Chapter 232 Midnight Guidance, Immediate Effect
There were a large number of mysterious species of darkness that people didn’t know of. Some of them weren’t threatening, but most of them had an extremely strong inclination to attack. If one didn’t pay attention, they might suffer. Li Ziqi was enraged to see Xuanyuan Po darting out excitedly. (Don’t you use your brain when you do things?)
(I know your battle prowess is strong, but how are you different from a fool if you dart out recklessly without any information?)
Jiang Leng had a cold appearance but a warm heart. Hence, he pounced out at the first instance without any hesitation, moving light on his feet. With a few leaps, he closed in the distance with Xuanyuan Po.
Amongst Sun Mo’s six personal disciples, Jiang Leng was the fastest. “I’ll go too!”
Lu Zhiruo drew her sword and quickly gave chase.
“No.”
Li Ziqi stopped her. (Given your battle prowess, you’ll only be a burden if you go.) “Tantai, keep an eye on Zhiruo, don’t let her run off. I’ll go take a look!”
“You better stay here.”
Tantai Yutang didn’t hold any hopes toward Li Ziqi’s motor skills. If there was any danger, she’d definitely be weaker than Lu Zhiruo.
“Don’t go!”
Sun Mo’s voice rang out from inside the tent.
Boom!
At the same time, the spirit qi in the surroundings erupted with a loud sound. They were like seething tsunamis gathering toward the tent. After Ying Baiwu’s bones were fixed, she started to strive for a breakthrough.
“But the two martial juniors...”
Li Ziqi frowned. She felt that as the eldest martial sister, she had the responsibility to protect the others. Although her battle prowess was weak, she had a good brain and could give them ideas.
“Jiang Leng is very reliable. Leave it to him.”
Sun Mo looked at Ying Baiwu who was striving for a breakthrough and let out a sigh. He should immediately go after the two students and bring them back, but with this student here striving for a breakthrough, he couldn’t leave either. He had to watch over her.
If anything were to go amiss, he’d be able to salvage the situation in time.
Time passed by and the people waiting felt very anxious. Thankfully, Ying Baiwu had outstanding aptitude and succeeded after three minutes, breaking through to the fourth level of the body-refinement realm perfectly.
“Teacher!”
Ying Baiwu looked very agitated. She had become stronger again.
“En, you can take a rest first!”
Sun Mo darted out. “Zhiruo follow me. Ziqi and Tantai stay here.”
“Alright!”
The papaya girl immediately followed Sun
Mo.
Li Ziqi’s gaze looked aggrieved as she watched them leaving rapidly. She hated herself for having such weak motor skills.
“If you want to go, then go. Teacher could definitely not bear to reprimand you!”
Tantai Yutang suggested.
“Do you think I’m a rebel like you?”
Li Ziqi glared at Tantai Yutang. (The reason Teacher got me to stay behind is for me to protect you and that Ying Baiwu. Oh right, and that Tan Lu as well!)
“I’ll go!”
Ying Baiwu walked out, holding the White Bird.
“No, all of you, wait here quietly! If anyone were to make a reckless move, then don’t blame me for not holding back!” Li Ziqi said in a soft voice, “Be on guard and take note of the surroundings. Be prepared to fight at any moment.”
Sun Mo came to the rocky terrain and pricked his ears up to listen.
Even though there was moonlight, too many rocks and shadows were darting around, and they affected one’s vision.
“Teacher, over there!” Lu Zhiruo’s small ears shook and she immediately pointed the way. “Where has he run off to?” Xuanyuan Po squatted on top of a huge boulder and observed the surroundings, but he didn’t find anything “Come down quickly!” Jiang Leng urged. (The enemy is in the dark and we’re in the open. Are you trying to be a target by climbing up so high?) “It’s fine!”
Xuanyuan Po didn’t even soften his voice. if the other party were to launch a sneak attack on him, it’d save him the trouble to look for them.
Suddenly, the sound of wind whistling rang out.
“He’s here?”
Xuanyuan Po looked elated and swung his silver spear.
Pa!
A stone bullet the size of a goose egg was shattered.
Pa! Pa!
Sun Mo stepped on the stones and jumped up, tapping with his wooden blade.
“Teacher?”
Xuanyuan Po, who had wanted to retaliate, immediately drew his spear back when he saw that it was Sun Mo. He allowed the wooden blade to hit his shoulder.
Bang!
Sun Mo exerted force and lashed Xuanyuan Po down.
Xuanyuan Po did a somersault in the air and landed steadily. He then rubbed his numb shoulder, revealing an unbothered smile.
“Xuanyuan Po, can you change your character?”
Sun Mo bellowed.
“Teacher, I’ve always been like this. How do I get stronger if I don’t go through life and death battles? How would I become the number one in the nine provinces?”
Xuanyuan Po knew that his teacher was concerned about him, but he didn’t need that.
“Is that so?”
Sun Mo let out a cold snort and didn’t care to talk anymore. His foot tapped onto the ground and he darted out, sending out a myriad of blade-images.
Xuanyuan Po’s eyes lit up and he immediately faced the challenge with his spear head-on. He had long since wanted to have another fight with his teacher, but he soon realized that Sun Mo had gotten even stronger than before.
Sun Mo didn’t use any spirit qi. He was purely relying on his moves to crush Xuanyuan Po.
Xuanyuan Po’s Prairie Blazing Fire Spear Technique was supposed to be very amazing, but he was unable to display the prowess in the slightest.
Nes
“You can’t even beat me, yet you still dare to pursue an unknown enemy?”
Sun Mo reproached.
“Teacher, it isn’t that exaggerating. If I can’t win, I can run!”
Xuanyuan Po explained.
“What if you can’t run?” Sun Mo asked. “It’s not wrong to revere battles, using life and death battles to hone yourself. But can you make use of the right methods? How are you different from a boar if you do this?
“Don’t feel unconvinced. Take a look at Jiang Leng. While searching for the enemy, he keeps on observing the surroundings and ensuring a path to retreat. This way, if there’s any danger, he can retreat immediately. But you! Your brain is filled with the thoughts of looking for the enemy and getting into a fight only!”
Pa pa pa!
The wooden blade struck Xuanyuan Po’s body incessantly, hitting out golden pages one after another. However, Sun Mo wasn’t interested in this.
“Uhh, I admit that I was reckless. I won’t do it next time!”
Xuanyuan Po was stunned for a moment and received the guidance humbly. It was true that he liked to battle, but he wasn’t a fool. Jiang Leng’s method was worthy of learning.
“Do you know why I am this angry?” Even though Xuanyuan Po had admitted his wrongs, Sun Mo didn’t stop. Instead, he beat down even more viciously.
Pa pa pa!
The sandalwood blade became faster and faster, striking Xuanyuan Po’s body. Sun Mo wanted to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, Xuanyuan Po would die in his watch sooner or later.
“Because I don’t listen to instructions?”
Xuanyuan Po guessed.
“No!”
Sun Mo struck the back of Xuanyuan Po’s head.
“It has only been a few months, but Teacher has already become so strong?” Jiang Leng, who was watching at the side, had his eyes and mouth agape. Compared to the previous sparring against Xuanyuan Po, their teacher was a lot more at ease now.
It was true that Sun Mo was calm. With the support of level six of the Grand Universe Formless Divine Art, teaching Xuanyuan Po a lesson was as easy as eating food or drinking water.
Xuanyuan Po gave over ten answers, but they were all wrong. This made him feel a little exasperated, and he decided to just stand there without moving. “Teacher, go on and hit me. Tell me after you’re done!”
(It’s really irritating to have to use my brain!)
With Xuanyuan Po standing still like this, Sun Mo found it hard to continue beating him. Thus, he scolded, “You are no longer by yourself like you used to be. You have fellow martial siblings. Have you considered how much risk Jiang Leng is taking to chase after
you?”
Xuanyuan Po was stunned and then his countenance turned grim. He wasn’t afraid to die, but this didn’t mean that he had no idea what death meant. The reason why Jiang Leng would come chasing after him was because Jiang Leng was worried about him.
“Do you know how worried Ziqi is for the two of you?”
Sun Mo sighed. “Her battle prowess is so weak, yet she still wanted to come chasing after you. If anything were to happen to her, how would you feel then?”
“Worried?”
Xuanyuan Po mumbled. He had never experienced being shown concern by others.
“You should apologize to Jiang Leng and then Ziqi.”
Sun Mo reproached, “What are you still waiting for?”
“Martial junior Jiang Leng, I was wrong.”
After saying that, he added, “But if we can’t win against the enemy, I’ll definitely stay behind and let you guys run off first!”
Xuanyuan Po didn’t lie when he said this. This was the kind of person he was.
“We’re fellow martial siblings. There’s no need to stand on ceremony!”
Jiang Leng let out a soft laugh. He didn’t mind such things, but his impression toward Sun Mo had improved a lot.
Most teachers would only care about their own pride. However, what Sun Mo deeply cared about was his students’ safety and feelings.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Jiang Leng +50. Friendly (550/1,000). Jiang Leng liked such a caring teacher.
Li Ziqi quickly went up when she saw the four of them coming back.
“Li Ziqi, I’m sorry!”
Xuanyuan Po apologized. “Are you guys alright?” Although Li Ziqi was concerned about Sun Mo the most, the first person she looked at was Jiang Leng. It was because he had run out under her orders. If anything were to happen, she’d definitely blame herself.
“We’re fine!”
Lu Zhiruo patted her papaya boobs.
“That’s good then!”
Li Ziqi also heaved a sigh of relief and then rolled her eyes. “Xuanyuan Po, you should call me eldest martial sister!”
“Alright, eldest martial sister!”
As Xuanyuan Po had been shown a lot of ‘concern’ just now, he decided to let Li Ziqi feel satisfied today.
“Very good!”
Li Ziqi wanted to pat Xuanyuan Po on the shoulder but realized that she couldn’t reach it even when she tiptoed. She had no choice but to forget about it.
This guy was too tall. How did he grow so tall?
“Did you guys catch that snooping guy?”
Tantai Yutang was curious.
“No!”
Xuanyuan Po shook his head.
“Alright, all of you can go to rest. Xuanyuan Po, go face the fire and reflect on yourself. You’re on night duty as well. Jiang Leng, come with me!”
Sun Mo instructed.
Jiang Leng removed his clothes in the tent. No matter how many times Sun Mo looked at the spirit runes on Jiang Leng’s body, he still found them a little frightening.
“I’ve told you so many times. Before these spirit runes are fixed, don’t cultivate anymore!”
The moment Sun Mo placed his hands on Jiang Leng’s body, he couldn’t help but frown. The spirit qi in this guy’s body had increased. He was definitely cultivating in secret.
Jiang Leng was silent. Sun Mo looked at this student of his, not knowing how he should persuade him. Sun Mo could only try to progress in his study of spirit runes as soon as possible. Moreover, his massage was very effective in helping Jiang Leng take care of his body. “Teacher, thank you!”
After that, he bent and bowed before leaving the tent.
It was Tantai Yutang’s turn. Sun Mo didn’t give him treatment but looked at him and asked, “Why didn’t you help Ziqi?” “She did a good job!” Tantai Yutang shrugged. “If you were to help, she’d feel more at ease. Tantai, you always say that you’re someone who relies on your brain for a living. If that’s the case, bring out your true capabilities.” Sun Mo looked at Tantai Yutang with a hint of disappointment in his tone. “Ziqi treats you as a fellow martial sibling. I hope that you won’t let her get hurt for your sake. Alright, you can go out now.” Tantai Yutang left, watching as Xuanyuan Po entered the tent. He knew that it was a punishment for him since he hadn’t received the living blood technique treatment.
“Teacher, you really have high expectations of me!”
Tantai Yutang smiled in self-ridicule. He understood what Sun Mo meant. Sun Mo could close an eye when he usually didn’t listen and did some small tricks. However, when their safety was involved, Sun Mo wasn’t as easy to talk to.
Moreover, in the situation earlier, Tantai Yutang understood that Sun Mo wanted him to become the vice-leader and controlled the situation.
Such expectations caused Tantai Yutang to feel weird inside. It was a pleasant feeling of being recognized. In the past, when other people saw his sickly state, they would treat him like trash. After all, people in Middle-Earth’s Nine Provinces revered martial prowess.
Tantai Yutang often said ‘I rely on my brains for a living’. A large part of it was out of self-ridicule and indignant. (My body is weak, but I have my brain.)
However, no one ever gave him a chance to prove himself.
But could Sun Mo possibly be an exception?
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Tantai Yutang +30. Friendly (510/1,000). “He’s really a strange guy!” Tantai Yutang shook his head, feeling that he couldn’t see through Sun Mo. However, Sun Mo’s Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands was the real deal and was truly amazing.
At the thought of this, Tantai Yutang couldn’t help but twist his shoulders. He recalled that after Sun Mo had given him treatment the other time, he had felt good for quite a few days.
Sigh!
(Should I behave better next time?) Even though Tantai Yutang was viewed by the system as mentally unstable, he couldn’t escape from the fate of giving himself a slap in the face and doing things that he said he wouldn’t do.
Standing in the tent, Xuanyuan Po scratched his head, feeling a little at a loss. He felt a little strange to be shown concern by Li Ziqi. “Take off your clothes. Lay down!” Sun Mo shook his head helplessly. Although Xuanyuan Po had some flaws, he was generally a pure-hearted person who devoted all of his mind and energy to battles. “Oh!”
Xuanyuan Po moved very quickly. After he removed all his clothes, he lay down on the blanket like a salted fish.
Looking at the few bruises on the combat addict’s body, Sun Mo’s gaze turned solemn. “Do you hate me?”
“I don’t!”
Xuanyuan Po’s chin sank into the pillow. “I know that Teacher is doing this for my good. I’ve thought about it. It’s true that my reckless decision earlier could have put Jiang Leng in danger.” Sun Mo felt very consoled. His teachings hadn’t gone to waste. “But Teacher, how did you get stronger again? When I used my moves earlier, you seemed to have seen through them. That feeling was really weird. Teacher, can you teach me that skill?” “That was the level three of the Grand Universe Formless Divine Art, Copy!”
Sun Mo smiled. “Xuanyuan, you’re a pure-hearted person and not suited to learn many different types of martial techniques. You should continue to practice one martial technique incessantly until the end of the world.”
There were two types of people in this world. The first type relied on their brain and had a lot of complicated thoughts, like Li Ziqi and Tantai Yutang. They could learn many cultivation arts and not only were their learning speed fast, but they would also integrate them together, turning everything into their own experience. The other type would be people like Xuanyuan Po who relied on their instincts. The more they learned, the more it’d obstruct their true nature.
Xuanyuan Po was too pure. As Sun Mo had been beating him up, he could sense that when Xuanyuan Po encountered powerful foes, all his moves would be reliant on his instincts. He wouldn’t think too much into things.
To make things simpler, it was more like his hands would start moving before his head did. “En, I believe in Teacher.” Xuanyuan Po nodded. He believed that Sun Mo wasn’t a stingy teacher. After all, Li Ziqi and the other two had already learned it. They were examples. “I’ll teach you. After you reach the major-completion stage in your Prairie Blazing Fire Spear Technique, you can learn other cultivation art. Learning it now would only wear down your battle instincts.” Sun Mo explained. Each time Sun Mo pressed down on Xuanyuan Po’s body, Sun Mo felt a little happier. It wasn’t in a philosophical sense but more like admiration or exclamation. It was as if he had seen a great treasure. How perverse was this body! To become number one in spear in the nine provinces? To speak the truth, Sun Mo felt that Xuanyuan Po’s aspiration was too small. He wanted to make Xuanyuan Po into number one in the world. After calming down and focusing, Sun Mo continued to give Xuanyuan Po a massage. He winked his left eye twice, and a cultivation art flew out from the storage. The book flipped open before his eyes.
Since Sun Mo had given Xuanyuan Po a thrashing earlier, he had obtained the complete set of the Prairie Blazing Fire Spear Technique. After reading it through, he had gained some understanding of it. He then activated his Divine Sight. He had to say that the ancestor-grade proficiency index was really cool. It automatically listed out this cultivation art’s important points. “Xuanyuan, no one ever taught you how to train in this cultivation art, right?”
Sun Mo frowned. “Hmmm? Teacher, how do you know that?”
Xuanyuan Po was stunned and wanted to turn back instinctively to look at Sun Mo.
“Lay down!” Sun Mo pressed him down and started applying the circulation technique on his back.
“How did you get your hand on this cultivation art?”
Sun Mo felt curious.
“I snatched it!”
When Xuanyuan Po said this, he didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Moreover, he wasn’t planning to hide it from Sun Mo. He was very honest.
“The old clan lord said that given my character, if I were to learn this cultivation art, I would definitely become a troublemaker. But since he refused to teach me, I then stole it and ran away.”
Sun Mo was speechless, but he had to admit that the old clan lord was right. Given Xuanyuan Po’s character, he might bring about great trouble for their entire clan because of this cultivation art. “Teacher, is the way I cultivate it not right?” After Xuanyuan Po asked, he scolded himself for being stupid. His teacher didn’t understand this cultivation art, so how could he know if it was right or not?
“En, you’re relying too much on your physical strength and neglecting the training of your energy channels. From today onward, you’ll need to increase your time spent on meditations!”
Sun Mo instructed.
“Huh?”
Xuanyuan Po immediately cried out. It was really boring to just sit down and meditate. “I’ll help you clear your energy channels now!”
Sun Mo poured some ancient whale oil on his hands and pressed down on Xuanyuan Po’s back. He then started to exert force. Even with Xuanyuan Po’s terrifying tolerance level, he was crying out from pain. However, after the pain subsided, there was an indescribable feeling. Xuanyuan Po’s body was too strong, but he didn’t train his energy channels sufficiently. This led to there being a shortcoming as his spirit qi’s circulation couldn’t keep up with his body’s depletion. Most cultivators’ bodies were too weak, and they couldn’t withstand too much spirit qi. This was why they had to keep on training their bodies to become stronger, allowing them to absorb even more spirit qi. However, Xuanyuan Po was the complete opposite. This guy’s body was like a bottomless hole, and it couldn’t be filled up with spirit qi. It was like a ferocious beast that was always starving so much that it was weak. How high could its battle prowess be in this state? What Xuanyuan Po had to do now was strengthen his energy channels, allowing him to absorb even more spirit qi. His body wouldn’t be weaker than him who was at the blood-ignition realm. “This is really perverse!”
Even Sun Mo felt a little envious. What was it like to continue standing even after going through one hundred women a night? This was what Xuanyuan Po’s case was like. Without any techniques but relying purely on brute force, he’d be able to kill his way and get any woman to lose their armor and cry out loud!
“Oh!”
Xuanyuan Po didn’t think much of it. (If I don’t train my body for one day, I’ll die. As for energy channels, I’ll train them casually.) However, at this moment, a tremendous amount of spirit qi gushed into his body. Boom! Boom! Boom!
“I’m going to level up?” Xuanyuan Po was stunned. “Don’t be in a daze! Quickly absorb the spirit qi!” Sun Mo urged. If it was someone else, he’d ignore and just watch. However, he didn’t do that this time around. He continued to massage, expanding Xuanyuan Po’s energy channels and allowing him to absorb even more spirit qi.
The students gathered around the fire, none of them going off to sleep. “What is it that’s snooping on us?”
Li Ziqi’s brows furrowed tightly together. “Should we set up a trap and catch it?” Tantai Yutang suggested. “Let’s not. There are too many students this time around. What if there’s an accident?”
The little sunny egg rejected the suggestion. If anything were to happen to any of the students because of it, Sun Mo wouldn’t be able to absolve himself from the blame. It would leave a big scar on his great teacher path. “Eldest martial sister, the rice porridge is going to be burned,” said the papaya girl.
“Oh!”
Li Ziqi quickly used the ladle to stir. (Since it’s already late at night, Teacher would definitely be very tired after giving so many students a massage. He needs to have some supper to replenish his energy.) Tan Lu sat in front of his tent, looking in the direction of the campfire. He kept on thinking hard about how he could join in their conversation so that it wouldn’t be awkward. However, despite putting so much thought into it, his heart would palpitate uncontrollably every time he saw Li Ziqi’s small face. He didn’t dare to go over and talk to her.
As for Jiang Leng, he continued to wear an expressionless face, clearly suggesting that all living humans shouldn’t get near him. As for that sickly guy, Tan Lu kept having the feeling that his smile was suggesting that he was up to no good. The easiest one to talk to should be that girl whose boobs were as big as papayas. She looked endearingly silly, clearly someone easy to deceive. However, he didn’t dare to approach her! What if he were to get beaten up? In the group, this papaya girl was clearly someone who was given the additional emphasis on protection. “Argh, this is really annoying. Why not just go over!”
Tan Lu stood up. At this moment, a boom suddenly rang out in Sun Mo’s tent, and spirit qi erupted explosively. Then, the surrounding spirit qi quickly gushed over, forming a huge spirit qi tornado above the tent.) (It couldn’t be, right? (Another student is breaking through?) Tan Lu was shocked. Ying Baiwu had just leveled up, but now there was another one. Was Teacher Sun’s God Hands really so powerful?
(I’ve still underestimated Teacher Sun’s Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands!) Tan Lu felt very emotional and started to feel envious. (If only I was Teacher’s personal disciple. By receiving the God Hands’ massage every day, all my potential would definitely be released.)
(Even if I was hurt or had my bones broken, I’d be able to recuperate very quickly.) However, Tan Lu knew that Sun Mo had become famous, so it probably wouldn’t be easy to become his student.
Given Xuanyuan Po’s aptitude, this breakthrough went through very smoothly. He went straight to level nine of the body-refinement realm. “Teacher, thank you for your nurturing!”
Xuanyuan Po swung his fists a little and tried to sense the changes to his body. He then immediately dropped to his knees and bowed toward Sun Mo. He felt that ever since he had become Sun Mo’s student, his growth had become a lot faster than when he had been roaming alone by himself. (But I still don’t want to meditate!) Xuanyuan Po’s lips twitched.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Xuanyuan Po +50. Friendly (640/1,000). Sun Mo left the tent and came out.
“Teacher, come over and have some porridge!” Li Ziqi immediately beckoned Sun Mo over, wearing a sweet smile. Even though Tan Lu hadn’t thought of what to say, he mustn’t waste such a good opportunity to improve his relationship with Sun Mo. Therefore, he walked over quickly. (It’d be great if Teacher Sun could give me some guidance!)