Chapter 16

After returning home, Chen Guanlou first practiced his saber technique for half an hour, then spent an hour practicing the "Heavenly Zen Precious Art."

The Longevity Dao Fruit offset the physical damage caused by practicing internal energy techniques, but the pain felt during the practice process could not be offset; he had to endure it completely. The feeling was indescribable. If not for his amazing willpower, who the hell would be willing to suffer this pain?

He dreamed of possessing a martial pulse.

He heard people say that those with martial pulses practiced internal energy techniques as if it were a matter of course, exceptionally smoothly. He couldn't imagine what that experience was like. He could only envy them.

Occasionally, he used the excuse that God had opened a door for him but closed a window to comfort himself.

After finishing his practice, his whole body felt like it had been fished out of water.

He simply stripped naked and used well water to wash his body.

He was the only one in the whole house, and there were no tall buildings around, so he wasn't afraid of being seen.

What was worth comforting was that the "Heavenly Zen Precious Art" was progressing rapidly; he had already successfully practiced to the third layer. Combined with the saber technique sent by the gang leader, ordinary saber techniques could be played with great momentum in his hands, splitting a tree trunk with one strike. He didn't know how many moves he could last against a First-Rank warrior, or if he had any chance of winning.

He was really curious!

He might have to find someone to practice with sometime.

The most headache-inducing thing was the "Ascension Record," as well as the saber scores on the last few pages of the "Ascension Record"—he coveted them very much.

It was really infuriating; he had graduated from a second-tier university, and his professional grades had consistently stayed in the top five percent, yet in this life, he had become semi-illiterate. He had studied for a few years, could read and write, and could handle government paperwork, but he couldn't understand the "Ascension Record"! Who could he reason with?

No!

He had to find a way to conquer the "Ascension Record" as soon as possible.

Chen Xiaolan's father-in-law, Su Dacheng, had a cousin who ran a private school and was known as Su Shi.

When Su Shi was young, he was quite talented and a famous young talent in the area. Not only did he pass the imperial examination at a young age, but he also possessed a martial pulse and was determined to enter the Jixia Academy.

Just as Su Shi was about to succeed and the Su family was about to become wealthy, an accident happened. His martial pulse was destroyed, the Jixia Academy became a delusion, and his future was ruined in an instant.

Since then, Su Shi had become decadent and misanthropic, preferring to be a waste rather than even try to pull himself together. Over ten or twenty years, he had turned from a young talent into a middle-aged, greasy, useless man.

It wasn't until his parents died and there was no livelihood at home, and he saw that even eating was a problem, that he realized if he didn't pull himself together, he would starve to death. Whether he had figured it out or not, Su Shi finally accepted the suffering fate had given him, walked out of his house, and with the help of relatives, opened a private school.

Although his reputation was ruined, his fame for talent still circulated among the neighbors. Seeing him turn over a new leaf, the neighbors were convinced and willing to send their children to him for instruction.

Thus, the private school was established, and the money earned was enough to eat and support the family.

A matchmaker took the opportunity to visit and introduced him to a pretty widow with two children from a previous marriage.

Su Shi gladly agreed.

After establishing his career and family, the widow gave birth to two children for him after entering the house. Together with the two children from her previous marriage, there were four children in the family, and life looked very lively and prosperous.

Near noon, Chen Guanlou carried a piece of pork belly to Su Shi's house.

Su Shi's wife was not yet forty; perhaps because she was well-cared for, she looked younger than her actual age and could be called beautiful. Back then, with Su Shi's conditions, marrying a virgin was also possible. In the countryside, there were plenty of poor families who only needed a small dowry to give away a big girl.

The reason Su Shi took a fancy to Su Shi's wife, who had children from a previous marriage, was because she had a beautiful face and a soft figure. He could afford to raise the two children.

In any era, beauty and handsomeness were scarce resources.

"You didn't have to be so polite when you came." Su Shi's wife complained that Chen Guanlou was spending too much, but her hands were not slow at all. She took the pork belly and weighed it, knowing it was at least five jin. She nodded with satisfaction.

"Don't let the Mistress laugh at me. I came to visit the Master, so it wouldn't be right to come empty-handed," Chen Guanlou said with a smile.

"There's nothing wrong with it. The Master is in the study; go ahead. I'll go fry two dishes for you to drink with, and you can eat and talk in a while."

"Meat, meat!" Su Shi's youngest son saw there was meat today and shouted happily.

Su Shi's wife was ashamed of her youngest son and scolded him in front of Chen Guanlou: "You shallow-eyed thing, didn't I feed you usually? Get out, get out, don't delay my work."

Chen Guanlou:...

It was a pity the pretty woman had a mouth; her beauty was instantly reduced by fifty percent.

Chen Guanlou met Su Shi in the study.

Su Shi's private school business looked like it was doing well, and his life was going well. The desk was actually made of acid wood, and looking at the patina, it was an old object.

When he was living in the Su family with his eldest sister Chen Xiaolan, he had studied for two years in Su Shi's private school. Su Shi was his proper teacher.

It was only right for a student to have questions and ask the teacher for advice.

He had already memorized the entire "Ascension Record." He shuffled the order and randomly picked four characters to ask Su Shi for advice.

Seeing that he was still willing to study, Su Shi was very happy and carefully answered his questions, telling him the source of these characters.

Chen Guanlou picked up his pen and wrote them down one by one; a good memory is not as good as a bad pen. He planned to go to a bookstore on his way home, buy the reference books Su Shi mentioned, and study them himself when he had time.

"I heard you took over your father's job and went to work in the Heavenly Prison. I thought you would engage in a lowly trade and forget your studies. Now that you are willing to come and ask for advice, I am very happy. The sea of learning is boundless; it is very good that you do not forget to study while in the Heavenly Prison. In the future, if you have the chance, you must jump out of the pit of the Heavenly Prison as soon as possible; do not waste your time."

"Thank you for your instruction, Master. You know my family's situation; in order to earn a living, the Heavenly Prison is quite good."

"You, you—if you had worked harder at your studies back then, you might have been able to pass the imperial examinations. If you want to make money, you can go find work at a trading firm; you don't have to go to the Heavenly Prison."

Chen Guanlou said with a smile: "In the eyes of the world, making a living at a trading firm is also a lowly trade. Since both are lowly trades, the Heavenly Prison has fewer troubles and less social complexity. Relatively speaking, the Heavenly Prison is better."

"You..." Su Shi was very dissatisfied. Although both were lowly trades, it was obvious that working at a trading firm was more respectable than the Heavenly Prison. Heavenly Prison guards were all shameful things; besides showing off their power in the prison and getting some silver, they would be pointed at behind their backs and cursed for having no descendants. At least the money from a trading firm was clean.

Seeing Su Shi get angry, Chen Guanlou hurriedly appeased him: "I know you care about me, Master. It's just that I've already entered the Heavenly Prison; as long as I am a prison guard, I must do my job well. As for the future, we'll talk about it later."

Hmph!

Su Shi was still dissatisfied and continued to lecture, even nagging while eating. He wished he could immediately wash Chen Guanlou's brain clean and forcibly instill his own life views into him.

Chen Guanlou didn't care at all; the purpose of his visit today had been achieved, and he had laid the foundation for continuing to ask for advice in the future. He ate and drank well, responding with a few "uh-huhs." After eating, he wiped his mouth and decisively said goodbye and ran away.