Chapter 6: Literacy
Shi Yi devoured the food quickly as a table of dishes was prepared. After six years, he had finally rediscovered some of the joy of eating in his previous life. If it weren't for Yu Xiaogang, Shi Yi, with his current circumstances, would have been completely unaffordable.
"Teacher, thank you for your hospitality. I'll wait for you here when it's time for dinner. I have things to do, so Xiao Yi and I will be leaving now," Shi Yi said with a beaming smile.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened upon hearing this. Although it was natural for a teacher to take his students to dinner, for some reason, every time he heard Shi Yi's words, he felt the urge to take action.
"What can you do?" Yu Xiaogang asked, looking at Shi Yi with a stern expression.
Shi Yi pointed at the little ant in his hand and smiled, "Since God has given the little ant intelligence, we can't let it lose at the starting line, right? Although the little ant can't speak, we can't let it lose its ability to express itself. This afternoon, I plan to find a secluded place to teach the little ant how to read, so that the little ant can at least communicate."
Yu Xiaogang was slightly startled, and glanced at his right hand imperceptibly. A trace of guilt slowly washed over him. For so many years, he had only focused on research and cultivation. Although Sanpao could understand his words and accurately grasp his meaning as his soul power level increased, he had not treated his martial spirit like Shi Yi, as a relative or even his own child.
"What's wrong, teacher?"
Shi Yi's voice brought Yu Xiaogang back to reality. Yu Xiaogang looked at Shi Yi and said softly, "It's nothing. I'm glad you understand this."
Shi Yi nodded and said, "Then teacher, I'll go first."
With that, Shi Yi slowly left the cafeteria as Yu Xiaogang watched him go.
As Yu Xiaogang watched Shi Yi's back, he suddenly felt that Shi Yi might truly be able to break free from his innate limitations.
"I'm ultimately constrained by too many things," he thought, a wry smile crossing his face. Shi Yi's surprise had once again made him realize the disparity in their talents. His seemingly invincible theories were instantly exposed by Shi Yi.
He and Shi Yi shared a spirit of the same nature, but Shi Yi always managed to uncover its unique value. This powerful understanding, this unique perspective on things, was something that a master like him lacked.
Leaving the cafeteria, Shi Yi led Xiao Yi to a secluded grove within the academy. He immediately sensed Xiao Yi's joy; it was clear that Xiao Yi relished the surroundings.
Watching Xiao Yi explore, Shi Yi didn't interrupt, but simply broke off a branch and waited quietly. Xiao Yi was now no different from a child; it would be good for him to explore and familiarize himself with his surroundings.
As for Xiao Yi's studies, Shi Yi had the least of his worries: time. Currently, he was only at the first level of the Xiantian realm. Without a technique like the Xuantian Gong, meditation was the least efficient activity; nighttime practice was sufficient.
Shi Yi's expectations for Xiao Yi today weren't high; simply learning to draw a single character on the ground would be enough. With time, Xiao Yi would naturally understand the meaning of the symbols and gradually develop the ability to express them fully.
Watching Xiao Yi explore this beloved world, Shi Yi wasn't idle either. He set his branch aside and sat under a large tree. For the past few days, Shi Yi had been pondering how he and Xiao Yi could break free from their Xiantian shackles.
For both Shi Yi and Xiao Yi, there are generally three ways to improve, whether in terms of cultivation or bloodline.
The first is absorption, the most common practice among spirit masters. Through meditation, energy from heaven and earth is transformed into spirit power and fed back into the body. While its strengths lie in its practical application, its weaknesses lie in its slow progress and its dependence on talent.
The changes Shi Yi could make were to create and continuously refine his own techniques, find a suitable training location, and continuously strengthen his body to absorb more energy.
The second method was inheritance. In Shi Yi's view, theoretically, absorbing spirit rings and spirit bones was considered inheriting the abilities of a spirit beast. A spirit beast's bloodline, characteristics, and abilities were largely reflected in its spirit rings and spirit bones.
There was also a unique entity: immortal items. Having read the original novel, Shi Yi understood that immortal items could also grow into plant-based spirit beasts, acting as spirit rings and spirit bones without occupying spirit rings or spirit bones.
With this in mind, Shi Yi wondered if Xiaoyi, as a living spirit, could directly absorb immortal items, allowing the item's power to be fully unleashed upon his spirit.
The final method was plunder. The same principle applies here: to devour the opponent's entirety, whether it be bloodline, soul, or cultivation. The advantage was speed, and it was undoubtedly fast, but the drawback was also obvious: plundering required finding the right target.
It's best to choose an object that closely matches your own. Different bloodlines can easily lead to rejection or even mutation, and once mutation occurs, the resulting changes are uncontrollable. It's best to acquire tools like Tang San's Eight Spider Lances and the Blue Silver Domain before considering plunder. Compared to direct devouring abilities, the Eight Spider Lances and the Blue Silver Domain are far more effective.
The combination of these two media clearly serves a function of both devouring and filtering. Remember, Tang San in his later years devoured the golden silk regardless of the opponent's attributes, and after consuming it, his body, soul, and bloodline remained intact.
Even Bibi Dong's mental state deteriorated after devouring Qianxunji, but Tang San absorbed it intact.
Clearly, if Shi Yi wants to reach a high level despite his low innate spirit power, he must utilize all three.
"I apologize, my future junior brother, you have such great talent. It would be a waste to take so many opportunities," Shi Yi thought, a smile flickering across his face.
Seeing the little ant gradually losing interest in exploring, Shi Yi picked up a nearby branch and began teaching it to read. Passersby witnessed this, but they were oblivious to the little ant's presence. Seeing Shi Yi mumbling to himself, they assumed he was mentally unstable.
After an unknown amount of time, orange light fell across the ground. Shi Yi looked at the crooked word the little ant had scratched out and nodded with satisfaction.
Afterward, after grabbing a quick bite of dinner, Shi Yi returned to his dorm and entered his first meditation session.
The next day, Shi Yi slowly awoke from his meditation, a sense of comfort spreading throughout his body. He could clearly feel the heat within him, already modest, growing slightly stronger.
"This pace is truly quite slow," Shi Yi thought, shaking his head.
Without dwelling on it, he got up, washed, and went for a morning jog across the campus. After a slight fever and sweating, he stopped. Now, his exercise was more about regulating his meridians, feeling the flow of qi and blood, and that was enough.
Arriving at the cafeteria, Yu Xiaogang was already seated on the second floor on time. The breakfast in front of him had also been increased from the usual single portion to a double portion.
"Good morning, teacher," Shi Yi said politely.
Seeing Shi Yi sitting in front of him, sweating profusely, Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and said, "That's right. Even if you become a spirit master, you still need to maintain a healthy body. This is a good habit."
"You're just thinking about what dangers you might encounter in the future. Saving your life is more important," Shi Yi chuckled, echoing Yu Xiaogang's sentiment.
Seeing Shi Yi's provocative expression, Yu Xiaogang surprisingly didn't object. Instead, he nodded in approval and said, "That's right. When traveling in the world of spirit masters, the most important thing is to protect yourself. Let's eat. After that, we'll officially begin our studies."
"No problem," Shi Yi agreed, and began to devour his meal.
Afterward, Shi Yi followed Yu Xiaogang to his room, where he took a very thick book from the bookshelf.
Shi Yi waited for Yu Xiaogang's lecture, but Yu Xiaogang looked hesitant.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Shi Yi whispered to Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang sighed softly and said, "Xiaoyi, I've been thinking about your training plan since yesterday, but after a long time, I gave up."
Shi Yi looked surprised and asked, "Teacher, why is that?"
Yu Xiaogang raised his hand slightly, his eyes, which had been somewhat depressed, suddenly brightened. He clasped his hands together before his chest and quickly spread them apart. "Come out, Luo Sanpao."
With a puff, a stream of lavender soul energy emanated from Yu Xiaogang's palms. Shi Yi felt a surge of soul energy emanating from the master's body. A creature appeared before him.
It looked very much like a dog, but its size was more like a pig. It was over 1.5 meters long, and its waist was probably about the same size.
It was covered in lavender fur, its ears drooped, and its large, deep blue eyes blinked gently. Its fat body twisted, and its plump hips swayed from side to side. Its four short, thick legs made it hard to imagine how slowly it moved.
There was a round bump on the top of its head, and I didn't know what it was. As soon as it appeared, it ran towards Yu Xiaogang, rubbing its large head against the master's legs.
Two halos rose from the master's feet and moved back and forth across his body. The halos were yellow, clearly century-old spirit rings.
Shi Yi looked at Luo Sanpao with feigned surprise and said, "Teacher, this is..."
"This is my martial spirit. You can call it Luo Sanpao, or just Sanpao. Xiaoyi, do you understand now why I accepted you as my disciple?" Yu Xiaogang sighed softly.
Shi Yi nodded slightly.
Yu Xiaogang continued, "Originally, I planned to teach you everything I've learned, bit by bit. But after my brief understanding of you yesterday, I've given up on that idea. You're very insightful and see things from many different perspectives, a precious quality for a scholar studying spirit theory. I don't want to destroy this precious quality in you.
Perhaps it's because I'm older and more knowledgeable that I've been constrained by my own experience in this area. If I teach you everything, perhaps you'll become another me. Do you understand?"
Shi Yi looked at Yu Xiaogang and nodded gently again. This was also where he differed from Tang San. Tang San was a man of great respect for teachers, and even Yu Xiaogang's erroneous theories were his guiding principles.
"So, I don't intend to teach you. However, you can choose from the books in this room and study them on your own. If you break free from your limitations, perhaps I can benefit from your success," Yu Xiaogang said, his eyes filled with hope.
Shi Yi looked at Yu Xiaogang quietly, and suddenly felt that having such a cheap teacher seemed like a good choice.
"Of course," Shi Yi responded seriously, looking at Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang didn't say much, but instead picked up the thick book he'd just taken from the shelf and handed it to Shi Yi.
"This is what you wanted to research yesterday. Although your current knowledge is limited, you can look it up. If you have any questions or questions about the knowledge you don't understand, you can ask me. I'll be happy to answer them anytime," Yu Xiaogang said softly to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi didn't say anything else, but took the book from Yu Xiaogang and sat down. To Shi Yi's surprise, Yu Xiaogang wasn't idle either. Just like he had the day before, he was teaching Luo Sanpao how to read.
As if sensing Shi Yi's gaze, a flicker of unease crossed Yu Xiaogang's face. Shi Yi smiled and began to examine Yu Xiaogang's unfinished research.
Shi Yi didn't read much of the nonsense, but instead focused his attention on the drawings tucked inside the book. If Wang Sheng had seen the drawings in Yu Xiaogang's book, he would have been surprised to find that the figures on Yu Xiaogang's drawings bore a striking resemblance to Shi Yi's.
Shi Yi examined the diagram depicting the flow of soul power through the meridians. He had to admit that Yu Xiaogang's progress was remarkable. At least, while most people were still practicing meditation, he had understood the existence of meridians and blockages—the very end mentioned in the material.
Although the diagram contained numerous incomplete sections of the twelve main meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, Shi Yi noticed a point where the two ends of the soul power flow were extremely close together. If Yu Xiaogang's talent were greater, and that area were free of blockage, perhaps he could create a technique with a complete circulation.
With this in mind, Shi Yi began experimenting. To create a technique, the most important thing was to find a soul power circulation that suited one's body. Everyone's body was different, and the meridians that contained impurities varied. When one's soul power was strong, it could break through these blockages, expanding the soul power circulation and allowing it to flow more smoothly.
"To establish internal circulation, it should start from the Dantian. This is also the most suitable place for a soul master to condense his first soul core. Since I can awaken my soul power, it means that the soul power can still flow from my body to the blue crystal ball that tests soul power." Shi Yi thought to himself.
With this in mind, Shi Yi slowly put down the information in his hand, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and felt the tiny flow of heat in his body.
(End of this chapter)