Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 251 The Unexpected Incident on West Gate Street

Just as Zhang Chengdao was busy preparing for the Immortal Fate Conference, the White Stone Immortal Dao University, after three months, finally welcomed its first disciple to enter the Qi-guiding stage.

Zhang Chengdao once went to Baishi Immortal University to check. Among the more than one hundred students, not a single gold card was available. The drop rate was ridiculously low.

However, there are two purple cards, more than twenty blue cards, the rest are green cards, and there are no gray cards at all.

It's understandable, really. If someone's aptitude is really too poor, it's very difficult to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar. In ancient times, the imperial examination was not like the modern college entrance examination, where you only compete with your peers. You had to compete with people of all ages who were eligible to take the exam.

While the low literacy rate in ancient times may have made the competition seem less intense than it is today, the fact that having the financial means to support someone's education was already an invisible barrier and a form of invisible competition.

Once the first one appeared, the second one appeared in just two days.

These students' speed in drawing in Qi into their bodies was extremely slow. According to records, in a world with normal spiritual energy concentration, even the worst-qualified gray card students would not need more than a month to draw in Qi into their bodies. However, these purple and blue card students took nearly three months to draw in Qi into their bodies, almost making Zhang Chengdao think that Xu Wen's teaching quality was questionable.

Of course, Xu Wen's teaching quality is indeed somewhat worrying.

As is widely known, Xu Wen used to be a "madman".

The meaning of "arrogant person" is that they look down on everyone—they believe from the bottom of their hearts that they are the best in the world!
Therefore, when he lectures, he often uses a leapfrog approach. If it's a basic literacy course like the one at the White Stone Immortal Sect, it's fine; it's just a matter of learning a thousand-character classic today and a poem three hundred tomorrow.

However, when it came to the basic cultivation of immortality, which required great patience and meticulousness, he couldn't do it—because he could never understand why these foolish students had so many strange and stupid questions!

Zhang Chengdao only discovered this after learning that a student had been practicing Qi cultivation and then attended two more of Xu Wen's classes.

It's hard to imagine that a "straightforward" school of thought, which reduces the logic of Qi sensing to "if you can't sense it, you're all incredibly stupid," could produce cultivators at the Qi Refining stage. These disciples of White Stone Immortal Dao University must be having a tough time...

However, Xu Wen was an early riser and an "old man," and since the matter was ultimately caused by Zhang Chengdao's poor personnel management, after attending two classes, he promoted Xu Wen to the position of Doctor of the Imperial Academy in name only, and sent him to revise books—a task he performed very well.

As for the important task of lecturing to the students of Shiraishi Immortal University, it once again fell on Chang Ping'an, who had only recently had a moment of peace.

"You are experienced and your cultivation is among the highest in the White Stone Immortal Sect, making you suitable to teach the students of White Stone Immortal University. Headmaster Xu is knowledgeable and has read many books in the library, so it is appropriate for him to organize the books. You two should each be assigned to your respective duties!"
"Furthermore, exchanging ideas about immortality with other cultivators can also help your own cultivation and make it easier for you to break through your cultivation level in the future..."

Zhang Chengdao used a lot of psychological manipulation on Chang Ping'an, almost fooling him into a state of complete incompetence.

Chang Ping'an's face flushed with excitement as he nodded emphatically, saying, "Master, rest assured! Your disciple will certainly not let you down!"

With Chang Ping'an's guidance, the teaching process at Baishi Immortal University went much more smoothly. In less than half a month, more than a dozen Qi-inducing cultivators emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

When cultivators appeared in Chang'an, the entire city quietly began to change...

"scare--"

On the west gate street, a man dressed in a green silk round-necked robe and draped in a sable cloak moved with the speed of the wind, taking more than ten steps in a single stride, and in the blink of an eye, he had crossed the entire street.

Chang'an was originally the capital, right under the emperor's nose. Even though the West Gate Street area was a well-known gathering place for merchants and a melting pot of all sorts of people, few martial artists dared to act recklessly in the street.

The kind of behavior depicted in modern films and television dramas, such as constantly jumping up and down, chasing each other on rooftops and eaves, would be subject to accountability by the government that regulates martial arts practitioners. Unless one is a grandmaster, no one would want to cause trouble for such a person.

After all, which capital city doesn't have a grandmaster in charge? So, people in the bustling city center don't often encounter such situations.

Those with some knowledge exclaimed, "What superb lightness skill!"

But a more knowledgeable person in the crowd scoffed, "What lightness skill! This is the White Stone Immortal Technique, called 'Shrinking the Earth to an Inch,' a teleportation technique that only cultivators can learn. How can it be compared to ordinary martial arts lightness skills? You really have no knowledge, actually mistaking an immortal technique for martial arts! Tsk!"

Upon hearing this, someone eagerly asked, "Could this be the legendary magic?"

The person who had mocked others for being ignorant was a young master who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. He was dressed in fine clothes and wore a white jade crown on his head, with two vermilion silk ribbons hanging from the hairpin.

What's even more interesting is that, despite it being the dead of winter, this young master was carrying a folding fan, putting on an air of dashing elegance. Upon hearing this, he even raised his head high, his chin almost touching the sky, and replied in a booming voice, "Indeed!"

A commotion immediately erupted in the crowd, with everyone chattering away. Several skilled "straight men" chimed in, bombarding the crowd with questions.

"May I ask, young master, how did you recognize this magical technique?"

"It's a thousand miles to White Stone Mountain. Would the White Stone Immortal really come here?"

"Yes, yes, immortals don't always live on wind and dew, so how did they end up on West Gate Street in our city?"

The young master, seemingly unbothered, kept chattering on and on, replying, "What's so difficult about that! My aunt's older brother is a student at the White Stone Immortal Dao University. I've seen him use this kind of magic before, so naturally I recognize it!"

"Immortal Baishi is a true immortal on land. What kind of status does he have? Why would he condescend to come here? The only people you can see walking around on the west gate of the city are students of Baishi Immortal University!"
"And who told you that immortals eat wind and drink dew? If immortals really don't eat or drink, where do those immortal seeds planted in the fields come from? It is said that officials and clerks can enjoy 'immortal food'! Those are things that immortals eat, but the people under the rule of our White Stone Immortal Sect have been incredibly lucky and have gotten some soup!"

"And those aren't called immortals, but gods. Perhaps only the White Stone Immortal is a true god. Those who cultivate the immortal path are called cultivators! This is even mentioned in the 'White Stone Immortal Dao Book'! Alas! You are all truly ignorant! Have you not even read the 'White Stone Immortal Dao Book'?" Hearing the young master's words, the others clicked their tongues in amazement. Some curious individuals, however, provided ample emotional support, cupping their hands and saying, "We never expected that you, young master, would be so accomplished at such a young age! May we know your brother's name? We would like to learn more about him!"

"Oh my, oh my, then young master, you'll be a brother of an immortal from now on? That's incredible!"

"What nonsense are you talking about! The young master called them 'cultivators,' not immortals or anything like that!"

“I know, I know! You should call him ‘Immortal Master’. That’s what all the adults called him when I went to the teleportation station!”

"Incredible! It seems that young master will also be cultivating immortality in the future, won't he?"

"Is that even a question? You blockhead!"

The onlookers showered him with flattery, making the young master feel like he was floating on air. He then snapped open his folding fan, fanned himself with affected airs, and said, shaking his head, "My elder brother's surname is Shi, and his name is Shi..."

Before he could finish speaking, a furious roar suddenly rang out—

"Master Yizhi!"

This shout made the young master tremble, and he swallowed the words he was about to say.

"Are you asking for a beating? You dare to come out and spout nonsense while you're confined to your quarters! I'll skin you alive!"

Against the backdrop of Shi Yizhi's terrified, deathly pale face, accompanied by the sound, a young woman in her twenties ran towards them from behind the crowd.

The woman was lithe and strong, with skin that was a light, glossy, honey-colored brown. In this weather, she was bare-armed, wearing only a leather vest trimmed with thick silver fur. Her exposed arms had several bulges of muscle, and the red-tasseled spear she was carrying looked incredibly heavy, making her a truly frightening sight.

The street was crowded with onlookers, and everyone tacitly made way for the young woman, leading directly to Shi Yizhi.

Shi Yizhi swallowed hard. Seeing the other party's aggressive and hostile attitude, he quickly jumped up and shouted, "Second, Second Sister! I'll never dare to do it again!"

With that, he turned around and ran away, his true energy even emanating from his feet, condensing into a layer of frost on the ground!
"You little brat! You dare to run away!"

The young woman looked extremely angry, gritting her teeth as she squeezed out a few words before taking a deep breath and chasing after him.

Shi Yizhi's skill was clearly far inferior to that of the young woman; in just a few breaths, she managed to touch the hem of his clothes.

But this kid was really cunning. Seeing that he couldn't escape, and not caring about getting dirty, he spotted a shed that a merchant had set up to sell his goods, rolled on the spot, and took advantage of his small size to roll under the shed, where he confronted the young woman.

The young woman grew increasingly angry, her chest heaving, her honey-colored face turning a deep reddish-brown with rage: "You little brat! Get your ass out here right now!"

Shi Yizhi boldly replied, "I won't!"

"come out!"

"No!"

The farce amused everyone, and even the merchant whose stall had been taken over chuckled and said, "Why don't you talk to the child properly? Look how scared you've made him!"

An elderly woman nearby also advised, "You two look somewhat alike. Could you be siblings? An elder sister is like a mother. Good boy, whatever the matter, just apologize properly. Why make such a fuss?"

The young woman slammed her red-tasseled spear on the ground and said angrily, "There's no use reasoning with this brat! He needs to be beaten!"

Others advised, "Oh dear, no, no! You absolutely mustn't!"

"You won't learn your lesson unless I beat you to death!" The young woman remained unmoved, pounding the ground with the back of her red-tasseled spear, and shouted at the shed, "You better get out here right now, or I'll tear this shed down and drag you out!"

"Oh dear! This really won't do!"

The owner of the shed, the merchant who had been watching the commotion with a grin, was terrified when he heard that his shed was going to be demolished. He quickly stepped in front of his precious shed, afraid that the other party would really do something: "It took me a lot of effort to build this shed!"

"Is this enough for you to build a new shed?"

As the young woman spoke, she pulled out three gold leaves—two large and one small—from her waist and slapped them onto the table in the shed.

Their eyes widened in surprise. They quickly and carefully picked up the gold leaf, weighed it in their hands, and determined that it weighed about four or five ounces, worth at least several strings of cash!
"That's enough, that's enough!"

The merchant smiled obsequiously at the young woman, then stepped aside, displaying an attitude of "you can dismantle this shed as you please," and watched the spectacle with great delight.

(End of this chapter)