C17 Please Ask Me

"I accidentally soiled this book. I hope Senior Brother Zhang won't take it to heart."

Despite the awkwardness, Su Jiuming, realizing his own oversight, still respectfully addressed the other as "Senior Brother."

"Don't, don't. Brother Su, as the chief disciple, it's not fitting for you to call me senior brother. This technique isn't worth many soulstones. There's no need for you to worry about it."

Zhang Liao had joined the sect before Su Jiuming and had a higher level of cultivation. It was natural for Su Jiuming to address him as senior brother, yet Zhang Liao felt unworthy of the title.

Su Jiuming, being the direct disciple of the Sect Master and the chief disciple, commanded great respect among the sect's disciples. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to defer to someone like Zhang Liao.

Truth be told, even the overbearing second and third senior brothers and sisters didn't measure up.

Though they were also direct disciples of the sect master, they were so in name only. In reality, they were disciples of Elder Kong Bao, wielder of one of the sect's five swords.

Their standing within the sect paled in comparison to the direct disciples of the Sect Master, Su Jiuming and Lee Daoquan.

When Su Jiuming learned from Zhang Liao about Bai Yifeng's past, he finally understood why Qin Fengzhu had such animosity towards him.

Bai Yifeng, as the Sect Master of the Veiled Moon, had not been as gifted as the other prodigies in his youth. Instead, he was the least talented among them.

Kong Bao was the most gifted of their generation and a natural contender for Sect Master.

When it seemed inevitable that Kong Bao would succeed as Sect Master, the previous Sect Master stepped down and chose Bai Yifeng, who was unremarkable at the time, as his successor.

The former Sect Master had said:

"Kong Bao, despite his exceptional talent, would surely be overwhelmed by the task of managing the entire sect."

"Bai Yifeng, on the other hand, may not have talent equal to Kong Bao's or the others, but he has already shown the makings of a Sect Master..."

Implicit in his words was the belief that Kong Bao was too ambitious and not the right material for leadership.

Kong Bao, despite his status as one of the Five Sword Elders within the sect, was discontented with his assignment to the Defensive Sword, a role he perceived as lacking in practical importance. His envy grew so intense that he ventured into the forbidden practices of the evil one, which led to his mental collapse. He was rescued, but his cultivation had suffered greatly, and despite a lengthy period of recuperation, he still hadn't managed to surpass the cultivation of Bai Yifeng, the sect master.

Such matters were typically beyond the knowledge of ordinary disciples, but Zhang Liao, with his family connections, was well aware of them. Su Jiuming, as the chief disciple, also had the privilege of being privy to this information.

After a brief exchange, Zhang Liao and Su Jiuming went their separate ways. With Su Jiuming's advice in mind, Zhang Liao dedicated himself to his cultivation, cutting off the supply of pills from his family, which paradoxically accelerated his progress.

Knowing he couldn't linger at Misty Peak, Zhang Liao was determined to intensify his training. He aimed to achieve a breakthrough in his Foundation Building and advance to the False Core realm, all to avoid letting Su Jiuming down.

Before departing, Zhang Liao left several sound transmitting talismans with Su Jiuming for future communication. Little did Su Jiuming know that these talismans would prove useful much sooner than expected.

Upon leaving Misty Peak and settling back into the Inner Sect dormitories, Zhang Liao intended to discard his battered Qi Refining Technique manual, which was now a sorry sight, smeared with mud, oil, dust, and missing pages.

However, a sense of nostalgia washed over Zhang Liao. Reflecting on his initial foray into cultivation, he decided to honor the manual's final moments before it returned to the earth. He began to read through it once more.

The content remained unchanged, detailing the process of drawing Qi into the body and circulating it to aid in cultivation. Yet, as Zhang Liao read on, he found the text increasingly peculiar. The obscured, dirty sections forced him to focus solely on the legible parts, piecing together the technique from memory and the fragments before him.

The more he read, the deeper the peculiar sensation grew. When Zhang Liao revisited the text for the second time, he gained new insights:

The parts that remained clear were not only easy to read but also more concise and specific. Even the two pages that Su Jiuming had torn off to use as toilet paper now seemed like utter nonsense.

Zhang Liao immediately sat down cross-legged and began to meditate, his mind filled with the text of the remaining technique. Soon, he started trying to draw Qi into his body, practicing according to the instructions of the remaining technique.

Several hours into his cultivation, Zhang Liao felt an unparalleled sense of exhilaration. His cultivation speed was incredibly fast, and the experience was profoundly mysterious, leaving him in awe.

"So, the Chief has been helping me modify this breathing technique to aid my cultivation."

Filled with emotion, Zhang Liao looked at the tattered breathing technique manual. He was confident that with mastery of this technique, he would surely catch up with his fellow Inner Sect disciples.

Without delay, Zhang Liao lit a sound transmitting talisman to express his gratitude to Su Jiuming.

"Thank you, Chief, for granting me this new cultivation method!"

Meanwhile, Su Jiuming was squatting in the privy when the voice from the sound transmitting talisman in his pocket exploded, startling him so much that he nearly fell into the pit.

He managed to steady himself, narrowly avoiding an unsavory encounter with his own waste. Breathing a sigh of relief, Su Jiuming quickly reached for the talisman in his pocket.

The talisman was scorching hot, and soon the cramped latrine filled with smoke.

Ignoring the pain, Su Jiuming looked down to see the talisman burning and self-destructing, setting his clothes ablaze as well.

In a panic, with no time to clean himself, Su Jiuming dashed out of the latrine and, in a frantic attempt to put out the fire, jumped into a water tank.

The fire was out, but the water was now foul.

Climbing out of the tank, Su Jiuming gazed at the polluted water with dismay, a curse lingering on his lips, unsure if it was appropriate to utter it.

"Pfft, host, you're killing me, haha."

The system, ever-present with Su Jiuming, witnessed the whole scene and couldn't help but laugh at him, causing Su Jiuming to feel the peak of embarrassment.

If only Su Jiuming knew how to use that sound transmitting talisman, he would have given Zhang Liao a piece of his mind to alleviate the resentment festering in his heart.

Fuming, Su Jiuming had no choice but to grimly tackle the aftermath.

He washed himself repeatedly and then set about cleaning the water tank, pouring and refilling it while enduring the foul odor. Once all was done, he had to refill the tank yet again...

By the time the water tank was full, Su Jiuming had completely forgotten Zhang Liao's transmitted message. He figured it wasn't important and decided to turn in for a good night's sleep.

The days that followed were remarkably tranquil for Su Jiuming. No one bothered him, and the system didn't burden him with too many tasks. His days were filled with contentment.

He mused that a lifetime spent this way wouldn't be half bad.

One morning, as Su Jiuming lay on his lounge chair enjoying the breeze and relishing the serenity, his solitude was shattered by the arrival of a large group.

A throng of inner sect disciples, some astride spirit animals, others on flying swords, converged before Su Jiuming. Unable to contain their excitement, they called out in unison:

"Chief, please instruct us in the ways of swordsmanship!"