Chapter 7: The Enlightened One

In poor households, it is unlikely that they would waste precious lamp oil just to stay up a little longer. Once night falls, not even the dogs in the village are willing to roam outside, let alone the people. Almost every household closes its doors to rest, and the area is shrouded in darkness, with not a glimmer of light to be seen.

Moreover, even if a highly intelligent person were to enter the village from the village's stockade at midnight, it is likely that no one would notice their intrusion

The invitation from Master Lingzhi has already been declined twice. Will he still place a few smooth pebbles on his windowsill as a mark for the third time?

One might wonder about a young person who possesses a strong vitality; it is likely that the only path available is through medication. Moreover, these medicines should be administered to him by those endowed with wisdom.

As for the successful candidates in the imperial examination, let alone the successful candidates, even the assurance of being of the same rank as the successful candidates is something that Li Kui truly would not dare to utter, as it is exceedingly difficult

In the previous two instances, one could consider your absence as a result of your serious illness and inability to attend. However, now that you have fully recovered, using this excuse is no longer tenable. The patience of the person in question is also limited. The day after tomorrow is your final opportunity; if you do not come, do not blame me for being unsympathetic at that time. Ha ha ha ...

What is the purpose of training him

Li Kui felt a deep sense of despair upon contemplating these thoughts

Rather than waiting for him to come to me, which is too passive, it would be better to meet with this enlightened person at the library and see what exactly he has up his sleeve

Once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back, leading to an awkward situation

Why does he want to do this

Very light

Young man, I know you are awake and I also understand why you do not wish to see me. Just as that fool Li Quan could not endure back in the day, everything is predestined. Fortunately, you have persevered, and the path of martial arts has become much easier for you. However, you have not fully mastered the Heavenly Gang Axe; to give up on it now would be a great pity

He asked himself whether he could achieve the same effortless grace as the wise and enlightened person.

The footprints are very shallow

What is even more frightening is that the literati of the Northern Song Dynasty seemed to look down upon the status of being a fellow jinshi. Many individuals felt deeply ashamed for having passed the jinshi examination and chose to abandon readily available official positions, opting instead to continue their studies for further examinations. At the very least, they were absolutely unwilling to be content without achieving a second-class degree. This significantly increased the difficulty of the imperial examination in the Northern Song Dynasty, making it the most challenging examination to pass in the history of the imperial examination system.

Li Kui vaguely heard the local dog lying in its den, its mouth slightly open, emitting a whimpering sound. This sound was very familiar to him, reminiscent of the times during the day when he passed by the village and saw one or two stray local dogs. At the moment he fixed his gaze on them, the dogs would urinate and defecate in fear, collapsing to the ground while whimpering. At first, Li Kui found it quite amusing, believing himself to be incredibly powerful, attributing it to the suppression of his great bloodline. However, he later realized that it was likely the thick blood aura surrounding him that caused the overly clever local dogs to not dare bark at him.

Continuing to sleep is certainly not an option, and moreover, the earthen bed has been punched through with a large hole, making it impossible to sleep soundly

Li Kui concluded that there was a person standing in the courtyard

To Lingzhi Shangren, Li Quan is a failed specimen, and he has already lost interest in him. The appearance of Li Kui may bring him some surprise, but the outcome remains to be evaluated after witnessing it.

Li Kui could not think of anyone within ten miles of Baizhang Village who possessed such skills. This must be the legendary lightness of body, he thought to himself: "I really want to see what true lightness of body looks like." Unfortunately, it felt as if his back was glued to the earthen bed, and he did not dare to get up.

A night without conversation, went to bed early

He is at least able to be alert to someone approaching him at the first moment, and he is at least able to have a weapon to resist after the opponent launches a surprise attack

The literary giant, Lao Ou, was able to fail the rigorous imperial examination twice during the Northern Song Dynasty. Could it be that he is even more formidable than such a historically significant literary figure?

The sound of incessant trivialities followed closely behind

Snap

Li Kui, troubled by his thoughts, could not sleep soundly. Suddenly, he heard what seemed to be the sound of dry branches being stepped on outside the courtyard, which immediately alerted him. At the same time, he deliberately maintained the rhythm of his original breathing. After a while, there was no further movement, and Li Kui, lying on the kang, couldn't help but smile wryly, feeling that he was a bit overly sensitive to his surroundings. Just as he was about to relax, he heard footsteps.

The grand and dynamic techniques, with each punch and each kick, the power within the body flows ceaselessly like a mighty river.

This exhilarating feeling captivated him to the utmost, even causing him to forget the troubles that weighed on his heart... until the first ray of sunlight rose above the horizon

However, upon reflection, the strength of Master Lingzhi is undoubtedly much greater than his own. Even if he were to resist with all his might, it would likely be nothing more than a futile struggle in the end.

When Li Kui sensed that the spiritual being had departed, he struck the kang with a punch, and with a loud bang, a large hole was smashed into the earthen kang by his fist. The dimly lit room, where one could not see their hand in front of their face, shifted with his changing expression. Zhang was still sound asleep, and the entire village was in a deep slumber, enveloped in a quiet stillness. It seemed that no one was on alert, despite the fact that not long ago, a person had intruded into the village

Is it really that simple, just to cultivate a successor

No, that is not correct; the dog is reacting

Is it true that in this era, lightness skill is no longer possible

Brother, you are surprisingly strong

Li Kui became increasingly vigilant regarding the identity of Lingzhi Shangren. Initially, he maintained a friendly demeanor, but later it transformed into a threat. This indicates that Lingzhi Shangren is certainly not a benevolent character

Even the dogs did not emit a warning sound of alertness

On the contrary, his footsteps were very heavy, so much so that they left deeper impressions in the snow than those of an ordinary person

Li Kui quietly got up from the room, without lighting a lamp. Well, his family was so poor that there was no oil lamp; even if he wanted to light one, there was no way to do so. At the moment he opened the door, although the light was dim, he could still see some of the surrounding scenery clearly. A faint trail of footprints in the snow caught his attention. He tried to walk over to the footprints and imitated the path taken by the wise man, walking around in a circle.

Li Kui lay quietly on the kang, not daring to move at all. Even as his scalp began to tingle, he continued to strive to calm his breathing, trying his best not to let the other party discover him. He had already tightly grasped the firewood knife by his pillow, so that if the other party truly burst in, he would have a means to retaliate

Detestable

Li Kui was unaware of this, but he understood that a person like Ling Zhi Shang Ren harbored no notions of good and evil in his heart, and was even more indifferent to human life. It was likely that teaching him martial arts would not be a simple matter at all

Moreover, Li Kui has also found some confidence. After all, this time is different from the previous two occasions when he approached him quietly without any reaction at all. This time, Li Kui was the first to notice that someone was approaching. Although he did not respond due to nervousness, his performance was much better than in the previous two instances.

Do not be overly sentimental; he is just an ordinary person after all

Is it the enlightened being?

Li Kui descended along the cliff, deliberately bypassing the village, and arrived at a dirt mound. There, he began to practice with punches and kicks. The sound of his strikes echoed like thunder, and the snowflakes swirled around him as if ravaged by a fierce wind, forming whirlwinds. His powerful punches and kicks, accompanied by the sound of wind and snow, resembled the relentless beating of war drums on the battlefield. In the past, if Li Kui had practiced like this, he would have surely been enamored by his own formidable martial prowess.

Who in the world can compare to him

However, after experiencing the matter with Master Lingzhi, he realized that although he appeared to be very strong, there seemed to be quite a few individuals in this world who could suppress him through force, and Master Lingzhi was one of them

Unlike the sound of ordinary footsteps in the snow, the crunching sound is quite pronounced and easily recognizable. However, the sounds in the courtyard seem to have a kind of fabric gently unfurling in the breeze, with very subtle movements. If one does not listen carefully, it is indeed difficult to notice them.

The cawing laughter, as harsh as that of a crow, pierced his eardrum like a thread

As for the military strength of both parties, Li Kui has no knowledge of it whatsoever

And the blood energy on him comes from somewhere, it is obvious without needing to guess—spiritual intelligence.

It should have come from the cliff, which is why it did not alarm the entire village

Li Mu's blind confidence inevitably caused Li Kui to feel a lack of confidence