Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 55 Head of the Scripture Studies
This story begins two days ago.

Zhang Chengdao planted these mulberry trees half a month earlier. At that time, in order to enclose the peach orchard and the buildings on the main peak, he had already cut down most of the surrounding bamboo forest. There weren't enough bamboo strips, so he couldn't make bamboo fences and had no choice but to leave the mulberry forest unfenced.

However, the mulberry trees bought in the mall have a unique feature: you can shake the tree once a day, and they will randomly drop silkworm eggs, honey, and resin.

This mulberry grove is quite a distance from the thatched cottage courtyard, and shaking the trees doesn't require much skill, so Zhang Chengdao always had Chang Ping'an or Murong Ruyan collect these things.

This was the arrangement for over a week, and nothing went wrong. But two days ago, when Murong Ruyan went to shake the trees, she discovered that some of the trees were no longer dropping anything!
She searched the entire mulberry grove thoroughly, but found no one, not even a trace of an outsider!

This is a serious issue. It's obvious that someone came to steal things on purpose, otherwise why would they know how to hide it?
It's impossible for someone who steals things not to be human!

Unexpectedly, she squatted in the mulberry grove for several days without finding anything. Although the things that fell from the trees stopped disappearing, she also failed to catch the thief.

That's how the scene of meeting Xu Wen and Li Qi just happened.

She thought she had finally caught the thief, but it turned out to be a relative of Manager Xu!
……

In the evening, to entertain Xu Wen, Zhang Chengdao specially prepared a table full of dishes and refused Li Qi's unreasonable request to leave Xu Ying four cooks, twenty maids, and twenty attendants, and did not even ask for a carriage.

Of course, it was mainly Xu Ying herself who refused.

During the five years Xu Ying spent at the Sword Casting Manor, he had become accustomed to doing everything himself. After joining the White Stone Immortal Sect, he became even more familiar with the sect leader Zhang Chengdao's preferences.

The sect leader is a true deity descended to earth, with a magnanimous heart, high moral character, broad mind, and a view of all beings as equals.

That is probably why the sect leader is a god.

Moreover, the sect leader had warned everyone that cultivating immortality begins with cultivating the Dao, and refining the body begins with refining the mind. As for himself, his talent was already mediocre, and the path to immortality was long and arduous. If he continued to indulge in pleasure, using maids and having servants, he feared he would become even more estranged from the path to immortality in the future.

Therefore, Xu Ying firmly rejected Li Qi's request.

Given Xu Ying's resolute attitude, Xu Wen was certainly not going to be foolish enough to leave anyone behind. Moreover, when he explored famous mountains and rivers in the past, he would only hire one or two martial artists to travel around, not because he was the type to enjoy himself.

Left with no other choice, Li Qi had to pack up the maids and servants he had brought from afar, hire a security escort agency to take them back, and also write a letter to his esteemed employer, Master Xu, to inform him of the situation...

Meanwhile, Zhang Chengdao, the most pleasure-seeking member of the entire White Stone Immortal Sect, was feeling extremely disappointed.

He actually really wanted to take advantage of the situation and enjoy a life of luxury where everything was done for him. After all, modern times have all sorts of machines, and you can order takeout when you're hungry, but there was nothing like that in ancient times.

If it weren't for the fact that there are some very practical cleansing spells among various magical arts and supernatural powers that can cleanse oneself and meet daily cleaning needs, plus the fact that he doesn't need to urinate or defecate after cultivating immortality, otherwise just the lack of toilet paper and having to use leaves, sticks, or even stones to wipe his bottom would have made him unable to hold it in long ago!

But thinking about it carefully, most people in this era are dirty. They consider it clean to take a bath once every ten days or half a month. They only have one or two sets of clothes year after year, and they don't change or wash them. If you were surrounded by people like that... you would really be doing a disservice to your nose!
So, the idea of ​​maids and servants is just wishful thinking. It would be better to take on a disciple who is skilled in weapon crafting and work on some spiritual energy technology to benefit the masses!

That night, Xu Wen and Xu Ying stayed together in the "teachers' dormitory".

However, Xu Wen didn't choose the courtyard next to Xu Ying's, but instead chose the highest courtyard, located at the summit of the mountain. It's said that this prospective head of the Confucian classics department preferred the expansive view of "standing at the summit, looking down on all the mountains below," which is why he chose that place without hesitation, completely disregarding the life-threatening climb he would have to make each ascent and descent. Indeed, when Zhang Chengdao proposed the appointment of Xu Wen as head of the Confucian classics department at dinner, Xu Wen agreed without hesitation.

Before Li Qi left, he personally witnessed Li Qi's match with his third cousin. Li Qi, a renowned sixth-rank martial artist in the martial arts world, was completely helpless against Xu Ying, who claimed to have only been cultivating for a little over a month!

Cultivating immortality... it's actually real!?
"It's true, once you've guided Qi into your body and become a Qi Refining cultivator, you can freely study all the techniques and secret manuals at the [Book House]. Wenhe, look!"

As Xu Ying spoke, he gently rubbed his fingertips together, and a warm red flame suddenly appeared above his fingertips, burning intensely.

Xu Wen stared wide-eyed!

Even a martial artist above the Venerable level couldn't achieve this level of external energy release!

He instinctively reached out and tested the small flame, but was burned and quickly withdrew his hand.

“Hiss—it’s so hot!”

"That's not all, there's more!"

As Xu Ying spoke, she extinguished the flame, then cupped her hands together, palms facing upwards. In the blink of an eye, water droplets condensed inside, gradually filling a handful.

The water was crystal clear, and it was even dripping down between the two palms clasped together!

Xu Ying wore a smug expression, but humbly said, "My aptitude is too poor and my cultivation is too low. I can only barely control fire and water. If I were like the sect leader's eldest disciple, I could even control the wind and summon heavenly lightning!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Wen was almost speechless, and couldn't help but mutter, "Then, just how powerful must that Immortal Zhang be?"

Xu Ying shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. It's probably something like being able to control clouds and mist and create the world! It's just that the sect leader has always kept a low profile and doesn't show it in front of others!"

Xu Wen couldn't help but sigh, "So, in that case, even Grandmasters are nothing compared to Immortal Zhang?"

"Of course! To be honest, we registered at the Martial Arts Commission a month ago. They said they've invited the Grandmaster-level Martial Arts Commissioner from the Great Xiao Kingdom to assess us. He should arrive in the next few days. Then we might have a chance to witness the Sect Leader's demeanor!"

At this point, Xu Ying also expressed some anticipation: "To be honest, I have never seen the sect leader make a move before!"

After a long conversation, Xu Wen became even more fascinated by Zhang Chengdao, and wished he could become his disciple so that he could seek the path to immortality.

However, Xu Ying had long known about his uncle's aptitude, and immediately poured cold water on him: "Wenhe, don't even dream of becoming the sect leader's disciple. The sect leader has very high requirements for accepting disciples. His eldest disciple, who has the worst aptitude, still managed to cultivate Qi into his body in two days, and his second disciple even reached the first level of Qi Refining in half a day. When you first learned martial arts, you were not as good as me. It took me half a month of diligent effort to successfully cultivate Qi into my body. As for you... I'm afraid your aptitude is even worse. You might as well just become a teacher and teach the disciples in the sect classics and literature."

After Xu Ying finished speaking, seeing Xu Wen's disappointed expression, she quickly added, "Of course, there's no need to worry about cultivation. The sect leader said that anyone in the sect who aspires to the path of immortality can freely take and read any of the books in the library, as long as they are not damaged!"

(End of this chapter)