Don't Call Me Master

"Master Dong!"

Don't call me Master!

"Erudite Dong!"

Don't call me Doctor!

"Do you still want me to use my Supreme Purity True Technique to heal you?!"

Misfortune strikes when you're sitting at home.

With Dong Zhongshu's skill, he could easily dodge long-range arrows, let alone a stone.

The problem was that Dong Zhongshu misjudged the stone as a visiting card thrown by a student who had arrived early.

Nowadays, visiting cards are mostly in bamboo tubes, often in five- or ten-section bamboo slips. These things, when lightly tossed or dropped, would not have affected Dong Zhongshu much. However, Dong Zhongshu's head could not withstand the impact of the falling stone. By the time he realized what was happening, his hands, feet, and mind were already somewhat unable to react.

He let out a muffled groan.

"Save me," Dong Zhongshu groaned.

"Look at you, it's just a rock hitting your head. With my skills, what are you afraid of? Even if it breaks through your skin, I'll still save you!"

"It hurts!"

Although the Supreme Purity True Technique cannot cure all ailments and fully restore one to their previous state, it is far better than being injured.

With a single Technique Method, Dong Zhongshu stopped Zhang Xuezhou from continuing his magic, allowing the scar on his head to slowly heal.

He scratched his head and pointed to the mountain of visiting cards piled up in the courtyard, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou should help tidy them up. Ordinary visiting cards should be set aside, while important visiting cards involving relevant matters should be handed over to him for handling.

He had been away for over a year, and with the current trend of visiting cards ranging in size from a small bowl to as thick as an arm, his courtyard was now overflowing with them, some even scattered everywhere.

"You can just hire two day laborers to do this," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "Besides, I'm going to sleep tonight. Preparing a nice room for me here is the real priority!"

"You... Ugh, you're giving me a headache!"

Dong Zhongshu pointed at Zhang Xuezhou. His lips trembled a few times, but after a few seconds, the Dong Zhongshu stopped, and he felt much better.

Where did you get such good stuff?

As Zhang Xuezhou took out a thick cloth scroll from his pouch, and Dong Zhongshu saw the ancient characters 'Huangsha Sect Secret Scroll, Huangsha Technique' on it, he couldn't help but gasp slightly.

The scroll of techniques in Zhang Xuezhou's hands was quite heavy.

This is roughly equivalent to acquiring the Yin-Yang School's Shadow Puppet Technique, or obtaining the Vertical or Horizontal Sword of the School of Diplomacy.

Although the Huangsha School is far inferior to the Yin-Yang School and the School of Diplomacy, this is still a comparison.

This technique belongs to the important techniques of the Huangsha Sect.

In desert and shifting sand areas, few schools of thought can rival this sect, making the Yellow Sand Sect a king-level sect in desert regions.

The sandstorm technique has various limitations in normal land areas, but when used at the right time and place, it can obviously be very effective.

For Dong Zhongshu, encountering such a profound technique was undoubtedly a fortunate event.

The Confucian School's favorite activity is learning various skills, especially useful ones.

The technique of using yellow sand undoubtedly falls into this category.

"How about it?" Zhang Xuezhou said smugly, "I always think of you whenever something good happens!"

"This technique is excellent!"

Dong Zhongshu made his assessment without hesitation.

If even a sect's most treasured technique isn't up to par, then they have no other techniques to offer.

Moreover, the "Yellow Sand Sect Secret Scroll Yellow Sand Technique" contains progressively advanced techniques such as wind-blown sand, yellow sand entangling the body, and sand transformation. It is not just a single technique and is suitable for cultivators at low, medium, and high levels.

"Let's discuss this together. I'm really into academics now. Do you think I can learn the techniques of the Huangsha Sect?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

Zhang Xuezhou doesn't just like to make contributions when he has nothing better to do.

Firstly, it was quite difficult for him to study these unfamiliar techniques, and it was far better to learn from someone who had figured them out.

Secondly, his work-rest schedule is irregular; he's always busy with one thing and another, making it difficult for him to concentrate on his studies.

But Zhang Xuezhou loves learning. He adapts well to exam-oriented education and enjoys being taught in a cramming style so that he can learn it thoroughly.

That's the gist of it. It's far better to let others figure it out and then learn from it than to keep it all to himself.

Of all the skills Zhang Xuezhou learned, almost every one of them originated in this way.

Finding the fastest and easiest way to learn has clearly become his most habitual behavior.

"Did you steal this magic? Find it? Dig it up from a grave? Or...?"

Zhang Xuezhou was extremely generous, which touched Dong Zhongshu somewhat. He couldn't help but ask Zhang Xuezhou about his affairs to avoid future trouble.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems later, absolutely none," Zhang Xuezhou assured him, patting his chest. "This was obtained through a legitimate and legal transaction. Everyone was giving their best, so it's a normal exchange and there won't be any disputes later!"

"That's good!"

Dong Zhongshu nodded.

Zhang Xuezhou was as reliable as ever, which reassured him as he opened the secret scroll of the Yellow Sand Sect, the Yellow Sand Technique.

Zhang Xuezhou then whispered to Rong Tianding for a while.

The most important thing in the world of martial arts is to survive. Zhang Xuezhou can run and fly, and his survival skills are quite good, but Rong Tianding is penniless and could easily die if he is not careful.

Correspondingly, the Vajra Talisman he obtained from the new emperor was handed over very quickly.

With Rong Tianding's cultivation level, even if he causes trouble, he won't offend cultivators at the Sole Self Realm or True Self Realm. A Vajra Talisman is enough to protect his life for a long time, and he doesn't need to worry about losing his life one day while cultivating.

Zhang Xuezhou instructed him on the method of using the Vajra Talisman, along with the corresponding incantation.

"Don't worry, cousin, I'm always quicker with my mouth than my hands. I'll definitely make good use of this treasure!"

Having drawn countless pig's blood talismans, this was the first time Rong Tianding had ever seen a real talisman, let alone a top-tier one.

This delighted him.

Clearly, he preferred talismans to learning the Southern Bright Fire technique.

It wasn't until Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that talisman making, alchemy, and formations were the three most extravagant skills only the wealthy could learn that Rong Tianding had to temporarily put his mind on the matter.

"Talismans are so useful, yet they cost so much money... What a pity!"

Talismans are easy to cast and powerful, but their only drawback is their high cost. Otherwise, if everyone had several talismans, they would all be fighting with them.

Offering a scroll of the Crescent Moon Blade Manual in exchange for a Vajra Talisman sounds like a bad deal, but saving one's life is more worthwhile than anything else, and in terms of value, the Vajra Talisman is even slightly superior.

This certainly requires top-tier human and financial resources to manufacture.

The fact that it could be placed on the new emperor for self-defense speaks volumes about its top-tier quality.

Zhang Xuezhou explained the relevant information to Rong Tianding in a low voice until an "Ah!" was heard, at which point the two stopped talking.

"Poison... it's poisonous!"

Looking over, Zhang Xuezhou saw that Dong Zhongshu, who had been happily flipping through the secret scrolls of the Yellow Sand Sect, the Yellow Sand Technique, had turned ashen-faced, his mouth swollen like a sausage, and his fingers deathly pale.

He hurriedly stuffed the pill into his mouth, then spat out a mouthful of grains that felt like yellow sand.

"Master Dong!"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise.

Don't call me Master!

Dong Zhongshu pointed tremblingly at Zhang Xuezhou, then quickly made a hand gesture with his fingers, and muttered a chant. After exhaling a breath of yellow smoke, Dong Zhongshu complexion returned to normal slightly.

He's been cursed today. He was hit by a rock by Zhang Xuezhou, and then he was poisoned by the secret manual that Zhang Xuezhou pulled out.

This poison was difficult to detect, and by the time Dong Zhongshu discovered it, the poisoning was already severe.

If he hadn't possessed elixirs, detoxification techniques, and hadn't already reached the Sole Self Realm of Cultivation, he would have died in this courtyard today.

Dong Zhongshu's expression shifted as he pondered the underlying issues.

If it's not because he's incredibly unlucky, then it's because Zhang Xuezhou is now universally disliked and plagued by bad luck, which is affecting people with generally poor fortune.