Shi Jian: I Have It So Hard!

Shi Jian: I Have It So Hard! Just when Liu Xiu was convinced that Shi Shaojian shouldn't have a Hegemon Body, and that Shi Jian could not possibly—and would consider it beneath him—to treat disciples differently over such a thing. He saw the words that came after the first layer, Divine Perception, of the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Body-Refining Art—or rather, the Hegemon Body Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Art! "This layer is called Thunder-Sound Piercing the Subtle. One who masters it hears in all eight directions and sees down all six roads; within a hundred paces in every direction, every stir of wind and every movement of grass enters the mind. Before the enemy's thought has risen, I have already sensed his intent; before his arrow's point arrives, I have already cut off his path—I spy the enemy's opening and strike where he is unprepared; I ride the enemy's confusion and win with a single blow. Yet should the situation turn hopeless, I can also borrow the momentum of thunder-sound to shake his nerve, and use the clarity of piercing the subtle to find a gap and slip free. Advancing, my assault meets no obstacle; retreating, my flight leaves no trace. Hardness and softness joined, offense and defense both complete—only then is the true meaning of my Thunder-Sound Piercing the Subtle made plain!" Liu Xiu looked silently at the description of Divine Perception. "This layer is called Divine Perception. One who masters it uses the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit to draw the primordial magnetism of the sun, moon, and stars into the body, blending the magnetic resonance of the flesh with the qi of heaven and earth, like dew entering a river, like dust returning to soil, seamless and whole. Heaven and earth become my ears and eyes, and all things my feelers—when the wind stirs the grass, I know its direction; when birds take fright in the woods, I know a beast is coming; when insects and ants move their nests, I know the earth is shifting. Before the enemy's thought has sprouted, I have already sensed his intent; before his arrow's point arrives, I have already avoided his path; before disaster shows itself, I have already vanished from its trail. The autumn wind has not yet stirred, yet the cicada senses it first—though heaven and earth are vast and killing intent dense and close, nothing can harm me." ... Master, you really have had it rough!! Liu Xiu set the two side by side, looking at the Divine Perception version's electricity generating magnetism and the Hegemon Body version's magnetism generating electricity, and marveled that Shi Jian really was a super-genius. At the same time, he understood what was going on with the Hegemon Body Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Art's Thunder-Sound Piercing the Subtle and the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Body-Refining Art's Divine Perception. This was a Shi Shaojian-exclusive version of magnetism generating electricity, specially rewritten by Shi Jian to spare Shi Shaojian's feelings! In other words, the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Body-Refining Art was the Hegemon Body Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Art—Shi Jian had simply changed a few of the descriptive phrases! He had swapped out the life-preserving wording for combat wording! But credit where it's due: Liu Xiu truly hadn't expected Shi Jian to come up with magnetism generating electricity as a way to let Shi Shaojian master the thunder arts. Astonished as he was at the sheer strength of Shi Jian's talent, Liu Xiu could only feel that Shi Jian had it so hard. But as he thought about it, a question suddenly occurred to him—the reason Shi Jian had it so hard... was because of him, because of that one word of his: Hegemon Body. I know he has it hard, but don't ask me how he has it hard! With that thought, Liu Xiu looked with complicated feelings at Shi Jian in the water screen. Shi Jian said nothing; he only zapped Shi Shaojian, who was roaring with laughter beside him. "Master, what'd you zap me for—huh, Junior Brother!" Thanks to the magnetism generating electricity, Shi Shaojian—who had finally gotten the Shangqing Jade Pivot Palm-Thunder Secret Instruction started and grown more resistant to shocks—didn't even cry out. He simply turned to Liu Xiu on this side of the water screen in surprise. Liu Xiu respectfully called him "Senior Brother." Just as he was about to ask where Shi Jian was now, Shi Shaojian got zapped again. Mm, same as before— My senior brother really can take a shock! The little man inside Liu Xiu's head clicked his tongue in amazement at Shi Shaojian, who hadn't made a sound after being zapped, and felt nothing but admiration. Shi Shaojian paid Liu Xiu's look no mind; he merely turned a blank face toward Shi Jian. Shi Jian, exasperated that his iron would not turn to steel, moved his lips slightly and said quietly. "Greet them..." "Oh. Hello, Martial Uncle. Hello, Junior Brother." Shi · Invincible Hegemon Body · Thunder Arts · Shaojian gave a flat "oh" and spoke. As for a smiling face like the one he'd shown Liu Xiu—forget it. Daoist Qianhe and the other four couldn't even see Shi Shaojian's eyes. All they got was a pair of nostrils pointed at them. "..." ×1+4 Honestly, this guy is arrogant as hell! Daoist Qianhe and the other four all thought the same thing at the same time, but with Shi Jian standing right there, none of them dared let it show. And precisely because none of it showed, Shi Jian—watching them—grew more and more irritated with this junior brother of his, Qianhe, and swept out a hand! Primordial Concealment-Form Art—open! "Ding! Daoist Qianhe and the other four have been removed from the team!" Watching the expressions of Daoist Qianhe and the other four, Liu Xiu mentally supplied a notification chime, then looked at Shi Jian, who was studying him. "Master, what is it?" Liu Xiu asked, puzzled. Shi Jian looked at him with curiosity in his eyes. "I never expected your Dao heart to be so firm!" The remark came out of nowhere, and for a moment Liu Xiu couldn't make sense of it. Shi Jian didn't seem to care; he simply went on. "When a heavenly demon transmits a method, the first bait is laid in the heart. Anyone who obtains a demonic art will inevitably grow greedy because of it. You were able to withstand the temptation, to observe only and never practice, and you didn't fall to demonhood either... that truly exceeds this master's expectations!" It was a long speech for Shi Jian, and a fleeting look of gratification crossed his face. Watching from the side, Shi Shaojian curled his lip and muttered. "You never put on a smile like that for me..." With a flash of lightning, Shi Shaojian vanished from the water screen without a sound. Liu Xiu's eyelid twitched, and he said respectfully. "Master, you flatter me..." Shi Jian didn't answer that; the appreciation in his eyes only continued. "I never expected you to be able to withstand those illusions!" "???" "???" "???" "???" "...There were... illusions too?" Their eyes met. Liu Xiu, a little lost, said weakly. Shi Jian was silent for a moment, and most of the appreciation drained from his eyes. "Ahem. Maybe this disciple is simply lucky, so I didn't see any illusions or the like in the demonic art..." In his heart, Liu Xiu instinctively thought of the narration cheat that had popped up every so often last night with a line about dominating the cultivation world. What, so his cheat had taken the hard knocks in his place? "...Mm. Your luck really is good!" Shi Jian praised him with a strange look on his face, privately wondering why the demonic art Liu Xiu had run into was different from the ones he had seen. Was this Seven-Star Demon King a newly promoted Demon King?! Turning it over, he asked again out of curiosity! "How did you withstand those demonic sounds?" "Hm? Do demonic sounds even need to be withstood?" ... Shi Jian looked blankly at Liu Xiu, who had been out for two days and come back more Shi Shaojian than Shi Shaojian himself, and decided to keep Liu Xiu at his side next time. "Ahem. I heard the demonic sounds, I just thought they were a bit noisy..." Sensing a wave of malice rolling in, Liu Xiu hurried to speak. No sooner had he finished than he felt the malice grow heavier. ... Never mind. I'll take him along to slay demons next time! Bringing one is bringing; bringing two is bringing too. Shi Jian thought to himself, feeling certain that in his past life he must have done nothing good at all—otherwise how would he have ended up with two disciples like this. Still, maybe what Liu Xiu said was the truth... White Worm... Crimson Firmament... Liu Xiu... Turning these over, Shi Jian frowned slightly and waved his hand again. Liu Xiu mentally added, "Ding! You have been removed from the team by Shi Jian," and then settled in to wait for Shi Jian's private word with Daoist Qianhe. The talk didn't last long before Daoist Qianhe appeared in Liu Xiu's line of sight again, head lowered. Liu Xiu was just about to speak when he heard Shi Shaojian say. "They bully you yes/no." "???" Liu Xiu was baffled for a moment, then tried to translate. Once he worked out that the question was whether he had been bullied, the corner of his mouth twitched. Feeling he couldn't quite hold it together, he shook his head and said to Shi Shaojian, whose talent for English was at least four or five stories high. "No!" "Zero!" Shi Shaojian nodded in satisfaction, swept a blank-faced glance over Daoist Qianhe and the others, and thought to himself that at least this bunch knew what was good for them. The English exchange between the two set Shi Jian's eyes to pondering, and he began going back over the notes he had taken. He meant nothing by it. He simply suspected he might have written his notes down wrong, and the reason was simple—the English these two spoke didn't match what he had learned! "Could this boy have been holding something back from me?" Hm? Why did that sound a bit off? Suddenly feeling the whole order of things had been stood on its head, Shi Jian stopped his pondering and, to Shi Shaojian, who knew nothing of rank or propriety, said a "shit!" "!!!" Good grief, my senior martial brother even knows foreign languages! Daoist Qianhe stared at Shi Jian, blank-faced and stunned. Seeing this, Shi Jian coughed once and once again took up the manner of looking at people through his nostrils. "I had some idle time lately, so I picked up a little Western learning!" "Senior Martial Brother, you're amazing!" Daoist Qianhe said, his face full of admiration. Shi Jian gave a slight nod, his manner growing more and more like Shi Shaojian's. Liu Xiu took the chance to ask Shi Jian. "Master, where are you now?" "The Demon Realm!" Shi Jian answered concisely, though his slight frown betrayed how poor his mood was. Shi Shaojian spoke up, looking thoroughly put out. "Someone intervened from the shadows and saved the female demon. Master and I tracked them all the way here, and now we're going to turn their family into 0!" "..." ×2 Senior Brother, your English is really something! Liu Xiu, who had been about to speak, looked at Shi Jian, who had once again zapped Shi Shaojian out of the water screen, and chose to shut his mouth. Then he saw Shi Jian turn his head slightly. "Hm? So this is where they are..." Before the words had even faded, a blinding, searing white light burst from the water screen, lighting the woods bright as day and drawing screams from a few throats. "Ah, my eyes..." "Men! Protect His Majesty!" The cries went on and on. With a pop, the water screen formed by the Thousand-Li Voice Transmission scattered. Whether out of embarrassment or because he was busy making their family equal zero, Shi Jian withdrew the Thousand-Li Voice Transmission without a single word. Liu Xiu, who hadn't found the light blinding at all, silently decided that jade-green eyes and square pupils were awesome. Just then, the mechanical voice of the narration cheat sounded. [Heh heh heh, clever as you are...]