Another One Goes "Mad"

Ding Songyan was surprised that Li Baima was the first of his three colleagues in the Side Courtyard to make this request; he had originally thought it would be Fan Chunlin, who was closer to him.

But Fourth Brother Fan, apart from his unrequited love for Twelfth Madam and his infatuation with Zhang Yingbo's beauty without being able to get close to her, has not experienced any major setbacks. And now, he has the idea of going to the Rippling River again.

He was quite diligent in practicing martial arts, but that was all; he didn't have the desire to learn from anyone.

"Of course," Ding Songyan agreed to Li Baima's request.

Although his earlier words about the righteous path to Twelfth Madam Luo were tinged with ulterior motives, they were indeed heartfelt, just like the passing down of the torch in the Xiaoming Sect.

Even dogs of the Accumulated Evil Path don't believe it, and dogs of the Sage-Slaying Path are deceived; this shows how rare it is that the righteous path still has a relatively good atmosphere.

There will be conflicts of interest, and even grudges among people, but everyone maintains a bottom line, fighting without breaking apart. When the young heroes travel the world, they will also have various exchanges and sparring.

Having truly experienced the ways of the world Ding Songyan understands very well how important it is to "fight without breaking apart" among like-minded people.

Li Baima was moved to tears, thanked him repeatedly, and then stood up straight.

He suddenly felt a little restrained and uncomfortable.

The two usually interacted as colleagues and peers, but his grand gesture and request just now were directed at a junior master.

It was truly remarkable that he was willing to swallow his pride.

"Perform the ' Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword ' technique completely once," Ding Songyan said, sitting down behind the stone table.

He took on the role of Twelfth Madam Luo.

You guide me, I guide him, and he guides other young heroes on the righteous path; this is how outstanding figures emerge generation after generation.

However, if Li Baima commits evil deeds in the future, Ding Songyan will personally eliminate him, just as if Ding Songyan were to fall into the demonic path, Twelfth Madam Luo would surely travel to the ends of the earth to punish evil and eliminate wickedness.

Li Baima steadied himself and practiced the "Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword" from beginning to end.

After reading it, Ding Songyan inquired in detail about the application of acupoints, the route of qi circulation, and the techniques for exerting force in each move. Li Baima did not hide anything, since it did not involve the method of Opening Orifices Organ Dressing organs or the subsequent Martial Arts of the Law Realm.

Since you're going to accept guidance from someone with the respect due to a mentor, you can't be too secretive, otherwise you'll easily be led astray.

After a question-and-answer session, Ding Songyan began to instruct and correct Li Baima, starting from the very first move.

Li Baima was contemplating, changing, and practicing diligently.

He didn't try to control his expression, and an incredulous look gradually appeared on his face.

As Seed Martial Grandmaster of the Fire-Stealing Sect, he had been fortunate enough to receive guidance from the original sect leader on several occasions. However, he now felt that the sect leader, who was a Martial Grandmaster of the Law Realm, did not seem to "understand" his "Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword" as well as Brother Ding. Every word and correction from Brother Ding was enlightening, allowing him to see a whole new world.

Is Brother Ding really only at the Perfected Dayan Realm?

Is he a once-in-a-century swordsmanship genius?

Li Baima on his own initiative and Ding Songyan:

"Teacher Ding, shall we stop here for today? If we continue teaching, I... I feel like my head is going to explode."

"Let me carefully review those seven moves again tomorrow, so I don't forget the feeling and revert to my old ways."

"Master Ding? Don't address me so formally, it makes me uncomfortable. It's not good if I call you Elder Brother Li and you call me Master Ding, and we address each other separately, is it?" Ding Songyan said with a smile. "It's quite good that you stopped in time. It's easy to start, but difficult to stop. The principle of knowing when to stop is simple and easy to understand, but how many people can actually do it?"

Seeing Ding Songyan's insistence, Li Baima stopped addressing him as "Master Ding" and focused intently on recalling the instructions he had just received, practicing them over and over again.

Ding Songyan didn't bother him, but occasionally offered a more easily understood explanation for difficult points.

As dusk fell, the Food Box arrived. Ding Songyan saw that Li Baima was still engrossed in his Swordsmanship, while Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin seemed to have gone to the Rippling River and had not yet returned. He started eating first, and each of the other three people picked out one of their favorite dishes from their Food Box.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Ding Songyan casually drew his Cold Shadow and lightly slashed at the crimson flames floating in mid-air, caused by Li Baima practicing his swordsmanship.

The flames at the edge immediately gathered towards the crystal-clear longsword, without disturbing Li Baima, and ultimately became Passing the Torch."

Teaching and learning go hand in hand; Li Baima learned a lot, Ding Songyan naturally learned something as well.

Having gained such a thorough understanding of the "Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword," he incorporated some of his insights into the "Passing the Torch, improving the sword's control over stray sparks and allowing them to be sustained for longer.

From today onwards, there will be two ways to improve "Passing the Torch": one is to integrate it into "Accumulated Waters Divine Art", and the other is to learn from "Fire-Stealing Bird's Fire-Commanding Sword". If the latter is not pursued for a very good effect, it can be used purely by force exertion techniques and qi circulation methods to influence the scattered sparks. Every member of the Xiaoming Sect can master this.

The following morning.

After finishing his morning lessons, Ding Songyan went back to his room to write a storybook, while Li Baima practiced the seven Swordsmanship he had been taught the day before over and over again.

For him, it was more like learning a new Swordsmanship, and he saw a visible improvement.

How could he not become addicted?

After finishing a section of the story, Ding Songyan pondered the things he needed to do recently.

"First, we need to wait for the Five Saints Sect's reaction after taking Wu Zheng in, and see what they will do. Second, we need to create an opportunity to encounter Commander Han Shun. Third, we need to find the members of the Returning Ruins Sect as soon as possible, obtain a wisp of True Qi, and complete the condensation of the last External Acupoints. This matter must be done before Twelfth Madam leaves Flame Capital."

"Without Twelfth Madam's protection, the Demoness Ji might come with her Hundun True Qi. And I can't be Twelfth Madam's accessory forever. I can only try to make things a fait accompli before then, so as not to give the demoness any chance."

"Moreover, only when I truly reach the Perfected Law Realm will I have an excuse to have an in-depth conversation with Twelfth Madam about the Celestial-Human Realm, to understand what Celestial Person is, the difference between Celestial Person and the Law Realm, where the barriers to Celestial Person lie, and how to attain it..."

"Uh, did I not ask Lay Buddhist Little Zhang to investigate the Returning Ruins Sect before? Yes, I only asked them to pursue the Accumulated Evil Path and the Ghost-Wyrm Path..."

"Another sum of Silver Coins has come up..."

Ding Songyan acted on his impulse, taking a stack of silver notes, carrying Cold Shadow, and heading out.

Li Baima continued their diligent sword practice, unaware of what was happening.

Before long, Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin walked into the Side Courtyard, humming a little tune.

"Elder Brother Li, practicing your sword again?" Fan Chunlin blurted out.

Li Baima, having just finished his journey, wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and laughed with fervent eyes:

"Right.

"This Swordsmanship is getting more and more interesting the more I practice it!"

As he spoke, he recalled a detail from earlier and fell into deep thought again.

Seeing this, Wu Mo lowered his voice and said to Fan Chunlin:

"Has Elder Brother Li gone mad?"

Just like Li Linquan, the "Azure Thunder Banished Immortal".

"No way? One Li Linquan has already gone mad, surely another one wouldn't?" Fan Chunlin said, indicating it couldn't be that bad. "Elder Brother Li and Li Linquan may share the same surname, but they're not related."

Even if madness were as rampant as an epidemic, Elder Brother Li and Li Linquan never had any contact!

"The population of Flame Capital is in the millions. I think it's not unusual for one person to go crazy every now and then," Wu Mo said with a hint of worry.

At this moment, Li Baima figured out the problem, came to his senses, and looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression:

What are you talking about?

"It's nothing." Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin shook their heads at the same time.

Elder Brother Li looks somewhat normal now. Let's take another look.

As soon as Ding Songyan stepped into the Cheap Wine Shop, he sensed a murderous intent.

If Twelfth Madam's eyes were knives, he would have been torn to pieces.

"Is Chef Shi in the kitchen?" Ding Songyan quickly walked to the counter and asked with a fawning smile.

Twelfth Madam Luo rolled her eyes and said in an annoyed tone:

Where else could the cook be if not in the kitchen?

"I need to speak with him." Ding Songyan immediately went to the kitchen.

The lunch service hadn't started yet, and there were only two tables of customers at the moment. Shi Wuyan and the other fat chef weren't particularly busy.

Upon seeing Ding Songyan, Shi Wuyan unconsciously tightened his grip while chopping vegetables.

He flicked his hand, walked to the door, and whispered to Ding Songyan:

I was planning to come see you this afternoon.

"What's the breakthrough?" Ding Songyan pointed to the Rear Courtyard and walked over first, as if he were at home.

Shi Wuyan followed behind, and after confirming that no one was around, she quietly handed Ding Songyan a crumpled piece of paper:

"One thousand taels."

"How much?" Ding Songyan blurted out.

Isn't this a bit of an exaggeration?

Even with holiday gifts, my annual income Prince's Residence Guards wouldn't exceed eighty taels of silver.

"One thousand taels of silver," Shi Wuyan said in a low voice. "This matter has taken a lot of our effort and cost us a great deal."

Ding Songyan considered for a moment, then took out a silver note from his pocket, counted out a full thousand taels, and gave it to Chef Shi, saying with a smile:

"Your information had better be worth the price."

"We have always been honest and fair in our dealings with people of all ages," Shi Wuyan replied in a deep voice.

Who should I ask? Who doesn't do things honestly and fairly? Although Ding Songyan felt that Chef Shi wouldn't be Yin and Yang, he couldn't help but have this thought cross his mind.

In front of Shi Wuyan, he discreetly unfolded the paper ball:

"We have obtained clues about the Traitor from the Ghost-Wyrm Path. You can go to Mianheng Rice Shop Huaiyuan Street and talk to the shop assistant Cui Tieshan to get more details."

Why not pay? Only write down where you learned the information, not the specific details, insisting on having a middleman... The clues about that Traitor from the Ghost-Wyrm Path are indeed worth a thousand taels of silver; selling them to the Ghost-Wyrm Path would definitely fetch more than that... Ding Songyan put away the crumpled paper and smiled at the Chef Shi:

"By the way, help me find the members of the Returning Ruins Sect in Flame Capital."

"The price for finding this person will be determined later," Shi Wuyan informed him in advance.

Ding Songyan nodded in agreement.

After watching Shi Wuyan return to the kitchen, he became annoyed.

Having clues about Traitor from the Ghost-Wyrm Path is a good thing, but he hasn't dared to leave the nearby streets and alleys lately.

We can't trouble Twelfth Madam again, can we?

Even someone as thick-skinned as Ding Songyan felt a little embarrassed.

Back at the Wine Shop, Ding Songyan put on a smile and walked towards the counter.

Seeing his appearance, Twelfth Madam Luo immediately launched into a tirade:

"Roll!"

Ding Songyan smiled ingratiatingly, still leaning closer, and asked in a low voice:

"Twelfth Madam, is there any way to deceive the diviners of heaven?"