Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 39 - He Can’t Cultivate
Chapter 39: Chapter 39: He Can’t Cultivate
Chapter 39 -39: He Can’t Cultivate
Zheng Fa flipped through the first volume of “Complete Understanding of Talisman Diagram” that was beside Seventh Young Master and squinted hard at the seam of the pages, finally making out four densely packed words:
“Save the child…”
He turned his head to look at the room filled with bookshelves and felt a bit panicked.
No matter how good his memory was, not even a dozen brains would suffice in the face of a room full of books.
The method of exhaustive search must die!
“How then, can one prove mastery of one hundred and eight Basic Primordial Talismans?” Zheng Fa asked the question he had long wanted to ask.
He remembered that to become a Talisman Master one needed to decode one hundred and eight Primordial Talismans.
If it were just these, it did not seem to be too many.
Seventh Young Master sat down and began to explain to Zheng Fa: “I just mentioned that the number of talismanic diagrams is continuously increasing, right?”
Zheng Fa nodded.
“But the number of Primordial Talismans is finite, no,” Seventh Young Master furrowed his brows, “Currently, even the Cultivators of the Immortal Sect are not sure how many Primordial Talismans there are, but what is certain is that there are far fewer Primordial Talismans than talismanic diagrams—far fewer.
Some Cultivators even say that one Primordial Talisman can correspond to countless talismanic diagrams, and Basic Primordial Talismans are the simplest and most common ones.”
Zheng Fa vaguely understood what Seventh Young Master meant.
“For example, you’ve decoded two Basic Primordial Talismans from those few talismanic diagrams, the assessment for Talisman Masters is actually similar.
It’s just that with the emergence of so many new talismanic diagrams, you couldn’t possibly see them all in these books.
You can only rely on your understanding of the Basic Primordial Talismans to decode on the spot, and not all Basic Primordial Talismans are as simple as the two you’ve decoded.”
“So relying on memorizing these books is impossible,” Zheng Fa said, somewhat disappointed.
“Memorize?
All the books in this room?” Seventh Young Master’s eyes widened: “Are you joking?”
The expression on Zheng Fa’s face was innocent, prompting Seventh Young Master to slowly open his mouth in shock:
“Are you…
serious?”
Zheng Fa was indeed not joking.
To memorize is to torture one’s own memory.
To not memorize, the only other possible method, is to continue learning topology from Old Man Bai, which would torture one’s intelligence and self-esteem.
But since memorizing was useless now, he could only try topology, even though Zheng Fa was uncertain if topology was truly effective in decoding all Primordial Talismans, it was at least a potential method.
Thinking of Old Man Bai, Zheng Fa quietly shook his head.
This old man, I had to persuade him for quite a while last time, and then Tang Lingwu mentioned a zoo…
The old man seemed to have gotten a bit intimidated again, losing his passion for martial arts.
This won’t do, a student’s lack of interest hinders the progress of me as a teacher.
…
Early in the morning, as Seventh Young Master yawned, he and Gao Yuan watched Zheng Fa practicing his stance in the training field.
The sky had just started to brighten, and Zheng Fa’s hair and the bottom of his pants were covered with dew; it was clear that he had been standing there for more than a short while.
“When did he start practicing?” asked Seventh Young Master to Gao Yuan beside him.
Gao Yuan shook his head: “He was already here when I came to practice this morning.”
Gao Yuan felt that he was about to master the Songhe Stance in the past few days and practiced even more diligently, often taking advantage of the time before morning classes to practice.
Yet this morning, he arrived to find Zheng Fa already in such a state.
Seventh Young Master stared at Zheng Fa’s face for a long while, his brows slightly furrowed with worry.
Turning to look at Gao Yuan beside him, Seventh Young Master patted his shoulder and said:
“Did you sleep well yesterday?”
“Um…
quite well?” Gao Yuan hesitated, feeling a bad premonition.
“Zheng Fa has more talent than you and he works harder too.
He gets up to practice before dawn and you’re still sleeping soundly?”
“…”
Here it comes!
A look of resigned acceptance appeared on Gao Yuan’s face, as if it was all too predictable.
“Practice!”
“Oh!”
Gao Yuan stood beside Zheng Fa, composed and unguarded.
He also assumed the Songhe Stance, while in his mind he silently recited the Nine-character True Words he had recently understood: “Can’t fight, treat it as fart, I’m a waste.”
Both of them practiced, and the Seventh Young Master did not leave either.
He just stared at the two, lost in his thoughts.
“Uncle!
I was sleeping so well!”
A woeful cry came from outside the training field.
Then, Mr.
Xu’s voice followed: “Sleeping!
What are you sleeping for!
Zheng Fa has a better talent than you and even works harder.
How can you afford to sleep!”
This somewhat familiar line made Gao Yuan involuntarily open his eyes and look toward the entrance of the training field.
Mr.
Xu, with a kick, sent a sleepy-eyed young man tumbling into the field.
Hearing how Mr.
Xu addressed him, Gao Yuan understood that this young man was probably his nephew.
Still unconvinced, Mr.
Xu’s nephew retorted, “He has the talent, manages to improve with each day of practice.
Give me his talent, and I’d be willing to practice every day, too!
Isn’t it just that I don’t have such talent?
Sleeping a bit more won’t delay much!”
Gao Yuan listened and thought it made quite a lot of sense; this person seemed to possess some great wisdom.
“Are you going to practice or not?” Mr.
Xu asked with clenched fists.
“Practicing!
Isn’t that okay with you!”
Mr.
Xu’s nephew assumed a stance, which didn’t look like the Songhe Stance but rather another kind of martial art.
Seeing his reluctant yet dare-not-defy attitude, Gao Yuan couldn’t help feeling a trace of sympathy and showed a kind smile to him.
“Why are you smiling?” The young man saw Gao Yuan’s smile and snorted.
Gao Yuan was taken aback, then heard the young man give Gao Yuan a glance, then looked at Zheng Fa, snorted softly through his nose, and muttered:
“Waking up so early, a rat in a hole just like the rest!”
Gao Yuan’s composure could no longer be maintained.
I’m such a waste, yet I have to suffer the kind of jealousy that only talents should endure.
Is there no justice!
…
As the three of them were practicing, the Seventh Young Master and Mr.
Xu exchanged a look, both showing a similar concern.
They walked over to a corner and conversed in whispers.
“What do you think, instructor?” the Seventh Young Master asked, glancing at Zheng Fa.
“Too hasty,” Mr.
Xu replied, frowning, “I’ve told them before, practicing martial arts cannot be done in greed; haste does not bring success.
The greedier you are, the more likely you are to get injured.
I thought Zheng Fa was rather stable and wouldn’t encounter this kind of problem.”
“Was he always like this?” the Seventh Young Master seemed to have thought of something.
“No…” Mr.
Xu’s expression changed, he looked at the Seventh Young Master: “Are you talking about the ‘Spiritual Crane Body’?”
The Seventh Young Master nodded gravely, “A few days ago, he hardly slept, said he was contemplating the ‘Spiritual Crane Body’.”
Mr.
Xu also looked toward Zheng Fa, shaking his head and sighing, “I thought he was more carefree than me, but it turns out…
he’s just like me.
He’d been too smooth-sailing, and he finds it hard to cope with setbacks.”
Seeing the Seventh Young Master still seemed worried, Mr.
Xu reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’m watching over him.”
The Seventh Young Master nodded, took one last look at Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, then turned and left.
…
In the lady’s pavilion, the Seventh Young Master and the lady were sitting opposite each other, each holding a cup of tea.
“I didn’t expect that by picking two Attendant Students for you, you’d be willing to visit me here more often,” the lady smiled.
“Mother!” the Seventh Young Master huffed.
“I know, I know.
It’s not because of them.”
“Speaking of which, mom, find a stewardship tutor for Gao Yuan, will you?” the Seventh Young Master abruptly said.
“Hmm?”
“He’s good with his studies, has some talent in martial arts, and understands the importance of diligence and improvement,” the Seventh Young Master no longer showed any disdain for Gao Yuan, “Find him a tutor to learn stewardship.
In the future, he would be sufficient to be the chief steward in the household.”
The lady nodded and asked, “And the other one?”
“Zheng Fa…” the Seventh Young Master’s face involuntarily showed a hint of complaint, “He has talent in the talismanic Dao, might even be able to enter the Immortal Sect…
It’s just that ‘Spiritual Crane Body’ you gave him, if he could successfully practice it there wouldn’t have been an issue.
But now, unable to practice it, he has been acting like a possessed man these past few days.”
“He was never going to manage it,” the lady looked down, watching the steam slowly rising from her teacup.
“Mother?” the Seventh Young Master slowly turned his neck, looking at his mother, “What did you just say?”
“He will not be able to practice it.”
