Chapter 381: Valid Crashout

Solomon immediately shot up from his seated position and lunged at the silver owl.

The advanced drone reacted instantly. It zipped high into the air, flying far out of his reach. [Threat detected. Defensive evasive maneuvers activated.] the drone’s robotic voice announced safely from the high branches.

Solomon grabbed the thick bark of the tree, fully preparing to climb higher and smash the drone to pieces just to shut the chat interface off.

Before he could pull himself up, a glowing yellow talisman slapped firmly against the center of his back. His muscles instantly locked up. His movements stopped completely, paralyzing him against the bark.

Solomon tried to turn around, but Yin Hua immediately stepped forward and slapped a second talisman directly onto his forehead.

She then gracefully jumped forward, closing the distance in a fraction of a second. She wrapped her arms around his rigid body and hugged him tightly, burying his face directly into her ample bosom.

The chat interface hovering near the dodging owl instantly spiraled into absolute degeneracy.

[GoonLord: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! NOT HIM! ME!]

[TallicaStew: I AM PUNCHING THE WALL RIGHT NOW!]

[sgtcwby: Solo Man suffering from success.]

[1Fizzy: omg she is literally suffocating him!]

[Mezz_3863: bro got paralyzed just to get a hug.]

[James_hayes: W punishment.]

"You must not get angry right now," Yin Hua warned, holding him tightly to restrict his erratic breathing. "All of the qi you just spent ten hours gathering in your core is currently dissipating! If you lose control of your emotions right now, that volatile energy will burn through your body and permanently damage your meridian pathways!"

[M00N: why is he even attacking the drone?]

[Nick: exactly! it is not like he can punch ToxicLord through the screen.]

[Brerell: if he breaks the owl we will not be able to see him!]

[Foodball: bro calm down it is just a troll!]

Just then, Yue walked out onto the branch. She took one look at the compromising position and snapped her jade fan open with a sharp thwack.

"What is going on here?" Yue demanded, her emerald eyes narrowing.

Solomon finally managed to calm his racing heart. The volatile silver aura sputtering around his body faded. He pushed Yin Hua back gently, making some necessary, respectful distance between them as the paralysis talismans weakened.

"I asked you to teach him foundational cultivation, Yin Hua," Yue scolded, her tone icy. "Not this kind of dual cultivation."

[Ferald: AHAHAHA YUE IS JEALOUS!]

[Ron_Selby: the pavilion master caught them in 4K.]

[trenthany: dual cultivation LMAO!]

[DaoistAlexkg: Yue is not having it today.]

Yin Hua smoothed her violet robes and sighed. She quickly explained exactly what had just happened with the sudden interruption and the dissipating core.

"If he loses his temper that violently over a simple noise, then it will be impossible for him to learn and progress in the higher realms," Yin Hua stated, shaking her head. She turned and walked away down the branch. "I am going back inside. You can train him for the rest of the night, Yue."

Yue watched the vice master leave before turning her stern gaze back to Solomon. "Why would you become so aggressive over a minor distraction? If your focus can be shattered that easily by just some random noise, you will never be able to cultivate anywhere outside of a perfectly silent room."

She reached out and peeled the two yellow talismans off his back and forehead. The enchanted paper burned away instantly, turning into ash that scattered into the evening wind.

"I completely understand that you are furious about losing all your progress like that," Yue continued, her tone softening slightly. "But it is entirely natural. It happens to literally everyone who attempts to build their core. It is a very common part of the process. But instead of getting blindly angry, you should use that frustration and fury as a catalyst to attain a deeper sense of internal peace."

[Andy_Thornton: use the anger to achieve peace? what kind of Jedi logic is that?]

[Joshua_Swofford: eastern philosophy goes hard.]

[Naturic: Solo Man is not built for peace.]

Solomon rubbed his forehead where the talisman had stuck. "I am not trying to become Buddha or some enlightened saint."

[Sedrikk: bro just wants to punch things.]

[Grapers: peace was never an option.]

[Frendscham: Solo Man rejects enlightenment.]

"Then what exactly can you do in that situation?" Yue challenged, crossing her arms. "How can you possibly solve it with violence? If a viewer is intentionally trolling you, and you get visibly angry, you are simply giving the troll exactly what they want. It is not like you actually know what his real name is or where he lives. There is absolutely no point in getting angry over a screen."

"When someone physically trains, they get tangible results," Solomon argued, gesturing to his own muscles. "Even if they fail a lift or lose a spar, they still get some kind of result. The physical conditioning remains. The progress does not just magically vanish. But this is completely different. All my focus, the mental strain, and the work of ten straight hours just vanished into thin air as if it meant absolutely nothing. So, either this is the completely wrong way to cultivate, or I am simply not fit to become a cultivator."

Yue folded her arms tighter. "It is most likely the latter."

[Name_Not_Listed: DAMN!]

[Stephen_wood: she told him straight up.]

[Dakota_Smith: emotional damage!]

[Zoomtech: teacher is not holding back.]

They both stared at each other in tense silence on the edge of the branch.

Yue finally let out a heavy sigh, her expression softening into genuine sympathy. "Cultivation is incredibly hard, Solomon. It is not for everyone. Some people cannot do it because they simply lack the necessary mental comprehension. Some cannot do it because their physical body constitution is fundamentally unfit for spiritual retention. Some fail because they do not possess enough qi. And some fail because they simply lack the required patience."

She looked out over the setting sun. "People always want to get strong fast without having to endure the tedious, agonizing repetition required to actually build a stable foundation."

"It is not that I lack patience," Solomon rebutted defensively. "I just do not like how ten hours of hard work can be completely undone in a single second by an external factor. It is fundamentally unfair."

[Shadow: he is not wrong though.]

[User12: 10 hours wasted for 50 points is a scam.]

[Mezz_3863: I would be mad too.]

Yue raised a single finger. "There are cultivators who spend their entire lives filling their navel core to the absolute brim, and they still fail to achieve a breakthrough because their minds are not properly aligned. That is true unfairness."

She lowered her hand. "I understand why you are angry, Solomon. I know perfectly well that you are hot-headed and impulsive. But high-level cultivation does not require a brain or muscles. It requires absolute spiritual harmony, unyielding discipline, and total emotional detachment."

She paused, gesturing back toward the pavilion halls. "And you should think about Yin Hua. She sat out here with you for ten straight hours, patiently guiding your energy and pouring her own effort into your success. Think about how disappointed she must be feeling right now. If you think your time was wasted, then what about hers?"

Solomon looked down at the branch, a sudden pang of guilt hitting his chest.

"Go get freshened up, cool your head, and then go to the dining hall and have some dinner," Yue instructed gently. "If you still want to learn and train after you eat, you can return to this spot, and I will be waiting here for you. But if you truly want to give up... then you can just leave."