Rebirth of the Useless Bastard Son

“No matter how much progress one makes, it still can’t compare to the sect master,” Li Tianyan replied with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

The Haoyue Immortal Sect Master practiced the Haoyue Divine Art, allowing practitioners to absorb the essence of the stars and moon for their own use. Over time, this imbued them with a profound aura of the stars and moon, commanding respect when others beheld it.

“Master Li Tianyan is too modest; please, have a seat,” the Haoyue Sect Master gestured.

Li Tianyan sat down across from Elder Yue Feng and got straight to the point. “I wonder if the sect master is looking for me regarding an important matter?”

“You must already know that Hengwu Continent has passages to other continents,” the Haoyue Sect Master said directly.

Li Tianyan nodded. “I do understand, but I’m not aware of the situation on the other side of the continent.”

The Haoyue Sect Master, satisfied to hear this, replied, “A senior from the Haoyue Immortal Sect recently returned from the other side of the passage.”

“I wonder if the sect master would be willing to give me some advice.” Li Tianyan had suspected the Haoyue Sect Master’s intentions before arriving. Now that he had an idea, he followed the sect master’s lead.

As expected, a faint smile appeared on the Haoyue Sect Master’s face, and he said slowly, “From what he shared, the other side of the passage is vast and boundless, with blessed lands rich in cultivation resources. However, many races live there—a mix of fish and dragons. It is not as peaceful as Hengwu Continent.”

Li Tianyan listened carefully and then asked again, “I would like to take the liberty to ask, did the Haoyue Sect Master know the name of that continent? What was the cultivation level of the highest-level cultivator?”

“I only knew that it was called Infinite Island. In addition to the Nascent Soul, there was even a Void Refining Stage,” Haoyue Sect Master did not hide it.

“Infinite Island?” Li Tianyan whispered to himself. The name sounded more like an island than a continent.

“However, on Infinite Island, cultivators could build their own cities once they reached the Nascent Soul stage and become the overlord of a region. As a result, the power on Infinite Island was extremely fragmented. Some cities even had chaotic rules. If you weren’t careful, you could easily get into trouble,” the Haoyue Immortal Sect Master reminded him.

“Thank you, sect master, for telling me.” Li Tianyan smiled and expressed his gratitude. But he also sensed that the Haoyue Sect Master had something more to say, and as expected, he watched the other party take out a waist badge and send it over with his true spiritual energy.

“This waist badge was left by a senior of the Haoyue Immortal Sect. He is the city lord of Hengyue City on Infinite Island. If you have no direction when you go there, you might as well visit. With this badge, he will definitely take care of you,” Sect Master Haoyue explained.

This was the purpose of his invitation to Li Tianyan. Those who could reach Infinite Island from the passage were people of outstanding qualifications. If he could help recruit him into Hengyue City, it would be a significant achievement. Additionally, Li Tianyan would be taken care of by Hengyue City in the future and would also feel grateful to the Haoyue Immortal Sect.

“Thank you very much for your kindness, sect master, Li Tianyan will always remember it.” Li Tianyan sighed inwardly as he accepted the badge and did not refuse to thank him.

Seeing this, the sect master’s face showed a satisfied smile.

After Li Tianyan left, Elder Yue Feng, standing next to him, said, “The sect master truly wants to let him go.”

The sect master of the Haoyue Immortal Sect maintained his composure and only said a few words, “It is better to open doors than to close them.”

Moreover, Li Tianyan could not be held back now even if they wanted to.

After running around all day, when Li Tianyan returned to the small courtyard where the Cheng family lived, it was already night, and everyone had gone back to their rooms to rest. The entire courtyard looked particularly serene and peaceful under the moonlight.

Li Tianyan gently pushed open the door to his room. As expected, Cheng Qi was not asleep yet, sitting alone at the table and painting with great focus. Li Tianyan smiled and leaned closer to look, but the smile on his face instantly froze.

“You’re back.” Cheng Qi was so engrossed in painting that he hadn’t even noticed Li Tianyan enter. When his shadow fell on the table, Cheng Qi turned around, surprised.

“Yes, I’m back. What are you painting?” Li Tianyan asked, staring at the paintings on the table, clinging to a glimmer of hope.

But as soon as Cheng Qi spoke, his hope was dashed. “Of course, it’s the young master.”

“But I didn’t draw this one well, so I’ll try again.” Cheng Qi also thought the painting was a bit unsatisfactory. He grabbed a pile of discarded sketches stacked nearby and picked up another blank sheet.

Li Tianyan took a glance at Cheng Qi’s previous creations, and his expression grew increasingly peculiar. It turned out the earlier one had been an improvement, as he could at least recognize the person in the painting.

Turning to Cheng Qi, he saw her his face marked with splotches of ink, the most noticeable being five ink-stained finger marks on his left cheek.

Li Tianyan stifled a laugh and pointed at his cheek. “Why have you turned into a little cat?”

“Is there really ink on my face?” Cheng Qi raised his hand to wipe it, only to smear it even more.

“Don’t move.” Finally, Li Tianyan took pity on his and grabbed his hand. A stream of water essence flowed through his fingertips, and the ink stains on Cheng Qi’s hand and cheek were quickly washed away.

“Why did you suddenly decide to learn painting?” Li Tianyan asked as he helped clean his face.

“Because Cheng Yu’s paintings look beautiful, I wanted to learn from him,” Cheng Qi replied, somewhat envious. Cheng Yu was very skilled and seemed capable of everything.

“I’ll teach you how to paint,” Li Tianyan said with a smile, ruffling his hair.

“Okay, okay!” Cheng Qi’s eyes sparkled as he straightened up and sat down.

“Hold the brush like this,” he instructed. After correcting his grip, he guided his hand over the inkstone and then onto the blank paper.

Cheng Qi watched as the ink gradually marked the paper, but all his thoughts were on the person behind him, who was standing so very close.