Chapter 128: Flawless

Had the sun risen from the west today? Venerable Yanshan could not help but steal a glance outside the hall.

“Master, what are you looking at?” Chen Zui followed his master’s gaze in confusion. There was nothing there, so why was his master looking so intently?

“Ahem, nothing. I was just checking if your senior brothers have returned,” Venerable Yanshan prevaricated. “What do you think your blade is lacking?”

If any other disciple had said this, Venerable Yanshan would have kicked them out without a second word. Coming to babble in front of him before even figuring out what they lacked. Did they think an old man like him had nothing better to do? But there was no helping it. For Chen Zui, the mere fact that he was thinking was a massive step forward.

Back when the Sect Tournament ended, a few of his old friends had constantly come to tease him with envy, saying he had taken in another fine disciple and so on. But the bitter reality was something only he knew.

“Replying to Master, I do not know.” His expression was utterly righteous and unashamed.

Very well. It seemed the sun had risen from the east as usual today. Venerable Yanshan calmly accepted this fact. “Then why do you feel that something is lacking?”

Why? What did that mean? Chen Zui scratched his head, trying to find the words to describe his feelings at the time. “That day, Wen Xu and I went to Xiaoshu Village together…”

“Show some respect. You should call him Little Grand-Uncle Master.”

Chen Zui was puzzled. “We are friends. Wen Xu does not care what I call him.”

“Whether he cares or not is his business. I do not care what you call each other in private, but in front of others, you must at least address him respectfully as Little Grand-Uncle Master.” This was the etiquette of Yonglu Mountain.

Well, he would ask Wen Xu next time. Chen Zui felt his master’s brain might not be as sharp as Wen Xu’s, but blockhead though he was, he knew better than to say such a thing out loud.

“Continue.”

“We went to Xiaoshu Village together to rescue Junior Brother Bian. When I saw Junior Brother Bian in danger, I threw my blade to save him without a second thought…” Chen Zui stumbled through his description of the scene. With his prior experience of explaining their encounter with Yuan Po at Handan Pavilion to Wen Xu, he actually managed to give a clear and complete account this time.

Or rather, it was his damned competitive drive that forced him to think so clearly.

“So, you believe that if you had been able to advance to Foundation Establishment back then, you could have injured that old woman with your thrown blade even if she had not dodged, correct?”

How should one put it? As long as this disciple of his was willing to speak, he was actually very easy to understand.

“Yes, Master.”

“But knowing you as I do, this does not seem like enough to make you care this much.”

Chen Zui then continued to stumble through the story of his and his friends’ adventure beneath the Spiritual Tree Well. He said that when he watched the illusions of the spiritual tree’s past, he only felt those villagers were truly detestable. By the time he came to his senses, his three fellow disciples were all struggling, yet he was completely non-threatening to those entities. This was something he simply could not understand.

Venerable Yanshan was speechless. A blockhead actually had his uses?! How ridiculous.

“So that is why you feel your blade is lacking something, which caused this situation.” It was not easy for him. He had actually made an effort to think, even if… it was not much of an effort.

Venerable Yanshan had seen people who cultivated by intuition, but he had never expected his youngest disciple’s mind to be so… straightforward.

“Master is so clever. That is exactly what I think.”

Flattering his master would not work. Hmph. Venerable Yanshan glanced at his youngest disciple. “Then tell me, what is the difference between you and the three fellow disciples you were in danger with?”

The difference?

Chen Zui blurted out, “Senior Sister Xiang He is a female cultivator. She practices the sword, and her swordplay is very good, but I am not familiar with her. This was the only time I have fought alongside her.”

Excellent. Utter nonsense. Next.

“Junior Brother Bian is… a bit lazy. He has too many distracting thoughts during cultivation. He could clearly work harder and improve his cultivation, but he sometimes focuses his mind on strange things.”

“For example?”

“For example, this time, when he felt something was off about Xiaoshu Village, he tried to find a way to solve the mystery.”

“And what about you?”

“Me? I…” Chen Zui suddenly fell silent. He truly had no interest in these external matters. His mother used to say he was born missing a screw and was terribly slow, but he did not think he was stupid. He was clearly very good at learning the blade. “I… do not know.”

“You are not interested, are you?” From the first moment Venerable Yanshan met this disciple, he knew the boy was a born bladesman. A bladesman only had eyes for his blade, so this was hardly surprising.

Chen Zui nodded honestly.

“You see, that is the difference between you and your Junior Brother Bian.” Venerable Yanshan swore he had never been this patient and guiding in his entire life of teaching disciples. If the Sect Master did not award him the title of Best Master of Yonglu Mountain next year, he would go up to Sect Master Peak and make a scene.

Was that how it was? So, he should observe external things more? But… Chen Zui scratched his head. Wouldn’t that divide his focus when using the blade?

“Continue.”

“Continue what?”

Venerable Yanshan had completely lost his temper. This disciple was truly born to vex him. “Was there not a third person?”

“Oh, Little Grand-Uncle Master Wen Xu is very powerful.”

“…That is it?”

Chen Zui nodded. “That is it. I do not think he has any flaws.” If his mother met Wen Xu, she would definitely like him too.

Looking at his earnest disciple, Venerable Yanshan suddenly understood. “Do you think he was able to reach Foundation Establishment so quickly because he has no flaws, and so you want to find what you are lacking through him?”

Chen Zui’s eyes brightened. “Yes. I tried my best to observe him, but I could not find anything.”

With your brain, it would be a miracle if you found anything, Venerable Yanshan grumbled inwardly. But on second thought, he decided he should not pour cold water on his disciple’s enthusiasm. “What did you observe?”

“Disciples cannot go up to Guochun Peak, so whenever he comes down, I spar with him. His sword is very interesting: restrained, cautious, yet fast. The sharp edge is hidden beneath the sword light, and his sword and sword energy are separate.”

Long ago, Wen Xu had refused to admit he was good material for the sword. Back then, Chen Zui had felt his swordplay was rather dull, nothing more than pure practice and Body Tempering. But later, as Wen Xu began to walk the path of the sword, those fancy Stacked Arrays and sword moves looked interesting, but to Chen Zui, none of them brought out his true strength.

It was not until the Sect Tournament that Chen Zui began to be pleasantly surprised by Wen Xu’s sword.

For others, the sword and its sword light always appeared together; when the sword was drawn, the light was produced. Because of this, the power of both was layered together. But Wen Xu’s sword was different. Because of the addition of wind, his sword light would form an extremely long, spreading arc. Correspondingly, the reach of his attack was also extended.

In combat, this meant that while an opponent struck once, he could counter with two strikes, and Wen Xu’s movements were even faster.

Venerable Yanshan stared intently at his disciple.

“Why is Master staring at me like that?”

Venerable Yanshan made no attempt to hide it. “I have discovered that you actually know how to use relatively… normal vocabulary.” Unlike just now, when he only answered when asked, and one couldn’t beat a single useful word out of him.

“I do not understand what Master is saying.” Chen Zui felt he was clearly just answering his master’s questions. Why was his master starting to talk about nonsense?

“I do not expect you to understand either. Fine, tell me about your understanding of yourself.”

Chen Zui’s response was, “Huh?”

“You speak quite logically about others, but what about yourself? What about your saber?”

During the time Chen Zui was stuck at Foundation Establishment, he had observed all the senior brothers and sisters on Saber Peak, and even the lazy tabby cat at the gate. Yet, he had never seriously and carefully observed himself. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it, but rather that he felt… Is there really something wrong with me? I’ve always been like this. If I could make progress before, I definitely can in the future. He must just be missing a little something that everyone else had. As long as he could find it, he would be able to successfully reach Foundation Establishment.

“I…”

“My saber is simple, but it is sharp. I like it very much. In my heart, nothing can replace it.” As he spoke, he accused his master with his eyes for forbidding him from touching his saber some time ago.

Venerable Yanshan coughed twice. He had only wanted to see his youngest disciple’s reaction. “So, you think your saber has no flaws either?”

Chen Zui nodded honestly. “A saber is a saber. It has no flaws to begin with.”

“But as your master, I think it does.”

“Impossible!”

Venerable Yanshan was amused. Finally, he had riled him up. “If I say it does, it does. Now get lost. Go back and think about it yourself. Once you figure it out, you’ll be able to reach Foundation Establishment.”

Heh, the day will come when you beg your master. This is as easy as pie!

Chen Zui was swept out of the Yansha Hall by his master’s sleeve, looking utterly shocked. The passing Saber Peak disciples couldn’t help but stare. What was going on? Why did it feel like this overachieving junior brother’s fur was standing on end?

“Hey, Junior Brother, what are you doing? You can’t go betraying your master and ancestors! Did Master scold you? Don’t take it to heart, definitely don’t take it to heart! Master did it for your own good, right?”

The corners of Chen Zui’s eyes were red, but unfortunately, his hair and beard had grown too long recently, so no one could see his expression. “No!”

“What’s not right? Tell your senior brother. I’ll help you get justice. Stop banging on the door! Master, he…”

After much coaxing, they finally managed to persuade him to step away from the hall doors. Unfortunately, the moment he stepped down, he ran off to the peak to practice his saber. He practiced for seven days and seven nights straight.

Heavens, had their junior brother finally been driven mad by Master’s teachings?!

When Wen Xu emerged from his brief seclusion, he saw the entrance of his cave dwelling… Whoa, a wall full of Transmission Talismans. Chunzhou… Oh? It wasn’t Chunzhou, but actually Chen Zui. How rare.

Just as he was looking at the wall of talismans, another Transmission Talisman flew over. Just how many did he buy? Wen Xu chuckled, then tore down all the talismans and headed down the mountain to Saber Peak.

“Greetings, Little Grand-Uncle Master. You’ve finally come.” If he hadn’t, he feared his junior brother would have driven himself crazy. There was no need for the “strong medicine” their master spoke of to be this potent. It was going to turn the kid silly, not that he wasn’t already silly enough.

But foolish people had their own foolish luck, making a good friend right after entering the sect.

Wen Xu couldn’t help but take half a step back. He hadn’t seen them for a few days, so why were the senior brothers and sisters of Saber Peak looking at him so eagerly? Was Chen Zui practicing his saber like a maniac again?!

It had to be said that Wen Xu’s guess was spot on.

“You’re here.”

Wen Xu found a boulder to sit on and nodded slightly. “Yeah. Why are you copying Chunzhou now?”

“I just wanted to try.” Chen Zui finished his final strike, finally ending his seven days and nights of hearty saber practice. “Wen Xu, oh wait, Little Grand-Uncle Master…”

Hearing this address, Wen Xu couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Did your master tell you that?”

“How did you know?!”

It was very easy to tell. Chen Zui was actually very wild and untamed, but his mother had instilled in him certain rules that he had to follow. As for the rules that ordinary people naturally followed as they grew up, he didn’t understand them at all, such as respecting teachers, honoring the Dao, or even eating and sleeping. If Chen Zui weren’t a cultivator, he probably would have starved to death long ago, Wen Xu thought.

“In the entire Yonglu Mountain, who else besides your master could make you behave so obediently? It couldn’t be that your mother wrote to criticize you, could it?”

“Mother did write to me.” Chen Zui silently pulled out a jade slip from his pocket. “She scolded me for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, asking if sending her such an ugly dress was an insinuation that she was past her prime! She also said the spiritual wine I sent was so bland because I was mocking her for not being able to hold her liquor anymore.”

Wen Xu fell silent for a moment. “…What kind of dress did you send? And what kind of spiritual wine?”

Chen Zui confessed honestly. Wen Xu fell into silence once more. He thought to himself that no wonder Chunzhou had been so disgusted by those clothes back in Xiaoshu Village; it turned out Chen Zui had chosen them. The shopkeeper of Handan Pavilion must have been thrilled to death, having managed to sell off their oldest, dustiest inventory that had been sitting at the bottom of their chests.

As for the spiritual wine from that shop, the taste was indeed rather light and elegant. Their master had liked it for a time, but after a while, he completely lost interest. Speaking of which, their master’s preferences were like the weather in spring, highly fickle.

“When the two of you went to Handan Pavilion to buy clothes, did you never think of asking the shop assistants or seamstresses for advice?”

Chen Zui shook his head. “Junior Brother Bian said that choosing it yourself shows the most filial piety.”

Wen Xu pointed at the jade slip in his hand. “Your ‘most filial piety’ indeed.”

Chen Zui felt a rare touch of depression. He felt his mother’s mind was too hard to read. In the future, he would just send family letters.

“But your mother did write back to you, didn’t she?” Wen Xu had no unnecessary illusions about family. Even though his master had told him that his close relatives might still be alive, he really didn’t have any thoughts about it. “Think about it carefully. Did your mother scold you for sending things blindly? Did she tell you not to send anything anymore?”

Chen Zui shook his head honestly. “No, she only scolded me for having bad taste and a terrible sense of style.”

“Then that’s it. She’s giving you a hint, telling you to send her something better next time.”

“Really? Is it that simple?”

Wen Xu teased, “You think it’s simple?”

Chen Zui thought about the dresses at Handan Pavilion and immediately changed his tune. “Next time, please help me choose.”

Wen Xu couldn’t help but remind him, “I can’t see.”

“I know, but I trust you.”

Listen to that. Did that make any sense? Wen Xu began to doubt himself. Was his act of pretending to be blind not as successful as he had thought? In fact, it seemed that so far, no one really cared whether he was actually blind. Everyone treated him like a normal person. It had to be said that this was one of the reasons Wen Xu could play blind with such peace of mind.

“So, is this why you’ve been sending me a Transmission Talisman every two hours?”

Chen Zui shook his head, then pointed to the saber beside him. “You be the judge. My master said…” He went on and on, launching into a long, rambling list of complaints.

Wen Xu, however, began to zone out. This was probably the first time he had ever heard Chen Zui speak at such length. As expected, Venerable Yanshan knew exactly how to rile up his disciple. This blow had hit right where it hurt. No wonder Chen Zui… as Chunzhou would put it, had had a total meltdown.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think so too?”

Wen Xu thought about it and shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t practice the saber.”

“Then what about your sword? What kind of weapon do you think a sword is?”

Wen Xu was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Chen Zui to ask him such a question. “To be honest, I’ve never thought about it.”

“You’ve never thought about it? Then how did you reach Foundation Establishment?”

“What does Foundation Establishment have to do with a sword?” Wen Xu didn’t understand. Shouldn’t Foundation Establishment be related to one’s Dao Heart and state of mind? He glanced at Chen Zui, slightly puzzled. “Do you think your failure to reach Foundation Establishment has something to do with your saber?”

“Yes. I feel like my saber is still missing something.”

“Missing what?”

“I don’t know.”

How confidently unapologetic. Wen Xu thought for a moment. “Then I don’t know either.”

“How is that possible? Other than my mother, you’re the smartest person I know.”

“Why is it impossible?” Wen Xu realized that Chen Zui had a deep misunderstanding of him. “Who told you that I know everything?”

“Isn’t that true?”

“Of course not. You think too highly of me.”

Chen Zui suddenly froze. It was as if he had touched upon something in a haze, but his mind worked slowly, and he couldn’t quite grasp what it was. He only felt that, in the vague distance, the gates to Foundation Establishment had quietly cracked open a sliver.

He stood up, catching a glimpse of a blade’s flash through the crack.

Then, he suddenly asked a question. If anyone else had asked it, it would have sounded like an offensive, provocative interrogation. But since it was Chen Zui, he was easy to read; he meant it entirely literally:

“Wen Xu, do you have any flaws?”

Wen Xu thought to himself that the reason Chen Zui had so few friends was indeed because he relied entirely on his strength. “You think I don’t have any flaws?”

Chen Zui didn’t speak, but his expression clearly said: Isn’t that the case?

“Chen Zui, there is no such thing as perfect porcelain in this world, nor are there two identical leaves. Your strength does not lie in pondering what makes two leaves the same.”

Wen Xu felt he could only say this much. If he said any more, he would practically be achieving Foundation Establishment for Chen Zui.

Fortunately, this time, Chen Zui understood. Or rather, his saber understood.

Chen Zui picked up the saber leaning against the boulder beside him. In his eyes, the saber was indeed flawless; there was no doubt about that. But he was not. He certainly didn’t know as much as Wen Xu, and even Wen Xu said he wasn’t flawless, so…

Actually, could he already achieve Foundation Establishment?!

He didn’t get it. Whatever, he should just practice his saber. Thinking too much made his head hurt.

Wen Xu, who had been waiting all this time: …