Chapter 24: Stolen Half-Day Leisure

  That day, Zhou Cheng was preparing to lecture on the Tao as usual, but unexpectedly he was intercepted by the crowd of people who came to listen to his teachings.

  "Teacher Sheng An, we have something to say!" Several Golden Immortal-level students who were listening in on the sidelines stepped forward under the lead of the Nine-Tailed Old Fox, and they all knelt down on the large stone where Zhou Cheng was sitting, saying in unison!

  Zhou Chengyi saw the situation and knew that trouble had arrived. Normally, when others bow to you, it's a sign of respect, but today these few people were probably seeking something from him.

  "Just say what you want to say! Don't be so childish."

  The crowd looked at me, I looked at them, and finally the nine-tailed old fox spoke up: "We are grateful for Master's kindness, often listening to the Great Way, and feeling endless gratitude. We thought about how to repay him, but only asked Master to take pity on us, record our names, and let us serve Master as cattle and horses!" The crowd listened to Zhou Cheng's lecture on the Great Way, although it was just the basic chapter of chaos, their magical powers and cultivation also greatly increased, and several people here were even in the realm of Golden Immortals. When they first heard Zhou Cheng's lecture on the Great Way, they didn't feel particularly strong, so they thought Zhou Cheng was just an ordinary loose cultivator. Later, as their cultivation deepened, they understood the Hongmeng Great Way more and more deeply, and every time they listened to the lecture, they gained a lot. Only then did they realize that Zhou Cheng's cultivation far exceeded their imagination. Recently, several demons who returned from the mountain talked about the war between witches and monsters outside the mountain, and although everyone felt that Qingqiu Mountain was still safe, they were also nervous and worried, fearing that one day it would be their turn. After discussing together, they decided to ask Zhou Cheng to accept them as disciples.

  Several people had thought about becoming apprentices before, but they felt that Zhou Cheng only talked about the grand way, disregarding relationships, and never spoke to anyone, treating everyone as if they were just listening in. After giving the crowd a profound and unfathomable feeling, Zhou Cheng instead made everyone more fearful. Now that things have come to this point, several of the bystanders had no choice but to step forward with trepidation.

  Zhou Chengyi had been dreading this moment, as he didn't want to indiscriminately accept disciples and followers. However, since the time he was rejected by Yu Jing in his past life, he deeply understood the feeling of being refused by others. Now, it seemed that he would have to turn things around and reject someone else instead. This matter was indeed very difficult to handle!

  Zhou Cheng was at a loss, thinking left and right but couldn't find the key point. Saying there's no fate seems too forced; saying he won't accept it is too ruthless, hurting others; accepting it would go against his own intentions! In desperation, he had to play his last trump card, and once the result was out, it was just a matter of going through the motions!

  "I'll carefully calculate the heavenly mechanism, if there's a destined connection, I'll fulfill your wishes; if not, it would be..."

  Zhou Cheng raised his right hand and held up the Tian Di Yan, gently patting it on the incense table. He then closed his eyes and began to calculate the celestial movements!

  After a long time, Zhou Cheng opened his eyes and looked at the crowd staring at him. "You are not my master-disciple." The crowd's expectant expression instantly dimmed. "However, in the future, there will be some connection between you and my disciples. Although I cannot accept you as my disciples, I promise that as long as you do not violate the heavenly way, do not harm the Qingqiu Mountain lineage, and are not great evildoers, I will also ensure your safety!" The crowd's dim expression eased a bit, and they were about to turn back to the stone steps when Zhou Cheng said, "There is only one nine-tailed tribe in the mountain full of demons, and it is destined that one of my disciples will be from this tribe. I'm just informing you in advance."

  Everyone was delighted to hear this, after all, they were all mountain demons and monsters living together in the mysterious large array guarding Qingqiu Mountain, it was a situation of shared honor and shared loss. The nine-tailed tribe had gotten a good thing, but each one was also happy for themselves. Immediately, they all turned around and bowed down: "Teacher's sacred grace!"

  Zhou Cheng finished speaking and immediately summoned the four doorkeepers to his thatched cottage.

  "Bai Mian Lao Shi" Bai Meng couple respectfully kowtowed. Zhu Yu and Shi Zhong didn't care about that, directly bowed and called out "Lao Shi". Ah, it seems this is the difference between a disciple and a gatekeeper.

  "Bai Meng, Bai Lu, you two have made great progress in your cultivation. Bai Meng is still a mid-stage Golden Immortal, while Bai Lu has reached the peak of the early stage of Golden Immortality."

  "It's all thanks to the teacher's great kindness." The two replied gratefully.

  "Hmm, Xiao Yu, Shi Zhong, you two have also made some progress." The two precious disciples had also reached the early stages of Xuanxian, not just because of Zhou Cheng's dan medicine assistance, but also because when lecturing on the Dao, he would pay special attention to the two of them. Adding to that was the previous illusion array heart refinement and the hint of chaos chapter comprehension that Zhou Cheng had imparted, allowing the two to gain more insights when listening to his lectures.

  "Master, don't you think we're already very powerful?" Xiaoyu said with a confident face.

  "What makes you think that?" "I usually fight with those monsters, they are not my opponents, and the East Sea Brocade Carp Dragons are even less likely to be my match. I bully them, and none of them dare to fight back!" Xiaoyu said proudly, shaking his head.

  "Ah, I'm just as fierce as my senior sister. Some of the demon tribes see me and give way from afar." Shi Zhong also refused to fall behind his senior sister. The two kids' appearance made the White couple next to them stifle a smile.

  "Get out!" Zhou Cheng suddenly became furious and roared: "Kneel down!"

  Xiao Yu and Bai Meng were both frightened, not knowing what they did wrong, and could only kneel down obediently. The couple, Bai Meng and his wife, took a step back in unison, even more frightened. Bai Meng couldn't bear it and wanted to go forward again to persuade something, but was pulled back by Bai Lu who had a thoughtful expression on her face.

  Zhou Cheng raised the chaotic wheel pen, reversed it, and used the pen holder to slap the buttocks of the two children with a "pa pa pa" sound, each getting ten slaps. The little boy's face turned red as he let out a loud cry of "Wa". Shi Zhong didn't cry, but tightly pursed his lips, apparently also enduring the pain. The two Xuanxian cultivation children were indeed hurt by the chaotic wheel pen.

  Zhou Cheng scolded while hitting, "You think you can become like your master in the past? I pitied you for eating wind and drinking dew, not opening up your spiritual wisdom. That's why I enlightened you, removing those bamboo and stone shackles. And it was to pass on the great Dao's wonderful methods to you, not for anything else, but because you people are likable." After hitting ten times, Zhou Cheng casually threw the pen onto the incense table, his anger unabated, saying: "My original intention was to nurture you well, treating you like my own children." The more Zhou Cheng spoke, the angrier he became. He didn't care that several people were trembling with fear, and turned his back on them, putting his hands behind him, looking out the window as he continued speaking to them.

  "As your teacher, I've taught you many times that one should be humble and not do things that deceive others. As your teacher, I also want you to help and care for each other as fellow students. But you, you..." Zhou Cheng's anger burst forth, his words becoming incoherent.

  "Master..." The little voice called out in a low, sobbing tone.

  "Don't call me Master, the things I taught you were all stolen by those outsiders from Qingqiu Mountain!" Zhou Cheng continued to scold: "In my school, it's possible to bully people, but not without reason. Especially good people who are weaker than us. The Tao is selfless, and you're only accepted as disciples because Master favors you. Is it a good thing that those demons were bullied by you for no reason? They're also from Qingqiu Mountain, and you're bullying them like this, is this what I taught you?" Zhou Cheng gradually calmed down his anger: "Those people aren't weak, many of them could take you down with just one finger. The only reason they admitted defeat was because they didn't want to offend Master, fearing it would be awkward in the future. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

  "In the vast and chaotic world, you will eventually face great difficulties. As your master, I am warning you now that there are two reasons why I am scolding you this time. Firstly, it is because you have been bullying others recklessly, which I detest the most. Secondly, it is because you do not understand the ways of the world and act impulsively, so how will you cope when disaster strikes? As your master, I can only save you once, but how can I save you every time?

  Zhou Cheng took this opportunity to give a preventive warning: "One should be more low-key in life, and even when fighting, one should strike unexpectedly. One should be ruthless towards enemies, but courteous towards friends. If I find out that you are still acting like this in the future, I will not scold you again!" Zhou Cheng pulled up his two disciples, patted their buttocks and said: "If you repeat your mistakes, I won't beat you, but I will directly expel you from our school."

  Everyone listened and simultaneously felt a chill, immediately kneeling down again: "I dare not anymore."

  "This is the way it is, you should remember that. As for Bai and Meng, they must take good care of those two beasts. If they let them act recklessly without stopping them, they will be considered equally guilty. You can go now."

  This time, Zhou Cheng's outburst was somewhat intentional. He felt that he had shown enough care to his disciples, but not enough authority. The incident with Yu Jing in the past made him feel heartbroken and ashamed, so he vowed never to bully anyone again. At the same time, for the sake of his two disciples' future well-being, he also suppressed his affectionate feelings and severely punished them. After finishing the lesson, Zhou Cheng felt a pang of discomfort in his heart, perhaps because he had truly treated the two children as if they were his own. As someone who had risen from an ordinary person to his current status through a series of fortunate events, Zhou Cheng's worldly emotions were still strong. He now had everything he was supposed to have, but the words "family" and "relatives" seemed increasingly unfamiliar to him. In recent years, however, he had experienced some familial feelings through his two disciples.

  The next morning, Zhou Cheng thought about it and decided to go wake them up personally. After coaxing them for a while, everything was fine again. Xiaoyu clung to Zhou Cheng's chest, sobbing and saying: "Master, I'm so scared, I won't dare anymore, please don't yell at me again, okay?" "En, as long as you listen, Master will still love you like before." "Master, that broken pen holder of yours really hurts when it hits people, it still hurts now." "Hahaha..."

  Perhaps it's time for a few people to come out and take a walk, let them broaden their horizons. Zhou Cheng thought to himself.

  Today is the second chapter. When Little Fish was writing this chapter, she felt like her heart was aching too. A small low point is about to pass, and something wonderful will come next. Xian Xia Zhou has risen to 9th place, thank you everyone! At the same time, I'm calling for votes. You can finish reading a chapter in just a few minutes at home, but Little Fish needs several hours to code it in an internet cafe... The hardships are not worth mentioning. Everything is for the weekly rankings!!!

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