“If you explain it like that, you’ll make her think Sage Tianlan is some kind of idiot, Yijun!”

“Ah. Right. What I meant was that Sage Tianlan doesn’t understand intuitive scripts. He’s much more comfortable with absolute scripts, and as you know, those are basically gibberish to the vast majority of us.”

“Let me get this straight,” said Tang Zen. “You’re saying that he doesn’t know how to read Quingmo’s Syntax?”

“Exactly.”

“But… that doesn’t make any sense.”

The ‘Quingmo’s Syntax’ that Tang Zen mentioned was a commonly seen writing system used for the description of cultivation techniques and martial arts. It, and other writing systems like it, were collectively known as the intuitive scripts, and, as the name suggests, they worked through eliciting a cultivator’s instinctual reactions to certain concepts.

Their origins dated all the way back to when human beings first began to cultivate.

It was said that the first cultivators were people who were struck with inspiration after witnessing a moving scene, or after having dreams that showed them incomprehensible things. Those experiences resonated with them on a spiritual level, and after meditating on them, they began to develop otherworldly powers.

Some called these early cultivators the Envoys of the Heavens, others called them lucky bastards. Either way, feeling a sense of responsibility to guide the world to prosperity, those people began to share information with each other, working to further their understanding and come up with explanations for how the strange powers they were granted operated.

Over generations, they came up with writing systems that would give others a glimpse of the truths they had stumbled upon. Those writing systems naturally split into two major branches: the intuitive scripts, and the absolute scripts.

The easiest to follow, the intuitive scripts, were used for the dissemination of information, which allowed people to step beyond the world that they knew. The more technical scripts, the absolute scripts, were used to further advance research by meticulously describing the movements and transformations of qi, the element they believed to be the source of this power.

In modern times, most every cultivator learned their techniques through intuitive means. And that was for one simple reason. They spoke directly to the soul.

What did this mean?

It meant that intuitive methods weren’t confined to the realm of literature. Information could be conveyed in all manner of ways. From the brush strokes of a master painter to the floral arrangements of a passionate gardener, all of it could be used to spark inspiration in others.

And that wasn’t mentioning the countless examples of those who came up with amazing discoveries after taking a moment to appreciate something as simple as a beautiful sunset.

The utilities of intuitive methods were plain to see.

And that was why a term as widely applicable as ‘comprehension ability’ was almost exclusively used to refer to one’s aptitude for interpreting intuitive methods.

A cultivator who had low comprehension ability was almost guaranteed to never amount to anything.

And these people were saying that Shao Tianlan was like that?

If that wasn’t hard to believe, then what was?

And yet, everyone seemed to be in agreement.

“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses,” said Fang Yijun as he stood up from his seated position.

He walked over to where Tang Zen was seated and used his sword’s scabbard to draw some lines in the soil in front of her.

“To illustrate, I’ve drawn this simple transformation, which, if I were to describe it as an incantation, I would go with something like, ‘The solitary soldier dies one thousand deaths under the gentle breeze.’ That’s my interpretation, but you might see…”

He gestured for her to give her own interpretation, which she did after some thought.

“March ever forward, lone wolf, for the cold of colds beckons. Something like that.”

“Oh? That’s an interesting way of looking at it,” he said as he pondered over her incantation. “I can kind of see where you’re coming from, and in essence, they are very similar incantations.”

“Right.”

“But that’s the thing. If Sage Tianlan were to describe the same transformation, he might come up with something like ‘The moon’s eye glimmers during the sleepless night.’”

“What?! But that’s so… so…”

“Wrong?”

“Yeah. How could anyone possibly see that?”

“It’s just an example, but it gives you an idea of how bad Sage Tianlan’s comprehension ability is.”

“Then, let alone taking first-place among the new disciples, how could he have possibly defeated Senior Sister Sei Yu in a duel? There’s no way he had access to techniques written in absolute scripts.”

“That’s because of Sage Bai. Her comprehension ability is off the charts, and she’s able to translate intuitive scripts into absolute scripts for Sage Tianlan. In fact, I heard the childish sages have their own syntax that they use to create their techniques.”

Tang Zen’s eyes opened wide. There was just too much information for her to absorb in such a small amount of time.

“They create their own techniques? Who is this Sage Bai? Is she his master?”

“Master? No, no.” Fang Yijun waved his hand dismissively. “She’s Sage Tianlan’s younger sister.” He went back to his seat and remembered the days when all of this surprised him as well.

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And it wasn’t just him. All of the Fang Clan juniors could remember feeling the same tidal waves Tang Zen was feeling. There was a mix of incredulity, amazement, awe and fear. To think that there was a group of such monstrously talented juniors was enough to plunge them into a deep depression. But the fact that they were also extremely magnanimous turned all of that into deep respect.

“Is she here at the sect?” she asked, before immediately realising that it was a silly question. The Fang Clan’s juniors would have made it more than clear if she were, what with how they referred to her as Sage Bai.

And deep down, Tang Zen knew that such a character wouldn’t fail to garner attention, much like Shao Tianlan.

“Never mind that,” she said. “Even with access to techniques written in absolute scripts, that doesn’t explain his ability to defeat a senior disciple. Especially if he comes from a small town.”

“You’re applying regular people logic to people who aren’t regular,” answered Fang Yijun. “What Sage Tianlan lacks in comprehension ability, he makes up for in raw talent.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s only the most amazing part about him,” said one of the young ladies. “Sage Tianlan can learn any technique just by seeing someone use it once! And on top of that, he’s able to copy it perfectly and achieve the same level of mastery as the person he’s learning from. Basically, as long as his cultivation and mental energy are close enough to his opponent’s, he’ll never be outskilled.”

“What?! How is that fair?”

The Fang Clan juniors exchanged glances before laughing.

“That kind of talk signifies that you could use a few words of instruction from Sage Hei,” said Fang Yijun. “The very first thing he’ll tell you is that people like us can’t expect the same in life as people like the childish sages. We just live in two different worlds.”

Tang Zen frowned. Something about those words didn’t sit right with her.

“You’re content with that? Who is he to tell you what you can and can’t do? Shouldn’t you be trying to prove him wrong?”

“Prove him wrong?”

The juniors burst into laughter.

It had been a while since they talked to non-believers and it reminded them of their once ignorant selves. They had truly come a long way.

“Trying to prove Sage Hei wrong is like trying to prove that you aren’t your mother’s child. It’s nonsense. But I can understand where you’re coming from. To hear someone tell you that you’ll basically never amount to anything can be pretty disheartening.”

“Then…”

“But you have to realise that Sage Hei is speaking from the position of someone who has a much broader view than us. To him, even someone like the Mountain Splitting Sword Saint is a small character. The people who can enter his eyes are all freakish talents like Sage Tianlan, Sage Bai and Sage Mei. People like us just don’t appear on his radar.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t accept the limits others place on you. Otherwise, you’ll never reach your potential.”

“While that’s true for the most part, there is one instance in which it doesn’t hold up, and that’s when the one imposing those limits knows your potential.”

“And you think this Sage Hei has such keen insight?”

“Without a doubt.”

Fang Yijun answered without any hesitation, and the other Fang Clan juniors held the same stance. Their unshaking faith in the childish sages was being put on display for all to see.

“I don’t know how you can live like that. Constantly under the shadow of those sages of yours. I could never do it.”

“I mean, that’s one way of describing it,” said Fang Yijun. “But for us, it’s actually a relief. We no longer have to be a part of the rat race, constantly clawing our way up to reach useless goals like the rest of you. We know full well where our limits lie, and as such, we can proceed with calm hearts and avoid the cutthroat reality that most cultivators live in.”

Tang Zen shook her head in disapproval.

“Nothing in life comes without sacrifice-”

“Is the nonsense that we’ve been fed for generations. It’s what causes a mother and father to leave their child behind in the pursuit of immortality that they’ll never attain. It’s what leads to brothers killing one another for personal gain. From severing the mortal coil to walking the demonic path, all of this comes from our wicked desire to claim that which isn’t rightfully ours. The childish sages have taught us all that there is another way. All we need to do is follow them, and all will be right with the world.”

Tang Zen was left speechless. It was clear that these people had all been inducted into some kind of cult and were now worshiping those so-called ‘childish sages’ as deities.

If there was one lesson her father taught her aside from how to forge a decent weapon, it was to stay far away from people like them.

He told her that a number of atrocities had been committed by people who spoke in a very similar way to what she was hearing now. And, for whatever reason, their common victims were chaste young women, much like herself…

“… Why are you looking at us like that?”

“Hm? What? Oh, uh… No reason. Listen… I think I’ll come back later after all.”

“There’s no need,” said Fang Yijun. “You’ve already waited this long, right? Sage Tianlan should be finished soon as well.”

“Yeah, you might as well stick around,” said another. “Truth be told, meeting Sage Tianlan is probably the greatest fortune you’ll ever encounter. Make sure you don’t waste it.”

‘Great. They’re not letting me leave.’

Tang Zen was feeling caged in. All around her there were these crazed fanatics who wouldn’t listen to words of reason. And the words ‘Sage Tianlan’ now had a bit of a sinister air about them in Tang Zen’s ears, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

For all she knew, she was about to be forced to become another mindless follower.

“But he seemed so normal,” she thought to herself. Ming Hong’s speculations were starting to seem more and more correct. Somehow, Sage- Shao Tianlan had managed to enthral this large group of people, including a fair number of young women, which he did who knows what with.

“Um… Where is Shao Tianlan right now? What is he doing?”

At this point, she was already hyper-vigilant against even the smallest movement by one of these juniors. If they so much as lifted a finger, she would know about it. And if she heard something like ‘Sage Tianlan is conducting private lessons with a few of the girls’ or anything of the like, she was prepared to use all of her strength to break free of this situation.

“Sage Tianlan is practising his breathing techniques in his rock garden,” answered Fang Yijun. “That’s all he’s been doing these past few days.”

“Breathing techniques? Which ones?”

“Well, you already know that Sage Tianlan is no good with normal cultivation techniques. He’s been reading basic books covering the very simplest concepts. So he’s not exactly practising breathing techniques, but instead, studying the fundamentals of breathing.”

“But why would he do that? You can’t derive anything useful from those books that a baby doesn’t already know.”

“That’s what we thought as well-”

“Not me,” interrupted one little boy who was infatuated with a pair of white wolves. “I always knew Sage Tianlan was doing something special.”

“Okay. All of us except Little Wu didn’t understand why Sage Tianlan was doing such a thing. That was until yesterday when it became clear.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“See for yourself,” said Fang Yijun as he raised his sword to his ear.

When he did that, the other juniors also lifted their swords and held them close to their ears, then stopped making any noise.

“You do it too,” he said, as he threw a sword to the empty-handed Tang Zen.

Tang Zen did as he said and held the sword up to her ear.

But nothing happened.

“Wha-”

“Shhh. Calm your breathing and listen to the sword.”

Tang Zen did just that, and just when she was about to ask again, she heard a faint sound. It was incredibly quiet and easy to miss, but it was there. A low humming sound that ebbed and flowed like the tide of an ocean.

It almost sounded as if the sword were…

As if it were breathing.

“What is this?”

“We don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s probably really impressive.”

“And this is coming from Shao Tianlan’s breathing practice?”

“Mm.”

Tang Zen had nothing left to say.

She also didn’t know what this humming sound meant, but it definitely wasn’t an insignificant thing. She was starting to see why these juniors had so much awe for these childish sages of theirs. Especially if they were all able to do things like this.

Even so, she didn’t have any desire to join their ranks. Their group still felt incredibly weird.

If those childish sages were truly as amazing as the Fang Clan juniors described, a notion she found hard to believe, then she wouldn’t mind showing her respect those with superior ability.

However, she would never lower herself and allow them to impose limits on her.