Scripture of Days Past

Chu Qiguang turned his gaze toward Yang Ling, knowing that the latter was giving very sound advice.

It was true that third-state martial artists should focus on advancing their cultivation base, and it was also true that only fifth-state martial artists should be aiming to master more martial arts techniques. What they didn’t know was that Chu Qiguang had followed those instructions to the letter.

What can I do? It’s not like I can tell them I’ve already reached the fifth state. If they find out that I’m a sixteen-year-old fifth-state martial artist, they’re probably going to ship me off to the capital and study me like some alien specimen!

With that in mind, Chu Qiguang could only put on an earnest expression and pretend to take their advice to heart.

However, over the next few days, he continued with his usual training regimen and showed no intention of shifting his focus toward advancing his cultivation base at all.

At the end of the sixth month, another trainee reached the fourth state, and as a result, Chu Qiguang’s ranking in the monthly examination fell to fifth place.

”What has Chu Qiguang been up to recently?” Zhong Shan’e asked.

”He’s as stubborn as a mule!” Yang Ling said with a sigh. ”On the surface, he appears to be taking our advice seriously, but he hasn’t changed his training at all. Clearly, it was all just an act.”

Zhong Shan’e’s expression darkened upon hearing this.

”He’s wasting the resources that our Demon Vanquishing Department is investing into him! We can’t keep letting him get away with this!”

Yang Ling was delighted to see Chu Qiguang drawing Zhong Shan’e’s ire, but he maintained an earnest expression as he said, ”I think we should give him a little more leeway, Head Instructor. He’s still very young, and everyone makes mistakes at that age. As long as his ranking in the monthly examinations continues to fall, I’m sure he’ll eventually realize the error of his ways. He still has a lot of potential, and once he gets back on the right path, I’m sure he’ll be able to catch up to his peers.”

”I spoke to Elder Hai the other day, and he told me that Chu Qiguang has been going to the archive building to read every day,” Yi Shuang interjected. ”He seems to naturally possess a very high level of resistance to demonification, and he was already a third-state Dao artist before coming to Jade Face Mountain. If his martial arts cultivation continues to stagnate, why don’t we let him try cultivating the Myriad Ghost Journal?”

Yang Ling cast a surprised glance at Yi Shuang. It seemed that Yi Shuang had always thought very highly of Chu Qiguang. After all, he had been the one to send Chu Qiguang to the archive building in the first place.

Yang Ling could also recall that Yi Shuang had vehemently opposed Zhong Shan’e proposal to let Chu Qiguang cultivate the Silent Shadow Step.

Zhong Shan’e considered Yi Shuang’s suggestion for a moment, then said, ”Let’s wait and see for now. The Myriad Ghost Journal is still too dangerous to cultivate. If he does while cultivating it, then all the resources we’ve invested in him will go to waste. Besides, the half-yearly examination is approaching. We’ll decide what to do with him once we determine which faction he should join.”

Aside from the monthly examinations on Jade Face Mountain, there was also a half-yearly examination and a final examination at the end of the year-long training period.

The monthly examinations decided whether a trainee would enter the advanced school or the outer school, while the half-yearly and final examinations determined which faction of the Demon Vanquishing Department they would be assigned to.

The four factions were the Hunter Hand Faction, the Fiend Assassin Faction, the Spiritualist Faction, and the Dao Soldier Faction. Each faction offered different inheritances and opportunities.

For example, cultivators of the Hunter Hand Faction had to constantly venture into remote areas to slay beast fiends, making it a very unpopular faction.

The Fiend Assassin Faction was responsible for capturing fiends that had infiltrated the imperial court, granting its cultivators the authority to oversee the entire officialdom, making positions within the faction highly sought after.

The Spiritualist Faction and the Dao Soldier Faction were responsible for dealing with ghosts and cults, but their operations were always very mysterious. It was said that their members frequently accompanied the emperor, so they possessed a rather lofty status in the Demon Vanquishing Department.

”Yang Ling! Make sure to keep a close eye on Chu Qiguang for me!” Zhong Shan’e ordered. ”If he keeps up this nonsense, send him to the Hunter Hand Faction!”

The next day, Yang Ling called Chu Qiguang over during the martial arts lesson and asked, ”Chu Qiguang, you still haven’t given up on cultivating your palm and movement techniques, have you? Don’t try to lie to me! I’ve spoken to all the patrolling guards and the other trainees, and they all told me that you haven’t been staying in your room to cultivate at all!”

Chu Qiguang was rather surprised to hear this. Yang Ling was always following Jiang Longyu around like a loyal lapdog, so he hadn’t expected the instructor to be paying any attention to him.

Of course, Yang Ling had no intention of offering Chu Qiguang any genuine guidance.

He still harbored deep resentment toward Chu Qiguang for what he had done to Li Changqing and his clan. On top of that, Yang Ling himself had been banished to Jade Face Mountain for his ties to Li Changqing.

With that in mind, he put on an encouraging expression and said, ”Ultimately, cultivation is a deeply personal endeavor. In my eyes, there’s no one-size-fits-all mold that dictates how everyone should cultivate. If we force everyone to cultivate in exactly the same way, we’ll only kill a prospect’s interest, inspiration, and creativity.

”If you’re no longer interested in martial arts cultivation, how could you possibly hope to reach the pinnacle? If you enjoy cultivating these techniques, then keep at it and strive to surpass everyone else in them. The head instructor may not be pleased with you, but I’ll stand up for you, so there’s no need to worry.”

Chu Qiguang was very surprised to see Yang Ling being so supportive of him, and he replied earnestly, ”Thank you, Instructor Yang. I’ll be sure to forge my own path.”

Ha! What an idiot! Yang Ling scoffed inwardly. After the half-yearly examination at the end of the month, he’ll be sent to the Hunter Hand Faction, where he can spend the rest of his life in remote mountains, hunting beast fiends!

As time passed, several more trainees reached the fourth state one after another, yet Chu Qiguang continued to stick to his own cultivation regiment, seemingly unconcerned about falling behind his peers.

As the half-yearly examination drew nearer, all the trainees began training even harder, hoping to be assigned to their desired faction within the Demon Vanquishing Department.

***

Around the middle of the month, Chu Qiguang went down the mountain once again to cultivate the Sumeru King Scripture. In the wake of this stint of cultivation, the sixth tentacle within his shadow finally fully took shape.

I wonder how far I still am from the Dao Comprehension state.

After that, he went to meet Qiao Zhi and Zhang Jitian.