Chapter 44: Changshan Jade True Child

  "Energy sinks into the elixir field like a deep well!"

  This is exactly the first sentence of Zhao Yun's Lost Phoenix Technique, a technique that has been a mystery to the Zhao Yun school for generations. How did this old Taoist know about it?

  Liu Jiong suddenly reacted a bit, "You are......"

  The old man smiled slightly, "I am Changshan Yuzhenren, have you heard of me, Gongzi?"

  Liu Xuan's heart was racing with excitement, and indeed it was him, Zhao Yun's master Changshan Yuzhen, whom he had heard Zhao Yun mention before. He was at least a hundred years old, but unexpectedly, the one standing in front of him was this white-haired and youthful-looking old Taoist priest. Liu Xuan immediately knelt down on both knees, respectfully kowtowing his head, "Liu Xuan pays respects to Yuzhen Xianchang!"

  This old Taoist was none other than Zhao Yun's master, Yu Zhenren, also known as Yu Zhengzi. He lived in Changshan County and cultivated himself on Luofeng Mountain. This year he is already eighty-seven years old. He has a way of cultivating immortality, although he is nearly ninety years old, but his physical condition is like that of a middle-aged person, his spirit is very sharp, and when walking on the mountain path, it's as if flying. Therefore, local people all call him Yu Shenxian.

  He received a letter from his beloved apprentice Zhao Yun twenty days ago, begging him to come and guide Liu Xuan's martial arts. In the letter, Zhao Yun praised Liu Xuan's excellent talent and even wanted to surpass himself, which moved Jade True Man, who had not asked about the world for a long time, and he specially rushed to Xiangyang.

  Zhao Yun was not self-taught, he was originally the son of a hunter in Taihang Mountain. At the age of 14, he caught a mother wolf alive with a rope and released it because he pitied the little wolves. He was seen by Yu Zhenren, who thought Zhao Yun had a compassionate heart, so he took him as his disciple. After five years of hard training, Zhao Yun finally mastered an extraordinary martial art.

  Zhuo Zhenren had already prepared for his closed-door meditation, but a letter from his beloved disciple Zhao Yun made him ultimately unable to cut off his worldly thoughts and he went south alone to Jingzhou.

  Yu Zhenren smiled and helped Liu Xuan up, he had actually been in Xiangyang for several days, outside the north city he saw Liu Xuan bravely saving Gan Ning, his impression of Liu Xuan was extremely good.

  However, Liu Xuan cut off the horse thief's hand with one knife, but Yu Zhenren felt that Liu Xuan's murderous heart was a bit stronger, which made him somewhat regretful.

  "Let's go outside the city and talk!"

  Yu Zhenren smiled and rode the strong horse, galloping out of the city. At this time, Liu Xuan had no time to care about Cai Zhong's theft of the horse, and hurriedly urged his horse to chase after Yu Zhenren, following him out of the city.

  Although Liu Xuan's time learning martial arts was not long, he had already caught a glimpse of the doorway. The Luofeng Gongfa given to him by Zhao Yun allowed him to quickly concentrate his strength and burst out with power. His subtle use of power also made his knife technique unpredictable and elusive, as if spirits were coming and going.

  However, Liu Xuan's own strength was insufficient, making it difficult for him to become a top-notch martial general no matter how cleverly he used his energy. This is the principle that a skilled woman cannot cook without rice. Strength is like rice; without a solid foundation of power, techniques can be clever but still unable to withstand truly powerful martial artists.

  Liu Jue was eight feet tall, similar in build to Zhao Yun, but while Zhao Yun could easily lift a stone animal weighing over 1,500 pounds, Liu Jue's maximum was only around 400 pounds, which is the difference between their strengths.

  And the cultivation of strength needs to start from an early age, transforming the human body's muscles and bones, making the skeletal muscles more robust, the muscles stronger and more powerful, fully tapping into human potential.

  If one doesn't build a strong foundation from an early age, it's destined to be difficult to become a great general on the battlefield when grown up. Just like Liu Jue, who also hunted in the mountains since childhood and had superior speed and agility, but he could only become a distinguished soldier among ordinary soldiers, with his greatest achievement being able to kill two Cao army cavalrymen.

  Liu Xuan also knew that his biggest problem was that he started practicing martial arts too late, at the age of 16, and had already missed out on the foundational training from a young age, with his muscles and bones having basically taken shape.

  This made him extremely disheartened, but in Wuchang City, a sentence that Zhao Yun had said to him gave Liu Jue a glimmer of hope.

  I didn't start learning martial arts until I was fourteen and it took me five years to master it. Why can't you at sixteen?

  It was this sentence that made Liu Xuan see hope again, but where is the foreshadowing of Zhao Yun's sentence? He didn't understand until Yu Zhenren appeared, and Liu Xuan finally understood the profound meaning of Zhao Yun's sentence.

  At this time, Liu Jue was filled with gratitude towards Zhao Yun in his heart. Although Zhao Yun never showed his care for him, he truly cared about and helped him sincerely.

  Opportunity is right in front of him, whether he can seize this opportunity or not will determine Liu Xuan's future and fate in the Three Kingdoms era, where only the strong can survive.

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  On a small hill outside the city, Yu Zhenren stood in a pavilion with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the distant Han River. Behind him, Liu Xuan stood with his hands hanging down and his head lowered, like a student who had been late for school and was being punished to stand still.

  "Sixty years have passed, the rivers and mountains remain unchanged, but human affairs have undergone great changes."

  Yu Zhenren let out a soft sigh, not turning his head, and said in a low voice: "When I was young, I also stood here gazing at the Han River. The great river flows eastward, and in the blink of an eye, sixty years have passed."

  He turned back and smiled at Liu Xuan, "Can you understand this kind of vicissitudes of life mentality?"

  Liu Jiong nodded silently, "I can understand."

  "You're only sixteen, can you understand?" Yu Zhenren sat down with a few more interested and asked.

  "Sometimes I feel the flow of 1,800 years of history, seeing the world's separation and reunification, and witnessing the tragic battles against foreign invasions. I can also see my future self, but it is very vague and unclear. Sometimes I sit quietly for a day, closing my eyes to recall the flow of the historical river, and only then do I realize how small I am, as small as a grain of sand in the vast ocean."

  Yu Zhenren smiled, his smile exceptionally kind and gentle. He could deeply feel the sense of vicissitudes in Liu Xuan's words. He wasn't deliberately trying to please himself; perhaps he really had a certain understanding of history. This child was indeed a bit different from others.

  "Besides passing on the 'Luò Fèng Gōng Fǎ' to you, what else did Zǐ Lóng teach you?" Yù Zhēn Rén's smile faded as he began to speak seriously.

  "Reporting back to Master Zhenren, General Zhao also taught me the thirteen basic spear techniques."

  "So did you learn?"

  Liu Xuan shook his head, "I'm dull and only learned its form, but didn't grasp its spirit."

  Yu Zhenren's gaze fell on a large, smooth boulder that weighed around 600-700 catties. He waved his dusting sleeve at the boulder and said, "You try it out, see if you can lift that rock."

  Liu Xuan let out a bitter smile in his heart, how could he possibly move it, but he didn't understand Yu Zhenren's meaning, so he had to go forward and try with his hands. In an instant, all the strength in his body converged on his arms, and with a loud shout, the huge stone was slightly moved, but only lifted off the ground by an inch before heavily falling back down.

  Liu Xuan said with shame: "I am incompetent and cannot move this big stone."

  Yu Zhenren asked in surprise: "You really only practiced 'Luofeng Gongfa' for more than a month?"

  "The junior has known General Zhao for less than two months."

  Yu Zhenren nodded slowly, no wonder Zi Long said that Liu Xuan's talent was extremely high and not ordinary. He had only practiced for a month and a half, but he had already mastered the technique of instant force release. His own great apprentice took at least half a year to achieve this, indeed a rare genius!

  Yu Zhenren secretly admired him in his heart, but his face didn't reveal any expression. He slightly smiled and said: "Do you know why I asked you to move this stone?"

  "I don't know."

  "Actually, the thirteen spear techniques that Zilong taught you were also created by me, called 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear', which I created after observing the flight and striking postures of various birds for ten years."

  But if you don't learn the "Luò Fèng Gōng Fǎ", then the thirteen forms of spear techniques are meaningless. However, if you can't move this big stone, then you won't be able to truly understand the "Luò Fèng Gōng Fǎ". This is actually interconnected, and strength is the foundation of martial arts. No matter who it is, perhaps their methods of practicing martial arts are different, but the basics are all the same, do you understand?

  Liu Xuan's heart was stirred with unusual excitement. The great loss he had felt for more than a month was lifted by Yu Zhenren's one sentence.

  He slowly knelt down on both knees, tears in his eyes: "Liu Xue learned martial arts too late and can no longer lay the foundation. I beg of you, True Person, to teach me. I am willing to acknowledge the True Person as my master."

  Yu Zhenren gazed at Liu Xuan for a long time before slowly saying: "Do you know why I wanted you to spare that horse thief?"

  Liu Xuan did not respond, quietly waiting for Yu Zhenren to give him an answer. Yu Zhenren sighed, "This is actually the condition for me to accept a disciple, my disciples must have a heart of compassion."

  At this, Yu Zhenren smiled faintly again. "Of course, I don't require everyone to be as compassionate as a monk, but I hope my disciples can have a heart of compassion. That big man wasn't actually a thief, he was just carrying out orders, yet you cut off his wrist with one slash, leaving him crippled for life. The ones who will suffer are his wife and children."

  Gongsun Zan also wanted to learn from me back then, but I declined him because his murderous intentions were too strong. However, I still passed on the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix spear technique to him. Unfortunately, he didn't grasp my Falling Phoenix skill, so he only learned its form without mastering its essence. What a pity!

  Liu Xuan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and he already understood the meaning of Yu Zhenren's words, which was to refuse his request to become a disciple, because his heart was not compassionate enough.

  "But... I don't have the heart to kill like Gongsun Zan, I just want to make a name for myself, become a famous general of the late Han dynasty, save the people from suffering, and be as renowned as General Zhao." Liu Jue's tone was tinged with a hint of pleading, this was his only hope, he didn't want to lose this opportunity.

  "End of Han!"

  Yu Zhenren sighed, "Your words carry a sense of melancholy that is beyond your years, perhaps even you yourself are not aware of it. But you are indeed not Gong Sunzhan. You can understand my intentions and may even be able to help me in my cultivation. So, I am willing to consider you as a young friend."

  Liu Xuan lowered his head, feeling extremely disheartened. He only wanted to learn martial arts and not discuss the Tao. The Jade True Person smiled, "Don't worry! If Zi Long can change his body in three years of learning martial arts, I can also make you transform your tendons and wash your marrow. It's just a matter of how much time it takes, which depends on your efforts and talent."

  This sentence warmed Liu Jing's icy heart once again, he was so excited that tears burst out, and he knocked his head heavily, "I am willing to work a hundred times harder, not to disappoint the true person's teachings."

  Yu Zhenren nodded, "Tomorrow at the fifth watch, I will wait for you in front of the main gate of Qingzhutai Temple in Longzhong. Remember, this is your only chance. If you don't come on time, I'll return to Changshan Commandery."

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  The fifth watch is also called Pingri Wuyi, which refers to the period between 3:00 and 5:00 in the middle of the night, with the exact time being 4:00. Yu Zhenren asked Liu Xiang to wait for him at the front gate of Qingzhutai in Longzhong.

  There are many problems with this. Firstly, the city gate only opens at dawn, which is around 5:30 in the morning. If I go to Longzhong again tomorrow morning, I will definitely not make it on time.

  Secondly, he had never been to Longzhong before. It is said that it was more than 20 miles west of the city, and as for where Qingzhu Pavilion was, he knew nothing about it.

  So Liu Xuan made a decision and this afternoon he went to Longzhong, first to investigate Qingzhuo Temple, then stay overnight in Longzhong.

  The anxiety in his heart made Liu Xuan want to leave immediately, but after thinking twice, he still had to go back to the Liu mansion first and at least tell Meng Shu that he was going to Longzhong to visit a friend and would not return tonight.

  Having made up his mind, Liu Xuan galloped towards the Liu mansion at full speed, and by now he had already thrown the matter of Cai Zhong stealing the horse to the back of his mind.

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