Senior Brother Ji: I Know Where the Problem Lies

Just as Lu Yang was deep in his earthen dungeon, wondering how on earth he was supposed to get out, the Immortal Fairy woke from her slumber. Seeing Lu Yang locked in an underground cell, joy danced in her eyes. "Lu Yang, have your wicked deeds finally caught up with you? Have you been captured at last?" Lu Yang said, "...Fairy, could you perhaps wish me a little good luck for once?" "All right then. I wish you a smooth sentence reduction." Lu Yang took two deep breaths and forced out an explanation: "I was practicing a spell. Things just ran into a slight hitch." "What spell were you practicing?" the Immortal Fairy asked curiously, wondering what kind of magical art could possibly lock its caster into a dungeon. "Drawing a Circle as a Prison." "Understood." Just as the two were talking, a large hand suddenly reached down and yanked Lu Yang up from the ground. It was none other than Ji Hongwen. A moment earlier, Senior Brother Ji had watched with his own eyes as Lu Yang burrowed straight into the dirt and built himself a prison cell out of earth. Senior Brother Ji simply could not fathom it. Did the spell he had taught have even a single shred in common with whatever this kid had learned? Oh, wait—the names were the same. That made it even more absurd! Meeting Senior Brother Ji's helpless gaze, Lu Yang blinked innocently. "Senior Brother Ji, is there any hope left for my Drawing a Circle as a Prison?" Senior Brother Ji gave a composed nod. "The Sage advocated educating without discrimination. As long as the method is sound, there is no unteachable student. I will definitely teach you!" Lu Yang was overjoyed. See? Senior Brother Ji was reliable after all. "Cast the result of your learning once more. This time, draw the circle around me so I can see where the problem lies." "All right." Recalling the mental state he had been in earlier, Lu Yang pointed with his finger and drew a circle around Senior Brother Ji. The circle was flawless, perfectly conforming to the ratio of circumference to diameter. Then Senior Brother Ji felt his body sink, and he found himself locked inside an underground dungeon. Senior Brother Ji: "..." He blinked, utterly baffled by what had just occurred. As a cultivator at the Body Integration stage, had he possessed any intention of resisting, Lu Yang would naturally never have been able to trap him in a cell. But doing so would also have prevented him from understanding how Lu Yang had strayed so far off course. Senior Brother Ji frequently taught classes on behalf of Fourth Elder, making him practically half a teacher. As a teacher, his duty was to educate his students. And before educating a student, one had to study and understand that student. Senior Brother Ji tapped on the earthen pillars. He found that the dungeon's structural strength was quite respectable, sturdy enough to hold a cultivator at the middle Foundation Establishment stage. In a way, it could be considered a viable combat technique. Even so, he still could not see how Lu Yang had ended up learning it this way. Senior Brother Ji burrowed out of the dungeon. "Do it again." Lu Yang pointed with his finger once more and locked Senior Brother Ji right back in. Like a groundhog, Senior Brother Ji burrowed out and was trapped back in, repeating the cycle dozens of times. Just as Lu Yang was preparing to cast it yet another time, Senior Brother Ji called a halt. "I know where the problem lies." Senior Brother Ji nodded steadily, his gaze profound. Overjoyed, Lu Yang hurriedly asked what the issue was. "The problem is that I shouldn't be teaching you." "Huh?" Senior Brother Ji sighed inwardly. It was not that he failed to uphold the Sage's philosophy; his discernment was simply too limited, and he genuinely could not make sense of it. He even suspected that it wasn't a matter of his own inability to teach Lu Yang—even if the Sage himself came down, he wouldn't be able to teach him either. "Man Gu, Jingzhou, remember to practice diligently." "Yes." Having practiced for so long, Meng Jingzhou had gradually grasped the knack of Drawing a Circle as a Prison, and his success rate had risen noticeably. Man Gu, on the other hand, was still doing the same old thing: drawing circles endlessly, without trapping a soul. With that, Senior Brother Ji drifted away, leaving the three of them behind to keep drawing circles. "It's over for you. Senior Brother Ji has given up on you," Meng Jingzhou mocked Lu Yang with schadenfreude. "Draw a dungeon!" Flustered and exasperated, Lu Yang swiftly drew a circle around Meng Jingzhou. Meng Jingzhou let out a yell as he was locked into an underground cell. Meng Jingzhou smashed his way out with brute force. The moment he emerged, he drew a circle around Lu Yang, trapping him. "Drawing a Circle as a Prison!" "Draw a dungeon!" "Drawing a Circle as a Prison!" "Draw a dungeon!" "Drawing a Circle as a Prison!" "Foul beast! You have committed boundless slaughter and created countless wronged spirits! Watch as this humble monk suppresses you into the dungeon, never to turn over for all eternity!" "Old bald donkey, it remains to be seen who suppresses whom today! I'd like to see if you can step out of the circle drawn by this Demon Venerable!" "Hah! Take this!" "Take this!" The two trained their newly learned spell through live combat, their proficiency visibly soaring. Only Man Gu remained entirely focused on his own task, drawing circles beside them over and over again without distraction. By the end of the fight, both had drained their spiritual mana and called a truce. The two slumped onto the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion. Having shouted their moves continuously while fighting, their mouths were parched and dry. Using the last wisps of their mana, they condensed spheres of water in midair and drank heartily. "Senior Brother Man, I've finally found you." A figure stepped into the bamboo grove and walked up to Man Gu. "Li Haoran?" Lu Yang recognized the newcomer. "Ah, Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Meng are here too," Li Haoran greeted them. "Senior Brother Man, the great hammer you asked me to modify is finished." "So fast? Quick, quick, bring it out and let me see!" Hearing that his weapon had been upgraded, Man Gu grew eager and excited. Without another word, Li Haoran retrieved a great iron hammer as tall as a man from his identity jade token. The head of the hammer resembled a giant red agate. It looked immensely solid and heavy as a mountain, gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight. The handle had been remade in pure white, perfectly matching Man Gu's white scholar robes. "Not bad, not bad at all." Man Gu hefted the great iron hammer and swung it twice, whipping up whistling gusts of wind, thoroughly pleased with it. The vital feature that allowed it to broadcast the *Sayings of the Sage* during combat had also been preserved by Li Haoran. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou wore bizarre expressions. "Junior Brother Li, are you sure this is an iron hammer?" "Of course," Li Haoran replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Meng Jingzhou retorted, "Of course my foot! That's clearly an oversized lollipop! Man Gu was even licking the hammerhead just now!" Li Haoran explained the reasoning behind his modification: "Originally, Senior Brother Man told me he wanted battering rams added to both ends of the hammer. Considering that Senior Brother Man is a Confucian cultivator, I offered a suggestion. I told him that since he's a Confucian cultivator, bashing people with an iron hammer lacks elegance and defies what people expect from a Confucian. "Yet Senior Brother Man loves fighting with an iron hammer, so I came up with a compromise. I redesigned the hammer into an oversized lollipop. It's much friendlier and more approachable! It serves as a weapon in battle, doubles as a snack in his spare time, and carrying a giant hammer down the street will catch children's interest, boosting his charm among the public. It accomplishes several goals at once!" Indeed, when it came to being approachable, no weapon could possibly compete with an oversized lollipop. Lu Yang: "..." *It's over. I actually think Li Haoran makes some sense. Have I been assimilated by the Immortal Fairy?* Man Gu added, "And the lollipop Junior Brother Li made is twenty percent cheaper than the ones in the cafeteria." Only then did Lu Yang recall that the cafeteria was an enterprise run by Weapon Refinement Peak. Li Haoran was probably planning to open a lollipop shop in the cafeteria and had used Man Gu to test the waters beforehand. "It's not a question of whether it's cheap or not... Forget it, as long as you're happy." Lu Yang felt too powerless to scoff any further and gave up trying to talk them out of it. "Hm?" Lu Yang heard someone sending him a voice transmission. "What is it?" "Eldest Senior Sister is back. She wants me to return to Tianmen Peak."