Chapter 100: Back on the Right Track
Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Back on the Right Track
The two True Monarchs vanished before Zhu Ge’s eyes.
It was as if the two had never existed in this world.
Or perhaps, it seemed they had never appeared in Zhu Ge’s world at all.
But feeling the warmth of the mercury-colored staff in his hand and recalling the delicious taste of the Monkey Fruit Wine, Zhu Ge still felt a touch of melancholy.
"My worthy younger brother... he has no idea my lifespan is nearly at its end..." Zhu Ge sighed and shook his head.
But it was just as True Monarch Minmian had said.
Everything for the Human Race must be earned through one’s own efforts.
Don’t rely on the heavens, the earth, or your parents.
If you want something, go out and fight for it!
"Huh, wait..."
Zhu Ge was about to try out the Dancing Stick when he suddenly felt something unusual inside his body.
"Is this... Literary Energy?"
Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow.
He hadn’t expected this. At first, he’d tried to recite the *Song of Righteousness* but couldn’t. Yet now, because he had recited a poem by Du Fu, "Viewing the Sacred Mountain," during the farewell, he had instead stepped through the gates of the Confucian Dao.
’Am I considered to be at the Confucian Dao’s Cultivation Realm now? Just like Yu the Scholar was back then?’
An inexplicable feeling welled up inside Zhu Ge.
It was a shame he hadn’t asked more questions just now. He really should have asked True Monarch Minmian and True Monarch of the Lantern how to cultivate the Confucian Dao.
But it didn’t matter now.
Since Literary Energy had been born within him, he could just try cultivating the Confucian Dao from now on.
Still, biting off more than you can chew gets you nowhere.
He would set the Confucian Dao aside for now and focus on getting his Martial Dao in order first.
’Staff techniques? I don’t have any Martial Arts for staff fighting.’
Zhu Ge looked at the staff in his hand, pondering how he could integrate the weapon into his Martial Arts.
Some things seem easy in theory but are much harder in practice.
However, a weapon was merely an extension of one’s Martial Arts and wasn’t necessarily connected to forging a Martial Arts Heart.
He used his palms for the Furious Vajra Palm before; now that he had a staff, he could simply use the staff to execute his Martial Arts.
A weapon is an extension of one’s limbs.
"I never thought the weapon I’d have the most affinity with would be a staff."
Zhu Ge casually twirled the staff, and sure enough, it felt comfortable. "I thought it would be a sword! Swords are cool, but a staff isn’t bad either."
"Master, Master! I’m back from picking fruit!"
Liu Jianjian, whom Zhu Ge had sent out the previous night, ran back happily. "Are you guys done talking?"
A green worm was perched on Liu Jianjian’s shoulder.
To prevent True Monarch Minmian and True Monarch of the Lantern from being bothered, Zhu Ge had sent both Liu Jianjian and Zhu Sisi out of the valley.
This way, he could also speak more freely with the two True Monarchs.
"We’re done." Zhu Ge looked at the two demons before him, curious. "True Monarch of the Lantern granted you two an opportunity earlier. Did you feel anything?"
"I received a legacy!" Liu Jianjian’s eyes shone. "It’s called the *Demon Hunting Divine Technique*! It’s a very powerful Cultivation Technique!"
"Hunt... Demon Gods?" Zhu Ge’s expression grew a little more solemn. "What does this Cultivation Technique do?"
"Hunt Demon Gods, then make them serve me!" Liu Jianjian was ecstatic. "I can refine all my thorns into Spiritual Artifacts to contain the Demon Gods. When facing an enemy, I can unleash ten thousand thorns at once—one thorn for each Demon God! It’ll be earth-shattering!"
The *Demon Hunting Divine Technique*!
Zhu Ge nodded slowly. "True Monarch of the Lantern has shown you great kindness. You must remember this."
It was obvious just thinking about it. A high-quality Cultivation Technique like this was definitely tailor-made for Liu Jianjian by True Monarch of the Lantern.
If someone else were to cultivate the *Demon Hunting Divine Technique*, they would need to find Spiritual Artifacts that could be refined to contain Demon Gods.
But Liu Jianjian herself had many long thorns that could be refined into Spiritual Artifacts to serve as containers.
Once she reached a high level of mastery, it would be just as Liu Jianjian described: ten thousand thorns unleashed at once, one thorn per Demon God. The power would be absolutely world-shaking.
"What about you?" Zhu Ge turned to look at Zhu Sisi on Liu Jianjian’s shoulder.
"*Nine Heavens Cocoon-Breaking Dragon-Swallowing Technique*." Zhu Sisi’s voice was cool, but you could still hear the excitement in it.
The *Nine Heavens Cocoon-Breaking Dragon-Swallowing Technique*?
Zhu Ge fell silent, then said, "Mm, that Cultivation Technique should be very powerful. Yes, very powerful. You must study it well."
"Yes, Master!" Zhu Sisi replied.
Zhu Ge silently stood up and began swinging the silver staff, practicing Martial Arts techniques like the Waist and Horse Skill and the Furious Vajra Palm.
"My, what a sour smell," Hua Liusha said with a smile in Zhu Ge’s mind.
"Is there?" Zhu Ge retorted.
Hua Liusha chuckled. "My dear brother, don’t be like that! You have to walk your own path. No matter how amazing someone else’s Cultivation Technique is, it’s still theirs, not what’s suitable for you!"
Zhu Ge pouted.
’This is too much!’
’Giving Liu Jianjian and Zhu Sisi such awesome Cultivation Techniques, and not even giving me eight or ten of them?’
’The names of those two Cultivation Techniques alone sound so domineering. They blow my few Spirit Level techniques out of the water.’
But Zhu Ge also understood. True Monarch of the Lantern had helped him refine the silver staff and had pointed him in the right direction.
In a way, helping Zhu Sisi and Liu Jianjian was the same as helping him.
So he was just a little sour, a little envious, that’s all.
His own goals and original plans wouldn’t change.
To learn from all things and find his own Dao!
To walk his own path!
"Hmph. Hunting Demon Gods? Where are you going to find Demon Gods? Useless Cultivation Technique."
"Swallowing dragons? By the time you can actually swallow a dragon, it’ll be no different from swallowing rice noodles."
"Useless Cultivation Techniques."
"Walk my own path."
Zhu Ge muttered under his breath, chanting as he practiced his Martial Arts.
This time, Zhu Sisi wasn’t watching him intently. Instead, she was off to the side, eating mulberry leaves while studying the *Nine Heavens Cocoon-Breaking Dragon-Swallowing Technique*.
Liu Jianjian found Zhu Ge’s incessant muttering a bit creepy, so she simply left the valley to "pick fruit" as well.
Hua Liusha was also preoccupied, pondering what True Monarch of the Lantern had said about Yin Qi, so she stopped teasing Zhu Ge.
Zhu Ge was a little sour at first, but he got over it after a short while.
He was just messing around; he didn’t really care about all that.
"Five Animals Qigong..."
Zhu Ge practiced over and over, experimenting and adapting.
Before, he only practiced fist techniques; now, he used a staff.
He treated the silver staff as if it were a third hand.
"WHOOSH— WHOOSH—"
The sound of his swinging staff echoed throughout the valley.
"Practice Martial Arts until I achieve complete mastery."
...
A few days passed with Zhu Ge maintaining this lifestyle.
Practicing Martial Arts, hunting, eating, and sleeping.
However, it was just as Zhu Ge had initially thought.
Practicing Martial Arts required a huge amount of food!
During this time, Zhu Ge also tested the Fungus God Destruction Array a few times, which consumed even more energy.
With such massive consumption, the population of wild animals in the surrounding area was declining at an astonishing rate.
From jackals and wolves to tigers and leopards, from wild rabbits to pheasants, Zhu Ge had eaten them all.
If measured in terms of cattle, he could eat about thirty water buffalo a day!
Within a radius of more than ten kilometers around the valley, there were basically no wild animals left alive.
Some animals, while unable to sense Zhu Ge and the others’ presence, saw how unnervingly quiet the area was and didn’t dare enter, even actively avoiding it.
This meant Zhu Ge had to travel farther and farther to hunt.
"Sigh, when is the battle over at Yuan Yang City going to start! I want to eat Demon Beast meat!"
"It’s started, it’s started! Master, Master, latest news—the war has begun!"