After Li Tan finished speaking, Xue Ying’s delicate figure trembled slightly. After a moment of contemplation, her eyes revealed a hint of determination, and with a nervous nod, she said, “I’ll go with you.”
The expression on Elder Su’s face immediately turned extremely grim, while Li Tan provocatively smiled at him.
“You’ve got guts,” Elder Su hissed through gritted teeth, but at this moment, he could only utter such meaningless words.
However, after two seconds, his expression suddenly brightened slightly, as if he was plotting something. He sneered and said, “Li Tan, since you’re so confident, how about we make a bet?”
“Go ahead.”
“In half a month, we’ll have a minor competition here, exclusively for new disciples. If you and this little girl can rank in the top twenty, I’ll publicly apologize to you. If not, you must kneel and kowtow to me. What do you think?”
At his age of forty or fifty, making such childish demands—could a few kowtows really restore your pitiful self-esteem?
Li Tan smirked and casually agreed, “Fine with me.”
Why did he agree so decisively?
Elder Su was momentarily stunned but didn’t dwell on it. Soon, his mind shifted to how he would make Li Tan pay and regain his dignity.
At this moment, Qiu Jue suddenly stood up, hesitantly saying, “Elder Su, um, I also want to go with Brother Li.”
The corner of Elder Su’s mouth twitched. “Fine, but better think carefully about the consequences.”
“Brother Li, let’s go.”
Qiu Jue decided quickly, seemingly without even hearing Elder Su’s warning.
Li Tan had no objection and took the lead walking out. As they reached the doorway, Xue Ying shyly pulled her hand back. Qiu Jue muttered quietly with his head lowered, “Dad, you said Brother Li is very powerful. I’ll assume he’s as strong as you now, so please don’t let me down.”
Li Tan walked ahead while the other two followed behind. Inside the lecture hall, the apprentice disciples whispered among themselves, most watching the unfolding drama with keen interest.
The skill of enjoying a spectacle is something innate in all people.
Li Tan, along with Qiu Jue and Xue Ying, left the lecture area led by Elder Su. Thinking about the upcoming minor competition in half a month, he began to feel the inconvenience.
Actually, he had quite a lot to do: helping Zhang Zhenshan with his madness, cultivating himself, keeping an eye on Liu Yong, the tomb excavation in a month, and the actions of the mysterious black-robed man with high cultivation.
All these matters, big and small, were quite important. Now he had to additionally teach others cultivation techniques, which was indeed troublesome.
But despite the inconvenience, Li Tan couldn’t possibly abandon Qiu Jue and Xue Ying. Since most of this mess was his fault, he was determined to take responsibility for teaching them cultivation.
It was afternoon now, and the sun would set in two hours. At night, he definitely needed to investigate the madness issue using the Desolate Tower. During the remaining time in between, he decided to sacrifice his own time and go teach them.
Thus, Li Tan led Qiu Jue and Xue Ying into the bamboo forest, going quite deep inside. After confirming that the surroundings were sufficiently quiet, he signaled the two to sit down and chose a large rock for himself.
“Although I can guess, I’ll still confirm—what cultivation levels are you two currently at?”
Li Tan asked.
Xue Ying and Qiu Jue answered in unison, “Initial stage of Later Heaven!”
This initial stage of Later Heaven was indeed expected. After confirming this, Li Tan immediately said, “Then you both have had some exposure to cultivation before. I won’t waste time explaining the basics. But discussing martial techniques at this point would be too early for you; you wouldn’t understand anyway. So today, I’ll talk to you about cultivation methods. We’ll leave martial techniques for later. Any questions?”
Qiu Jue asked doubtfully, “Aren’t cultivation methods just for cultivation? What’s there to talk about?”
“That’s a good question.”
Li Tan lightly chuckled. “Most beginners, and even those who have cultivated for some time and achieved certain results, often make this mistake—thinking cultivation methods are merely for cultivation and nothing special. But in fact, it’s not like that. As everyone knows, the fundamental attributes of Qi are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Yellow Qi represents Metal, known for its extreme speed. Green Qi symbolizes Wood, balanced in all aspects. Blue Qi is Water, abundant in Qi and excelling in endurance battles. Red Qi is Fire, highly offensive. Brown Qi is Earth, capable of condensing Qi into armor, providing high defense. My own Qi attribute is Metal.”
Li Tan started from the basics. At first, Qiu Jue and Xue Ying were somewhat dismissive, thinking it was simple and unnecessary. However, the more they listened, the deeper Li Tan’s explanations became. Some details were eye-opening, making them realize how mistaken their previous understanding of cultivation had been. Consequently, their admiration for Li Tan grew stronger.
This lecture lasted about half a day. Through it, Li Tan gained a better understanding of Xue Ying and Qiu Jue.
Qiu Jue’s Qi attribute was Earth, while Xue Ying’s was Water—one excelling in defense, the other in endurance. However, both had made similar mistakes in their previous cultivation, not focusing on their respective attributes. They had learned a bit of everything haphazardly, resulting in a lack of proficiency and failure to leverage their strengths.
Sighing, Li Tan said, “This situation is worse than I imagined. Fortunately, half a month is enough. Fortunately, this aspect is relatively easy to improve in the early stages. Let me first explain some basics to you—different Qi attributes require targeted cultivation methods.”
Li Tan continued his lecture.
The concept of targeting was easy to understand. Take Li Tan himself, for instance. His Qi was of the Metal attribute, so he practiced the Moye Steps, famous for their mysterious speed. In battle, he seemed passively defensive but was actually fully in control. As soon as his opponent revealed the slightest weakness, he would seize the opportunity and defeat them.
Time always passed quickly when one was focused on a task. It seemed like they had just sat down minutes ago, but the sun was already halfway down, casting red evening lights throughout the bamboo forest.
After class, Li Tan bid farewell to Qiu Jue and Xue Ying, swiftly making his way back to his small wooden cabin. As soon as he sat down, he revisited the ancient texts he had retrieved from the Desolate Tower, committing to memory the medicinal ingredients needed to cure the madness. Then, utilizing the Moye Steps, he hurried up the mountain where the Qi was most concentrated.
The medicinal ingredients were relatively common, so he decided to collect them himself to save time.
Climbing higher, he soon saw faint lights like fireflies in the distance, indicating the nearby inner sect quarters.
Liu Yong was there. At this moment, if he was careful enough, he might be able to secretly capture Liu Yong without anyone noticing.
Frankly speaking, Li Tan was tempted, but ultimately, he didn’t act on it.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage