The Orthodox Path of Cultivation

"Judging from the house's structure, this is a modern residence, not the traditional style of the Banshan Manor. It's only a little over two kilometers from the Banshan Manor, so it shouldn't be a high-rise building. High-rise buildings are rare in the entire Upper Third District; the Banshan Manor would probably want to avoid being spied on," Qing Chen strolled around the spacious house. "It should be a mid-rise?"

Besides the seven car keys, there were seven cell phones in the entryway cabinet and the wardrobe was full of clothes.

Apart from a few formal pieces, they were mostly casual items like hoodies and sportswear.

Qing Chen could tell at a glance that the clothes were all custom-made to fit the old man.

"The old man has a pretty youthful mindset, dressed all flashy," he chuckled. "Judging by the dust in this room, it must have been a very, very long time since anyone came here."

As Qing Chen was looking through the wardrobe, he suddenly noticed a button behind the clothes hanging there.

He pressed down gently, only to find that the entire wardrobe split open in the middle, revealing the weapon rack behind it.

The gun rack was filled with a dazzling array of dozens of firearms and daggers, with bullets of various calibers placed beneath it.

Judging from the appearance, these little gadgets are weapons that the old man uses for self-defense when he goes out.

Now it belongs to Qing Chen too.

"Dragon Fish, guns, and a house—the old man's gifts are far too generous," Qing Chen concluded. "The old man is a good person."

However, all these gains are not worth the "freedom" bestowed by the old man.

Being able to freely enter and exit the Banshan Manor without leaving a record is itself the most precious gift.

However, Qing Chen did not rush out to see the world of the Upper Third District tonight. Instead, after getting a general understanding of the situation, he returned to the Autumn Leaf Villa through the passageway.

He has many guests tonight. If someone knocks on the door and he doesn't answer, it could be explained as the tutor's arrogance, but it would still raise suspicion.

Therefore, in order to prevent any accidents from happening, Qing Chen forcibly suppressed his curiosity.

Countdown 138:00:00.

At 6 a. m., while Qing Chen was still immersed in the mysterious world, Li Ke had already gotten out of bed early.

He changed his clothes, put on his schoolbag, and said goodbye to his parents.

Then, I jogged all the way from my own Peak Villa to the place I had arranged to meet my classmates the night before.

He came alone, without any servants.

Last night, after Qing Chen asked him to lead the students in morning exercises, he mentioned it in the Li Clan Academy's group chat, which can be considered as giving advance notice.

However, when Li Ke arrived at the agreed meeting place, he found that he was the only one there.

The meeting point is in front of a relatively significant landmark sculpture in the Banshan Manor. This sculpture is called the Dripping Spring. It seems that the ancestors built this sculpture to remind the Li family descendants that they must repay kindness.

At this moment, Li Ke stood alone in front of the dripping spring sculpture.

But the 14-year-old boy didn't seem surprised; he turned and ran toward Li Yinuo's Qingshan Courtyard.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Qingshan Courtyard, Li Ke took out a megaphone from his backpack.

After catching his breath, he called out loudly, "Qing Yi, Li Tongyun, please come out and assemble."

At 6:15 a. m., the sound from the loudspeaker exploded like a thunderclap in the early morning.

It was as if it wanted to blast open the night that was still shrouding the sky.

As soon as he shouted, all the servants in the Qingshan Courtyard came out immediately.

A servant growled in a low voice, "Where did this child come from, running around here so early in the morning... I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you."

The servant recognized Li Ke at a glance and was so frightened that he almost trembled all over.

He almost cursed the young ancestor of the Li family's First Branch!

The servant who insulted his master is probably still somewhere picking corn.

The servants were a little puzzled. Why would this little ancestor of the Li family's First Branch suddenly come to the Qingshan Courtyard to cause trouble?

But Li Ke glared coldly at the servant. "Go and call Qing Yi out... no, please go and call Qing Yi and Li Tongyun out."

Li Ke was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly remembered what his teacher had told him the night before: True character is being able to remain humble when facing people who are not as good as you.

To be honest, Li Ke was one of the most well-mannered members of the conglomerate, but when he first heard this yesterday, he still didn't quite understand why he had to be so polite to the servants.

Back home, I pondered the word "personality" carefully, and slowly began to understand its meaning.

At this moment, he became genuinely humble, even though he was facing a servant.

The servant was bewildered by Li Ke's polite manner, wondering what had gotten into him; it was rather intimidating.

The servants ran towards the Qingshan Courtyard, trying to wake Qing Yi.

The problem is, Qing Yi wouldn't listen to the servants. He kicked one of them out of the house, yelling, "Get lost! Who gave you the nerve to wake me up?"

However, Li Ke's voice came from outside immediately afterward.

"Qing Yi, I'm giving you one last minute to get dressed."

"Qing Yi, 30 seconds left."

"Qing Yi, 10 seconds left."

Qing Yi turned over in frustration and pulled the blanket over his head. "Why am I only running into crazy people?!"

On the other side, after counting down, Li Ke rushed inside with a blank expression.

Not a single security guard or servant dared to stop him.

He went into Qing Yi's room, forcibly pulled him out of bed, and then placed him in a cross-chokehold...

Qing Yi rolled her eyes and slapped Li Ke's arm rapidly.

Let go! Let go! Let go! I'm dying!

Ignoring Qing Yi's pleas for mercy, Li Ke silently counted the time in his mind, and only released him on the fourth second.

Then, with a sincere and earnest expression, he said, "Qing Yi, have you forgotten what we said in school? Study hard and encourage each other. Now that the teacher has given us instructions, we must not slack off."

Qing Yi stared blankly at the other person, unable to discern whether the sincerity was genuine or feigned.

Li Ke said, "I'll be waiting for you outside, Qing Yi."

At this moment, Qing Yi, still in his pajamas, sat slumped on the floor in a daze. A few seconds later, he came to his senses and frantically pounded the floor, exclaiming, "What a disaster!"

He just couldn't understand how a perfectly good vacation plan to watch a play had turned into this mess.

Moreover, isn't my plan to form an alliance with 31 classmates a bit hasty?

Before he could figure it out, Li Ke reappeared at the door. "Qing Yi, are you dressed?"

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Qing Yi upon seeing the other person's appearance, and quickly stood up to change his clothes. "I'll change right now!"

Li Ke, carrying the sleepy-eyed Qing Yi, ran down the street to the family.

Li Tongyun was also dazed, but Li Ke treated her very well and deliberately slowed down to accommodate her age.

Upon arriving at the gate of another villa, he took out a megaphone as before and announced, "Li Wen, come down and assemble!"

This time, it was Li Wen's mother who came out. "Xiao Ke, what's wrong with you?"

Li Ke said politely, "Auntie, the teachers at the school have instructed that starting today, all students must run together for five kilometers."

"Don't listen to your teacher. He might not even be up yet," the woman said gently. "The three of you shouldn't stand outside. Come into the courtyard. I'll have the servants prepare breakfast for you. After you eat, go back to sleep for a while, and then go to school."

Qing Yi had been sobered up by now, and he looked at Li Ke with a grin, wondering what the other party planned to do.

It's one thing for you, Li Ke, to bully me, an outsider and a child, but do you think you can just choke this woman? Absolutely not!

Moreover, the woman wasn't upset at all; she gently invited you to her home for dinner. How could you possibly choke Li Wen like that?

"Let's go, I'm starving. Let's go to Auntie's house for dinner," Qing Yi said, and walked inside.

However, Qing Yi underestimated Li Ke's persistence. He had only taken two steps inside when Qing Yi locked him up again.

While holding Qing Yi by the throat, Li Ke looked at the woman and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry."

As he spoke, he released Qing Yi again, letting the other cough by the roadside, and then raised his megaphone. "Li Wen, come down and assemble!"

"Li Wen, come down and assemble!"

"Li Wen, come down and assemble!"

Qing Yi, Li Tongyun, and the woman were all dumbfounded by what they saw. No one expected Li Ke to be so stubborn.

The woman asked with a complicated expression, "Xiao Ke, what are you trying to achieve by doing this?"

Li Ke replied earnestly, "Auntie, the master has given me instructions, and I must do them."

Even if it means losing face, we have to do it.

The woman asked curiously, "Stop shouting. Your auntie is asking you, you're one of the best children in the Li family, why do you listen to this tutor so much? Does your father know about this?"

Li Ke glanced at the woman. "Auntie, my father knows. He said to do as the teacher says."

The woman was stunned. What had gone mad about the First Branch of the Li family? He was just a tutor, yet he could gain the approval of Li Ke's father, who was in charge of the Privy Council.

Last night she heard that Li Ke was serving tea and water, cooking and washing dishes at the Autumn Leaf Villa. At the time, she thought it was just the servants Hu Shuo, but now it seems to be true!

"Why should I?" the woman wondered, unable to understand what right the tutor had. "Is this the old man's illegitimate child?"

The woman thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Ke, you know that every family cherishes their child. You'll anger everyone if you do this."

Li Ke thought for a moment and asked, "Auntie, do they have the Dragon Fish and the treasures of the Autumn Leaf Villa?"

The woman was stunned for a long time, but finally pulled out her own daughter. "Do whatever you want, do whatever you want today."

"Thank you for understanding, Auntie. It's not just for today, but for every day from now on. You may feel a little uncomfortable now, but you'll get used to it soon," Li Ke said politely, then led the three people behind him to the next house.

The woman waved her hand weakly. "Go."

At this moment, Qing Yi was stunned. He guessed that things would take a turn for the better, but he did not expect that the turn would be in a direction that was even more unfavorable to him!

Next, Qing Yi witnessed firsthand how Li Ke diligently and responsibly carried out Qing Chen's instructions.

The other party's meticulous approach nearly turned most of the Banshan Manor into chaos...

The problem is that, after what happened before, all the parents actually handed their children over.

At 9 a. m., the students sat listlessly in the main room, looking like wilted eggplants, waiting for class to begin.

More than ten students sat on the chairs, their little heads swaying as if they were about to fall asleep.

Math teacher Zhou Xingwen looked at the students and felt heartbroken.

He stormed towards the office, furious. "This is outrageous! This is completely disrupting the normal order of the school! How can anyone concentrate on teaching during the day with this going on?!"

In fact, after a weekend, everyone at Zhixin Courtyard had gradually gotten used to Qing Chen's presence.

After all, although this new instructor is arrogant, he didn't take up other people's classes. There are only two combat classes a week, so everyone can just bear with it.

However, Qing Chen did not steal other teachers' classes, but he still managed to increase the overall class time.

This is equivalent to adding an extra class hour to your daily schedule!

While other instructors are still scrambling for class time within the original course plan, Qing Chen has taken a different approach and added so many more class hours!

The key point is that Qing Chen trained the children like this early in the morning, so how could they have the energy to attend other classes during the day!

At 10 a. m., Qing Chen, who knew nothing about this, slowly walked towards Longhu with a small stool between his legs.

The old man, who had somehow gotten to sit on the broken bridge, heard his footsteps and said irritably, "Look what you've done! Dozens of calls to the Privy Council have been made this morning to complain, and you've turned the entire Banshan Manor into an uproar!"

"Huh?" Qing Chen was taken aback. He placed the small stool next to the old man. "What happened?"

"Did you ask Li Ke to take the students running?" the old man asked in a cold voice.

"Yeah, that's right," Qing Chen said casually, "Look at those Li family members, they're all incredibly weak, and there are two little fatties who are so fat you can barely see their eyes. Only by persisting in exercise can you become strong from the inside out, and that way the hormones your body secretes will keep you optimistic and cheerful."

The old man was speechless for a long time. "Is it necessary to get up so early? I heard Li Ke gets up at 6 a. m.!"

"I requested six o'clock," Qing Chen said after thinking for a moment. "He probably anticipated that the students wouldn't listen to him, so he got up early to give himself some time to wake everyone up."

"The teachers at the school have already filed a joint complaint against you, saying that you are disrupting the normal teaching order," the old man said.

"Everyone'll get used to this pace," Qing Chen said nonchalantly. "Everyone's going to feel tired during the first week, but once they're in good health, they'll be full of energy during the day. Grandpa, they might not understand this, but you should. By the way, what was the Privy Council's response to them?"

The old man was silent for a few seconds. "The Privy Council has not responded."

The lack of response itself is a response; the Privy Council's meaning is simple: we are not going to get involved in the Li Clan Academy matter.

Qing Chen chuckled and said, "You see, I can only continue teaching them new things, like the booklet you gave me, if I can get these kids under control."

The old man's eyes lit up. "You really cracked it?"

"Yes," Qing Chen nodded, "It is indeed a good thing. It doesn't have the aftereffects of the Tiger Sect, and you don't have to lose anything. It should be considered a more orthodox cultivation method."

He probably had some understanding of cultivation in the Inner World, where important figures divided cultivation into orthodox and unorthodox.

The so-called unorthodox practice is that without the assistance of Breathing Technique, there will be corresponding costs and side effects, and the upper limit is also low.

The so-called orthodox practice involves the assistance of Breathing Technique during cultivation, ensuring a balanced and peaceful path without any side effects.

Therefore, the difference between orthodox and unorthodox lies in Breathing Technique. Not only the Breathing Technique of the Zhunti Method and the Breathing Technique of knights, but some true practitioners also master other Breathing Technique.

This gave Qing Chen the feeling that Breathing Technique were like the "breathing exercises" in novels from the Outer World. If you knew how to use breathing exercises, you could advance to the Innate Realm and become a master. If you didn't know how to use breathing exercises, you could only remain an outsider in the Acquired Realm...

The old man asked in surprise, "How can a heretical organization possess orthodox cultivation methods?"

"Of course," Qing Chen said, "The tools are in people's hands, and what a person becomes has no necessary connection with the method of cultivation."

"What is the highest level you can reach?" the old man asked.

Qing Chen glanced at the other party. "Currently, I can only promise up to B-Class. The rest depends on fate. Also, I have to say something, old man. I don't teach just anyone. If someone can't even stick to running, they might as well become a rich man. Mastering power isn't a good thing for them. You understand this better than I do."

"Can lifespan be extended by twenty years?" the old man asked.

Qing Chen finally understood what the old man wanted. "Extending it by twenty years is no problem; if he cultivates to B-Class, extending it by forty years is also possible."

Unorthodox methods of spiritual practice will not only fail to prolong life, but may even damage the body and shorten lifespan.

Qing Chen asked curiously, "Are you very concerned about your lifespan?"

The old man said, "I don't care myself, but for a conglomerate that wants a solid foundation, a longer lifespan means a longer-lasting business. Although this is not absolute, a conglomerate based in the Federation must constantly seek innovation and change in order to cope with the changes in the world."

"I understand," Qing Chen nodded. "You hope that the power transition within the Li family can be smoother and more stable."

The old man smiled and said, "Not entirely. It's a complicated matter. You'll understand later."

The old man sat on the broken bridge for a moment, then suddenly said, "Have the Privy Council write a directive on the complaints from the students' parents, instructing them all to follow the school's arrangements, and issue this directive in the name of the eldest son."

The so-called eldest son is the old man's eldest son, Li Ke's biological father.

Qing Chen turned to look around. "Who are you talking to?"

That last sentence was clearly not directed at him, which means there is another expert nearby, an expert that even Qing Chen cannot detect.

There's a 5000-word chapter, and another chapter will be released at 11 PM tonight.

Thank you to reader 20200916212218388 for becoming a new ally of this book.

Thanks to the two readers, "Buddhist Scumbag" and "Devil Ronin," for becoming new Silver Grand Alliance members for this book.

Bosses, you're so generous! May your online games never disconnect or crash!