Chapter 93 - 92: Path
Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Path
Not long after Shouye left, Chen Shouheng returned to the Tiger Subduing Martial Arts Hall.
"Brother Chen, your younger brother was just here looking for you."
As soon as he entered the courtyard, a junior brother came up to inform him.
’The second one? Isn’t he going to spend a little more time with his new wife?’
Chen Shouheng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Shouye to just make a quick trip back and be ready to return home so soon.
But he didn’t dwell on it and walked straight toward the small courtyard where his master, Zhou Zhen, lived alone.
Before he even reached the gate, he saw a man walking out from inside, head lowered, with a somewhat worn, gray cloth travel bag slung over his shoulder.
Chen Shouheng froze. The person was Brother Sun, Sun Zhengyi, who had reached Qi Realm Perfection many years ago.
At this moment, his face was pale, his eyes were dim, and the aura around him was unstable, even carrying a hint of decay that he couldn’t hide.
"Brother Sun?"
After Chen Shouheng had joined the hall, this Brother Sun had looked out for him, so he immediately took the initiative to greet him and ask, "Are you... going on a long journey?"
Sun Zhengyi looked up at the sound of his voice. Seeing it was Chen Shouheng, he forced an extremely bitter smile onto his pale face and said hoarsely, "Ah, it’s Junior Brother Shouheng. I... I’ve already bid farewell to our master. I’m preparing to... leave now."
"Leaving?"
Chen Shouheng was shocked, realizing this departure was likely not a simple trip home. He pressed, "Brother, why are you leaving?"
The bitterness in Sun Zhengyi’s eyes deepened. He heaved a long sigh filled with endless helplessness and dejection. "Junior Brother Chen, I failed to break through again. For the third time."
Hearing this, Chen Shouheng was shaken to his core, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to comfort him.
"There’s no hope of reaching the Spirit Realm in this lifetime. It’s better to leave early, find a place to settle down, get some peace, and figure out how to make a living from now on..."
Sun Zhengyi’s voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke, tinged with a heart-wrenching despair.
Chen Shouheng knew well that this Brother Sun Zhengyi was famous in the martial arts hall for his diligence. Back when he broke through to the Qi Realm, he had even inspired other disciples to follow his example. He never expected him to end up like this.
Sun Zhengyi looked at Chen Shouheng, his expression complex, which finally settled into the sorrow of someone who had been through it all. He warned, "Junior Brother, in the future, when you reach Qi Realm Perfection, listen to this piece of advice from your senior, bought with a painful price: if you don’t have absolute certainty, you must never lightly attempt to break through to the Spirit Realm."
"Our Tiger Subduing Martial Arts Hall’s foundational Pile Skill peaks at the Qi Realm. The Medicinal Cuisine provided by the hall is just ordinary stuff for nourishing qi and blood. It’s nowhere near enough to support the immense consumption of qi and blood required to break through to the Spirit Realm. If you rely on only these two things to cross that threshold of life and death... failure is almost certain..."
With that, he said no more, shouldered his bag, and walked toward the main gate of the martial arts hall. His figure looked particularly desolate and bleak against the cold winter.
Chen Shouheng silently watched him go until he reached the gate, a sense of sorrow welling up inside him as well.
The difficulty and cruelty of breaking through to the Spirit Realm weighed on his heart for the first time, real and heavy.
Only after the man’s figure disappeared down the long street did Chen Shouheng compose himself and turn back toward his master Zhou Zhen’s residence.
In the main room of the small courtyard, a charcoal fire was burning brightly.
His master, Zhou Zhen, was sitting in a Grandmaster’s Chair, holding a teacup and speaking with another senior brother who had reached Qi Realm Perfection, Wu Qiquan.
When Zhou Zhen saw Chen Shouheng enter, a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Shouheng, you’re here."
"Disciple Shouheng pays his respects to Master," Chen Shouheng said, bowing respectfully.
"Mm."
Zhou Zhen put down his teacup, his gaze sweeping over him before he nodded slightly. "Your aura is stable and your qi and blood are vigorous. It seems you haven’t been slacking off lately. Not bad."
Chen Shouheng hesitated for a moment, then decided to report truthfully, "Master, I... developed Inner Qi a few days ago."
Zhou Zhen was stunned, but his face quickly broke into a joyful smile. "Good, good. You haven’t disappointed me!"
Hearing this, Wu Qiquan, who was standing to the side, showed a flash of surprise in his eyes. He couldn’t help but size up Chen Shouheng again, but the surprise was quickly replaced by a sense of dismissive superiority.
Zhou Zhen looked at Chen Shouheng, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Shouheng, since you have now reached this stage, there are some things I should tell you. Have a seat."
Chen Shouheng sat down and waited quietly for Zhou Zhen to speak.
Zhou Zhen was silent for a moment before he said, "On the path of the Martial Dao, the Qi Realm is, in the end, just for amateurs. To truly enter the hall of mastery, one must reach the Spirit Realm. But for ordinary people like us, how difficult is it to reach the Spirit Realm? Without a legacy, without resources, attempting to break through to the Spirit Realm is to face a ninety percent chance of death."
He paused, his voice growing more serious. "After you reach Qi Realm Perfection, there are generally three paths you can take."
"First, you can join a Jianghu Sect. You haven’t even turned twenty yet and have already entered the Qi Realm, with Perfection in sight. It wouldn’t be too difficult for you to join one."
"The Tiger Subduing Temple, where I studied in my youth, may not be a top-tier sect, but it’s considered a leader among the righteous in the Jianghu. If you are interested, I can write a letter of recommendation for you to practice there. If you enter this sect, you will receive their martial arts lineage, and your chances of breaking through to the Spirit Realm will increase greatly."
"However, the Tiger Subduing Temple is a place of Buddhist purity. If you wish to practice there, you must shave your head, become a monk, and strictly abide by their rules. This path will grant you their true teachings, but it requires you to sever all worldly ties..."
"My worldly ties are not yet severed."
Chen Shouheng shook his head. He had no desire to become a monk, and his family would never agree to it.
"Fair enough. Your parents are still alive, and you are the eldest son. To shave your head and become a monk would indeed be difficult for you."
Zhou Zhen nodded and continued, "The second path is to pledge allegiance to a Gate Valve Family and become their Guest. This would give you a chance to obtain their family’s inherited Cultivation Techniques and Secret Medicine. After breaking through to the Spirit Realm, you could even become an Honored Guest, receiving a constant stream of tributes. Once you reach Qi Realm Perfection, you can try to contact the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes of Jiangzhou."
Chen Shouheng thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "I am not interested in this path either."
Zhou Zhen paused slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he continued, "Other than those, the only remaining path is that of the Court’s Martial Examination. This path doesn’t require you to pledge allegiance to anyone, and it allows you to look after your family. The difficulty, however, lies in the fact that while it’s not hard for someone at Qi Realm Perfection to pass the exam to become a Martial Scholar, becoming a Provincial Martial Scholar depends entirely on skill and luck."
"After becoming a Provincial Martial Scholar, you can accept missions from the Court, accumulate merits, and exchange them with the Court for corresponding Inner Power Heart Methods, Elixirs of Life, and even Divine Weapons. You’ll have to accumulate all of this on your own."
Chen Shouheng nodded. "This is the path I wish to take."
"This choice will affect the entire path of your life and must be made with extreme caution. You don’t need to give me an answer right away. You can go home and discuss it with your father."
Zhou Zhen’s expression turned serious. "If your mind is made up, then next March is the spring examination in the Commandery City, the time to test for the title of Martial Scholar. Go back and prepare well. Polish your Martial Arts and purify your Inner Qi. When the time comes, I will personally lead a team to the Commandery City. You will go with us and test the waters of the Martial Examination. Even if you don’t succeed this time, you will gain experience and see your own shortcomings."
"I will certainly train diligently without stopping."
Chen Shouheng nodded in agreement.
After talking for a little while longer, Chen Shouheng and Wu Qiquan took their leave together.