Chapter 391: Recorders of the Past and Present (Part Two)

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.
Su Chen understood that he was now in a small sect called Tianyuan Sect.
The sect leader was a martial artist at the fifth realm, the Spirit Soul Realm.
Although the sect was small, it was fully functional.
In the mouths of all the sect disciples, Tianyuan Sect was originally just an even smaller sect, reduced to a mere mountain peak.
But with the emergence of this generation's sect leader, the small mountain peak had grown into one of the most powerful forces in the surrounding area.
The reputation of Tianyuan Sect began to resound from here, becoming a respected force.
The disciples' tone was filled with admiration for their sect leader.
He was indeed a 'legendary' figure.
Su Chen commented inwardly.
Although not as renowned as those prodigies who had achieved fame throughout the heavens.
But in the eyes of everyone in Tianyuan Sect, their sect leader was that legend, an idol.
These past few months, Su Chen had enjoyed a lot of leisure.
He was also enjoying this rare period of leisure.
The sect was vast, with over a thousand disciples.
His job was to record the life stories of deceased disciples and elders.
Disciples and elders couldn't die every day.
Therefore, Su Chen didn't have work every day.
At least not since he entered the Tianyuan Sect.
From the frigid winter snow to the revival of all things.
And now, in the cicada-filled height of summer.
He hadn't had a single truly meaningful 'job'.
Just as he was thinking this,
Su Chen noticed movement outside the door.
Someone's coming!
Su Chen rose from his rocking chair and watched as a figure slowly walked in, his face filled with sorrow.
The dead cannot be brought back to life.
Life stories naturally rely on the living to recount them.
Su Chen could see the sadness in the newcomer was genuine; he knew the deceased was probably someone very close to the deceased.
As it turned out, Su Chen's guess was correct.
The newcomer's name was Yue Anping.
The deceased was his Daoist partner, Hua Caidie.
Yue Anping and Hua Caidie were both ordinary martial artists of the Tianyuan Sect, lacking exceptional talent compared to the more gifted inner disciples. Even in their thirties, they remained ordinary outer disciples.
Yue Anping was more talented than Hua Caidie, having recently broken through to the Spirit Pattern Realm, a cause for celebration. For an outer disciple to reach the Spirit Pattern Realm usually meant becoming a minor steward.
However, Hua Caidie's cultivation was stuck at the peak of the Spirit Gathering stage.
Su Chen meticulously recorded Hua Caidie's life story.
She entered the Tianyuan Sect in her youth, and later became Daoist partners with outer disciple Yue Anping, remaining inseparable.
The story ended with: Failed to break through to the Spirit Pattern Realm, died.
The life of an ordinary disciple was condensed into these brief words.
"Thank you,"
Yue Anping said gratefully.
Su Chen watched the slightly graying man leave, and sighed softly.
The path of martial arts has always been like this.
Without sufficient aptitude, failing to break through realms and dying is the most common outcome.
However... when it happens to a loved one, it's a different story.
After Yue Anping left, no one had visited Su Chen's place for a long time.
Tianyuan Sect was, after all, a major sect in the surrounding area.
Disciples rarely died in competition.
Su Chen was happy to have some peace and quiet.
........
Midsummer, autumn, and winter passed.
In the blink of an eye, another season of renewal arrived.
Su Chen saw a familiar young man.
"It's you?"
This was the very young man who had so carefully cared for Su Chen, and the one who had recommended the position of 'Recorder' to him.
However, the young man before him had lost some of his youthful exuberance and become somewhat more composed.
Clearly, the events that had transpired had matured him.
"Nameless old man, I want you to record someone for me."
Su Chen nodded.
Nameless old man—this was because he had no name, or perhaps he didn't want to remember his original name. Now, he was merely a recorder...recording others, but not himself. Names were no longer important.
"Who do you want to record?"
The young man said, "My master."
The young man's name was Li Li.
He was a disciple of Elder Wang of the Inner Sect.
Elder Wang was both a teacher and a father to Li Li.
Unfortunately, his three-hundred-year lifespan had ended, and he remained at the Spirit Sea Realm.
The Spirit Sea Realm has a lifespan of three hundred years...when life ends, dust returns to dust.
Su Chen slowly picked up his pen and began to record the life of a sect elder.
Wang Heshou, in his youth, joined the Tianyuan Sect, harboring great ambitions. He befriended Ruan Jingtian, and together they dedicated themselves to rebuilding the sect, defeating numerous geniuses and securing the thirty-fifth place among the prodigies of the Mu Jing Dynasty. Later, he refused the Mu Jing Dynasty's royal offer of recruitment, choosing instead to remain in the impoverished Tianyuan Sect to rebuild its foundations, nurturing countless disciples.
He lived to the age of three hundred, passing away peacefully in his sleep.
Wang Heshou's life story far surpasses that of Hua Caidie.
Yet, in the end, it is only summarized in a brief page.
Li Li spoke: "Thank you."
Su Chen said: "This is simply my duty."
Li Li watched Su Chen tidy the scroll and place it on a high shelf: "This work is indeed suitable for you."
Li Li left.
Su Chen smiled faintly.
Perhaps.
Su Chen heard a mournful bell tolling outside the door.
The death of a highly respected elder was a tremendous loss for the entire sect.
The entire Tianyuan Sect was shrouded in grief. Even former rivals had set aside their past grievances with the passing of Wang Heshou.
Su Chen felt no sorrow.
Life and death were commonplace.
However, this reminded Su Chen of this life… he was already over sixty.
Although he had inadvertently consumed a fourth-grade pill, which would allow him to live to eighty or ninety,
he would ultimately die like the elders of the Tianyuan Sect.
Twenty or thirty years would pass in the blink of an eye.
This was his only variable.
"Perhaps this life cannot end so peacefully,"
Su Chen pondered.
As the commotion surrounding Elder Wang Heshou's death gradually subsided, the people of Tianyuan Sect recovered from their grief. Life had to go on; the living couldn't remain trapped in sorrow forever.
Su Chen found himself with some peace again.
He had considered training disciples for Tianyuan Sect.
But ultimately, he gave up.
He wasn't sure if doing so would attract the attention of the mastermind behind it all.
He couldn't expose himself; he couldn't wait for a second variable.
Five months later, another disciple came to his door.
The record indicated it was one of his close friends.
Zhou Hua, an outer disciple, had died in the jaws of a demonic beast while searching for opportunities.
Su Chen raised his eyes.
At least... there was still a friend who was willing to remember him, and willing for the sect to remember him.
The young man thanked him.
Su Chen smiled and placed Zhou Hua's deeds alongside Hua Caidie's.
This time, less than a month later, someone else came, causing Su Chen to mutter to himself,
"Tianyuan Sect...it seems the frequency of disciple deaths has increased recently."
Previously, one would die every six months, but now one was gone in less than a month.
"I am Yue Anping's friend, and I have come at Yue Anping's request."
The visitor showed no sadness; it seemed he had simply come to instruct him on something to complete.