Chapter 42 - 4 You Don't Understand the Feelings of the Wanfa Sect

Wanfa Sect Inner Sect Disciple Geng Peng watched the new disciples practicing "Basic Sword Technique Three" and found the scene particularly pleasing to the eye. Disciples from other sects could hardly understand why Wanfa Sect disciples held a special affection for a series of martial arts whose names included the word "basic," such as basic swordsmanship, basic fist technique, basic step technique, basic spear skill, basic blade technique, and basic halberd technique, etc. For most cultivators, these widely distributed introductory martial arts were like addition and subtraction within ten—you would use them for a lifetime but wouldn't deliberately study them, let alone harbor any special feelings—what? Still vividly remembering the thrill of learning "one plus one equals two"? Even if that were true, you wouldn't be embarrassed to admit it, would you? Geng Peng always sneered at this. Wanfa Sect disciples always believed that the basic martial arts taught by the Immortal Institute were the embodiment of the beauty of mathematics! The basic martial arts currently prevalent in the Immortal Alliance were developed by Wanfa Sect's Carefree Practitioner, the "Sword Madman" Grangri, a thousand years ago. Sword Madman Grangri was also known as the Math Madman and dabbled in research fields of Elemental Power Sect and Xuanxing Temple. But his proudest achievement was undoubtedly the picture-less sword manual. A manual without pictures meant no moves, but as long as one followed the instructions in the manual, taking parameters and substituting them into formulas, proceeding step-by-step, all techniques could be broken. Using these Sword Tao Formulas to analytically reverse-engineer all the sword techniques in the world, breaking them down into the simplest factors and then recombining them according to mathematical principles, produced these basic martial arts. Once each movement of basic martial arts was translated into a formula, it became the simplest factor. It also meant that every movement in basic martial arts was simple yet contained infinite possibilities. Once these disciples truly stepped into the path of martial arts, they would be able to freely combine their own "Martial Arts Formulas." And in the eyes of Wanfa Sect, basic martial arts were the beauty of mathematics! Oh, look at that kick, that is the simplest factor "A plus B to the power of C"! That stretching arm, that is "the product of B and D"! Look at that chest thrust... Tsk, the results are good this year, look at that sister... Such a large curvature! Unconsciously, Geng Peng's thoughts slipped in a wrong direction. At that moment, the discipline of a Wanfa Sect disciple made him feel a slight disharmony in the formation. "What's wrong? Is someone doing it improperly?" The duty of the instructor made him serious, and his eyes quickly targeted the culprit. Seeing someone whose movements were incorrect, a flash of displeasure crossed Geng Peng's mind, and he instinctively shouted, "Wang Qi, come out." The named person looked resigned. Wang Qi understood; this was just finding fault. Su Junyu had actually told him about it. Li Ziye was one of the few sociable cultivators in the Wanfa Sect, highly regarded among his peers. Since Li Ziye's death was inseparably linked to him, now about eighty percent of Wanfa disciples in Xinyue City viewed him unfavorably. This was also why Wang Qi, although practicing the "Yao Ding Calculating Scripture," could not find anyone to play chess with. He had to find Su Junyu to play cards—not at all because of some lousy excuse like "having very few friends" that he hung around with Su Junyu. Even Su Junyu admitted, if it weren't for playing a few rounds of cards with him and having a good relationship with Xiang Qi, perhaps he would also be in a state of annoyance at Wang Qi. Thus, facing difficulties from the Wanfa Sect, Wang Qi was psychologically prepared. But while the identified person was prepared, the instructor who called him out fell into silence. Geng Peng admitted he was displeased with Wang Qi. If the latter caused trouble at the Immortal Institute, he would be quite willing to add fuel to the fire. But now, at most, the other party was just being lazy, and by educational law, at most he warranted a verbal warning. Instead, in a moment of impulsiveness, he directly called him out! If he punished him severely, it would be he who was breaking the rules... Apart from characters like Bai Ze God Monarch who know no restrictions, Wanfa Sect disciples were renowned for adhering to rules. An inexplicable sense of embarrassment expanded in Geng Peng's heart. If Xiang Qi knew what was happening at this moment, he would probably directly start scoffing—Wanfa Sect's emotional intelligence is indeed low! Geng Peng's fluctuating expressions caught in Wang Qi's eyes meant something entirely different. Wang Qi sneered inwardly: Yo, little buddy is still charging up a big move, thinking how to deal with me? Hehe, I've memorized the rules of the Immortal Institute well, the schemes you can use against me are just a few types, and I've long prepared strategies ABC for them! Indeed, embarrassing them is just what a transmigrator should do! And the strange silence between the two, seen by other disciples, took on another flavor. Many disciples had vaguely heard about the frictions between Wang Qi and the Wanfa Sect disciples. Among them were not a few ambitious young men from the Emperor family, with a keen political sense. Wang Qi, a genius who transitioned from Ancient Method to Modern and could break through on his own, was a strong contender for the position of True Inheritor. Scoring in ethics and conduct was also part of the Immortal Institute's evaluation, so seeing Wang Qi being picked on by the instructor was pleasing to them, and if it led to a conflict that docked all his conduct points for a month, all the better. The spectacle of a socially awkward Wanfa Sect disciple trying to trip up a new disciple and ending up getting royally embarrassed instead was indeed a little thrilling! Because Geng Peng hesitated for too long, Wang Qi started fantasizing about everyone's reaction after he turned the tables. Fortunately, while generally being socially awkward, Wanfa Sect disciples were certainly not foolish and had high intelligence. Geng Peng quickly thought of a way to save face. The Wanfa Sect disciple squeezed out a smile uglier than a cry. Seeing this, Wang Qi's spirit tensed up, thinking inwardly: Here comes the drama. "Not bad with the sword dance." "Hmm," Wang Qi responded noncommittally. "Have you practiced before? Actual combat swordsmanship." "I practiced a few defensive moves while cultivating Ancient Spirit Body," he replied. Geng Peng nodded, "Very good..." What's next? Scold me for not forgetting the Inferior Ancient Method, or accuse me of being overly confident? Wang Qi stared at Geng Peng, waiting for his further reaction. "All disciples should listen carefully as well! Don't think that this set of Basic Martial Arts is just the basics! This martial skill is the root of all martial arts! You should learn from Wang Qi! Learn to integrate your own consciousness and knowledge into these martial skills and develop your own Martial Dao!" Wait a minute, isn't the script a bit off? Isn't this the moment to accuse me of not practicing diligently, and then either have me perform a solo sword dance to be face-slapped by my own understanding of the sword, or randomly pick some so-called genius to teach me a lesson, only to be swiftly defeated by my sword and face-slapped? Isn't this development a bit too mysterious? Geng Peng continued, "Next, I will show you how to incorporate your own ideas into the Basic Martial Arts! Wang Qi is on the same level as you all, and he has learned it best. Soon he will spar with me, and you all should carefully watch our sword techniques, then compare them with your own!" Another Foundation Establishment Assistant frowned, "Senior Geng, isn't this beyond the scope? It seems like it's not part of the exam, right?" A bead of cold sweat appeared on Geng Peng's forehead: "Extra points, extra points..." Wang Qi had no time to muse over the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators who seemed to be emphasizing the key points as if in a physical education class. He was pondering Geng Peng's intentions: "Does this guy want to personally step in and deal with me? I'm in Qi Cultivation and he's in Foundation Establishment; moreover, he is from the precision-oriented Wanfa Sect, so pretending to accidentally injure someone is highly unlikely. Plus, even if he really hurt me, he could end up clashing with Xiang Qi and Su Junyu, two True Disciples. A small punishment for a big lesson? The clinic here is clearly free, and there's even a Golden Core Cultivator in residence... It's even less likely he wants to humiliate me, it's totally normal for Qi Cultivation to lose to Foundation Establishment..." A group of new disciples cast envious glances toward Wang Qi, thinking it was a great fortune for him to receive personal instructions from an instructor. Some were reveling in his misfortune, thinking that Geng Peng wanted to give a personal lesson to Wang Qi. While Wang Qi was still puzzled, Geng Peng seemed to have already maneuvered the situation back on track. He walked over to Wang Qi and drew a practice longsword, "Wang Qi, get ready." Wang Qi, still unable to figure out the other's scheme but affirming that he was unlikely to be in danger, took a stance and said, "Senior Brother Geng, please enlighten me." In the etiquette of the Immortal Dao, if two people are sparring, generally the one with lower cultivation attacks first. If the one with lower cultivation prefers to "counter after the opponent moves," then the one with higher cultivation would make the initial probing attack. Wang Qi immediately used "Basic Sword Technique 1, Shoulder-Level Thrust 3", aiming straight for Geng Peng's central body. As soon as the move was made, countless breaking techniques flashed through Geng Peng's mind. Under normal circumstances, he would use these techniques one by one, thoroughly explaining to Wang Qi why the flowers bloom so red. But just now, to find a way out, he had already insisted that calling Wang Qi out was only to demonstrate, so how could he use advanced sword techniques? Thus, he reluctantly extinguished those tempting breaking techniques in his mind and also relied on Basic Martial Arts to perform a move from "Basic Sword Technique 3," using a vertical sword to block Wang Qi's direct thrust. To Wang Qi, Geng Peng's action was more than a simple move. The trajectory of the sword was delineated in his mind, and he clearly saw the curves represented by the sword's momentum! "Book of Geometry," a powerful cultivation technique that enhances abstract thinking! Wang Qi's mana was not yet sufficient to support "Yao Ding Calculating Scripture" for ultra-high-speed calculations, but the blessing of this Wanfa Sect divine skill allowed him to vaguely grasp what Geng Peng's next move would be. He swiftly retracted his sword, awkwardly placing it horizontally in front of his chest. Sure enough, Geng Peng's next move was to chop down his vertical sword! Wang Qi stepped back half a step, pressed his sword forward, and executed another move from Basic Sword Technique 1, attacking Geng Peng. Geng Peng used another Basic Sword Technique to block this strike. The two exchanged more than a dozen moves. Wang Qi gradually became excited; sparring with such a partner who absolutely wouldn't dare harm him was greatly beneficial for his martial arts cultivation, and both "Book of Geometry" and "Yao Ding Calculating Scripture" could advance. The exhilarating feeling he experienced here was incomparable to simply face-slapping someone! No matter what the other party intended to do to him, this match made it all worth it! Compared to Wang Qi's exhilaration, Geng Peng felt increasingly stifled. There were countless good moves he could use to deal with this annoying person in front of him, but...but...but...this should have been my home ground, yet looking at the expressions, it seemed like I was the one on the losing end! The Foundation Establishment Assistant who knew Geng Peng saw his expression and vaguely guessed the truth. However, most people simply couldn't understand Geng Peng's mysteriously illogical way of finding a way out. Later, they did ask Geng Peng why. His answer was: "This is the Wanfa sentiment." By the way, after hearing about this incident, Xiang Qi and a few cultivators laughed for a long time. Xiang Qi's exact words were: "Ahahahaha! Isn't it just that they can't control their emotions and don't understand interpersonal relationships... Ahahahaha! This half year, I'm depending on these low EQ guys to get by!" Additionally, much later, Wang Qi made a conclusive statement about this event: "The sentiment of the Wanfa Sect, ordinary people wouldn't understand."