bewildered.
It took him a moment to register who was shouting at him.
Isn’t that the new disciple representative from yesterday?
From this day onward, they wouldn’t all be crammed into one big lecture hall.
The Outer Gate had different classes based on the disciples’ future paths—some had classes while others could work on their own cultivation.
As the representative, it was Yun Zhonghe’s job to ensure no disciples skipped any classes.
Which is why this representative task was so tedious.
“Yun, you came personally…?”
Zhao felt a mix of shock and honor.
The prodigy who breezed through the thirty-fifth level of the Myriad Path Divine Tower came to remind him for class? Now that’s a surprise!
Yun Zhonghe smiled, “It’s my duty, just making sure everyone doesn’t miss the lecture.”
Zhao was quick to express his gratitude. “Really, representative, this is too much. I’ll keep an eye on it; no need to remind me next time.”
“No problem at all.”
Yun Zhonghe flashed a smile; building good relationships with fellow disciples was also an important strategy for him.
