Since Master was about to leave, Ergouzi prepared so dry rations for him to eat on the road and also took the chance to absorb a few more words of wisdom.
“No matter how powerful your martial arts beco, you must keep a low profile. Never show off your abilities in front of others. And above all, never ntion your master’s na. I’ve always lived a quiet, reclusive life and dislike being disturbed.”
As he was about to depart, Li the Half-Immortal reminded him again—never reveal his identity.
“Yes, Master. I understand.”
Ergouzi hung his head in sha.
His master was a true reclusive expert, always modest and mysterious. But he, on the other hand, got proud over the smallest accomplishnt—too shallow and naive.
“Master, after you leave, what should I do if I run into problems during cultivation?”
Li the Half-Immortal looked troubled at this. He was silent for a long ti.
“It’s indeed a difficult matter, but…”
He put on a conflicted expression, hesitated, and finally made a dramatic show of steeling his resolve.
“We are master and disciple. Seeing your sincerity, I’ve decided to go against my ancestors’ teachings and pass down the entire cultivation thod to you.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Ergouzi was overjoyed and bowed deeply.
“However, passing down the ancestral teachings without compensation would be a betrayal of my lineage.”
“You an… you want to pay? How much?”
After all this ti, Ergouzi had grown used to reading between the lines.
“Talking about money between master and disciple is far too cold. Just a token of sincerity will do.”
Li the Half-Immortal, after all, had a reputation to maintain.
“How much would show enough sincerity, Master?”
“Gold and silver are vulgar things. Keeping too much only taints one’s spirit. Just hand over a little more than a hundred taels—enough to show you’re serious.”
He said it lightly, but one hundred taels of silver was enough for him to live comfortably for years—more than a decade if he was frugal.
In Ergouzi’s eyes, it was a worthy trade—getting a full set of ancestral techniques for just 100 taels.
This ti, Li the Half-Immortal actually handed over a complete manual. He didn’t bother to make any edits, since he was leaving anyway—no point continuing to scam the kid.
Despite his tough exterior, Li the Half-Immortal did feel so guilt after all the fleecing.
Ergouzi took the manual and glanced at the cover: Basic Spells.
The sight of those words made his heart race.
Then, respectfully, he handed over a big pouch of silver—all common silver, just 100 taels, not a coin more.
He was a straightforward guy. Master said not to bring too much vulgar wealth, so he only brought exactly 100 taels. He didn’t mind holding onto the worldly filth—after all, he was just a farr.
Li the Half-Immortal weighed the pouch and silently muttered: “This kid is really literal. I said ‘a little more,’ and he brought exactly 100. Not a coin extra.”
“As it happens, I have an ancestral jade pendant. I’ll leave it with you for rembrance. But being an heirloom, I can’t just give it away for free.”
“I understand, Master. How much sincerity should I show this ti?”
After years of this routine, Ergouzi already knew how it worked.
“Heirloom treasures are priceless. Soone once offered 50 taels for it, and I refused.”
“Fifty?”
Ergouzi looked at the pendant. It was only three fingers wide and had a few visible cracks.
Truth be told, he hesitated. He could barely bring himself to spend money on fatty pork—forking over dozens of taels for a cracked jade felt painful.
He’d seen jade in the county city—decent ones only cost three to five taels.
But thinking of all the years of instruction from his master, he couldn’t bring himself to offend him. He decided to be generous just this once.
So he handed over another 50 taels and accepted the jade pendant.
Li the Half-Immortal left him with the manual and pendant, waved goodbye, and departed Sanchazi Town with nothing but a cloth-wrapped bundle.
Before leaving, he gave Ergouzi the house he’d lived in for decades.
A master leads you through the door—after that, cultivation is up to you. For a long while going forward, Ergouzi would have to rely on himself.
He had been apprenticed since age fourteen. In the two and a half years since, though his master had taken so money, he had genuinely taught a lot.
Back then, Ergouzi couldn’t even recognize a few large characters. He could only guess and muddle through.
Now, he could read any book with ease.
His master also passed him a Naless Cultivation thod—he suspected it was a true immortal technique. He had already reached the third level.
The difficult sword technique was still beyond his full grasp.
Now, with Basic Spells and the pendant left behind, he had much to work with.
The jade pendant looked ordinary, but since his master gave it to him, he treasured it.
Once Master left, he couldn’t wait to flip open Basic Spells.
It was entirely different from martial arts manuals. The more he read, the more surreal it felt.
Inside were techniques like Sword Control, Fireball, Rejuvenation, Wooden Spike, Entangle, Water Arrow, Earth Shield, and Talisman Arts...
They were all extraordinary—practically immortal arts out of legend.
He rembered the two Dao Xuan Sect cultivators using talismans—they must’ve been casting the very Wood Spike and Golden Light Shield spells from this book.
The villagers often said the county magistrate was a true immortal—he could ride clouds and summon wind and rain, with divine and ghostly powers.
“Master really is an immortal!”
He felt endlessly grateful. Just 100 taels had gotten him genuine immortal techniques.
He had to train hard and live up to Master’s hopes.
But the spells were profound and incredibly difficult to understand, let alone master.
After half a month, he had only barely scratched the surface of Windwalking.
This spell summoned a gentle breeze around the body, allowing faster running, higher and longer jumps.
With it, he finally made great progress in the sword technique he’d struggled with for so long.
With Windwalking, he could leap over three zhang high and execute sword flourishes midair with ease.
Other difficult moves also beca manageable with the spell’s support.
With this progress, he was now much more confident about the upcoming Martial Xiucai exam.
The other spells were even more complex. He decided to save them for after the exam.
For now, his priority was the exam—luckily, it didn’t test spellwork.
His heavy sword had been destroyed in the last fight with the Dao Xuan Sect cultivator, so now he was forced to use a tree branch—awkward and ineffective.
He needed a real weapon for the exam.
After reading the chubby boy’s Manual of a Hundred Weapons, he had gained so knowledge of forging.
With quality materials on hand, he decided to forge a durable sword himself.
He dumped out all the silver, copper, and iron stored in the gourd.
The iron ca from old, broken swords—over 200 jin. After being stored in the gourd, it had transford into refined iron essence.
He had over 100 jin of copper coins—about ten strings worth.
Not much silver remained. Most of his earnings had gone into Peiyuan Gutben Pills—only 200 taels were left.
He planned to use mostly refined silver and copper, with a little iron mixed in.
According to Hundred Weapons, for cultivators, even “refined a hundred tis” was considered basic.
He went to town and bought charcoal, then paid a high price to buy the entire toolset from the blacksmith shop.
Forging took trial and error. He failed several tis at first.
After more than ten days, he finally succeeded.
A greatsword—three chi six cun long, six cun wide, weighing 150 jin.
The blade was golden with silver-white patterns like tree roots branching through it—surprisingly beautiful.
A little wide, though. Carried on his back, it looked like a door panel.
Ergouzi tested it by slashing at a boulder weighing hundreds of jin. Bang!—a large chunk broke off.
He checked the blade—barely a scratch.
The edge wasn’t particularly sharp, but the weight and his strength made it unstoppable.
In the days that followed, he trained diligently. His swordsmanship and Windwalking grew more refined.
Now he could move on cliff faces like they were flat ground, slicing protruding rocks smooth with casual swings.
This not only honed his skill—it served another purpose.
He wanted to level the area around Shekou Mountain.
There had once been a narrow path between the cliffs—he had already blocked it with large stones.
But soone determined could still climb up.
So he hacked away every foothold. Not even a monkey would make it now without breaking its legs.
After three months, the cliffs around Shekou Mountain were sleek and clean.
Thieves would no longer be able to climb up and steal from him.
With Windwalking, he only needed a light push to scale or descend the cliffs himself.
One day, he leaped off the peak with his sword on his back, lightly tapping the stone walls, twisting midair, and landing firmly below.
Barefoot on the dirt path, he walked between rice paddies now starting to sprout grain—harvest ti was near.
“Morning, boss!”
A loud voice ca from the fields. He turned and saw it was A’gui’s eldest son, A’hu.
A’hu was stomping weeds into the mud with his four-year-old son.
The little guy wasn’t even as tall as the rice plants, but he worked diligently—sure to be a great farr soday.
Ergouzi couldn’t help but think of A’gui.
That single mu of land had been bought with the twenty sheng of grain A’gui had earned through hard labor.
A’hu’s whole family treasured the land like it was ancestral. Every bit of waste—manure and urine—was poured into it.
“Any news from your dad?”
“None…”
A’hu shook his head calmly—no sadness, no joy.
Ergouzi chatted a bit more before heading off, sword on his back.
Tomorrow was the day of the Martial Xiucai exam.
Ti to go to the county and take his shot.
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