Chapter 570: Satirical Little Story

“But if I can become this strong someday, hehe…”

thinking that one day he too could wave his hand and erase any other cultivator’s attack,

Zhang Chulan’s smile bloomed again.

“Thinking like this, the Old Farmer’s Art isn’t so weak after all.”

Realizing he carried such a powerful inheritance, Zhang Chulan felt a sweet warmth in his heart.

“Old Farmer’s Art is just Bao’er’s nickname for it—you should call it Qi Ti Yuan Liu.”

Seeing Zhang Chulan still blinded by superficial fame and unable to see the true nature of things, Zhang Jie spoke up to remind him.

“Qi Ti Yuan Liu? So the Old Farmer’s Art is really Qi Ti Yuan Liu?!!”

Hearing the name Qi Ti Yuan Liu, Zhang Chulan could no longer stay calm.

His grandfather had been hunted down and killed far from home because of this art.

Though he didn’t know the full truth, Zhang Chulan guessed that his grandfather’s decision to flee with him and his father,

hiding their identities, was deeply tied to this art.

After all, neither the Golden Light Spell nor his trump card, Thunder Art, were secrets hidden from the world.

Zhang Jie himself was originally just a lay disciple—yet he still received the Golden Light Spell.

He had merely suspected the Old Farmer’s Art was Qi Ti Yuan Liu when he traded it with Zhang Jie.

Now, he finally knew the true identity of the art that forced his family into hiding.

Zhang Jie nodded slightly in affirmation: “At the peak of techniques lies Qi Ti Yuan Liu.

Isn’t it obvious that Qi Ti Yuan Liu can dissolve true Qi into nothingness?”

Qi Ti Yuan Liu’s most direct ability is to instantly dismantle and break down any technique, array, or artifact built from ‘Qi,’

reducing them back to their most primitive, attributeless scattered Qi.

In the anime, Zhang Chulan used it to dispel Zhang Lingyu’s Yin Five Thunder.

This effect resembles the innate ability of the eldest sworn brother among the Thirty-Six Rebels during the Jia Shen Uprising—

the former leader of the Quanxing Sect, Wu Gen Sheng’s innate talent, Shen Ming Ling.

Wu Gen Sheng used Shen Ming Ling to dissolve true Qi, then launched physical attacks with a Mauser pistol, dominating the cultivator world for a time.

This is remarkably similar to the Origin Bullet of Kiritsugu Emiya, the magus killer from Fate/Zero who would sacrifice anything for the dream of world peace:

This ‘partner of justice,’ Wei Gong Qieji’s adoptive father, ground his own rib into powder and loaded it into a specially made firearm.

Upon striking a magus, the ‘Origin’ property within the bullet (severance and connection)

forcibly destroys the opponent’s magical circuitry, triggering catastrophic backlash—making it the magus’s ultimate nemesis.

With Qi Ti Yuan Liu as a shield, as long as the cultivator’s cultivation isn’t vastly inferior,

such as if Zhang Chulan now faced the Old Celestial Master, he would be invulnerable to all arts, inherently standing on unshakable ground.

Zhang Chulan’s grandfather, strictly speaking, didn’t die from Dan Shi—he had such mastery over Qi Ti Yuan Liu

that, given enough time, he could have neutralized the poison of Dan Shi.

Unfortunately, those hunting him weren’t just the Tang Clan—they also included Quanxing, and unseen masters clearly from orthodox sects.

Outnumbered, surrounded, and with his own age nearing its natural end, Zhang Huaiyi finally collapsed.

Even so, he killed every expert who dared to pursue him—utterly ruthless.

After Zhang Chulan’s identity was exposed, only Quanxing sent people to investigate—

mere juniors like Xia He and Lu Liang—thanks largely to Zhang Huaiyi’s final massacre.

His final battle nearly dragged every old villain from the Jia Shen Uprising who coveted Qi Ti Yuan Liu

and dared to plot against it into the underworld.

And when it comes to the depth of true Qi, who in the entire cultivator world could rival Zhang Jie, who has accumulated Qi across multiple worlds?

“So that’s how it is… so that’s how it is…”

Zhang Chulan’s eyes filled with tears as he understood his grandfather’s profound intentions:

If he had remained an ordinary person, Qi Ti Yuan Liu would have been a curse—too dangerous to leave him.

But once he was drawn into turmoil, Feng Baobao, entrusted with it, would pass Qi Ti Yuan Liu to him,

giving him a trump card to face the storm, preventing him from becoming a tiny boat tossed by the winds and rains.

Zhang Jie reached out and patted Zhang Chulan’s shoulder:

“Train hard. Don’t waste your grandfather’s painstaking efforts.”

“Work hard in your cultivation; don’t waste your grandfather’s hard work.”

Zhang Chulan nodded firmly.

Then he grinned, rubbing his hands together: “So, Jie Ge, since I’ve given you the Old Farmer’s Art—Qi Ti Yuan Liu—what about the Luo Tian Da Jiao?…”

“What, you think I’ll renege? Should I write you a written guarantee?”

Zhang Jie teased with interest.

Zhang Chulan dared not ask Zhang Jie for a written promise, shaking his head like a fan:

“No, no, I’m just gently reminding you, Jie Ge.

As for your character, not just me—anyone who knows you doesn’t raise their thumb?”

Zhang Jie glanced sideways at Zhang Chulan. “Don’t flatter me, kid.

But I promised you—I won’t go back on my word.”

As for “putting on a tall hat,” there’s a widely circulated satirical story:

It’s said that in ancient times, a Beijing official was being transferred to a provincial post.

Before leaving, he specially went to bid farewell to his mentor, who had taught and promoted him.

The mentor solemnly advised him: “The official circles outside are complex.

Once you arrive, you must keep yourself pure and act with caution.”

The official quickly replied respectfully: “Master, rest assured—I’ve prepared a hundred tall hats,

and I’ll give one to everyone I meet. That should prevent any conflict.”

The mentor immediately flew into a rage:

“As upright gentlemen, we must treat others with integrity—

how can you resort to such flattery and deceit?”

The official immediately bowed his head, looking pitiful yet reverent:

“Master, you’re absolutely right!

But in today’s world, how many upright men like you, who dislike being given tall hats, are there?”

The mentor, hearing this, calmed down and nodded:

“You do have a point.”

After leaving his mentor, the official told others:

“I prepared a hundred tall hats—I now have only ninety-nine left.”

Later, people extracted the phrase “putting on a tall hat” from this story,

using it specifically to describe false flattery meant to please others.

And the person being flattered is usually called “the one who had a tall hat put on them.”

Later, people derived the term “wearing a tall hat” from this story,

“Hehe, this isn’t putting on a tall hat—it’s everyone recognizing Jie Ge’s character.”

Zhang Chulan, having gotten the answer he wanted, didn’t care about such things—he grinned.

“Even with my help, you still can’t slack off.

If you get eliminated in the first round or something, I won’t be able to save you.”

Seeing Zhang Chulan showing signs of overconfidence, Zhang Jie sternly warned him.

“Understood, understood.”

Zhang Chulan nodded like a pounding pestle.

Though he and Zhang Jie had struck a deal and he was being protected,

if he proved too weak, he’d never reach the championship throne.

After all, even the Old Celestial Master couldn’t make a pile of useless mud into the next Celestial Master, could he?

Although he had struck a deal with Zhang Jie to safeguard him,

but if he were too inept, he could never ascend to the throne of champion.

After all, even the Old Celestial Master cannot turn a lump of worthless mud into the Celestial Master’s heir, can he?