Chapter 313 – Trudging Back Through the Snow (2/2)

“Really.” Li Qingshan was not after a solemn pledge, but he would never shirk away from a promise among friends.

“Alright, then a promise is a promise.” Hua Chenglu lifted her cup and clinked it against Li Qingshan’s gently as if she was considering something.

Then, Li Qingshan went to find Juechenzi to drink with. Juechenzi had not come under the orders of the slovenly daoist priest. Instead, he had come out of his own accord. He wanted to resolve the grievances between Li Qingshan and the school of Daoism, but it was not because he was afraid of Li Qingshan. With the slovenly daoist priest’s cultivation nearing Golden Core, he feared nobody.

In a different time and place, perhaps they would be master and disciple. However, under these particular circumstances, they had instead developed resentment for one another. Juechenzi wanted to share his master’s burden, and he also felt that Li Qingshan was worth befriending.

Li Qingshan and Xiao An had not even spent a year in the academy, but Juechenzi firmly believed they would become prominent figures in the Clear River prefecture in the future, or even more than that.

Juechenzi took advantage of his drunkenness to say, “My master wished for none of what happened on that day too. He originally admired you very much. He often laments to me again and again about how great of a pity this all was.”

Li Qingshan, “Since it’s all in the past now, let’s not talk about it anymore. There’s nothing bad about the school of Novels anyway. At least I can stand on equal footing with you as a primary disciple.”

The slovenly daoist priest had screwed him over, but it was not because he wanted to harm him. He just wanted to vent his emotions, but Li Qingshan did not give him this chance, instead cursing back at him. With the slovenly daoist priest’s cultivation and status, if he were just slightly petty, it would mean endless trouble for Li Qingshan. It showed that he was rather forgiving too.

As such, why would Li Qingshan cling onto this matter of the past?

Zhang Lanqing stood to one side with a smile. His face had also reddened despite his darker skin tone. He discovered that if he looked closely, the primary disciples of five schools were actually present. Excluding Li Qingshan, the primary disciple of the school of Novels, the schools of Buddhism, Daoism, Legalism, and the Military were all renowned major schools.

Figures like them would shine no matter where they were.

Li Qingshan returned to Cloudwisp island alone, while Xiao An went back to Anāsravāṃ island. Despite being the primary disciple, the time she had spent on the island so far was even less than that of a young acolyte. No matter how ignorant she was about how to conduct herself, she still knew that this was rather inappropriate. And, she was burdened with another important mission, which was to help Li Qingshan collect pills so that he could complete that final step.

The One Thought master’s emotions were mixed, but he still felt happy when he saw his primary disciple return. Before Xiao An had even said anything, he had already presented her with many pills to support her future cultivation.

Regardless of how he felt, if he made a supreme prodigy like her suffer on his Anāsravāṃ island or waste time due to a lack of pills, it would be an utter waste.

If he learned the reason behind why she had returned, he would probably facepalm in exasperation. Fortunately, it was unlikely for him to ever know. He could roughly estimate just how many pills other disciples would eat and how many missions they would complete, but just who could estimate her cultivation progress?

Xiao An did not need these pills either. Right now, the true qi she had condensed in her body was just something akin to an illusion. Practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was still based on refining flesh and blood.

Li Qingshan had already promised her that he would take her out to “uphold justice” again soon. Yep, that was how he said it, but in her ears, it sounded more like a “great feast”.

Xiao An said, “Master, I want to listen to your sermons of scriptures.”

“Alright, alright, alright. Which one would you like to hear? I’ll give you one right now.” The One Thought master was delighted. Learning the texts of buddhism was an extremely important component of cultivation to buddhist disciples, but it was also a component that was extremely easy to neglect, particularly for genius disciples like her.

When he faced regular disciples, the One Thought master would tell them earnestly, “Only by comprehending the essence of buddhism can you progress with great ease in practising the buddhist cultivation methods.” However, just how much ease did Xiao An need with her current cultivation speed? He would obviously feel happy from the bottom of his heart now that Xiao An had come to him out of her own accord to hear his sermons without becoming blinded by her own talent.

Little did he know that as a practitioner of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, Xiao An understood this principle better than anyone. Although she had read through the entirety of the jade slip called the Canon Depository, buddhist scriptures were different from the path of the sword. No matter how clever she was, it was impossible for her to comprehend their essence so easily.

From a certain perspective, the classics that were purely ideological were more profound and complicated than most cultivation methods.

Xiao An said, “All of them.”

The One Thought master could only smile bitterly. The buddhist scriptures were as vast as the open sea. He had read through all of them, but he only specialised in a single area, and that was already an extremely outstanding achievement.

Xiao An remained silent most of the time, but whenever she asked a question, it would be a difficult one. The One Thought master scratched his bald head and finally made up his mind. He wanted to hold an assembly of dharma and invite all the eminent monks he knew throughout the Clear River prefecture, no, the nine prefectures of the Ruyi commandery, so they could come and give sermons to her.

After all, surely he did not have to bear this “punishment” alone. He could imagine just how speechless she could make his senior and junior brothers become. He actually began to look forward to it.

“Amitābha, how sinful of me, how sinful of me!”

Seeing Li Qingshan return, trudging through the snow, Liu Chuanfeng suddenly raised his head and extended his neck. He asked, “Did you win?” Because of his experiences last time, he was afraid to watch the battle this time.

“I won.”