Hidden moth

Chapter 20 Advancement Ceremony
Taigu City is over 200 kilometers from Qiyuan, but now it only takes a little over an hour by high-speed rail. Yahu Lake, nestled at the foot of Shangfang Mountain in the southern suburbs of Taigu City, offers a picturesque setting with its rippling emerald waters.

At the foot of the mountain, next to the lake, there is a leisure resort called Chuanyue Villa. The name sounds a bit strange. There are candied haws and mutton on the string, but could there be a moon on the string?

The bridge is named after the famous local scenery of Yahu Lake Stringing Moons. There is a Xingchun Bridge with nine arches in Yahu Lake. It is said that every year on the 18th day of the eighth lunar month, from a specific point on the shore, one can see the reflection of the moon in each of the nine arches.

Another theory is that the nine semicircular bridge arches and their reflections look like nine moons in a row when viewed from a distance.

Chuanyue Villa is an industry controlled by Ye Hui, a sorcerer from the Ruwei Sect. Ye Hui is also a very powerful entrepreneur in the local area, but he is very low-key in his daily life and not many people have heard of him.

After Wu Yanjun was released from prison, he came to see Uncle Ye according to his master's last wishes. Ye Hui arranged for him to stay temporarily in Chuanyue Villa and gave him the title of technical consultant in the company under his name, with a good monthly salary.

This is what happened last month. When Wu Yanjun first came to Chuanyue Villa and saw the name, he was surprised. It seemed as if there was a divine will, because according to the homophony, this was clearly Chuanyue Villa!
The main building of the villa is a six-story building, which houses standard guest rooms, large and small conference halls, and other facilities. Behind the main building, along the foot of the mountain, there are several villa clusters distributed according to the mountain's terrain.

Villas 1 to 3 are real estate projects and have long been sold, but property management is still handled by the villa, making them standard hotel-style properties. Villas 4 and 5 are tourist resorts and hotel projects.

Each villa complex has a building that acts as a reception desk, equipped with an activity room and a small cafeteria. There are paths with corridors connecting each villa in the area and the main building of the villa.

Even on rainy days, every resident can walk through the entire villa area through these corridors and enjoy the scenery of lakes and mountains from different angles.

It didn't rain that day, so Wu Yanjun didn't walk along the corridor trail. Instead, he walked through the grass in the woods and came to the door of the activity hall of Villa No. 5. He took out a small stone and threw it into the sky.

There was a big tree next to it, and a pomelo as big as a human head fell down. Its skin had turned yellow, and Wu Yanjun reached out and caught it steadily.

A young, pretty, and energetic girl was waiting for him in the activity room. Seeing him walk in with a pomelo in his hand, she couldn't help but laugh. "Why do you always seem to be holding something like you're presenting a treasure? That pomelo isn't tasty; it's quite sour!"

Wu Yanjun: "This isn't edible. Peel the skin off and put it in your car. It's a natural air freshener."

Girl: "Tell me quickly, what happened yesterday?"

Wu Yanjun: "Junior sister..."

The girl waved her hand to interrupt him and said, "Don't keep calling me junior sister. It makes me wonder if I've traveled back to feudal society."

What does the term "junior sister" have to do with feudal society? Analyzing the brain circuit, it is probably because this term is often heard in costume dramas, and then the costumes are connected to feudal society.

Wu Yanjun: "Then what should I call you?"

Junior Sister: "Just call me by my name."

Wu Yanjun laughed: "Last time I went to school to deliver something to you, I called out to Yuxuan downstairs, and seven or eight people popped their heads out of the window, some female and some male!"

Junior Sister: "Then call me by my full name, Ye Yuxuan."

The name Yuxuan, including the similarly pronounced names Yuxuan, Yuxuan, Yuxuan..., etc., has a high recurrence rate among her generation, a bit like Tao, Wei, Qiang, Hong, Aihua, and Weidong of her father's generation.

Seeing that Wu Yanjun didn't say anything, Ye Yuxuan tilted her neck and asked, "Xiao Wu, have you noticed anything different about me today?"

Wu Yanjun looked at her carefully and said, "You've become more beautiful again. Your skin is even better?"

Ye Yuxuan's eyes and eyebrows were all smiling: "Don't be so superficial, take a closer look, test your eyesight."

Wu Yanjun suddenly realized, "You have been promoted to the second-level Mo Ke!"

How could he tell at a glance? He was just guessing. Ye Yuxuan smiled happily and said, "You're smart. I got promoted last night. I'm now the same as you, a second-level sorcerer."

When he heard these words and looked at his junior sister's expression and tone, Wu Yanjun inexplicably recalled a memory.

When he was in second grade, he passed by the window of a first-grade classroom and saw the students inside. He felt a surge of pride because he was already in second grade, not first!
The Warlock's advancement was certainly worth celebrating, and the way Junior Sister spoke was even funnier, so Xiao Wu also smiled happily. He smiled and asked, "My suggestion was good, wasn't it? It really worked this time!"

Ye Yuxuan nodded and said, "It was really an unexpected success. I didn't expect to complete the ceremony like this. I really want to thank you this time!"

He Kao, who was far away in Qiyuan, didn't know that he had been tricked by this pair of senior brothers and sisters. Ye Yuxuan actually used him to complete the promotion ceremony from the first level to the second level of the subtle technique.

If He Kao was present at the scene and heard what these two people said, with his keen sense, he would probably be able to deduce the general content of this promotion ceremony -

The ritual required to advance from the second to the third level of the Micromanipulation Technique was to personally craft an object and publicly replace the original one, making it impossible for anyone to tell the difference. So, to advance from the first to the second level, it was likely to involve swapping an object, making it impossible for someone to tell the difference!

The content of the ritual is indeed as such, but both the object and the person have specific requirements, and it is not easy to meet the conditions, and sometimes even repeated attempts are required.

Ye Yuxuan had indeed swapped He Kao's claw pendant. She was the sixth and final person to do so, so it wasn't the original. Qian Guran had already swapped the original, but the two brothers and sisters were unaware of it.

Over a month ago, Wu Yanjun approached his uncle, Ye Hui, to inquire about his master's case. Ye Hui had already investigated it and, through connections, had obtained a copy of the case file, from which he had discerned some clues.

Following the clues, I happened to find Zhou Du's case. Investigating Zhou Du was a bit difficult because he had passed away 20 years ago and a lot of information was missing.

Ye Hui noticed that Zhou Du had a son named He Kao, but he first ruled out He Kao as a suspect because there was evidence in several recent incidents of hidden moths that showed no connection to He Kao.

Their investigation into the matter also aroused Ye Yuxuan's interest, so Ye Yuxuan wanted to go to Qiyuan to find Yin Mo, but Ye Hui warned her not to get involved in such things easily. However, Ye Yuxuan was already an adult and ran away on her own.

Wu Yanjun was worried about his junior sister, so he followed her to Qiyuan. He always felt that his master was publicly dissuading his junior sister, but in fact he was tacitly approving her. He also told him to protect his junior sister after arriving in Qiyuan, not to let her do anything wrong, and to contact him in time if anything happened.

Ye Yuxuan, like Qian Guran, also set her eyes on the animal claw pendant worn by He Kao, but she was too late and got the sixth pendant.

Ye Hui's investigation had already ruled out He Kao's suspicion, so why did Ye Yuxuan still keep an eye on him? Because she discovered that several people from the Shu sect were secretly spying on He Kao.

On the other hand, she believed she should think independently. Who said her father's judgment was always correct? She brought the swapped claws back to Taigu City. Wu Yanjun only protected her secretly throughout the whole process and did nothing.

After returning to Taigu City, Ye Yuxuan felt that the beast claw was indeed quite particular, but it was not a rare item, let alone a legendary artifact.

Ye Hui, upon hearing the news, also took the item for identification and concluded with certainty that she had made a mistake. He then criticized her behavior, stating that it was wrong in every way. Wu Yanjun then urged his junior sister to return the item, but how could she do so? Should she confront He Kao and admit to being a thief? Wu Yanjun volunteered and came up with another idea.

The idea is to take the opportunity to try the promotion ceremony.

Ye Yuxuan had already mastered the first stage of the Art of Into Subtlety, and all she needed to do was complete this ritual. She had attempted it twice before, but both had failed, so she decided to go with the flow this time.

Wu Yanjun's words really touched Ye Yuxuan, otherwise how could she be so obedient.

He Kao had worn the animal claw for twenty years, and he hadn't noticed it was replaced by Ye Yuxuan. When Wu Yanjun returned it, he still couldn't tell the real thing from the fake when they were placed side by side.

The design of this ceremony was simply amazing! Ye Yuxuan had indeed successfully advanced.

The sorcerer's advancement ritual is so metaphysical. Perhaps it's because the sorcery itself is metaphysical, many things cannot be explained or understood, and everyone can only experience it for themselves.

For example, if He Kao didn't notice that his pendant had been replaced, would that be considered a success? Yes, but not completely. It was just one of the prerequisites for success.

At least before Xiao Wu found He Kao, Ye Yuxuan felt that the ceremony was not successful.

However, Xiao Wu found He Kao, exposed Ye Yuxuan's trick, and returned the "original" pendant to He Kao. He Kao still couldn't tell the authenticity of the pendant, and came to ask Xiao Wu again. This step seemed to be the real effect of the ritual.

When Ye Yuxuan heard the news, it was as if a blessing had come to him. That night, while sitting in meditation, he knew that the time had come. In an instant, his body and mind became one, his form and spirit became one... In Mandarin, his body and senses became harmonious, and his magic level reached a higher level.

What if Xiao Wu didn't do this, or didn't tell her the real result after doing it? This cannot be assumed, and in theory it shouldn't happen, because the sorcerer's observation of the result is itself part of the ritual.

What are the requirements for being a first-level imitator and a second-level poet? The starting point of the art of subtlety is to pursue dexterity and ingenuity. The first level can be described as mind, and the second level as dexterity and ingenuity.

Even He Kao couldn't tell the real animal claw pendant made by Ye Yuxuan from a fake one. Doesn't that mean she's not ingenious? This is different from what ordinary people understand. Those who have achieved the first level of subtlety are commonly known as imitators, and their main ability is reflected in their senses.

For example, if you want to make a fake, you must first make a careful observation of the original. Sometimes this observation does not involve holding it in your hands and pondering it, but often just a quick glance, which requires a very keen perception.

Perception ability involves many factors such as nerve reaction speed and mental concentration, and all senses are coordinated and even interconnected. To a certain extent, the body often cannot keep up.

There's a saying that goes, "You're aware, but your movements aren't keeping up," which is often seen in sports. For example, when playing soccer, some players accelerate and turn quickly, which can easily cause strains or sprains.

While each technique has its own specific requirements, the challenges faced by first-level sorcerers are similar. Increasingly enhanced perceptions will always reach a limit, and exceeding this limit will lead to disharmony between body and mind, form and spirit.

It’s like trying to carve a poem on a grain of rice. Your eyesight is good enough, but your hands aren’t steady enough.

Ye Yuxuan had been trying to solve this problem for some time, and it suddenly came to her mind while she was sitting there last night. It was like finally putting on cool clothes in the increasingly hot season, and she felt refreshed from the inside out.

Is meditation necessary for practicing subtle techniques? In many cases, it's not necessary, as you're not a monk practicing Zen. However, sitting still is essential, primarily for the purpose of observing and controlling one's own state.

Wu Yanjun was an experienced person, and he guessed it immediately after seeing his junior sister's expression. In fact, when he first proposed designing this promotion ceremony, he was already 60% to 70% sure.

So, does it take a promotion ceremony to become a first-level sorcerer from an ordinary person, such as an imitator of the Ruwei Sect? Of course there is.

To acquire keen perception, the prerequisite is calm observation, and the prerequisite for calmness is to control emotions. Wu Yanjun completed this step in the detention center, which was designed for him by his master Zhang Yanfei.

Think about the kind of people held in detention centers. Many of these "tenants" are very aggressive and can explode at the slightest friction. In such an environment, extreme emotions are more easily amplified.

Controlling emotions was the first thing Zhang Yanfei taught Wu Yanjun. Of course, if it weren't for the master's secret help in suppressing the conflict, Wu Yanjun's first step in the promotion ceremony would not have been easy to succeed.

It cannot be said that first-level warlocks have no emotions. Their keen perception allows them to have far richer emotions than ordinary people. For example, they are not necessarily braver than ordinary people, but they often do not panic, scream, faint, etc.

This is very important because as your perception ability strengthens, you will notice many things that you couldn't discover before, and even see things that ordinary people can't see, and have some inexplicable sensations, which is called spiritual perception.

First-level cultivators have spiritual perception, but it is not yet clear. In this situation, if they are not calm enough, they will often be disturbed by various things.

Ye Yuxuan advanced to the second level, and the plan of the two brothers and sisters was successful, but He Kao's problem has not been solved yet.

Wu Yanjun: "It's certainly a good thing that you were able to advance this time, but you can't do this kind of thing again. Stealing is wrong no matter what. Even if you really want it, you can always buy it from him!"

Ye Yuxuan blinked and said, "Xiao Wu, have you ever thought about another thing? What I did was actually good for him!"

Wu Yanjun: "What's the benefit?"

Ye Yuxuan: "Is there someone else secretly spying on He Kao?"

Wu Yanjun: "Yes, there should be."

Ye Yuxuan: "Even my dad thought there was something wrong with his original pendant. After taking it and carefully examining it, he found that it was not the case. Although the craftsmanship of the pendant I made is not as good, everyone can see that it is not worth paying attention to.

If he still wore the original pendant, someone would inevitably take advantage of it, and it could be dangerous. I replaced it with a less dangerous one, which is also a kind of protection for him."

Wu Yanjun: "Why do I feel like... you're trying to force yourself to be right?"

Ye Yuxuan: "Just tell me if it makes sense!"

"It's just a lucky coincidence at best!" Wu Yanjun thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, I have to find him again and explain this clearly, because the things have already been returned."

Ye Yuxuan: "You seem to care about him a lot."

Wu Yanjun: "This guy is not bad. We had a drink together and got along well. He is worth making friends with."

**
(End of this chapter)