Chapter 1601

Wu Ming lost!

He lost completely and utterly.

He knelt on one knee on the ground, looked up at Chen Guanlou, and asked, "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, are you a Grandmaster?"

Chen Guanlou looked down at him from above, his face indifferent as he replied, "No!"

"But I lost!" Wu Ming could not understand why he had lost so miserably.

"Your skills are simply inferior to others!"

Chen Guanlou was telling the truth; he had been suppressing his cultivation all along, not using Grandmaster-level power to fight the young man. He had fought a Ninth Rank with Ninth Rank cultivation and won a complete victory!

Wu Ming kept staring at him, his eyes filled with confusion, unwillingness, and defiance!

"You lack combat experience. You have the cultivation, but no worldly wisdom, which is why you lost!"

Chen Guanlou kindly offered some guidance.

Wu Ming frowned tightly.

Chen Guanlou could not bear to see such a talent go to waste, so he said, "You are a simple person, which is why your martial path cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds, never having encountered any hardships. However, the martial path requires not just cultivation, but also cultivation of the heart. Your mind is clear and unworldly, but you cannot be ignorant of the world! You can have low material desires, but you cannot lack insight. Cultivate your heart, cultivate your nature; keep your body in the mundane world, but your heart outside of it. If you can grasp this, stepping into the Grandmaster realm is just around the corner."

"Must I cultivate my nature and my heart?"

"Yes! However, it doesn't mean you must practice while in the mundane world. You can leave the Imperial Palace, leave the capital, leave the scheming, and leave the crowds. Living in seclusion and practicing alone deep in the mountains can also lead to the realization of the mysteries of the martial path. It's just that few people can do it. If it were you, you could certainly do it."

Either stay far away from the secular world, or remain in the rolling red dust while still maintaining a clear state of mind.

The former is difficult!

Humans are social animals!

The latter is even harder!

Humans have endless desires!

Chen Guanlou was the latter, because he possessed the Dao Fruit of Longevity, the greatest reward in the world. Other things, whether it be power, money, or fame, were merely icing on the cake. To him, they were optional and could be discarded at any time. He did not chase after them, nor was he blind, which allowed him to maintain a clear state of mind. He did not get trapped within them, nor did he lose himself.

In his view, Wu Ming could be the former.

It was a pity for such a person to be trapped in the great quagmire of the Imperial Palace.

He hoped the other would maintain his purity toward the martial path and get out as soon as possible.

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, do you mean you want me to leave the Imperial Palace?"

"Do you want to stay in the Imperial Palace?" Chen Guanlou asked in return, a faint smile on his face, though his eyes held a hint of danger.

If the other answered that he wanted to stay in the Imperial Palace, he guaranteed that from this moment on, he would withdraw his goodwill and beat him every time he saw him.

It was like seeing a child with great talent deliberately wasting it by not studying hard, choosing instead to become a delinquent and ruin his own life. One really wants to beat them to death! Beat them awake!

He examined his own mindset; his seniority had grown, and it seemed his mindset had aged a bit too. He felt like he was starting to worry pointlessly about the future of the younger generation!

After all, he was a man who was a grand-uncle.

He wasn't old, but his seniority was high.

Understandable!

Completely understandable!

He became even more determined to spend long periods of time with young, beautiful girls.

Eternal youth!

Wu Ming shook his head, "I don't want to! I don't like the Imperial Palace. The people inside are all abnormal!"

A child worth teaching!

Chen Guanlou nodded with satisfaction.

He reached out and pulled the other up, "Return to the capital. The matter of leaving the Imperial Palace needs to be resolved as soon as possible. If Wei Wubing won't let you go, I will help you find a way."

"Why does Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen want to help me? Besides my Master, you are the second person to truly help me." Wu Ming did not understand.

Chen Guanlou glanced at him, "You can understand it as cherishing talent!"

On the martial path, many old fogies' greatest specialty is not cultivation, but jealousy. Jealousy of young people with exceptional talent, jealousy of young people with piles of resources, jealousy of young people supported by seniors, jealousy of peers stronger than themselves...

Jealousy of everyone!

They cannot stand to see young people's cultivation improve or shine like geniuses.

For example, Eunuch Wang Hai!

For example, Eunuch Wei Wubing!

For example, the crazy Zhou Mobai!

Chen Guanlou had yet to meet a martial artist who wasn't jealous.

Including himself.

He was jealous too! The difference was that he only envied Master Zhitong! However, he quickly steadied himself afterward, facing his jealousy calmly. He strove to view Master Zhitong calmly, without impatience or agitation.

He never envied young geniuses with exceptional talent!

He even viewed those geniuses with an appreciative eye.

Each generation produces its own talents!

Only when the stars shine and geniuses emerge in succession can the martial path develop and have more possibilities. Only geniuses can blaze a new trail for future generations to refer to.

Mediocre people can only follow blindly!

If one blindly suppresses geniuses, the martial path will only become narrower and narrower.

If his lifespan were limited, it wouldn't matter. He would just live for himself and not care about the deluge after he died.

But his lifespan was infinite.

Therefore, he hoped for more geniuses to appear, to seek more possibilities for the martial path, preferably finding a way to cultivate immortality, finding the materials needed for immortality, and creating cultivation techniques and spells...

Only by standing on the shoulders of geniuses can one go further.

He would never envy young geniuses.

A genius like Wu Ming should be shining and burning for the martial path, giving his all until his dying day. Not worrying for Emperor Yuanding and wasting his own talent.

This act is a waste of heaven's gifts!

He could not sit idly by.

Wu Ming still couldn't understand; helping him just because of cherishing talent? Is it really that simple?

Seeing the other was half-believing, Chen Guanlou patiently explained, "I hope you can write down all your insights and experiences on the martial path, and if there is an opportunity, create a few techniques. I have a sect, the Profound Heaven Sect. I am willing to accept you as a disciple of the sect; are you willing?"

"But I have a Master."

"But you don't have to take me as a Master! You don't have to take me as a Master either! Just consider that I am hiring you as a guest elder of the Profound Heaven Sect, responsible for writing sect techniques for the Profound Heaven Sect, how about that?"

Creative things should be left to geniuses.

Chen Guanlou was lazy and didn't want to waste brain cells.

Previously, he had specially created a sword technique for the sword Wugou, and he knew that this kind of creating a technique out of thin air relied entirely on talent, eating only talent. Effort was useless!

He also had this talent and could do it, but he didn't want to.

Too tiring!

He had always been lazy and found it hard to become a diligent, creative, talented workhorse.

Since there was ready-made genius labor, he only needed to be the boss and assign tasks!

This kind of young person is the easiest to fool.

Not after money, not after power, just after an ideal!

Paint a big picture, let us tremble together for the ideal, and you can fool a top-quality workhorse.

For a moment, Chen Guanlou had a rare, tiny bit of guilt, a feeling of being a capitalist exploiting labor.

He shook his head, and turning, he threw such an absurd thought away.

Being exploited by him is a rare opportunity for a genius workhorse. Others couldn't get it even if they begged!

One must learn to be grateful!