Chapter 413: I Will Give You Two Choices
“Get up first!”
Sun Mo was acquainted with the youth before him.
When the honest guy had participated in the battle hall for the first time, the person he had defeated was precisely this guy. After that, the honest guy had chosen to remain in school and that could be considered an incident that changed his life.
During the second battle three months later, the two of them had met again. If you thought about it, the two of them could be considered rivals.
The two experiences caused Qi Shengjia’s confidence to swell. These were the best, happiest, and most dazzling memories he had in the past ten years.
However, to Peng Wanli, they were nightmares of no return. Before the match, he could be considered a first-rate student and had been recruited by a 1-star great teacher before. But after he was defeated twice, he became the butt jokes of the academy.
When he lost the first time, it could be attributed to carelessness. But after the second time, Peng Wanli’s heart was like dead ashes. He knew he truly wasn’t Qi Shengjia’s opponent anymore.
And the reason for all of this was Sun Mo.
Peng Wanli didn’t get up. Instead, his posture sank even more. He knew that Qi Shengjia would often visit Sun Mo’s villa and enjoyed private training with Sun Mo.
This indicated that their relationships were very good.
Peng Wanli felt that Sun Mo might act perfunctorily to him due to his relationship with Qi Shengjia. After all, Qi Shengjia did gain face for Sun Mo.
“Get up!”
Sun Mo’s tone turned heavy. “You are still so young, so don’t clad your heart in doom or darkness. Even if you are not a student from the Central Province Academy, I will still guide you if I can do it.”
Sun Mo could be considered someone who had lived two lifetimes. Peng Wanli’s thoughts were too easy to guess at. He felt that because Qi Shengjia had improved greatly after Sun Mo’s guidance, he wanted to seek guidance from Sun Mo and defeat Qi Shengjia to gain back his face.
“Teacher!”
Peng Wanli’s voice trembled. His face was filled with panic.
“If you still don’t get up, just continue kneeling then!”
Sun Mo turned and walked away.
“Teacher!”
Peng Wanli was stunned. He hurriedly stood up and took two steps forward to chase after Sun Mo, but he was also worried Sun Mo might be angry, hence, he decided to halt, stiffening on the spot. He then bowed, appearing like a criminal awaiting the judgment of the court. He was filled with unease.
Although Sun Mo had 0-star and had only been a teacher for half a year, he was currently the most famous teacher in the Central Province Academy. Also, after he had won the championship, his fame had already surpassed Liu Mubai’s.
How would Peng Wanli dare to slight him?
“If I didn’t remember wrongly, what you are practicing should be the Eighteen Arhat Palms, right? Execute a punching routine for me!”
Sun Mo instructed.
“Y...yes Sir!”
After Peng Wanli spoke, he started to show his punching routine. In the past, he showed it to other teachers before, but he was never as nervous as now.
(It’s over.)
(I’m finished!)
After two moves, Peng Wanli’s countenance was like dead ashes. Due to him being too worried and nervous, his limbs were trembling. His originally familiar movements now seemed awkward and slightly off.
“Peng Wanli!”
Sun Mo berated.
Pak!
Peng Wanli directly stood straight, not daring to move.
“The Eighteen Arhat Palms’ concept needs you to behave like an arhat. You have to channel strength to your hands to slay evil, eradicate demons, subdue dragons and tigers, and ensure that there’s no more unfairness in the world!”
Sun Mo’s tone was solemn. “Your heart wasn’t resolute, hence, your punches weren’t stable. How can you display the prestige and might of a true arhat like that?”
“I...I...”
Peng Wanli’s eyes darted about, not daring to match Sun Mo’s gaze.
“Look at me!”
Sun Mo roared.
Peng Wanli lifted his head and looked at Sun Mo. Sun Mo’s eyes were like stars in the night, deep, bright, and mesmerizing. They also contained a hint of resolve.
“If you want to be skilled in the Eighteen Arhat Palms, you have to get rid of all the distracting thoughts and think of yourself as a true arhat!”
“Winning and losing isn’t important. Losing face isn’t important as well! What’s important is the punch I’m going to execute!”
Sun Mo spoke sincerely and Priceless Advice was activated.
A golden beam of light flowed out from Sun Mo.
A commotion immediately rang out in the surroundings. There were actually over ten people who came today, wanting to seek Sun Mo for guidance. These people were all waiting in the shadows, and Peng Wanli was the first to rush out.
After Peng Wanli was covered in the glow from Priceless Advice, his spirits stirred, and he felt a trace of enlightenment. This feeling was like a ray of sunlight that dispelled the gloominess that had covered his heart for many days.
“As expected, I lost because I wasn’t proficient enough with my cultivation art!”
Peng Wanli sighed ruefully.
“...”
Sun Mo fell silent. Actually, he wanted to say that this was not the reason.
Through the Divine Sight, he had acquired Peng Wanli’s data.
16 years old, seventh level of the body-refinement realm. Cultivation art: Eighteen Arhat Palms
Strength: 9. Excellent among peers.
Intellect: 5. Average, sufficient for use.
Agility: 7. This isn’t your strong point, but it isn’t a flaw as well.
Will: 1. It was 8 points at your peak. Currently, your will is dwindling, and you are like a lost sheep.
...
Potential value: Average!
Note: Unable to find the direction to advance. His mentality was crushed completely by Qi Shengjia.
Note: He has an outstanding talent in weaponsmithing, but further inspection is needed.
Through this half a year, Sun Mo had seen many students. Also, he was quite intelligent and hardworking, capable of analyzing people quite well due to the experience he accumulated. Hence, even if he didn’t have Divine Sight, he could also judge what Peng Wanli’s problem was.
To speak of it bluntly, his aptitude was mediocre.
When he first joined the school, Peng Wanli was considered one of those who matured early. He was smart and hardworking, hence, his strength improved quickly. But when the other students started to mature, they gradually caught up, revealing his inferiority.
To put it simply, it was like on a marathon. Peng Wanli set off earlier than others, but as those talented ones started and joined the marathon as well, he got overtaken rapidly.
This was a problem with talent, and there was no solution to it.
The talent of the honest guy was also bad, but he was hard-working enough. His training duration was twice that of Peng Wanli. As Sun Mo had used the ancient massaging technique and giant medicine packet to improve his body, while also letting him cultivate in the Wind King Hall that had a dense spiritual qi, Qi Shengjia was able to win against Peng Wanli.
Even so, Qi Shengjia would completely be crushed if he fought against Xuanyuan Po. In fact, he might not even be able to defeat Ying Baiwu.
The Eighteen Arhat Palms indeed had places where it could be improved on. But even if Peng Wanli trained it to a godly level, what was the point?
His ‘ceiling’ would always be there!
Upon seeing Sun Mo not speaking, Peng Wanli’s heart sank as trepidation appeared on his face again. “T...teacher, is what I’m saying wrong?”
Sun Mo changed the topic.
“What’s your ambition?”
Peng Wanli mumbled, “Enter the Battle Hall?”
“That’s only a target!”
Sun Mo shook his head.
“I...I’ve never thought about it!”
Peng Wanli lowered his head. A few years ago, he followed his father around who was a blacksmith. However, during the Central Province Academy’s student recruitment, he took the test and passed it unexpectedly. Hence, he joined the school.
“Oh right, my father said before that I should cultivate so I won’t need to lead a hard life in the future and can have good meals every day.”
“So for these few years, you were just going by the flow. When you eat, cultivate, and sleep daily, have you considered what you want to do in the future?”
Sun Mo asked with a smile as he filled his voice with warmth.
“Come, feel free to sit here!”
Sun Mo took a few steps forward and sat on the ground at the lakeside.
Peng Wanli was a little shocked. He had actually thought about this before. He wanted to stay in a large house, marry a pretty wife, and have a nest of chubby children... however, these were too crude, how would he dare to say it?
“Let me change my question. What do you like to do?”
Sun Mo started to have a heart-to-heart chat with him.
Earlier, he just berated Peng Wanli, wanting to correct his heart state. But now, he discovered that he had no way to resolve the root of this problem.
Deep in his heart, Peng Wanli simply lacked a bit of obsession toward cultivation.
What was obsession?
For Qi Shengjia, as long as his body could hold up, he wouldn’t mind training to the verge of death!
“To forge the absolute best sword in the world!”
This time, Peng Wanli’s words rolled off his tongue. He recalled the scene where he saw the birth of a spirit sword outside the Blacksmith Zhang’s shop when he was young.
Even now, he could still see that sword in his dreams.
Blacksmith Zhang’s reputation also surged due to forging that spirit-tier longsword.
“I have two suggestions for you. Firstly, if you wish to increase your strength, give up the Eighteen Arhat Palms and change to a higher-tier cultivation art. It’s best if it’s a fist art!”
Sun Mo spoke. Honestly speaking, Peng Wanli wasn’t suited to cultivate palm-type arts because he wasn’t able to unleash the limits of his strength through them
Peng Wanli fell silent. How could finding a new cultivation art be easy? Also, he had cultivated this Eighteen Arhat Palms for four years plus. By simply giving it up like that, wouldn’t all those years be wasted?
Speaking of which, Peng Wanli could still be considered lucky. This was because a 1-star great teacher who had guided him at the start told him to choose this palm art. If not, given his preference, he would definitely have chosen to train in swords. If he did that, his power level wouldn’t even be half of now. In fact, he might have quitted school already.
“Secondly, temporarily stop your cultivation. Head to the weaponsmithing department in Central Province Academy and learn from them. Try to smith a few things and it might spark a new interest in you!”
Sun Mo suggested.
“B...but I don’t have any money!”
Peng Wanli’s expression turned to one of embarrassment.
Naturally, there was another deeper reason. All students from the weaponsmithing faculty started as apprentices. No matter how weak Peng Wanli was, he was already a fifth-year student. If he lost to a first-year freshman, he would definitely lose all face.
“Do you feel that the people mocking you aren’t enough?”
Sun Mo counter-asked. He knew what Peng Wanli was thinking just by looking at his expression.
“I know my mistake!”
Peng Wanli looked dispirited.
“Tomorrow, go to the logistics department and take 10,000 taels of silver!”
Sun Mo arranged. “After that, I will give you three months. You can smith whatever you want to!”
“Ah?” Peng Wanli was in a daze. What did this mean?
“You don’t have to pay me back, but I need you to take out a finished product three months later. Even if you smith a bunch of crap, you have to give that to me!”
Sun Mo then asked, “Can you do it?”
“H...how can I do this?”
Peng Wanli stuttered. This was 10,000 taels of silvers! To his family, this was a heavenly large sum of money. However, there seemed to be a spark in his heart that suddenly got ignited, rekindling the dream he once had – to cast a sword.
“Shut up! Just answer me, can you do it?”
Sun Mo launched a barrage of questions.
“Yes, I can. I will go and take some money from the logistics department tomorrow.”
“If you don’t want to, I will give you a heaven-tier fist art!” Sun Mo added.
When the surrounding students heard this, they involuntarily cried out.
“A heaven-tier cultivation art? This fellow has really earned it big!
“Is there still a need to think? I will definitely choose the cultivation art!”
“Let alone 10,000 taels of silver, even if it was 10,000 taels of gold, it is nothing before a heaven-tier cultivation art!”
These students whispered. They suddenly felt regret at why they didn’t rush out earlier.
Teacher Sun Mo was very good to negotiate with!
Ding!
Overall favorable impression points from students +500.