Chapter 4, Zhiping

Without waiting for the energy to transform, he quickly followed. The person's reaction was swift, and in an instant, they had covered several dozen zhang, becoming a black dot beneath the trees. At first, Li Zhichang was quite far from her because he had not yet converted his breath. After running a few miles, his breathing had adjusted, and his internal strength was far deeper than that of the person ahead. In less than half a moment, the figure in front became increasingly clear. It was a young girl dressed in a light yellow outfit. The two were chasing each other, but the dense trees in the mountains made it difficult, and the girl was very agile. For a time, Li Zhichang was unable to catch up. However, the girl's endurance was far inferior to his, and she could not last long. Li Zhichang was not anxious in his heart. Before long, it seemed that Li Zhichang was about to catch up to her, but unexpectedly, the girl in yellow suddenly crouched down and slipped through a thicket.

Unfortunately, after Changchunzi took him as a disciple, he did not take care of him, but instead allowed his senior apprentice, Li Zhichang, who was one year younger, to teach him. The period during which Li Zhichang taught him martial arts can truly be described as unbearable, having a devastating impact on his young heart

At this moment, he was cultivating his internal energy, yet he could not rise immediately. Originally, the stone that struck him caused no harm; however, he was not one to suffer in silence. In an instant, he forcefully altered the flow of his true energy, gathering it at his back, as if his back had transformed into a sponge that absorbed the force of the stone, then converting the yin energy into yang energy to send the stone back along its original path. Upon hearing a delicate protest, Li Zhichang would not show any mercy simply because the person was a woman.

Li Zhi often saw that he was no longer as exhausted as a dead dog, yet he had doubled the workload from before, and each time he was required to split firewood into thirty-six equal parts. When Yin Zhiping finally managed to meet the demands after much hardship, the damned Li Zhi would then ask him to tend the fire. As if that were not enough, he was not allowed to use a fire poker. Instead, he had to increase the firepower using only the force of his palms. At that time, he was still a novice and did not know that this set of palm techniques was the foundational form of the Quanzhen Sect's ultimate skill, the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, which was the most physically demanding. Each time he tended the fire, it was more exhausting than splitting firewood for an entire day

After sitting for a while, the rosy-faced girl huffed, "That stinky Taoist can run so fast, but I was just teasing you a bit. Is it really necessary to take it so seriously?"

The girl in the yellow dress, not knowing where she found the strength, ran forward. Li Zhichang chased her for a while, but in fact, he had already lost most of his energy and did not rush to catch up immediately. He simply found it amusing and followed at a leisurely pace. Whenever the girl in the yellow dress slowed down, he would hasten forward, scaring her into running wildly again. This back-and-forth happened several times; the girl in the yellow dress realized he was teasing her but dared not let Li Zhichang catch her. Suddenly, she saw what appeared to be a deep ditch ahead, with no way to go further, and the girl in the yellow dress was overjoyed. She was finally about to get home.

Li Zhichang taught him a set of breathing techniques. Strangely enough, following Li Zhichang's methods, his waist no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and even the food that was usually hard to swallow became much more palatable. However, this was precisely the source of all his tragic life.

At this moment, Master Li Zhichang expressed his concern, saying: "Zhiping, are you feeling too tired?" Yin Zhiping replied excitedly, "A little."

One day, he witnessed Zhao Zhijing, a senior disciple of Master Wang Chuyi, provoking the eldest senior brother, seemingly regarding an issue related to the morning class. Zhao Zhijing was the chief disciple of the third generation and had long harbored resentment towards Yin Zhiping and Li Zhichang for frequently skipping the morning classes. This baseless animosity left Yin Zhiping feeling quite helpless. On one occasion, Zhao Zhijing approached Li Zhichang to negotiate, but Li Zhichang was engrossed in his reading, which infuriated Zhao Zhijing, prompting him to strike Li Zhichang with a palm.

Li Zhichang often joked: "Senior brother will teach you a method. Every time you work, do it like this..."

Yin Zhiping's initial desire to resist was extinguished. He could only obediently follow the orders of his senior brother. That day, his senior brother proudly remarked, "Zhiping, don't be fooled by Old Zhao's burly appearance; he is still the chief. You must understand that in this world, strength is the ultimate truth. The founding ancestor once said, 'Power comes from the barrel of a gun.'" Yin Zhiping could not recall when the founding ancestor had said this, but one thing was certain: strength is indeed the hard truth, and since his senior brother was the strongest, he was the truth. While Yin Zhiping reminisced about his hardships and joys in the Chongyang Palace, Li Zhichang was honing his physical body in the waterfall he had discovered.

Li Zhichang was originally a person with no great ambitions, possessing a calm and gentle disposition. He was not particularly concerned about whether his martial arts were the best in the world. At this moment, Li Zhichang jumped from the waterfall onto a large rock, sitting cross-legged, entering a state of tranquility in which he was neither worried nor joyful, neither anxious nor restless, allowing the Quanzhen heart method to flow effortlessly. At this time, a stone flew towards him from behind at an extremely high speed; although it was fast, it appeared to move very slowly in his perception.

After a long and desperate plea from Danyangzi, Ma Yu finally agreed. Unfortunately, Ma Yu had no intention of accepting him as a disciple and handed him over to Changchunzi Qiu Chuji. However, Yin Zhiping had long heard that among the Seven Disciples of Quanzhen, it was not the leader but the True Man of Changchun who possessed the highest martial arts skills, so he did not object and was very pleased.

Li Zhichang has practiced the Thirteen Taibao for several years, and his physical development has become even more perfect. Although he is only fifteen years old, he has already attained an adult height. When he removes his robe, his entire body is muscular and coiled, exuding a certain explosive power. However, if he were to reach the highest level of practice, he would eventually turn inward, returning to simplicity, and would appear quite ordinary, making it difficult for others to discern that he possesses extraordinary external martial arts skills. In comparison to his physical achievements, Li Zhichang's internal energy cultivation has not progressed as rapidly as he had imagined; he has only reached a level comparable to Qiu ChujI.

Li Zhichang was tall and could not squeeze through; even if he could, he would not lower his pride. After circling around the thicket in search, the girl in yellow had already escaped without a trace. The girl in yellow dashed through the bushes, sprinting forward. After a while, she could no longer hear the footsteps behind her, yet she dared not stop. She avoided the path and ran wildly through the grass and rocks. Eventually, her whole body became weak and she could no longer run, so she had to sit on a stone to catch her breath. The girl in yellow dashed through the bushes, sprinting forward. After a while, she could no longer hear the footsteps behind her, yet she dared not stop. She avoided the path and ran wildly through the grass and rocks. Eventually, her whole body became weak and she could no longer run, so she had to sit on a stone to catch her breath.

From then on, feeding the horse, boiling water, and chopping firewood became a part of Yin Zhi's daily life. At first, Yin Zhi thought this was a test of his cultivation, and he secretly used the story of the ten trials of the pure Yang real person, Han Zhongli, to motivate himself. However, having been pampered since childhood, Yin Zhi was not accustomed to such rough work, and within just a few days, he was exhausted like a dead dog

Indeed, the senior master had taught him the fundamentals of the mysterious arts long ago. Strangely enough, after finishing his work each day, Yin Zhiping diligently practiced his internal skills and soon achieved a deep state of meditation. Due to the depth of his meditation, he often woke up the next day completely refreshed. Later, as Yin Zhiping's skills improved, he contemplated resistance, but fortunately did not act on it

Yin Zhiping has been at Zhongnan Mountain for two years. He is originally from a prominent family in Laizhou, Shandong, and has been fond of the stories of extraordinary individuals in the martial world since childhood. The Quanzhen Sect is the foremost sect in the world, and the Seven Disciples of Quanzhen are renowned throughout the nine provinces. From nobles to commoners, everyone takes pride in befriending the Seven Disciples of Quanzhen. Therefore, when he heard from his servants that the sect's leader, Master Danyangzi Ma Yu, had appeared in Laizhou, he could not contain his joy and went out.

At this moment, her legs felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and she could not stand up no matter what. Suddenly, she heard a cold, mocking laugh behind her. The girl in yellow was taken aback, turned around, and was so frightened that her heart almost leapt out of her mouth. She saw a young Taoist priest behind her, glaring with anger and smiling at her. The girl in yellow thought to herself: "It's over, it's over. If my master finds out that I was captured by a filthy Taoist from the Quanzhen Sect, I don't know how he will punish me."

Li Zhichang seemed to have not seen anything, and in any case, Yin Zhiping did not clearly understand what was happening. Zhao Zhijing was grabbed by the shoulder with one hand by Li Zhichang, as if an adult were lifting a child, and with a toss, Zhao Zhijing was thrown outside the courtyard wall. He landed in a position reminiscent of a falling goose, with his backside facing the sky. He walked away in a gray and dusty manner. After that, Zhao Zhijing never troubled his senior brothers again.

Li Zhichang's realm is still quite high; ascending Dongshan makes the small Lu seem insignificant, and climbing Taishan makes the whole world seem small. The Seven Disciples of Quanzhen possess martial arts skills that can be considered top-tier in the martial world, yet in his eyes, they are merely nothing more than that

With a sudden leap, Li Zhi was startled to see her jump unexpectedly. He dared not let her actually jump down, as he was unaware of what lay ahead. If something were to go wrong, it would not be his intention. Thus, he suddenly exerted himself, moving several times faster than before, employing the lightness skill of the Quanzhen Sect. In a single stride, he covered several zhang, grabbing the hand of the girl in the yellow dress. The girl was taken aback and shouted loudly, "Master, come save me." Her voice was clear and crisp, but after a long period of running, it was also accompanied by panting, lacking in breath.