Cultivation Nerd-Chapter 311 - Talented But Troublesome Disciples

With the help of my cute disciples, we lined up all the monstrous beast corpses in neat rows, nearly a hundred of them, sprawled across the ground like trophies after a lengthy hunt. Their bodies were heavy, some still twitching with residual nerves, but we worked with practiced efficiency. Once everything was in place, I took a deep breath, rolled up my sleeves, and began the dissection. One by one, I opened them up, eager to peel back the layers and uncover what secrets lay hidden beneath their hide and bone.

Sadly, they were all already dead. And despite them trying to kill me, I didn’t quite have the heart to dissect them alive. The pain would’ve been too much, even if the results might’ve been more accurate that way.

Still, I learned a lot. With each cut and inspection, I gained insight into how some of their organs functioned and how the flow of Qi coursed through their bodies, as well as how certain glands pulsed with residual energy even after death.

These were things the books and scrolls never covered. Most of the written knowledge focused on what monstrous beasts did, their attacks, the regions they prowled, and the weaknesses one could exploit in battle. But not how they truly functioned. Not what made them tick. It was like studying a machine by watching it move, without ever cracking open the casing to see the gears inside.

I made some surprising discoveries.

For example, it was common knowledge that monstrous beasts could absorb Qi from whatever they consumed, like herbs, pills, and spirit stones.

But how had their bodies evolved to do that? The exact digestive process? I’d never read anything on it. Maybe I just hadn’t found the right book yet.

The half-human, half-arachnid beasts had a second stomach that stored items with Qi, such as spirit stones. A dedicated storage system. Not exactly proof that they were artificial creations, but it definitely raised eyebrows.

I mean, why would a naturally evolved creature need that?

Sure, there were creatures like cows that naturally had multiple stomachs. But still… this felt deliberate.

It was the kind of thing that called for more research, and I knew just the guy who could help.

I took a silky white cloth from my storage ring and wiped my hands. Technically, they were clean; I’d used jade armor to form thin, skin-tight gloves while operating, but I wiped them anyway. Habit, maybe.

After all, I’d pushed through a lot of blood, fat, and... other fluids.

Laid out neatly on a tarp were rows of purple sacs with black veins. They pulsed faintly. These were the poison glands of the arachnids. They never used poison in battle, which made the glands seem useless. Another hint of artificial tampering and, frankly, a bit of sloppy work.

If I were designing a monster like this, I’d at least rig the poison sacs to explode on death. Or have their blood turn toxic, so their corpses became a hazard. Something.

Whoever made these beasts was skilled… but not perfect.

Still, they had created a new species.

I also wondered if these hybrid creatures could learn human speech. They had the right lungs and vocal structures, even before reaching Foundation Establishment.

The woodpecker, by comparison, was more “normal” despite being stronger. I took some of its blood and organs to study later. Maybe, just maybe, it had a rare bloodline. Wishful thinking. But worth checking.

Jiang Yeming wiped her hands and tried using a water-element technique to clean them. It didn’t work well as the blood clung stubbornly to her fingers, and her face scrunched up in disgust.

Tingfeng, more practical, was cleaning his boots. He’d used his legs to kick away some of the beasts earlier, so they were splattered with gore.

Jiang Yeming noticed me staring and met my gaze with a frown, still disappointed in my teaching methods.

Brave of her. But past a certain point, bravery turned into recklessness.

I wanted to clarify things before unnecessary misunderstandings festered.

“I was going to save Tingfeng no matter what,” I said. “But during training, he needed to believe I might abandon him. It was about the mindset.”

My words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Her frown didn’t move.

“From where I was standing,” she said, “it didn’t look like you were going to save him.”

Judging by her tone, she had mostly accepted my explanation, but was too proud to admit it out loud.

I stared at her. She met my gaze, unflinching. She didn’t fear my cultivation level. Didn’t respect my position. Not enough, at least.

“Calm down,” I said quietly. “Think about who you’re talking to. And remember your position.”

At the end of the day, Jiang Yeming and Tingfeng were my disciples because I found them interesting. That was it. They weren’t like Wu Yan, someone I actually cared about.

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Jiang Yeming kept staring at me. But then something shifted in her eyes. Perhaps she recalled that if I chose to, she could disappear during this mission, and no one would ever ask a single question.

She paled. Then looked down.

“Sorry,” she said softly. “That was out of line.”

I nodded, accepting the apology without another word.

“If I haven’t made it clear before, I don’t mind if either of you decide to leave my tutelage,” I said, voice calm. “If you find something better out there, I’ll congratulate you, give you some farewell gifts, and continue with my life. However, despite being closer in age to most disciples and their teachers, a certain level of respect is still necessary. If you’ve got complaints, just leave. Don’t waste my time.”

I glanced at Tingfeng from the corner of my eye, curious if he shared Jiang Yeming’s doubts. After all, it had been his life on the line.

But Tingfeng appeared indifferent to the whole situation. He didn’t even seem interested in standing up for Jiang Yeming.

Noticing my gaze, he bowed his head. “I agree with Teacher’s methods. I’ve never progressed this quickly before.”

Despite everything, it seemed like Tingfeng had the stronger heart. Hard to believe, but maybe Jiang Yeming wasn’t as tough as I’d thought. Maybe she was too soft to walk the road of cultivation.

But all hope wasn't lost. She might learn the hard way, like I did, that being nice all the time was a very dangerous thing if you weren't strong enough to back it up. In her case, it might be better to say that she would relearn that lesson.

“Good,” I said, nodding at him. “Now that that’s settled, let’s move on to the next step, getting rid of the corpses. Just toss them into the ravine.”

I grabbed one of the spider-like beasts by its legs, hoisted it over my shoulder, and walked it to the edge before flinging it over. After the demonstration, my disciples followed suit.

They struggled a bit. The beasts weren’t absurdly heavy, but their unstable, uneven forms made them difficult to carry. Tingfeng was winded by the time he tossed his first one, and Jiang Yeming wiped sweat from her brow.

Clearly, they’d been neglecting physical training. I watched them strain and gave occasional advice on lifting posture and balance.

Meanwhile, I jotted down my findings in a notebook.

I’d had plans to publish another book soon, though this one would lean more toward academic than practical. It wouldn’t help readers survive a beast encounter, but it might appeal to those curious about the biology and evolution of monstrous creatures. Something to inspire a new generation of researchers, not fighters.

Honestly, if there were more people like me out there cataloging these things, it would save me a lot of time.

Eventually, my disciples finished disposing of the corpses. Both were soaked in sweat, panting, red-faced. Tingfeng’s bald head gleamed under the sun like a human lightbulb. The visual made me pause for a second.

“Good work. Come sit in front of me,” I told him, gesturing to the snow-dusted ground.

Despite his exhaustion, he obeyed without question.

As he settled in, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to inject some Qi into your body. Try to resist the instinct to fight it.”

I half-expected a question, maybe a bit of hesitation, especially after Jiang Yeming’s earlier outburst. But Tingfeng just nodded.

Huh. That was the paradox, wasn’t it?

Even though Jiang Yeming had stepped out of line, I found myself liking her more for it. She had opinions. She stood her ground. Sure, I’d been harsh, but I respected her for only backing down when she knew she’d gone too far.

Despite everything, I didn’t hate Jiang Yeming. A part of me even wished my other two students had a bit of her stubbornness.

I ran my Qi over Tingfeng in a soft pulse, using part of my mental energy to search for any underlying conditions. Cultivators didn’t typically suffer from common illnesses. Still, things like tumors and other internal issues wouldn’t simply vanish just because someone had powerful cultivation.

Still, that wasn’t the main goal.

What I wanted was to gauge how many spirit root branches Tingfeng had. After the bright glow I’d sensed while scanning him earlier, his talent couldn’t be bad. Carefully, I counted and checked for any abnormalities or signs of strain.

He had eighty-one spirit root branches, which barely qualified as top grade. There were a few drawbacks, mainly because he hadn’t been raised in a martial family or cultivation clan. But he could easily overcome that initial gap through sheer comprehension and talent with the sword.

“Your talent is top grade,” I said, struggling to keep my tone neutral and hide just how pleased I was. “It’s the bare minimum needed to have a realistic shot at reaching Nascent Soul stage. Not that many people with such talent actually survive long enough to realize it.”

“Ah.” Tingfeng blinked, surprised. But slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Then I’ll have to keep that in mind... and cut down anything that gets in my way. My sword will one day be able to cut through everything.”

“As your teacher, it’s my job to ensure you live up to your potential,” I told him. “I’ll do my best to make that happen.”

“Thank you, Teacher,” he said, bowing his head before rising to his feet.

“How about you, Jiang Yeming?” I turned to her. “Want to find out how many spirit root branches you have?”

She opened her mouth, hesitation in her eyes. It looked like she was about to decline. But then she paused, probably remembering what had happened earlier, and finally gave a small nod.

“Sure,” she said softly.

I stepped closer, placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave the same warning I had to Tingfeng. “Try to control your Qi and resist the instinct to repel mine.”

This time, I didn’t use mental energy to probe deeply.

Her light was dimmer than Tingfeng’s, but not by much. She had seventy-eight spirit root branches, just below the threshold for top grade.

Her chances of reaching Nascent Soul were slim, but not nonexistent. She lacked Tingfeng’s temperament for it, but with some luck and depending on the strength of her cultivation trick, she might bridge that gap. Hopefully, she had other techniques to help her along the way.

“You have seventy-eight spirit root branches. That’s good,” I told her. “It’s not impossible for you to reach Nascent Soul.”

Jiang Yeming nodded, visibly relieved. The bitterness from before seemed to fade a little.

“Anyway,” I said, looking between them, “our work here is done. Anything either of you want to do before we return to the sect?”

They both shook their heads.

With that settled, I turned my thoughts toward the future. I’d learned a lot out here enough to warrant building a proper lab or something similar to support my research.