The time passed swiftly, and it was now the fifth day of the first lunar month.
In Jizhou, the dormitory of the Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters of the Dragon Country.
"Report!"
"Enter."
A sturdy security guard with a slightly憨厚 face opened the door, arranged the stewed pork knuckles, braised pork, and roasted pork legs from the food container in his hand, then took out a large plate of fried peanuts and said, "Marshal Long, the eighth-tier Demon Bristle Boar you hunted this time is really fat. We're in for a treat!"
"Alright, alright, that pig is definitely for you kids to eat," an old man with a buzz cut and white hair grabbed a large piece of pork knuckle and bit into it, saying while chewing, "What kind of wine is this time?"
"Jizhou's Laobai Gan," the security guard brought out a large bottle of wine and said, "By the way, those two old geezers from the Zhu and Yang families want to see you."
"Go, go, go. Can't you see I'm drinking? Find an excuse to send them away... Say I'm conducting military theory research and can only receive guests after three in the afternoon."
"Marshal Long... that excuse was used before..."
"Then make up your own excuse. Growing up this big and you're afraid to even make up a lie? How dare you call yourself my soldier? Go, go, go, don't disturb my drinking."
The old man, called Marshal Long, impatiently shooed the security guard away and then turned his attention back to the wine and meat on the table.
Just as he was enjoying himself immensely, a voice interrupted the old man's pleasure at an inopportune moment:
"You old brute! What delicious food are you eating? Won't you share with this humble monk?"
Long Marshal looked up and saw Master Wu Hai and a disheveled Taoist priest appear at the door at some unknown time. The former looked at the old man with an expression of "righteousness," while the latter was drinking white wine that he had somehow acquired, completely unconcerned about speaking directly to the old man.
Long Marshal was not too surprised by the sudden arrival of the two. Instead, he looked at the Taoist priest with a look of astonishment and asked, "Old Crow, have you reached the ninth tier?"
"This humble Daoist was fortunate enough to glean a trace of heavenly secrets and ascend."
"Speak human language."
"I found a breakthrough opportunity to advance."
"Damn it, why didn't this good luck strike me back then? You old crow, who constantly sees through heavenly secrets and gets struck by lightning, is the one who benefited."
Long Marshal frowned and chided the Taoist priest before continuing to eat and drink.
"Were there any signals of demonic creatures or beast tides when you went to Shanhaiguan this time?" Master Wu Hai asked, chewing on a few peanuts.
"It was fine. Just a group of A-class Demon Bristle Boars. The three eighth-tier leaders have already been served, and the rest didn't even leave a complete corpse. I guess they've been gnawed down to nothing by those beasts by now."
"For some reason, it's exceptionally cold this year. The beast tribes to the north might move south early. You need to be prepared and not let them attack the Great Wall during the empty period when its energy source is being replaced."
"Don't worry."
The three fell silent and cleared everything on the table. Master Wu Hai, being a monk, only ate peanuts. The Taoist priest, having cultivated a special technique, acted as he pleased, eating meat and drinking wine whenever he wanted, just like Long Marshal. However, he stopped after eating a little. In the end, only Long Marshal was left to consume the entire table of delicacies.
Long Marshal casually wiped his mouth with his hand. Seeing that the two hadn't left, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you not full? Shall I ask the mess hall to make more?"
"Not at all, not at all," Master Wu Hai shook his head and said, "Old brute, have you seen Old Stubborn recently?"
"That pedantic scholar? I... Huh? I don't think I have seen him..."
At this moment, the Taoist priest spoke, "I divined that he recently took in a young fellow." The Taoist priest smiled slightly and said, "He's probably educating him now!"
This statement successfully caught the attention of Master Wu Hai and Long Marshal.
"Whoa? That guy has good talent? To be noticed by that Old Stubborn, he's probably another promising scholar who only knows books!"
"Not quite. I think he's probably a bright child with innate intelligence, otherwise, Old Stubborn would have let him apprentice directly."
"Alright, alright, stop guessing," Long Marshal stood up, picking his teeth as he spoke, "Old Crow, let's go. Since it's the New Year and there's nothing to do, let's go see the kid Old Stubborn is teaching. If he's a good prospect, I wouldn't mind teaching him a few tricks!"
...
At the same time, in the Spring and Autumn World.
"Are there any discomforts when running this meditation technique?"
"Returning to Master, there are none."
Confucius looked at Mo Chuan, who was absorbing spiritual energy, carefully observing his spiritual energy circulation and concentration. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask, "Did you condense spiritual energy every day in middle school and university?"
"I only condensed it for one to two hours a day. After all, I didn't have that much time each day..."
Confucius narrowed his eyes and asked, "Mo Chuan, does your ability have soul refining capabilities?"
Mo Chuan frowned slightly upon hearing this, but he also knew that Confucius would not be like those conformist smart alecks who were hostile to ghost cultivators and soul cultivators, so he replied, "Yes."
Confucius nodded upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry. I know your disposition is pure and kind, you love good and hate evil. Even if you refine souls, you should be refining evil souls and wild ghosts." After speaking, his eyes looked at the sky of the Spring and Autumn World, lost in thought.
Just as the two continued in silence, a spatial rift opened, and three people walked out of it.
It was none other than Long Marshal, the old Taoist priest, and Master Wu Hai.
"Old Stubborn, I haven't seen you these past few days. What are you hiding here for?" Upon seeing Mo Chuan's face, Long Marshal's eyes instantly turned ice-cold and filled with killing intent, but he retracted his gaze almost immediately.
However, the problem was that none of the people present were fools, and they all felt that chilling aura. Thus, they all looked towards Long Marshal.
Long Marshal seemed to adhere to the principle that as long as he wasn't awkward, the awkwardness would be others. He rubbed his nose as if nothing had happened and said, "Uh, you're teaching a disciple? This kid is quite fortunate, isn't he? To be favored by you, he looks to be in his early twenties?"
"He's not exactly a disciple. It's just that Mo Chuan provided us with several divine artifacts, and out of gratitude, I decided to guide him in his cultivation for a while."
Although it was unclear why Confucius was so cautious, even resistant, to taking on disciples, Mo Chuan still said nothing. He merely stood up and bowed to the three, "Junior Mo Chuan pays his respects to the two seniors and Master Wu Hai."
"Hahaha, I didn't expect it was you, kid, that this Old Stubborn fancied!" Master Wu Hai laughed heartily, stroking his beard. "Indeed, at this age, to return alive from the Loulan ruins and to have killed several Yama Kings from the Hall of Yama, it's probably not a problem for Old Stubborn to fancy him?"
After Master Wu Hai finished speaking, the old Taoist priest and Long Marshal exchanged glances, and then they both spoke simultaneously, "Old Stubborn, let us teach this kid for a few days, okay?"