Chapter 515: Chapter 505: The Useless Rabbit

Yi Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

After leaving the academy, Yi Zheng, curious, asked Zi Zhuang, “Are we a sect? Not an academy?”

Zi Zhuang shook his head, “Strictly speaking, we’re an academy.”

Yi Zheng said, “Then why do you all call the teacher Big House Master?”

Zi Zhuang touched his bald head and chuckled, “How should I put it… We were originally called Chopping Wood Academy.

What our teacher despises the most is those immortals up in the heavens, for being above it all and not understanding the common people’s suffering.

Despises them for thinking they’re better than everyone else once they have some power.

Despises them for acting all lofty and superior after learning a bit of culture and wanting to direct others on how to live.

The teacher believes that everyone in the world, when they first come into being, are just clods of mud flung by Lady Nvwa; nobody is nobler than anyone else, and when you strip off the clothes, we’re all a bunch of birds!

Even if you’ve cultivated, even if you’ve learned culture, you should not forget where you came from.

So our academy is called Chopping Wood Academy, to remind disciples where they started, that we’re all woodcutters, all just mud-slogging peasants…”

Yi Zheng was taken aback. He could never have imagined that the vulgar Kong Ni could hold such sentiment, and suddenly he felt a bit of respect for Kong Ni, “What does that have to do with everyone calling him Big House Master?”

Zi Zhuang said, “Don’t rush me, let me explain slowly.

Our teacher and those guys up in the heavens didn’t share the same ideals, so he came to the Lower Realm to open this scholarly academy.

But as you’ve seen, our teacher’s personality is not that of a frail scholar.

When something comes up, he’s truly hands-on, insistent on making things clear, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he’d make sure to explain things thoroughly.

If he can’t explain clearly, he convinces with virtue.”

Yi Zheng hastily interrupted, “Hold on, what do you mean by ‘convinces with virtue’?”

Though Yi Zheng had guessed the reason, as he had behaved similarly himself, he still wanted to confirm.

Zi Zhuang said, “Oh… it’s because he has a sword at his waist, called ‘Virtue’. If he can’t explain clearly, he just cuts them down, keeps cutting until they submit, until they listen. So it’s called convincing with ‘Virtue’.”

Indeed, just like Yi Zheng’s approach, except Yi Zheng welcomed others with De Character Brand Carrots, while Kong Ni chopped with a great sword…

Zi Zhuang continued, “People outside think our teacher is full of banditry, unreasonable, calling him a brigand-scholar. They call our Chopping Wood Academy a den of thieves… In a fit of anger, our teacher renamed the academy to Chopping Wood Sect, meaning we specifically chop up those worthless pieces of wood. And he changed the title to Big House Master, and academy students to various Hall Masters and such…

The teacher’s message was clear: if you’re going to call me a bandit, then I’ll show you a real bandit!

Being called a bandit was the worst it could be, how more could you morally abduct me?

So the teacher completely let himself go.

The sect didn’t just teach reading and cultivation; it also began to study various methods of skullduggery.”

“What are methods of skullduggery?” Yi Zheng asked curiously.

Zi Zhuang said, “It’s not easily summed up in a few words, but basically, techniques that aren’t very popular.

But they are very practical!

And it doesn’t matter, we are bandits, aren’t we?

A bunch of bandits using any method is normal, right?

As the saying goes, ‘We have no morals, so who can bind us with morals?’

The teacher once said, to deal with the Demon Path, we must use demons to control demons, be more demonic than them!

As for those so-called Righteous Path chatterboxes, when face-to-face, we directly slap them. As for those who talk behind our backs, we can’t hear them anyway, so why bother with them?”

Yi Zheng was speechless, feeling that Kong Ni was more and more to his taste!

This was a kindred spirit!

“Senior brother, what are we going to do next?” Yi Zheng asked.

Zi Zhuang said, “Don’t you still have some chores to do? Go finish those first, then your senior brother will take you on a long journey.”

Yi Zheng was a bit excited. The Underground Immortal Realm, he also wanted to see what kinds of customs and cultures were here…

The next moment, Yi Zheng looked at the dark forest in front of him and turned to Zi Zhuang, “Senior brother, are you sure we have to chop down this whole forest?”

Zi Zhuang walked over, casually broke a bamboo by hand, then grinned, “Of course, it’s just this tiny hill, isn’t it easy?”

Yi Zheng also walked over, tried to break one, and the bamboo didn’t budge!

Yi Zheng refused to believe it, he, after all, was a seventh-level nine-star expert, how could he not break a bamboo in the Underground Immortal Realm? He growled and, using all his might, roared as he pulled, and the bamboo finally shook!

Yi Zheng, as though he saw hope, bulged his eyes and kept shouting, “It moved, it moved, it’s going to break any second!”

Then his ear was pinched, Zi Zhuang lifted him up, pointing to the sky seriously, “Junior brother, that was the wind shaking it, not you. And seriously, aren’t you a bit too weak?!”

Yi Zheng felt incredibly wronged, was he weak?

Not convinced, he stared at Zi Zhuang and shouted, “Senior brother, isn’t there an easier way?”

Zi Zhuang thought for a while and finally sighed, “Junior brother, it doesn’t seem like there is… This grove is made of three-year-old bamboo, we chop it down for firewood.

All the useful bamboo in our sect is at least ten times tougher than this.”

Yi Zheng was dumbfounded, “Uh… is there no other work besides chopping wood?”

Zi Zhuang said, “There is, carry water!”

Upon hearing this, Yi Zheng thought, ‘If I can’t move the bamboo, surely I can carry water, right?’ So he volunteered boldly, “I, carry water!”

Zi Zhuang hesitated and then spoke, “Junior brother, maybe you should choose something else.”

“No need for another! This is it!” Yi Zheng declared with a show of unyielding spirit, “It’s just carrying water, how heavy can it be? Carry on!”

The next moment…

At the foot of the mountain, a rabbit was wailing as it hugged a water bucket a meter tall, and the water bucket wouldn’t budge!

A big baldy stood beside, looking at the water inside the bucket and said, “Junior brother, this water doesn’t have a single ripple…”

“I’m done!” The rabbit gave up immediately, turning around and stomping off while cursing, “The bamboo is as hard as a morning erection, and this damn water is as heavy as a star, screw this!”

Zi Zhuang explained, “Junior brother, this water is called heavy water! It’s a special kind of water from above the Nine Heavens, in the middle of the Milky Way. Our master brought it here on purpose. This water is heavy and bone-chillingly cold, especially suited for physique training.”

Yi Zheng rolled his eyes and said, “Don’t tell me how it got here, just tell me, is there any seventh-tier garbage task on this mountain that I can do?”

Zi Zhuang stood there thinking for a while, and finally said, “How about this, you just chop the bamboo. I will go and apply for a regular fast knife for you…”

Yi Zheng realized that chopping bamboo was the weakest job here!

But having a knife to use, rather than breaking it by hand, he could give it a try.

Therefore, Yi Zheng said, “Agreed!”

The next moment…

A rabbit was howling as it grasped the handle of a knife, but the knife wouldn’t move an inch…

Beside him, the big baldy watched this scene and sighed, “Junior brother, isn’t this knife too heavy?”

Yi Zheng rolled his eyes at him, “What do you think?!”

Clang!

Another knife was thrown in front of Yi Zheng.

Zi Zhuang said, “Junior brother, this is the worst knife in our sect, but a seventh-tier should be able to pick it up. Could you manage with it?”

Indeed, Yi Zheng picked up the knife, but pointing at the dense notches on the blade he asked, “Senior brother, are you sure this is not a saw? ”

Zi Zhuang’s face turned red as he said, “This… I dug this out from the bottom of the farm tool storage, I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s pretty light.”

Yi Zheng looked at Zi Zhuang’s honest expression and knew it would be too much to ask for anything else. Although the broken knife, or rather saw, was rusted and shabby, it was, after all, something usable, so he didn’t complain.

Actually, while Zi Zhuang was looking for weapons, Yi Zheng had already tried those seventh-tier weapons in his hand, and none of them disappointed him–after half a day of chopping, there were no marks on the bamboo!

With his own substandard equipment proving to be ineffective, he could only pin his hopes on the shabby saw.

Zi Zhuang said, “Junior brother, as per our sect’s rules, newcomers without a place to stay need to chop bamboo to build their own houses, so…”

What could Yi Zheng say?

He had already had enough of the ridiculous rules of this broken mountaintop.

The good impression he had accumulated towards the sect during the earlier lessons was almost gone now.

If it weren’t for the fact that his short legs would make it easy to get caught, he would have already fled.

Zi Zhuang said, “Junior brother, um… if there’s nothing else, I might take my leave first?”

Yi Zheng waved his hand, “Go on, go on…”

Zi Zhuang reiterated a few more admonitions before finally turning to leave.

Yi Zheng looked at the vast expanse of bamboo in front of him and sighed, “Can anyone tell me, what the hell kind of etiquette did I learn?”

Just then, Zi Zhuang came back, pulled out a book from his chest, and handed it to Yi Zheng, “Almost forgot, junior brother, this is our sect’s introductory cultivation technique. Practice it well, and later I’ll get you some good food to nourish your body. Otherwise, with your slim body, trying to chop these bamboos might be a bit difficult.”

The mention of a cultivation technique immediately revived Yi Zheng’s spirits, and he took the book eagerly, “Thank you, senior brother!”

Zi Zhuang said, “Junior brother, study and practice well. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come and ask me. I’m at the Mount Tai Hall in the Seventy-Two Halls.”

Yi Zheng indicated that he understood, and only then did Zi Zhuang leave again.

Yi Zheng looked at the bamboo, very certain that he had no way to deal with the bamboos swaying and bobbing in the wind. Instead of struggling to chop bamboo, it would be better to cultivate properly.

So he sat down on the ground and took out the book, on which was written in bold letters–Dragon Fear Heart Scripture.

“Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Dragon Fear Heart Scripture, do you want to start cultivation?”

The long-missed system notification rang out.

Yi Zheng didn’t hesitate to choose to start cultivation!

The next moment, the Dragon Fear Heart Scripture disappeared, then unfolded in his Sea of Consciousness, turning into scrolls of densely packed scripture text. These texts, like stars, shone in the air. They then turned into a huge dragon made of text, coiling above the sky.

Yi Zheng looked up at those texts as if he could faintly hear the roar of a dragon…

As the giant dragon roared, it seemed to come to life. At the same time, Yi Zheng gained sudden insight, his eyes scanning over the dragon’s body. Astonishingly, giant orbs of light appeared on the body of the dragon!