Finally going back out into the yard, Mei Chao Bing indeed didn’t lose any time and directly approached Elder Baili. “Still no sign of senior martial brother Zhi?”
Baili Chao could only sigh. “No. It seems that something went wrong.” His expression was solemn as he stared up at the sky.
He only had four disciples under him and Zhi Guan was the first one he had taken in. At that time, he had mostly felt pity for this young man who seemed to have completely lost his mind as a result of the war that cost his father’s life and forced him and his mother to a life on the road. He had taken him in since he could see that Zhi Guan had the aptitude and felt that life in the Teng Yong Sect should be better than whatever it was he currently had. It would also make it easier for his mother to find a better life for herself.
It was only later that he realized that Zhi Guan wasn’t crazy in the sense he originally thought. No, his mind was actually quite nimble. He had simply developed an obsession for the sword arts that caused him to pursue the ultimate peak of any skill he could get his hands on.
This kind of disciple was rather worry-free when it came to teaching them because you basically just needed to throw him a tome detailing sword skills or showcase a few you knew yourself and then he would figure out the rest himself.
On the other hand, it was a lot more worrisome than a regular disciple because you never knew what would happen if he saw an opportunity. A strong opponent? Oh, he’d want to fight to find out whether his strength could rival that person’s! Someone with dazzling sword skills? Yes, let’s compare notes as well! An old ruin with dangerous traps that was rumored to someday maybe having been the home of a sword cultivator? Naturally, he wanted to go in and look for any scrolls or jade slips that might have been left behind!
It had been one thing after the other with Zhi Guan and yet, he still always managed to return. Over the years, his knowledge of sword arts had really grown sizable. It was to the point where Baili Chao sometimes couldn’t help but sigh that it would have been better to make him become a disciple of a sect that was more focused on sword arts. Maybe there, his skills could have been sharpened further than in the Teng Yong Sect. But then, as his Master, he had always done his best to accommodate him no matter what kind of sect they were or what Zhi Guan’s goal was.
Now, such a trip that was only a preparatory stage for the actual plan might have taken his life. He really didn’t know how to feel about that. Of course, he didn’t want it to be true. He wanted him to come back. Even if he had ended up injured, it didn’t matter. They could put him back together as well as they could as long as he wasn’t dead.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but lament in his heart that it also wasn’t the way Zhi Guan should leave. No, when it came to his first disciple, he’d want to go out in one last, brilliant fight. Would he have had that among the treacherous demonic practitioners? It seemed unlikely. And if he was really stabbed in the back or only fell because he was ganged up on by a large group of people, Zhi Guan should have felt very upset at that time.
Elder Baili sighed again, retracted his gaze, and shook his head. Anyway, he didn’t know how things were going. Maybe it was nothing and those two would come back soon. If not … well, it also didn’t necessarily mean that he was dead. Zhi Guan was resourceful and experienced, after all. He wouldn’t go down that easily.
He tried not to think about it further and instead turned to Mei Chao Bing. “How is Fen’er doing? He isn’t giving the guardian any trouble, is he?”
Mei Chao Bing shook his head. “No, he seems to have a knack for learning these arrays.”
Baili Chao raised his brows. “Are we talking about my fourth disciple?”
Mei Chao Bing smiled faintly. “They’re the easy ones. Just repeat them and it’ll be enough.”
Actually, learning formations was hard. Next to refinement, it was one of the hardest paths in the cultivation world to master. The worst thing was that your comprehension ability needed to be incredibly high so yes, it was no wonder that Elder Baili had some doubts.
In this case though, Yun Bei Fen wasn’t attempting to really learn formations from the ground up and master the skills. No, he was just trying to keep a few simple formations in mind just like many other young disciples did as well as a means to protect themselves better while out there. The difficulty of this really couldn’t be called high.
Baili Chao nodded and then sighed. “I should have taught him these things when he was younger.” He turned to look at the door to the room where Yun Bei Fen was still practicing and felt uncomfortable in his heart. “Seeing him being taught by the red priest and the white jade, I can’t help but feel that I am a failure as a Master. These years, what have I really taught him? And now, look at how much progress he can actually make if somebody else steps up!”
Mei Chao Bing smiled faintly and shook his head. “Elder Baili is being too harsh on himself. Cultivation isn’t such a straightforward path. Sometimes, learning a skill isn’t the most important and sometimes, it isn’t the right moment yet. You taught Fen’er other things that were necessary at the time. Now, the moment has arrived for him to build on that foundation. Without it, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be here today. Not in the way we currently are.”
Finally going back out into the yard, Mei Chao Bing indeed didn’t lose any time and directly approached Elder Baili. “Still no sign of senior martial brother Zhi?”
Baili Chao could only sigh. “No. It seems that something went wrong.” His expression was solemn as he stared up at the sky.
He only had four disciples under him and Zhi Guan was the first one he had taken in. At that time, he had mostly felt pity for this young man who seemed to have completely lost his mind as a result of the war that cost his father’s life and forced him and his mother to a life on the road. He had taken him in since he could see that Zhi Guan had the aptitude and felt that life in the Teng Yong Sect should be better than whatever it was he currently had. It would also make it easier for his mother to find a better life for herself.
It was only later that he realized that Zhi Guan wasn’t crazy in the sense he originally thought. No, his mind was actually quite nimble. He had simply developed an obsession for the sword arts that caused him to pursue the ultimate peak of any skill he could get his hands on.
This kind of disciple was rather worry-free when it came to teaching them because you basically just needed to throw him a tome detailing sword skills or showcase a few you knew yourself and then he would figure out the rest himself.
On the other hand, it was a lot more worrisome than a regular disciple because you never knew what would happen if he saw an opportunity. A strong opponent? Oh, he’d want to fight to find out whether his strength could rival that person’s! Someone with dazzling sword skills? Yes, let’s compare notes as well! An old ruin with dangerous traps that was rumored to someday maybe having been the home of a sword cultivator? Naturally, he wanted to go in and look for any scrolls or jade slips that might have been left behind!
It had been one thing after the other with Zhi Guan and yet, he still always managed to return. Over the years, his knowledge of sword arts had really grown sizable. It was to the point where Baili Chao sometimes couldn’t help but sigh that it would have been better to make him become a disciple of a sect that was more focused on sword arts. Maybe there, his skills could have been sharpened further than in the Teng Yong Sect. But then, as his Master, he had always done his best to accommodate him no matter what kind of sect they were or what Zhi Guan’s goal was.
Now, such a trip that was only a preparatory stage for the actual plan might have taken his life. He really didn’t know how to feel about that. Of course, he didn’t want it to be true. He wanted him to come back. Even if he had ended up injured, it didn’t matter. They could put him back together as well as they could as long as he wasn’t dead.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but lament in his heart that it also wasn’t the way Zhi Guan should leave. No, when it came to his first disciple, he’d want to go out in one last, brilliant fight. Would he have had that among the treacherous demonic practitioners? It seemed unlikely. And if he was really stabbed in the back or only fell because he was ganged up on by a large group of people, Zhi Guan should have felt very upset at that time.
Elder Baili sighed again, retracted his gaze, and shook his head. Anyway, he didn’t know how things were going. Maybe it was nothing and those two would come back soon. If not … well, it also didn’t necessarily mean that he was dead. Zhi Guan was resourceful and experienced, after all. He wouldn’t go down that easily.
He tried not to think about it further and instead turned to Mei Chao Bing. “How is Fen’er doing? He isn’t giving the guardian any trouble, is he?”
Mei Chao Bing shook his head. “No, he seems to have a knack for learning these arrays.”
Baili Chao raised his brows. “Are we talking about my fourth disciple?”
Mei Chao Bing smiled faintly. “They’re the easy ones. Just repeat them and it’ll be enough.”
Actually, learning formations was hard. Next to refinement, it was one of the hardest paths in the cultivation world to master. The worst thing was that your comprehension ability needed to be incredibly high so yes, it was no wonder that Elder Baili had some doubts.
In this case though, Yun Bei Fen wasn’t attempting to really learn formations from the ground up and master the skills. No, he was just trying to keep a few simple formations in mind just like many other young disciples did as well as a means to protect themselves better while out there. The difficulty of this really couldn’t be called high.
Baili Chao nodded and then sighed. “I should have taught him these things when he was younger.” He turned to look at the door to the room where Yun Bei Fen was still practicing and felt uncomfortable in his heart. “Seeing him being taught by the red priest and the white jade, I can’t help but feel that I am a failure as a Master. These years, what have I really taught him? And now, look at how much progress he can actually make if somebody else steps up!”
Mei Chao Bing smiled faintly and shook his head. “Elder Baili is being too harsh on himself. Cultivation isn’t such a straightforward path. Sometimes, learning a skill isn’t the most important and sometimes, it isn’t the right moment yet. You taught Fen’er other things that were necessary at the time. Now, the moment has arrived for him to build on that foundation. Without it, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be here today. Not in the way we currently are.”
