Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 341 - 78: I Have Only One Question—If Your Answer Isn’t Good, You Can Retire

Chapter 341: Chapter 78: I Have Only One Question—If Your Answer Isn’t Good, You Can Retire

The race ended with the Li Family, led by Secretary B, returning triumphantly to the Divine Sword Tower, calmly waiting for the Shen Family to send an invitation.

Meanwhile, the youths of the Outer Courtyard had to bend down in the dismal gloom, picking up the pieces of their broken hearts from the ground.

This defeat, although not as shocking as the loss a month ago, struck a more fatal blow to morale. After experiencing a dismal defeat, and finally emerging with a hard-fought momentum, a result of 0.28 seconds dashed their hopes as if cutting a precious bud of hope in half, leaving them utterly wounded.

Long after the Li Family had departed, not one among the hundreds of youths in the Battle Array Map was willing to move, and no one even spoke a word. A sense of unprecedented confusion hung over everyone’s hearts.

What should be done next? In today’s race, everyone had worked together, seizing all favorable conditions, yet still failed to win. Perhaps it’s truly time to...

In the silence, Shen Herong was the first to speak.

"Today’s defeat is entirely my responsibility. As the Outer Courtyard instructor, I failed to provide you with proper guidance, resulting in our inferior performance during the race. At this point, I am unworthy of my position as an instructor and will submit my resignation to the Lord City Lord tomorrow."

His words quickly drew opposition from the students, breaking the silence outside the racecourse with a bit of liveliness.

"Instructor, what are you saying? How could all responsibility fall on you?"

"You’ve done great; it’s us who weren’t strong enough and brought disgrace to the family..."

"Instructor, don’t belittle yourself. Even though we’ve all disliked you over the years, especially with that scarred face of yours that really annoys us... none of us would deny your guidance abilities."

"Yes, although your training programs are inhumane, and you always flaunt that disgusting scarred face of yours when we’re dead tired, making our stomachs churn. But every time after we’ve puked, we indeed felt real progress."

"Exactly, whenever I think that as soon as we meet the graduation standards, we won’t have to see your scarred face anymore, I feel like the hard and exhausting training is worth it."

Shen Herong’s face twitched, his scars twisted. He was so furious he wished he could strike them all with random punches, turning these shameless face-loving students into pigheads.

But just at that moment, suddenly, the youths’ discussions abruptly ceased.

As if their throats were choked by an external force, everyone simultaneously shut their mouths, making the room instantly silent.

A few of the younger boys and girls looked at each other, surprised by this inexplicable silence, then opened their mouths and patted their ears to confirm that nothing was wrong with their bodies... but soon, an ominously prison-like aura spread out, like the bone-chilling cold of a winter night, instantly freezing all random thoughts.

Everyone’s attention was unconsciously drawn to one spot.

A young man with silver hair like a waterfall stood in the road’s center, looking at them. His grand and towering figure gave him a commanding view, and those piercing eyes seemed to see through to the heart, freezing everyone’s consciousness, leaving only an instinct, yearning to immediately kneel and offer allegiance.

In the silence, someone stepped forward two steps, clasped their hands in greeting, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Lord City Lord..."

The raspy voice, like a bell toll ringing in the heart, broke the freeze of consciousness, allowing people to begin pondering again.

The Lord City Lord?

Within Shen City, only one could be called Lord City Lord; no matter whether it’s Shen Yueying or Shen Jinghai, they strictly adhere to their roles, always being addressed as Deputy City Lord, never allowing anyone to omit the word "deputy."

The City Lord of Shen City could only be Shen Ruoshi. And it was only Shen Ruoshi who needed no words, no True Essence, solely relying on his presence to make a group of Outer Courtyard elites dare not utter a word too many.

Seeing Shen Ruoshi, people’s hearts were mostly filled with astonishment. This famed Lord City Lord had long ceased to appear publicly, to the point where most of the younger Outer Courtyard people had never even seen the Lord City Lord’s visage. Thus, they could hardly imagine that this young-looking man, no older than twenty-five or six, with skin like jade, was the Shen Ruoshi who was about to celebrate his hundredth birthday!

Generally speaking, no matter how advanced a cultivator’s cultivation is, they cannot entirely resist the erosion of time, especially as they near a hundred years; signs of aging inevitably appear. Yet, this rule seemed ineffective on Shen Ruoshi, even his head full of silver hair appeared vibrant, with no signs of decay.

After the initial shock, people soon had new doubts in their hearts.

Why would the Lord City Lord appear here? Even when there was a crisis on the Chaos Battlefield, it was always the Deputy City Lord who would be dispatched to handle it. The Lord City Lord rarely stepped outside. So, now, could it be...

Thinking of the total defeat earlier in the Battle Array Map, the Outer Courtyard people suddenly felt cold sweat pouring out, their hearts filled with panic and unease.

The competition, which decided the ownership of the birthday celebration invitations, naturally might attract the attention of the Lord City Lord himself. Yet, when he came to the scene with high hopes, what he saw was a crushing defeat... This truly was a hefty birthday gift for the Lord City Lord!

With hearts uneasy, Shen Ruoshi suddenly spoke up.

"Have you all forgotten the family motto of the Shen Family?"

Of course, no one would forget. That family motto is drilled into every Shen Family member before they are sent to the Outer Courtyard.

Among the crowd, Shen Feihong, the tallest and most robust person, stepped forward first. Facing the oppressive pressure that felt like a prison, he said in a deep voice, "The Shen Family may lose, but we never concede!"

After speaking, this man, who appeared older and more mature than Shen Ruoshi, knelt down on both knees: "Grandfather, I acknowledge my mistake. After the crushing defeat, not only could I not rally my brothers and sisters to bounce back, but I also fell into despair and dejection, truly failing the expectations of the Lord City Lord..."

Before he could finish, Shen Feihong suddenly found his voice cut off.

As Shen Ruoshi’s gaze shifted over, there was no need for words; it naturally interrupted Shen Feihong’s apology.

Next, Shen Ruoshi shook his head and said, "You’re wrong."

"You are all wrong."

"The Shen Family motto is not to be understood that way."

Shen Ruoshi’s few calm words stirred waves of confusion in everyone’s hearts.

The Shen Family motto is not understood this way? Then how should it be understood? This phrase, everyone has heard it since they were young, to the point of growing calluses in their ears. Could there be another way to interpret it?

"The Shen Family motto consists of two phrases, each equally important. ’The Shen Family may lose, but we never concede.’ Over the years, you only remembered the latter part and forgot the former part."

As Shen Ruoshi spoke, he slightly raised his head, his gaze became distant and deep, as if seeing through the long river of history.

"The Shen Family is fond of battles; this is a tradition inherited in our bones, passed down for thousands of years. But those who love battles rarely remain undefeated. The more you fight, the more you naturally lose. Including myself, who in the Shen Family has never lost? Since I stepped onto the Immortal Dao 92 years ago, I have experienced 172 defeats in battles in my life, averaging nearly two per year, with 122 losses to my kin, mostly during my time in the Outer Courtyard school. There are 50 losses to outsiders during my external trials. Now, in the Xiangzhou Cultivation Realm, people often say I’m one of the world’s top experts, undefeated throughout my life, which is pure nonsense. Of course, I lose, and I lose as much as any other famous expert. Among them are defeats so crushing that they are impossible to overturn in my lifetime. In my three encounters with the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect, every time I lost by a small margin, ultimately losing it all. Though seemingly a slight difference, it is as real as a chasm, one I can’t hope to bridge no matter how hard I try for the rest of my life... But so what?"

As Shen Ruoshi spoke, his gaze returned to the young people in the Outer Courtyard.

Staring at their astonished faces, Shen Ruoshi said, "For us cultivators, we should more profoundly understand than mortal beings that people are inherently unequal. Some are born with exceptional talents and comprehension, for whom the Immortal Dao is smooth sailing, while others face obstacle after obstacle, only to hover at the mountain’s base their whole lives. Such differences in aptitude cannot be overcome by hard work or desperate effort."

"You can strive, others can too, but you will never possess their talents. So, ultimately, you will encounter opponents you can’t defeat no matter what and face failures you can never recover from. In those moments, should you deceive yourself into believing that if you double your efforts, you’ll definitely win next time? Or sink into despair and completely give up on the Immortal Dao?"

"That’s all nonsense! Shen Family members must learn to face failures calmly, not lament or rage over them. Only the weak need to incite themselves with excitement; neither should you breed pointless despair and dejection, for no failure warrants a cultivator giving up on the Immortal Dao! Take each victory and defeat lightly, accept losses, and do not linger; that is the purpose behind the Shen Family ancestors’ motto."

"As for the family’s reputation... Haha, the prestige the Shen Family has accumulated over thousands of years, can it really be shaken by a single loss from you little ones? You think too highly of yourselves! Even if there were truly matters that absolutely mustn’t fail, it wouldn’t be up to you juniors to bear them, and if you, for the sake of some meaningless victory or loss vanity, become filled with despair and wish to sink, you will forever have no chance of shouldering real responsibilities."

After finishing, Shen Ruoshi no longer paid attention to the Outer Courtyard disciples with thoughtful expressions but gestured to Shen Herong: "Come here."

Shen Herong, bewildered, nonetheless obediently complied and approached.

When he was still three meters away from Shen Ruoshi, Shen Herong suddenly felt a change in the surrounding space. Turning around, the scenery behind him had turned gray and hazy.

Shen Ruoshi said, "Some things are to be said privately."

Shen Herong immediately became tense, swallowing once: "Please instruct me, Lord City Lord."

Shen Ruoshi said, "I didn’t come today to watch the Outer Courtyard competition, so I actually didn’t see the previous matches. Comforting those little fellows was merely an act of convenience."

Shen Herong thought to himself, indeed, such a competition that didn’t even invite the Deputy City Lord, how could it possibly disturb the Lord City Lord himself? But since this is the case, what is the Lord City Lord here for then?

"I have only one question: what exactly is the relationship between Wang Jiu and Shen Qingming?!"