Staff at the Zhangjiajie Tourism Bureau noticed a significant increase in visitors over the past few days compared to before.
Meanwhile, on Sanyi Peak, at least a few thousand Anomalous Humans had gathered.
The disciples and retainers of the Lu Family were bustling about, completely swamped.
And the young Anomalous Humans who had grouped together were quite the lively bunch.
"Alright! As expected of Jia Zhengliang, who never starves, that little suona playing is so stylish!"
"Wang Zhenqiu, with that suona accompaniment, why are you, a grown man, dancing a girl group dance?!"
"Oh, Feng Shayan's here. Guess we can't listen to the suona anymore."
"No rush. Our three brothers also prepared a show to celebrate for Old Man Lu. Guan Ling'er, Zhang Cai, it's our Tianjinwei Little Peach Garden's turn!"
"What are those three going up for? Are they doing a crosstalk?"
"Maybe!"
...
On the high stage, Lu Jin watched the chaotic scene below, barely able to keep a straight face.
"Is this how young people perform these days? I said we should have just hired a troupe to put on a grand opera."
"Old Lu, that's just you not understanding young people. I think this is pretty good! Besides, isn't there still the Northeast Red Flower Immortal's flower drum opera?"
The Old Heavenly Master, wearing large sunglasses and looking like a trendy old man, chuckled.
Lu Jin hesitated.
"I'm just worried that most of these young people below are so unrestrained. I'm afraid..."
"Heh, if few of these young people below can enter the Sanyi Sect's gates, then your threshold is much higher than my Longhu Mountain's."
The Old Heavenly Master teased.
"The Old Heavenly Master is right. Among these young people, my Bing'er can only be considered average, and his temperament is even more flighty. But no matter what, temperament can always be refined."
Wang Ai chimed in.
"Old Fatty Wang, even though you're a scoundrel, what you're saying makes some sense. Temperament, temperament, it looks at both the heart and the nature. As long as the original heart isn't bad, and the cultivation path is right, this nature can always be refined. You yourself are an example. I still remember ninety years ago, you were a clueless fatty, and now haven't you become a somewhat capable old fox?"
Zhang Zhiwei laughed heartily.
Wang Ai didn't get angry at Zhang Zhiwei's jab; he just looked at Wang Bing below and chuckled.
For the past half year, Wang Ai had been much stricter with Wang Bing, forcing him to study.
Originally, Qingshui had told the grandfather and grandson that Wang Bing needed to get a bachelor's and master's degree from Tsinghua or Peking University, or a Ph.D. from a 985 university, before he would consider taking him as a disciple. He also demanded that Wang Bing not use Spirit Control and Summoning to steal others' knowledge.
With the Wang Family's resources, it wasn't impossible if they truly put their minds to it. They couldn't get the recommendation slots from academic competitions or special talent programs, which were harder than the college entrance exam, but it was genuinely possible to go through international student channels or joint exams for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
However, even if you thought about it from Wang Bing's perspective, it was clear that Professor Zhuo wouldn't acknowledge such a path that lacked genuine substance.
But forcing Wang Bing to study hard, even with Wang Ai having hired top tutors, Wang Bing's progress wasn't enough to get into a prestigious university.
Now, Feng Xingtong had gotten a head start, securing a recommendation to Peking University through academic competitions, which meant Wang Bing's path was blocked.
The Wang Family also had no Eight Unique Skills other than Spirit Control and Summoning.
So Wang Ai knew that his grandson's personality would be difficult to change quickly. Therefore, he continued to teach him the Wang Family's Secret Technique.
In the past, Wang Bing's mastery of the Wang Family's Divine Coating was far from proficient because Wang Ai couldn't bear to let Wang Bing suffer. But since Wang Bing was his favorite great-grandson, he naturally put effort into his training, and his fundamentals were quite solid.
Wang Bing's talent was undoubtedly good to earn Wang Ai's affection. If Wang Ai truly put all his effort into nurturing him, his potential was hard to say. Even now, though far from top young masters like Zhang Lingyu and Zhuge Qing, he was still decent. At least his fundamentals were solid enough, and his Divine Coating was more than sufficient for self-preservation. Coupled with Spirit Control and Summoning, one of the Eight Unique Skills, as long as he didn't provoke enemies far stronger than himself or the Wang Family, protecting himself wouldn't be an issue.
With a grandfather who was an Anomalous Human World master, almost top five in the country, and a powerful family, Wang Bing had resources that ordinary factions couldn't even access. If he couldn't even achieve this much, then Wang Bing would be a complete waste, and unworthy of Wang Ai's affection.
What Wang Ai needed to do now was teach Wang Bing whom he could provoke and whom he couldn't. He couldn't be as arrogant as before, at least he couldn't bring new, difficult enemies to the Wang Family.
As for past troubles, with Wang Ai's personality, he had naturally dealt with them cleanly long ago. For the remaining major powers, he could only find ways to cut his losses and appease them.
At the very least, he couldn't let them kick him when he was down.
This was something Wang Ai could achieve.
Wang Ai, though hypocritical and cunning, was indeed a very shrewd old fox. For those powerful factions with backing that could cause trouble for him and the Wang Family, unless he truly had some leverage or means to control them, he genuinely wouldn't provoke them to the death.
Lu Ci's face was grim as he looked at the several Lu Family juniors he had brought, his expression impossibly dark.
While Wang Bing of the Wang Family wasn't particularly outstanding among the younger generation, he at least had potential for cultivation. His Lu Family, however, had been propped up by him alone for many years.
The second and third generation Lu Family bloodlines below, whether from his direct lineage or other branches, hadn't been particularly outstanding under his excessive protection over the years. Although they had Intent Manipulation and Soul-Illumination Technique, and the family's accumulated wealth, they could no longer produce any decent masters.
After finally getting Lu Huan and Lu Liang, two first-rate talents, one died and the other rebelled. Looking at these other few now, they were truly an embarrassment to Lu Ci.
Thinking this, Lu Ci glanced at the young man sitting with the old folks whose average age was over a hundred.
Qingshui was drinking tea, watching the crosstalk performed by Tianjinwei Little Peach Garden below, when he suddenly noticed Old Lu looking at him. He turned his head curiously.
"Old Senior Lu, do you have something to say?"
"Ahem, Professor Zhuo, last time Old Lu said I'd introduce you to some young ladies from our Lu Family..."
"You old dog, you wish! Do you think Professor Zhuo would fancy any of yours?"
Lu Jin shot Lu Ci a look of disdain.
"Tch."
"What, you wanna fight, old dog?"
Lu Jin excitedly clenched his fists.
After he became a peerless master, the only time he ever fought was when he went to Longhu Mountain to spar with the Old Heavenly Master, and then he was knocked flat in a few slaps.
Old Lu really wanted to show off the might of a peerless master, but ordinarily, he had neither a reason nor a worthy opponent for a fight.
But Lu Ci was just right.
Back then, he and Lu Ci were evenly matched, neither willing to concede to the other. Now, fighting again, Lu Jin estimated that Lu Ci could still last several moves against him, which would perfectly sate his itching for a fight.
Unfortunately, Lu Ci wouldn't give him the chance.
"Old scoundrel, I'm not going to bother with you today, seeing as it's your big day. What does Professor Zhuo's business have to do with you? I was just thinking, since the girls in my family aren't good enough for Professor Zhuo, they could at least interact with his disciples or something, right?"
Lu Jin snorted:
"Come on, those few in your family wouldn't even be good enough for my Lu Lin. How could Professor Zhuo's esteemed disciples fancy them? It's not like they'd go to your Lu Family to be live-in sons-in-law."
Because Lu Ci highly valued the Lu Family's bloodline and surname, either the distant branches within the clan intermarried, or they recruited live-in sons-in-law, whose children would then take the Lu surname.
The Old Heavenly Master saw that the program organized by the young people below was almost over, so he turned his head and brought the topic back:
"Alright, we've strayed too far. This performance will be over soon. Old Lu, what exactly are your thoughts on this disciple?"
At this, Lu Jin also had a headache.
"I originally wanted to follow the method my esteemed master used when he took me in a hundred years ago, but young people nowadays are too impatient. I'm afraid few would stay. If that really doesn't work, then I can only do as you did, Old Heavenly Master, cultivating Lingyu from a young age by keeping him by your side. But they would also have to be top-tier talents, which might take many years to find, and many more years to cultivate. I don't know if I'll even have that much time."
Although Lu Jin found the development method for the fourth stage of Reverse Life Triple with Qingshui, he still couldn't purify his Innate Qi. If he couldn't find a way, he would probably have less than ten years of life left, making it easy to mislead students.
Therefore, it would be best to choose those who had already started Qi Cultivation in various families but hadn't reached a deep level—these "half-finished" individuals would be easy to guide onto a new path. Alternatively, he could select independent practitioners with strong character and a certain foundation.
At this moment, Qingshui spoke:
"No worries. When choosing disciples, families typically look at three things: first, their innate bone structure; second, their comprehension; and third, their compatibility. Just like Longhu Mountain selecting disciples—they need to see if the prospective disciple has a Dao heart that can be sculpted.
As for bone structure, you are all esteemed elders, so you can tell at a glance. Comprehension isn't difficult either. I can prepare a test on the spot, ask some questions about cultivation, print them out for them to answer, and then grade them. It's nothing difficult.
As for compatibility, I have some ideas here."
As Qingshui spoke, he casually took a Magic Tool from his Devouring Pouch.
As his understanding of the spiritual path deepened, the Magic Tools he crafted were no longer just for simple functions like casting or breaking Genjutsu, or enhancing mental pressure like killing intent, as they used to be.
"This is a Heart-Connecting Mirror. It might not be useful for you esteemed elders, but it has some effect on young people with lower cultivation. A highly cultivated individual only needs to hold this mirror and shine it on someone else, and the mirror will construct Genjutsu to test their mind. If their spiritual cultivation is profound or their mind is pure, they can naturally break free easily. Conversely, they will sink deeper into it for longer."
This mirror was originally crafted by Qingshui for the Jinchuriki of Sand Village to practice mental cultivation. It could also be used by ordinary ninjas to enhance their resistance to mind-targeting Genjutsu like Shiranui. For those ordinary ninjas, such training might one day turn the tide when facing Konoha's Uchiha ninjas.
Because the main body and numerous Shadow Clones in the Naruto World were too busy, the task of developing Magic Tools naturally fell to their Avatars.
"There's something this good? Let this old man try?"
Zhang Zhiwei took off his large sunglasses, like a child who had found a new toy, constantly fluttering in front of the mirror.
"Old Heavenly Master, do you think this mirror would have any effect on you? Among those present, whose cultivation could be called profound compared to yours?"
Qingshui looked at the old mischievous man.
This old Daoist was already a peerless master capable of dominating the entire world at forty. Now, at over a hundred years old, he was truly a numerical anomaly among numerical anomalies. If not for the Heavenly Master's Degree binding him, then in this era, the Old Heavenly Master would be the most likely to achieve what the ancients called "ascension to immortality."
"How about the Heavenly Master uses this mirror on me?"
Feng Zhenghao, sitting below, spoke up.
"You can. Although the mirror's power depends on the user, there's still an upper limit to its power. If it's President Feng, there shouldn't be any problem."
Qingshui glanced at Feng Zhenghao.
This mirror was still a semi-finished product, not yet complete, and its power was relatively ordinary. The upper limit of the mental Genjutsu it could cast was not as strong as a three-tomoe Sharingan. Feng Zhenghao's level was more than enough to handle it.
After all, he was one of the Ten Elders, cultivating Spirit Control and Summoning. His spiritual cultivation couldn't be low. To build such a large family business from scratch and secure a position among the Ten Elders, his mental fortitude was clearly extraordinary. He wouldn't easily fall into it and should be able to break free quickly.
So, the Old Heavenly Master picked up the Heart-Connecting Mirror, aimed it at Feng Zhenghao, and infused his own Qi into it.
Immediately, a faint golden light enveloped Feng Zhenghao.
Feng Zhenghao froze in place for a moment, then closed his eyes, taking a full half-minute to recover.
"This treasure is that powerful?"
Wang Ai looked at the Heart-Connecting Mirror in the Old Heavenly Master's hand with surprise.
He coveted it; he wanted it.
"No, I intentionally stayed inside to carefully experience it. With precautions, it couldn't trap me for that long. As long as one's mind is tough enough, they can quickly dispel the Genjutsu by disrupting their own Qi or using their spirit.
If it were a master of your caliber, Old Wang, this mirror could only trap you for half a breath."
Feng Zhenghao pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"Then it's still somewhat useful for us. Half a breath is often enough."
Wang Ai gave Feng Zhenghao a deep look.
You intentionally stayed in the mirror's Genjutsu longer so we couldn't see your true level, didn't you?
"My son's already cozying up to Professor Zhuo, so why are you still on guard against me?"
"It's useful, but not necessarily practical. In a real fight, no one's going to stand there idly for you to shine it on them. If you're outnumbered and they spread out, you'll only be able to hit one at most," Lu Jin commented.
"Not necessarily," Wang Ai chuckled. "It's perfect for a surprise attack when the enemy isn't expecting it. It can bind them for half a breath. Unless they're carrying a protective Magic Tool or Talisman, or they've cultivated some special technique, it's enough to seriously injure a peer-level opponent with a sneak attack."
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