My construction materials are weird

With Lao Cheng's departure, their discussion also came to an end.

However, the impact of the year-end meeting would not end in a short time; it would have a lasting effect for a very long time.

As for the Hundred Arts cultivators who had been waiting for a long time, they selectively ignored other news, focusing intently on the Second Hundred Arts Competition.

Some cultivators even couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Master, don't cry. The opportunity you've been waiting for has arrived. You should be happy," a young man comforted a Daoist dressed plainly and full of vicissitudes.

"Wuu, wuu, wuu, wuu." The Daoist knew this too, but couldn't help it.

Recalling his persistence over the past nine years, there were endless bitter tears.

Due to the success of the First Hundred Arts Competition, some Hundred Arts cultivators even leaped through the dragon gate and joined the Merit Hall.

This was very enviable at the time, let alone ten years later.

The environment ten years ago was completely different from now. Ten years ago, the Hundred Arts were declining, and some projects couldn't even gather ten people.

Many were still forced to participate. Despite such a state of decline, they are all legends when looked at ten years later.

Who still remembers the decline of the First Competition? They only see the current unattainable heights.

Time is so magical. The projects that were ridiculed and couldn't gather enough people back then have now become widely circulated legends.

It was from that day that many cultivators dedicated to the Hundred Arts began to work hard, looking forward to the next Hundred Arts Competition.

If they could make a name for themselves, it would be equivalent to leaping through the dragon gate.

However, they waited and waited, and waited for more than nine years.

Who knows how they spent these nine years?

To improve in the Hundred Arts, a lot of effort and energy is required. Apart from cultivation, almost all their energy is spent on carving their Hundred Arts.

It can be said that the current Hundred Arts cultivators are very down and out.

It would have been better if they hadn't chosen the Hundred Arts from the beginning. At least they wouldn't have had to wait nine years and could have worked hard to cultivate during these nine years, and they would have achieved something.

The worst thing is to start practicing the Hundred Arts diligently after the First Hundred Arts Competition.

How can one focus on two things at once, especially for them?

High proficiency in the Hundred Arts inevitably requires sacrificing other things.

A cultivator's overall strength can be divided into levels, realms, and combat power.

Levels are easy to understand, such as the ninth level of the first-order Profound Transformation, the ninth level of the second-order Profound Connection, etc.

I wouldn't dare to say all, but 99% of the Hundred Arts cultivators have very poor combat power.

Cultivators who don't study the Hundred Arts can spend their energy on improving their combat power, and even their realm insights and will tempering.

Naturally, they are more powerful.

Hundred Arts cultivators are different. Apart from the necessary cultivation levels, their energy is spent on the Hundred Arts.

For example, creating a Hundred Arts secret technique, while other cultivators create a combat skill secret technique.

This is a big difference.

Hundred Arts cultivators are weak in combat.

Therefore, during these nine years, many Hundred Arts cultivators gave up, feeling that there was no hope, and no longer poured their energy into it, but instead improved their combat power, insights, etc.

Those who have persisted until now are very destitute.

It's hard to say how they persisted.

And they were all swept out of Qingyun Mountain and could only settle in Nanshi.

Like the one in front of him, he is a Hundred Arts cultivator who has persisted for nine years. He is a puppet cultivator of the Hundred Arts.

He has a deep understanding of the puppet path and combines it with the Daoist soldier method.

"This old master is crying with joy, crying with joy! Disciple, this old master has finally waited, finally waited!" The ragged cultivator didn't care whether there were people around.

He really couldn't control himself, sometimes greatly saddened and sometimes greatly joyful.

The onlookers understood.

Also a cultivator, dressed grandly and dignifiedly, he said to the several disciples behind him: "Do you see? This is why I don't let you comprehend the Hundred Arts. Look at how down and out he is."

Two male and three female, five disciples, seemed thoughtful upon hearing their master's words.

The eldest disciple asked: "Master, isn't this senior considered to have overcome hardship and achieved happiness?"

The eldest disciple was a heroic female disciple who asked in confusion.

"Ling'er, you are wrong. How can it be considered overcoming hardship and achieving happiness? I clearly see this person becoming more and more down and out."

The eldest disciple Ling'er didn't understand.

The remaining four disciples also didn't understand.

"I don't deny that the Hundred Arts Competition is an opportunity to leap through the dragon gate, and it is also a major event in my cultivation world. It is precisely because of the efforts of these Hundred Arts cultivators that my cultivation world is more prosperous and more powerful. We are all beneficiaries."

The master said earnestly, without looking down on the Hundred Arts cultivators, but rather respecting them.

"However, there are gains and losses. Proficiency in the Hundred Arts inevitably means lagging behind in cultivation. This is obvious to all."

The disciples continued to nod.

However, this reason alone obviously couldn't convince them. So what if the combat power is low? Isn't the Hundred Arts Competition starting?

They can take this opportunity to enter the Merit Hall.

Or, even if they can't enter the Merit Hall, they can be recruited by major forces.

If they enter the Merit Hall or major forces, will their combat power still be low?

It's just that the previous low combat power was the price to pay for entering major forces or the Merit Hall.

"The second point is also the most important. Do you think a rogue cultivator or a Hundred Arts cultivator from a small force can compare to a Hundred Arts cultivator cultivated by a major force?" the master added.

"This?" The five disciples seemed to understand.

"So, I say this fellow Daoist will become more and more lonely. He has worked hard to study the Hundred Arts for nine years, but he can't compare to the Hundred Arts cultivators cultivated by major forces at great cost... He simply can't enter the final competition. He's just cannon fodder who will be eliminated at the beginning or in the middle. Do you think he will become more and more lonely?"

"Hiss!" The five disciples finally understood.

Indeed, as the master said, no matter how hard a rogue cultivator works, he can't compare to the Hundred Arts cultivators in major forces.

Of course, you can say that I am a genius, a Hundred Arts genius.

That's fine to say, but are there no Hundred Arts geniuses in major forces?

Doesn't that still mean they can't compare?

"Master, you see this point, doesn't this senior see it too?" the eldest disciple Ling'er continued to ask.

"How can he not see it? He sees it more clearly than I do, but he is not willing to accept it," the master said meaningfully and profoundly.

"Why?" Ling'er asked.

"Firstly, giving up now is equivalent to negating the past. Negating the past comes at a price. It's equivalent to all previous efforts being wasted, and they can only go down one path to the end."

"Secondly, if I give up the Hundred Arts, how will the world know that my Hundred Arts are exquisite and masterful?"

Ling'er understood.

Firstly, they are trapped too deeply and unwilling to give up.

Secondly, what about face? What about reputation?

"It's so difficult!" the youngest disciple, also a female disciple, said with emotion.

Her sixteen or seventeen-year-old face was full of melancholy. She just liked drawing spirit talismans.

The master had told her several times.

"Can't I pursue what I like? What is the point of cultivation then? How can my heart be at peace?" the little disciple stubbornly asked.

"What is cultivation for? Simple, cultivation is transcendence, cultivation is making oneself stronger, that is the foundation. Or rather, it is the foundation for us rogue cultivators, little master and disciples, Hui'er, what do you think?" Master asked seriously.

The little disciple Hui'er was not old, but she understood what Master meant.

With her talent and background, she shouldn't have any extravagant hopes; becoming stronger through cultivation was the only goal.

Because they lacked the foundation for willfulness and carefree living.

"As for how to find peace of mind? That's easy to say, one will naturally find peace of mind when they are strong, otherwise, even with exquisite skills, it is difficult to find peace. This is a problem," Master continued.

After speaking, the five disciples were silent, perhaps because of their youth, they were still full of fantasies about cultivation.

Hoping for freedom and unrestrained living.

Unfortunately, the cultivation world is not like that.

Instead, it is a cruel competition, a somewhat distorted rat race.

Without a single mistake, a single head of hair, a single internal organ, a single appearance, all are watched!

If you don't work hard, others will surpass you, and you will be eliminated.

"Alas, your teacher is not an old fossil, nor do I want to stifle your hobbies, I just hope you understand that everything has a price, and everything has a priority… You must ensure that you cultivate diligently, and when your cultivation is strong, you can do whatever you want, I won't interfere."

This master was actually responsible.

Based on their strength, background, and talent, he pointed out the correct path for his disciples.

If his five disciples were all geniuses, they wouldn't have been accepted as disciples by him; the major powers would have snatched them up long ago.

Isn't it just that they don't have that talent?

If you don't have the talent but want the treatment of a genius, if you don't have the fate but get the disease, that won't do.

"I…" Hui'er wanted to say something.

"Alright, Fifth Sister, don't say any more," Senior Sister Ling'er stopped her.

Master had already made it very clear; it was just that as a master, it wasn't appropriate to say it directly: your talents are not good enough, you don't have the ability to be willful.

She understood, she understood Master's painstaking efforts.

If the five of them cultivated at a rapid pace, comprehending mysteries as easily as drinking water, and tempering their will as easily as walking, if that were the case… how could Master be so strict?

"Hehe, of course, I still support embellishments and relaxation outside of cultivation, as long as you distinguish between the primary and secondary, and never learn from this fellow Daoist. Understand?"

"Master, we understand," the five disciples, led by Ling'er, said in unison.

Suddenly!

"This fellow Daoist, I recognize your painstaking efforts in teaching your disciples, but I do not agree with your views just now."

Suddenly, a voice entered the minds of the six masters and disciples.

The six masters and disciples were immediately shocked.

Commenting on others, or gossiping, naturally happens in a corner, in a place where no one can hear.

Just now, the six masters and disciples had found such a good spot, and they didn't remember anyone being nearby.

How could there suddenly be another person, and they even heard the conversation between the six masters and disciples?

Master immediately felt that it was not simple.

"Who is it, spouting wild words!" A male disciple among them said.

"Huichuan, shut up," Master scolded, then cupped his hands and said, "Little Daoist Fang Man greets this senior."

He was very flustered, afraid that his disciple's words would offend this person.

To approach him without him noticing, how could this be simple?

Finally, he saw the person clearly, dressed as a scholar, looking very amiable, with a temperament that made people feel ashamed at a glance.

It was as if this person was the embodiment of human wisdom and civilization, and he was just like a barren primitive man.

"No need to be polite, to be honest, it was this old man's fault, I accidentally overheard your conversation."

The visitor was none other than 'Street Loafer' Zuo Qiuming of the Confucian Temple Realm.

Changing his appearance and touring Nanshi when he had nothing to do was his greatest hobby, recording the changes in the cultivation world, recording the changes in this world, was his cultivation.

Five years had passed, after the conversation with the Yellow River Corpse Diver, for five years, Zuo Qiuming had finally embarked on his own path.

It was a true path of cultivation, not the previous path of improving the essence of the realm and then receiving feedback.

His path was simple, still his old business, using time as a pen, depicting the changing world, comprehending what was hidden in the books, and condensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Many insights were understood, recorded in his natal treasure, the Book of History, recording the changes of a civilization, and receiving the nourishment of civilization.

It was a kind of literary cultivation, and also a kind of historical cultivation, just like what he said with great ambition when he successfully created his technique: to establish a heart for heaven and earth.

In short, no matter what, the technique was quite mysterious, and could even be used as a method of luck cultivation.

A way to cultivate luck.

This kind of cultivation looked very perverted and overpowered.

The clone that separated out the moment he successfully created the technique directly became the main soul and true body in the face of his great perseverance, great courage, and great decisiveness.

Directly achieving the second-order Profound Connection level.

It was equivalent to saying that as soon as he created the technique, he successfully cultivated to the second-order Profound Connection level.

Moreover, what was even more ruthless was that he condensed this clone in the human world into the main soul and true body, and the sacred identity in the Confucian Temple Realm became a clone and divided soul.

It could only be said that he was too ruthless.

He gave up the fifth-order Venerable status as soon as he said he would give it up.

Of course, it wasn't that he really gave up, but that it became a clone.

The one who stayed in the human world was the true body.

The moment the true body realized, the technique was created, and luck condensed the true body, which meant that the body of this true body was condensed by the luck of heaven and earth.

What was even more perverted was that this true body also took back the causal lines, the traces of Zuo Qiuming's existence in this world, the cause and effect, as well as the worship and incense from later generations, and faith, etc., were all taken back.

It was equivalent to the past dead Zuo Qiuming being him, and the now returned sacred Zuo Qiuming of the realm also being him.

It even had the characteristics of taking back his own timeline.

Although this ability was driven by the luck of heaven and earth, not done by himself.

But even if it wasn't done by himself, but condensed by the luck of heaven and earth, it was not simple.

"This old man is a rogue cultivator Ming Qiu, and I don't quite agree with your ideas just now, of course, you are also right, but the method is wrong," Zuo Qiuming had a very strange hobby.

That was, he liked to be everywhere, and liked to take a random name to 'pretend to be a senior expert'.

Whenever he saw something interesting, he would argue with people, which had spread throughout the entire Haidai Province.

It was said that there was such a senior expert who liked to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger, and if he was interested, he would disguise himself and argue with you.

If you argue with him well, it's okay, but if you get so angry that you become ashamed, he will beat you up, and you can't beat him.

Of course, most of the people who were beaten up were the kind who became ashamed and angry while talking, as long as you communicate peacefully, it's fine.

This rumor was known to many people.

However, no one knew what the identity of this senior was, very mysterious.

Fang Man was someone who had heard this rumor before, but he didn't believe it, thinking it was just hearsay.

How could a senior be so bored as to like to argue with people for no reason?

Just wishful thinking.

… (End of this chapter)