Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 148: Elder Ma’s Inquiry

Lin Yu's heart stirred.

He immediately closed his eyes, immersing his entire mind and spirit into that faint, elusive sensation.

It wasn't a "force."

It didn't flow, didn't surge, didn't gather, and didn't defend.

It was simply… dissipating.

Like a wisp of blue smoke, it gently, softly, drifted out from the runic veins on the flag's surface.

Then, it didn't vanish.

Instead, it merged into the surrounding air, into the thin, ever-present spiritual energy that filled the Accounting Office.

It lost its own "form," lost its own "substance."

It became part of the background.

Su Ming held his breath. He could "see" how that lingering trace of spiritual energy, following the specific trajectory of that incomplete rune, gradually "dissolved" itself away.

This process wasn't a collapse, wasn't a breakdown.

It was a kind of… orderly, active, return.

A bolt of lightning seemed to flash across Su Ming's mind!

His master's words exploded in his ears like thunder!

"Make yourself like the wind, like dust…"

"Existing, yet utterly devoid of presence!"

He abruptly opened his eyes, staring fixedly at the incomplete rune on the flag's surface.

The structure of that rune was extremely complex.

But the path of a small part of its core circuits bore a slight resemblance to the "Concealment" character rune he had painstakingly practiced for seven days!

So that was it!

Su Ming's heart pounded fiercely!

The true meaning of "Concealment" wasn't construction, wasn't defense, wasn't attack!

It was "integration"!

It was using a specific structure to guide one's own spiritual energy to actively, orderly, perfectly merge with the surrounding environment, thereby erasing one's own sense of presence!

All his previous efforts had been like using brute force to try and pry open a precise combination lock!

His direction had been wrong from the very beginning!

Theory must be combined with practice!

And these discarded items, treated as worthless trash by Formation Peak disciples, were for him the most precious, most intuitive textbooks!

At this moment, Su Ming looked at the mountain of "garbage" before him, his eyes shining brightly.

What trash?

That was clearly an undiscovered treasure trove!

…

That night.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on his bed, his expression unprecedentedly focused and serene.

He didn't take out any stones, nor did he draw on the ground.

He simply slowly extended his index finger and began to trace in the air before him.

Spiritual energy flowed at his fingertip.

His mind was no longer focused on "constructing" a rune.

Instead, it was simulating, mimicking the trajectory and rhythm of the spiritual energy's dissipation from that tattered formation flag.

His intent was no longer a command, but a guide, a letting go.

One stroke, two strokes…

When the final stroke was completed.

He didn't forcefully maintain the spiritual energy output as he usually did.

Instead, with a thought, he actively severed his connection with that rune.

*Hum.*

In the air, the "Concealment" character rune composed of cyan spiritual energy trembled lightly.

It didn't glow, nor did it collapse.

Instead, it was like a drop of ink falling into clear water.

It rapidly faded, grew blurry, as if the surrounding air had produced a slight, subtle distortion.

After a few breaths, that rune completely disappeared.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.

He reached out his hand, probing towards the seemingly empty air before him.

A strange sensation came.

His hand felt as if it had passed through a thin, cool curtain of water.

He could clearly feel that his divine sense, when sweeping over that area, was naturally… ignored.

That place seemed to have become a "blind spot" of perception.

Not a void, not a barrier, just a patch of… "normal" air with nothing in it.

Success!

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Su Ming let out a long, slow breath.

The bottleneck that had plagued him for days vanished like smoke at this moment.

He finally understood.

His master's guidance was the "Dao."

The theory in the jade slip was the "method."

And these dust-covered old papers, these discarded scraps, were the unique bridge connecting the "Dao" and the "method"!

"Master, this disciple… understands."

He said respectfully in his heart.

"Hmm."

Lin Yu's voice carried a trace of satisfied laughter.

"The boy can be taught."

Excellent! This kid has already learned to dig up information from the garbage heap himself! My retirement plan is as solid as a mountain!

External Affairs Hall, meditation room.

Su Ming respectfully placed the last volume of the account book he had finished organizing on the desk in front of Elder Ma.

"Elder, this is the summary of last month's resource consumption for each peak, along with an optimization proposal."

His voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

In the meditation room, sandalwood incense curled upwards.

Elder Ma didn't immediately look at the account book. His turbid eyes just quietly observed the young man before him.

Over this past month, Su Ming had submitted four similar reports.

Each one accurately pointed out some inconspicuous "problematic node" in the sect's resource circulation process.

He never directly said who had a problem, nor did he draw any conclusions.

He merely listed data, drew charts, and then, in the most objective tone, proposed a suggestion that "might save more money."

"Explain," Elder Ma said, picking up his teacup and blowing on the steam.

"Yes."

Su Ming bowed slightly. "This disciple discovered that the frequency and quantity of 'Clearheart Grass' requisitioned by Pill Cauldron Peak has shown a steady upward trend over the past three months, but the output quantity of 'Clearheart Pills' has not seen a corresponding increase."

"In this disciple's humble opinion, perhaps a slight deviation in the heat control or purification technique during the alchemy process has led to an increase in the loss rate."

Elder Ma took a sip of tea, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"What else?"

"The 'Sharp Gold Stone' replenished by the Vessel Hall for Heavenly Sword Peak has a fixed monthly consumption of three hundred catties, not a fraction off. This disciple believes this does not conform to the random loss patterns that should occur during actual combat training."

"Furthermore, regarding the 'Hundred Beast Pills' from Beast Taming Valley, if the 'Three-leaf Worm' in its formula is replaced with the more common 'Iron Thread Worm' from the back mountains, the medicinal efficacy would only decrease by half a tenth, but the cost could be reduced by nearly forty percent."

Su Ming listed them one by one, item by item, speaking calmly and methodically.

Everything he talked about was accounts.

But behind every account entry lay a pointer towards human nature.

Lin Yu's soul thought within the Xuantian ring was nodding in approval.

Not bad, not bad. This move of playing Tai Chi is quite skillful. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

It demonstrates value while kicking all the difficult issues back.

Letting the superiors deal with the headaches themselves—that's the self-cultivation of an excellent subordinate.

After listening, Elder Ma put down his teacup.

He still didn't look at those account books.

"You have been in the sect for three months now."

He suddenly spoke, asking a completely unrelated question.

Su Ming's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Reporting to the Elder, this disciple has been in the sect for ninety-seven days."

"Hmm." Elder Ma nodded, asking as if casually, "How is your progress with that 'Basic Overview of Formations' jade slip?"

Here it comes.

Su Ming's heartbeat skipped a beat.

Within the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu's thought instantly sounded.

"Say it as we rehearsed! Remember, you are dull-witted, you are struggling in despair, you are a fool who has just barely touched the threshold!"

Su Ming took a deep breath, his face appropriately showing a trace of shame and embarrassment.

"Reporting to the Elder, this disciple is dull-witted."

"In over a month, despite day and night study, this disciple has only preliminarily grasped the 'Gathering' character rune."

"Currently, I can barely set up a most basic dust-repelling formation."

After speaking, he deeply lowered his head, as if utterly mortified by his own "slowness."