Scripture of Days Past

As Cheng Ming and his three companions fled from the cafeteria, some of the other trainees began glowering at Chu Qiguang with open hostility. They were clearly displeased by his deliberate humiliation of Cheng Ming, while others were astonished by his combat prowess.

"How could you humiliate Cheng Ming like this, Chu Qiguang?" Chi Shude reprimanded with tightly furrowed brows. "How is he supposed to face everyone after what you just did to him?"

Zhang Haizhu immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this. As a borderline non-believer himself, he already saw Chu Qiguang as a comrade, and their bond was further strengthened by the fact that they were staying in the same room.

"Why didn't I hear you say anything when they were trying to humiliate Chu Qiguang?" he rebuked. "If you ask me, all Chu Qiguang did was give them a taste of their own medicine!"

"I'm saying this out of consideration for everyone here," Chi Shude said. "We've all been followers of the Profound Origin Dao Lord from birth, so it's understandable that they reacted a little aggressively after finding out that there's a non-believer among us. We should be treating them with more patience and understanding, not humiliation."

The other trainees all nodded in agreement. They were all followers of the Profound Origin Dao Lord, so they were naturally quick to side with Cheng Ming.

Zhang Haizhu's eyes were filled with disdain. His entire family had been destroyed by the relentless exploitation of the Daoist temple and the local officials, and that was why he had become a bandit alongside the other survivors from his village. Thus, he harbored nothing but resentment and animosity toward people like Chi Shude, who had grown up in a Daoist temple, and Cheng Ming, who came from a wealthy clan.

However, before he had a chance to rebuke Chi Shude, Li Chu gave his sleeve a forceful tug from behind. Only then did he notice that all of the other trainees had turned their attention to him. He knew that he risked turning everyone against him if he didn't hold his tongue, so he remained silent.

As for Chu Qiguang, he was feeling much better now that the symptoms of his condition had faded.

I didn't choose the thug life. The thug life chose me! I just want to be left in peace, but the world is always out to get me, he sighed to himself.

He didn't bother to bicker with Chi Shude and the others. Instead, he simply gave Zhang Haizhu a friendly nod before sitting down for his meal.

Chi Shude was not pleased at being ignored by Chu Qiguang, but he could only sit down and continue eating.

The other trainees were also very disgruntled, but after seeing what Chu Qiguang had just done to Cheng Ming, none of them dared to challenge him.

After sitting back down to eat, Chi Shude began to reflect on what he had just witnessed.

Chu Qiguang may be a non-believer, but he's undoubtedly an incredibly formidable martial artist. If I have to face him during the examination at the end of this month, my chances of victory are probably very slim. I need to find cultivation arts that can counter his abilities. He's clearly very good at force redirection, and his physical constitution is also nothing to scoff at either. If I want to defeat him, I'll have to use attacks that can concentrate a great deal of power into a single point, such as finger or sword techniques.

Chi Shude knew that there was no way that he could surpass the fourth-state Li He before reaching the fourth state himself. He also didn't want to make an enemy out of Jiang Longyu, seeing as the latter was one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals.

However, Chu Qiguang was a formidable martial artist with exceptional aptitude, yet he was also a non-believer. In Chi Shude's eyes, that made him the perfect stepping stone. By defeating Chu Qiguang, he would be able to enhance his own reputation and overcome a powerful rival at the same time.

I'll ask Instructor Yang Ling if he can recommend any cultivation arts that I can use to defeat Chu Qiguang.

In the wake of that debacle, all the trainees finished their meals in tense silence before quickly departing.

Not long after Chu Qiguang left, someone kicked open the cafeteria doors with a loud thump. Chi Shude looked up with a displeased expression but decided to hold his tongue upon seeing that the intruder was Jiang Longyu.

"Where's the fight? Isn't there a fight going on here?" Jiang Longyu yelled. "Where's everyone at? Is it already over?"

"It ended ages ago," Zhang Haizhu scoffed.

Jiang Longyu had rushed here in a fit of excitement after hearing that there was a fight, eager to show off his abilities. He was sorely disappointed to have missed the opportunity.

"What happened? Who won?" he asked.

Zhang Haizhu immediately gave him a heavily embellished account of the fight, taking particular care to describe how Chu Qiguang had scratched the word "trash" onto Cheng Ming's chest.

Jiang Longyu's eyes instantly lit up.

You can do that?! Why didn't I think of that? Scratching words onto someone's chest has to be the ultimate form of humiliation!

"I have to admit that Chu Qiguang is an extremely formidable martial artist," Chi Shude mused, intentionally trying to goad Jiang Longyu. "Li He is probably the only one among us who can defeat him. I was skeptical after hearing that he's supposedly the number one third-state martial artist under the heavens, but I'm beginning to believe it now."

Jiang Longyu immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this, then scoffed, "He did manage to defeat me once several months ago, but that was only thanks to a massive stroke of luck when the stage collapsed. Since then, I've already left him far behind. He's allowed himself to become distracted from his cultivation, and he's regressed severely since our last encounter. If you don't believe me, then just wait here..."

As Jiang Longyu rushed out of the cafeteria, Chi Shude sneered inwardly. He may be one of the Eight Han Resurgence Warriors, but his youth and arrogance make him incredibly predictable and easy to manipulate. Looks like Chu Qiguang is going to have a tough fight on his hands now.

Around fifteen minutes later, a trainee rushed into the cafeteria and yelled, "Jiang Longyu went to Cheng Ming's room and beat up all four of them, then scratched the word 'worthless' onto Cheng Ming's back! He says writing on Cheng Ming's back is much more humiliating than writing on his chest, so he's completely outdone Chu Qiguang!"

Chi Shude immediately choked on his tea and erupted into a coughing fit.

He knew that Cheng Ming's future in the Demon Vanquishing Department was all but ruined. Once those gashes formed scars, those two words would be permanently etched onto his body, humiliating him for as long as he lived.

***

During the afternoon martial arts lesson, Chu Qiguang requested to go to the courtyard that housed the boulder so he could continue cultivating the Primordial High Zenith Qigong. Yang Ling was naturally more than happy to see this, and he quickly sent Chu Qiguang on his way.

Shortly after Chu Qiguang's departure, Chi Shude approached Yang Ling and requested a cultivation art that would allow him to defeat an opponent with a formidable physical constitution and a high level of skill in force redirection. He proclaimed that this opponent was "a friend" of his.

"Are you talking about Chu Qiguang?" Yang Ling asked, raising an eyebrow.