Chapter 27: What is Moral Conduct

The moment 【Deng Li Buduo】 knelt down.

Ding!

A dormant system was awakened in Lin Bai's mind.

Haoweirenshi System System System: A teacher is one who propagates the Dao, imparts professional knowledge, and resolves doubts. The inheritance of knowledge cannot be separated from a teacher; please respect this profession.

To be a teacher, one must first mold the person, then mold the talent.

It is the teacher's dereliction of duty if a student walks the path of evil; when teaching disciples, moral conduct must come first.

【Note: Every student is a resource for the teacher. The skills you impart to them will be returned to you based on their moral conduct. The system will judge the disciple's moral conduct and return their cultivation progress to you in the form of a percentage. The higher the moral conduct, the higher the return; the reverse is also true. Please be cautious when taking on disciples.】

【Initial Task: Take on one disciple; Reward: Comprehension +1】

……

So this is how the dormant system is awakened?

The suddenly appearing system left Lin Bai feeling a bit dazed.

What the hell is this about teaching disciples their moral conduct? Does it mean I have to make them into people who are beneficial to society?

Moral conduct!

Giving me such a mess of a system and then telling me the disciples I teach must have moral conduct—isn't that just nonsense!

Besides, players are known as the Fourth Calamity; killing and arson are common occurrences in games. Can you expect a group like this to help an old lady cross the street in a game?

What a joke!

If I take natives as disciples, perhaps I could teach them to be people with moral conduct.

But a teacher's gains come from the students; how can the aptitude of natives be compared to players who grind experience to level up?

How contradictory!

"Master, please accept me as your disciple." 【Deng Li Buduo】 kowtowed again, his face full of piety.

Players are the group best at seizing opportunities; he felt he had dug up a thick thigh to cling to.

While others were still learning Basic Martial Arts at martial arts schools, he could already learn the flashy, special-effect-laden Dragon Subduing Palm. Just thinking about it made him happy.

What's more, he felt this NPC could teach him more than just the Dragon Subduing Palm.

From his marketing methods for opening the shop to his means of dealing with the Daoist, every single thing was filled with life philosophy that seemed applicable in reality.

In just one day, he felt he had learned more than he had in the past twenty-plus years.

At this point, becoming an apprentice was no longer just about learning a Skill; it was also related to his future quality of life...

……

"Little Deng, get up!" Lin Bai looked at 【Deng Li Buduo】 kneeling before him, his gaze complex. "This sect has harsh conditions for selecting disciples; you do not meet the requirements."

Not choosing a good big brother in the beginning had already caused trouble for Lin Bai; he couldn't be so rash when choosing a disciple.

Especially since 【Deng Li Buduo】 had followed him for a day and learned many things he shouldn't have through observation and imitation; his moral conduct was already flawed. Taking him in would be digging a pit for himself.

"Master, my aptitude is very good." 【Deng Li Buduo】 said anxiously, "I guarantee I can learn any Martial Art as soon as I see it; I will definitely not disgrace the majesty of the sect."

"It has nothing to do with aptitude." Lin Bai took a deep breath. "This sect prioritizes moral conduct when taking disciples. One must speak of morality and possess character; whether it is public morality or private morality, there can be no flaws..."

"……" 【Deng Li Buduo】.

"……" Daoist Qingfeng.

"……" The Song Jinnan family.

It was as if a cold wind had blown past; the scene fell into an eerie silence.

Of course.

The silence was on the surface; what was surging like waves was everyone's inner thoughts.

【Deng Li Buduo】: Master, touch your own heart before saying that. Doesn't your heart feel even a little bit guilty?

Daoist Qingfeng: Look at all those things you've done; does moral conduct have anything to do with you?

The Song Jinnan family: Does Shopkeeper Lin have some kind of misunderstanding about moral conduct?

【Resentment from Deng Li Buduo; +1+1+1……】

【Resentment from Song Jinnan, Wu Xiuxiu, and Song Ling; +1+1+1……】

【Resentment from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1+1……】

Lin Bai clearly sensed the emotions of everyone present. He glanced at 【Deng Li Buduo】 and engaged in Belly-Defamation: Look, I haven't even said a few words and he already has emotions toward his teacher. Can such a disciple be accepted?

But leeks that should be harvested must be harvested; if it doesn't shine in the east, it will shine in the west. Negative Emotion is also useful to him!

Lin Bai looked at 【Deng Li Buduo】 with regret: "Little Deng, you joined the Blacksmith Sect but betrayed it the very next day—that is lack of faith. The Daoist came to the shop to cause trouble, and you did not step forward to protect the shop—that is lack of righteousness. Daoist Qingfeng was injured and used a Shield Armor Talisman to protect himself; I wanted to set him on fire, and you did not dissuade me but instead added fuel to the fire—that is lack of benevolence..."

"I f..."

The veins on 【Deng Li Buduo】's forehead throbbed; he wished he could grab a brick from the ground and smash it on Lin Bai's head.

At this moment.

He finally understood Daoist Qingfeng's feelings. This damn NPC is really not a thing...

"Look, I haven't finished speaking and you are already spouting foul language, and you have no sincerity in becoming an apprentice. With such moral conduct, how can I accept you into the sect?" Lin Bai sighed dejectedly. "Little Deng, everything I did was nothing but a test for you."

F***!

"……" 【Deng Li Buduo】 was going crazy.

【Resentment from Deng Li Buduo; +1+1+1……】

"Get up, you are still not qualified to be my disciple." Lin Bai shook his head. "Just be content being your shop assistant. Daoist Qingfeng has invested, so the shop now has ample funds, and I will waive your accommodation fees..."

The hell I want you to waive my room and board!

I'm here to play a game, not to work for you.

【Deng Li Buduo】 looked at Lin Bai resentfully, took a deep breath, and stabilized his emotions: "Master, the moral conduct you speak of doesn't apply to you either!"

"Little Deng, don't call me Master yet." Lin Bai smiled. "I opened a shop in a Haunted House and brought vitality to this barren land—that is benevolence. Huilong Temple trapped the Song Jinnan family, and I didn't hesitate to offend Huilong Temple to save them from fire and water—that is righteousness. Facing the invading Daoist Qingfeng and the overbearing sect behind him, I stood up—that is courage. Having accepted the Daoist's life-buying money, I will no longer take his life—that is faith..."

【Resentment from Daoist Qingfeng; +1+1+1...】

【Resentment from Deng Li Buduo; +1+1+1...】

【Deng Li Buduo】 was completely shocked by this shameless speech; this guy truly had a misunderstanding of the definition of virtue.

"Tell me, which thing I have done lacked virtue?" Lin Bai asked with a smile.

Every single one!

【Deng Li Buduo】 retorted.

"Little Deng, if the heart is upright, then all things are upright." Lin Bai restrained his smile and said with a serious face, "The angle from which I stand is different from yours; there are some things I can do that you cannot. You are still young, and what you see when looking at things is only the surface, so you have some misunderstandings about me. Do not make rash definitions without understanding the inside story. Get up, go prepare wine and food, it is time for us to eat."

Surface?

Inside story?

Behind the Shield Armor Talisman, Daoist Qingfeng jolted violently, and his regard for Lin Bai deepened by another layer.

"Shopkeeper, if my virtue passes the test, will you be able to take me as a Disciple?" Ignoring Lin Bai's self-aggrandizing words, 【Deng Li Buduo】 asked, unwilling to give up.

Naturally, a special NPC taking on a disciple could not be mentioned in the same breath as an ordinary NPC; there were even assessment tasks for changing classes, and he could not give up on this thick thigh just because of a tiny bit of difficulty!

If he did, what difference would there be between him and ordinary players?

"Of course." Lin Bai looked at 【Deng Li Buduo】 with a smile, "Require yourself to act with a Gentleman's Virtue, and when I feel you have passed, you can naturally become my Disciple. Little Deng, doing one good deed is not difficult; what is difficult is doing good deeds for a lifetime!"

The suddenly high-spirited 【Deng Li Buduo】 gave Lin Bai inspiration.

Players possess infinite possibilities; if he cannot find a suitable Disciple, he will just mold one.

It seems the system's review of task completion requirements is not strictly enforced; who says players cannot do good deeds in the game?

A Disciple's cultivation will provide feedback to the teacher, which is equivalent to him bringing along an extra experience baby; not using it would be a waste.

The battle with Daoist Qingfeng has already proven that his existing Internal Energy is simply not enough to use; Duan Yu, who is sometimes effective and sometimes not, still has the Northern Profound Divine Art as a foundation!

(End of this chapter)