Chapter Thirty-Two: The Stick Takes the High Disciple

  Yangshen Peak's Master Meng Yuanhou not only had a unique appearance - he had destroyed half of his face but never tried to cover it up - but also had his own ideas about how to train new disciples. Therefore, on the first day of moving into the residence, at dawn, he called all the children to the courtyard.

  Dozens of children of different ages, yawning and walking out of the room, as soon as they saw that ferocious face, immediately became wide awake, walked over obediently, yielding to each other, no one wanting to stand in front.

  Zhang Lingsheng is now Meng Yuanhou's deputy, standing respectfully but coldly on the side, occasionally helping to arrange the children's positions, never approaching several young people from Yelin Town.

  The sky was not yet fully bright, Meng Yuanhou beckoned with his hand, indicating that the children should get closer, then picked up a stick from the ground that was slightly taller than him. There were many such sticks, all piled at his feet.

  "Yesterday, some of you got into a fight." Meng Yuanhou held a staff in his right hand, with his legs slightly apart and his feet splayed outward in an eight-shaped stance. Although he was short, his entire body was full of vigor, and if not for the blue robe he wore, he wouldn't have looked like a Taoist at all, but rather a martial arts instructor from the city. "Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it with my own eyes, so today you'll just have to fight enough."

  The children looked at each other in confusion, unsure whether Mengdu was joking or telling the truth.

  "If you have any questions, ask now. Later, you can only use your hands and not your mouth." Meng Yuanhou suddenly became stern, scaring the two 8 or 9-year-old children so much that they trembled with fear.

  "Is it the real thing?" someone whispered.

  "Of course, a real fight. Did I come to watch you shadowbox? Fight, fight with all your might, fight without holding back, the more bloodshed the better, as long as no one dies - I think you don't have the skill for that either."

  There were about fifty or sixty children in total, and when they heard the teacher's instructions, they all got scared. They whispered to each other, and many of them touched their own heads, not wanting them to get hurt.

  "Speak out loud!" Meng Yuanhou's own voice was loud enough, shaking the ears of everyone in the courtyard with a buzzing sound.

  "We came to cultivate the Tao, why do we need to learn how to fight?" Xīn Yòutáo stepped forward, knowing he could no longer gain favor with this master, so he might as well take this opportunity to reestablish his leadership position in the temple.

  His question was echoed by many children, who imagined that practicing Tao should be quiet and calm, without desires or pursuits, rather than fighting like ordinary people. Yesterday, a group fight had just occurred in the temple, but even those who participated at the time did not think that such a scene conformed to the rules of practicing Tao.

  "Since you're cultivating the Tao, sooner or later you'll encounter demons and monsters. How will you deal with them then?"

  "I'll use magic." Xīn Yòu Táo raised his right hand, making a fist as if grasping an invisible spell. "A few moves and I can slay the demon and shoot it with over ten holes."

  Meng Yuanhou nodded, suddenly making a move. His idle left hand shot out like lightning and firmly grasped Xinyu Tao's wrist. "If a demon grabs you like this, can you still cast your spells?"

  Xin Youtao struggled for a moment and smiled, "When it's really dangerous, I won't let the demon grab my wrist, I'll cast a spell first."

  Meng Yuanhou let out a cold laugh, "That's right, you want to take the initiative and strike first, but demons think the same way. They won't stand in front of you like I am now waiting for your move, instead they'll hide and launch a surprise attack when you least expect it."

  As soon as the word "raid" was mentioned, Meng Yuanhou's figure flickered slightly, and all the children in the courtyard felt something brush past them. Suddenly, someone shouted out loud, and only then did everyone discover that there was a red dot on their shoulders.

  The red dot disappeared quickly, leaving no trace.

  "Many demons can do this. Suppose you all cultivate to perfection and learn the powerful five-element spells, will you still have a chance to cast them when encountering such demons?"

  The children didn't speak, but Xia Qiu actually agreed with Meng Yuanhou's words. He had personally witnessed the scene of exorcising demons and had more thoughts on the matter. "Daoist priests have magical tools that can detect demons in advance."

  "The Taoist instruments are essential for all Taoists, they can help you detect most dangers in advance, but -" Meng Yuanhou emphasized, "the Taoist instruments will not always be effective, and demons are not all visible. Some hide very deeply, even without distinction between you and me, the Taoist instruments cannot discern the truth. There will always be a moment, not today, not tomorrow, but this moment will come sooner or later, you will encounter an unexpected sneak attack, at that time even the most powerful magic can't save you, you must rely on your agile body to escape. Cultivating Taoism first requires refining one's physical form, the form cannot last forever, yet it is the dwelling place of the Taoist fire, the more solid the form, the stronger the fire, the more dynamic the form, the longer the life."

  Marquis Mengyuan looked at the group of children who were half listening and half not, paused for a moment, and shouted: "What are you waiting for? Come and get your sticks, two people per team, start fighting!"

  The children rushed forward, grabbed the sticks and started looking for partners. The youngest and weakest children had never been so welcomed before, and they almost triggered a fight in their eagerness to be chosen.

  After a moment of confusion, the children finally lined up in their groups.

  Koito and Jiro Shirasu formed a unique duo, gripping their sticks tightly as they eagerly anticipated the upcoming fight.

  "I won't let you go." Shen Xiuyi said softly, with a smile on his face.

  Marquis Meng walked around, adjusting the unsuitable groups, and came to Xiao Qiu's side, shaking his head. "You two won't do, you can't fight seriously, switch, you go with him."

  Xiao Qiu stood in front of Xin You Tao.

  Xin Yutao's face suddenly turned gloomy, and relying solely on physical strength and a stick, he had no chance of winning at all.

  Just as Meng Yuanhou was about to raise his hand to declare the start, Xin Youtao hastily spoke up, "Meng Da Jiao, does everyone have to practice this? I didn't think of becoming a Wuxing sorcerer to slay demons and evil spirits, I want...I want to be a Vinaya master."

  "Even if you want to be an alchemist, you still have to learn."

  "Wait a minute, aren't you going to teach us some moves? Are we just going to fight randomly like this?"

  "In the midst of chaos, seek victory. This is the best way to train your body. When you can react instinctively at any time, then you have the qualifications to learn what's called 'techniques'. Begin!"

  Shen Hao's gaze remained fixed on Xin Yutao, and it wasn't until Meng Yuanhou announced the start that he retracted his gaze, let out a loud whoop, and charged ferociously towards the child in front of him, scaring them into taking off in a sprint.

  It was indeed a melee, and in no time it was impossible to tell who was on whose side. Some were shouting, others crying, clubs scattered all over the ground. Zhang Lingsheng stood under the eaves of the house, far from danger, secretly congratulating himself that he had not encountered Meng Yuanhou when they were both students.

  Marquis Meng strode quickly through the courtyard, picking up children who were running around and putting them back in their original places. He picked up a stick and put it into his hand, loudly encouraging and severely scolding him, insisting that everyone had to swing the stick, including the girls.

  Everyone has a wild side, especially children. When the road to escape is blocked and they are beaten with sticks one after another, their wildness erupts. Even the smallest child will cry loudly while holding a stick to chase and beat the opponent.

  But they hated most was Meng Yuanhou with a half-face, finding every opportunity to intentionally or unintentionally sweep the club in his hand towards him.

  Marquis Meng Yuan didn't mind at all and instead praised those who almost hit him.

  Half a time later, Meng Yuanhou called out to stop and continued walking in the courtyard, separating those children who had already been beaten red-eyed. "Alright, that's it for today, continue tomorrow, and go get the wound medicine from Zhang Lingsheng afterwards."

  This round of fighting had left the children exhausted, and many didn't even feel the pain on their bodies until they heard about the healing medicine. Only then did they suddenly realize that they were covered in bruises all over, and it seemed like a few bones were broken too. They all stared intently at the person who had injured them, thinking about where they had gone wrong earlier and how to get revenge later.

  Meng Yuanhou was very pleased with the atmosphere of hatred in the guest house, "Remember my rules, I let you fight, use all your strength for me. If I don't speak, no one is allowed to move their hands. If I find out that someone is fighting privately, they will be thrown out of Jinghu Village on the same day, one by one. Even if this year's Pangshan Dao doesn't recruit disciples, even if the sect master himself begs for mercy, I will not allow those who have been thrown out to come back. Do you understand?"

  "Present!" The children chorused in response, hating this teacher of theirs while also fearing him to the bone.

  Xin Yutao secretly agreed with the rule, sneaking a glance at Shen Hao, then let out a pained "ouch", Xia Qiu's hand was quite ruthless, the large lump on his head throbbed painfully.

  Pangshan is a Taoist fairy mountain, with countless spiritual elixirs and wonderful medicines. Treating ordinary skin injuries is easy, and the wound medicine distributed by Zhang Lingsheng takes effect extremely quickly. At breakfast time, there were no scars on the children's bodies, and their appetites were unusually good. They ate all the food, and several village women were busy, only able to promise each child who came over for a second or third bowl of rice that they would increase the amount at lunch and dinner. They decided that it must be at least double the usual amount.

  The pain is gone, the belly is half full, and the atmosphere of hatred in the dormitory has disappeared. The children who were glaring at each other just now are enthusiastically discussing the morning's fight, warmly inviting their opponents to a rematch the next day, and even reducing their resentment towards Mengdu School by a lot.

  Meng Yuanhou completely changed the children's rigid impression of Taoist practice. He not only asked everyone to fight, but also lifted the ban on leaving the temple, "Go run, go play, climb trees, go swimming, what are you doing cooped up in the house? As long as it doesn't affect the villagers, I don't care even if you fly to heaven. Have you seen Laozu Peak in the northeast? Whoever can climb up there, I'll personally come and fetch you, and also reward you with a Baorundan pill."

  Bairundan is a wonderful medicine that is extremely beneficial for one's cultivation journey, even more precious than the Five-Sectioned Green Wood Cream. Even Zhang Lingshan has taken an interest in it.

  Everyone wants to get Baorundan, but no one can climb up Laozu Peak. The stone steps surrounding the mountain body have at least tens of thousands of levels. Before reaching one-third of the height, everyone retreated. Those children who walked the farthest down the mountain swore that they encountered a huge invisible obstacle and couldn't move their feet.

  "Mengdu is just teasing us."

  Only a few people still insist on climbing mountains every day, and the young people in Yelin Town are the main force. Xiao Qiu and Shen Huan usually climb the highest, and they can walk out of several levels every day. However, when they raise their heads to look up, the peak is still invisible.

  "I must be able to climb up." Xia Qiu was not reconciled, they were on the side where the mountain wind was weak, and in front of them there were still heavy obstacles, their feet felt like they had a thousand pounds of weight, "I don't need others to carry me back and forth, I want to go up by myself."

  Shen Hao had already fallen to the ground, "Can still get Bai Run Dan, heard that with its help, almost certainly can condense gas into dan."

  Xiao Qiu once had an inner elixir, which was the Five Elements Master Li Yuechi's deposit in his body. When the demon invaded, the inner elixir spun rapidly. Xiao Qiu still remembers that feeling now. "Everyone in Ye Lin Town will have an inner elixir," he said.

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)