area51novel Chapter 3 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
Chapter 3 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
·The next day·
The morning light was dazzling, and Chen Xin, whose face was directly exposed to it, opened his eyes groggily, his eyes bloodshot.
He yawned and got up, then suddenly remembered that he was staying at a child's house, so he quickly straightened his face and maintained his composure.
Seeing the water already filled on the shelf in the corner, he felt a warmth in his heart; this little guy was indeed thoughtful in his work.
After washing up, I looked through the window and saw a child standing in a standing posture with his upper body bare.
From Chen Xin's perspective, he was facing the rising sun, as if he too was radiating light and about to merge into it.
"This child..."
Chen Xin sighed softly. Douluo Continent is a world that values status, background, and bloodline. Effort is truly worthless in the face of talent.
Unless Zhang Xun is a direct descendant of a reclusive family or sect, in which case putting in effort wouldn't be a problem, since there would be a safety net, otherwise it would all be a waste of time. Without innate soul power, he wouldn't even be able to cultivate.
Shaking his head, Chen Xin left the room and saw the tightly closed door of the small ancestral hall.
"The Way of Peace... I've never heard of such a force. Is it some kind of reclusive organization?"
Recalling the inscription on the plaque above the courtyard gate yesterday and the prefix "Respected Teacher," he walked into the small ancestral hall with some curiosity.
It's very empty here; apart from the memorial tablets, there's nothing else to record a person's life story.
The memorial tablet of his revered master is in the middle, which shows that this master named "Zhang Jiao" holds a very high position in his heart.
Upon closer inspection, two lines of writing were found engraved on the offering table.
"To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations—Zhang Zai, yet another name I've never heard of."
"Such grand ambitions, such ideals, is this what peace means? This person is also extraordinary, Zhang... I don't remember any family with this surname."
Chen Xin, who was so engrossed in those words, didn't even notice the child standing behind her.
"It is very impolite to enter someone else's ancestral hall at will."
A child's voice sounded behind him, and Chen Xin quickly turned around.
Seeing Zhang Xun tilting his head and looking at him, with water droplets still dripping from his wet hair, he realized that he had just washed his hair before coming.
In this situation, he, a titled Douluo who was originally strong-willed, couldn't help but feel ashamed.
"I'm a little curious, what's your relationship with this Zhang Zai? We both have the surname Zhang."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xun realized that he had read the line of text and began to explain.
"A senior, but not a fellow disciple."
Zhang Xun had no interest in plagiarizing others to promote himself.
I said this unintentionally to my master in a previous life. My master thought it was a good thing, and since the person who said it had the surname Zhang, he treated him as a member of the family and added it to the doctrines of the Way of Peace.
Having studied the Essentials of Peace for so many years and even been responsible for revising new versions, Zhang Xun couldn't help but carve it on the altar.
We left the ancestral hall.
After wiping away the water stains, Zhang Xun saw that Chen Xin seemed hesitant to speak, so he said, "Just ask me anything you want to ask. You don't need to treat me like a child, sir."
Seeing the little guy's expressionless face as he tried to act like an adult, Chen Xin waved his hand.
"I'm going to buy something."
After saying that, he disappeared from the spot.
The figure moved with lightning speed, disappearing into the bamboo forest in a few afterimages, making no attempt to conceal its strength.
Zhang Xun understood that his real purpose was to gather information in the village.
In a small place like this, there shouldn't be anyone who can say such things.
He knew, but he didn't care. The only traces the Taiping Dao left in this world were this ancestral hall and Zhang Xun himself.
·Year of Yi Si, 26th day of the fifth month·
Suitable for: weddings, sacrifices, and construction.
• Avoid: breaking ground, traveling, planting •
Looking at the calculated calendar, it seems I can have a good meal today.
Upon entering the ancestral hall again, Zhang Xun closed the doors and windows, and took out several pieces of yellow paper from his pocket, on which were drawn patterns that were difficult to understand.
He pinched the hand seal between two fingers, flicked it casually, and it stuck to the surface. Instantly, all the noise around him disappeared.
"Talismans are such a hassle to use here."
Open the hidden compartment under the offering table, and you'll find a small box with yellow talismans pasted on it.
The incantation was broken open, revealing a stack of yellow paper and a stack of wooden plaques engraved with the character '☴'.
The sign I changed yesterday came from here. Then I picked up the yellow talisman, looked at it, and put it back in the hidden compartment.
This thing is practically useless for protection now.
The talismans of the Taiping Dao are essentially divided into two types: borrowed talismans and regular talismans. Basically, to use them, there must first be a cause, and then an effect.
The first type is borrowing what you can use. The power of nature is borrowed from heaven and earth, as well as from spirits and deities. For example, summoning thunder and wind is powerful and convenient, but how much can be borrowed depends on the user's ability.
The second method involves inscribing the spell on a talisman and releasing it when needed.
Ordinary ones are easy to make, but high-powered ones require a higher level of skill to create and are usually given to juniors for self-defense or for convenience.
However, those at a higher level are no longer confined to talismans and paper; they can draw even in the air.
In Douluo Continent, without any foundation and with the "gods" watching, you can't borrow any magic. The only thing you can use is your own power. Since I can use my own power to release spells, what's the point of talismans?
In short, it's a complete waste of money.
Useful, but not much. Basically, it's something to keep as a memento.
Before we knew it, it was noon, and the incense offering had long since ended.
Chen Xin, who claimed to be an ordinary Soul Master, returned to the cabin in the woods and brought Zhang Xun a message.
"The village chief said that the Spirit Hall has begun to send out white-robed deacons to awaken the spirits of the common people. It will be Zhuhe Village's turn in four days."
His eyes held a complex expression as he repeated the old man's words.
Although the old man was twenty years younger than Chen Xin, Chen Xin seemed more like a young man.
Thank you for letting me know.
Chen Xin nodded and put down the items she had bought, feeling dejected.
After asking around for a long time, no one knew what the Way of Peace was.
The villagers all said that a man named Zhang Jiao did indeed take the child as his apprentice.
Zhang Xun's identity is that of the child of two ordinary soul masters, not even a first-ring soul master. With such a background, his soul power talent is naturally not very good.
"What a pity."
"What's a pity?"
"It's nothing." Chen Xin finally managed to hold back from saying anything hurtful or discouraging, like 'face reality'.
A child with such a good heart must already know his situation; it would be impolite to say anything more.
However, I couldn't resist my curiosity.
"What level of Soul Master is your master?"
"I don't know."
Chen Xin curled her lip and clicked her tongue, feeling that the guy was misleading the children, not even teaching them this basic stuff, so she summoned her martial spirit.
The sword is sheathless, and its shape is simple and ancient.
The once sharp and imposing longsword now showed signs of being covered in dust, which was the price Chen Xin paid for questioning the way of the sword.
He gently stroked the sword blade, and nine soul rings appeared one after another beneath his feet, two yellow, two purple, and five black, slowly rising and rotating.
Then he asked, "These rings around me are called spirit rings. How many do I have? What colors are they?"
Upon seeing these, Zhang Xun's eyes lit up. There were no Soul Masters in the village, and they couldn't even find any materials to study Martial Souls and Soul Rings.
He walked up to the spirit ring and reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through it.
It is neither a spirit nor a projection.
"Nine, the same as you, sir," Zhang Xun replied without hesitation.
Chen Xin let out a long breath and placed the Seven Kill Sword on the table for Zhang Xun to examine.
Deep down, he was frantically imagining why a titled Douluo would want to take such an ordinary person's child as his disciple.
Is the Taiping Dao, this reclusive sect, hiding itself a little too well?
He didn't even question whether this titled Douluo existed.
When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.
The information in the ancestral hall had already corroborated the existence of the Way of Peace, and that sentence made him even more convinced of it.
No one thought the child would lie, so naturally no one doubted the truthfulness of the words.
Zhang Xun's information about having a "master" was actually something he proactively shared with the children.
Children speak without restraint, and their words and actions depend entirely on what you tell them. They will use their imagination to tell others, and even talk at length in front of adults, pretending to know a lot.
As more people talk about it, more people naturally believe it. Even if no one has ever seen Zhang Jiao, they firmly believe that this person exists.
Some people might even boast that they've met the other person and keep exaggerating how strong that person is.
Gradually, the village chief and villagers came to believe that there was indeed a master named Zhang Jiao in the bamboo forest.
But does he really exist in this world?
It does not matter.
When you're out in the world, you give yourself your identity, don't you?