Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 282 Dream Interconnection, Prodigy of Comprehension

"Why is it that I disturbed your dream? Couldn't it be that you suddenly appeared and disturbed my dream?"

Wang Yuyan is making rapid progress and has already learned to ask questions in the same way the other person asked.

"Hmm... an interesting question. If two people's dreams are connected, who connects with whom, and who disturbs whom?"

The scholar picked a purple flower and handed it to Wang Yuyan: "Have you ever seen this kind of flower before, young lady?"

Wang Yuyan shook her head.

The scholar smiled and said, "It seems that it was you, young lady, who disturbed my dream."

"why?"

"Because people cannot imagine things they have never seen, they naturally cannot dream of them. The young lady has never seen this flower, but I have. Therefore, this is my dream, and you, the young lady, are the intruder."

"I see... No, that's not right!"

Wang Yuyan nodded, then suddenly realized, "How did you know this was a dream?"

"Didn't the girl tell me that?"

"I just said that casually."

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, after the girl reminded me, I realized that this was all a dream."

The scholar smiled and said, "It's not that I deliberately deceived you, but I really only just realized this. You must have had this experience before, young lady. You are carefree in a dream, but you can't realize that you are dreaming. And when you realize that you are dreaming, that is when you wake up."

Wang Yuyan nodded in agreement: "It does seem to be true... But I know I'm dreaming, so why haven't I woken up yet?"

"Because you happened to connect with my dream, which is quite special."

"So, why do my dreams connect with yours?"

The scholar looked up at the hazy sky: "Perhaps it's because we share the same confusion and sorrow at this moment?"

"Confused? Sad?" Wang Yuyan immediately thought of her own current situation: "Are you the same?"

"yes……"

The scholar said, “Not long ago, I saw a sunset, which was magnificent and the most beautiful I have ever seen. I thought of using this sunset to accompany my meal. But what food and drinks should be paired with such a beautiful sunset?”

That's what confused me... However, by the time I realized it, the sun had already completely set, and the sunset had vanished.

A gentle breeze stirred up the mist, and purple petals fluttered down.

The scholar's tone was filled with endless sorrow: "...What a sad story this is..."

Wang Yuyan felt like hitting someone when she heard this.

Is this all the confusion and sadness you're talking about?
"Miss Wang, what is the source of your confusion and sorrow?"

"Huh? How did you know my surname is Wang?"

"Perhaps it's because of the connection in the dream, I'm able to understand some simple information, and correspondingly, the girl is the same."

Wang Yuyan was filled with questions, and then she suddenly learned the other person's name.

"Indigo...?"

"It is indeed I, your humble self."

Aizen smiled and said, "So, Miss Wang, could you please tell me about your confusion and sorrow?"

Wang Yuyan didn't really want to say it, but meeting those gentle eyes, she somehow felt the urge to speak again.

"Actually, just yesterday, my cousin..."

She couldn't help but talk about her current situation: her cousin's death, her mother's scolding, the Wang family's circumstances, and the love that wasn't what she had dreamed of.

and many more.

As he spoke, he became increasingly agitated and couldn't help but recount some of the things that had happened before.

When she turned around, she realized that she had already told most of her life story.

"Sorry, I lost my composure... Where are you?!"

Before Wang Yuyan could apologize for her outburst of emotions, she realized that no one was around, and her emotions immediately became disjointed.

"I'm here……"

The figure of the scholar in white robes appeared and disappeared in the clouds: "Don't worry, I've been listening the whole time."

Wang Yuyan, however, no longer cared about such things. Her eyes shone as she looked at him: "How did you do that? You flew!"

"This is a dream, you can just think about it!"

"think?"

Wang Yuyan wanted it so badly, she tried her best to think about it, but there was absolutely no response.

"This is my dream, which you can't possibly achieve."

"Then why are you making me think about it?"

"Come……"

Aizen waved his hand, and the clouds and mist drifted away, swirling around Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuyan felt her body lighten, and she floated up with the wind, arriving in the sky.

"This...this is what flying feels like? It's so amazing..."

Wang Yuyan's delicate figure swayed in the wind, her mouth uttering continuous praises, her previous sorrow completely forgotten.

Aizen let her fly like that for a long time, until her surprise turned into habit, before saying, "I have heard everything Miss Wang said, but I have a question. From what you said, you have read many martial arts manuals since you were young, but you have never practiced them. Even so, your understanding of these martial arts manuals is extremely profound, and you can even give pointers to those who have practiced for ten or twenty years?"

“Yes.” Wang Yuyan nodded as she floated around Aizen.

Aizen said, "In that case, Miss Wang must have extremely high aptitude for martial arts. Then why don't you practice martial arts?"

"Practice martial arts?" Wang Yuyan thought for a moment and said, "I haven't thought about that. Maybe it wasn't necessary in the past."

"But your mother was right about one thing: the world respects the strong. Therefore, the Wang family must pay tribute to the Murong family every year, and in return, the Murong family will be defeated by the Sun Moon Cult."

Ultimately, it's because the Wang family lacks strong individuals, while the Murong family does. However, the Murong family's strong individuals are no match for the Sun Moon Divine Sect!

Aizen said, "What you're feeling right now is confused about the Wang family's situation and saddened by your cousin's death. But actually, it seems you can solve both of these problems as long as you learn martial arts."

"Yes...really?"

"Of course, once you become strong, no other powerful person will dare to demand offerings from the Wang family. Similarly, once you become strong, you will be able to avenge your cousin."

"But……"

Wang Yuyan was still hesitating: "Martial arts training is very difficult. You have to practice every morning and evening, and it takes many years to achieve results."

"That's just an ordinary mediocre talent. As I said, Miss Wang, you are a genius with exceptional talent in martial arts."

"I'm a genius?"

"Yes, isn't it obvious? Don't you know, young lady? You mentioned that your cousin and his retainers are all martial arts experts. They must have discovered this long ago. Didn't they tell you?"

"This……"

Wang Yuyan was speechless for a moment, and her eyes flickered.

In fact, she had wanted to learn martial arts when she was young.

At the time, she didn't really want to learn martial arts. It was because her cousin Murong Fu would spend a lot of time on martial arts every day, but at that time, he would often not allow others to get close.

Wang Yuyan wanted to practice martial arts with him so they could spend more time together. But Murong Fu always stopped her, saying that he preferred a 'gentle and virtuous' woman.

Wang Yuyan then gave up.

Looking back now, however, I feel there are many strange things about it.

Connecting this with what her mother had said, the Wang family had been a vassal of the Murong family for many years, and had to pay tribute to the Murong family every year... She suddenly had a bad feeling.

"No, no, my cousin isn't that kind of person!"

"what happened?"

"No...nothing..."

Wang Yuyan avoided Ai Ran's gaze and said, "Maybe...maybe you just misunderstood. I just have a better memory. I don't have that much talent in martial arts."

"Well, in that case, how about I teach you a martial art? If you can learn it in a short time, it will prove your talent in martial arts."

"No, no need. My family also has many martial arts treasures."

"But what I want to pass on to you is the method of meditation to enter a dream. It is unique to this school and there are no other branches. I suppose your family doesn't have it."

"How to enter a dream?"

Wang Yuyan's heart fluttered.

"What? Don't you want to learn? After you learn this method, you can enter your own dreams."

"Want to learn!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuyan immediately replied decisively, "Please teach me, sir!"

Aizen smiled and casually taught her the method of entering a dream through meditation.

This method is extremely profound, surpassing all the hundreds and thousands of martial arts manuals Wang Yuyan had memorized in the past. Even after studying it for three or four hours, Wang Yuyan had only managed to memorize it.

In the next instant, the sea of ​​flowers beneath my feet became illusory, and mist brushed against my face.

"This is……"

"It seems the dream is about to end..."

Aizen smiled and said, "However, you have already memorized this method. With more practice, you will naturally come to me in my dreams. Goodbye, Miss Wang."

The sound was very close at first, but in the blink of an eye it was already far away.

The last word echoed in her ears, and Wang Yuyan suddenly woke up.

But then he found himself lying in bed, with what looked like a tear stain at the corner of his eye.

Outside, it was already morning.

She couldn't care less about such things anymore; everything in her dream was vivid in her mind.

"Liar... This so-called dream-entering technique made me memorize it for hours, and I haven't even started learning it yet, and you call me a genius? Humph!"

As Wang Yuyan spoke, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

At breakfast, she planned to tell her mother that she wanted to learn martial arts, but at this crucial moment, Li Qingluo was quite busy.

She only learned last night that the prices of various goods within the Song Kingdom have increased by several percent compared to before.

So even if she prepares the same amount of sincerity as other families, the price she needs to spend will probably be about twice that of other families.

But nothing can be done.

Why didn't the Wang family seize the best opportunity to pledge allegiance?
To extricate oneself safely now, one must naturally pay a price.

For this reason, Li Qingluo was also busy, and could not pay attention to her infuriating daughter.

Wang Yuyan had no choice but to learn it herself.

Fortunately, the old servants in the manor all knew martial arts. Although their skill level was not high enough, they were more than capable of teaching her the basics.

She randomly chose a relatively basic internal energy cultivation method to practice.

It was indeed quite troublesome at first, but a few days later, when an inner breath was generated within her body, Wang Yuyan also felt the fun of practicing martial arts.

Li Qingluo learned about this more than ten days later.

"My good daughter, you finally know how to share your mother's burdens!"

Li Qingluo held her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mother~" Wang Yuyan awkwardly broke free from Li Qingluo's embrace.

Li Qingluo suppressed her excitement and said, "Good daughter, cultivate diligently, and tell your mother if you need anything. When you develop inner energy, your mother will give you a surprise!"

"Internal energy?" Wang Yuyan was taken aback. "Mother, what kind of realm is that? Is it difficult?"

"Of course it's difficult. At the beginning of martial arts, it is divided into three stages of foundation building, namely 'foundation building, strength refining, and internal energy cultivation'. There is a folk rhyme in the martial arts world: 'Ten years of hard foundation building, five years of refining strength, white hair and internal energy growth, only then can one climb the ladder of martial arts.' Do you think it's difficult or not?"

"So that means it takes fifteen years to develop internal energy?"

"It's not just fifteen years, twenty years is considered short. But that's for ordinary people. People like us from the Wang family can start taking medicine to nourish our bodies from a young age, greatly reducing the time required. And there's another type of person, called a natural martial arts prodigy, who doesn't even need the foundation building and strength training before they can directly enter the inner energy realm!"

Li Qingluo said earnestly, "However, such people are rare in the martial arts world, so let's not be too ambitious and just focus on our cultivation."

Wang Yuyan's face turned noticeably pale, and she asked, "Mother, is there any way to identify those martial arts prodigies?"

"Yes, usually you can tell by feeling the bones."

Wang Yuyan was struck dumb, staggered back two steps, and almost fell.

Startled, Li Qingluo quickly helped her up and asked with concern, "Yuyan? What's wrong? Did something go wrong with your martial arts practice? Why don't we stop practicing? Anyway, our Wang family has a deep foundation, enough for us to live a life of wealth and comfort."

Wang Yuyan shook her head: "Mother, I'm fine..."

Her mind was buzzing, and one phrase after another floated into her head.

"In this world, the strong are respected..."

"Once you become powerful, no other strong person will dare to demand tributes from the Wang family..."

"For so many years, my Wang family has been a vassal of the Murong family, and we have to pay tribute to the Murong family every year!"

Each and every word seemed to serve as evidence for the idea in her mind.

Cousin Murong Fu's image suddenly became repulsive.

"Gentle and virtuous? Heh, cousin... no, Murong Fu, your lies are truly enticing!"

Ming Dynasty, Pei Residence.

Zhou Ming put the fan aside and said, "In this way, we can basically destroy the image of Murong Fu in Wang Yuyan's mind."

From that moment on, in Wang Yuyan's mind, Murong Fu was a despicable man who, despite discovering her martial arts talent, had deceived and misled her to prevent the Wang family from slipping out of his control and to ensure they would pay him annual tributes!

Xiao Ai asked curiously, "So, is Wang Yuyan really a martial arts prodigy?"

"Of course...no!"

Zhou Ming smiled and shook his head: "That trace of qi was just a projection of mine. In reality, she never developed any internal energy."

However, that's not important. Foundation Establishment, Acquired Realm, and Innate Realm can all be skipped quickly using various methods and resources, but the realms beyond Grandmaster often place greater emphasis on comprehension.

In this respect, Wang Yuyan is arguably even rarer than those so-called martial arts prodigies!

(End of this chapter)