Anger

Aggrieved as he was, since Geng Peng had said they should spar, he could only grit his teeth and properly finish the fight with the kid before him.

By convention, Geng Peng's cultivation was higher than Wang Qi's, so during a practice bout, he could not use advancing sword moves and could only counterattack by deflecting and striking. This allowed Wang Qi to attack without restraint. However, Wang Qi had yet to comprehend the Dao of the sword, much less know the formulas left by his predecessors. In this regard, Geng Peng, who came from the Myriad Dharma Sect, utterly outclassed Wang Qi. Thus, even after exhausting every trick he had, Wang Qi could not break through Geng Peng's sword momentum.

Seeing this, Geng Peng could not help mocking him. "Coordinate with your spiritual power! That's your biggest problem, Wang Qi. Your swordsmanship is decent, but you still don't know how to use spiritual power or blend it into martial arts."

Wang Qi was not angered. Geng Peng was stating a fact. Until he came up with a method to unify the various cultivation arts within his body, he could not freely mobilize his spiritual power.

When Geng Peng saw that Wang Qi had no reaction, he found it boring. The two clashed with clanging strikes for several dozen more exchanges before Geng Peng finally pinned down Wang Qi's sword. "Remember this: when practicing swordsmanship in the future, circulate spiritual power to support it."

Wang Qi nodded. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother."

"Alright, return to the formation. Keep practicing."

This... this was over already?

So what exactly was that idiot trying to do?

This question plagued Wang Qi for quite some time.

Thanks to Geng Peng, Wang Qi evolved from a "genius" in the eyes of the newly admitted disciples into an "academic star." Some "clever" and observant people were also so thoroughly bluffed by Geng Peng's attitude that they began treating Wang Qi better as well.

At that, Wang Qi had wanted to proudly declare that the master did not care, but for the sake of his "approachable" image, he still happily exchanged sword-practice insights with the others. At least, Wang Qi believed that he was happy because his swordsmanship had improved, not because he had changed the situation of "I have very few friends, and even fewer close friends."

After the afternoon practice ended, they had three hours of free time. Wang Qi handed his pillow, which had been chopped in half, to Mao Zimiao, then went before Chuan Gong Hall and meditated with the others in front of the many cultivation arts in the front hall.

Most of the cultivation arts in the rear hall required one to solve a problem before they could be cultivated. Aside from the relatively easy Geometry Book and Yao Ding Suanjing, almost no one touched the other arts. Wang Qi did not tell anyone that he had already solved all those problems. In order not to draw attention, he simply cultivated in the front hall.

In any case, what he really needed was the calming effect built into the meditation cushions here.

Under the effect of the calming formation built into the cushion, Wang Qi's distracting thoughts scattered one by one. His heart grew still and his spirit tranquil, his consciousness completely drawn inward as he focused wholly on examining himself.

The first art he cultivated was the Myriad Dharma Sect's Yao Ding Suanjing. Compared with the other cultivation arts, Yao Ding Suanjing was the mildest and conflicted least with the others. When the various mental cultivation methods clashed, it could also serve as an excellent buffer.

Very soon, Wang Qi circulated his cultivation for three full cycles. The spiritual power of Yao Ding Suanjing noticeably strengthened. At that moment, the balance between several mental cultivation methods in his body was broken, and several incompatible kinds of spiritual power began seeking a new equilibrium.

Wang Qi changed his hand seal and leaned slightly forward. At the same time, he interrupted his cultivation of Yao Ding Suanjing and began silently circulating Tian Ge Xing.

The "field" of Tian Ge Xing could effectively restrain spiritual power. However, the wave-like spiritual power of Tian Ge Xing, which emphasized continuity, was as incompatible as fire and water with the quantized spiritual power of Da Li San Cantong Qi, which emphasized discreteness. The moment Tian Ge Xing made progress, the spiritual power of Da Li San Cantong Qi began rebelling.

By the time Wang Qi finally subdued the spiritual power in his body and formed a new balance, more than two hours had passed.

"Being an idiot at a critical moment really leads to a lifetime of regret."

Wang Qi sighed mournfully. His cultivation was far beyond merely twice the effort for half the result. Continuously switching among several cultivation arts consumed most of his energy, while time simply slipped away with a goodbye.

"Do I really have to cultivate Tianyan Tulu?"

There was a consensus among Modern Dharma Cultivators: if one wished to cultivate an art to great depth, one had to understand the laws contained within it; if one wished to cast a spell, one had to thoroughly grasp its principles.

Take the Imprisoning Thunder Mantra, for example. Before Imprisoned Thunder Venerable Faraday investigated the principles behind the flow of lightning, not a single person could use it. But once one understood the principles behind the flow of lightning, the Imprisoning Thunder Mantra could be performed at will. Yet if one was like the Ancient Method Cultivators who cultivated the power of lightning, without even having the correct concept of "electric current," then one could not even imitate the Imprisoning Thunder Mantra.

Making Tianyan Tulu his primary cultivation method could indeed simply solve the problem of conflicting arts. However, Wang Qi had not been a biologist in his previous life, so he could not deduce this mental cultivation method to a higher level. An undeduced Tianyan Tulu was fundamentally an incomplete cultivation art. If he made it his primary cultivation method, it would instead drag down the power of the many peerless modern cultivation arts he possessed.

"Do I have to slowly level up my biology skills with a cultivator's long lifespan?"

The instant this thought surfaced, Wang Qi strangled it himself. Theoretical physics and mathematics were his specialties. Even in his previous life, he had loved physics and mathematics far more than biology. Researching theory was an exceedingly tedious matter, and without love from the depths of one's heart, it was impossible to persevere.

Every scientist on Earth who had achieved great accomplishments, regardless of their personality or character, possessed a demon-like obsession with their field of study.

"So what madness possessed me back then?"

Wang Qi sighed again.

At that moment, Zhen Chanzi, who had not spoken for a long time, suddenly asked, "Do you really not know why you went mad?"

"Probably because my brain got hot and I acted like an idiot."

Zhen Chanzi fell silent for a moment. "Wrong. You were driven mad by anger."

Wang Qi laughed. "What am I angry about?"

"You are not an ordinary person."

"Bullshit. I'm a cultivation genius! How could I be ordinary?"

Zhen Chanzi explained, "Not so, not so. This old man has cultivated for several thousand years and seen countless bizarre temperaments. There have been those of extraordinary perseverance, those driven to the utmost madness, and those who preserved the Dao by severing themselves. Yet someone like you, I have never seen before."

"Old man, are you calling me a freak in a roundabout way?"

Zhen Chanzi's voice sounded light, and somehow carried a trace of delight. "You are not a freak. You are a madman."

"You're still insulting me..."

"I am praising you." Zhen Chanzi said, "How much do you value that village?"

Wang Qi remained silent.

"The disaster of the village massacre, and 'owing someone a life'—either one of those things would be enough to crush a person. Yet you actually managed to laugh and joke your way along. There are only two explanations: either you are naturally cold-hearted, or you are a madman."

"However, since you feel that you owe others something, no matter how cold-hearted you are, you cannot be cold to the bone. Therefore, it can only be the latter. And when this old man guided your cultivation, you never cared about fighting ability. You only sought to cultivate steadily and safely. But now? You actually care about the combat power brought by your mental cultivation method? Hehe, wasn't immortality enough?"

Zhen Chanzi paused, then laughed. "So, you really were driven mad by anger. You buried your rage deep in your heart, but it still affected you. At first, it seemed you believed there was a sliver of hope that you could unify these cultivation arts? But aren't you someone who prides himself on being cautious and never gambling with his life? Wasn't this a gamble?"

Wang Qi suddenly smiled faintly. "That explanation is quite reasonable. Let me ask just one thing: how come I didn't know I had been driven mad by anger?"

"This old man has not figured that out either. How did you bury such hatred in your heart while remaining utterly impassive on the surface? In truth, you only needed to search your heart to notice your anger."

Wang Qi said nothing.

How angry was he? How much did he hate them? The hatred of a home destroyed!

To Wang Qi, Dabai Village had been the first place in this world that he had acknowledged. It had been his "home" in this world. Then one day, an unexpected calamity had descended from the sky and razed that "home" to the ground!

The hatred of a home destroyed was irreconcilable under the same sky.

Besides that, he owed Li Ziye a life.

Debts had to be repaid; that was ordained by heaven and acknowledged by earth. But if the creditor was dead, how could he repay the debt?

It could not be repaid.

Since it could not be repaid, he could only compensate with something else of equal value.

"So that's how it is. I especially want to wipe out those bastards from the Emperor-Grade Heaven-Splitting Dao, which is why I've become especially concerned with combat ability..."