He Cannot Cultivate

Zheng Fa opened the Compendium of Talisman Diagrams, Volume One from beside the Seventh Young Master. He looked at it from side to side, finally discerning four densely packed characters hidden between the lines:

"Save the child..."

He turned to look at the room full of bookshelves, feeling a bit flustered. No matter how good his memory was, facing a room full of books, he'd need more than one head to memorize it all.

Brute force must die!

"Then how can I prove I've mastered the 108 basic Origin Talismans?" Zheng Fa asked the question he'd been wanting to ask.

He remembered that becoming a Talisman Master required being able to decipher 108 Origin Talismans. If that was the only requirement, it didn't seem like that many.

The Seventh Young Master sat down and began to explain to Zheng Fa, "I just said that the number of Talisman Diagrams is constantly growing, right?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"But the number of Origin Talismans is limited. No," the Seventh Young Master frowned, "even Immortal Sect cultivators aren't sure how many Origin Talismans there are now. But what's certain is that the number of Origin Talismans is less than the number of Talisman Diagrams, much less. Some cultivators have even said that one Origin Talisman can correspond to countless Talisman Diagrams. And basic Origin Talismans are the simplest and most common ones."

Zheng Fa vaguely understood what the Seventh Young Master meant.

"For example, you deciphered two basic Origin Talismans from those few Talisman Diagrams before. The Talisman Master assessment is actually the same. It's just that because there are too many newly created Talisman Diagrams, you can't possibly find them in these books. You can only rely on your own understanding of basic Origin Talismans to decipher them on the spot. And not all basic Origin Talismans are as simple as the two you deciphered."

"So it's impossible to succeed by memorizing all these books," Zheng Fa said with some disappointment.

"Memorize them? This whole room of books?" The Seventh Young Master's eyes widened. "Are you joking?"

Zheng Fa's expression was very innocent, causing the Seventh Young Master's mouth to slowly open wider:

"You... are serious?"

Zheng Fa was indeed not joking.

Memorizing them would torture his memory.

If he didn't memorize them, the only other possible method was to continue learning topology from Old Man Bai. That would torture his intelligence and self-esteem.

But since memorizing them was useless now, he could only try topology. Although Zheng Fa wasn't sure if topology would really be effective for deciphering all Origin Talismans, it was at least a promising method.

Thinking of Old Man Bai, Zheng Fa shook his head gently.

That old man... he had fooled him for a long time last time, and then Tang Lingwu's mention of a zoo... that old man seemed to have lost his charm again and lost his enthusiasm for martial arts.

This wouldn't do. If the student was unwilling to learn, it would affect his own progress as a teacher.

Early in the morning, the Seventh Young Master, yawning, brought Gao Yuan to watch Zheng Fa practicing his stances in the training grounds.

The sky had just begun to brighten, and Zheng Fa's hair and pant legs were covered in dew. He had clearly been practicing for quite some time.

"When did he start practicing?"

The Seventh Young Master asked Gao Yuan, who was beside him.

Gao Yuan shook his head. "When I came to practice this morning, he was already here."

Gao Yuan felt that his Crane Pine Stance was close to mastery these past few days, and he practiced even more diligently. He often came to practice before the morning class, and when he arrived this morning, Zheng Fa was already like this.

The Seventh Young Master stared at Zheng Fa's face for a long time, frowning slightly, appearing a little worried.

Looking at Gao Yuan beside him, the Seventh Young Master patted his shoulder and said, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"I... slept okay?" Gao Yuan said hesitantly, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

"Zheng Fa's talent is stronger than yours, and he's even more diligent. He got up to practice before dawn, and you slept soundly?"

"..."

Here it comes!

Gao Yuan had a look of calm resignation on his face, as if he had expected this.

"Practice!"

"Okay!"

Gao Yuan stood beside Zheng Fa, his expression calm and unperturbed.

He also began practicing the Crane Pine Stance, silently reciting the nine-character mantra he had recently come up with: "Can't fight, ignore it, I'm trash."

As they practiced, the Seventh Young Master didn't leave, just stared at the two of them, lost in thought.

"Uncle! I was sleeping soundly!"

A wail came from outside the training grounds.

Then came Instructor Xu's voice: "Sleep! What are you sleeping for! Zheng Fa's talent is better than yours and he's more diligent, how can you sleep!"

These familiar words made Gao Yuan unable to resist opening his eyes and looking towards the entrance of the training grounds.

Instructor Xu kicked a young man who was still groggy into the training grounds.

Judging by Instructor Xu's address, Gao Yuan knew this young man was likely his nephew.

Instructor Xu's nephew still seemed unconvinced. "He has good talent. He makes progress every day he practices. If I had his talent, I'd be willing to practice every day too! I just don't have that talent, so sleeping a bit longer won't delay much!"

Gao Yuan found his reasoning quite sound. This person possessed great wisdom.

"Are you going to practice or not?" Instructor Xu asked, clenching his fist.

"I'll practice! Isn't that enough?"

Instructor Xu's nephew struck a pose. It wasn't the Crane Pine Stance, but some other martial art.

Seeing his reluctant and yet defiant expression, Gao Yuan felt a pang of sympathy and offered a friendly smile.

"What are you smiling at?" The man saw Gao Yuan's smile and snorted.

Gao Yuan was stunned. He heard the man glance at him, then at Zheng Fa, and let out a snort from his nose, muttering, "Waking up so early, birds of a feather!"

Gao Yuan's calm expression couldn't be maintained any longer.

I'm such trash, yet I have to endure the jealousy that only geniuses should face. Is there any justice in this world!

As the three of them practiced, Seventh Young Master and Instructor Xu exchanged a look, their eyes filled with the same worry.

They walked to a corner and began to talk in hushed tones.

"Instructor, what do you think?" Seventh Young Master asked, glancing at Zheng Fa.

"He's too impatient," Instructor Xu said with a frown, shaking his head. "I told them before that you can't rush martial arts. Haste makes waste. The more you try to do, the more likely you are to get injured. I thought Zheng Fa was quite steady before, so I didn't expect him to have this problem."

"Was he like this before?" Seventh Young Master asked, as if recalling something.

"No..." Instructor Xu's expression shifted as he looked at Seventh Young Master. "Young Master, are you referring to the Crane Body Technique?"

Seventh Young Master nodded, his face grave. "The past few days, he probably barely slept. He said he was trying to comprehend the Crane Body Technique."

Instructor Xu also looked at Zheng Fa and sighed, shaking his head. "I thought he was more carefree than me, but I didn't expect... like me, he had too smooth a path before, and now he's finding it hard to let go after encountering setbacks."

Seeing Seventh Young Master's worried expression, Instructor Xu reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm watching him."

Seventh Young Master nodded, glanced at Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan again, and turned to leave.

In Madam's small building, Seventh Young Master and Madam sat opposite each other, each holding a cup of tea.

"I didn't expect you to be willing to visit me more often, just because I chose two pages for you," Madam said with a smile.

"Mother!" Seventh Young Master grumbled.

"I know, I know. It's not for them."

"Speaking of which, Mother, could you find an accountant for Gao Yuan?" Seventh Young Master suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"He's good at studying, has a certain aptitude for martial arts, and knows how to work hard and improve." Seventh Young Master no longer showed any disdain for Gao Yuan. "Find him a teacher to learn accounting. He'll be qualified to be the head steward of the manor in the future."

Madam nodded and asked, "And the other one?"

"Zheng Fa..." Seventh Young Master couldn't help but show a hint of complaint. "He has talent in the Talisman Path, and might even be able to join an Immortal Sect... but it's that Crane Body Technique you gave him. It would have been fine if he could practice it, but now that he can't, he's been acting like he's possessed these past few days."

"He couldn't practice it to begin with," Madam said, lowering her gaze to the rising steam from her teacup.

"Mother?" Seventh Young Master slowly turned his neck, looking at his mother. "What did you just say?"

"He couldn't practice it."