Chapter 557: Chapter 543: Acknowledging a Teacher Chapter 557: Chapter 543: Acknowledging a Teacher Ye Chen continued eating.
Yi i, who had overheard their conversation, felt a bit disgruntled, saying, “By your logic, it’s all about self-reliance, then what’s the point of having you here?
“Good point. My role is to supervise you, whip you, tornt you, and beat you down until you lose all hope,” replied Ye Chen.
“Our young lady is unwell, and instead of therapy to help her, you tornt her. We expect a ntor who will encourage her and nurture her talents,” Yi i retorted. She doubted this drunken lout’s true intentions to instruct Rong’er.
Ye Chen coldly replied, “Yes, encouragent is a thod, yet it isn’t the primary one in my approach. People face more failures than successes in life. You cannot expect to be encouraged or comforted after every downfall.
What if there is no one to console or encourage you soday? My goal is for you to face the harsh reality of the world. It’s a cruel place that continues to test and wear you down.
Recognizing the world’s cruelty and reality earlier can prove beneficial. You are not far from succeeding once you start treating all obstacles and setbacks with indifference, and still, march ahead courageously.
A person’s life is filled with nurous obstacles; you can’t expect encouragent after every failure. Who’s there to bolster ? Enough with the encouragent already!”
Yi i was left speechless.
“The sooner you recognize the true nature of martial arts, the better. It would be best for you to give up now; at least you won’t have to waste so much ti afterward. Rember, our ti on this earth is limited, don’t squander it. You might as well use it to pursue love.”
“Don’t bother; I won’t give up.”
“Then keep your head down, learn like an old ox; complain less and think less,” Ye Chen ordered, “Girl, hurry up and get a bag of wine.”
Yi i glanced over, astounded that she must take orders from this drunkard. She wondered why out of all the maids, he singled her out.
Wan Danrong instructed, “Pour him his wine.”
Yi i picked up the wine pouch and left, muttering to herself, “I just filled it, how could it be empty so soon?”
“How’s living here?” Wan Danrong inquired.
Ye Chen replied, “It’s alright.” He was sowhat tired. After a hectic few days, he could hardly believe that a month had already passed since Ling’er’s sudden departure. It felt as if he had lived a lifeti.
“It’s certainly better than fending off beggars out there.”
“Yes, but I’ve never really cared.” Ye Chen smiled.
“Make yourself at ho. Whatever you need, feel free to ask. I’ll try my best to ensure your comfort,” Wan Danrong offered.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hesitate. Go ahead and tornt yourself; suffering isn’t my forte.” Ye Chen glanced around. He certainly hadn’t expected the servants to live so well; the Wan Residence must be doing sothing right.
“Master, do you really believe that you’re dead five years ago?”
“I told you to stop calling Master. I’m not sure how much I can actually teach you,” Ye Chen barked.
“That’s rather inhumane; it won’t foster creativity.”
“Inhumanity! People’s potentials are often realized under duress. Without pressure, you’ll never know your true potential. Only when pushed to the limit will a person tap into their creative side. Otherwise, you’ll never know your true ttle.”
“But wouldn’t that possibly crush a person?”
“Crush? After a full al and a good sleep, few will be crushed. Most are simply looking for excuses.”
Wan Danrong pursed her lips.
“If you really want to teach you martial arts, don’t expect it to be a smooth journey. I don’t have ti to waste. It’s better to give up now than later.”
“Don’t imagine for a second that I’ll give up.” Wan Danrong seed to be provoked.
“Why are you so adamant about learning martial arts?”
“Because I represent the future of the Wan family. Soday, the family’s legacy will be passed on to , and I won’t let them feel I am inferior to a boy,” Wan Danrong replied.
“It seems you indeed need a round of grueling training. Let’s see if you can hold up.”
After breakfast.
Wan Danrong suggested, “Let give you a tour.”
“Is there anything worth seeing? Any beauties?” inquired Ye Chen.
“Of course, without a beauty, how can it be called the Wan Residence? I consider myself one of them,” Wan Danrong added, “Otherwise, you might get lost if you wander off on your own. If you end up getting into trouble or get beaten up, don’t bla .”
“Is it that complicated?” Ye Chen looked up. Truth be told, she was indeed moderately attractive, but he remained indifferent. He stood up nevertheless.
“Let introduce you around.” Wan Danrong led him out of the courtyard.
“What does your family do for a living?”
“We’re involved in various businesses, but primarily we deal with silk and tea.”
“I’m sure that’s a lucrative business.” said Ye Chen.
Wan Danrong remarked, “It used to be, but not anymore.”
“What do you an?”
“Considering the current chaos in Wastelands, business prospects are bleak. Who dares to risk their lives? Encountering bandits and getting robbed is a minor issue compared to potentially losing one’s life.”
Ye Chen nodded in agreent.
Wan Danrong began to give Ye Chen a tour. The place indeed was enormous with over twenty courtyards.
As Ye Chen continued to explore the place while continuously sipping his wine, after touring for four hours, he was finally done. In all of this, what caught his eye was the wine cellar.
“Alright, let’s go. We’re going to the hillside for martial arts training,” Wan Danrong suggested.
It turns out that the Wan Residence had a small hill to its west, overlooking the lake; half of which was enclosed within the property.
The hillside was deserted with nurous fruit trees. It was the fruiting season.
“How do you like it? Isn’t the setting just perfect?”
“It barely passes.”
“You are free to move around inside, just don’t get drunk and sneak into the girls’ bathhouse,” Wan Danrong said.
Ye Chen chuckled aloud.
“Your laughter is, rather fetching,” she noted, as though it was the first ti she had seen him laugh from the heart.
Suddenly, Ye Chen stopped, found a wooden post and settled down as the resident pigeons on the mountain cooed away.
“I’ll often co here to catch birds.”
“Huh, you’re afraid you won’t have any bird at to eat?”
Wan Danrong laughed, “Catching birds isn’t for the bird at.”
Ye Chen took another swig of wine.
“Enough, let’s stop drinking. We should start practicing martial arts.”
Ye Chen called out, “Horse Stance!”
“Do we really need to do the Horse Stance? I’ve long since mastered that basic maneuver.”
“Of course. You think I’m joking? If you want to defeat your opponent, it’s crucial to stand firmly in the Horse Stance, preventing them from knocking you down before you can knock them down. The power in your hands stems from your feet, and channels through your waist. Don’t assu it’s all in your waist. Without a steady stance, you won’t be able to harness your strength properly. Horse stance!”
“So, there’re no cunning techniques in our movents?”
“Yes, there are. But no matter how fancy the technique, it’s fleeting without the basics. What’s the use of your fancy moves if you can’t hold your ground and are simply knocked down? It’s a pointless show. The mont a strike cos your way, you’ll drop to your knees – what’s the use in that? There won’t be any chance for you to fight back.”
Bristling at his criticism, Wan Danrong proposed, “How about this, I’ll demonstrate my best technique first. Then you can judge if I need to continue practicing the Horse Stance.”
“Fine by . After all, you’re the boss, and I’m just the worker,” Ye Chen replied.
Wan Danrong was ecstatic. She wanted to give her best performance to demonstrate her skill level.
“This is our Wan Manor’s Willow Leaf Sword Technique. It originated from the Central Plains’ Demon Realm, but we no longer know which particular sect it belonged to…” Wan Danrong rattled off her introduction, but Ye Chen didn’t really pay attention.
She began her demonstration with all earnestness. Watching from the side, Ye Chen shook his head continuously, worsening her anxiety.
The more Wan Danrong tried to impress, the more timid her performance seed.
By the ti she finished, Ye Chen had fallen asleep.
Angry and defeated, Wan Danrong flopped onto the ground, yelling, “Wake up!”
Arising in startled haste, Ye Chen complinted, “Great, really good. This is impressive.”
“You didn’t even watch the whole thing, I knew I wouldn’t be able to impress you,” Wan Danrong grumbled unhappily.
“No, it’s truly impressive. For a lady of your stature to finish the sequence, it’s comndable.”
“So just finishing is comndable enough now? Are you making fun of ?” Wan Danrong replied coldly.
“No, not at all.”
Wan Danrong retorted, “I get it. Compared to those Green Dragons you’ve slain with lightning strikes, I’m nothing.”
Ye Chen hurriedly explained, “I was just lucky to stumble upon those techniques. If I hadn’t been lucky, I might not even be as good as you.”
“What do you an? What do you call your martial arts?”
“I don’t know.”
“What, you don’t know? You’re not trying to trick , are you?”
“Honestly, I’m not fooling you. I accidentally found a secret manual with a dragon drawn on it, but it didn’t have a title. It had diagrams inside, so I learned from them.”
“Where’s the manual?”
“Soone stole it. So don’t get any ideas.”
“You’re not saying that because you’re afraid I’ll ask you for it, are you?”
Hurriedly, Ye Chen assured, “No, I really don’t need to lie to you.”
Wan Danrong looked at Ye Chen incredulously, half-believing, half-doubting. “I won’t pressure you to teach those martial arts,” she eventually said.
Ye Chen comnted, “Your technique is actually quite good, it’s just too flashy. Essentially, it’s not the technique that’s inadequate but your ntor for not emphasising the key facets. Probably, he too couldn’t fathom the essence of the technique due to lack of experience. If you had a more adept ntor, your potency could be enhanced by at least eighty percent.”
Wan Danrong contemplated Ye Chen’s words, torn between belief and doubt. This technique was, after all, taught to her by Ding Yunjie.
Saying that Ding Yunjie lacked experience was plausible. His martial skills were indeed not very high.
“Who taught you this technique?”
“Ding Yunjie, the son of our head instructor Ding Shi.”
“A young man, right?”
“Uh-huh, but his martial arts skills are better than mine.”
Ye Chen suddenly rembered sothing. He recalled the night when a certain young man led her and Yi i to escape from the black-clad n, “He must be the white-robed man who led you to escape from those black-clad n that night.”
“How did you know?”
“I was in the Gourd Temple and your commotion woke up. I saw him leading you to escape, but you ended up falling into a sewage pond,” Ye Chen recalled, shaking his head. “This explains it. No wonder it was so abysmal. It was no better than a monkey show.”
“Hey, don’t be so harsh. Ding Yunjie’s martial arts are quite good. Among the people of our age in the Wan Residence, hardly any can withstand his three strikes.”
“That’s because you all are confined within the Wan Residence, oblivious to the broader world beyond your doorstep,” Ye Chen curtly pointed out.
Wan Danrong, however, wasn’t convinced.
“Don’t bla for being brutally honest, it’s just the way it is,” Ye Chen, who had witnessed the white-robed man’s moves that night, maintained.
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