Chapter 40: He Cannot Cultivate

Zheng Fa flipped through the first volume of the Complete Interpretation of Talisman Diagrams beside the Seventh Young Master, scanning it horizontally and vertically, until he finally spotted four densely packed characters hidden between the lines:

"Save the children..."

He turned to look at the room filled with bookshelves, feeling a pang of panic in his heart; no matter how good his memory was, facing a room full of books, even growing an extra head wouldn't be enough.

The method of exhaustive enumeration must die!

"Then how can one prove they have mastered the one hundred and eight basic Yuan Fu?" Zheng Fa asked the question he had always wanted to ask.

He remembered that becoming a Talisman Master required solving one hundred and eight Yuan Fu; if only these were tested, it didn't seem like that many.

The Seventh Young Master sat down and began explaining to Zheng Fa: "I just said, the number of Talisman Diagrams is constantly increasing, right?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"But the number of Yuan Fu is limited. No," the Seventh Young Master frowned: "Even the cultivators of the Immortal Gate are not certain exactly how many Yuan Fu there are, but what is certain is that the number of Yuan Fu is less than the number of Talisman Diagrams, much less. Some cultivators have even said that one Yuan Fu can correspond to countless Talisman Diagrams, and the basic Yuan Fu are the simplest and most common Yuan Fu."

Zheng Fa vaguely understood the Seventh Young Master's meaning.

"For example, you previously solved two basic Yuan Fu from those few Talisman Diagrams. The assessment for Talisman Masters is actually the same. It's just that because so many new Talisman Diagrams have emerged, you simply cannot see them in these books; you can only rely on your understanding of the basic Yuan Fu to analyze them on the spot. Moreover, not all basic Yuan Fu are as simple as the two you analyzed."

"So memorizing all these books is impossible," Zheng Fa said, somewhat disappointed.

"Memorize them? This whole room of books?" The Seventh Young Master's eyes widened: "Are you joking?"

The expression on Zheng Fa's face was so innocent that it made the Seventh Young Master's mouth slowly gape open:

"You... are you serious?"

Zheng Fa was truly not joking.

Memorizing them would torture his memory.

Not memorizing them meant the only possible method was to continue learning topology from Bai Lao, which would torture his intelligence and his self-esteem.

But since memorizing them was useless now, he could only try topology. Although Zheng Fa was not sure if topology was truly effective for analyzing all Yuan Fu, at least it was a method with potential.

Thinking of Bai Lao, Zheng Fa shook his head gently.

That old man; last time Zheng Fa had bamboozled him for half a day, but then Tang Lingwu mentioned a zoo... it seemed the old man was losing his awe again, appearing to have lost his passion for Wu Gong.

This wouldn't do; a student hating study would affect the progress of a teacher like him.

Early in the morning, the Seventh Young Master, yawning, brought Gao Yuan to watch Zheng Fa standing in posture on the training ground.

The sky had just begun to lighten, and dew clung to Zheng Fa's hair and the hems of his trousers; he had clearly been standing there for more than a moment.

"When did he start practicing?"

The Seventh Young Master asked Gao Yuan beside him.

Gao Yuan shook his head: "When I came to practice this morning, he was already here."

These past few days, Gao Yuan felt he was nearing entry into the Pine Crane Stance, so he practiced more diligently, often coming to train early in the morning before the morning lessons began. As a result, when he arrived this morning, Zheng Fa was already in this state.

The Seventh Young Master stared at Zheng Fa's face for a long while, frowning slightly, seeming somewhat worried.

Looking at Gao Yuan beside him, the Seventh Young Master patted his shoulder and said:

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"It... it was okay?" Gao Yuan said hesitantly, a bad feeling stirring in his heart.

"Zheng Fa has better talent than you and works harder than you; he got up to practice before dawn, yet you actually slept quite soundly?"

"..."

Here it comes!

Gao Yuan's face wore a calmness born of long habit and no surprise.

"Practice!"

"Oh!"

Gao Yuan stood beside Zheng Fa, his demeanor calm, completely unshaken.

He also assumed the Pine Crane Stance, while silently reciting the nine-character mantra he had recently realized: "Cannot fight, treat it as flatulence, I am trash."

As the two practiced, the Seventh Young Master did not leave; he just watched them, unknown what he was thinking.

"Uncle! I was sleeping soundly!"

A wail came from outside the training ground.

Then came the voice of Xu Jiaotou: "Sleep! What are you sleeping for! Zheng Fa has better talent than you and works harder than you; how can you sleep!"

This somewhat familiar phrase made Gao Yuan unable to help but open his eyes and look toward the entrance of the training ground.

Xu Jiaotou kicked a sleepy-eyed young man into the training ground.

Hearing Xu Jiaotou's address, Gao Yuan knew this young man was probably his nephew.

Xu Jiaotou's nephew was still unconvinced: "He has good talent; practicing one day yields one day of progress. Give me his talent, and I would be willing to practice every day! It's just that I don't have this talent; sleeping a bit more doesn't delay much!"

Hearing this, Gao Yuan actually felt it made a lot of sense; this person possessed quite a bit of great wisdom.

"Will you practice or not?" Xu Jiaotou asked, clenching his fist.

"I'll practice! I'll practice, won't I!"

Xu Jiaotou's nephew assumed a stance; it did not look like the Pine Crane Stance, but rather another martial art.

Seeing his reluctant yet dare-not-resist appearance, Gao Yuan could not help but feel a sense of shared misery, offering the other a friendly smile.

"What are you smiling at?" That person, seeing Gao Yuan's smile, actually snorted.

Gao Yuan was stunned, then heard the other glance at him, then glance at Zheng Fa, let out a breath of anger through his nose, and snort softly:

"Up so early, a bunch of the same kind!"

The calmness on Gao Yuan's face could no longer be maintained.

I am so trash, yet I have to endure the jealousy that only a genius should endure; is there any justice in the world!

The three were practicing their arts when Seventh Young Master and Xu Jiaotou exchanged a glance, both eyes clouded with the same worry.

The two walked to a corner and began speaking in low voices.

"Instructor, what do you think?" Seventh Young Master asked, casting a glance at Zheng Fa.

"Too hasty," Xu Jiaotou said, frowning, and shook his head. "I told them before: martial arts cannot be pursued in excess; haste makes waste. The more one greedily seeks, the easier it is to get injured. I thought Zheng Fa, with his steady nature, would not fall into this trap."

"Was he like that before?" Seventh Young Master asked, as if recalling something.

"No..." Xu Jiaotou's expression shifted as he looked at Seventh Young Master. "Young Master, are you referring to the Spirit Crane Body?"

Seventh Young Master nodded, his face heavy. "These past few days, he hardly slept at all, saying he was contemplating the Spirit Crane Body."

Xu Jiaotou also turned his gaze to Zheng Fa, shook his head, and sighed. "I used to say he was more carefree than I am. Who would have thought... like me, he had it too easy before, and now that he faces a setback, he cannot see it clearly."

Seeing that Seventh Young Master still looked worried, Xu Jiaotou reassured him. "Rest assured; I am here watching."

Seventh Young Master nodded, glanced once more at Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, then turned and left.

In the Lady's small tower, Seventh Young Master and the Lady sat opposite each other, each holding a cup of tea.

"I did not expect that by choosing two book pages for you, you would be willing to come to my place more often," the Lady said with a smile.

"Mother!" Seventh Young Master grumbled.

"I know, I know. It is not for them."

"Speaking of which, Mother, find a bookkeeper for Gao Yuan," Seventh Young Master suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"He studies well, has some aptitude for martial arts, and knows how to strive upward." Behind the scenes, Seventh Young Master no longer held any disdain for Gao Yuan. "Find him a teacher to learn accounting; later, he will be fit enough to serve as the household's chief steward."

The Lady nodded and asked, "What about the other one?"

"Zheng Fa..." Seventh Young Master could not help but show a trace of reproach on his face. "He has a talent for the Dao of Talismans; he might even enter an immortal sect. As for that Spirit Crane Body you gave him, it would have been fine if he could master it. But now that he cannot, these past few days he has been as if possessed."

"He never could master it," the Lady said, lowering her gaze to watch the steam rising from the teacup before her.

"Mother?" Seventh Young Master slowly turned his neck, looking at his mother. "What did you just say?"

"He cannot master it."