Chen Jichuan, Sixty-Li Express Dispatch!

The three realms of Dao Arts—

Meditation Entry.

Visualization.

Spirit Projection.

In the First Realm, "Meditation Entry," one only needed to glimpse the divine soul once to be considered successful.

This was also an invisible threshold.

Many people had restless minds and could not tame the monkeys and horses of their hearts. Their thoughts were impure, distracting notions sprang up in endless profusion, and they could never enter "Meditation Entry."

Chen Jichuan had experienced life and death, experienced splendor and prosperity; his state of mind was far from ordinary. After deciphering the Grand Yin Body-Refining Method, only four months had passed before he crossed the threshold.

If it had been an ordinary Daoist child—

Three years of sweeping.

Three years of chanting scriptures.

At the very least, it would take six years to reach the level of Meditation Entry.

After Meditation Entry came Visualization.

"Supreme Primordial Azure Heaven lies five thousand li from the palaces of sun and moon. Within it is the Dao of divine mechanisms, divided and manifest, yet not easily distinguished. Is this the Heavenly Dao returning? It is dark, dim, and silent, impossible to name. The Emperor emerges from Zhen; this is called the Primordial Azure Heaven..."

Chen Jichuan silently recited the Daoist scripture. Before he realized it, he had once again entered Meditation Entry.

He glimpsed his divine soul.

Threads of moonlight descended, bringing a cool chill. Though he could not see it being absorbed, his divine soul was bathed in moonlight, as though it were being nourished.

Given enough time, it would surely grow strong and vigorous.

The true meaning of the scripture surged forth.

Vague, hazy patterns appeared outside the divine soul one after another.

He focused his mind.

He could faintly make out runes contained within, but they were complex and obscure, a tangled mass of countless threads that he could not see clearly.

He tried to sort them out with all his heart.

The more he sorted, the more tangled they became.

Before long, his mind was in turmoil, and he fell out of Meditation Entry.

"Mm—"

Chen Jichuan opened his eyes. He felt as though he had not slept for three days; his spirit was exhausted to the extreme, and his eyelids were fighting each other, nearly impossible to keep open. Forcing himself to hold on, Chen Jichuan gathered his experiences in his mind. "Meditation Entry, Visualization. The former is glimpsing the divine soul; the latter is reciting scripture and visualizing its true meaning, condensing one rune after another in the sea of consciousness. These runes represent, first, one's Dao cultivation, and second, the language of Dao Arts. Whether drawing talismans, chanting incantations, or casting Dao Arts, all require this as their foundation."

The Dao could not be explained clearly.

It was vast and indistinct.

But once one crossed the threshold, many principles naturally became clear.

"Looks like—"

"Having only the Grand Yin Body-Refining Method is not enough. Once I have Dao cultivation, I still need to study Dao Arts before I have means to face enemies."

Chen Jichuan pondered where he might find Dao Arts.

So he recorded these insights in the Grand Yin Yellow Scripture in his hand.

After recording them—

He could no longer hold on.

"Ah~"

He yawned toward the sky, walked into the room, and fell asleep the moment he touched the bed.

The next day.

Chen Jichuan rose early and practiced martial arts.

Dao Arts were mysterious and wondrous.

But it was difficult to achieve much in the short term. His martial skills still needed daily practice and accumulation through day and night.

At noon.

Chen Jichuan returned to the clinic for lunch. He held a wooden bucket as high as his calf, filled to the brim with rice. On top of the rice lay fragrant braised pork and quite a few fruits and vegetables.

To temper the body and practice martial arts—

Nutrition had to be not only sufficient, but balanced.

Chen Jichuan dug in with great relish. The huge bucket of rice visibly shrank at a speed discernible to the naked eye.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Beside him, five half-grown boys stared dumbfounded.

Even though they had seen it many times—

Whenever they saw their master's ferocious manner of eating, every one of them felt that their master was an enormous rice bucket.

"Hurry up and eat."

"Practice after you finish."

Seeing his five disciples spacing out, Chen Jichuan scolded them.

"Yes, Master!"

Guan Yi, Lin Sheng, and the other three boys shuddered and hurriedly lowered their heads, stuffing themselves with food.

Of the five—

The oldest, such as Guan Yi and Lin Sheng, were already twelve.

The youngest, Dong Zongwang, who looked sturdy and tiger-headed, was only eight.

With his experience in the Great Yan World, Chen Jichuan had begun making long-term plans spanning several generations from the very start this time.

He divided his enterprises into two parts.

The first was White Jade Capital.

White Jade Capital needed no introduction.

The performers and actors there had all been recruited from within and around Dai County. After simple training, they went to work. Chen Jichuan paid their wages, and they sold their labor.

Most of them had no personal connection with Chen Jichuan.

They were merely tools for making money.

The second was Precious Fungus Grove.

This was the medical clinic where Chen Jichuan had settled down.

Borrowing Master Huang's name, its model was much the same—

On one side, he sat in the clinic and treated patients.

On the other, he taught disciples, including medicine and martial arts. This way, even when he was often absent from the Liang World, Precious Fungus Grove and White Jade Capital would have trustworthy people looking after them.

Guan Yi, Lin Sheng, and the other five disciples were still young for now.

If they wanted to finish their apprenticeship and stand on their own, they should not even think about it without seven or eight years.

Chen Jichuan did not lack time.

After arriving in Dai County, taking advantage of the convenience of traveling around to practice medicine and treat patients, he carefully selected several respectable households: families with sensible parents and more than one child.

He took in three disciples—

Guan Yi.

Lin Sheng.

Dong Zongwang.

He also picked up a pair of young beggars from the streets: Hua Dazheng and Hua Dafang.

Orphans and children from respectable families each had their own strengths.

If the former knew gratitude and valued affection, they could be relied upon. But if they were heartless and ungrateful, even repaying kindness with enmity, then it would be like raising a tiger that would bring disaster.

You could know a person's face, but not their heart.

Orphans had neither ties nor burdens. If darkness lurked in their hearts and they harbored evil intentions, training them would not only waste effort for nothing—it might even lead to them turning around and biting back.

Children from respectable families were different.

They had family ties and their parents' guidance. If their parents were decent people, the children they raised would not be too bad either.

Chen Jichuan had originally intended to choose only poor children from happy families with both parents alive and take them as disciples.

But Hua Dazheng and Hua Dafang had lost both parents. The brothers wandered the streets, relying on one another.

They reminded Chen Jichuan of himself and Chen Shaohe.

So he brought the two little brothers back to Precious Fungus Grove.

As for Lin Sheng, Guan Yi, and Dong Zongwang, even if Chen Jichuan was harsher with his hand and stricter in manner, the three had their parents' guidance and would not resent him in their ignorance of youth.

With Hua Dazheng and Hua Dafang following along—

As long as Chen Jichuan remained impartial, the two would be influenced by Lin Sheng and the other three, making it less likely for them to resent him as well.

Every aspect.

Every possibility.

Chen Jichuan had considered them all clearly, saving himself from having to toss and turn over things again later.

After lunch.

Chen Jichuan taught the five boys horse stance and some basic boxing forms. These disciples were still young, so there was no rush to teach them real martial skills.

To cultivate martial arts, first cultivate virtue.

If one became a good person, even mediocre martial skills could still let one thrive in the world.

If one became a bad person, no matter how high one's martial skills, sooner or later one would be separated from head and body.

After they finished practicing the boxing forms—

Chen Jichuan taught them to read and write, and to identify medicinal herbs.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

It also served as relaxation and amusement for Chen Jichuan after his own training.

The afternoon quickly passed.

Night fell.

Chen Jichuan continued his Meditation Entry, continued his Visualization, continued contemplating and cultivating the Grand Yin Body-Refining Method.

Time flashed by.

In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

On this day.

Night descended, and Chen Jichuan was cultivating in the courtyard.

Suddenly—

Through the crack in the courtyard gate, he saw two tiny warriors, drenched in sweat, enter side by side.

One wore a pheasant feather in his hair, stood about two inches tall, rode a horse no bigger than a grasshopper, and had a falcon the size of a fly perched on his arm.

The other was dressed like the first warrior, with a tiny bow and arrows at his waist, leading a hunting dog the size of an ant.

Clop, clop, clop!

The two tiny warriors spurred their horses and cracked their whips. Familiar with the route, they rode straight in and stopped before Chen Jichuan. Their rice-grain-sized faces were filled with respect. They dismounted together, bowed to Chen Jichuan, and panted as they shouted, "Lord Chen, a sixty-li express dispatch!"

Heavy snow had blocked the roads, so I returned late. Only one update today—I give a thunderous roar.