He casually picked up a wooden stick and demonstrated the Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff, then showed them the Nine Yin White Bone Claw.
Ever since discovering the Library, he'd spent a lot of time studying there. And since his Martial Soul was Myriad Silk, it made perfect sense that he'd learned Mastery of All Weapons, right? Now that his level was a little higher, it was only natural that mastering one thing helped him master others, right? Surely.
"Wow, that's amazing."
The two kids watched, stunned.
As for the Golden Body and Shadow Flow Secret Art, he hadn't practiced them. Those weren't things you could learn just by watching once, so he didn't demonstrate them.
Even so, the two kids were amazed.
Once the demonstration was over, it was time for them to train again. Luo Xiaoshi was still all over the place, though, making Chen An doubt himself.
"Tsk. Zhu Zhuqing, keep practicing. Luo Xiaoshi, go work on the basics first. If you train in martial arts without building your foundation, you'll have nothing to show for it when you're old.
"From now on, your daily schedule will be three hours of basic training, one hour each for those two techniques, and the remaining time for internal cultivation."
Chen An said with a frown.
He'd misjudged the boy's physical conditioning. His foundation was truly terrible.
Luo Xiaoshi didn't argue or complain about the arrangement. He nodded and followed Chen An's instructions.
After that, nothing else happened, except that in the evening Zhu Zhuqing decided her own foundation wasn't good enough and asked for a schedule similar to Luo Xiaoshi's.
Later that night, after both kids had collapsed from exhaustion, Chen An felt that something was off. They shouldn't have trained until they dropped. He carried them to their respective rooms, then began reflecting on his own mistakes.
"I forgot something. I should have had them soak in a medicinal bath for half an hour, then eat something before going to bed.
"I'll fix that next time. Also, I need to work moral education into their schedule, at least half an hour every day. I'll start tomorrow."
He wrote down the day's lessons in his little notebook. After all, this was his first time teaching in any real sense.
"I have enough medicinal herbs for now, but once I recruit that batch of students later, I definitely won't have enough.
"I need to find a way to get the medicinal garden up and running as soon as possible (crossed out).
"I still shouldn't consider cooperating with Spirit Hall."
Chen An didn't actually have anything against Spirit Hall. They really did get things done: they awakened Martial Souls for commoners for free and did a good job suppressing Evil Soul Masters. He'd even spent some time at Spirit Hall himself.
He simply didn't think cooperating with Bibi Dong would work. A woman obsessed with love was terrifying, especially since he'd most likely end up clashing with Yu Xiaogang.
Besides, Qian Daoliu had the Angel God behind him, while Bibi Dong had the Rakshasa God.
Getting involved with the Divine Realm right now wasn't a good idea.
Chen An sighed and put the Divine Realm and Spirit Hall out of his mind. Looking down at his notebook, he continued writing where he'd left off.
"The medicinal garden has been established. It'll need two more months to stabilize."
He'd discovered this ability after taking in Luo Xiaoshi. He figured it had been a reward for fulfilling the Library's requirements.
Unfortunately, he was still stuck at level 89—89.3, if he wanted to be more precise.
But his strength had still increased, which was a good result.
"I'll transplant the medicinal herbs into it later and use the Library's spiritual energy to water them."
After writing that, Chen An stopped. He carefully reread his notes, closed the notebook, and put it away in his storage space.
"The night looks lovely today."
Chen An gazed out at the night and thought of the two little ones. The corners of his mouth kept lifting.
The days that followed were relatively peaceful. They passed with martial arts practice and cultivation, and Chen An's greatest pleasure was helping Luo Xiaoshi suppress his level.
The main reason was that Luo Xiaoshi still hadn't built a solid foundation. If he reached level 20 now, he'd have to start all over again.
Chen An was looking forward to seeing how Little Stone would fare against Dai Mubai once he'd finished this regimen.
That day, Chen An had scheduled a rest day for the two kids. Even oxen and horses got days off, so how could people go without them?
He wasn't some ruthless capitalist.
Now, Zhu Zhuqing had come to Chen An with a rare request.
"Master, I want to go to Suotuo City."
Chen An frowned without meaning to.
Suotuo City wasn't far from here. It was just on the other side of a small plain.
But what was there to do in Suotuo City? Oh, right. His good disciple's nominal fiancé was there.
He wondered if some invisible hand was once again meddling with his disciple's will without him noticing. He was getting so numb to this stuff.
Without thinking, he looked up at the sky. There was nothing there except a few young birds flying about in pairs.
"Master? Master, what's wrong?"
Seeing Chen An lost in thought, Zhu Zhuqing waved a hand in front of his face and called to him again.
"Ah, oh, nothing."
His response left Zhu Zhuqing puzzled.
"Why are you so distracted, Master?"
"You want to go? Then go ahead. I'm not going to restrict your freedom."
In the end, Chen An let it go. Everyone had their own path, and that didn't stop him from smiling as he ruffled Zhu Zhuqing's hair.
"Master (づ￣3￣)づ╭~"
Zhu Zhuqing rarely acted so playful. He felt a little happier.
Looks like this kid has changed a lot lately.
No, this wasn't the time to focus on that.
"Good disciple, can you tell your master why you suddenly want to go to Suotuo City?"
Zhu Zhuqing thought it over, then gritted her teeth and said,
"Master, my fiancé is in Suotuo City. I want to see how content he is with doing nothing."
"And then? Convince him to work harder, then invite him to our academy?"
Chen An considered it. If Zhu Zhuqing was determined to invite Dai Mubai over, and Dai agreed to come of his own free will, Chen An didn't mind.
But there was no way Chen An would invite him himself.
To his surprise, Zhu Zhuqing shook her head.
"No. I won't invite him, and I won't run off after him either, so don't worry, Master.
"I just want to see how far he's fallen and use it as a warning to myself. We might not even speak."
Little Zhu's expression was serious. She wasn't joking; she really meant it.
"Oh."
Chen An hadn't expected Zhu Zhuqing to change so much in such a short time. He was pleased, with the feeling of watching his own child grow up.
"Master, you didn't think I was going to leave you, did you?"
Zhu Zhuqing fixed Chen An with a suspicious look, then teased him.
"Of course not. Impossible."
He said that, but his eyes had already drifted elsewhere.
He wondered how this girl had learned to tease people. This wasn't right. Wasn't she supposed to be the cool, aloof type?
Where had all that icy composure gone? Now she was a sharp-tongued little darling.
"Hmph. If you don't make me barbecue tonight, Master, I won't let this go."
Zhu Zhuqing raised her chin slightly and said with a hint of pride.
The feeling of déjà vu was too much. He didn't dare think about it.
Chen An silently recited a spell to clear his mind before answering.
"Fine. Just be back early. Oh, and take these talismans. If you run into danger, tear this one first, and I'll know. If things get desperate, use these ones directly. They're offensive talismans, each about as powerful as a full-force attack from a level-70 Soul Master."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up. She took the talismans and said,
"Thank you, Master♪"
After giving her the talismans, Chen An lay back in the Taishi chair he'd recently made and closed his eyes to bask in the sun.
The girl didn't seem to mind. As she was leaving, she bowed, then remembered something at the doorway and called back,
"Master, don't forget to save me a portion tonight."
Chen An waved a hand to show he'd heard her.
He was secretly delighted, thinking, Zhuqing wants barbecue tonight. Should I go catch some Soul Beasts?
What flavor did the girl like again?
As for Little Stone's tastes? Those weren't important. He wouldn't dare complain about the delicious food his master made, would he?
Meanwhile, Little Stone was resting in the dormitory when he yawned several times in a row, wondering who was thinking about him.
With nothing else to do, he sat cross-legged and resumed cultivating.
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