darknovel Chapter 35 A wise man keeps his talents hidden and waits for the right opportunity to act.
Chapter 35 A wise man keeps his talents hidden and waits for the right opportunity to act.
"What?"
"Dog, is it because you spend all your time with us that you've angered the sect leader?"
"Ergou, you're an inner disciple, aren't you?"
"Ergou, did you do something wrong?"
Upon hearing Wang Shouzhou's words, the crowd erupted in a clamor. Although they had never taken Wang Shouzhou's status as an inner disciple seriously, they still found it quite unusual.
However, they always regarded Wang Shouzhou as their support in Qingyun Mountain, and they all huddled together around Wang Ergou for warmth.
Now, Wang Ergou has been demoted to an outer disciple, which they see as a sign of his loss of power.
Wang Shouzhou looked at the crowd, who were even more anxious than him, and laughed, "What are you bastards thinking? The sect leader has appointed me as the senior disciple of the outer sect."
"The sect leader's idea is that, starting tomorrow, I will be in charge of the martial arts training of the outer disciples. Uncle Zhou is getting old and his energy is limited, so I will take over the daily training of the outer disciples from now on."
The room was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.
"Senior Brother? Er Gou, you're going to be the Senior Brother? You son of a bitch, are you even capable?"
"The sect leader personally appointed him? Dog, you've been promoted!"
"I knew the sect leader valued Brother Shouzhuo!"
Wang Shouzhou raised his hand and pressed down to quiet everyone down before continuing, "The sect leader also said that since we can't cultivate immortality, we should practice martial arts. If we cultivate martial arts to a high level, we can kill immortals with mortal skills."
Seeing that everyone looked at him as if he were kidding, Wang Shouzhou quickly pointed to the sky and swore, "I didn't say that, the sect leader said it. If you don't believe me, go ask the sect leader tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing how certain Wang Shouzhou was, they knew that the matter was probably true.
Wang Shouzhou's gaze swept over the crowd; these were all his brothers who had made a living together at the docks.
They were just like him, with extremely low aptitude for cultivation and almost no hope of success in the Qi Refining method. Fortunately, the sect leader gave them another path.
"The sect leader said that Qingyun Sect will not be confined to this mountain in the future. We will follow the sect leader out of Qingyun Mountain and out of Qinghe County. The sect leader told me that when that time comes, we outer disciples will be the first disciples to go down the mountain, and we will be the vanguard of Qingyun Sect."
"Brothers, the sect leader trusts us so much, do you think we can let him down?"
"If you want to learn martial arts, then learn martial arts."
"What's there to be afraid of? Practicing martial arts is much more interesting than meditation."
That being said, Wang Shouzhou knew perfectly well that they were just comforting themselves; who wouldn't want to cultivate immortality and live forever?
But talent is something determined by fate. The sect leader gave them this opportunity out of compassion, so it's just that they weren't fortunate enough to receive it.
Wang Shouzhou muttered to himself, "Fortunately, there is still the path of martial arts."
That night, the group didn't sleep well at all, and they got up very early the next morning.
On the training ground, Wang Shouzhou stood at the front, in a standard horse stance, leading his junior brothers to practice their boxing forms, punch by punch.
His movements were far from smooth and fluid, but every punch he threw was filled with ruthlessness.
That was an instinct born from a laborer's background; he wanted to put all his strength into every blow.
Zhou Bo watched for a while from below the training ground, then shook his head slightly. In his opinion, Wang Shouzhou's training method was too forceful and aggressive, but it was also prone to failure.
However, he did not rush to correct Wang Shouzhou's shortcomings, but instead turned to instruct several new disciples who were progressing slowly.
Shen Qing stood at the academy gate in the distance, watching the outer disciples sweating profusely on the training ground, and watching Wang Shouzhou correct his junior brothers' movements again and again. Suddenly, he felt that this peasant who had once been used as a "tool" by him had already developed a kind of aura.
This aura doesn't come from improved cultivation, but from an explosion of inner strength.
When a person develops ambition, their every move becomes quite different from before.
Wang Shouzhou's eyes were completely different from those of the timid dockworker he had been four months ago in front of the local temple.
Shen Qing looked for a moment, then turned and walked into the quiet room.
Zhong Xiu, Xu Shouzhen, and Fang Shourou had been waiting in the room for a long time; today was the day of the agreed-upon lesson.
Zhong Xiu sat cross-legged on the central prayer mat, with Xu Shouzheng and Fang Shourou sitting on either side.
Each of the three had a handwritten manual of cultivation techniques in front of them. This was the "Qi Gathering Technique" that Shen Qing had copied in his spare time, which contained the incantations and cultivation insights.
"Your cultivation of Qi techniques takes at most several months, and at least a little over a month."
Shen Qing's gaze swept over the three of them, and he began to explain this new life-saving technique to them.
"The method of gathering qi is different from cultivating qi. Cultivating qi is about 'gathering', which means taking the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the dantian and making it one's own. Gathering qi is about 'concealing', which means hiding one's own cultivation and spiritual roots within, so that they are not detected by outsiders."
"One conceals, the other hides; one is outward, the other inward, they complement each other. You are the foundation of the sect's future, but right now you are nothing, just fledglings who have just stepped into the world of cultivation. Therefore, before you are strong enough, you must learn to hide yourselves."
Xu Ping opened the booklet, his gaze falling on the formula on the first page, his brows furrowing slightly.
Fang Xue watched intently, her lips moving silently as she recited the incantation.
Zhong Xiu didn't flip through the booklet; she just looked at Shen Qing and quietly waited for him to continue.
"All three of you have dual spiritual roots. Such talent can be considered top-notch in Qinghe County, and even in Fenglin County it can be considered remarkable, but that is only your potential."
"A tiny sapling has the potential to grow into a towering tree, but before that, the little sapling cannot withstand the gentle snap of a naughty child."
"The first thing I'm going to teach you today is that if you want to talk about the future, you must first live in the present."
"While you are here in Qingyun Sect, I can protect you. But once you leave the sect, your aptitude may be exposed when you come into contact with other cultivators."
Shen Qing paused, his gaze falling on Xu Ping: "Shouzheng, tell me, what is the greatest danger a person can face?"
Xu Shouzhen was silent for a moment before replying, "I'm being watched by someone else."
"That's right. So how can we avoid being targeted?"
Xu Shouzhen frowned, thought for a moment, and then replied, "...Don't let others know that you possess something he's interested in?"
Shen Qing nodded and said, "Although it's not entirely correct, it's close enough. This is precisely the purpose of this technique."
"It can conceal your aptitude and cultivation level, making you appear as ordinary inner disciples. Zhong Xiu can disguise herself as a second or third level Qi Refining cultivator, while Xu Ping and Fang Xue can disguise themselves as a first level Qi Refining cultivator."
"As for Qi Refining Level 1 or Qi Refining Level 3, even disciples with average aptitude can achieve it as long as they are willing to work hard. You don't need to pretend to be useless, as that will only attract attention. The best disguise is to be inconspicuous, neither good nor bad, neither high nor low, and to be lost in the crowd."
Fang Shourou raised his head and asked softly, "Sect Master, between fellow disciples... isn't it necessary to say so much?"
"No need. As close as the three of you are, it's enough for each other to know. As for others, even your best fellow disciples, there's no need to say more. This isn't a matter of trust, it's about caution."