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

Chapter 48 Lightning Strikes Wood

Considering that Murong Ruyan is still a teenager and has lived in a distorted environment for a long time, Zhang Chengdao did not criticize her little thoughts and behaviors too much.

Although he didn't know what to do for a moment, he had at least read a lot of "guides" online before he transmigrated, such as the saying "you can't pay attention to rebellious kids, the more you pay attention to them, the more they'll act up." Although he didn't know if these sayings were true, but...

Forget it, let's just let things be. We'll wait for Xu Ying's uncle to arrive and then let the "schoolteacher" educate the children!
In short, it's definitely not because I'm lazy!

After eating the "Immortal Peach," Xu Ying and Chang Ping'an dispersed, but Murong Ruyan stayed behind, requesting to join Zhang Chengdao in logging.

The ash trees we planted have grown a second time, and today is the perfect time to cut them down.

Zhang Chengdao had even calculated that once all the ash trees were cut down today, the white planks in his backpack would be enough to build the [Cloth Shop] and [Alchemy Shop].

Zhang Chengdao did not refuse Murong Ruyan's request because in just half a month, she had successfully caught up with Chang Ping'an's cultivation level and become a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining!

This rebellious little girl doesn't sleep at all at night! She's always practicing!
While physical cultivation can indeed replace sleep, prolonged lack of rest is mentally unbearable!
Do you really have to work this hard?!
This made Zhang Chengdao feel a sense of crisis. He didn't sleep for several days in a row, and kept meditating and cultivating. He worked hard to advance to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

As for advancing to the fourth level of Foundation Establishment... let's talk about it later. The 60-hour cultivation time was really daunting for him.

As for Murong Ruyan's "slackness" these past few days, it's hard to say whether she's genuinely slacking off or deliberately showing due respect to the senior brother in the sect. After all, Chang Ping'an is almost ready to break through, all he needs is an opportunity.

How can I tell Emperor Ruyan that this kind of "respect" is completely unnecessary...?

Zhang Chengdao felt as if his brain was about to be tangled up with yarn.

"Actually, you don't need to come with me. I have my own secret methods, and I can be much faster than you in both logging and gathering."

Upon hearing this, Murong Ruyan shook her head and said, "Master is amazing, that's your skill. But if a disciple just watches and does nothing because Master is so good at everything, that would be impolite."

Zhang Chengdao said helplessly, "Alright, since you insist, let's go together!"

So the two of them went to the yard where ash trees were planted.

Zhang Chengdao took an axe and handed it to Murong Ruyan, then took another one from his backpack and began chopping wood.

Unlike normal logging, these ash trees are not ordinary trees. Every time Zhang Chengdao cuts down the trunk and puts it in his backpack, the cut-off ash tree stump will suddenly sprout new buds and grow into a new willow tree, as if it had never been cut down!
After being repeatedly cut down more than ten times, the ash tree will finally calm down, stop "recovering," and truly enter the next stage of "growth." It will take six days for it to "grow up," at which point it can be cut down again more than ten times.

Don't be fooled by the fact that a tree can be cut down multiple times and the materials obtained seem plentiful. In reality, each ash tree only yields a few hundred units of wood, enough to synthesize a few dozen planks. This is woefully inadequate for the few buildings you're constructing.

Murong Ruyan had seen Zhang Chengdao cutting down trees before, so she wasn't afraid of this scene, but she was still surprised.

No matter how many times she had seen it, she was still amazed by this incredible thing.

She picked up the axe and at first tried to chop at a willow tree, but the tree didn't even break the bark!
Murong Ruyan frowned in annoyance, then secretly glanced at Zhang Chengdao chopping down the ash tree before turning back to think for a moment. She circulated her spiritual energy, trying to imbue it into the axe, and swung it again—

This time they did manage to cut through the bark of the tree, but that was all.

At this rate of logging, she might not be able to cut down this one tree in a whole day! Murong Ruyan snorted, glanced at the axe in her hand, and simply threw it away. Then, she focused her mind and used a "Thunder Technique" on the willow tree.

This is the most common type of magical technique, but it is also the most difficult to master among the most common magical techniques. Even Chang Ping'an has not learned it, but Murong Ruyan seems to use it very skillfully!

A dark cloud suddenly gathered in the sky, casting a small shadow on the ground. Then, accompanied by a thunderous roar, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the trunk of the ash tree in front of Murong Ruyan.

As soon as the thunderbolt struck, the small dark cloud vanished abruptly, and a burnt smell wafted from the tree. Of course, the ash tree was also struck down and fell to the ground, just as it had hoped.

Murong Ruyan raised her axe and began to chop off the parts of the tree trunk that were still attached.

This time, compared to before when I could only scrape the bark of the willow tree with an axe, even though I couldn't match my master's speed, it was much easier!

Zhang Chengdao was stunned.

Emperor Ruyan is so creative!?

He tried to adjust his expression, wanting to praise Murong Ruyan's cultivation, but staring at the charred ash tree that had been struck down and was still being tortured, he was speechless.

However, after glancing at Murong Ruyan's somewhat embarrassed expression, Zhang Chengdao still tried his best to praise her: "Not bad, you know how to use every available method, you're clever, but next time... damn it!"

As Zhang Chengdao spoke, he threw the fallen ash wood into his backpack, so startled that he didn't even bother to maintain his composure in front of his apprentice!

There was no other reason than that Empress Ruyan had unintentionally unleashed a lightning-struck tree!

Ordinary white wood material suddenly turned into purple [lightning-struck ash wood]. A set of 200 units lay quietly in Zhang Chengdao's backpack, reminding him of how lucky he had been!
“My disciple,” Zhang Chengdao swallowed hard, “do you know what you just did?”

Murong Ruyan looked at him, puzzled, and shook her head.

Zhang Chengdao continued, "You struck out the lightning-struck wood!"

Murong Ruyan asked curiously, "Lightning-struck wood? It seems to be something that wards off evil spirits?"

"It's not for warding off evil spirits; lightning-struck wood is an excellent spiritual material for refining weapons!"

Zhang Chengdao explained, "Ordinary trees rarely survive being struck by lightning. If they do survive, it means they have unintentionally survived the tribulation of lightning, so they will have more spiritual energy than ordinary wood."

"However, even though these lightning-struck trees have some spiritual energy, it is still insufficient for the art of weapon crafting... As I have said, the spiritual energy in this place is thin, and there are very few spiritual things, including trees."

"But the ash tree you just chopped is different. It is a spirit tree, and you used heavenly lightning. The effect is naturally a hundred times that of ordinary trees. The resulting lightning-struck wood is naturally a superior spirit material, far superior to those ordinary trees!"

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(End of this chapter)