Great Furnace Transformation, Creation as the Smith

Great Furnace Transformation, Creation as the Smith

"I remembered every word each of them said as they passed by me."

Su Yun's tone was equally calm. "After I went blind, I could only recognize people by their voices. If I heard their voices again, I would definitely recognize them."

At that moment, rustling came from the distant mountain forest. Several foxes with bloodied faces poked their heads out from beneath the trees.

"L-Little Yun..." a fox called from afar, glancing fearfully at Qiu Shuijing.

After last night's slaughter, these little foxes who had never feared humans had become somewhat afraid of them.

Joy appeared on Su Yun's face. He rose to his feet. "Hua Erge? You're still alive?"

It was a fox with black-and-yellow fur. It crawled out from beneath the tree, followed by several little foxes. The little foxes clutched the tails of the companions in front of them and walked over in terror.

Flower Fox, at the front, cast another fearful glance at Qiu Shuijing. Only after confirming that he was not one of the people who had massacred Huqiu Village did he gather his courage and lead the three surviving little foxes closer.

Su Yun stood there, and Flower Fox and the three little foxes immediately felt at ease. This youth seemed to be their pillar, giving them a sense that they had someone to rely on.

That feeling had not come from nowhere. It was the influence of Su Yun's unhurried bearing and composure, forged through six or seven years of living together.

"...Some people from the town came this morning. They said they hadn't gotten any benefits in the Ghost Market, so they came here to subdue demons and exterminate devils. Mister tried to reason with them, but they ignored him. They only said we would harm people..."

Su Yun listened quietly and asked, "Erge, do you remember what they looked like?"

Flower Fox shook his head and said shamefully, "I was fleeing with my younger brothers and sisters, so I didn't get a clear look at their faces. I only remember one of them was very handsome and not very old. He wore fiery red clothes, and flames suddenly burst out behind him. Divine birds flew out from within the fire..."

Su Yun committed that trait to memory, then turned and bowed. "Mister Shuijing, does what you said still count?"

Qiu Shuijing looked at the youth prostrate before him. After a moment, he said, "My words naturally count. But do you have money?"

Su Yun stood and opened his palm. Several bloodstained Five Zhu Coins lay in it, likely found in the ruins while he had been collecting the bodies.

Qiu Shuijing picked up one Five Zhu Coin from his palm. Yet at that moment, Su Yun stuffed all the other Five Zhu Coins into his hand as well.

Qiu Shuijing froze for a moment and looked at him in puzzlement.

Su Yun raised his head. "Mister Wild Fox taught me for six years and did not drive me away because I was human. I beg you, Mister, do not drive them away because they are foxes."

Qiu Shuijing considered it, then asked, "Did Mister Wild Fox charge you money for teaching you?"

Su Yun shook his head.

Qiu Shuijing returned the bloodstained Five Zhu Coins to him. "He taught people without charging money. If I charged a few Fox Demons for teaching them, I would be inferior to him. This Five Zhu Coin is your tuition. They need not pay."

Su Yun accepted the Five Zhu Coins.

Qiu Shuijing watched him and Flower Fox bury Mister Wild Fox, as well as the Fox Demons of Huqiu Village.

Quite a few of them had been their classmates. Flower Fox and the little foxes could not help bursting into tears again.

They returned to the school. Qiu Shuijing glanced at Su Yun and the four foxes, then said, "What Mister Wild Fox taught you was the Master's Qi Cultivation Chapter, wasn't it? How many years have you studied it?"

Su Yun nodded. "I studied it for six years."

Flower Fox said, "I studied it for seven years."

The other three little foxes had each studied it for two or three years as well.

Qiu Shuijing said blandly, "Though the Master's Qi Cultivation Chapter is an orthodox qi cultivation art, what textbook in the world remains unchanged for five thousand years? In this day and age, anything unchanged for ten years is already outdated. I came to the countryside and discovered that city and country seemed to be separated by a gap of a thousand years!"

He shook his head. "What I will teach you is the newest foundational Foundation Establishment art from the capital's official academies: Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter."

Heaven and earth are the furnace, creation the smith;

Yin and yang are charcoal, all things copper.

These words were the general outline of the Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter.

The Master's Qi Cultivation Chapter merely used the simplest methods to nurture primordial qi. Though simple and easy to grasp, it was extremely difficult to cultivate to profound heights.

Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter, however, treated one's body as heaven and earth, containing within it a great furnace. It stirred the potential of creation, used the yin and yang qi within the body as charcoal, and the five viscera, six bowels, sinews, bones, and blood as copper, forging powerful primordial qi.

Though this qi cultivation art was complex, it was exceptionally effective. Its cultivation speed surpassed the Master's Qi Cultivation Chapter by who knew how many times.

Qiu Shuijing explained from the shallow to the deep. He began with drawing upon the essence of sun and moon, treating oneself as heaven and earth and heaven and earth as the great furnace. Then he explained how creation became the smith, and finally how yin and yang became charcoal and all things copper.

Su Yun and the others had weak foundations to begin with, and Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter was truly profound. Even a master like Qiu Shuijing needed five or six days before they barely entered the gate and learned the first half of the Qi Cultivation Chapter.

Among them, Flower Fox learned the fastest. He had the foundation of the Master's Qi Cultivation Chapter, so it came easily to him.

The other three little foxes came next. Only Su Yun learned the slowest. He could not see, so Qiu Shuijing had no choice but to teach him hand over hand, again and again, with great difficulty.

Fortunately, although Su Yun learned slowly, his mind was nimble. He could infer three things from one example, and his understanding of Great Furnace Transformation was instead the deepest.

Over these days, Su Yun invited Flower Fox and the other three little foxes to live in Tianmen Town. Yet Flower Fox and the others feared Tianmen Town greatly and would rather live in the school.

Su Yun also invited Qiu Shuijing to stay in Tianmen Town, but Qiu Shuijing politely declined. The youth had no choice but to let the matter rest.

That morning, Qiu Shuijing led one human and four foxes in breathing exercises toward the rising sun. Suddenly, he felt as though an extra little sun had appeared beside him. He opened his eyes and looked over, only to find it was Flower Fox's position.

"Though Flower Fox is a demon, his aptitude and comprehension are both quite good. He has already cultivated the first level."

Qiu Shuijing nodded inwardly. Gathering the essence qi of the morning sun, using oneself as the furnace, tempering the flesh, and nurturing primordial qi—these were precisely the signs of cultivating the first level of Great Furnace Transformation.

For Flower Fox to reach this stage in merely five or six days was remarkable even among Scholars.

Qiu Shuijing checked the other three foxes. Though the three little foxes had shallow foundations, their progress was not slow. Before long, they too would cultivate the first level.

He then checked Su Yun's progress and frowned slightly.

Though Su Yun's understanding of Great Furnace Transformation was deep, he was blind after all. He could learn the theory, but for his body to master it, he had to put in several times more effort than the others.

Moreover, Su Yun's slow cultivation progress somewhat exceeded his expectations.

By his prediction, Su Yun would learn the slowest because of his eye disease, but his cultivation speed ought to have been the fastest. Unexpectedly, Su Yun was instead the slowest of them all.

Qiu Shuijing sighed inwardly. "My expectations for him were still too high. Even Fox Demons can cultivate the first level in such a short time, yet he cannot. His eye disease affects him too greatly."

What he did not know was that primordial qi coursed vigorously through Su Yun's body, but every time it reached his eyes, an anomaly arose.

When Su Yun's primordial qi flowed into his eyes, his originally pitch-black eyes suddenly "saw" something!

Before his "eyes," the Heaven Gate appeared out of thin air!

Beyond the Heaven Gate stood eight towering, majestic Chao Tian Ques!

Behind the Heaven Gate and the Chao Tian Ques stretched a vast, boundless ocean.

The Chao Tian Que of Tianmen Town had long since vanished without a trace. These Eight-Sided Facing Heaven Palaces were naturally not Tianmen Town's Chao Tian Que, but imprints within Su Yun's eyes.

Yet strangely, the Eight-Sided Facing Heaven Palaces were actually absorbing Su Yun's primordial qi!

The Eight-Sided Facing Heaven Palaces were like eight bottomless pits.

The Chao Tian Ques continuously devoured Su Yun's primordial qi, preventing him from ever cultivating the first level of Great Furnace Transformation.

Qiu Shuijing had not expected such a change in Su Yun's eyes. He thought only that Su Yun had good comprehension but ordinary aptitude.

And Su Yun believed this condition was treating his eye disease, so he did not tell Qiu Shuijing about the anomaly arising during cultivation, leading Qiu Shuijing to this misunderstanding.

When morning lessons ended, Qiu Shuijing began to think of leaving.

He was, after all, a private tutor. Many Scholars from powerful clans and aristocratic families in Shuofang City still needed his instruction, and he could not linger in Tianshiyuan for too long.

He hastily imparted the second half of Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter to them, then set off.

"Yun, in today's world, children of poor families rarely produce noble sons. Why is that?"

As Su Yun saw him off, Qiu Shuijing hesitated, but still earnestly instructed him, "Though children of poor families can attend the state's official academies alongside children of noble clans, making it seem fair, noble clan children have money and power. Beyond official academies, they also have private schools. If you learn one thing at an official academy, noble clan children can learn two, three, four, or five things in private schools. Thus, the gap in learning between poor family children and noble clan children keeps widening."

Su Yun followed close at his heels and said, "I heard that poor scholars can study bitterly and rise above others..."

"Utterly wrong! With private schools, poor scholars can never be more diligent than the children of noble clans! What official academies teach is all broad and general, but in private schools, they can hire teachers like me!"

Qiu Shuijing said, "Children of noble clans work harder than children of poor families! When official academy classes end, country children run off to play, while noble clan children study in private schools! When official academies go on break, poor family children rest at home, while noble clan children are still studying in private schools!"

"Emperor Yuan promoted official academies, hoping that under education everyone would be equal, with no distinction between poor families and noble clans. But a century has passed since Emperor Yuan reformed the official academies, and education has in truth been monopolized by noble clans. Children of poor families have no money for private schools, while official academies cannot teach the latest knowledge. Social classes are solidifying, and the problem grows more severe by the day. For children of poor families, the road to advancement, the road of fish transforming into dragons, has become narrower and narrower."

He stopped, turned around, and spoke from the heart. "Yun, you were born poor, but your aptitude is not bad, and your comprehension is excellent. If you remain in the countryside, you will be buried. You must enter the city to study! But even if you study in the city, merely entering an official academy will not let you rise above others. You must attend official academy while also studying at a private school."

"However, even if you learn the same things as the Scholars, even if your knowledge is equal, you may not be able to leap the Dragon Gate like a carp. Noble clan children also possess illustrious family backgrounds and broad networks. To catch up to all that, you would need ten years, perhaps even decades. Is that fair?"

"It is not fair, but it is just! For it is the inheritance left behind through the struggle of their ancestors, and it is only right that they inherit that legacy. A Scholar from a poor family has no foundation, no family background, and no connections. If you wish to rise above others, then you have only one advantage that others do not possess."

Qiu Shuijing patted his student's shoulder and said earnestly, "That is wildness. The wildness of the countryside! A wildness that city Scholars do not possess!"

His great sleeves drifted in the breeze as he walked forward, his voice carrying from afar. "The city is a great furnace of heaven and earth, filled everywhere with struggle and opportunity. Only by preserving your wildness, taking wildness as yin and yang and struggle as charcoal fire, igniting the great furnace and seizing creation, can you break free from solidified classes, cross the boundary, and ascend!"

Zhai Zhu: The first chapter-comment event for Walking the Abyss is about to begin. Please follow Qidian and the chapter comments for Walking the Abyss!