Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 381 Ridiculous
Memories came flooding back.

The farce in Luoyang, the zither piece falsely claimed to be the "Evil-Repelling Sword Manual," and this quiet bamboo courtyard before me—if it weren't for the mysterious old woman's intervention, resolving the conflict with a rendition of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," I would likely be imprisoned by now.

Therefore, he was invited by the owner of the place to come and learn the piano whenever he had free time.

Thinking of Wang Yuanba's aggressive face and his master Yue Buqun's indifferent expression, Linghu Chong felt a surge of anger in his chest and subconsciously began to circulate his internal energy.

As he circulated his energy, he was surprised to find a wisp of scorching true energy flowing within his dantian! It was none other than the "Extreme Overlord Technique" he had been practicing in his dream!
The cultivation techniques from my dreams can actually be practiced?
Linghu Chong felt it was absurd. His fingertips trembled slightly. Could what he learned in his dream actually be applied to reality? Such an absurd thing, if told to others, would probably make him seem like a madman.

"What are you daydreaming about?" The aged voice startled him awake. Through the white gauze screen, he could see the figure tuning the strings of a zither.

Although the mother-in-law pretended to be annoyed, her tone was somewhat indulgent: "I made an exception to teach you to play the zither, but you just came here and took a nap."

"Forgive me, Mother-in-law!" Linghu Chong rubbed his temples and said with a wry smile, "I suddenly fell asleep and had a ridiculous dream."

He knew that the person in front of him was Green Bamboo Old Man's aunt. Green Bamboo Old Man was already several decades old, so his aunt must be an old woman.

The strings rang out with a sharp "zheng". The old woman's fingers stopped at the seventh fret: "No matter how absurd a dream is, can it be more absurd than this world?" Her voice suddenly drifted away, as if she was recalling some long-forgotten past events.

That's true. An old woman who lives in seclusion in an alley must have many stories to tell.

"Would you like to tell me?" the old woman asked again.

"Why not?" He laughed freely and began to recount the fantastical scene of yellow sand filling the sky in his dream, the strange man Shi Fei who planted trees, and the pockmarked boy Lu Xiaofeng who was addicted to alcohol.

He simply omitted the section on "Extreme Domination Technique," as he really didn't want to cause trouble for his mother-in-law in the martial arts world because of a martial arts manual.

"It does have some merit." After listening, the mother-in-law found it somewhat absurd, but acceptable.

She added, "You rascal, you actually dream about men instead of your junior sister. It really surprises me!"

"Mother-in-law!" Linghu Chong's ears burned when he was teased.

The day before yesterday, he mistakenly pressed the Shang note because he missed Yue Lingshan, and his mother-in-law saw through his thoughts. Later, accompanied by the music of the zither, he poured out all his heart.

From childhood sweethearts with her junior sister to her master's suspicion and estrangement, she even revealed all the secrets between Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang.

"Ha~" Grandma chuckled, "Keep learning the piano!"

When Linghu Chong finished his zither lesson and stepped out of Green Bamboo Lane, dusk had already painted the bluestone slabs at the lane's entrance red. The setting sun felt like warm wine splashed on his body, reminding him of the night he drank with Lu Xiaofeng in his dream. But at this moment, what surged within him was not the effects of wine, but the scorching true energy of the Extreme Overlord Technique.

Ever since the day the Six Immortals of Peach Valley forcefully injected six streams of true energy into his meridians, and with the addition of two different streams of true energy from Monk Bujie, his body felt like it was entangled with eight evil dragons. Every time he used his internal energy, he would suffer a backlash, and even raising his hand required enduring excruciating pain.

Now, a spark suddenly appeared in the dantian and then exploded with a bang!

The true energy of the "Extreme Domination Technique" spread like wildfire, melting away all other kinds of true energy wherever it passed. The foreign true energy that had tormented him for so long now became the best kindling, transforming into pure internal energy in the raging flames.

Extremely domineering!

As expected of "The Overlord is the Ultimate Overlord"!
After just two hours of playing the zither and regulating his breathing, he had already refined 30% of the exotic true energy within his body. At this rate, in another day or two, not only would his injuries improve, but his skill would also reach a new level.

He couldn't resist the urge to go find his master and junior sister and tell them the good news. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and he remembered that he was already a "discarded disciple of Mount Hua".

He instinctively reached for the wine flask at his waist, only to find it empty. He then remembered that he couldn't drink alcohol when he was learning the zither. He went to a small tavern, ordered a flask of cloudy wine, and began to stare blankly at a stack of rejuvenating beans.

His injuries are almost healed, so what should he do?

Should we go back to Mount Hua?

His master's cold, stern face appeared before his eyes, and the rebuke of "From this day forward, all ties are severed" still echoed in his ears. Even if his injuries healed, would that mountain gate ever reopen for him?

To wander to the ends of the earth?

He suddenly remembered that the four characters "Qi Guan Chang Hong" were engraved on the scabbard of his sword, which Yue Buqun had personally given him when he came of age.

For a moment, his mind was in turmoil, and he couldn't make up his mind.

"Little Fatty Lu." He subconsciously gulped down a large mouthful of wine. If the pockmarked boy from his dream were here now, he would surely slam his fist on the table and shout, "What kind of hero is this, all that fuss and hesitation!"

Indeed, he's hardly a hero! And quite fussy too!

Suddenly, he remembered the arrogant words he had uttered while drinking with Lu Xiaopangji: "If you want to be the leader of the Huashan Sect, why do you need their approval? Just establish your own new sect!"

absurd!

Linghu Chong drank his wine and gave a bitter laugh. Establishing a sect was no child's play. Without the inheritance of the Zixia Divine Skill, without the symbol of a sect leader, who in the martial world would recognize him as the "Leader of Mount Hua"?
Suddenly, a thought cleaved through the fog like lightning! At the summit of Mount Hua, behind the Cliff of Contemplation, isn't there still...
He suddenly remembered that there was still an elder in Huashan alive! If he could step forward, a new Huashan might not be impossible!

"Senior Feng Qingyang!"

The moment he uttered the name, he was immediately startled by his own audacity. That senior swordsman had been in seclusion for many years, long since withdrawing from the affairs of the martial world; how dare he presume to persuade him to come out of seclusion?

Linghu Chong, you're such a scoundrel!
"The so-called seclusion and hermits are all expressions of dissatisfaction with the current order, yet a powerlessness to change it. If the current order suited one's wishes, why would one choose to live in seclusion and become a hermit?"

The words in his dream startled him awake.

Why did Master Feng retire from public life back then? Was it because the conflict over sword energy chilled his heart? Or did he see through the hypocrisy of this martial world?

If he truly despaired of the Huashan Sect, why did he remain on the Cliff of Contemplation?
Once this idea takes hold, it spreads like wildfire and can never be extinguished.

—Let's go to Mount Hua!

He wasn't going to kneel and beg for his master's forgiveness, nor was he going to grovel and beg to return to the sect. Instead, he was going to see Feng Qingyang, the senior sword master who had been living in seclusion for many years!
Yes, why insist on the Huashan School of Qi? Why wait for Yue Buqun's approval? If Feng Qingyang were still alive, the Huashan Sword School's lineage would not have been broken!
Even though Linghu Chong was expelled from his sect, his swordsmanship ultimately originated from Mount Hua. If he could get the approval of the Sword Sect elders, what was wrong with establishing his own sect?

"Ha!" He suddenly burst out laughing, startling the tavern owner who looked at him in surprise, thinking he was drunk and acting crazy!
—Is it absurd?

Perhaps! But the world of martial arts is inherently absurd!

Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang became friends through music, but were driven to ruin by the so-called distinction between good and evil. Linghu Chong, on the other hand, was regarded as a traitor by his sect for speaking out for justice.

If that's the case, why does he still adhere to those hypocritical rules?
(End of this chapter)