"Don't talk while eating, and don't talk while sleeping." Breakfast passed in a quiet atmosphere. Once the disciples had cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, Tian Buyi began his daily lecture.
"You. Keep an eye on your Little Junior Brother today. If you don't chop down two whole bamboo stalks, you'll both be punished!" Tian Buyi said, looking at Song Daren with a warning glare.
"But Little Junior Brother is still young..." Song Daren tried to explain and plead on his Little Junior Brother's behalf, but Tian Buyi glared him into silence.
"Still young! He's already eight! Still young!" Tian Buyi glared at Luo Yunji, who was still rubbing his eyes beside them, looking as if he hadn't woken up at all, and shouted in exasperation.
"Junior Sister didn't start cultivating until she was ten," Song Daren reminded him quietly.
"Your Junior Sister! If your Shiniang hadn't protected her, she'd have started cultivating long ago."
Tian Linger was four years older than Luo Yunji. During their first three years at Big Bamboo Peak, new disciples had to go up the mountain and chop Black-Joint Bamboo. For cultivators, the body was of utmost importance. If one's body was weak, even the most powerful arts would be difficult to master. The Azure Cloud Sect originated from Daoism, which placed great importance on nourishing and strengthening the body, cultivating both life and spirit. As one delved deeper into the Dao, the body became ever more important. Take one of the Azure Cloud Sect's supreme arts, the Divine Sword Thunder Command True Art, for example. To use it, one had to use oneself as a conduit and rely on a divine weapon to draw down the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, wielding its magnificent, heavenly might to unleash peerless power. Though the true art protected the practitioner, the Divine Thunder was so fearsome that an ordinary person would turn to ash the instant they touched it. The practitioner might have profound cultivation, but if their body was weak, they might be struck dead by the Divine Thunder before long. How could they hope to sweep all before them then?
"But you can't make Little Junior Brother chop bamboo with Junior Sister when he's only six! It's already been two years!" Sixth Senior Brother Du Bishu protested under his breath.
"You said it yourself—it's been two years! Just look at him. Even now, he can't chop down a single stalk of bamboo!" Tian Buyi grew even angrier at the thought. Seeing this, Song Daren hurriedly glared at Sixth Senior Brother. "Don't try to help if you're only going to make things worse. Master seems even angrier now."
Sixth Senior Brother shrank back to the side, sheepish, and said no more.
"Tell me! If he doesn't have a strong body, what good is it if his cultivation is powerful, but his body can't withstand his own magical power?" Tian Buyi thought of his Little Junior Disciple's monstrous talent for cultivation, and felt a pang of regret. The Taiji Mystic Purity Dao was the foundation of the Azure Cloud Sect's many marvelous arts and techniques. It had three realms: Jade Purity, Shangqing, and Grand Purity. Among the Azure Cloud Sect's disciples, many were clever and talented, yet they spent their whole lives without breaking through the Jade Purity Realm. Even so, reaching the upper levels of the Jade Purity Realm was already exceedingly rare in the world. The Azure Cloud Sect had nearly a thousand members, but only a little over ten had broken through the Jade Purity Realm and reached the Shangqing Realm, led by the sect's master, Daoxuan True Person. Yet even these few made the Azure Cloud Sect one of the strongest cultivation sects of the present day.
The Taiji Mystic Purity Dao grew progressively more difficult to cultivate. Most people could master the first level of the Jade Purity Realm in their first year. The second level generally took five years of cultivation. The third level was an even greater divide: those with somewhat lesser talent could remain stuck there for their entire lives, while even the more gifted might spend fifty or sixty years reaching it. Those who cultivated the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao to the fourth level of the Jade Purity Realm had grasped the foundation of the myriad arts and could begin cultivating other marvelous arts and techniques, as well as refining a magical treasure of their own.
Among the disciples of Big Bamboo Peak, Eldest Senior Brother Song Daren had the deepest cultivation. He had reached the fifth level of the Jade Purity Realm in the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, followed by Fourth Senior Brother He Dazhi, who had reached the fourth level. Though He Dazhi had joined the sect later than Wu Dayi and Zheng Dali, he was the cleverest of the disciples, and so the later student had overtaken the earlier ones. As for Second Senior Brother Wu Dayi, Third Senior Brother Zheng Dali, Fifth Senior Brother Lu Daxin, and Sixth Senior Brother Du Bishu, they were all struggling bitterly at the third level of the Jade Purity Realm. Yet Luo Yunji had begun cultivating the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao at six and reached the fourth level in less than two years. His talent had truly thrilled Tian Buyi for months.
What infuriated Tian Buyi was that this Little Junior Disciple stubbornly refused to cultivate any further. Every day, he did nothing but eat and sleep, or fiddle with all sorts of strange things. Whenever Tian Buyi thought of it, his hands would itch to give the boy a beating. With talent that good, how had he ended up with such a lazy, incorrigible disposition? That was why Tian Buyi was especially relentless in pushing his Little Junior Disciple to cultivate.
"If your Little Junior Brother doesn't finish his lessons today, every one of you will be punished!" The more Tian Buyi thought about it, the angrier he grew. He flung out his sleeve and strode away.
The remaining senior and junior brothers stared at one another, speechless, then looked at their Little Junior Brother, who had fallen asleep in his chair.
As Eldest Senior Brother, and because Master had specifically ordered him to keep the boy in line, Song Daren could only resign himself to picking up Luo Yunji, fast asleep, and carrying him toward the Back Mountain.
"Eldest Senior Brother! We're counting on you!" came the eager pleas of his fellow disciples behind him.
"Every day, it's the same thing! What's the point?" Song Daren turned to look at his fellow disciples and laughed helplessly as he scolded them.
That was right! Every day after breakfast, the same scene played out. Even when Little Junior Brother failed to finish his lessons and they were punished, they only got a token scolding. But the lessons were, after all, good for Little Junior Brother, so the senior brothers did their best to urge him to cultivate.
"Eldest Senior Brother, wait for me!" Tian Linger looked at Luo Yunji, fast asleep across Song Daren's shoulder, with a mixture of envy and disdain. She had made up her mind: she would cultivate hard and catch up with that little lazy pig.
She wasn't going to lose to a lazybones like him!
Time flew by, but life went on as before. The laughter and playful bickering on Big Bamboo Peak, the daily scolding and teasing, all became part of the warm memories everyone there cherished. They treasured this happiness and held it dear.
"Mom! Dad! I did it! I did it!" Junior Sister's joyous, excited voice rang across Big Bamboo Peak in the early morning.
"What is it, Junior Sister? You sound so happy! Tell your Senior Brother all about it!" Sixth Senior Brother came out of his room carrying his washing things. Seeing Junior Sister in the courtyard, her face full of delight and pride, he smiled fondly.
"Senior Brother! I've reached the fourth level!" Junior Sister cried excitedly, looking at Sixth Senior Brother with an expression that clearly said she was waiting for praise.
Sixth Senior Brother listened, his face full of disbelief. She'd reached the fourth level just like that? Good grief! Were there too many freakishly talented kids these days? He was still stuck at the third level.
"Really! Junior Sister is amazing." Song Daren had just come out of his room and overheard them. He was happy for Junior Sister, and for Master and Shiniang, too.
"Mhm, mhm! I'm going to find Mom and Dad. I have to tell them the good news." Junior Sister bounced away like a cheerful little sprite.
"Oh man! After Little Junior Brother, that little monster, now Junior Sister has joined the ranks of the monsters!" Sixth Senior Brother muttered enviously. When would he ever cultivate to the fourth level?
"Watch your mouth!" Song Daren glared at Sixth Senior Brother, then turned a corner and headed toward Little Junior Brother's room.
"Eldest Senior Brother, aren't you waiting for Junior Sister?" Second Senior Brother asked, humming a tune.
"Junior Sister's happy today, so she's off cozying up to Master and Shiniang. Who knows what reward she'll wheedle out of Master? She definitely won't be joining us." Song Daren replied with a smile without slowing his steps.
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