The Lazy Little Disciple

Perhaps he had finally slept enough.

In any case, since the arrival of spring this year, Luo Yunji was no longer as prone to excessive slumber. Although he still lingered in bed, he was no longer as difficult to rouse as before.

Perhaps he had grown a year older!

Had he become more sensible?

Song Daren easily woke his Junior Brother, prepared his washing supplies, and then dragged the dawdling boy, who was still fumbling with his sash, outside.

"Morning, Junior Brother!" Everyone greeted Luo Yunji with smiles as they saw his still-dazed expression.

"Morning! Second Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother. Huh! Where is Eldest Senior Brother?" Luo Yunji rubbed his eyes, continuing to struggle with his sash, and asked in a muddled tone.

"You brat! Have you forgotten who woke you up?" Eldest Senior Brother was standing right behind Luo Yunji, placing a wooden basin filled with water on the table in front of him, and scolded him with a laugh.

"Haha! Junior Brother is still as muddled as ever!" Everyone burst into happy laughter upon hearing this.

"Junior Sister has broken through to the fourth level and has reached the realm of Object Manipulation," Sixth Senior Brother said with a hint of worry.

"It looks like we're going to get lectured by Master again," Fifth Senior Brother Lu Daxin said, rubbing his nose.

Sure enough, after breakfast, Tian Buyi scolded the second, third, fifth, and sixth disciples with a mix of joy and annoyance, and even gave the youngest and least diligent Luo Yunji a stern dressing-down.

Looking at Luo Yunji, he seemed not to have taken a word of Tian Buyi's lecture to heart, still wearing that dazed expression, which infuriated Tian Buyi to no end.

The Taiji Mystic Purity Dao only provided chants for the first four levels of the Jade Purity Realm. As for what followed, it relied entirely on personal enlightenment, which was why the Azure Cloud Sect possessed such a myriad of techniques. After all, different people had different understandings and perspectives on the same thing, and even the slightest difference in a technique could lead to completely opposite effects when unleashed.

Luo Yunji was very distressed. When he reached the fourth level of the Jade Purity Realm, his chubby Master told him there were no more chants, only realms and the experiences of predecessors. Was he joking?

Lazy and easygoing, he only fretted for a short while before giving up on this unreliable cultivation method. Every day, he continued to eat and sleep as usual, and even when it was time to chop bamboo, he would still sleep!

"Junior Brother! Time for lessons." Tian Linger skipped over to Luo Yunji and said with a smile.

"Oh! I'm going to get my blade!" Luo Yunji then fetched two wood-chopping knives from the woodshed and followed his Senior Sister toward the back mountain.

"Junior Brother has become much more self-disciplined!"

"Indeed! He doesn't even need Eldest Senior Brother to carry him anymore!"

"Haha!" The several Senior Brothers watched the two small figures and teased them with smiles.

"By the way! Eldest Senior Brother, are you heading down the mountain in a few days?" Fourth Senior Brother He Dazhi asked, looking at Song Daren.

"Fourth, are you looking to buy books?" Fourth Senior Brother's love for reading was known to everyone on Big Bamboo Peak. Perhaps because of this, he was able to surpass the second and third brothers in cultivation later on, and he was undoubtedly the smartest person on Big Bamboo Peak.

"If there are any new books, please bring some back for me, Eldest Senior Brother."

"No problem! I'll keep it in mind." Song Daren agreed with a hearty laugh. "Does anyone else need anything?" He hadn't forgotten his other Junior Brothers.

"Eldest Senior Brother, if there are any good musical scores, please bring me a few as well," the second brother said after some thought.

"Alright!" The others didn't have any special requests.

On the back mountain, aside from bamboo, there was only a forest of pines and cypresses far in the distance. Because Luo Yunji disliked the long walk, he hadn't set foot in that forest for years. Deep within the bamboo grove, however, there was a clear spring. The water was sweet and cold, with a waterfall cascading above it. During the day, when the sun was out, a rainbow would always hang in mid-air. The spring was quite large, covering about two or three mu, and there was a giant rock by the water—a place Luo Yunji visited every single day.

This giant rock was neither too far nor too close to the waterfall, making the sound of the crashing water a perfect lullaby. Combined with the rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves, it was incredibly cozy.

Sometimes, Luo Yunji wondered if he wasn't actually lazy, but rather that the sounds of nature were simply too wonderful, always lulling him to sleep.

After morning lessons, Master arranged for Fourth Senior Brother He Dazhi to teach him reading and writing. Fourth Senior Brother was recognized as the smartest person on Big Bamboo Peak—a claim that, of course, had not been vetted by Master.

Having studied with He Dazhi for some time, Luo Yunji was now able to read and write. He had privately read every book on Big Bamboo Peak and felt a longing for the world beyond the peak and even beyond Azure Cloud Mountain, but his lazy nature kept him from wanting to move. Thus, he could only think about it in his heart.

He was nine years old this year, and Senior Sister Tian Linger was thirteen. He had started training under his Master at six and reached the fourth level of the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao by eight, taking less than two years in total.

When his Master told him there were no more techniques and he had to rely on personal enlightenment, he was so speechless he almost gave up on cultivation, spending his days wandering around aimlessly. Perhaps his mindset aligned with the Taoist principle of "non-action," as the Azure Cloud Sect was, after all, rooted in Taoism. Thus, Luo Yunji had already reached the fifth level of the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao, but he never revealed it to others. Tian Buyi never specifically checked his cultivation, and every time he saw Luo Yunji's lazy demeanor, he would scold him for not living up to his potential.

Upon reaching the fourth level, according to sect rules, one was supposed to go down the mountain to seek opportunities and obtain one's own magic treasure.

However, Luo Yunji was too lazy to move, and Tian Buyi and Su Ru saw that he was still young and somewhat muddled, fearing he would be kidnapped the moment he left the mountain, so they never brought it up.

All the Senior Brothers on Big Bamboo Peak assumed their Junior Brother's cultivation had remained stagnant.

Only Tian Linger, who did her lessons with him every day, knew just how monstrous this boy was. Every time she finished her lessons and came to find him, she would see him sleeping on the giant rock. Noticing he hadn't done his lessons, she would get the urge to play tricks on him. Yet, whether she tried to splash spring water on him or push him off the rock into the pool, she never succeeded.

Every time she played a prank, Luo Yunji would effortlessly neutralize it. Whenever she threw something at him, a visible, pale blue halo would always appear to block it. When she tried to push him off the rock, she would always be blocked by this halo, unable to even touch his body.

"Junior Brother! I've finished my lessons." Tian Linger stood beneath the rock, looking up and shouting loudly. Fortunately, the halo didn't block sound, otherwise, given his lazy nature, he might have slept until who knows when.

Luo Yunji rubbed his eyes. "So soon?" He hadn't slept enough yet.

"It's almost noon!" Tian Linger finally began to understand her father's frustration with the boy.

He really was lazy!