The Right View of Revenge (Continued)

Of course, this is to protect the protagonist's unique divine power, for which the author had to personally step in to patch it up.

For example, Zhang Wuji felt that with Zhang Sanfeng's superb skills, he didn't need to learn any other internal Internal Cultivation. Telling him that would be an insult. But even if Zhang Sanfeng didn't learn them, he could still learn from them. The Wudang Nine Yang Art is one-third of the Nine Yang Divine Art. If he could see the whole thing, it would definitely be helpful. Besides, there were also his uncles and grand-uncles. If the Six Heroes of Wudang all learned the Nine Yang Divine Art, the Wudang Sect would probably be close to surpassing Shaolin in skill.

Linghu Chong valued his promise to Feng Qingyang more than the wishes of his adoptive master, which is a matter of personality and best left unsaid. However, he knew that the Five Mountains Sect's Swordsmanship were on the Cliff of Contemplation the back mountains, but he couldn't say it for various reasons. These "various reasons" are the suspense that the author forcibly created, just like how the most crucial lines in a TV series are always left unsaid before the character dies. Linghu Chong really wanted to say that, regardless of whether Yue Buqun wanted to hear it or not, he should have just shouted "The Five Mountains Sect's Swordsmanship are on the Cliff of Contemplation" when they met. Whether Yue Buqun believed it or not was Yue Buqun's business. He should first fulfill his responsibility as the eldest disciple of Mount Hua. Besides, even if Yue Buqun refused to listen, there was still his master's wife.

Si Ming has always looked down on this kind of forced "protagonist selfishness." Although he wouldn't do something as foolish as telling others all the strengths and weaknesses of his martial arts, he is not stingy in sharing with those around him if they need it.

He is neither entirely selfish nor completely selfless; Si Ming has his own yardstick for measuring the balance between public and private interests, and between close and distant relationships.

"You don't need to become my apprentice. If you want to learn, I'm willing to teach you, but how far you can go depends on yourself."

Si Ming didn't want to take on any disciples. The saying "A teacher for a day is a father for life" means that not only should disciples respect their masters, but masters should also take good care of their disciples and impart all their skills. This kind of master-disciple relationship is incomparable to that of a teacher and student. The latter is at most a transaction based on payment, while the former is like family. The Patriarch Subhuti ordered Sun Wukong not to mention his lineage in front of outsiders because there is a shared responsibility in this master-disciple relationship.

Xu Zhengyi never expected to obtain the fortuitous opportunity he had been dreaming of so easily. He secretly sighed that he was glad he had made the decision to take this step, otherwise he would have missed it in vain. He insisted on becoming Si Ming's apprentice.

Si Ming had no choice but to accept him as Registered Disciple. The relationship between a disciple and Registered Disciple is roughly the same as that between a teacher and a student. If the student becomes famous, the teacher can benefit from it. If the student goes astray, that is the student's own problem. There is no direct relationship of interest between the two. After all, no teacher can guarantee that every student will walk the right path.

"I have a wide range of skills, and you wouldn't be able to learn them all even if I taught them all. Please tell me about yourself, and I'll consider which martial arts would be more suitable for you."

Xu Zhengyi immediately told the truth. Of course, he had nothing to hide. Apart from the common "Spirit Cultivation Method", he only had the basic body-forging Movement Method he learned from a retired Soul Artifact Hunter and the wood-chopping knife technique he had figured out on his own. He was penniless and had nothing to his name.

Si Ming thought for a moment. Among all Cultivation Method, body refinement has the highest compatibility. There is no situation where the body becomes stronger but the Internal Cultivation cannot be practiced. However, Cultivation Method involving Spirit Essence Qi Essence must be considered for potential conflicts. So he asked, "Recite the 'Spirit Cultivation Method' to me."

Xu Zhengyi had no doubts and immediately recited the Cultivation Method he had already memorized perfectly, word for word.

Si Ming listened and practiced at the same time, ultimately using it to build a foundation. The content of the "Spirit Cultivation Method" was quite rudimentary. After the other party finished memorizing one chapter, he completed the introduction, and his sea of consciousness stirred and expanded slightly.

Immediately afterward, Martial Form's "Jingxi Ghost" also moved slightly, then released a Jing Essence and a wisp of Yao Qi. The former nourished Si Ming's physical body, while the latter merged into his Qi Sea.

Now Si Ming finally understood the cultivation system of the other side of the Barbarian Continent: Cultivation Practice Method strengthen the soul, using the soul to contain the Martial Form, and then absorbing Jing Essence Qi Essence by transforming the Martial Form.

After thinking it through, he completely abandoned the idea of cultivating Martial Form as well. He circulated his Blazing Sun True Qi to eliminate that Yao Qi so as not to hinder him.

It is not impossible to cultivate two internal Internal Cultivation at the same time. For example, under Si Ming's guidance, Nie Wanzhi cultivated the "Chan Sun Martial Scripture" and the "Shi Moon Dharma Scripture". However, these two scriptures are from the same lineage and both cultivate Buddhist Power. They are essentially the same and will not conflict.

Demon Power and True Qi are fundamentally different. If the two are to coexist, the compatibility issue must be resolved. Otherwise, obstacles will inevitably arise. It's like throwing a stone into a stream. When the stone is small, the stream can continue to flow as long as it bends around a bend. But once the stone becomes large, it may block the stream.

Perhaps he could find the issue of cultivating Demon Power by looking through the materials after returning home, but Si Ming didn't want to go through that trouble. He felt that focusing on one method of Internal Cultivation was more reliable, and there was no need to create unnecessary complications.

"So, does that mean the strength of your martial artists is entirely determined by their Martial Form?" Si Ming asked.

Xu Zhengyi said, "Not necessarily. The use of Martial Form is divided into three stages: possession, Transformation and Application, and Manifestation. Possession is the simplest form of ability enhancement, Transformation and Application is the use of special abilities of Martial Form, Manifestation is the transformation of a martial artist into the state of Martial Form. If a person's soul power is too weak to accommodate a powerful Martial Form, then he will remain in the first stage, which will be very disadvantageous in actual combat."

Si Ming nodded, not delving any further. He had no interest in Martial Form anyway; so what if Wu Ge Manifestation a "Jingxi Ghost"? Was he just going to dress up as a ghost to scare people?

After a moment's thought, Si Ming felt that he could teach Xu Zhengyi some Buddhist School martial arts. After all, Xu Zhengyi's current Martial Form was "Arhat," which would undoubtedly transform into Buddhist Power. Only by practicing Buddhist School martial arts could the power be maximized.

However, before that, we need to clarify our ideological differences. Although based on our brief contact, Xu Zhengyi is not a bad person, some things cannot be simply distinguished as good or bad.

Si Ming asked directly, "If you obtained the power to defeat your brother-in-law, what would you do?"

Xu Zhengyi replied without hesitation, "Of course, it's to take revenge on him."

"So how do you plan to take revenge? There are many ways to take revenge. Killing someone with a single blow is revenge, severing their limbs and crippling their martial arts to make them wish they were dead is revenge. He harmed your entire village, so even if you wipe out his whole family, there's nothing morally wrong with that."

Xu Zhengyi looked bewildered, clearly having not considered this question before. He hesitated and said, "Although I feel he deserves to die a thousand deaths, and I really want to torture him in every way possible to vent my hatred, my sister certainly wouldn't want me to become that kind of person. So I'll use the simplest method, which will probably be to kill him outright..."

Even so, his tone still carried a lot of resentment, after all, some things are not so easy to let go of.

Si Ming, "If you simply kill him, he will be hailed as a hero, while you will be seen as a villain who killed the savior for your own selfish reasons. Your family and villagers will be sacrifices for the greater good. People may pity them, but they will also feel that their deaths were worthwhile, and may even go further and sympathize with your brother-in-law, believing that he sacrificed his beloved for the greater good..."

As if his sore spot had been touched, Xu Zhengyi gritted his teeth and said, "She's not my true love! I've seen that guy clearly now. He doesn't love my sister at all. He only flatters her to achieve his goals. Everything he does is to complete his blood sacrifice! All he cares about is his own reputation!"

"If he's a fame-seeking person, then killing him will only enhance his reputation."

Xu Zhengyi was even more bewildered. "Then what should I do? Should I take him to my sister's grave and force him to admit his mistake?"

"Regardless of whether his apology is sincere or not, even if he did it, the world would not lower its opinion of him. On the contrary, they would understand his predicament better and believe that he had to sacrifice his personal feelings for the greater good of humanity."

"What should I do then...?"

Si Ming smiled, then his expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "It's simple. Kill him by destroying his spirit; just take away his identity as the savior."

"Steal... the identity of the savior?" Xu Zhengyi seemed to understand, but not quite, as if he had grasped something.

"On the surface, he sacrificed the villagers to save the Barbarian Continent. If you can eliminate the Netherworld Insect Princess and save the Barbarian Continent before him, then he will lose his reason for being forced into this situation and his justification for righteousness. What remains is pure evil. Even if you try to make it sound better and claim that he did good deeds but ended up with bad results, he is nothing more than a self-righteous fool."

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..." Xu Zhengyi murmured, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "Killing someone means destroying their spirit! That's right, this is the kind of revenge I've been seeking. He pursues fame, so I'll destroy his fame, make his life's pursuit come to naught, and reduce him to a fool and a villain in other people's eyes!"

To prevent the other party from going astray, Si Ming added, "Actually, there are many other ways to ruin his reputation, such as smearing him after his death, fabricating stories to slander him, spreading rumors, or attacking his private morality. But these are all low-class and underhanded methods, the tricks of petty people. If we're going to do something, we'll do it on the right path. Even if it's revenge, we'll do it openly and honestly, with a clear conscience."

Xu Zhengyi nodded vigorously, clenching his fist, his body brimming with energy. "That's right, even if it's revenge, I'll do it honorably, leaving no one with anything to say."

But then he remembered something and hurriedly asked, "But that guy has already sealed half of the Netherworld Insect Princess. If I kill the Insect Princess, I'm afraid the world will remember his contribution."

"It's very simple. Destroy the seal, restore the Netherworld Insect Princess's full power, and then you can destroy her. This will prove that your brother-in-law's actions were worthless, and that your sister's sacrifice was entirely due to his stupidity. Remember, don't give him any chance to clear his name. If he wants to be the villain, let him die as the villain."

Although Xu Zhengyi had never heard of "character whitewashing," the term itself meant that people in the underworld could whitewash themselves into legitimate individuals, so after a little thought, he understood the meaning of the term.

"However, there's one thing you must be careful about: only do this when you're absolutely certain. If you break the seal but fail to kill the Netherworld Insect Princess, then the title of 'fool' will fall on your head." After reminding him, Si Ming thought of something else, "Has your brother-in-law ever told you that he has other reasons?"

"No!" Xu Zhengyi said indignantly, "If he had even a shred of remorse, or had told me his grievances, I wouldn't hate him so much."

"That's fine then. Many works have characters like this, destined for redemption. They could easily explain themselves with a single sentence, but they stubbornly refuse to speak, letting others misunderstand them, acting like they're burdened with a deep-seated grudge and are doing it for your own good. Only when they're about to die do they reveal the truth, proving they had no choice but to do so, thus clearing their name. Don't give these self-righteous guys a chance to speak; let them die with their grievances. They don't trust others, they fool and hurt others, and they expect forgiveness? Dream on!"

For this kind of guy who thinks the world won't turn unless he makes sacrifices, Si Ming has only one thought—let him act all high and mighty like a complete idiot.

Xu Zhengyi nodded, seemingly understanding, and said, "I understand. Regardless of his reasons, I must first snatch the title of savior from him and prove that everything he has done is meaningless."