Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

Shi Shaojian has grown taller than he did two years ago, his childishness has faded considerably, and he has gained a more composed demeanor. His aura is also much stronger than before, indicating that he has broken through to the mid-stage of the Daoist realm.

"Senior brother!" Lin Bei greeted him with a big laugh.

The two met in the middle of the corridor. Without saying a word, Shi Shaojian hugged Lin Bei and patted him hard on the back.

"You idiot! You've been gone for almost three years! I've been so bored up here on the mountain I'm practically going to die!" Shi Shaojian released him, looked him up and down, "Good heavens, the aura you exude... you're a mid-stage mage?"

Lin Bei nodded smugly: "Of course, did you think I just stayed in the secret realm for nothing?"

"My goodness! You went from a mid-stage Taoist Priest to a mid-stage Mage in just over two years? Are you even human?"

Shi Shaojian looked on with envy. "I've only climbed from the early stage to the middle stage of Taoist cultivation in the past two years, and I already feel that I've made a lot of progress. Compared to you... never mind, it's too painful to compare."

"Come on, come on, I'll take you to see where I cultivate!" Shi Shaojian pulled him along. "I haven't been idle on the mountain these past two years. Besides what my master taught me, I've learned a lot more."

"I've mastered the Wooden Stake Technique to the third level, and even my Uncle-Master Xuanming praised my talent."

As Lin Bei walked, he listened to his rambling. The two passed through several courtyards and arrived at a spacious training ground.

The training ground was paved with bluestone slabs, and several old pine trees were planted around it, their needles rustling in the evening breeze. Shi Shaojian stood in the middle of the training ground, his hands forming hand seals and his mouth chanting incantations.

"Heaven and Earth are boundless, borrowing the power of Heaven and Earth, the Great Wooden Stake Technique!"

The ground shook violently, and four wooden stakes, each as thick as a bowl, emerged from the ground simultaneously, positioned in the four directions of east, west, south, and north, perfectly surrounding Shi Shaojian.

"See? I can summon four wooden stakes at the same time now, much stronger than before." Shi Shaojian withdrew his magic power, the wooden stakes shrank back into the ground, and the ground returned to its flat state.

Lin Bei nodded in approval: "You've indeed improved a lot, and you even know other moves?"

"Of course!" Shi Shaojian patted his chest, then drew the Demon-Slaying Sword from his back and demonstrated a couple of moves: "This is the Bagua Sword Technique that Uncle Xuancheng taught me. Although it can't compare to your Ghost-Slaying Sword, it's still quite respectable among the younger generation of Maoshan."

Lin Bei felt a warm glow in his heart as he watched Shi Shaojian's beaming face.

The two sat on the stone steps beside the training ground, chatting as the evening breeze blew. Shi Shaojian recounted to Lin Bei the events that had occurred on the mountain over the past two years...

Lin Bei listened with great interest, occasionally chiming in with a few words. The two brothers chatted until the moon was high in the sky before returning to their rooms.

Late at night, Lin Bei sat cross-legged on his bed and began to study the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture.

As soon as the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture was activated, Lin Bei felt a distinct difference.

This cultivation technique was far more domineering than he had imagined. It absorbed spiritual energy at a speed several times faster than the Supreme Induction Chapter. The moment the external spiritual energy surged into his meridians, the impact caused a slight stinging sensation in his meridians.

It should be noted that his meridians had been tempered by the power of thunder to be extremely tough, which is enough to show how domineering this technique is!

The spiritual energy flowed wildly through the meridians, circulating throughout the body before converging into the dantian, where it was rapidly absorbed by the pure yang pseudo-elixir.

The fake pill's surface shimmered with a purple halo, much brighter than during the day, and the inside of the pill became more solid.

After one night of cultivation, Lin Bei felt it was equivalent to several days of arduous practice of the Supreme Response Manual.

"The Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture is indeed worthy of its reputation. It has such an effect at the very beginning of my practice. Once I fully adapt, my cultivation speed will be much faster."

Over the next few days, Lin Bei stayed in his room every day, practicing his cultivation techniques and gradually transforming the magical power in his dantian into the magical power of the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture.

By the fifth day, the internal magical power had been completely transformed, and the light emitted by the pure yang fake pill was even brighter, with the magical power circulating more smoothly.

After completing the renovation, Lin Bei plunged into the library.

The Taoist scriptures collected in the Maoshan Scripture Pavilion are vast and numerous. He had only visited a few times before and had no time to look at them carefully. Now that the cultivation method has been changed, he naturally wants to take this opportunity to learn more spells to protect himself.

He spent several days rummaging through the library and found several spells that interested him.

The Wooden Stake Technique, a skill Shi Jian knew, was very useful for trapping enemies and for defense. He had always coveted this technique, but fearing a scolding from Shi Jian, he dared not speak up.

Lin Bei was confident that he could master the technique in a short time, since his cultivation level was much higher than before, and using this spell would be twice as effective.

He found an open space on the back mountain and began to cultivate according to the incantation.

"True Qi of Yi Wood, gather in my palm!"

"The stakes are like dragons and elephants, breaking through the earth and piercing the sky. They shake mountains and tremble peaks, causing evil spirits to bow down."

"Imperial Edict!"

The ground shook, and a wooden stake as thick as a bowl burst from the ground beneath his feet. It was thicker than he had expected, and the runes on it were clearly visible.

Lin Bei tried a few more times and soon he was able to summon three wooden stakes at the same time, and each one was thicker and stronger than the ones summoned by his senior brother Shi Shaojian.

Shi Shaojian watched him practice from the side, looking helpless: "It took me two years to get four strands, and you got three in five days?"

"You have to get used to this. My talent is better than yours, and my cultivation is higher. It's normal." Lin Bei patted his shoulder with a grin.

Shi Shaojian rolled his eyes, knowing that this guy was about to start insulting people again. He suddenly slapped his mouth, wondering why he couldn't control himself.

Besides the Wooden Stake Technique, Lin Bei also set his sights on another spell: the Divine Strike Technique.

This spell allows one to invoke the power of a patriarch or deity, temporarily boosting combat strength. It plays a crucial role in battles against powerful enemies and is passed down in various branches of Maoshan, but few people are truly proficient in it.

He found a notebook in a corner of the library, which contained the cultivation formulas and precautions for the Divine Strike Technique, but the contents were incomplete, with most of the crucial steps for invoking the gods missing.

Lin Bei took the note to find Shi Jian.

"The method of divine attack?" Shi Jian took the notebook and flipped through it, his brows furrowing slightly. "The records in this are incomplete. It can only be used to summon low-ranking deities. It's completely useless against powerful opponents."

"What should we do then?" Lin Bei asked helplessly. What use is it to invite a low-ranking god? The divine power they bring down is so little that it's not enough to deal with a strong enemy; we'd be lucky if we didn't get killed.

Shi Jian was silent for a moment before speaking: "Among all the branches of Maoshan, the one who is most proficient in this technique is your Uncle Four Eyes. When he traveled around in his early years, he received guidance from a master, and his divine striking technique is something that even I admire."

"If you really want to learn this spell, you can go to your Uncle Four Eyes for instruction."

"Master Four Eyes? Where is he now?"

Lin Bei was somewhat looking forward to it; he had long wanted to meet his Uncle Four Eyes and Uncle Nine, the Saint Master of Myriad Realms.

"He built a temple in Guangdong. I'll tell you the exact location later." Shi Jian glanced at him. "However, your Uncle Four Eyes has an eccentric temper, and besides... he has some prejudice against me. Whether he's willing to teach you or not depends on your own abilities."

"Disciple Ming!"

Lin Bei knew perfectly well the conflict between his master and his senior uncle, Four Eyes. It was nothing more than a rebellious and stubborn boy being scolded by his cold senior brother and running away in a huff. This was easy to resolve; he could handle it in a minute with just his words!

(The incantation for the wooden stake technique will be modified later, as it feels too monotonous! The incantation will be different at different times!)