Chapter 4 - Lament (1/2)
Chapter Four - Lament
These Monster Ox Movements had originated from the Heaven-Zen temple, where only disciples from the temple had the privilege to learn.
Liao Chen was singled out as a potential talent to learn these movements, back when he had joined the temple. His recommender was a famous Zen master in this temple, named Jiu Ru. Later, Liao Chen taught Xu Yi what he had learned from his master.
It took Xu Yi merely two years to master these movements while, as a teacher, Liao Chen had spent nearly ten years! Obviously, Xu Yi grossly outperformed his Sifu. Even the most promising disciple, Bei Chen, who was considered to be a peerless genius, had practiced for three whole years before mastering these moves.
The short learning span of three years was considered sensational in the Heaven-Zen Temple, and Bei Chen was praised as a rare genius who could only emerge once in an interval of fifty years.
To raise a genius like Bei Chen, the Heaven-Zen Temple had used up numerous precious herbs for his cultivation.
...
As he looked at the young man in front of him, Liao Chen felt totally confused. How could an orphan, with only a part time job as a storyteller, earn the money to buy the required rare herbs? Plus, it only took him two years to reach this stage with these limited resources.
This was truly a miracle!
“You are made for these movements. To tell you the truth, I was a little bit worried when I taught you these movements, which is only allowed to be taught to Heaven-Zen Temple disciples. But look at what you have achieved now, I am so relieved. Because I bet, that Master Jiu Chan will not blame me for this, he loves young talents like you.” Liao Chen praised Xu Yi and then clasped his hands together.
“You may say I am smart or talented. Yet, I am not. On the contrary, I am a foolish boy. The only secret that makes me a success is diligence. If others practice once, I will probably practice one hundred times more than them.”
“Well, well, your words are truly enlightening! I believe in you! I don’t have much time now, come closer and listen carefully.” It seemed that Liao Chen was intending to share some secret with Xu Yi.
...
When Liao was in his thirties, he had made a breakthrough in his cultivation – He surpassed the peak state of a forged body and entered into a new realm – the state of an ocean of qi. Because of this, he was quickly appointed as a keeper in the scripture library of the Heaven-Zen Temple.
In the following years, Liao Chen obediently did his job as a scripture keeper, sweeping the floor, or stacking the scriptures onto the shelves. On top of the routines, he kept cultivating in Wu Dao, as he was obsessed with it.
Fifteen years had passed, and everything was on track, until one day – Rumors had spread all over the Heaven-Zen Temple, that Liao Chen had stolen a special scripture and had fled. The leaders of the Heaven-Zen Temple were outraged and listed him as the most wanted monk.
Liao Chen fled with the scripture to Guanan. Unfortunately, soon after arriving here, he was arrested and beaten to death. Only his ghost managed to barely survive, which had eventually encountered Xu Yi.
...
Liao Chen told Xu Yi of the crime he had committed, even though he originally hadn’t planned to tell Xu Yi. Now, since he wouldn’t stay much longer in this world and there was still unfinished business left to take care of, he needed Xu Yi to help him out.