The Teacher and the Master

Not long after the old man gave the order.

The most powerful Privy Council of the Li family suddenly changed its previous silence and began to respond to the complaints from the students' parents one by one: Li family students, as the future foundation of the family, should resolutely obey the school's arrangements and, while learning academic knowledge, should not forget to develop morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically in an all-round way...

The official reply consisted of a bunch of high-sounding words, but after staring at it for a long time, the parents found that the hundreds of words contained only two words: "Obey".

This is very strange. Silence would have been enough, so why make a special statement?

I'm emphasizing this again because I'm worried that everyone might cause some trouble again!

Who exactly is that instructor, that he could get the Privy Council to issue a special endorsement for him?!

Now that's the case, if everyone wants to cause trouble again, that means they're ignoring the Privy Council's approval, which is a very serious matter for the Li family.

For example, if a woman without official rank or position causes trouble, her husband will also be punished.

On the broken bridge by Longhu Lake, Qing Chen asked curiously, "How many orthodox cultivation methods still exist?"

The old man said calmly, "There are countless cultivation methods in this world, but there are no more than five orthodox lineages that can prolong life. Now, there is one more in your hands."

"So little?" Qing Chen exclaimed in surprise.

"So, there is something else I want to discuss with you," the old man said. "It's not just the students from the Li Clan Academy who want to come and learn; there are also some young people from the Li Family who have been tested and proven their worth."

Qing Chen raised an eyebrow. "You didn't mention this before, and I haven't tested them myself, so how do I know if they're qualified or not?"

The old man said, "Don't worry, the young people that the Li family can place in important positions are not spoiled brats... Also, if you are worried that they don't respect you or that they might pose a threat to you in the future, I can have them become your disciples and formally serve you tea and kowtow."

This truly shocked Qing Chen.

Even a tutor is merely someone who is respected, but serving tea, kneeling, and bowing to one's master—that is the true core position.

The Li family emphasizes the importance of respecting elders and juniors; a master is a master, and one cannot disobey him.

If they were to meet on the battlefield in the future, all those members of the Li family who had once studied under him would have to give way.

This is the foundation of the Li family's own order; if the order is disrupted, the Li family will also be in chaos.

Moreover, the young people chosen by the old man to learn the orthodox cultivation methods will likely hold pivotal positions within the entire Li family in the future.

Qing Chen calmly asked, "Do you know what kind of impact this will have?"

The old man smiled and said, "The young people I selected have all fought and died on the battlefield. With the Federation Civil War imminent, Kamishiro and Kashima have already amassed troops in the North. If any of the young people from the Li family can embark on a cultivation path without any aftereffects, their chances of survival on the battlefield will be greater. Although modern warfare no longer focuses on individual combat strength, and individual combat strength can't change anything, stronger physical fitness will increase self-healing abilities. Trying is always better than letting things go unchecked."

Therefore, the old man's ultimate goal was simply to ensure that the future pillars of the Li family would not all die on the battlefield.

"I thought you wanted them all to live to be a hundred years old," Qing Chen said.

"That's the law of nature," the old man chuckled. "So, you agreed?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "The cultivation methods were all given to me by you, and they have formally become my disciples. Why would I refuse?"

The most fundamental reason is that the method of cultivation was indeed a gift from someone else.

In fact, the old man had already guessed that there would be a similar language in the Outer World. The other party could easily find any Time Walker to translate it, so it didn't necessarily have to find him.

Qing Chen suddenly realized that the old man was actually investing as well.

Just like Hu Xiaoniu's father's investment, they have all realized that once the Inner World are connected, it may bring about new changes to both worlds.

Therefore, these truly intelligent people choose the best person from among the Time Walker to support, in order to secure an uncertain future.

True investment doesn't necessarily yield returns on every investment, but sometimes unintentional actions can lead to unexpected and positive results.

However, this wave was a true super promotion for Qing Chen!

The third generation of young people called him Master and Li Shutong Uncle Qi. In the future, he could discuss matters with Li Shutong separately...

Wait a minute, the old man's sudden promotion of seniority isn't for any other purpose, is it?

"By the way, Grandpa, what do you usually do when you go out through the secret passage?" Qing Chen asked curiously, blinking his eyes.

The old man was taken aback. "You discovered the secret passage so quickly?!"

"I also found seven car keys, a wall full of guns... and some flashy clothes," Qing Chen said. "Oh, and seven cell phones. Do you usually use seven identities? I'm very curious about what identities you use..."

At this moment, the old man flicked his wrist and lifted the fishing rod. He took the Dragon Fish off and handed it to Qing Chen, saying, "Take it and get out of here."

"Alright," Qing Chen said, feeling a little unsatisfied.

Back at the Autumn Leaf Villa, Qing Chen cut down a thick branch from a camphor tree around the courtyard and carved a sign for himself out of the wood.

The sign only had two words: "No guests."

In the evening, Li Ke would come over after school to cook and do chores.

I also wiped down the recliner that Qing Chen used to lie on every day.

At this time, because lactic acid had begun to accumulate in Li Ke's body after excessive exercise, he felt uncomfortable walking and his legs no longer belonged to him.

Even so, Li Ke still insisted on finishing all the chores.

During this time, servants from several other households also came to deliver fruits and vegetables.

They said they were delivering fruits, but the servants kept secretly watching Li Ke's busy figure, as if trying to find out something.

That's how it is in a grand mansion; there are thoughtful people everywhere.

After those people left.

"Are you tired?" Qing Chen lay back in the chair, waiting for the 14-year-old boy in the kitchen to cook.

"Sir, I am a little tired, but I can still manage," Li Ke said. "I know, I just need to get through this week."

"Hmm," Qing Chen responded ambiguously, "Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"Sir," Li Ke thought for a moment and asked, "This is a question I've been pondering all day. Class distinctions are a natural part of this world; where there is civilization, there will be class distinctions. In that case, why should we set aside our class distinctions to be humble towards the lower classes? This would cause them to lose their sense of awe. Human nature is easily changed; it's better to inspire awe in people than to gain their approval of your character."

"Why are you thinking about this?" Qing Chen asked patiently.

"Because what you teach is quite different from what I see. Most people in this world act and behave as I say, and it does work," Li Ke said. "Moreover, today when I tried to be polite to the servants, they were trembling with fear, as if they had done something wrong, as if they were being tortured. It didn't seem to help them at all."

Qing Chen smiled, "Teaching you to respect others' dignity is to help you improve your own. Like if you encounter a beggar on the street, does giving him a dollar really help him? No. But that dollar isn't helping him; it's helping yourself. Think about it, after giving him the money, did your inner peace return?"

Li Ke paused for a moment, then said, "It seems so."

He hadn't seen anyone else discuss beggars like that.

"So how do you feel now that you no longer boss your servants around?" Qing Chen asked.

"At first I felt awkward, but later I felt that I was different from others, which was a good feeling. I gained more recognition for my self-cultivation," Li Ke said.

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Don't always think about such big topics. That's enough."

He had come to understand that in the 14 years of his student's life, he had been facing a world where social classes were solidified and people were divided into different classes.

Therefore, it is necessary to gradually change people's mindsets.

At this point, Li Ke asked, "Sir, what if this beggar is perfectly healthy and only wants to scam money? If you give him money, he might even say behind your back that you're a fool. What would you do in that situation?"

Without hesitation, Qing Chen said, "Beat him up."

"Okay, I need to go back and think about it some more. If there's nothing else, sir, I'll head back now," Li Ke said.

"Okay, let's go back."

Li Ke finished his meal early at the Autumn Leaf Villa and left; he needed to go home and adjust his sleep schedule.

Qing Chen handed him the sign that read "No Visitors Allowed": "Hang it up at the door for me. From now on, I will not see any visitors after 7 p. m. every night."

Li Ke paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Okay, the students will also inform the others."

After Li Ke left, someone else came to visit at 7:30.

No matter how much the other party knocked on the door, Qing Chen simply lay back in his chair and calmly replied, "Please leave. I am not receiving guests today."

No matter whose name the other party gave, Qing Chen would disappear.

The servants outside left dejectedly.

On the morning of the third day after the time travel, Li Ke still gathered everyone at the Dripping Spring. Only half of them came today, and the other half were probably still in bed, their parents reluctant to wake them up.

However, this time Li Ke did not go door to door to call for help. He only went to Qingshan Courtyard to capture Qing Yi, and let the others go their own way.

Many students were puzzled. Given Li Ke's personality, how could he give up so easily?

On this day, Qing Chen, as always, hung up the "No Visitors" sign on time.

However, from that day on, he stopped responding even when someone knocked on the door.

On the morning of the fourth day of the journey, only nine students remained at the Drip Spring, including Li Tongyun, Qing Yi, and Li Ke.

Li Ke didn't force him; instead, he quietly led him through the five-kilometer run before heading to the school.

Qing Yi didn't want to go either, but he was really afraid of dying, so he had no choice but to go.

He knew that everyone else could choose not to go, but if he didn't go, he would still be choked...

Only then did he realize that he was being targeted...

The other parents thought to themselves, "Why is this all bark and no bite? On the first day, that kid Li Ke practically used a megaphone to make everyone scream, but now he doesn't care even if we don't go to the assembly."

This has left many people puzzled.

Could it be that Li Ke's father, who was in charge of the First Branch, also felt that this matter was not appropriate, so he warned Li Ke? But that doesn't make sense, since the Privy Council had issued a special reply.

For parents, it would be best if everyone could live in peace.

The students who didn't have to run laps were quite happy, and some even tried to persuade other students who were still running laps in class not to go anymore.

Some classmates were also secretly plotting to exclude and isolate Li Ke.

On the fourth night, after 7 p. m., no more guests came to the Autumn Leaf Villa, which had a "No Guests Allowed" sign hanging outside.

Everyone knows that Autumn Leaf Villa has a rule that no guests are received after 7 p. m.

Just like the rule that no one was allowed to disturb the old man when he mourned his mentor.

Even if the sky were to fall outside, that door would not open.

The old man on the broken bridge by the lake also heard about this and kept telling Qing Chen that he was clever, so that Qing Chen wouldn't have to worry about anything when entering and leaving the Banshan Manor.

However, this incident also created an image for Qing Chen in the eyes of the outside world: that this tutor was naturally arrogant and did not give face to anyone.

It's completely heartless.

From 7 p. m. to 9 a. m., Qing Chen has free time.

This is true freedom.

By the fourth day of his transmigration, Qing Chen had already eaten a total of seven Dragon Fish.

When Li Ke cooked for him, he could hear the crackling sounds coming from his tutor.

At first, Li Ke thought it was the sound of water hitting a pot of oil, but then he realized it didn't sound like that.

It took me a while to realize that it was the sound coming from the man's bones.

At first, there were crackling sounds, then Thunderclap incessantly.

It seemed as if a new skeleton was breaking out of its cocoon within Qing Chen's body, completing a true transformation.

In the past, the only legend in the Banshan Manor was that eating nine Dragon Fish could transform one's body, but everyone just took it as a legend.

Until Li Ke witnessed it with his own eyes and ears!

He thought to himself, "The gentleman has already shown such a strange phenomenon after eating only 7. What would happen if he ate 9?"

What if you eat 18 of them?

In the First Group Army of the Federation, a lieutenant walked through the orderly barracks to his superior's residence.

He announced his arrival and then looked at his superior officer, "Sir, I would like to return to my hometown to visit my relatives. Please issue me a visa."

The officer asked curiously, "Li Shu, the exercise is about to start, why are you asking for leave to visit your family?"

Li Shu looked around.

The officer waved for all the operations staff to leave.

Li Shu said, "Fourth Uncle, it's not that I want to go back, it's that the family has summoned me to the Banshan Manor."

This is a force completely controlled by the Li family. Almost half of the troops are Li's confidants, either related to him by blood or having secretly sworn allegiance to him.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Li Shu's superior was his fourth maternal uncle.

This is one of the reasons why conglomerates have control over the Federation.

The officer asked curiously, "Why is your family summoning you back at this time? Why didn't I receive such a notification?"

"It was a direct notification from the Privy Council," Li Shu said after thinking for a moment. "As for what to do when I get back, I can only be informed after I sign a confidentiality agreement with the Privy Council."

The officer thought for a moment and said, "Then go pack your things. I'll have the staff officer issue you a family visit visa and then send you back by airship. As for what you're going back for, I won't ask anymore. Just pretend you never told me about it... and don't tell anyone else."

Li Shu nodded. "Understood."

At this very moment, similar scenes were playing out across the Federation Group Army. Some of the Li family's outstanding young men, even those who had already reached the rank of major, were taking leave to visit their families and were being transported to City No. 18 airships dispatched by the Federation Group Army.

This move has touched a nerve with many people.

After they left, many people speculated that the old man of the Li family might really be dying, and these young people were going home to mourn him and vie for the Li family's out-of-control power.

On the very night these soldiers left, the army controlled by the Northern Kamishiro and Kashima Family set off again, advancing fifty kilometers southward.

In modern military strategy, moving 50 kilometers away from a base is not unusual.

However, this operation itself reveals a very dangerous signal.

On the fifth day of their journey, two more people suddenly appeared in the group that originally had only eight people running exercises: Li Yinuo and Nan Gengchen.

When asked, Li Yinuo only said that she wanted to exercise and did not explain anything else.

On the sixth day of the journey, strange yet familiar faces appeared in the morning exercise group!

Li Yinuo looked at Li Shu curiously and asked, "Shouldn't you be in the army preparing for exercises right now? Why did you suddenly come back?"

Li Shu smiled but didn't speak. He had already signed a confidentiality agreement at the Privy Council and was keeping everything that was about to happen a closely guarded secret.

Li Yinuo smiled and said, "It's okay, I understand. I've signed it."

Not only Li Shu, but also three other young members of the Li family who served in the army returned to the Banshan Manor.

Among them were familiar faces, those who lived in the Banshan Manor, and unfamiliar faces, those of the Li family's collateral branches, who originally lived in other cities.

The running team has grown from 10 to 14 people, and it is foreseeable that the team will continue to grow in the future.

At this point, some parents had already realized that something was wrong!

There are no real secrets in the mansion. On the day Li Shu and his group returned, many people learned about it. Although they didn't know why they came back, their sudden joining of the morning exercise group was quite unusual.

Some parents who previously tolerated their children's absences have started secretly instructing their children to quietly return to the running group tomorrow and not to fall behind.

They realized that good things would definitely happen after the morning exercises, and if they couldn't keep up, they might be marginalized in the future!

However, by then it was too late for them to make amends.

From the day Li Yinuo joined the morning exercises, Qing Chen began to require Li Ke to change the meeting point every day.

So, on the morning of the seventh day after their journey, the children who wanted to rejoin the morning exercise group arrived at the Drip Spring Square, but they didn't see a single one of them...

They stood blankly in the winter mist, somewhat at a loss.

The chapter is 5,000 words long, and 10,000 words have been updated today. I'm giving back to Brother Yan with one more chapter, so my debt to Brother Yan is paid off. Starting tomorrow, I'll start paying back to the other big shots.

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