stjorthotic Chapter 70 Petty Scoundrels
Chapter 70 Petty Scoundrels
Chen Luo understood Pharmacist Xu's concerns, "Thank you for your concern, Pharmacist. I understand."
"It's good that you understand."
Pharmacist Xu nodded, returned the book and medicine to him, and continued, "Although you are short five pills of this Nourishing Spirit Pill, do not go to Hu Qiu to ask for them again, lest you be tricked by that scoundrel again. If you run out of these Nourishing Spirit Pills, just come to me for more."
"Thank you, Pharmacist." Chen Luo asked curiously, "What about the Harmony Pill?"
Pharmacist Xu smiled and said, "According to the rules, one of these two bottles of pills is provided every two months. However, the cost of the Nourishing Spirit Pill is quite low, so it's no problem for me to refine some for you separately."
"But the Harmony Pill is different. This medicine is not only extremely valuable, but it is also strictly controlled by the Qingyun Martial Arts School. It can only be distributed through the school's quota, and I have no right to refine more for you."
Chen Luo pondered, "To practice the 'Zhou Tian Tian Jin' (Inner Strength of the Zhou Dynasty), one must take the He Qi Dan (Harmony Pill). If that's the case, wouldn't a master of the Nine Yang Strength who wants to enter the Inner Realm only be able to come to the Qingyun Martial Arts School?"
"That's right. Qingyun Martial Arts Academy belongs to the Martial Selection Division. The Martial Selection Division firmly controls the path to advancement to the Inner Realm by monopolizing the Qi Pill. It registers all the newly promoted Inner Realm martial artists in Dalin in order to manage each Inner Realm martial artist."
After thinking for a moment, Pharmacist Xu said, "You can think of this as a household registration system for Inner Realm martial artists."
"I see." Chen Luo said, understanding dawning on him.
"So Hu Qiu might not have explained something to you."
Pharmacist Xu said sternly, "The Harmony Pill concerns the inner realm and must never be taken out of the Qingyun Martial Arts School without permission. Otherwise, the punishment will be extremely severe. Do you understand?"
"This disciple understands," Chen Luo replied sternly.
That's good.
Pharmacist Xu nodded, then pondered for a moment, "You can stay at that residence for one day. Tomorrow I will arrange for you to stay near the pharmacy. With me here, no one should bother or harm you anymore."
"Thank you, Pharmacist."
Chen Luo thanked him sincerely. He could sense that the reason why Pharmacist Xu was helping him so much was not just because of his relationship with Principal Huang; otherwise, he would not have been so meticulous and thoughtful.
He then chatted with Pharmacist Xu for a while, and after getting a better understanding of the situation, he thanked him and took his leave, departing from the pharmacy.
Back to the Seven-Character Courtyard in the north.
After entering the courtyard and the side room, he laid out the pills and books on the table.
He then picked up the scroll of the Heart Sutra of Cessation and Contemplation, his eyes filled with contemplation.
According to Pharmacist Xu's instructions.
The source of the heart is hidden in the heart orifice, which in turn is deeply hidden in the physical body, ethereal and indescribable.
Even if one successfully glimpses the mind's essence once through the Heart Sutra of Cessation and Contemplation, the difficulty of glimpsing it again is the same as the first time.
In other words, the method of "Zhi Guan Miao Jian Xin Jing" does not involve "accumulation" or "proficiency".
To gain a second glimpse into the mind's essence, one must start from scratch and relearn the Heart Sutra of Samatha-Vipassana.
That's how it is for others.
Chen Luo pondered, "But I have a permanent proof: if I can bind this Heart Sutra of Samatha-Vipassana to the progress panel, then it seems there will be no need to relearn it."
"Once I can glimpse the mind's core, because it's a permanent proof, the progress value is fixed, and I can glimpse it every time afterward, so there's no worry about having to start over."
His gaze was intense.
If that were truly the case, he could completely ignore the drawbacks of first practicing the "Heart Sutra of Samatha-Vipassana".
Instead, following Hu Qiu's advice, he first cultivated this Heart Sutra, thus gaining insight into the Heart Aperture; then he practiced the "Internal Energy of the Zhou Dynasty" to break through the Heart Aperture with internal energy.
After all, Pharmacist Xu had confirmed Hu Qiu's statement: the "Internal Strength of the Zhou Dynasty" and the "Heart Sutra of Cessation and Contemplation" were indeed incompatible. If one were to cultivate the "Internal Strength of the Zhou Dynasty" first, one would need to expend a great deal of energy to calm the mind and cultivate one's Qi before continuing to cultivate the Heart Sutra and perceive the mind's aperture.
His first practice of the "Heart Sutra of Cessation and Contemplation" undoubtedly greatly improved his cultivation efficiency, saving him a great deal of effort and making it easier to break through to the inner realm.
This will be a major advantage for him.
"Of course, this is on the premise that the Heart Sutra of Samatha-Vipassana can be bound to the progress panel."
"After all, this is a mental cultivation method, which may not belong to the category of martial arts. The progress panel seems to be only bound to martial arts."
Chen Luo thought for a moment, then put the Heart Sutra back in its original place without rushing to read it carefully.
It's not the time for cultivation yet; there are other important matters to attend to.
He took out a thin blue book from his pocket and carefully flipped through it.
This book has no name and is not a martial arts manual. It simply records all the rules of the Qingyun Martial Arts School. He had just obtained it from Pharmacist Xu.
—Knock knock knock.
Not long after, a knock came from outside the courtyard, followed by a greeting, "Brother Chen, are you there?"
The voice sounded unfamiliar, and Chen Luo left the room with a puzzled look, opening the courtyard gate.
The two men who arrived were dressed in silk outfits and looked young, about the same age as me. "Brother Chen, I am Cheng Yuling."
One of the men smiled kindly and introduced the person next to him, "This is Lu Cheng. We are both disciples of the martial arts school, just like Brother Chen, but we arrived more than half a year earlier than Brother Chen."
"Furthermore, I, Cheng, have also received instruction from Instructor Li at Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy. If Brother Chen does not mind, you may call me Senior Brother in the future."
Lu Cheng, who was next to him, also nodded in a friendly manner to Chen Luo.
Chen Luo glanced at the two men. He had heard Hu Qiu mention them before; they lived in the first and second courtyards, respectively.
But I also remember Hu Qiu saying that, in order to avoid interfering with each other's training, the registered disciples of the martial arts school are generally not allowed to interact with each other.
Chen Luo didn't understand why they had come, but he still invited them into the courtyard. After they were seated, he asked, "What brings you two here?"
"That's right, Junior Brother Chen."
The two men were clearly led by Cheng Yuling, and he subtly addressed Chen Luo as "Junior Brother." He smiled and said, "I heard that Junior Brother Chen comes from a poor family, so I won't beat around the bush with you. Let's speak frankly."
"Junior brother, are you aware of the time limit for us nominal disciples to train at the Qingyun Martial Arts Academy?"
Chen Luo glanced at him. "One year."
"good."
Cheng Yuling said, "If someone fails to enter the inner realm within a year, they will be stripped of their status as a disciple of the martial arts school and must leave the school."
"But as Brother Chen probably knows, entering the Inner Realm is no easy feat. Of the registered disciples of Qingyun Martial Arts School over the years, only one in ten has managed to enter the Inner Realm. Furthermore, Qingshan County has not produced a new Inner Realm disciple for eight consecutive years."
"For example, me."
At this point, Cheng Yuling gave a self-deprecating smile, "To be honest, Junior Brother Chen, before I joined Qingyun Martial Arts School, I was also praised for my outstanding talent. At that time, I was quite successful and full of vigor."
"But it wasn't until I came to Qingyun Martial Arts School that I realized how difficult it is to enter the inner realm. I was just an ordinary person. I've been here for more than half a year and still can't grasp the secrets of the inner realm. Now I've given up hope of entering the inner realm. It's highly likely that I'll never be able to enter the inner realm in this lifetime."
Lu Cheng also sighed, "Actually, I am just like Senior Brother Cheng. Before entering the martial arts school, I was so successful and glamorous. But after coming to Qingyun Martial Arts School, I realized how difficult the path of martial arts is. I was just a frog in a well."
"You two don't need to belittle yourselves," Chen Luo said calmly.
"It's not that I'm being stingy."
Cheng Yuling smiled. "I just wanted to tell Brother Chen that the path of martial arts is arduous, and the chance of reaching the Inner Realm is slim. Before you're certain you can reach the Inner Realm, you should make plans early and find a way out for yourself. Even if you don't reach the Inner Realm, you won't have lived a wasted life. What do you think, Junior Brother Chen?"
"An escape route?" Chen Luo raised an eyebrow.
"That's right." Cheng Yuling nodded. "We came here to invite Junior Brother Chen to join our Qingyun Clan."
"The Qingyun Clan?"
"The Qingyun Clan is an alliance formed by the nominal disciples of the Qingyun Martial Arts School who are ineligible for the Inner Realm."
Cheng Yuling smiled and said, "All the members of the Qingyun Clan have mastered the Nine Yang Strength and were once disciples of the Qingyun Martial Arts School. Brother Lu and I were also among them."
"To be honest, Junior Brother Chen, our Qingyun Clan has gathered more than half of the Nine Yang Strength Grandmasters in Qingshan County. Our network of connections covers the entire county, from the county government to private schools, and even in the upper counties. We help each other and possess nearly half of Qingshan County's wealth, real estate, and martial arts resources. These resources are all fairly distributed among us."
As Cheng Yuling spoke, he leaned forward slightly, "It's no exaggeration to say that our Qingyun Clan controls half of Qingshan County."
"..."
Chen Luo looked at him for a moment, then his tone softened, "What about half of Qingshan County?"
"Naturally, it's controlled by those Inner Realm experts." Cheng Yuling said frankly, "The Mountain Guard has several commanders, Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy has Li Shen, and Qingyun Martial Arts School has five Inner Realm experts. These are forces that we Qingyun people can't touch."
As he spoke, he changed the subject, "But the foundation of our Qingyun Clan is no weaker than those forces."
"They control 70% of the martial arts resources in Qingshan County, while we, the Qingyun Clan, control 30%."
"Of the real estate and wealth in Qingshan County, the Qingyun Clan owns a full 60%!"
Cheng Yuling said in a loud voice, with the corners of his mouth turned up, "Junior Brother Chen, if you join our Qingyun Clan now, and if you enter the Inner Realm in the future, you will naturally be an honored guest of our Qingyun Clan, and also our reliance. We are currently lacking an Inner Realm expert. If you join us, we might be able to rival the Mountain Guard and Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy, and together control the entire Qingshan County."
"But even if you fail to enter the inner realm, as our followers, you can still enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor, and even have descendants, establish a clan and gain prestige."
Cheng Yuling looked at Chen Luo expectantly, "What does Junior Brother Chen think?"
After listening to his impassioned speech, Chen Luo did not respond to his expectations, but simply said, "Recently, in addition to me, four other disciples have entered the inner realm."
Cheng Yuling sighed, "Lin Lu has Master Lin behind him, Hu Zilan has the Mountain Guard behind her, and Gu Youcai is said to be as close as father and son with Headmaster Huang of Licheng Martial Arts Academy. Naturally, they would disdain to associate with us."
Chen Luo asked, "What about Song Ruokui?"
"Song Ruokui is quite arrogant. She closed the courtyard gate before we could finish speaking."
Lu Cheng sneered, "She had better be able to enter the Inner Realm. If she can't, my Qingyun Clan will make sure she has nowhere to stay in Qingshan County!"
Chen Luo glanced at Lu Cheng, knowing that while the other man's words seemed to be directed at Song Ruokui, they were actually a subtle dig at him as well.
But he still shook his head and said calmly, "I have no interest in this. Please leave."
Cheng Yuling and Lu Cheng exchanged a glance. Lu Cheng said, "Brother Chen, no one can guarantee 100% that they can enter the inner realm. Why not find a way out for yourself? This is a win-win situation."
"All benefits and no harm?"
Chen Luo looked directly at Cheng Yuling and said calmly, "You say you come from the Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy, so you must understand that the academy exists to break the monopoly on martial arts and give children from poor families an opportunity to learn. You have received this favor and mastered the Nine Yang Strength, yet instead of striving for further progress in martial arts, you are thinking of forming cliques and attempting to monopolize the art. Such behavior is no different from crossing the river and then destroying the bridge. It may be entirely beneficial to you, but it will be entirely detrimental to the other children from poor families in Qingshan County."
Cheng Yuling's face grew increasingly grim as he listened. "What a fine example of 'crossing the river and then burning the bridge'! Everyone looks out for themselves, and heaven and earth will punish them. I never expected Brother Chen to be such a man of principle. You'd better keep it up forever!"
At this point, the two realized that the conversation had broken down, and immediately left with grim faces.
Watching the two figures leave, Chen Luo sneered, "What Qingyun Clan? They call themselves Qingyun Martial Arts School, but they are nothing but a bunch of bloodsucking maggots. I really don't know where you get the nerve to talk about being on par with the likes of the Mountain Guard and Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy."
His voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't too quiet either, so the two of them weren't worried about hearing him. Cheng Yuling and Lu Cheng stopped in their tracks, abruptly turning around to look at Chen Luo. They were furious, but forcibly suppressed their anger, their eyes flashing with cold light. "Chen Luo, the path of martial arts is difficult, and the inner realm is even harder to reach. You'd better take care of yourself!"