Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 89: Hong Yuan’s Expectations and the Reason for Cultivation

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Hong Yuan’s Expectations and the Reason for Cultivation

Lu Chang’sheng escorted Lin Xiaowen to the door.

A middle-aged Martial Artist waiting in the outer courtyard saw Lu Chang’sheng’s figure, and couldn’t help feeling a wave of realization in his heart, recalling how he’d once held back when teaching Lu Chang’sheng martial arts, now troubled and regretful.

He thought to himself: Had I given everything I knew back then, I probably could’ve gained the gratitude of an Advanced Scholar by now.

But there’s no remedy for regret in this world; he could only suppress the bitterness in his heart and head over.

"Patriarch, Master Lu!"

"Ah, Master Yu!"

"When I taught you martial arts back then, my judgment was clouded. Master Lu, I beg your forgiveness!" Yu Hongtao said, face full of shame.

Lu Chang’sheng smiled and said, "Master Yu, you’re too kind. That’s just human nature, I don’t blame you!"

Yet there was a hint of gloom in Yu Hongtao’s eyes.

Back then, he’d kept things businesslike, and now, Lu Chang’sheng treated him the same way. Obviously, he didn’t want to get too close or claim any credit for teaching martial arts—if there was any, it belonged to Lin Xiaowen, since she’d asked him to teach Lu Chang’sheng.

Lu Chang’sheng chatted with the two for a bit, then saw them off as they left.

"Looks like even Yu Hongtao’s starting to show a touch of age!"

Watching him walk away, Lu Chang’sheng felt a bit sentimental, and that faint, almost illusory hint of Immortal Fate stirred his anticipation.

That evening, Lu Chang’sheng received news delivered by Wang Heihou.

"So twisted—an age of chaos indeed. Every freak and monster crawls out!"

Zhang Village’s death—Lin Xiaowen’s illegitimate son wasn’t really the cause. It was the courtesan Zhang Village had ransomed—a woman who’d been sleeping with another man. The lover couldn’t stand seeing Zhang Village do well, somehow got his hands on poison, slipped it into Zhang Village’s drink through the woman, and when Zhang Village went out to have fun—arguing with Lin Xiaowen’s son over the courtesan—just as the jealousy flared up, the poison kicked in and he died on the spot.

"To think—so damn cruel. The old man paid to free her, too. By the way, any clue where that poison came from?"

Wang Heihou sneered, "Recently, some folks were arrested in the outer city; called themselves ’Lotus Bodhi Seeds.’ One look and it’s obvious Black Temple’s Lotus Monks are behind it. That poison definitely came from Black Temple!"

Lu Chang’sheng’s face grew serious.

"Black Temple’s in Nanyang Prefecture. Why are they showing up here?"

Nanyang Prefecture’s separated from Black Mountain Prefecture by two entire prefectures—thousands of miles. If they just wanted to preach, there was no reason to travel so far.

"No idea. The top-tier societies that operate across prefectures are hard for us to get any real info on," Wang Heihou replied.

Listening to Wang Heihou, Lu Chang’sheng shook his head. "So what do you plan to do?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Wang Heihou said, "The killer dies for killing; their accomplice loses five fingers, gets thrown out of Black Mountain Prefecture. As for the child—"

He hesitated for a moment.

"The old man wasn’t stupid. No way he lived all these years not knowing the kid’s bloodline!"

Lu Chang’sheng sighed.

The kid’s already four. Zhang Village seemed to care for him, probably charmed by his obedience and willing to overlook the truth.

"If you don’t pull out the weeds by their roots, they’ll just cause trouble down the line!" Wang Heihou frowned.

Kick them out of Black Mountain Prefecture, and in these war-torn times, a woman alone wouldn’t last long. But if you let the boy stay with her in Black Mountain Prefecture, you’re just inviting trouble.

"If we don’t kill the woman, then let the kid handle it when he’s old enough. But he can’t grow up at her side—she’ll just poison his upbringing. Take back the money Zhang Village left behind, support the boy in his name. When he’s grown, he’ll figure it out on his own. That way, it’s something for the old man to remember."

Wang Heihou was instantly relieved, sighing, "Yeah, Chang’sheng, only you could’ve thought of that!"

"By the way, about the True Qi Martial Arts—should we pick a target? Some True Qi Realm Martial Artist from a local Martial Arts Hall just died. Might be a window!" Wang Heihou suggested.

If it was just the Martial Artist Council, he wouldn’t dare make such a move.

Black Mountain Prefecture isn’t so lawless you can kill with impunity. If you cross the line and the Black Mountain Army takes notice, nobody can save you.

But with Lu Chang’sheng pulling strings, there might be ways around that.

"No, let me handle this. Besides, their True Qi Realm fighter just died—the social ties may still hold. If another True Qi Realm steps up, we won’t be able to handle it."

Even the weakest True Qi Realm can fend off a hundred men. And that’s not just a hundred random nobodies—it’s one hundred fully-equipped Prefecture Soldiers.

Even if you sent Niu Dazhuang, plus him and Li Nangua—three men with Pile Skill at Great Success—it’s still dicey at best.

"And besides, every sect and faction is extremely strict about passing down True Qi Realm Martial Arts—it’s mostly only taught in person. Getting your hands on it is much tougher!"

Wang Heihou could only let it drop.

"You guys have all hit Great Success with your Pile Skill now—no clue when I’ll ever get there myself!" Wang Heihou suddenly sighed.

"Stick with it, you’ll get there soon enough!"

Lu Chang’sheng offered encouragement and led Wang Heihou to the back courtyard to test out his martial arts. After years of cultivation, Wang’s Immovable Stake was still only at Minor Achievement, with a ways to go before Great Success.

Lu Chang’sheng passed on some of his own training experience—maybe that’d speed things up a bit.

But Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t guarantee anything. Everyone’s unique. The variables triggered by his own Flood Stake cultivation might not apply to Wang Heihou, so all they could do was keep experimenting step by step.

"That’s why having a visible data panel would be a massive advantage!"

"I’ve got to speed up my True Qi Martial Arts training!"

The next evening, after getting ready, Lu Chang’sheng left for the Martial Artist Institute as planned—entering Hong Yuan’s residence for the second time.

"Curious why I didn’t give you Overlapping Waves Skill, the True Qi Martial Art that matches Flood Stake?"

Today, Hong Yuan was different than usual. He wore a white, belted Martial Artist’s uniform, his hair brushed meticulously—looking sharp and energetic.

Lu Chang’sheng was a bit surprised. Normally, Hong Yuan wasn’t really sloppy, but he didn’t care much about dressing up. Today was clearly an exception.

Could it be—because of me?

Hearing Hong Yuan’s question, Lu Chang’sheng immediately snapped back to attention. "Yes, the instructors have said: True Qi Martial Arts and Pile Skills work best when matched. The closer the match, the easier to train!"

"That’s true. But I had my reasons for giving you Five Treasures True Skill—it concerns the future, the Innate Realm!"

"The biggest difference at the True Qi Realm isn’t just the power, it’s the speed of transformation. When you chose Flood Stake, you were probably thinking about ease of cultivation?"

Lu Chang’sheng nodded.

That was one reason—another was the balance of the Pile Skill.

Hong Yuan shook his head. "You’ve heard the saying: ’Easy first, then hard; hard first, then easy’?"

Lu Chang’sheng nodded seriously, grasping Hong Yuan’s meaning at once.

"In martial arts, all paths lead to the same destination. The Martial Artist Institute doesn’t emphasize this because, for many, True Qi Realm is as far as they’ll ever get. So really, there’s no need to fuss over which part’s harder or easier."

"But you’re different! Or, to be precise, I have different expectations for you. That means you have to pick ’hard first, then easy’ if you want any shot at reaching Innate Realm."

"In ancient Great Yuan, dynasties stood side by side—checking each other’s power. Some sects controlled whole prefectures, rivaling kingdoms, all thanks to Innate Martial Artists!"

"A single Innate fighter could stop an entire army. That’s how the first Emperor of Great Yuan united the Thirty-Six Mansions—gathered every martial art in the world at Jixia Academy’s Saint Institute. The plan: stash martial arts at the imperial court, combine the power of the sword with the power of the pen, and keep the peace in Jinghua!"

"But that led to generations of weaker Innate Martial Artists. In the last five hundred years, they’re basically legends. Really, it’s just True Qi Realm fighters like me running the show!"

"There’s no Innate Martial Artists in Great Yuan?" Lu Chang’sheng asked in surprise.

Hong Yuan hesitated. "I don’t know. Maybe there are, hidden in the palace."