We're the protagonists' portable grandpas

It was the tenth day, and Zhang Qingyuan fulfilled his promise to preach the Dao to the Pure Yang disciples.

He called it preaching the Dao, but there was not much to preach. When he had said that ten days ago, he had meant to teach them some cultivation tricks.

But because of his bet with Brother Bao, they had squeezed his little store of knowledge dry over those ten days. By the time the day came, Zhang Qingyuan could only talk about something else: words of encouragement for their spirits.

Still, over those ten days, he had straightened out Yuan Heqing's thinking. Applause!

Yuan Heqing, eldest disciple of the Pure Yang Daoist Sect's second generation, was a personal disciple of the Pure Yang Daoist Chief.

Because he could never get his mindset right, his thinking had developed some extreme tendencies.

That had been clear from the day he eavesdropped on Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao discussing scriptures: he was desperate to reach heaven in a single bound.

Over those ten days, through a round of loving care and encouragement from Zhang Qingyuan, he finally understood what it meant to be a late bloomer.

In short, Zhang Qingyuan had made him understand just one principle.

There was nothing to fear in blooming late by following the proper steps; what was frightening was seeking shortcuts and falling into eternal ruin.

Since Chen Xugu had taken him as his eldest disciple and declared him the next Pure Yang Daoist Chief, that meant his ceiling was very high.

His ceiling was high, but he cultivated slowly. The more anxious he became, the slower he went.

He might as well calm down, maintain the right mindset, and proceed step by step. Eventually, he could become one of the greatest masters of his age.

So what if it took a little longer? The Pure Yang Daoist Sect was not merely a martial sect making its way in the jianghu. Cultivating the Dao was its main purpose.

After all, not everyone was Zhang Zhiwei from Under One Person or Zhang Junbao across the various planes, with a high ceiling and rapid cultivation, able to dominate from beginning to end.

Besides, it was not as though the Pure Yang Daoist Sect's standing in the jianghu had fallen so low that its next Daoist Chief needed to practice the Bixie Sword Manual to revive it.

As for Zhang Junbao, once he realized he was unsuited to teaching, he gave up completely.

He had come to terms with it. Nobody was perfect; everyone had things they were not good at.

Once they established their own Daoist sect, he would leave the teaching to Brother Yuan and enjoy some peace and quiet himself.

It was not that Zhang Junbao could not teach anyone. He simply did not understand how less intelligent people thought. Why could they not understand principles that seemed so simple to him?

If they were intelligent, they could understand what he said.

Both Alec Su's and Jet Li's versions of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber had a scene where Zhang Sanfeng taught Taiji Fist before a crowd of disciples and granddisciples.

He demonstrated the movements while explaining the essentials and philosophy of Tai Chi, yet among all those disciples, only the protagonist, Zhang Wuji, understood it after seeing it once.

His teaching philosophy was the same as that of other ancient masters: I will only explain it once. If you can learn it, you can learn it. If you cannot understand, your destined opportunity has not arrived.

What the hell did that have to do with destiny?

Every ancient profession was the same, whether carpentry, masonry, martial arts, or Daoist cultivation. Even worlds of immortal cultivation were like this.

They taught you once, and the rest depended entirely on self-study.

This was something Zhang Qingyuan had only figured out after thinking for several days. As a transmigrator, he always slipped into the habits of thought from his previous life, assuming ancient people also gave hands-on lessons.

Only later did he learn that ancient people were not that noble at all.

If you failed to remember after being taught once, that indicated one of two problems: either you were stupid and unsuited to the profession, or you were lazy and had not listened properly.

So Zhang Qingyuan felt he should model his approach on the teaching methods of his previous life and develop a set of teaching materials suited to this world.

Still, Zhang Junbao had not gained nothing over those ten days. Besides studying scriptures every day, he had found someone to keep him company.

It was Chen Xugu's fourth disciple, the Phoenix Sect's little princess!

That kid really had a mouth begging for trouble.

Having witnessed Zhang Junbao's teaching ability firsthand on the first day, he curled his big mouth and let loose a draft of chilly mockery.

"Ha! So the junior martial uncle from Taiqing Palace isn't much either. Good grief, I thought the man who wiped out the Wang Family Bank in Luoyang would be something special. But this is it? This?"

After that, Zhang Junbao forced him to remain at his side. Whatever scripture he read, the boy had to read too. If, after Zhang Junbao understood a passage, the boy had neither understood nor memorized it, that meant he was being perfunctory with his martial uncle.

Being perfunctory with his martial uncle meant disrespecting an elder, and disrespecting a teacher gave Zhang Junbao the right to punish him.

The young fellow was quite stubborn. He held out for three days before exploding.

Pointing at Zhang Junbao, he said angrily, "I'm only holding back because you're my senior! Otherwise, I'd have beaten you up ages ago!"

Zhang Junbao said, "You don't have to treat me as your martial uncle."

Zhao Nianzhi said, "You said it! Dare to fight me? Whoever wins gets to call the shots!"

"Sure, sure!"

In their first fight, Zhang Junbao thoroughly spanked his backside with his sword.

Zhao Nianzhi said, "You're only good with a sword! If you've got the guts, don't use it!"

"Sure, sure!"

In their second fight, Zhang Junbao thoroughly spanked his backside with Taiji Fist.

Zhao Nianzhi said, "You're only good at that fist technique! If you've got the guts, don't use your swordsmanship or your fist technique!"

"Sure, sure!"

In their third fight, Zhang Junbao thoroughly kicked his backside with the sole of his foot.

Zhao Nianzhi said, "..."

He submitted, surrendering completely beneath Zhang Junbao's benevolent love.

Both of them had gained a great deal over those ten days.

Last night, they had eaten a meal at their young sister-in-law's place, then said their farewells.

It was worth mentioning again that, throughout those ten days, Chen Xugu had not shown himself once except at last night's farewell dinner.

That fellow was afraid his two junior martial brothers would ask to spar again.

After the farewell dinner, he could no longer avoid showing his face.

Early the next morning,

A crowd of disciples came to see them off before the Pure Yang Palace's mountain gate.

Everyone else looked sad. Only Chen Xugu and his fourth disciple were beaming.

They were finally leaving!

The two descended the mountain, turning back three times with every step.

Only after walking more than ten li did their emotions settle.

They had gained a great deal from this visit to the Pure Yang Palace. Although Zhang Qingyuan had guided quite a few Pure Yang disciples, Third Martial Uncle had also shared plenty of jianghu experience with them.

Besides that, quite a few disciples had copied out Pure Yang scriptures for them and given them a hundred taels of silver for travel expenses.

When they arrived, they had carried only two small bundles. Once they descended the mountain, those bundles had grown five or six times larger.

They now had over thirty additional books, two Daoist robes, a hundred taels of silver, and plenty of dry provisions.

After descending the mountain, the two headed east. Their next destination was Central Province!

Zhang Qingyuan loudly sang a song from his previous life:

"The sword leaves its sheath, old grudges end, who laughs?

All I seek is this day, to draw you into my embrace.

At the inn of the mortal world, the wind cuts like a blade; sudden rain falls, destiny knocks..."

It had been less than two and a half years since he transmigrated, yet he had already blended completely into this society. Without occasionally humming songs from his previous life and using trendy expressions that existed only there, he would almost have forgotten he was a transmigrator.

To keep his head clear, humming songs and telling stories were quite necessary.

The two walked for two days, traveling more than a hundred li east without incident.

Who would dare plant their flag within the Pure Yang Daoist Sect's sphere of influence?

Once they traveled beyond those hundred-odd li, mountain bandits and other brigands gradually grew more numerous, as did the figures of jianghu outlaws.

In the jianghu, Netherworld City still held the top spot on the trending searches.

Apparently, even Shaolin had mobilized over the past few days to avenge their senior brothers from Jinshan Temple!

The other sects responded one after another, and quite a few lone heroes joined in as well.

Zhang Junbao asked, "Brother Yuan, with so much going on at Netherworld City, why don't we go take a look?"

Zhang Qingyuan shook his head. "No!"

"Why?"

His gaze profound, Zhang Qingyuan explained, "With all the trouble Netherworld City has stirred up, you can tell at a glance that it's a villainous faction destined to stand against the orthodox martial world of the Central Plains.

"And a faction like that won't see any major changes in the short term. For at least several decades, the orthodox martial world of the Central Plains won't be able to shake its position as overlord of the demonic path."

Zhang Junbao listened as though lost in clouds and mist. Broadly speaking, he understood: no one could destroy Netherworld City for several decades?

At that thought, he lost interest too.

Zhang Qingyuan snorted. "According to the clichéd plots of storybooks, when the male protagonist hears about such a grand occasion, he'll definitely go join the fun.

"Amid that excitement, the protagonist will experience a series of loves, hatreds, passions, and feuds. There's a ninety-percent chance he'll gain a fortuitous encounter that greatly boosts his martial power, along with a shameless romance."

Zhang Junbao thoroughly agreed, because he had read all the storybooks Brother Yuan had read, and they basically followed that formula.

As the saying went, art came from life but rose above it.

Zhang Junbao huffed. "I'm not taking part in such a clichéd plot!"

"Exactly. Does a protagonist have to join every commotion?

"We'll do the opposite and stay away."

Zhang Junbao looked at Zhang Qingyuan. "We're not those so-called protagonists anyway!"

Zhang Qingyuan nodded and said inwardly, We're the future protagonists' portable grandpas!