Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 55 – A little difference

Qingmiao Academy.

The giant beast crouched on all fours, sitting on the ground. Su Yun and the others descended from the building. Master Tu Ming said, "Qingmiao Academy is where foundation-building scholars study. The palaces here are classrooms, and there are fourteen of them."

Now is the pre-exam period, and Qingmiao Academy no longer teaches classes. Scholars are preparing for the exam.

Su Yun, Hua Hu, and others walked over and saw various palaces such as the Medicine Palace, Physics Palace, Qin Palace, Chess Palace, Painting Palace, and Music Palace. Different palaces taught different courses.

"Do we have to learn so many things?" Some little foxes looked unhappy.

Su Yun also had doubts in his heart. Scholars at Qingmiao Academy had to learn fourteen courses, which seemed too much.

There were couplets hanging on both sides of the doors of the palaces. The couplet in the Physics Palace was interesting.

"To study physics in detail brings joy, why be bound by fame and fortune?"

Su Yun read it once and felt the same way. He said, "Studying physics in detail is to study the principles and rules of things. This sentence means that studying the principles and rules of things is a happy thing. Don't let fame and fortune bind your footsteps forward."

At this moment, a voice came, "The principles and rules of things are physics, which is what my Taoist school calls the Tao."

Su Yun looked over and saw a gray-clothed Taoist walking towards them. After taking a look at them, he said, "Baldy, you came to me earlier and said that there are several scholars who need tutoring. Are they them?"

Master Tu Ming smiled and said, "This is Idle Cloud Taoist, the first Western teacher of Qingmiao Academy."

Idle Cloud Taoist opened the door of the Physics Palace and invited everyone in. Hua Hu asked curiously, "Idle Cloud teacher, why do scholars at Qingmiao Academy have to learn so many courses?"

"Qingmiao Academy has fourteen courses, which seems like a lot, but when you get to Lingguang Academy, there are only eight courses left. When you get to Shijia Academy, Confucian Academy, and Taoist Academy, there are only two or three courses left. Why is that? It's about choosing the best to learn."

Idle Cloud Taoist sat in the main seat of the palace and said, "Higher academies teach scholars subtraction, but not addition. Those who do addition are fools. Our Wenchang Academy gives many choices to incoming scholars, observes their aptitudes, what they are good at, and what they are interested in, and then goes deeper into studying and researching. Only then can they achieve something. The more you learn, the more you will mislead the younger generation, which is the reason why fools do addition."

Although it was a profound truth, he said it in a simple and understandable way, making Su Yun and Hua Hu admire him.

There were cushions in the palace, and Su Yun and the others sat down.

"Have you all learned the Bi Fang Divine Movement Qi Cultivation Technique?" Idle Cloud Taoist asked.

Su Yun, Hua Hu, and the other five shook their heads together.

Idle Cloud Taoist's face turned unpleasant, "Teach five people with no foundation in two days and make sure they learn the Bi Fang Divine Movement Qi Cultivation Technique! Who has the ability to do that? Baldy, I can't take on this job. You need to find someone else!"

As he was about to leave, he saw an old man with a white-washed robe and hands behind his back walking in and sitting on the last row of cushions.

Idle Cloud Taoist quickly bowed, "Greetings, Left Supervisor."

The old man nodded slightly and said, "Idle Cloud, start teaching."Idle Cloud Taoist returned to the Ge Wu Hall with a headache and distributed five books to Su Yun, Hua Hu, and the others, saying, "This is the first part of Bi Fang Shen Xing Yang Qi Pian, which is a method of cultivating one's skills. Read it through first."

Su Yun and the others read through the first part word by word.

Idle Cloud Taoist went to the old man and complained, "Master Tu Ming, if they can understand the heart method of the first part today, it would be a sign of extraordinary intelligence! I can't teach them the whole Bi Fang Shen Xing Pian in two days!"

"Do you know where they come from?" the old man asked.

Idle Cloud Taoist shook his head and said, "Judging from their attire, they should be ordinary youths from the countryside, and it's their first time in the city."

Master Tu Ming sighed, "Taoist, you've been fooled. What you think is what they want you to think, not what you think."

Idle Cloud Taoist was puzzled, "Aren't they ordinary youths from the countryside?"

At this moment, Su Yun and the others' voices came from behind. Idle Cloud Taoist turned around and saw that Su Yun and Hua Hu had finished reading the first part and were discussing its contents.

"Self-study is not enough for scholars! They are not afraid of death! If they misunderstand even one word, they could fall into demonic cultivation! They look like ordinary youths from the countryside who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

Idle Cloud Taoist wanted to stop them, but the explanations given by Su Yun and Hua Hu were concise and profound, and they even touched on some points that Idle Cloud Taoist hadn't thought of. They had learned the old saint's secret techniques under the guidance of the Wild Fox, and the first part of Bi Fang Shen Xing Yang Qi Pian was much simpler for them. They had grasped the meaning after just one reading.

They explained it to prevent Qing Qiuyue and the others from misunderstanding.

Idle Cloud Taoist listened quietly to Su Yun and Hua Hu's explanation, then returned to the old man and asked, "Master Tu Ming, who are these people?"

Tu Ming smiled and said, "Ordinary youths."

Idle Cloud Taoist glared at him fiercely.

The old man asked, "Idle Cloud, if a spiritualist has never learned Bi Fang Shen Xing Pian before, how long does it take for him to learn and cultivate it to the sixth level, ensuring that there are no mistakes?"

Idle Cloud thought for a moment and said, "If it's a spiritualist, it will take two or three days to understand the meaning of Bi Fang Shen Xing Pian without making any mistakes. With the foundation of their abundant spiritual energy, it will take four or five days to cultivate it to the sixth level."

The old man nodded and asked, "How long does it take to learn the second part?"

Idle Cloud said, "The second part is much more difficult. Bi Fang Bian, which requires observing Bi Fang, comprehending the essence, spirit, and form of the Bi Fang divine bird, and visualizing it until it becomes lifelike. Even with guidance, it would take a spiritualist at least a month to cultivate Bi Fang Bian to the lowest level."

The old man's eyes flickered, "What if it's not an ordinary spiritualist, but a genius?"

Idle Cloud was puzzled and asked, "Please explain, Master Tu Ming."The old man said, "When I was young and arrogant, I wanted nothing more than to enter the Heavenly Academy. Five years, five times, I was eliminated every time. The examiner finally told me that I was good in every aspect, but I was still a little short of entering the Heavenly Academy, and that I didn't need to come back again. I asked him how much I was lacking, and he looked kindly at me..."

His face twitched more violently, he took a breath, and continued, "He said, just a little bit. To this day, I still don't know how much he meant by 'just a little bit'."

Idle Cloud Taoist still didn't quite understand how this related to Su Yun and the others.

Just then, the first phoenix cry sounded from within Su Yun's body!

That was the sound of vital energy violently circulating and rubbing against itself inside Su Yun's body, creating a sharp noise!

Idle Cloud Taoist's face changed slightly and he quickly turned to look, but in the instant he turned his head, the second crane screech came.

"When practicing the 'Bi Fang Divine Technique's Qi Cultivation Chapter' to the second level, the circulation of blood and qi is intense, and it will trigger a cry, called the Phoenix Cry!"

Idle Cloud Taoist's mind was racing, "But the strength of the 'Bi Fang Divine Technique' is not in blood and qi. The circulation speed of this technique is not enough to produce the second type of cry. How did he cultivate the second Phoenix Cry?"

Just as he thought of this, the third kind of sound came from within Su Yun's body. This kind of sound was like a phoenix cry in the wutong tree, a crane screech in the sky, and the sound of phoenix cries and crane screeches filled the Ge Wu Hall, and then turned into a strange sound.

That kind of cry was extremely peculiar, as if it came from beyond the heavens, giving people the feeling of being stunned!

Long cries stunned the sky, clearing the blue sky, and the sky outside could be seen!

Idle Cloud Taoist was stunned, his surprise frozen on his face as he stood there dumbfounded.

And behind him, the old man sighed and said quietly, "Just a little bit, that's the little bit that separates me from the students of the Heavenly Academy..."

He rallied his spirits and sneered, "But if I were young again, I could probably do it too! This doesn't make me convinced!"

When Idle Cloud Taoist heard this, his heart shook, and he exclaimed, "Left Minister, are they students from the Heavenly Academy?"

The old man stared at Su Yun and the others with wide eyes and said, "I must see the little bit that makes the students of the Heavenly Academy better than me, and makes me convinced! Idle Cloud, teach them the next chapter!"

Idle Cloud Taoist settled down in front of the hall, and one by one, the one-legged Bi Fang Divine Birds flew out of his body, transformed from his blood and qi, and fluttered about in the hall, each with its own posture.

In the center of the hall was a bronze tree with thousands of branches and leaves. The Bi Fang Divine Birds either flew in front of everyone, circled around the bronze tree, or perched on it. Some were in pairs, while others fought and killed each other.

This was his demonstration of the various moves of the 'Bi Fang Divine Technique' in the second half of the Bi Fang Transformation chapter, manifested by his own vital energy. It was directly presented to Su Yun and the others.

The advantage of this teaching method was that it was the most intuitive way to teach students. While learning the moves, the students could also observe the movements, shapes, habits, and other details of the Bi Fang Divine Birds, which made the students learn faster.

Of course, it was easy to get started, but difficult to master.

To truly master it, one needed to spend more time, even observing day after day for a year, deepening their impression of the Bi Fang Divine Birds and mastering the three achievements, only then could they be considered successful.Idle Cloud Taoist, Master Tu Ming, and the old man all nervously watched Su Yun's every move, waiting to see how he would practice the six moves of the Bi Fang Transformation.

Idle Cloud Taoist also realized that the one called "Hua Hu" was probably not a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Although Hua Hu had strong comprehension abilities, he had only reached the fifth level of Qi cultivation, most likely due to insufficient accumulation of Qi.

But this was enough to confirm for Idle Cloud Taoist that Hua Hu was not a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Because a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Academy would never have insufficient Qi accumulation!

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