Chapter 42: Genius

More and more unfamiliar faces from other places were appearing in the small town, and the business of inns and taverns was booming.

At the same time, many of the younger generation from wealthy families in Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane were quietly leaving the town. Most were intelligent and promising youngsters, but there were also unknown sons of concubines, or loyal family servants. Zhao Yao, the son of a prominent family, was among them. As for Gu Can, a child from Mud Bottle Lane, he was unexpectedly chosen by Liu Zhimao, the True Lord of Interception, which was an exception.

Chen Ping'an went to Liu Xianyang's house to get a basket and fish creel, then left the town towards the stream. When there were many people around, Chen Ping'an naturally wouldn't practice the pile-walking technique from the Mountain-Shaking Manual. Once out of town and alone, Chen Ping'an began to recite the incantation, recalling Ning Yao's steps, posture, and aura when she walked the piles, not wanting to miss a single detail, walking those six steps again and again.

The first time Chen Ping'an imitated Ning Yao in the house in Mud Bottle Lane, it was so clumsy and ridiculous, worse than ordinary people. In fact, the young boy and girl had a strange misunderstanding in their perceptions. Chen Ping'an had always known he had a problem, starting from his days as a kiln worker, he realized he had an eye problem, and his hands were slow. To be precise, it was because the boy's eyesight was too outstanding, causing his hands and feet to not keep up. This meant that if someone else were to imitate Ning Yao's pile-walking, they might have three or four points of similarity on the first try, rough and awkward, but at least not as similar as Chen Ping'an's one or two points. This was precisely because Chen Ping'an saw everything too clearly, being too harsh on every detail, that he overdid it. After his hands and feet couldn't keep up, it seemed particularly ridiculous, and hidden beneath the nine points of dissimilarity was a rare point of likeness.

Ning Yao didn't know any of this. Imitating the pile-walking of a Sword Immortal prodigy like her, even nine points of similarity in form was not as good as one point of likeness in spirit.

Of course, having said that, even if he had seven or eight points of her likeness in spirit, Ning Yao wouldn't find it particularly amazing.

What Ning Yao saw and looked forward to was only the distant realm of martial arts rarely reached by others, and standing shoulder to shoulder with someone, reaching the few peaks of swordsmanship.

Chen Ping'an sat on the steps under the plaque of the corridor bridge to rest. The boy roughly calculated that in twelve hours a day, even if he persisted for five to six hours every day, repeatedly practicing pile-walking, he would only manage around three hundred times at most. That's ten thousand a year, and it would take ten years to complete the task of one million times. The straw sandal boy turned his head to look at the clear stream water and murmured, "Let me persist for ten years, I should be able to, right?"

Although Chen Ping'an hadn't shown any unusual emotions during this period, the leaking of secrets by Daoist Lu before his departure, revealing Cai Jinjian of Cloud Garment Mountain's sinister methods one by one, still made the boy feel heavy. There was one thing that Chen Ping'an hadn't mentioned to Daoist Lu and Ning Yao, and that was that after Cai Jinjian poked his brow and patted his chest, the boy had already vaguely felt something wrong with his body in Mud Bottle Lane. That was why he lingered at his own yard door for so long, in order to steel himself, that even if he had to break the pot, he would fight Cai Jinjian to the death.

After all, according to the young Daoist Lu Chen, Chen Ping'an was too lifeless at that time, completely unlike a boy who should have been full of vigor. Chen Ping'an took death more lightly than most people did at the time.

Cai Jinjian's "guidance" with martial arts forcibly enlightened the straw sandal boy, making Chen Ping'an's body like a house without a yard gate or doors, which could indeed be moved into and absorb more objects, but whenever there was wind, snow, rain, or water, the house would collapse more severely and quickly. Therefore, Lu Chen asserted that, barring any exceptions, without major illnesses or disasters, Chen Ping'an would only live to be thirty or forty years old.

After that, she patted Chen Ping'an's chest, ruining his foundation for cultivation. The heart was a vital stronghold for cultivators. After the city gate collapsed, Cai Jinjian almost completely sealed off the normal operation of this pass. This not only severed Chen Ping'an's path to immortality, but also accelerated the decay of Chen Ping'an's body.

The truly terrifying aspect of Cai Jinjian's two moves was that after the doors were wide open, on the one hand, Chen Ping'an could no longer cultivate the methods of longevity, which meant that he couldn't use spells and divine powers to repair the doors, and couldn't nourish his foundation. On the other hand, even if the boy was lucky enough to master martial arts, he could indeed strengthen his body through tempering, but for Chen Ping'an, great risks would always accompany opportunities. One wrong step, and he would fall into the strange cycle of "practicing external martial arts easily attracting evil," and would end up in a pitiful situation of failing to prolong life and instead dying prematurely.

The most urgent task for Chen Ping'an was to find a martial art that could slowly and steadily nourish his vitality. It didn't matter whether this martial art was fierce, overbearing, or allowed one to advance rapidly in the martial arts realm.

Chen Ping'an's hope was entirely in the *Mountain-Shaking Manual* that Ning Yao looked down upon, such as the "Sword Furnace" of static stances and the "Thousand Autumns" of sleeping stances she had mentioned after pile-walking.

However, Chen Ping'an didn't dare to practice randomly. He had only glanced at it a few times and resisted the urge to flip through it. He felt that he should let Ning Yao evaluate it first, and only start practicing after confirming it was correct.

As long as you are on the right path, no matter how poor your comprehension is, as long as you are diligent and persistent, you will eventually make progress every day. If you are going in the wrong direction, the smarter and harder you work, the more mistakes you will make.

These words were said by Liu Xianyang. Of course, his point was in the last sentence, "You, Chen Ping'an, are the first type of person, that clever imp Song Xiaofu is the second type, and only I, Liu Xianyang, am the true genius who is both smart and on the right path."

At that time, when Liu Xianyang was bragging about himself, he was accidentally heard by Old Man Yao, who had always favored Liu Xianyang and regarded him as a prized disciple. The old man didn't know which of the boy's words had struck a sore spot, but Old Man Yao was rarely furious and chased after Liu Xianyang, giving him a beating. In any case, after that, Liu Xianyang never said the word "genius" again.

Chen Ping'an let out a heavy breath, stood up, walked up the high steps, and entered the corridor of the corridor bridge. Only then did he discover a group of people gathered in the distance, four or five of them, standing or sitting, as if guarding a woman among them. Chen Ping'an only saw the woman's profile. He saw her sitting on the railing of the corridor bridge, her feet naturally suspended above the stream water, closing her eyes to rest. The posture of her fingers was strange, her fingers were entwined or bent.

The feeling Chen Ping'an got was that she was clearly closing her eyes, but she seemed to be looking at something with her heart.Chen Ping'an hesitated, ceasing his advance. He turned and descended the steps, intending to wade across the stream and seek out Liu Xianyang. Today, he carried two bamboo baskets, one nestled inside the other. He needed to return the smaller one to Master Ruan's blacksmith shop, as Liu Xianyang had borrowed it.

Far off on the covered bridge, the group saw the poorly dressed, straw-sandaled boy sensibly turn back. They exchanged smiles, careful not to disturb the "fellow examinee's" profound state of Water Observation.

The root of this method undoubtedly originated from Buddhism. However, later, it was adopted, selected, integrated, and refined by numerous cultivation sects. Eventually, the path forked into many smaller trails.

It was just that Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent had always been regarded as a land where Buddhist Dharma was in decline. After several Buddhist extermination disasters that affected half the continent's territory, Buddhism had gradually waned for nearly a thousand years, and its influence was far less than that of the Confucian and Daoist schools.

"Only knowing True Lords and Celestial Masters, not knowing Dharma Protectors and Great Virtues" was the true state of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent.

Nevertheless, countless immortal sects benefited from Buddhist Dharma.

Chen Ping'an rolled up his trousers and waded across the stream. Upon reaching the opposite bank, he suddenly heard exclamations and angry shouts from the covered bridge. After a moment's thought, he decided not to interfere.

Arriving at Master Ruan's blacksmith shop, the scene was still one of fiery activity. Chen Ping'an didn't wander around aimlessly. He stood beside a well, asking someone to notify Liu Xianyang.

He had expected a long wait, but Liu Xianyang quickly arrived, pulling him toward the stream, and said in a hushed voice, "I've been waiting for you forever! What took you so long?"

Chen Ping'an was puzzled. "Is Master Ruan urging you to return the basket?"

The tall youth rolled his eyes. "What's a broken basket worth? It's that I have important matters to discuss with you. After you finish picking up stones and return to my courtyard, wait for that madam to find you, the one with the son in the red clothes, the mother and son we saw at the entrance of Mud Bottle Lane. After she comes to your door, don't say anything. Just hand over the large box to her. She'll give you a bag of money. Remember to count it in front of her, twenty-five copper coins, not a single one less!"

Chen Ping'an was shocked. "Liu Xianyang, are you crazy?! Why are you selling family heirlooms to outsiders?!"

Liu Xianyang vigorously hugged the straw-sandaled boy's neck, scolding him with wide eyes. "What do you know? A great future is laid out before me, why should I miss it for nothing?"

Chen Ping'an's face was full of suspicion, not believing this was Liu Xianyang's true intention.

Liu Xianyang sighed. "That madam wants to buy my family's ancestral treasure armor, and the master and servant, they want a sword manual. My grandfather told me before he died that when we really have no choice, the treasure armor can be sold, but not cheaply. But that sword manual, even if it means death, we must never admit it exists in our old Liu family. I agreed to sell the treasure armor to that madam. Besides agreeing on a price, I also demanded that she agree to a condition: after she obtains the treasure armor, she must persuade that burly old man to not cause me trouble in the near future. It's just a delaying tactic. Once I become Master Ruan's apprentice, these things won't matter anymore."

Chen Ping'an asked directly, "Why don't you delay that madam? Is she going to cause you trouble at the blacksmith shop? Besides, she can't break down the door and steal your family's treasure armor."

Liu Xianyang released him, squatted by the stream, casually picked up a stone and threw it into the water, and said with a pout, "Anyway, the treasure armor isn't something we can't sell. Now that there's a fair price, isn't that good? It can also make things more stable, maybe even without Ning girl having to risk herself. So I think it's not bad."

Chen Ping'an also squatted down, anxiously advising, "How do you know the price she's giving now is fair? What if you regret it later?"

The tall youth turned his head and grinned. "Regret? Think about it carefully. We've known each other for so many years, when have I, Liu Xianyang, ever done anything I regretted?"

Chen Ping'an scratched his head, feeling that something was wrong, but the tongue-tied boy didn't know how to persuade Liu Xianyang.

Liu Xianyang had always lived freely and unrestrainedly, and it seemed that no difficulty had ever stumped him, no knot in his heart could not be untied, and nothing he wanted to do could not be accomplished.

Liu Xianyang stood up and kicked the bamboo basket behind the straw-sandaled boy. "Hurry up, I'll take it back to Master Ruan. When I officially become an apprentice and offer tea, you can come and see."

Chen Ping'an slowly got up, hesitating to speak. Liu Xianyang scolded with a smile, "Chen Ping'an, your grandfather! Am I selling your family heirloom? Or your wife?"

When Chen Ping'an handed him the bamboo basket, he tentatively asked, "Won't you think about it again?"

Liu Xianyang took the basket, took a few steps back, and jumped high without warning, performing a flashy spinning kick.

Landing steadily, Liu Xianyang asked triumphantly, "Awesome, right? Are you scared?"

Chen Ping'an replied impolitely, "Your grandfather!"

After leaving the Ruan family's shop, Chen Ping'an, with a heavy heart, went into the water to pick up stones. Whether it was due to his unease or the stream's water level dropping, his harvest today was not great. He didn't get much until he was near the covered bridge, only collecting twenty-odd snake gallstones, and none of them were eye-catching or love at first sight.

Chen Ping'an took off the bamboo basket and fish trap, placing them in the grass by the stream. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked in the stream, starting to practice pile-walking.

After one round trip, Chen Ping'an felt a tightening in his heart. He saw a small boy squatting where he had hidden the bamboo basket and fish trap, a green foxtail grass stalk in his mouth.

It was Granny Ma's grandson from Apricot Flower Lane, who had been considered a fool since childhood. In addition, Granny Ma had a terrible impression on the generation of young boys like Chen Ping'an, being stingy and mean, which resulted in her precious grandson being used as a punching bag. Every time the boy went out, he was chased and bullied. Whenever he wore new clothes or new boots, without half an hour passing, he would definitely be covered in dirt by his peers or older boys. Just imagine, a brand-new pair of boots that Granny Ma had just bought from the shop, after her grandson wore them out, they would be immediately trampled by a dozen people, one foot each. After the child returned home, how new could the boots be?This simpleton, whose real name Ma Kuxuan had long been forgotten, had always been odd. Bullied by others, he never complained to Granny Ma, nor would he wail or beg for sympathy. He always wore a calm face and a cold gaze. Thus, the children of Apricot Blossom Lane didn't like playing with this little simpleton. Ma Kuxuan learned to play by himself very early on, and he loved watching the clouds in the sky from the earthen slopes or rooftops.

Chen Pingan had never bullied Ma Kuxuan, nor had he pitied this contemporary. He hadn't even considered the idea of two fellows in similar straits huddling together for warmth.

Because Chen Pingan always felt that Ma Kuxuan wasn't stupid at all. In fact, he was similar to Song Jixin in his bones, perhaps even more so.

They seemed to not speak, but they seemed to always be waiting, as if silently saying to someone, "The heavens owe me a great deal, and one day I will take it all back." If they owed Song Jixin a copper coin, he might demand that the heavens obediently return an ounce of silver. But Ma Kuxuan might demand an ounce of gold!

Chen Pingan didn't think there was anything wrong with them being like this, it's just that he himself didn't like it.

The youth was no longer like the simpleton from before. His speech was clear, and he asked with a smile, "You must be Chen Pingan from Mud Bottle Lane, living next to Zhigui?"

Chen Pingan nodded. "Is there something you need?"

The youth smiled, pointed at Chen Pingan's basket, and reminded him, "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but the creek has dropped a lot. Good stones are only left in the deep pool under the Covered Bridge and the water pit on Azure Ox Back. Other places won't do. Like the ones in your basket, they won't retain that energy. The stone will change quickly. Some, with luck, can be used to make a good whetstone. Some can become scholars' inkstones. In the end, these things are still good, of course. Selling them for a high price certainly won't be difficult, but… Forget it, you probably wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Chen Pingan smiled and hummed in agreement, saying nothing more.

The short youth suddenly said, "Were you practicing your fist techniques in the creek just now?"

Chen Pingan still didn't speak.

Ma Kuxuan's eyes sparkled, and he laughed heartily, "So you're not stupid either. That's right, you're similar to me. We're kindred spirits."

Chen Pingan walked around the youth and said, "I'm leaving now," before carrying his basket ashore.

The youth squatted in the distance, spat out the chewed-up dogtail grass from his mouth, shook his head, and muttered, "The stance is no good, full of flaws. No matter how much he practices, he won't be able to amount to anything."

Ma Kuxuan didn't turn his head. "Did you retrieve our strategist's token?"

A man behind him chuckled, "Remember to call me master from now on."

The youth ignored him, stood up, turned his head, and asked, "Can you show me that Small Sword Mound?"

It was the master of the military strategist school, carrying a sword on his back and a tiger tally at his waist, who claimed to be from True Martial Mountain. He had once declared that he would fight the junior uncle of the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden's school.

The man shook his head. "It's not the right time yet."

Then he became somewhat annoyed. "Why did you deliberately ruin that woman's Water Contemplation state of mind? Do you know that once you do such a thing, you'll become mortal enemies for life!"

The youth looked indifferent and said, "The path to the Great Dao is arduous. If she can't even withstand this little hardship, how dare she aspire to that lofty immortality?"

The man scoffed, "You haven't even entered the door yet, and you dare to speak so bombastically? Aren't you afraid of tripping over your tongue?!"

The youth finally grinned, revealing his clean, white teeth, and said with a smile, "In the future, when I encounter such an opportunity for a breakthrough in my cultivation, I will proactively inform that woman. At that time, Master, you mustn't interfere. Let her come and ruin my good deeds."

The man sighed. "Do you know that opportunities in the world are divided into big and small, blessings are divided into thick and thin, and natural endowments are divided into high and low? If you measure everyone by your own principles, one day you will encounter someone with a bigger fist, deeper cultivation, and a higher realm. When that happens, if they're in a bad mood, they'll shatter your Bridge to Immortality with a single punch. How will you handle that?"

The youth smiled. "Then I'll accept my fate!"

The man mocked himself. "From now on, I won't reason with you anymore. It's like playing the zither to a cow."

The youth suddenly asked, "How did that guy from Mud Bottle Lane know about the wonders of the stones in the water? And he's started practicing fist techniques?"

The man's expression suddenly became stern. "Ma Kuxuan! I don't care what kind of unruly character you have, but there's one thing you must keep in mind. We are orthodox sword cultivators of the military strategist school! We cultivate one sword to break ten thousand techniques, cultivate one sword to follow our true heart, and cultivate one sword to seek invincibility. But we must never kill innocent people indiscriminately, never bully commoners, and never deliberately set traps for fellow cultivators on the path of the sword because of jealousy!"

The youth stretched lazily. "Master, you're overthinking things. Even if that guy from Mud Bottle Lane is powerful, as long as he doesn't provoke me, he's none of my business. After all, the achievements of these people in the small town, no matter how great, will only be stepping stones for me in the future. Jealousy? I'm grateful to them. "

The man said helplessly, "It's impossible to reason with you. I guess True Martial Mountain won't be peaceful in the future."

The youth asked curiously, "Where do you rank in True Martial Mountain?"

The man smiled. "Let's not talk about that. It's embarrassing."

The youth rolled his eyes. "I knew I should have become a disciple later."

The man smiled it off.

There was something he didn't make clear to his disciple: there are many kinds of geniuses in the world, and talents are also diverse.

The straw sandal-wearing youth from before, with his seemingly unremarkable six-step walking stance, was actually exuding fist intent throughout his body.