Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

“Do you know about these runes, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao asked in surprise.

“Is there anything in the sect that I do not know about?” Cha’s response was as confident as ever.

“My apologies for everything I’ve said before,” Zhao Yunxiao immediately bowed towards Cha. “Please give me your guidance!”

Cha: “...”

It had originally planned to tease Zhao Yunxiao a little, watching him struggle to come to a decision while slowly tempting him with bits and pieces of information.

Who knew that this Zhao Yunxiao would have such a weak backbone?

The moment he saw potential benefits, this kid bent his back without a moment’s hesitation!

“What’s in it for me?” Cha asked.

“This...” Zhao Yunxiao hesitated. “How about playing another game of chess with you?”

No matter how he thought about it, he could not think of anything that he could offer to the sea serpent apart from company.

“Who wants to play chess with you?” Cha scoffed as bad memories resurfaced in its head. “Never mind, seeing that you are just a poor and talentless kid, I will let you off with just owing the sect once.”

“Owing the sect once?” Zhao Yunxiao was surprised to hear that. “Not owing you?”

“Of course not,” Cha answered matter-of-factly. “Who knows when you will return to the Origin Lake Sect after leaving tomorrow? By then, the effect of creating a mythical item would surely have already worn off. If you can’t even see or hear me, what can you possibly do for me?”

Zhao Yunxiao nodded in understanding.

Cha did tell him yesterday that unless the sect was in danger, only those who managed to create a mythical tier treasure in the recent past would be able to detect its presence.

It was indeed unlikely that Zhao Yunxiao would return to the Origin Lake Sect in the near future, so what Cha said definitely made sense.

“What happens when I owe the Origin Lake Sect then? It’s not like anyone else will know of this debt, so surely nobody will come and ask me for anything,” Zhao Yunxiao asked.

“It’s simple. You just have to come running if you hear that the sect is in danger,” Cha explained. “Do your best to help out the Origin Lake Sect – that will be your end of the deal.”

“What can a little cultivator like me possibly do to help the Origin Lake Sect though?” Zhao Yunxiao let out a bitter smile.

“I know you are rather talentless, but every little bit counts,” Cha shrugged with its whiskers.

“Well, if you are okay with that, then of course it’s fine with me,” Zhao Yunxiao agreed. “But only to an extent where it doesn’t put my life in danger, and only if the Origin Lake Sect is on the side of justice.”

He was a person of loyalty anyway.

If he were to receive benefits from the Origin Lake Sect, he would naturally want to lend his strength to the sect if it ever fell into trouble.

Of course, he was not nearly suicidal enough to think that he could stand on the frontlines if the entire sect was in trouble.

However, providing some support from the back was still something that he could do.

“Bah! Cowardly little fellow,” Cha scorned. “Fine, have it your way then!”

Zhao Yunxiao did not know this, but Cha somehow felt like it got the better end of the deal here.

Even though Cha kept calling Zhao Yunxiao talentless, it could not help but feel that there was something strange about him.

For starters, he actually managed to somehow create a mythical tier treasure.

Following which, he was also able to withstand the pressure of the Benevolent Wave Chessboard, a feat that should have been beyond the mental threshold of a mere Essence Gathering realm cultivator.

This level of mental fortitude was something that Cha had never seen before in a cultivator of Zhao Yunxiao’s level!

Even though most people would consider mental fortitude when judging someone’s potential, those at its level understood that, under the right circumstances, this could sometimes become a key factor that influenced whether someone could go far on the path of cultivation.

After all, even the brightest of flames started off as a mere spark.

Given enough time, even mere drops of water could eventually accumulate into an ocean.

Of course, there was no need to talk about the results of accumulation if the sparks were put out in their infant stage, or if the drops of water were dried up by the sun.

Therefore, mental fortitude still took a backseat to the main determinants of talent, resources, and fortune.

Still, it was not like Cha was losing anything here by giving Zhao Yunxiao some guidance.

In a sense, this could be considered a gamble that needed almost no capital!

“Before I start, I believe it is needless to say that whatever I tell you today should be kept a secret?” Cha said. “You are to bring everything to the grave, not telling anything to anyone else.”

“I understand, Senior Cha,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “I will not breathe a word about this to anyone else.”

This was a reasonable request.

There were many cultivators who did not want their teachings to be spread to others, so it was common for them to impose such restrictions before passing down any of their knowledge.

In fact, most sects imposed such restrictions on their disciples when it came to their sect-specific techniques too.

“Good!” Cha was satisfied with Zhao Yunxiao’s response. “Well then, let the great me enlighten you on the wonders of ancient arrays!”

***

Knock-! Knock-!

Hu Nan only knocked twice before opening the door, not waiting for any permission to be given whatsoever.

He was a superior, and it was not as though he was entering a lady’s room.

Considering that, there was naturally no need for him to adhere to things like that.

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao...?” Hu Nan narrowed his eyes the moment he entered the room.

The room appeared completely empty, without a single soul in sight.

He extended his spiritual sense to every corner of the room, only to have his suspicions confirmed.

This troublesome junior martial brother of his had gone missing yet again!

Hu Nan immediately turned around and headed straight for Zheng Biru’s room, anger welling up within him.

He was going to give the outer disciples a chance to find Zhao Yunxiao.

If they could not locate Zhao Yunxiao and bring him back within the hour, he would have no choice but to report this matter to the elder!

***

At this moment, a beautiful display depicting numerous archaic characters made of light was floating above the surface of the Origin Lake.

If one paid close attention, they would be able to tell that many of these characters were identical to the shape of the runes engraved along the shore of the lake.

Zhao Yunxiao sat by the shore, extending his spiritual sense to carefully examine each individual character.

Cha had somehow created this display of light out of pure energy, followed by explaining to him what each character represented.

And as it was explaining, Zhao Yunxiao was also carefully memorising everything that was being said.

Even on their own, each of these archaic characters possessed an innate property that seemed to be bestowed upon them by the heavens.

When used together in the right manner, they could easily form arrays with various unimaginable abilities.

But at the same time, when used in the wrong manner, they could very well result in catastrophic results, or even a backlash against their own user!

Or at least, that was what Cha said.

As well-read as he was, Zhao Yunxiao had never come across these archaic characters in his almost twenty years of life.

Therefore, it was now up to him to sense and understand the intricate properties of each individual character before he could even hope for mastery over their uses.

Unfortunately, the current situation that he was in could hardly be considered the most conducive.

“You know, we have already talked about this before, but your talent is really non-existent. How are you taking so long even after I have already explained everything to you? Just about any of those kids at the same table as you just now would have been done by now.”

“...”

“Sigh, the night sky is so pretty tonight. But I’m actually stuck here just staring at a talentless kid while he learns to read. What a shame.”

“...”

“Come to think of it, the New Year is in just two days. Maybe I should try to decorate my house a little too. What do you think will be good?”

“...”

“Maybe some lotus flowers adorned with pearls in the middle? That does sound quite all right. What colour do you think will suit the lake better? White? Pink? Or maybe purple?”

“...”

“Oh right, isn’t your elder’s heavenly palace completely white in colour as well? It did look all right when I saw it yesterday. Maybe I will go with that theme this year. What do you think?”

“Can you please be quiet, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao finally could not hold it in any longer. “I can’t concentrate this way.”

He was trying to focus on comprehending the archaic characters, but Cha’s constant chatter was truly distracting.

After all, it was not as though Cha was just talking normally. Otherwise, Zhao Yunxiao would be able to easily block out its words.

Instead, Cha spoke by sending its voice directly into Zhao Yunxiao’s head, making it nigh impossible to ignore what it was saying!

“Truly talentless. Can’t you even multi-task a little?” Cha sighed in disappointment. “Well, if you want me to be quiet, fine. I will be quiet then. Just don’t regret this later.”

“Thank you, Senior Cha,” Zhao Yunxiao let out a sigh of relief before continuing with his comprehension of the archaic characters.

At the same time, he started to practise writing these characters by drawing in the air with his own essence energy.

It would be easy for anyone to simply write down any of these characters without much thought.

However, doing so would only result in a plain drawing – a meaningless endeavour.

In order to draw out the true innate properties behind each character, sufficient comprehension was required to infuse the right insights into each stroke.

The greater and more profound the insights within, the stronger these properties would be!

Having just been introduced to the archaic characters, Zhao Yunxiao naturally did not have any grand comprehensions of each character.

Nevertheless, he understood that this could well be the only chance he had to come in contact with these archaic characters in their full glory.

Therefore, he definitely had to make full use of every second he had in order to try and emulate the feeling that he was getting right now.

Zhao Yunxiao understood himself very well.

He knew that there was no way he could be like those great geniuses and fully comprehend the entire structure of the archaic characters in one night.

Therefore, that was why he was not aiming for something impossible like that from the start.

All he wanted was to get the faintest idea of how it was supposed to be.

Even if it was only one millionth of a percent of the actual thing, that would still mean that he would at least have something that he could work with and improve on in the future.

Since he had already gotten the theoretical part from Cha, Zhao Yunxiao believed that given enough time, he would eventually be able to expand on that and comprehend the full structure of these archaic characters!

Stroke after stroke.

Character after character.

It took him a long while, but Zhao Yunxiao eventually managed to copy out the entire display of light that Cha had formed over the Origin Lake.

Huu-!

Zhao Yunxiao closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

By now, his head was dotted with sweat, and his robes were drenched.

Although he had not moved an inch from where he was sitting, simply trying to comprehend and duplicate the insights imbued within each archaic character was enough to take a huge toll on him.

Even then, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but look at his copied version of the characters with great satisfaction!

“You did surprisingly well for someone talentless,” Cha remarked. “It’s just that you took a little longer than others. Back then, that brat Juexing took less than one tenth as long as you did.”

“It’s only natural that I can’t compare to Sect Leader Dan,” Zhao Yunxiao was not at all offended by the comparison. “I’m happy enough to be able to touch on these profundities. Thank you for the guidance, Senior Cha.”

“What happened to you? Why are you so polite all of a sudden?” Cha frowned. “Did you suffer from a cultivation deviation?”

Zhao Yunxiao: “...”

Life really was difficult.

“Never mind, seeing that you have worked hard and are acting so polite for once, why don’t the generous me reward you a little?” Cha suddenly said. “Why don’t I allow you to cultivate here for the night?”

“Really?” Zhao Yunxiao’s tired eyes lit up in surprise. “Is that really okay, Senior Cha?”

The density of world origin energy in the surroundings of the Origin Lake was extremely high.

If he was really allowed to cultivate here for an entire night, it would surely bring him great benefits!

“Of course, my word is law here,” Cha said confidently. “We just have to find some way to patronise your friends a little when you return.”

“Patronise my friends? Why?” Zhao Yunxiao did not quite see the link between the two matters.

“Well, that kid you call ‘Senior Martial Brother Hu’ said that he will give your friends an hour to find you before telling your elder that you are missing,” Cha shrugged with its whiskers.

“What?!” Zhao Yunxiao almost jumped up in fright.

Hu Nan found out that he was missing again?

And it was after he had promised Hu Nan that he would not do the same thing again too!

There was no way that he could avoid punishment this time!

“Why are you so scared? Relax, he’s just a little kid who is not much older than you,” Cha did not think much of the matter. “Anyway, that was just slightly more than an hour ago, so it is already too late anyway. No need to worry about it anymore.”

“It was more than an hour ago? Why are you only telling me this now?!” Zhao Yunxiao felt a headache upon hearing that.

“I did tell you not to regret when you told me to be quiet earlier,” Cha answered with a grin. “How is it? Regretting your words now, aren’t you?”