Chapter 649: Limited Talent

Le Zhuang watched Gu Liangong, supported by Zhuo Tie, slowly walk out of the spirit hall step by step, and couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Uncle, Grandfather, what's wrong with his health? Is it serious?"

Xuanqing Daozhang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing Le Zhuang's worried gaze, the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back; he patted Le Zhuang's shoulder, putting on a calm appearance, and said with a smile:

"What could be wrong? Just minor problems. Don't worry; what's most important for you now is to let your grandfather rest in peace, and after that you still need to study hard with me."

"I have to tell you in advance, wanting to learn all of my skills will be very hard, so you must persevere!"

Gu Liangong's health issue is something he doesn't want to tell Le Zhuang, lest Le Zhuang feel upset; his condition is not merely serious—his body is almost becoming a nest of illnesses, with many big and small ailments. If not treated promptly, he won't die on the spot, but at most he has only a year or two left to live.

The physicians of Liangshui Town may have some skill, but if they cannot eradicate the illnesses plaguing Gu Liangong's body, they can at most extend his life by a few years.

"Master, master, you're just fooling my junior brother—this old man's body, you can't cure it, but I don't believe you wouldn't notice the problem; you're not saying it because you don't want to scare my junior brother, right?"

Wang Ping'an watched Xuanqing Daozhang putting on an act, gave a hehe smile, and inwardly gloated: "But you miscalculated—this old man's health problem is serious, but not untreatable; considering his good luck, having met me, letting him live another ten or twenty-plus years is no problem!"

Le Zhuang saw that Xuanqing Daozhang obviously didn't want to mention Gu Liangong's problem; it was clearly not a minor issue, his heart ached, but knowing Xuanqing Daozhang didn't want to bring it up was a good thing—afraid of hurting Xuanqing Daozhang, he changed the subject, pretending not to care:

"Uncle, rest assured; after my grandfather is laid to rest, I will definitely study diligently under you—no matter how hard it is, even if it's as difficult as climbing knives and plunging into fire seas, I won't give up."

"Over the years, I haven't suffered little from that beast Zhu Xing's bullying; if it weren't for thinking of my grandfather and the grudge of my parents, I would have already gone to report to the Yama King."

"These years, day and night, I have constantly thought about taking revenge and settling grudges, but without a renowned teacher, seeking revenge is nothing but a daydream."

"Now that you, uncle, are willing to teach me skills, giving me the ability to take revenge, how could I possibly give up?"

Having said that, Le Zhuang paused, looked up at Xuanqing Daozhang, as if thinking of something; his face and eyes were full of worry that could hardly be concealed, and he said:

"Uncle, I'm just worried that my talent is limited; not to mention learning all of your skills, even if I can't learn a single percent of them, when the time comes relying on myself to take revenge will just be an empty boast!"

"How could that be…"

Xuanqing Daozhang stepped forward to Le Zhuang, reached out, while checking Le Zhuang's physical condition and intending to refute, but as soon as he got a rough sense of Le Zhuang's situation, the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.

He discovered.

Le Zhuang's talent is indeed limited; if nothing unexpected happens, there's no way he can learn all of those skills.

No wonder that beast Zhu Xing has, over the years, every now and then bullied Le Zhuang, leaving him covered in wounds but not taking his life—because Zhu Xing probably knows Le Zhuang's limited talent, aware that unless a miracle occurs, even if Le Zhuang picked up a divine skill manual, his achievements would still be limited for life.

Le Zhuang heard Xuanqing Daozhang's words die on his lips, saw his face change dramatically, felt a panic rise, a bad thought surfaced in his heart, and he spoke with a trembling voice: "Uncle, is it… is it that my talent is limited?" At that moment.

He suddenly recalled that one day, that beast Cui Ji, acting on Zhu Xing's orders, seized him and took him to fight the vicious dogs Zhu Xing kept; on the way, he had told Zhu Xing that once he learned skills, he would not spare not only Zhu Xing but also Cui Ji, and would surely cut them down to pieces.

At that time, Cui Ji paid no heed, instead mocking him, saying that someone like him with such talent, even with a renowned teacher's guidance, would achieve only limited things in a lifetime; back then he didn't take it seriously, just taking Cui Ji's offhand remark as idle talk.

Now seeing Xuanqing Daozhang's appearance, he couldn't help but worry—his own talent… perhaps it truly is limited!

"Your talent…"

Xuanqing Daozhang chose his words carefully, but before he could finish speaking, Le Zhuang interrupted him:

"Uncle, speak plainly about my talent; even if it's utterly worthless, I won't mind."

"At most, I just wouldn't be able to personally avenge my parents—but no, actually even without ability I could still avenge my parents."

"It just needs you, uncle, to step forward, capture that beast Zhu Xing and bring him before me; I'll take him to my parents' grave and behead him with a knife!"

"Junior brother, junior brother, you still underestimate your enemy—he's no ordinary spoiled rich kid; with my master's skills, wanting to seize him and bring him before you so you can personally avenge your parents at their grave—I think that's quite arrogant!"

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Wang Ping'an sighed inwardly, recalling that Le Zhuang seemed to have said he was often taken by Cui Ji to face Zhu Xing, left to be bullied by Zhu Xing yet failed to see through Zhu Xing's pretense; he could only say Zhu Xing not only knows how to play, his acting is also exceptionally good, and thought to himself:

"But junior brother, rest assured—my master, your master, cannot help you personally avenge your parents; isn't there still your senior brother, me? When the time comes, you just need to ask me, and I'll beat that beast Zhu Xing down to his last breath and hand him over for you to deal with—no problem—but it still depends on whether you, junior brother, are clever!"

"Xiao Zhuang, since you've said all that, I won't hide it from you—your talent is limited; at least your aptitude for the Dao is ordinary!"

As soon as Xuanqing Daozhang finished speaking, one could see Le Zhuang appearing calm, his face unbothered, a flicker of disappointment flashing in his eyes before vanishing; he shifted the topic and continued speaking:

"However, I have a cultivation method that doesn't rely on talent, but it requires endurance; the deeper you practice, the more suffering you must endure."

"Uncle, rest assured; as long as I can gain good skills to avenge my parents, I can endure any hardship!"

Le Zhuang looked at Xuanqing Daozhang with fiery enthusiasm, unable to wait, and interrupted: "Uncle, please teach me this cultivation method; I guarantee I won't disappoint you!"

(End of chapter)