area51novel Chapter 17 Village Anecdotes, Even Bamboo Swords Have Ambition
Chapter 17 Village Anecdotes, Even Bamboo Swords Have Ambition
After the Lunar New Year, the two stayed in the village for a month.
His life, though extremely ordinary, was fulfilling, consisting of spiritual practice, studying, and occasionally going to villages to help treat illnesses.
In the once quiet courtyard, a simply dressed girl now dwelt. She was plain-looking and not particularly strong, yet she held a stone lock out with both hands.
Judging from her strained appearance, it was clear that she was putting in a lot of effort, but she gritted her teeth and persevered, never slackening her efforts or lowering her arms.
"Your cousin has good perseverance, but unfortunately, her innate level three soul power is far too weak."
White-haired Chenxin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, turning his head to look at the trembling figure, shaking his head repeatedly.
Turning back to the boy who was writing in Douluo language in the red notebook, he said dejectedly, "Judging by this pace, he should be able to finish. Should I really take this disciple?"
Turning to the previous page, Zhang Xun looked at what he had written and, feeling it was unsuitable, tore it off and rewrote it.
He casually said, "If it's three hours, then it's three. That's what Sword Douluo promised at the village banquet yesterday. Breaking a promise is a disgrace to Sword Douluo's name. If you weren't Sword Douluo, then you wouldn't need to keep your promise."
Chen Xin's face immediately turned red, and his eyes darted away.
"I... I was drunk."
"It's not that I said something wrong when I was drunk; I just amplified what I was thinking. I just said it out loud because I was drunk."
His thoughts were laid bare in a single sentence, leaving him with a deep sigh.
"I can tell from the rhythm of her soul power circulation that it has the feel of the technique you gave me. Did you teach it to me?"
"She can only perform the Small Heavenly Circuit."
"So you're saying I'm one of your Taiping Dao members?" Upon hearing this, Chen Xin readily agreed.
"Alright, then I'll take her as my disciple for your sake. Her soul power is weak, her body is frail, and her wrist strength is insufficient. She's also a bamboo sword user. Apart from her steadfast character, she has no redeeming qualities. This will be quite a challenge for this old man."
Although he kept grumbling about how he looked down on everything, he still didn't refuse. That old arrogance just loves to say one thing and mean another.
"Thank you for your guidance."
After they finished speaking, the two fell silent, with only the soft scratching of pens filling the room.
Since this writing was done in Douluo language, Chen Xin was able to watch from the sidelines, so it wasn't boring.
However, many of the words in it were difficult for him to understand, and even made him feel dizzy.
As the sun began to set in the west, he felt it was about time, so he went out of the house and walked to the girl whose eyes were already starting to blur.
He casually grabbed the stone lock, but felt that the child was still holding on tightly, unwilling to let go.
Before he could speak, his body suddenly went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
"Let's rest for a bit and then go back."
Hearing the sound, she struggled to get up from the ground, saying, "I... I can still go on..."
"Is it really necessary? You should know very well that there are some things that cannot be changed. If something is not there, it is not there. Effort will not change anything."
Hearing Chen Xin's words, her unfocused eyes gradually regained their focus, and she stopped moving, simply lying there staring straight at the sky.
"Yes, compared to him, I'm just an ordinary person, nothing special. But it's precisely because I know I can't catch up that I have to grasp every glimmer of hope I can find, right?"
"Grandpa Chen, isn't a bamboo sword also a sword?"
Her voice was slightly hoarse, and her powerless arms felt as heavy as lead; she tried to lift them, but couldn't.
"You and that boy have a similar way of speaking, you must have learned a lot at the academy." Chen Xin clapped her hands as she casually tossed the stone lock aside.
"Alright, go back after you've rested. Tell your family that you're coming to Tiandou City with us tomorrow morning."
"You've agreed to take me as your apprentice?"
"From now on, you, Zhang Susu, are my disciple, Chen Xin. When you are out and about, you can mention my name, Sword Douluo."
Upon hearing this, her eyes lit up. She hadn't expected that she had actually completed it. She had thought that the person who came to comfort her was just taking pity on her.
With his back to the child, Chen Xin kept giving Zhang Xun meaningful glances through the window.
Seeing this, Zhang Xun summoned his nine-section staff, and a soul ring with a hint of purple glowed. Suddenly, wind and clouds swirled above the girl, and droplets fell like dew.
As the rain fell on her, Zhang Susu, who was taking a nap with her eyes closed, suddenly felt much more relaxed.
Opening my eyes, I saw the inexplicably vibrant colorful clouds swirling overhead.
Second Soul Skill: Rain Prayer
Muttering to himself, Zhang Xun couldn't help but look down at the martial spirit in his hand.
His second spirit ring came from a nine-hundred-year-old wood spirit deer, a spirit beast whose entire body was green. It was rumored to be a mutated plant, but Zhang Xun verified that it was an animal, only its skin had some plant-like textures and its antlers resembled tree branches.
The main functions of Soul Skills are healing and water control.
The third soul ring is taken from the Wind Demon Wolf, which is over three thousand years old. Its soul skill, Wind Summoning, helps to increase speed, and combat is exactly what the name suggests.
The soul skills gained from the Nine-Section Staff may all be things that the master did back then.
Soul beasts only slightly influenced the direction, but the essence remained the same.
Zhang Xun plans to find a lightning-type soul beast with powerful attacks or one with high defense to test whether his deduction is correct.
Soon, Zhang Susu got up and started skipping and hopping away towards the village.
"Level 15, someone with that level might not even be wanted by any Soul Master Academy in Heaven Dou City."
Gazing at that retreating figure, Chen Xin couldn't help but sigh deeply.
The other person has improved a bit in the past two months, but it's only just enough to graduate from the beginner Soul Master Academy.
"Regret it?"
"How could I, a titled Douluo, break my word?"
·Village·
Zhang Susu ran headlong, the scenery changing before her eyes, until she reached the gate. She raised her still trembling arm and placed it in front of the gate, unable to regain her composure no matter what she did.
She realized that everything that had just happened was not a dream, and she had truly succeeded in becoming an apprentice.
A legendary titled Douluo actually took this ordinary girl as his disciple.
Pushing open the door, one sees stacks of bamboo baskets piled high in the courtyard, and Zhang Xun's gentle mother, who bears a resemblance to him, is using a short knife to slice bamboo strips thinly.
This is her family's main source of income. As for why she doesn't use the Martial Soul Bamboo Sword, it's naturally because the bamboo sword isn't sharp enough.
"Mother……"
Upon hearing the voice, the person in front of her looked up. Her first expression was confusion, followed by anger.
"Susu, did you go into the woods? Didn't I tell you not to overthink what happened last night? We're just an ordinary family! Neither that important person nor your brother are people you can get close to!"
After being harshly criticized by her mother, Zhang Susu's initially joyful mood turned inexplicably dejected.
Why can't my family understand?
She had once harbored feelings of affection for her cousin, Zhang Xun. After all, who wouldn't like a man who is good-looking, strong, and approachable?
Having witnessed excellence, one cannot look upon mediocrity; understanding, comprehension, and letting go do not mean being content with mediocrity.
"I did it! Grandpa Chen has accepted me as his apprentice!"
"...Bamboo is bamboo, you can't do anything with it!"
Seeing the determination in Zhang Susu's eyes, she remained ruthless.
Zhang Xun's success was just an exception. Over the years, there have been very few Soul Masters with a first ring in Zhuhe Village. Even though her own child became a Soul Master, she still didn't think it was something to be proud of.
For her, the only useful thing about this identity is the monthly subsidy of one gold soul coin.
Her idea was simple: it would be good enough for her family to live a peaceful and ordinary life together.
Zhang Susu remained silent for a moment.
"Mom, why must a bamboo sword be inferior to others? Why can't a bamboo sword cut through iron like mud?"
"You said that I would never become a Soul Master in this lifetime. I know it's because of my aunt's matter, you can't let go of it, and you want me to avoid the risks of hunting for Soul Rings."
"But birds must learn to fly higher. They know the sun is untouchable, but that doesn't stop them from yearning for higher light."