How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

The person who came was Lao Qi.

Old Qi hasn't come here even once since he moved to this little courtyard.

The root cause is simply that I'm too busy.

During the day, Lao Qi was busy implementing the Zhou family's guiding principles for dividing the land among themselves, going from village to village.

That evening, I had to return to the county government office, constantly on guard against the remnants of He Li who had "broken through the defenses" and risked taking risks. At the same time, I also had to appease the magistrate, and be wary of this stubborn old man who had become so fixated on being an official, potentially causing me to fail at the last minute...

This morning, the master finally took that final step.

Only then did he find the time to meet the second young master.

Stepping into the courtyard, he could see the Second Young Master lying leisurely in the red pavilion, his left leg crossed over his right.

Old Qi felt a sense of unease, a feeling of "unresolved resentment."

You brat, no wonder the master always looks so troubled when he mentions you. You're pushing everyone into the fire while you sit back and watch the show.

Everyone else is so conflicted, how dare you be so relaxed?

It's coming, tap-tap-tap...

Two maids who were pruning the flowers hurried over, but Old Qi waved them away gently, signaling them to go back to their own business...

The girl stopped.

Zhou Wenju opened his eyes.

"Young master, Madam has told Master eight hundred times that you should rent this small courtyard to study diligently in peace." Old Qi emphasized two words.

The first word is "renting".

The second phrase is "studying diligently with a focused mind".

"What do you mean? I'm tired of studying, and you have a problem with me lying down?" Zhou Wenju said, "Please, Lao Qi, I'm starting to rebel against my dad's control, so please don't make things worse!"

"How dare this old man interfere with the young master's affairs?" Old Qi said, "I came here today to tell the young master that the proclamation to reassure the people has been issued! Everything will be carried out as the young master has instructed."

Zhou Wenju laughed and sat up: "It wasn't easy, but my old man finally made the right decision."

"Who can argue with that?" Old Qi chuckled. "Until the very last moment before the proclamation was issued, he was still agonizing over whether stamping the document would bring eternal infamy or make him a laughingstock in officialdom."

"Infamy for eternity, a laughing stock in officialdom? Aren't they all the same kind of thing? Why are you so hung up on it?! My father's pessimism is ingrained in his bones!" Zhou Wen raised his hand, picked up the teapot from the stove next to him, took out tea leaves from the bamboo tube on the tea table, and poured two cups of tea.

"The master isn't pessimistic; he's just been an official for many years and is well-versed in the ways of officialdom," Old Qi said.

"Does serving as an official for many years necessarily mean one is well-versed in the ways of officialdom?" Zhou Wenju handed the tea to Old Qi. "If my father were truly well-versed in the ways of officialdom, why did he go from a third-rank vice minister to a mere seventh-rank official?"

"You! How dare you say such things to the master's face?" Old Qi took the tea and took a sip.

"What's there to be afraid of? He's already been dragged onto this pirate ship by me. Without me, he'll be completely lost. If he piss me off, I'll just walk away and leave him to fry in oil until he's dead..."

"Young master, I really don't understand you two. When it comes to life and death, you're both willing to face the executioner's blade to give each other a chance to live. It's true that you have a deep father-son bond. Yet, in everyday life, you're so irreconcilable!" Old Qi sighed, then his gaze shifted slightly. "Something else happened today that you need to know."

"What?"

"The cash, silver, banknotes, and jewelry handed over in Hexi Valley totaled more than 500,000 taels of silver, all of which were robbed from the He and Li family manors, sects, and merchants in the city." Old Qi lowered his voice: "That day, the young master personally told Zhang San to give each villager in Hexi Valley ten taels of silver, but it is said that they did not receive any and handed it all over."

"How generous! How generous!" Zhou Wenju exclaimed. "What does my father plan to do with this money?"

"Young master, you've hit the nail on the head! My master's first thought is to hand over this money to the imperial court..."

"Damn! He's really gone mad from being an official!" Zhou Wenju was speechless. "He changed his mind later, didn't he?"

"Later, he himself felt that handing it over to the imperial court was not quite appropriate, so he earnestly asked me a question: should it be returned to its rightful owner?"

Zhou Wenju was truly speechless: "He went through so much trouble to snatch it from the He and Li families, and he wants to return it to its rightful owner? That's more than just stupid; it's downright... cough... how did you answer?"

Old Qi said, "I have a question for you, sir: It is only right and proper for you to return the money to its rightful owner. However, who is the true owner of this money? Wasn't it extorted from the people of Qishan by the He and Li families? Aren't the people of Qishan the true owners of this money?"

"Very good, very good, Lao Qi, although you're getting on in years, you're really not senile!" Zhou Wenju praised deeply: "And then?"

"Then he put it aside... he put the money aside for now, but the knot in his heart is still there pulling at him. He always feels that robbing the rich to help the poor is not something a county magistrate should do..." Old Qi said, "I came here today with another purpose in mind. I wanted to ask you, young master, what do you think should be done with this money?"

"You've come to the right place!" Zhou Wenju said. "When it comes to making money, my father is a genius, but when it comes to spending money, he's completely clueless! Five hundred thousand taels, three hundred thousand people in the county, each person gets one tael of silver, which is a small compensation for the heavy losses they've suffered over the years. The rest can be used to settle this year's imperial taxes of eighteen thousand taels, pay the wages of the county officials and servants, and give each person a few taels of silver as a year-end bonus. There should still be over ten thousand taels left, right? We can do some infrastructure work, build a few schools, repair roads, and renovate the government office. This trouble caused by money should be almost completely resolved."

"Young Master's idea is comprehensive, and I completely agree with it. If it is implemented as Young Master has arranged, this year, the people of the whole county will have a prosperous year like never before in history." Old Qi looked at the Donghe River outside and was very moved.

"Since ancient times, it has been easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to return to frugality from extravagance!" Zhou Wenju looked at the sky at a 45-degree angle: "This year, a whale fall brought life to all things, He Li fell, and the whole county ate its fill. What will happen next year? Old Qi, find out if Qishan County still has any high-quality resources like He and Li..."

Old Qi spat out his tea in one gulp...

High-quality resources?

Although he didn't understand what resources were, he understood what the young master meant.

Young master, you're addicted...

"Young master, you should stop getting involved in officialdom. You need to focus on your studies. Your master is right about one thing: poetry must ultimately be supported by the path of sagehood. You are a natural talent for poetry, blessed by heaven. You must not let this opportunity slip away. You must study! You need to make your future path more secure."

"Reading! I really want to read..." Zhou Wenju sighed, "But I can't get into the books in this world! I'm not kidding, it's true!"

"Good heavens...we're back to the same old ways!" Old Qi slapped himself on the forehead.

He knew that this young master had joined the Mohist school because he couldn't concentrate on his studies.

Here we go again today...

However, what he didn't know was that the Zhou Wenju of this moment was completely different from the Zhou Wenju of years ago who couldn't concentrate on his studies, and the "can't stand reading" he was talking about was entirely different.

At that time, Zhou Wenju did not understand the classics of Taoism, and reading them was very painful for him.

Today, when he reads ordinary books, he feels like a college student reading an elementary school student's essay...

That's also called suffering.

"Hey, Lao Qi, how about you teach me martial arts?" Zhou Wenju asked.

Old Qi glared at him: "Young master should know that you cannot learn my martial arts."

"Tch! So what if your Lingyan Pavilion's martial arts expose taboos? I don't believe that there's nothing in your martial arts system that doesn't expose taboos."

When he uttered the first word "Lingyan Pavilion," the surroundings suddenly became completely silent.

This is a soundproofing ring.

Lao Qi's soundproofing ring can be activated at will.

"What you say makes sense, young master! The reason why Lingyan Pavilion's martial arts techniques were exposed is ultimately due to the additional rules of the Smoke Path. As long as this additional rule is not added, the taboo will not be exposed," Old Qi said. "But young master also needs to understand that without the additional power of the rules, these moves themselves have no remarkable power. The path of martial arts has no future for you; you should focus on the path of literature."

"We've already reached an agreement. I want to study hard, but I have nowhere to do so. I'm just idling around anyway." Zhou Wenju was very distressed. "If you refuse to teach me martial arts, I might become a spoiled brat out of boredom. If that happens, I'll go up the mountain to seduce nuns and come home to flirt with maids. My father will beat me to death, and you'll have to rack your brains to mediate."

He's even eyeing the maid?

Old Qi's gaze swept over the two maids in the courtyard. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of approval towards Miss Zhou Shuang. "Miss Zhou Shuang was truly prescient," he thought, "choosing these two maids so well..."

He raised his eyes: "Alright, alright, you used to practice the Soaring Dragon Thrust, so I'll break down this spear move for you..."

Stand up!

With a swift movement, a long-handled broom fell into his palm.

With a gentle flick of his left hand, the bamboo strips on the broom fell off and became a stick.

At the same time, a light mist suddenly enveloped the courtyard.

Isolate everything!

"The first level of the Soaring Dragon Thrust: The spear precedes the wind!"

The stick in his hand suddenly thrust out!

This thrust, swift as lightning, made a soft thud, as if it had pierced a barrier.

"Holy crap! A sonic boom!" Zhou Wenju's eyes lit up.

The gun goes first!

what for?

The gun shot out faster than the wind!

His shot was not only faster than the wind, it broke the sound barrier and created a sonic boom!

"The second level!" Old Qi suddenly spun the staff in his hand: "Wind and spear merge!"

With this sudden turn, a thick fog enveloped the East River outside, the setting sun vanished without a trace, the river surged, and sand and stones flew from the banks.

With a single shot, he stirred up half of the East River!

"The third level!" Old Qi suddenly retracted his stick: "He knows nothing of wind or spear techniques!"

The sound fell!

Everything suddenly became eerily quiet.

The water of the East River seemed to have completely frozen.

A few fallen leaves hovered eerily in the air as Old Qi thrust out his spear. It didn't seem fast, but in the complete stillness of the surroundings, this single movement was the true master of this world.

Zhou Wenju stared in disbelief, sweat glistening on his back...

Old Qi slowly withdrew his hand, his gaze gradually shifting: "This is the third realm of the Soaring Dragon Thorn, the ultimate realm you can reach. Because beyond that, it's no longer a spear, but... the Dao!"

"Let me give it a try!" Zhou Wen raised his hand and took the wooden stick from Lao Qi's hand.

"No need to rush! There's plenty of time. You can practice slowly over the next ten years. If you can reach the third level within ten years, you'll be a genius disciple of an ordinary sect. It's not impossible for you to focus on 'pulse cultivation'!" Old Qi looked up at the sky and planned to finish his practice and return to the yamen.

"No!" Zhou Wenju cried out, "You have to use your sealing technique to cover for me."

"I've already said it, you have ten years to practice slowly. The path of meridian cultivation cannot be rushed..."

Chi!

Zhou Wenju suddenly thrust out the stick in his hand!

With this thrust, the entire staff glowed with a faint rainbow of light, the spear tip pointing directly at Lao Qi's nose, before the wind could even follow.

Old Qi's eyes suddenly widened.

So fast?

How could it be so fast?

Chi!

The second shot!

Double the speed!

The third shot adds another seven points!

The fourth shot adds another three points...

No.…

The seventeenth shot!

The speed is already incredible.

Zhou Wenju stopped and closed his eyes to think for a long time!

The eighteenth shot was fired!

With a soft thud, a seven-colored glow seemed to form a strange light curtain above the spearhead, and this spear pierced through the light curtain.

Old Qi finally blinked, and a flush appeared on his old face.

Eighteen strikes, directly reaching the first level.

The gun goes first!

Become!

What speed is that?

This couldn't possibly be something he just achieved through cultivation; absolutely no one in the world could cultivate at such a fast pace.

Eighteen shots, each one faster than the last!

Zhou Wenju's heart pounded. Sure enough, speed was the ultimate essence of the first level. Speed ​​was also a skill.

How to generate power, how to reduce wind resistance, how to continuously increase speed in a way that best conforms to the laws of modern physics...

"Now I'm at the second level! I'll see if I can achieve it in one night!" Zhou Wen swung the gun in his hand sharply.

The thick fog in front of us churned, creating an initial effect of flying sand and stones.

However, it is far from having the power to shake up half of the East River with a single shot.

His brain was working at high speed, analyzing the shortcomings of the shot. The seven-colored energy in his meridians became his most acute sense at this moment...

With the next shot, the thick fog swirled noticeably more violently.

Another shot...

The dense fog seemed to be sealing off the area, and the situation appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

The thirty-seventh shot!

He felt that the wooden stick in his hand was connected to the Five Mountains within his body, and the gunshot seemed to have affected all his meridians.

With a loud bang, the thick fog rolled up completely, and his gun reached straight to the East River!

Eighty-first shot!

Boom!

He swirled up the river water in front of him...

Starlight pierced through the mist, and Old Qi's eyes widened: "Young Master, the second realm!"

"Is it done?" Zhou Wenju asked with a smile.

"Although I am very reluctant to believe it, but..."

"But you have to admit, I am a genius!" Zhou Wen slowly withdrew the gun in his hand, trying to recreate the special artistic conception of Old Qi's third level just now.

However, it was to no avail; it had absolutely no effect.

"The third realm is built upon the first and second realms. Only when the first two realms are developed to their extremes will the spear intent emerge. The third realm is a product of the spear intent!" Old Qi said, "It is not something that is deliberately created."

"I see!" Zhou Wenju said, "Then I'll follow the path of speed and reach its peak first!"