"I never expected it to be like this."
As night fell and the world was shrouded in darkness, a small child emerged from the ice of the lake, holding a piece of white jade in his hand, his face filled with emotion. It was Feng Bingwen.
What he prayed for this time was nothing more than a cultivation method that led him to the highest level, and he also hoped that a reliable and powerful master could guide him so that he would not go astray.
Although the process was completely different from what he had imagined, the result was many times better than he had expected.
Ten thousand volumes of Daoist scriptures!
Feng Bingwen had only glanced at it briefly, but the contents made his heart race.
This collection of 100,000 Daoist scriptures mainly consists of records of the insights and understandings of the Dao by senior Daoist masters. Sometimes, they would also add some supernatural powers and techniques to provide evidence. He had just glanced through it and even saw some complete supernatural powers and techniques.
Although it was only a small part of it, the majority consisted of extremely obscure and difficult-to-understand insights into the Great Dao. However, its value far surpassed that of the immortal technique he sought.
Just as the boy who bestowed upon him the 100,000 Daoist scriptures said, if he comprehends this thoroughly, creating his own techniques will be a piece of cake, and achieving the third rank of the Daoist lineage will be a certainty.
However, after Feng Bingwen spent the whole night studying the Pisces jade pendant with excitement and anticipation, he left early the next morning with a sad expression. As before, he left behind a phantom made of water mist at home before leaving, which was enough to fool people.
"teacher!"
Feng Bingwen set foot on Wolong Lake and found a small island in the middle of the lake.
On this small island he had once visited, a simple, rustic thatched hut stood against the wind. In front of the hut, a young man in white stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the snow-covered landscape, feeling utterly content.
"How did you feel after reciting all night?"
Seeing the child's worried face, the boy smiled and asked, recalling how he had looked the same way when he first entered the library to read, searching for his father.
"can't read!"
Holding the Pisces jade pendant in both hands, Feng Bingwen spoke sincerely, but his voice carried a hint of despair.
He studied it all night before realizing that reciting the Daoist canon without guidance or interpretation was like a primary school student who had just learned to recognize common characters trying to study classical Chinese without pinyin annotations.
"It's normal not to understand. Don't be discouraged. Come, tell me all the questions you had last night, and I'll answer them for you."
With a flick of his sleeve, the snow in front of the thatched hut solidified into two respectable-looking prayer mats. He sat upright on one of them, while Feng Bingwen sat on the other, expressing the doubts he had accumulated the previous night.
What does this sentence mean?
"It's very simple..."
Zhao Junxian answered calmly, and Feng Bingwen, after understanding the meaning, was excited and quickly voiced his other question.
"This is……"
The young man, who possessed the appearance of an immortal, continued to answer calmly. As Feng Bingwen's doubts lessened, the things that had puzzled him before became clear, and a smile gradually appeared on his worried face.
However, unlike his beaming face, the boy sitting opposite him, who was trying to answer his questions, had lost his composure and calmness and became extremely serious.
It's not that I can't answer the question raised by Feng Bingwen, but rather,
"How can this child be so dull-witted? He has to ask such a simple question? Was I like that back then?"
The boy's mindset underwent an unprecedented change. He discovered that being a teacher was a more difficult thing than fighting against someone.
But was it so difficult for his father to answer his questions back then? He remembered that when he was three years old, he only asked his father for half an hour at most before stopping. But this boy in front of him had been answering for almost three hours and still showed no signs of stopping.
"Alright, I, Zhao Junxian, always keep my word. Now that I have agreed to be his half-master, I must answer all his questions and not slack off."
The boy roused himself, clearing his mind of distractions. He carefully considered the question posed by the child before him, and then answered it in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
Feng Bingwen felt like a dry sponge, frantically absorbing the principles of the Great Dao under the guidance of the learned teacher in front of him, laying the foundation for his future enlightenment.
"Teacher, this sentence..."
Feng Bingwen, engrossed in the Daoist canon, lost track of time. Just as he was about to ask another question, he saw the boy who had been answering him interrupt him.
"Six hours have passed today, it's time for you to go back."
"ah!"
Feng Bingwen then looked up and was startled by the change in the sky. When he went out, the sky was only just beginning to lighten, but now it was completely dark, and snow was falling from the dark clouds overhead.
"Thank you for your guidance today, teacher."
It was already so late when Feng Bingwen stood up and bowed respectfully, feeling embarrassed to disturb him any further.
Although he guessed that the big shot in front of him was no longer affected by the alternation of day and night and was detached from worldly affairs, the person also had his own things to do and couldn't possibly explain the Taoist scriptures to him day and night.
Go!
The boy sat upright on a futon made of snow, his back straight. His hair was jet black and his eyes were clear. He had an otherworldly air about him.
"This disciple takes his leave!"
Feeling that he had gained a lot today, Feng Bingwen bowed and left. After he left Wolong Lake, the young man who had been sitting upright on the island in the middle of the lake suddenly lay back, no longer hiding the exhaustion in his eyes.
"I'm so tired!"
The boy gazed up at the starless, moonless night sky, his eyes now devoid of their former sparkle, appearing somewhat vacant, and he muttered to himself.
“I never knew teaching disciples was such a difficult thing. I will never take on disciples again.”
Boom—
The gloomy sky annoyed the boy, so he stretched out his palm and waved it gently. The clouds were parted, and the bright moon and stars, which seemed even more chilly in the winter night, suddenly appeared.
"There are still 29 days left. Just hang in there and it'll be over!"
The boy's voice echoed in the moonlight, but for some reason, it carried a hint of sorrow.
Feng Bingwen was naturally unaware of the immense torment he had inflicted on a peerless prodigy with the potential to become an immortal.
After taking a short nap at home, he probed his hazy spiritual consciousness into the jade pendant, reciting the Daoist scriptures containing profound principles. He noted down any parts he didn't understand, intending to ask the half-master for clarification the next day.
Because he believed that someone would answer his questions, Feng Bingwen read the Daoist Canon extremely quickly, almost like a cow chewing on elixir. He first forced himself to memorize the Daoist Canon, and then read it through again. If he couldn't figure something out in a short time, he would mark it down.
Because the young man said that he would only stay on the island for a month to guide his cultivation, and then he would leave.
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