Chapter 26: Divine Weapon!

The old man saw Li Guanyi agree, smiled and nodded, then said:

"Shuangtao, come along too; where is Changqing?"

Xue Changqing didn't mind at all, waved his arm, and said: "I won't go. Grandpa, every time you chat it's so boring; I'm going to keep shooting arrows here!" He was in high spirits, like a child who had just gotten his favorite toy, gripping his bow as his inner Qi surged.

His palm had been trembling slightly after finishing the last shot, but now it had already begun to recover, and he could draw the bow again.

Li Guanyi raised his brow, but still advised: "Too much is as bad as too little; be careful not to hurt yourself."

Seeing Li Guanyi's gaze, the old man said casually: "My Xue family's true lineage inner Wu Gong method, the 'Divine Bow Heart Art,' when it comes to the five senses and the arms, can be considered unrivaled under heaven. Changqing began practicing Qi at five and has already achieved something; Mr. need not worry about him."

"This boy's nature is unruly; since he likes to practice Wu Gong, let him be. Young Mr., please."

"This old man is quite curious; there are many things I'd like to chat with you about."

The old man had already turned and paced out through the main gate.

Bai Hu swept its tail and followed along lazily.

Li Guanyi naturally moved with the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect, keeping himself within the optimal range for the bronze cauldron to accumulate jade liquid.

He suspected the bronze cauldron's accumulation capacity and absorption range were related to his own strength.

Now it was clearly already much stronger than the absorption ability from the Mountain God Temple stage before.

Xue Shuangtao warned her brother Xue Changqing once more, then hurried after him with small steps, closed the door; the sound of archery gradually faded, muffled outside the door. Presumably the old man had been listening quietly at this doorway earlier.

Xue Shuangtao sidled up and grabbed her grandfather's arm, asking curiously: "Grandpa, when did you arrive?"

The old man patted his granddaughter's hair and said with a gentle smile: "Heh, I've been here a long while. I was only afraid of affecting Changqing's archery, so I didn't go in earlier. None of you noticed me at all."

"However, such arithmetic as Young Mr. possesses, this old man is seeing for the first time. If everyone could do this, wouldn't everyone be a divine archer? Able to hit the bull's-eye every time?"

?? He intends to have me teach all the Xue family children? Li Guanyi replied: "That's impossible."

"The success just now was only because the target was fixed, and Changqing has the Xue family's martial arts, and the place was the martial field where Xue family children practice archery. What if it rains? What if the wind picks up? And the bows on the practice field are already adjusted."

"And the key point is, if you're holding a bow and fighting a person, the opponent isn't a target—they move."

The old man asked with keen interest: "Then why did Young Mr. tell Changqing that arithmetic can assist Wu Xue?"

Li Guanyi answered: "Yincaishi Sect, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"Since he likes Wu Xue, guiding him to learn arithmetic from the direction of Wu Xue will naturally yield twice the result with half the effort."

The old man asked with a surprised smile: "Yincaishi Sect—that's a novel way of putting it; I've never heard it before."

"Did Young Mr. come up with it yourself?"

Li Guanyi said: "Before coming here, I happened to meet an old man surnamed Kong who said it."

The old man mulled over these words, then finally sighed in admiration: "These four characters are already immeasurably above those so-called private academies and private school teachers of today. The world is indeed vast—to have such a figure, and I've never once heard of him."

"Then, Young Mr., where did you learn your arithmetic?"

As he said this, the old man asked with a smile. The Bai Hu Dharma Aspect glanced at Li Guanyi, seeming curious but without malice, so Li Guanyi's heart stirred slightly, and he laughed freely: "Naturally, that was also during my flight—when I was fleeing, I met an old man on the road, and that old man imparted and taught me."

Xue Shuangtao's eyes went wide as she stared at the youth who lied as naturally as breathing, as if she had met a new Li Guanyi.

Your blade art was taught by an uncle on the road; your teaching philosophy was taught by an old man on the road.

Even your arithmetic too?

Even she could tell this was nonsense and deflection.

Her grandfather carried immense authority throughout the entire Xue family; no one had ever spoken to him in such a tone. She couldn't help worrying that her grandfather would get angry, but instead she heard the old man burst into laughter, seeming quite pleased, and say: "Hahahahaha, it seems Young Mr. has had quite a few teachers."

"This arithmetic teacher—someday, I must meet him!"

Li Guanyi thought to himself that those teachers who had taught him arithmetic were probably still in another world right now, getting worked up over midterm and final exams and unruly students, holding a thermos of goji-infused water and saying, you are the worst class I've ever taught.

Living a mundane, peaceful daily life with computers and cola—a daily life he now envied.

How could I let you meet that 'arithmetic teacher'? Unless an arithmetic master fell from the sky and landed on my head.

The young man thought this in his heart, but only replied with a smile: "If there's a chance, definitely."

The old man laughed heartily, but didn't take it to heart.

Li Guanyi originally couldn't enter the inner courtyard, but today with the old man leading the way, naturally no one dared to stop him. Along the way he saw courtyards of varying sizes; some had spirit walls at their gates, with finely carved dragon-and-tiger carriages parked outside, while others were plainer.

He knew this was where the guest retainers lived.

Xue family guest retainers had separate courtyards, and other Xue family members envied them.

But once inside, it seemed there were differences even among guest retainers.

The inner courtyard was built with high walls, clearly separating the Xue family's inner and outer areas. The walls had battlements like a city wall, with Retainers gripping long staves, weapons at their waists, walking atop them with steady steps—they should all have Wu Gong on them.

Li Guanyi thought quietly.

Worthy of a great clan of the realm.

Worthy of—these chaotic times under heaven.

The Xue family patriarch and Li Guanyi chatted casually along the way. The old man was quite witty, and Li Guanyi, with the knowledge of his previous life, responded and chatted without being obsequious or overbearing, occasionally offering clever remarks. The old man's smile deepened considerably, and the guest retainers passing by, along with the Xue family women, were quite astonished.

They didn't know what the identity of this youth chatting casually with the Xue family patriarch was. Anyone who saw the Xue family patriarch instinctively felt themselves shrink, as if seeing a god in their heart, trembling, thinking carefully before speaking, afraid of making mistakes—rarely was there a youth who chatted as freely as this one.

The old man stretched out a hand and pointed at a courtyard, saying: "What does Young Mr. think of this courtyard?"

The courtyard had three entrances and three exits, with pavilions and waterside galleries inside—quite outstanding for this place.

Li Guanyi said: "Very good."

A faint smile appeared on the old man's face as he continued walking: "That courtyard belongs to a guest retainer. He himself had long since Warrior Enters the Realm, and he married a woman from a branch of my Xue family, so he was allowed to bring his family to live in my Xue household. If Young Mr. likes, you could do the same."

"The Xue family has thirteen branches, and among them there are quite a few women of an age similar to yours, Mr., with even more outstanding looks."

Li Guanyi said: "What Senior means is…"

The old man walked forward unhurriedly and asked casually: "Mr. should be able to tell—I'm asking whether you, Mr., would be willing to become a guest retainer of my Xue family."

Xue Shuangtao was stunned, her eyes wide.

A thirteen-year-old guest retainer? Li Guanyi deliberately said: "But isn't the rule that only those who have entered the realm can serve as guest retainers?"

The old man burst into laughter: "What a childish notion. My word is the Xue family's rule."

"Three hundred years ago, my Xue family withdrew from the court and the battlefield; since then, generation after generation has gone into trade. Young Mr., in your opinion, what is the most important thing for a merchant?"

"Keen eyes and boldness!"

The old man looked at the youth, his white brows lifted, his eyes fierce as a tiger's, and grinned: "Just like on the battlefield — strike at the right moment, and only then can you survive, only then can you earn merit. Trade is the same. If you only go about it timidly, you'll barely scrape by feeding your family."

"Since ancient times, the great merchants and the great heroes of the world have all been massive gamblers!"

"Win the gamble, and you gain wealth to last ten thousand generations, your name resounds through the ages; lose the gamble, and your family is ruined, you bear the eternal curse of infamy!"

"When I was six, I wagered and won a volume of historical records, read it by lamplight until my eyes were swollen and red. In the hundred and twenty years since, the Chen Kingdom has risen and fallen, yet my Xue family's assets have tripled. These eyes of mine have never lost once. This time, I took a liking to you at first sight, and I mean to gamble once more — to place my bet on you."

Li Guanyi said: "What does the old senior wager on?"

His steps unhurried, the old man had by now led him and Xue Shuangtao to a lotus pond. The lotus flowers had not yet bloomed. The old man turned and gestured loosely toward Li Guanyi, saying:

"Thirteen years old, already well-versed in mathematics, repeatedly meeting masters, internal cultivation near completion, almost at the threshold of entry, bearing and conduct already measured by their own standard. I wager that your future will shake the realm, that within ten years you will become a worthy aide to the realm!"

"Sending charcoal in the snow far surpasses adding flowers to brocade."

"An open wager — how could it be weaker than a secret private pact?"

"Today, taking a liking to you, I shall simply lay everything bare and ask you — how about it!"

The old man spoke with an open, bold, and magnanimous bearing.

Xue Shuangtao held her breath, not daring to interject for the moment.

Li Guanyi said: "Of course I would welcome it, but senior, you've only met me twice — aren't you afraid of losing the wager?"

The old man pointed at the room and, instead of answering, asked: "My Xue family has a thousand volumes of books, encompassing all things — the hundred arts of the Confucians, great sect essays, poetry and classics, Buddhist and Daoist Juan Sect, as well as Shanhe history, geography and feng shui. If I allowed you to read them, what would you borrow?"

Li Guanyi saw Bai Hu intently watching him, and gave his answer.

"Shanhe history, geography and feng shui."

The old man asked: "Why?"

"To open my eyes."

"Open your eyes to see what?"

Li Guanyi gazed at him and said: "To open my eyes and see this realm."

Then the old man burst into laughter, like a tiger's long howl on a moonlit night across the ridge.

Striding forward, he casually pushed open the Listening Wind Pavilion with a wave of his hand, saying:

"Guest Li, please!"

The door was pushed open and they stepped inside; the interior was extremely plain.

The old man strode forward and personally brewed tea. Inside Li Guanyi's body, the bronze cauldron's jade liquid had reached ninety-eight percent — just like the crimson dragon before, it had reached this point and stubbornly refused to move. To break through to the end, he would probably need to brand a Dharma-phase-level supreme art, just as General Yue Qianfeng had done before.

But how could he achieve that? He faintly sensed on the bronze cauldron the blurry, indistinct form of Bai Hu taking shape.

Yet it had not yet solidified, had not yet stabilized — let alone surfaced like the crimson dragon had.

He had only just taken his seat when his gaze faltered slightly, drawn by something.

It was a bow.

An ancient, unadorned war bow!

Bearing an aura of stern slaughter, it was placed right at the center of the highest platform of this Listening Wind Pavilion.

The blurry Bai Hu on the bronze cauldron at Li Guanyi's chest suddenly gathered, as if about to roar and howl.

A fierce surge of longing rose in Li Guanyi's heart—

Grip it! Grip it! That is—

The youth saw the inscription beside the bow, a sharp martial aura.

【Cloud-Splitting Heaven-Shaking Bow】! (End of this chapter)