Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

Shi Jian walked over with the tea, glanced down at him, and said, "That's it?"

Lin Bei gritted his teeth and got up: "Master, I can't take it anymore, I can't hold on any longer!"

"I didn't tell you to walk, I told you to stand in a stance." Shi Jian pointed to the middle of the courtyard, "Horse stance, one hour."

Lin Bei looked at the sun in the sky and thought Shi Jian was joking with him.

Shi Jian drew two circles in the middle of the courtyard and had Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian each stand in one, with their arms outstretched, palms facing up, and each place a brick on it.

Lin Bei stood there for less than fifteen minutes before his legs started to tremble. Another fifteen minutes passed, and the brick fell from his hands.

"Add another quarter of an hour," Shi Jian's voice came from under the eaves.

Lin Bei's legs trembled as he squatted down, picked up the brick, and continued standing.

After an hour, he felt like his legs no longer belonged to him, and walking felt like walking on cotton. Shi Shaojian was not much better off, grimacing as he leaned against the wall.

"Let's eat." Shi Jian remained as concise as ever!

Breakfast consisted of porridge and pickled vegetables, plus a multigrain steamed bun for each person. Lin Bei was already starving, so he ate the bun in a few bites and then got a bowl of porridge.

After eating and resting for half an hour, Shi Jian told them to practice martial arts.

First, there are the basics: leg presses, leg kicks, back bends, and somersaults.

Lin Bei was a programmer in his past life, sitting in front of the computer all day, his body stiff as a log, and he would scream in pain when he stretched his legs.

Shi Shaojian laughed at him from the side, "Junior brother, have you never practiced before?"

Lin Bei grinned: "Never practiced? What's wrong?"

"Then you're in trouble. Master said you need to practice the basics for at least three months." Shi Shaojian said gloatingly.

Lin Bei glared at him and continued stretching her legs.

After they finished practicing the basics, Shi Jian began to teach them boxing techniques.

Lin Bei took one look and immediately laughed, "Master, isn't this Tai Chi?"

Shi Jian paused in his movements, looking at Lin Bei with a puzzled expression. "You know Tai Chi?"

"Oh dear, what elderly person in the park doesn't know a few moves of this kind of boxing?"

After saying that, Lin Bei walked over to Shi Jian and showed off a couple of moves. Shi Jian's face darkened after watching: "You bastard! You're completely ignorant and incompetent! You've turned the dignified Taoist martial arts into this mess!"

Lin Bei shrank back as he was scolded, while Shi Shaojian watched the spectacle with a grin.

"Look closely, this is the real Tai Chi!"

Shi Jian demonstrated once, his movements clean and crisp. His set of fist techniques was as powerful as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

This isn't some fancy move that old men and women do in the park; it's real, hard-earned boxing.

Lin Bei tried to imitate him, but his first punch almost knocked him to the ground.

Shi Jian glanced at him, expressionless: "Your foundation is too weak. You need to practice more. Keep going!"

Another day passed just like that, from before dawn until sunset, with only a break during mealtimes.

Lin Bei was in pain all over his body; his palms were blistered and his knees were bruised.

After dinner, it got completely dark. Lin Bei thought he could finally go to sleep, but Shi Shaojian pulled him into the main hall.

Oil lamps were lit in the main hall. Shi Jian sat cross-legged on a futon, with two thread-bound books in front of him.

"We'll study Taoist practices tonight." Shi Jian pointed to the futon in front of him. "Sit down."

When Lin Bei sat down, his buttocks almost bounced up as soon as they touched the cushion. The skin on his inner thighs was chafed raw, and he gasped in pain as he sat down.

Shi Jian glanced at him, said nothing, and pushed the two books over.

Lin Bei picked up one book, the cover of which had five characters written on it: Taishang Ganying Pian (太上感感篇). The other book was Maoshan Basic Talismans.

"Cultivating the Tao begins with cultivating the mind. The Taishang Ganying Pian is fundamental; memorize it first." Shi Jian said softly, "Talismans are the foundation; you must memorize the strokes, incantations, and hand gestures of the talismans."

"Lin Bei, you're just starting out, so let me explain the different levels of cultivation for you!"

Lin Bei's heart stirred, and his gaze focused on Shi Jian. Even Shi Shaojian looked over.

"The cultivation realms are divided, from lowest to highest, into Daoist novices, Daoist priests, Daoist masters, Dharma masters, True Men, Human Masters, Earth Masters, and Celestial Masters!"

Each realm is further divided into four sub-stages: initial, middle, late, and perfect.

"Zombies are divided into white zombies, black zombies, green zombies, purple zombies, hairy zombies, flying zombies, wandering zombies, lying zombies, uncorrupted zombies, and demons..."

. . . . . .

"Master, what realm are you in now?" Lin Bei asked softly.

Shi Jian smiled smugly: "Hmph, I am a peak Earth Master!"

hiss! ! !

Lin Bei gasped. This cheap master of his was so strong? He started as a peak geomancer?

"Don't aim too high, focus on self-improvement!"

"When you cultivate a trace of magical power within your dantian, that signifies your formal entry into the Dao and your entry into the early stage of the Daoist novice realm!"

After saying that, Shi Jian closed his eyes to rest.

"Senior brother, what level have you reached in your cultivation? Have you become a mage yet?"

Lin Bei nudged Shi Shaojian quietly and asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Shi Jian, who was resting with his eyes closed, subtly twitched his lips twice.

Shi Shaojian was speechless. "What are you thinking? I've only been here for half a year, and I'm only at the peak of the early stage of the Daoist novice realm!"

Uh... early stage of a Daoist disciple?

Lin Bei thought that following the big shot would make his cultivation progress much faster!

Just as he was about to ask something else, he discovered that Shi Jian had opened his eyes at some point and was staring at him!

Lin Bei then obediently opened the Taishang Ganying Pian (Treatise on Response and Retribution), and the first sentence was: "The Supreme Lord said, 'Misfortune and fortune have no gate; they are summoned by oneself.'"

He began to read it very carefully.

Shi Shaojian had already started memorizing it from the side, muttering to himself. Lin Bei looked at a few pages and his head suddenly felt like it was about to explode!

In his past life, he was a terrible student. How come he has to memorize books after transmigrating? For the sake of his great mission of slaying demons and monsters, Lin Bei had no choice but to grit his teeth and memorize them!

The Taishang Ganying Pian (Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being) is not long, with a total of a little over a thousand words. Lin Bei was able to memorize it haltingly after reading it a dozen times. Shi Jian nodded and then had him read the basics of talismans.

There are many types of Maoshan talismans, including those for exorcising evil spirits, protecting the home, summoning souls, and breaking evil influences. Each type of talisman has specific strokes and incantations.

The head, the core, and the foot of the talisman—every stroke is important; a single mistake renders it useless.

Lin Bei had read many online novels in his previous life and had some impression of talismans and such things, but when he actually started learning them, he found that they were far more complicated than he had imagined.

The cinnabar used for drawing talismans alone has to go through nine processing steps, the yellow paper has to be made of special bamboo, and the brush has to be made of wolf hair.

When drawing talismans, you also need to use mental techniques and hand gestures; all three are indispensable. The key is that drawing this thing consumes a lot of mental energy.

He tried to draw the simplest exorcism talisman, but after he finished, there was no spiritual light on the talisman!

Well, there was no reaction at all. He didn't have any magic power yet, which was normal. But Lin Bei wasn't in a hurry. He would take it slow.

Days passed by like this, and every morning I would get up when the rooster crowed three times, and then run in the mountains, practice standing meditation, and do martial arts.

In the afternoon, they continued practicing martial arts, and occasionally Shi Jian would teach them some simple moves. In the evening, they studied Taoist magic, memorized talismans, and practiced mental techniques.

Lin Bei's body became stronger at a visible speed. The blisters on his hands burst and grew back, eventually turning into a thick layer of calluses.

The muscle definition in my legs became more and more obvious, and running uphill went from being exhausting after two round trips to being able to catch my breath after four round trips.

Shi Shaojian was similar to him; the two were competing with each other, neither willing to concede to the other.