Chapter 159: Thousand People of Wudang

  Sun Heng looked at me with some disappointment, then said to Kong Shou: "If you're not willing, we won't force it. 81 Chinese net √ ． ★ 1 √ √ ．"

  "Of course I'm willing! What I mean is, as the eldest disciple of Wudang, Jin Cang should help me share this burden. Now you go discuss with Jin Cang and see how many Wudang disciples will go to your Hu Long Shi. After a pause, he continued: "I have a few people who are very capable, I can introduce them to you. One is Nan Gong Qian Lan, you know him. Another one is Yi Fan, and also Huang Yi Er. These three people, don't need to consider, just take them away."

  Sun Heng was overjoyed and hastily said: "I remember, I'll take these three instructors to our Hu Long Shi immediately."

  Kong Hou waved his hand: "Don't be happy yet. Jin Cang this kid doesn't know how to take care of himself, he was seriously injured not long ago and hasn't recovered yet. So for now, he can't go to the Dragon Guard. Tell Old Chen that after Jin Cang's injuries are healed, he will naturally report to the Dragon Guard. For now, Jin Cang needs to stay in Wudang to recover."

  I wanted to speak, but he didn't give me the chance. He directly said to Ying'er and others: "You are Jin Cang's friends, you should know how serious his injury is. So now you three...and where is the big disciple of Qian Bian Men? Go take care of Jin Cang. When Jin Cang's injury heals, I will formally accept you as my disciples and teach you Wudang kung fu."

  Ying'er and others hastily said: "Disciple understands!" Ying'er then said: "Li Yinyi has something to do and left first, now it's just the three of us here."

  I glanced at Sun Heng, but didn't even have a chance to speak. Sun Heng also had a bitter smile on his face, shook his head helplessly at me, and didn't say a word.

  "Kong Shou arranged for all of us to be taken care of, then turned to me and said: 'You just focus on recovering from your injuries, don't worry about anything else for now. I'll take you to see our training hall right away, it's a magnificent place built with over 10,000 square meters, courtesy of Qian Lan's father.'"

  I helplessly glanced at Sun Heng and only managed to say "Congratulations on your promotion" before being pulled away by Kong Shou towards the back.

  Sun Heng smiled as he watched us leave, then turned to Nan Gong Qian Lan who was still standing there and said: "Officer Nan Gong, please get ready. We will be heading back to the Hu Long Division in an hour. I'll go inform Officer Yi Fan and Officer Huang now."

  Sun Heng knew that the three people Kong Shou mentioned were actually his last three instructors, so he directly let Nan Gong Qianlan go pack her bags. As for Kong Shou's words about discussing with me and whatnot, those were purely to shirk responsibility. After all, it was Old Chen's order, and Kong Shou couldn't very well refuse directly. Pushing the blame onto me was just fine, at least he wouldn't be blamed by Old Chen.

  I didn't know that the Wudang school's training hall would be so big, it looks just like a very large factory, with a building area of over 10,000 square meters, very grand.

  Kong Xing excitedly told me that all of this was built by Nan Gong Qian Lan's father, who is also his son-in-law. It's said that the investment exceeded tens of millions.

  Looking at the proud Kongzhong, I thought that in these few years, I haven't made any contributions to Wudang Sect, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. With some embarrassment, I said to Kongzhong: "Master, in all these years, I haven't done anything for Wudang Sect, you won't blame me, will you?"

  "Ha ha, why should I blame you? You are the hero who made our Wudang sect famous. Who says you haven't done anything for us? Young man, let me tell you, if it weren't for you, how could we have recruited so many disciples all at once? You may not know that we now have a thousand disciples."

  I was shocked again: "A thousand people? This... how did I not see so many people? Did they leave here and go somewhere else to do something?"

  Kongshou shook his head: "No. Our Wudang sect has now implemented a new management system. New apprentices, all have to study three months of cultural courses. This is to enable them to understand our mind method, martial skills and so on by themselves, making it convenient for them to self-study. Also, this is to improve the quality of our people, lest in the future we fall behind others and be ridiculed as brave but imprudent warriors."

  I smiled and said: "Shouldn't it be to tell all the disciples about the essence of Wudang culture? This shouldn't be your idea, Master. Who thought of this?"

  Kongshou laughed and said, "Indeed, I couldn't deceive you! This wasn't my idea. These were all thought up by your junior fellow disciple Yifan. However, there are also contributions from other disciples in between. You might not know this, but Wudang is now a nationally recognized legitimate martial arts school that can recruit students independently. When the time comes and you've achieved academic success and reached a certain level of cultivation, we'll even give you graduation certificates. Just like those universities, they can be used as proof of your literary and martial abilities."

  "Wu Ping?" I couldn't help but laugh: "Who came up with this term? It's actually keeping up with the times, it seems my junior brothers and sisters aren't simple at all."

  Kong Shou laughed and said, "If not, do you think I have nothing better to do? At my age, I'm still here teaching others how to cultivate without getting tired? If those people weren't truly exceptional, the future of our Huaxia, I wouldn't be so worried."

  I smiled and said, "You're really fond of overexerting yourself. Now that you have so many excellent junior brothers and sisters, why do you still need to personally teach them? Let the more senior disciples who entered the sect earlier guide the new ones until they have a certain foundation, then you can teach them Wudang's ultimate skills. This way, your pressure will be greatly reduced..."

  Kong Hou still laughed loudly: "I've been doing that, my junior sister... Qian Lan didn't allow me to overexert myself, so she directly gave me the fourth layer of Wudang Heart Method and told me to go into seclusion to cultivate. I'm really fascinated by this fourth layer heart method, if you hadn't come back, I would still be with your senior sister in the cultivation hall, not coming out."

  I remembered that I hadn't seen Master Yichen since I arrived here, so I asked: "Master, how have you been lately?"

  Kong Shou said: "The fourth layer of the Drunken Heart Method's cultivation, staying in the cultivation hall all day long, it seems like more than a month has passed without leaving."

  I felt a bit worried: "That's not good, why don't you persuade your master?"

  Kong Shou let out a sigh: "Your Master said that all of my disciples can create their own fourth layer of Heart Method, but he can't even cultivate to the fourth layer by following the Heart Method, it's too embarrassing. So, he must quickly cultivate to the fourth layer of the Heart Method, no one can persuade him otherwise."

  I smiled wryly: "Qian Lan is indeed a martial arts genius, actually able to create the fourth layer of Heart Method on his own, it can be said that there's no one before or after him..."

  Kong Shou smiled and said, "Don't praise her too much, she'll become arrogant. Besides, it's not like she's unprecedented or unmatched, at least the Wudang predecessors who created the first three layers of heart methods are no worse than her."

  I nodded: "I just had a feeling and exaggerated it a bit."

  Kong Shou said: "However, nowadays there are still people with such talents, it's really rare to see. I think my decision to accept Qian Lan as a disciple is correct."

  I also look forward to seeing the fourth layer of Xin Fa, but it's not good to ask Kong Shou directly, so I'll talk around and ask: "Have you cultivated this fourth layer of Xin Fa? What changes will occur?"

  "Ha ha, you little scamp can't wait to experience the fourth layer of our Heart Method, huh? Let me tell you, currently only I and our founder, Nan Gong Qian Lan, have successfully cultivated this level. I'll let you in on a secret: I plan to pass this method down to true Wudang disciples, not just anyone. If you want to learn it, don't ask me, go find Qian Lan instead. She understands it even better than I do and will teach you more simply."

  I felt a bit uncomfortable with what he said: "Are you saying that I'm not qualified and can't learn the fourth level of this technique?"

  Kong Shou sighed: "With your qualifications, if no one helped you, it would be really difficult for you to successfully cultivate. When we taught you martial arts before, I don't know how much heart and soul was spent just to let you successfully cultivate... This fourth layer of the Heart Method is even more difficult to cultivate, I don't even know if you can successfully cultivate it or not!"

  I smiled wryly and said: "I can try, maybe..."

  Kong Hou interrupted me and said: "Let's go take a look at those new disciples of our Wudang Sect, there are over a thousand of them, it's quite spectacular."

  "I hastily said: 'When can I start cultivating the fourth layer of heart method? When will you start teaching me?'"

  He walked forward without looking back: "I'm not in charge of this matter, you have to ask Nan Gong Qian Lan! Now you come with me to meet those Wudang disciples, you're the eldest senior brother, can't not see them."

  I reluctantly followed Kong Shou and went to meet those junior brothers and sisters I had never met before.

  I was mentally prepared because when I was in school, there were always three or four hundred people in a classroom at the same time. So I was mentally prepared for the grand scene of many people practicing together. However, when I saw over a thousand people listening to the teacher's lecture in the same classroom at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little surprised. The scene gave me a feeling of hot blood boiling.

  Kongzheng looked at me with a pleased expression: "Don't you feel like your blood is boiling? I do too. I never thought that our Wudang sect would have such a day. If my master were still alive, he would definitely be very happy and might even break through again, creating the fourth layer of Heart Method ahead of Qianlan."

  I laughed: "This creation heart method isn't something just anyone can do!"

  Kong Shou let out a "hmm" and said nonchalantly, "Your ancestor was no ordinary person, he was a renowned figure in the martial arts world at that time... never mind about that. When exactly did you truly return to Wudang? I've been waiting for you to become our sect leader."

  I laughed and said: "Isn't it said that Qianlan will take the place of my eldest senior brother? This position as sect leader, should be taken by Eldest Senior Brother."

  Kong Hou shook his head and said seriously, "You're wrong. I never said that Qian Lan would become the leader of our Wudang! Qian Lan is a genius, and her contributions to our Wudang are indeed great. However, she's just a girl after all, and in a few years, no matter what, she'll have to get married and can't be the leader."

  I said: "There are many female leaders, getting married or not has nothing to do with being a leader, right? Master, you still have some prejudice against women, this is not good!"

  Kong Shou seemed somewhat angry, and suddenly struck out at me with a punch to my chest. He also said: "You little brat don't know what it means to respect your elders? When did I ever discriminate against women? Stop spouting nonsense! Let me tell you the truth, I'm thinking of your own good. If your wife were the leader and you were just a junior member of the group, would you still have any status?"

  I didn't dare to take this move head-on and retreated half a step, barely avoiding it.

  Kong Shou exclaimed, "You can actually dodge my move? It seems you haven't completely abandoned your kung fu skills after all. Good, you're indeed a worthy disciple of mine."

  I smiled and said: "Master, this move of yours isn't that powerful, why can't I dodge it? Is there something special about it?"

  Kong Shou said, "It's not that there's anything special about it, but this move is something I just came up with recently, and you've never seen it before. I thought for sure I'd hit you, but you managed to dodge! It looks like you've made some big gains in the past two years, at least your combat awareness has gotten a lot stronger."

  I thought for a moment and said calmly: "I think no matter who it is, if they have to fight almost every day, their combat consciousness can't be weak."

  Kong Shou nodded: "That's true, but I still think that this is something that relies on innate talent."

  I didn't want to argue with Kong Shou, so I nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "It's not good for us to always stand outside the classroom, let's leave here first."

  "But how can that be? You haven't even met the junior brothers and sisters here yet!"

  I have a mind to leave, so I said: "It's impossible to remember so many people at once, let's wait until next time when I come back and get to know them again."

  Kong Shou furrowed his brow and said: "When will that be? I think it's better to do it today, let's go now and have everyone get to know you."

  I knew that Kongsheng wanted more junior brothers and sisters to get to know me, as preparation for my future succession of the Wudang Sect. My master was kind-hearted, I couldn't refuse, so I had no choice but to follow him into this overly large classroom.

  This classroom is really big, with over a thousand people inside, and there are still many empty seats.

  Our arrival caused the teacher who was teaching the "students" to stop lecturing, and a group of fellow disciples began to discuss it in hushed tones, filling the entire classroom with a buzzing noise. The teacher looked at Kongsheng walking in, somewhat unexpectedly walked forward and said: "Master, how did you come here? Is there another new fellow disciple?"

  Kong Shou laughed and said: "This is not the new junior brother, you misunderstood." After a pause, he raised his voice and said: "This is your senior brother, Jin Cang."

  Kong Shou's words suddenly quieted all his fellow disciples, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

  After a while, Kong Shou was about to speak again when suddenly all the younger disciples shouted in unison: "Greetings, Senior Brother!"

  Kong Shou was startled at first, then looked at me and smiled: "Say a few words!"

  I looked at these enthusiastic junior brothers and sisters I had never met before, so I went up and said: "Hello junior brothers, hello junior sisters, my name is Jin Cang. It's been a long time since I came back, so I don't know everyone, please forgive me."

  Kong Shou seemed dissatisfied with my words, stepped forward and said on my behalf: "Jin Cang has gone to serve in the military, now he is a military minister, national guardian, and also the martial arts instructor of the Dragon Guard."

  The empty words didn't seem to have any effect on these junior brothers and sisters who I just met today, instead they all stared at me as if looking at a monster.

  I smiled slightly: "This time I'm back here, I'll be staying for a few days. If anyone has any questions, feel free to find me."

  The teacher who was giving the lecture finally couldn't help but speak up: "Jin Cang, uh, is that right? You're a soldier now, can you tell us about life in the military?"

  I was a bit embarrassed, but I also knew that it had to be said, so I smiled and said: "The life in the army can actually be summarized with three words. The first word is danger." As I said this, I raised my voice slightly: "Danger is everywhere, but military life is more dangerous than outside. I believe everyone can understand this, after all, soldiers have to protect their homes and fight against enemies at all times."

  "There was a junior fellow who said loudly: 'Then tell us about the most dangerous experience you've ever had in all the dangers you've encountered.'"

  I smiled: "The danger I encountered... If there's a chance in the future, I'll tell you all about it. What I want to talk about now is the life of soldiers. In my opinion, military life, or rather, the life of soldiers, can be summed up in two words: hard work and bitterness. It's not just ordinary hard work, but one of the hardest jobs in the world - being a soldier. This is not only physical, but also mental. The physical hardship and fatigue don't need to be mentioned. Mental hardship can also be said to be loneliness and solitude, which sometimes makes people feel more unbearable than physical fatigue. As everyone knows, except for military officers, all soldiers are not allowed to get married...

  My words brought a burst of laughter, and even some of the younger sisters couldn't help but laugh out loud. But I said very seriously: "The feeling of fatigue in humans is more unbearable than physical exhaustion, it's the emptiness of the soul that hurts."

  Kong Shou seemed to have some opinions about what I said, interrupting me and saying loudly: "Can't you say something useful? What's the point of saying useless things?"

  I nodded: "The third word I want to say is responsibility. The duty of a soldier is to defend the country and protect the family, which is also well-known. But it's easy to say, but hard to do. Because to achieve this, we often need to risk our own lives! In this world, there is no one who is not afraid of death, so when facing the threat of death, soldiers must still charge forward, and our first feeling is that being a soldier is really not easy!"

  A younger fellow said loudly: "In life, be a hero among men; in death, a ghostly warrior. Look at Li Qingzhao, just a woman, yet she has such grandeur. What danger should I, a man, fear? To serve the country is to die without regret."

  Another junior fellow said, "The rise and fall of the nation is everyone's responsibility. A man should cut down the invaders. To sacrifice oneself for a righteous cause is heroic. With high mountains and long rivers, what more can we ask for? We men must go to fight against the enemy and defend our country. Whether it is dangerous or not is not within our consideration."

  I know that these people are speaking on behalf of many younger brothers and sisters, and I also know that they secretly look down on me in their hearts. After all, a true hero is not afraid of death, but I just repeatedly emphasized the threat of death.

  I smiled wryly and didn't say anything, but Kong Wei said: "Jin Cang once wrote a poem called 'China has no limits, standing proudly between heaven and earth. The Chinese people dance with joy, the dragon also smiles.' Don't be influenced by what he just said, actually he's a true soldier, the best soldier."

  I didn't say anything, nor did I have any idea of guarding against empty words. I just told my junior brothers and sisters what I knew as it was...