Legend of the Cultivation God

Inner energy

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua joyful and fell into a daze, Ou Yan smiled and said, “That’s right, Zhang Xiaohua. My elder brother’s words are as sturdy as nine cauldrons, he will definitely fulfil whatever you ask of him.”

Zhang Xiaohua glanced at Ou Yan before turning to Ou Peng and said, “In that case, I will say it out now.”

Ou Peng nodded and said, “Mm, just say it, I will definitely fulfil your wish.”

Zhang Xiaohua did not pretend to be modest, he said, “Mm, then I would like sect master Ou to allow my second brother Zhang Xiaohu to enter Piaomiao sect as an official disciple.”

“Ah?!” Ou Peng was very puzzled.

“Ai!?” Ou Yan was also surprised.

“Wa!?” Everyone else also yelped out.

“Daang” He Tianshu fell onto the floor.

When Zhang Xiaohua saw Ou Peng’s puzzled expression, he hurriedly explained, “My second brother’s aptitude is really good. Even though he is slightly old, he is still quite awesome and has even become a delivery hand in Lotus escort. In the past, he only trained in the sixth fist and could compete with other experienced bodyguards in the station. Now, he has learnt inner energy so he has definitely become more awesome. Sect master Ou, pretty please, please accept my second brother as a disciple.”

Ou Peng did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw Zhang Xiaohua acting cute, he asked, “Haven’t you thought of entering Piaomiao sect instead? You have to think carefully; you will not have the chance to become a Piaomiao disciple once your second brother becomes one.”

Zhang Xiaohua replied insistently, “I have thought of it before, but I still feel that my second brother is more suitable. Furthermore, my second brother is always out on jobs and his life is always in peril, so having good martial art skills is a must for him. Hence, I am willing to give this chance to my second brother even though I want to be a Piaomiao sect disciple.”

Ou Peng’s expression changed slightly when he heard this, he turned his head and glanced at Ou Yan. Ou Yan’s face was also full of emotion and surprise, wasn’t this the same scene as when Ou Peng became his master’s disciple? Except that Ou Peng is now Zhang Xiaohua and Ou Yan has become Zhang Xiaohu.

Ou Yan and Ou Peng exchanged glances, and Ou Yan nodded slightly.

Ou Peng smiled and said to Zhang Xiaohua, “Since I have already made a promise, I will fulfil this wish you have made. Chengyue.”

Zhang Chengyue who was standing at a side hurriedly replied, “Disciple is here.”

Ou Peng instructed, “Send someone to bring Zhang Xiaohu over.”

Zhang Chengyue turned around and left the hall as instructed.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua sighed out deeply. Sect master Ou was indeed a reliable person.

Ou Peng saw his expression so he smiled and said, “Zhang Xiaohua, don’t worry. Since I said that I will accept your second brother as a Piaomiao sect disciple, I will definitely enable it to happen and will find your second brother a master once he arrives.”

Zhang Xiaohua was thrilled, he bowed enthusiastically and said, “Many thanks for sect master Ou’s help.”

Ou Peng replied modestly, “This chance has been given to your second brother so I will not accept you into my sect anymore.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said, “Thanks sect master for his reminder, but I am well aware that my aptitude is poor so entering Piaomiao sect will only bring you disgrace. I am better off learning to plant herbs.”

At that moment, Ou Yan interrupted as she said, “Zhang Xiaohua, by giving up your chance for your second brother, I would count your act of saving my life as repaid. However, do you remember what I promised you that night before the assault?”

Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes gleamed brightly when he heard this, he said in disbelief, “Is this true? Elder sister Ou, those words still count?”

Caught up in his joy, Zhang Xiaohua actually called Ou Yan as his elder sister in the discussion hall.

Ou Yan said to Ou Peng, “Elder brother, do you remember me telling you that when I saw Zhang Xiaohua practicing his martial arts diligently, I promised to ask you to let him learn an inner energy cultivation method from Piaomiao sect. Do you think…”

Ou Peng naturally knew about this matter, wasn’t it because of repaying his act of courage that they changed this wish to entering the Piaomiao sect? Since Ou Yan brought this up again, she obviously wanted to fulfil Zhang Xiaohua’s personal wish so how could Ou Peng reject her request?

When he saw He Tianshu who was still standing at his spot, his eyes rolled and he said, “Since Yan’er has such an intention, I shall be slightly more generous today.”

He turned his head to Zhang Xiaohua and said, “Since there was such a promise, how about this, Zhang Xiaohua. I shall be more open today, you can go to the secret book repository to pick an inner energy cultivation method and I will let a disciple from within the sect to guide you in it, alright?”

An extremely large biscuit just fell right on Zhang Xiaohua’s head!

Zhang Xiaohua was so happy that he floated into space, he stared dazedly at Ou Peng and asked the latter to repeat this words, “Is this true?”

Ou Peng smiled and asked, “Of course, why will it not be true?”

He raised his hand casually and said to Zhang Chengyue who just returned from outside, “Chengyue, bring Zhang Xiaohua to the secret book repository and let him pick any of the inner energy cultivation method.”

Zhang Chengyue followed his instructions and led Zhang Xiaohua who was still in disbelief at the entire situation out of the discussion hall.

The secret book repository was very close to the discussion hall so the two reached its entrance not long after. The secret book repository was marked with the single word “repository” and was naturally a separate building of its own. Zhang Xiaohua followed Zhang Chengyue to a building that had three levels and was tightly closed off. Looking at the black background and gold worded signboard, Zhang Xiaohua felt overwhelmed as if a long awaited wish was very soon going to be fulfilled.

Zhang Chengyue saw Zhang Xiaohua’s excited expression and he said amiably, “Zhang Xiaohua, here is the secret book repository. There are three floors in total, the first contains common martial arts in Jianghu including fist martial arts, kick martial arts, sword martial arts, inner energy cultivation arts, et cetera. The second floor contains things exclusive to our Piaomiao sect, while the third floor contains the top secret manuals from Piaomiao sect and other sects. Since the sect master has allowed you to pick any inner energy cultivation method, I believe there is no restricted area where you are forbidden to access. You can take a look at the third floor, but I highly advise you to choose an inner energy cultivation method from the second floor instead. The martial arts on the third floor can only be learnt by top talents in Jianghu, whereas I have heard from villa master Ou that your ability is limited. If you picked an inner energy cultivation method from the top floor, you might only end up wasting your time and not learning anything. Since the sect master has offered to pick a disciple to guide you, I believe that he wants you to learn an inner energy cultivation method that is unique to Piaomiao sect, and this is also a representation of the deep love he has for you. Alright, I won’t be entering the library with you, just take the book out and let the disciple at the door record its title and they will naturally help you tidy up the following procedures.”

After finishing his sentence, he stood at the door himself and motioned Zhang Xiaohua to enter. Zhang Xiaohua looked at the entrance of the secret book repository and then at Zhang Chengyue, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then I shall go in now.”

Zhang Chengyue smiled at Zhang Xiaohua and said, “Hurry and go in, I will be out here waiting for you.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled back and his steps became larger as he rushed inside leaving a smiling Zhang Chengyue who waited for him at the door.

When Zhang Xiaohua entered the secret book repository, he first saw an elderly disciple sitting with his head pointed down in a small room behind the door. In front of him was a long strip of record with many words on it, so presumably, he was the record keeper in the library. Zhang Xiaohua slowed his footsteps and upon seeing that the other party had ignored him, he hurriedly entered inside the next room.

The room inside was spacious with many bookshelves placed inside. The shelves were filled with books, and upon a closer inspection, Zhang Xiaohua noticed that each shelf would be labelled, such as “fist martial arts”, “sword martial arts”, “inner energy”, et cetera. After walking to the front of the shelves labelled as “inner energy”, Zhang Xiaohua could not help but let out a cold sigh at the number of manuals categorized as such. There were at least a few thousand books and perhaps even more than ten thousand of them. Zhang Xiaohua felt overwhelmed, he had tried to find such books using all sorts of tricks and methods yet there were so many of these previous books in abundance in Piaomiao sect’s secret book repository. Zhang Xiaohua immediately wanted to go forward to browse through them, but he stopped himself when he recalled Zhang Chengyue’s words, what were these inner energy cultivation methods worth? They were simply common techniques in Jianghu but now that he has an opportunity to enter a treasure mountain, how could he be satisfied leaving with just one of them?

Hence, Zhang Xiaohua regained him composure and looked around, he saw a wooden stair that led upwards along the wall from afar.

Zhang Xiaohua did not stop browsing through the shelves filled with secret martial art manuals until he reached the stairs. When he walked up, Zhang Xiaohua realized that the second floor was much smaller than the first and the shelves were evidently lower. However, the quality of the books was obviously higher as they were arranged in a systematic order, and there was no grime or dust on any of them which showed how well they were taken care of regularly.

There were still labels on the shelves so Zhang Xiaohua took his time to search through them. Finally, he found the shelf where inner energy cultivation methods were kept. The shelf was about the height of a person and was split into three levels. However, the length of the shelf was very long and on a closer inspection, it accommodated were not more than a thousand plus manuals. Faced with such treasure, Zhang Xiaohua felt like his head was split into two, which book should he pick then?

Zhang Xiaohua started to study each manual’s name one by one. What a joke, Zhang Xiaohua had never seen what an inner energy cultivation method looks like so he could only read their names. Actually, people are like as such. If there was only one manual in front of him that day, Zhang Xiaohua would pick it without hesitation. However, given such a variety of choices, Zhang Xiaohua naturally felt blinded and at a loss of which book to pick. He asked himself continuously as he slowly lost his calm bearings.

Thanks to his brain which was enlightened with “Words explanation”, Zhang Xiaohua could read the names of the thousand manuals until he felt slightly dizzy. The undecided Zhang Xiaohua was about to read through all the names again when he suddenly realized, why was he being so foolish? Any of the books here was enough for a normal person on Jianghu to try his hardest to obtain it so why did he have to pick the best among them? Any random one would be fine.

Hence, he laughed silently at himself and extended his hand casually to take the book in front of him when the corner of his eyes strayed to the flight of stairs that led to the third floor. A thought involuntarily sprung within Zhang Xiaohua’s mind, since the inner energy cultivation methods on the second floor were unique to Piaomiao sect, then what would the inner energy cultivation methods that were top-tiered in Jianghu look like in the third floor?

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat and with such a thought in his mind, Zhang Xiaohua could not control his curiosity as he walked up the stairs which led to the next floor.

Without saying, the third floor room was even smaller than the room on the second floor, and the number of bookshelves was naturally fewer. Each shelf only has one level and there were all kinds of manuals placed on them. Some were made of common paper, others were leather bounded and their sight made Zhang Xiaohua feel slightly surprised.

There were not many books in the third floor so Zhang Xiaohua did not filter the shelves from their labels as he looked though each and every book. Some of the names sounded mysterious, some sounded ordinary, but any of them would create a huge uproar when placed among the people in Jianghu. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiaohua was unable to appreciate their value so it was like playing a flute to a cow.

Zhang Xiaohua had a visual treat on the third floor but he also knew that none of the manuals inside was suitable for him. He was naturally mindful of Zhang Chengyue’s advice, reading these books would only waste his practice time. As the saying goes, if one is too greedy, a snake will try to swallow an elephant. Zhang Xiaohua would firmly remember this logic in his mind.

After having his fill of excitement, Zhang Xiaohua was about to walk back when his eyes suddenly laid sight on a square table beside a shelf. There was a normal looking box placed on the table. Zhang Xiaohua was surprised, what kind of fun would this bring? Looking at his surroundings, there were no other similar boxes, could this box contain an inner energy cultivation method? Or perhaps some sword martial art manual?

Zhang Xiaohua picked the box up very naturally.

At the exact same moment in Pingyang city, Lotus escort station.

Everyone was surprised when they heard that a Piaomiao sect disciple was looking for Zhang Xiaohu and they turned their gaze towards the latter who was stunned on the spot.

When the Piaomiao disciple who was formally dressed in the sect’s attire walked to his front, Zhang Xiaohu finally woke up from his daydream and bowed hurriedly, he said, “This humble person is Zhang Xiaohu, how may I help you?”

The Piaomiao sect disciple’s response was warm and polite, he smiled and said, “I am not sure of the exact business, but I am under my senior brother’s instructions to invite you back. According to him, our sect master Ou had asked for you personally.”

When Zhang Xiaohu whose head was covered with fog heard this, he became even more stumped. While he did not know who the senior brother was, how could he not recognize the address of sect master Ou? This was someone he would not even dare to dream of meeting, yet why was the other party looking for him? Seeing the wooden chicken-like Zhang Xiaohu still hesitating, Qiu Tong who was standing in front of him become anxious so she said, “Zhang Xiaohu, no matter what it is for, you should hurry over since the sect master wishes to see you. Won’t you know his motive after you see him personally?”

Zhang Xiaohu woke up from his daydream, he nodded his head like a chick pecking on rice and voiced his agreement before following the disciple, walking out of the courtyard, mounting a horse and heading off towards Piaomiao sect.

Everyone came to their senses after the two people left into the distance, fourth master Wen smiled obligingly towards Qiu Tong and said, “Lady Qiu Tong, why must you settle this matter like this? Our Lotus escort and Huanxi mountain villa are all part of the same whole, and we have known each other for many years, you doing this is making things harder for me.”

Qiu Tong smiled and said, “Fourth master does not have to feel guilty, our Huanxi mountain villa is always impartial in the matters we handle. Our young mistress is indeed angry so I doubt we will retract the ten taels of silver so just do as you wish with them. With our long relationship, you don’t have to worry about the repercussions later.”

After finishing her sentence, she took her leave without saying anything else.

Fourth master looked on helplessly as Qiu Tong disappeared before flinging the ten taels of silver to station head Luo and scolded, “This is all because of you.”

After being embarrassed until his face turned ghostly white earlier on, station head Luo still caught the money nimbly and said in an innocent tone, “Fourth master, I was only following the rules, who knew that things would turn out this way?”

Fourth master Wen’s face turned green from his anger and he pointed at station head Luo while bellowing, “You think I wouldn’t know what your intentions are? If not for Zhang Xiaohu doing his job better while being your deputy, and him being a delivery hand now with a good chance of being promoted in the future, would you do all these to secure your position and influence?”

Station head Luo protested, “Fourth master, the reason why I acted so competitively was also because you nurtured me this way.”

“Puh!” Fourth master Wen spat on the floor and said, “You still have the cheek to talk like this. You better apologize to Zhang Xiaohu when he returns later. Everything will be good if he accepts your apology, but if he doesn’t, then just watch out for what will happen to you.”

After finishing his sentence, he ignored station head Luo and went back into his room.

After the show they were watching ended, the rest of the people shook their sleeves and returned to their respective rooms leaving behind station head Luo standing alone in his spot, with indistinguishable green and red on his face deep in his own thoughts.

Moving away from Zhang Xiaohu who hurried behind the Piaomiao disciple back to Piaomiao mountain villa, Zhang Xiaohua who was in the secret book repository picked up the ordinary looking box and tried to open it with his hands. However, the box did not open as he expected but remained unmoving. Zhang Xiaohua applied more force to no avail, so he changed to another corner and tried again with all his strength. Unfortunately, the box still lay on his hands without any trace of being opened. Zhang Xiaohua looked left and right, he grew angry and shouted in his heart, “I was only trying to see what is inside, just to see its name, why must you make it so difficult?”

He suddenly recalled something and took out his beloved small sword, placed the sword edge onto the box lid and pierced. However, the sword edge slid off leaving Zhang Xiaohua helpless as all his efforts came to naught.

Finally, Zhang Xiaohua lost all his patience. He switched to his left arm and thrust the sword into the box. Perhaps because of Zhang Xiaohua’s fluency with the sword martial art, a simple action created a stir in his body and with the angle and speed of his thrust, the flow appeared in his arm again and travelled down his left hand. As the sword contacted the box, the flow also reached the sword. With a “Pu” sound, Zhang Xiaohua thought suddenly, “Oh no, how did I spoil this box in my hastiness, what should I do? I’m in trouble!”