The campfire continued to crackle as it burned. “Be careful of your feet!”
Sun Mo reminded.
“Uhh!”
Tan Lu came to an abrupt stop, and cold sweat came down profusely from his head. His mind was filled with the thoughts of how he could improve his relationship with Sun Mo that he had forgotten one of his legs was injured.
They said that if one were to get injured in their sinews or bones, they’d take 100 days to recover. Even though Tan Lu hadn’t been injured before, he had seen people getting injured before. Such injuries would require them to lie in bed for very long. Moreover, if they didn’t pay attention, their injuries might get worse.
Tan Lu moved his ankle carefully. It did hurt a bit, but it was still tolerable.
“Do you want to be crippled? Don’t move your ankle anymore.”
Sun Mo frowned.
“Teacher, where did you learn your Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands from?”
Tantai Yutang was curious. He understood better than anyone else how serious Tan Lu’s ankle injury was. However, after receiving their teacher’s treatment, not only could Tan Lu move, but he didn’t even need to put a cast on his injury. This was too much of an exaggeration.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Tantai Yutang +15. Friendly (525/1,000).
“From a book!”
Sun Mo said half-heartedly.
“Hehe!”
Tantai Yutang clearly didn’t believe him. He opened his mouth, wanting to say that he wanted to learn it but felt too embarrassed to ask.
Of course, he didn’t suspect Sun Mo for keeping something valuable to himself and that he wouldn’t bear to teach it to him. It was because Li Ziqi and the other two were also learning it.
“Teacher…”
Tan Lu sat down, feeling hesitant to speak. “Are you hungry?” Sun Mo looked at Tan Lu’s data and instructed Ziqi, “Get him a bowl of porridge.” “I’m not hungry!”
The moment Tan Lu said that, his stomach let out a rumble. He instantly felt awkward.
As it was already very late, the aurora appeared even more mysterious and dazzling under the night sky.
Sun Mo ate the porridge and wanted to give Tan Lu some guidance, but he was a little worried at the same time. Therefore, he stayed silent.
Tan Lu ate the porridge while his thoughts were wandering. As time passed by, knowing that Sun Mo might feel tired and head off to sleep at any moment, Tan Lu finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. He put down the bowl and dropped to his knees.
“Teacher, this student would like to seek your guidance!”
Usually, students wouldn’t have performed such a solemn salutation when seeking guidance from a teacher. However, it was different this time around. Putting aside that Sun Mo had cured Tan Lu’s ankle, he had consecutively used the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands to help Ying Baiwu and Xuanyuan Po level up. Hence, Tan Lu was taken by astonishment and felt a bit unsettled.
He was afraid that he wasn’t polite enough and might end up making Sun Mo angry. He wouldn’t be able to receive guidance then.
“You’re cultivating an inherited ultimate art that is passed down in your family, right?”
Sun Mo spoke up.
“Yes!”
Tan Lu nodded and then started to feel conflicted again. (What if Teacher asked me the contents of the ultimate art? What should I do then? If I refused, would I appear too stingy? But that’s our family’s ultimate art. It mustn’t be shared with others.)
(Sigh, I have lost it. Teacher doesn’t even know the concrete content of my cultivation art, so how can he give me guidance?)
“What I’m going to say now is just a suggestion. You can just take it as a reference!”
Sun Mo still decided to voice it out.
Tan Lu immediately sat upright. “Your family-inherited ultimate art is amazing, but it isn’t suitable for you. If you wish to increase your battle prowess and have some achievements in the martial path, then you must give up on it immediately.” After Sun Mo said that, even Lu Zhiruo who always trusted him couldn’t help but feel stunned. She was wearing a hint of perplexity on her face.
What was a family-inherited ultimate art?
It was the ultimate art that a clan had been cultivating for generations. It was because of such ultimate arts that the entire clan would be able to grow stronger and continue their lineage. Usually, only the descendants from the core lineage and the most talented ones would have the right to learn it…
But what did Sun Mo say?
To get Tan Lu to give up on the family-inherited ultimate art?
Was this a joke? If Tan Lu was a direct descendant, then he’d have to inherit the position of the clan leader. He would have to be the one most familiar with the family-inherited ultimate art. If he wasn’t a direct descendant, then he would still be one of the important characters of the clan. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for someone of such status to not be well-trained in their family-inherited ultimate art?
“Huh?”
Tan Lu was completely stunned. He couldn’t understand why Sun Mo was saying something like this.
“Teacher, your guidance is really audacious!”
Tantai Yutang was shocked. “En!”
Even Jiang Leng, a person of few words, spoke up. This showed just how great of a blow this guidance was.
Not just any cultivation art could be called a family-inherited ultimate art. The words ‘family-inherited’ represented that when the clan was in danger, this would be their absolute martial prowess and reliance.
Such cultivation arts could affect a clan’s rise and decline.
“Teacher, my clan is a great clan that has existed for several centuries, and I am its direct descendant!”
Tan Lu’s throat rolled and he spurted this word.
“So what if you’re from the direct line of descent? If you don’t have great martial prowess, then how are you going to be the clan leader amongst all the competition? Even if your father dotes on you a lot and forcibly pushes you up to the position, would you be able to sit on it steadily? This world is one that reveres martial prowess.”
Through his Divine Sight, Sun Mo had found out all of this young man’s data.
Tan Lu fell silent. What Sun Mo said was right. Without powerful martial prowess, he wouldn’t be able to watch over the clan. If the clan were to go into decline in his hands, wouldn’t it be an even greater shame to his ancestors?
“Times are changing, and there’d come a day when family-inherited ultimate arts wouldn’t match up to you guys. Despite that, are you still going to forcibly cultivate it?”
Sun Mo asked.
“Teacher, are you saying that my family-inherited ultimate art is already too
weak?”
Tan Lu unknowingly became more respectful when talking to Sun Mo.
“I’m just giving an analogy. Your family-inherited ultimate art doesn’t have any problem. It’s just not suitable for you.”
Sun Mo explained.
“Oh!”
Tan Lu sank into deep thought again, having a hint of astonishment. (Teacher seems to be very familiar with our family-inherited ultimate art. Otherwise, how would he know that it isn’t suitable for me?)
(Moreover, I didn’t tell him about it. How did he know? Could it be that he had seen it in the past? Yes, that must be it!)
“You are a genius. Your advantage is in your speed. However, your family-inherited spear art emphasizes on strength and pursues defense that’s unmovable like the mountains. It’s a poor match for you.”
Sun Mo analyzed.
Hearing this, Tan Lu became spirited, his eyes wide-open as he looked at Sun Mo in astonishment. (Why does Teacher know about our family-inherited spear art?)
The words ‘unmovable like the mountains’ were something that only the core members of the clan would know of.
In this generation, only three children, including Tan Lu, had learned of this from the clan leader.
“Teacher, have you seen our clan’s spear art before?”
Tan Lu couldn’t help but ask. He was too curious.
“No. This is the first time!”
Sun Mo shrugged.
“Uhh!”
Tan Lu was stunned. (Is our clan’s spear art so easily seen through? No, it’s not that our spear art is easily seen through! It’s that Teacher’s eye for things is too amazing!)
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Tan Lu +100. Friendly (900/1,000).
Hearing that Tan Lu had contributed favorable impression points again, Sun Mo felt very satisfied. However, he did have some doubts and thus asked the system, “Why did he contribute 500 points in one go previously? Didn’t you say 100 is the max?”
“It’s because you’ve saved his future. Sun Mo, you must understand. You’re no longer the intern teacher from before. You now have a great reputation.”
The system explained. This was like the difference between a clinic by the street and a hospital that employed renowned, prestigious doctors. How could their patients’ mindset be the same?
As Sun Mo’s reputation got increasingly greater, his words would carry greater weight. If he was a secondary saint and told Tan Lu ‘you aren’t suitable to cultivate your family-inherited spear art’, Tan Lu would definitely not hesitate to drop to his knees and thank Sun Mo in tears.
“The harder it is to get, the more precious it’d seem!”
The system teased, “I look forward to students traveling long distances to seek a word of guidance from you!”
“Teacher, what cultivation art do you think I should pick up?”
Tan Lu hesitated for a moment but still asked the question.
“Do you have to ask me? A genius like you should have made a judgment, right?” Sun Mo’s lips curled up into a smile. He could answer Tan Lu’s question, but he didn’t. He wanted to use this method to make Tan Lu even more confident.
After all, the sense of achievement would be greater for one to find their own path rather than to have others tell them.
Hearing this, Tan Lu was stunned.
Half a year ago, he had felt that his progress in cultivating their family-inherited spear art had slowed down. While feeling bored, he started to pick up the Cloud-follow Blade,
He had started it for fun in the beginning, but his progress was unexpectedly fast. When he held onto the saber, he felt as if he was holding onto the whole world. The world was big, but there wasn’t a place he couldn’t go to.
“This is all I have to say. I’ll leave it to yourself to think of what you should do!”
Sun Mo wouldn’t interfere with Tan Lu’s matter. After all, this concerned his future and the rise or decline of an entire clan.
Tan Lu sat there in a daze, sometimes frowning while sometimes smiling. He looked like a nutcase. After half an hour passed, his expression gradually became determined.
The clan mustn’t just rely on this spear art. They should seek for new things and changes. Otherwise, the clan’s absolute martial prowess would never be able to go a level higher.
That was right. Rather than hoping for a genius to appear amongst the descendants and cultivate this spear art to an extremity, it would be better to let them choose more cultivation arts. They shouldn’t be staring at this spear art every day.
In order to let the descendants learn this cultivation art, there had been a lot of conflict within the clan, both in the open and in the dark.
At the thought of this, Tan Lu made up his mind. (Let me, someone from the direct line of descent, take the lead. As long as I have some achievements, I believe that father and the other seniors would all give their recognition.)
Clank!
At the thought of how the clan would get increasingly stronger under his lead, Tan Lu stood up agitatedly and looked toward Sun Mo.
Sun Mo was wearing a consoled and gentle smile.
“Teacher!”
Tan Lu shouted out uncontrollably.
“Tan Lu, you are able to understand this in such a short period. You’re more of a genius than I thought you were.”
Sun Mo exclaimed.
“Teacher!”
Tan Lu knelt and gave three kowtows solemnly. “Thank you for your guidance, I’ve been enlightened!”
In the past, Tan Lu had felt lost about the future. He only knew how to follow his father’s teachings and work hard in his cultivation. However, when his progress slowed down, he started to doubt himself. After hearing Sun Mo’s words, he suddenly gained enlightenment. It was as if the fog in front of him had all been cleared away.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Tan Lu +500. Reverence (1,400/10,000).
“Stand up!”
Sun Mo was very happy. When he saw Tan Lu’s gleaming eyes, he felt a sense of achievement. Wasn’t it the role of a teacher to guide students on their paths?
Tan Lu got up. However, he had just stood up straight when he quickly knelt again, giving three hard kowtows.
“Teacher, I’m sorry, I was wrong!”
Tan Lu looked very guilty. To think that he was at a loss earlier on whether Teacher was going to ask for his family-inherited ultimate art, he had really gauged the heart of a gentleman with his own mean measure.
How could Teacher Sun Mo do something like that?