Chapter 1154: Teacher Lu Yang
“Senior Brother Dai will send someone to pick me up, right?” Lu Yang mumbled to himself.
Senior Brother Dai is kind-hearted. Surely he won’t leave me to fend for myself in this perilous Extreme North.
“Before the sect sends someone, I have to keep a low profile. I’ll treat it as tempering myself in the mundane world.”
“Little Lu, are you in?” Murong You’s voice came from outside the door.
“Please enter.”
Murong You pushed the door open and cheerfully checked on Lu Yang. “Are you settling in well? If you run into any difficulties, just let me know. The name Murong You still carries some weight on this Dayu[1] Street.”
“It's okay, it’s okay. This place is not bad.”
Lu Yang poured tea for Murong You. I'm different from the pampered Immortal Fairy. I'm not particular about where I stay. The place just needs to be livable.
Murong You accepted the tea and suddenly paused. I could discern that Little Lu was at the Foundation Establishment Stage. But why can't I see through his cultivation level now?
Has he used some magical treasure that can conceal his cultivation?
As expected of someone from a great clan, he has no shortage of life-preserving treasures.
“Little Lu, this is what you'll be teaching in class.” Murong You took out an exquisite fist manual. It was the Tiger Roar Fist, the foundation of the Tiger Roar Sect.
Lu Yang only had to flip through it once to know that its principles were similar to the Lion Roar Art, but far simpler with lower barriers to entry. If placed in the Dao-Seeking Sect’s scripture library, such an item would sit alongside the Comprehensive Xiangsheng Comedy Compendium in the folk arts section.
“Mister, this fist manual isn't complete, right?”
“Good eye. This fist manual is only for mortals and Qi Training cultivators. For the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages, one must become an inner disciple of our Tiger Roar Sect.
“Actually, the version our sect possesses isn't complete. According to the ancestors, this Tiger Roar Fist originated from a mighty ancient expert who was inspired after observing the supreme sovereign of the Qiongqi Tribe roaring at the sun and moon. However, after being passed down to the present, only the first three levels remain. I have no idea when the complete manual will ever be recovered.”
Murong You sighed multiple times as he spoke, but his words invariably hinted at the Tiger Roar Sect's long history and rich heritage, encouraging Lu Yang to propose joining the sect himself.
Lu Yang perked up at the mention of someone familiar. “The supreme sovereign of the Qiongqi Tribe in the ancient era? The Little Tiger?”
“The Little Tiger’s father. She wasn't even a half-immortal then.”
“Oh, right, I remember now.”
The first time Lu Yang visited the Qiongqi Tribe, he had seen the phantom image of that ancient Qiongqi facing off against Zhu Tian’s, causing the latter to retreat in fright. It was a testament to how terrifying the ancient era was.
~~~
“Hello everyone, I'm Lu Doudou. I'll be in charge of teaching you the Tiger Roar Fist from now on. You can call me Teacher Lu.”
“Hello, Teacher Lu.”
It wasn’t just children who came to learn fist techniques. The students Lu Yang was currently teaching were all about fourteen or fifteen years old.
“Perform the fist technique once. Let me see how your training is coming along.”
The youths executed the movements earnestly. It was clear they had been putting their hearts into their practice.
This was normal. In the Extreme North, knowing martial arts meant you wouldn’t be pushed around. It was a means to improve one’s living circumstances.
Although the youths were conscientious, their movements were generally stiff and mechanical. Considering that their previous instructor had only been at the Qi Training Stage, it was understandable that they had turned out this way.
Lu Yang carefully observed each person’s movements, noting their flaws to facilitate targeted guidance in the future. Since I’ve become their teacher, I mustn’t just go through the motions.
“The movements are decent, but they lack aura,” Lu Yang critiqued coolly.
Despite noticing that the youths looked somewhat convinced, Lu Yang made no further comments. He simply produced a recording orb from his identity jade tablet. He channeled spirit energy into the recording orb, and a fiendish-looking little tiger appeared, startling the youths.
“Awoo—”
This was the Dreamlike Bubble Mirage that Jin Caiwei had filmed to promote their Qiongqi Tribe. The qiongqi depicted within were not conjured illusions but actual tribesmen playing themselves.
“Watch a few days of Dreamlike Bubble Mirages, then practice your fist techniques.”
“Is this the Dreamlike Bubble Mirage from the Central Continent?”
“But I heard that Dreamlike Bubble Mirages aren’t played on recording orbs...”
The youths had never had the opportunity to see Dreamlike Bubble Mirages before, let alone the latest edition. Their chatter quickly died down as they became engrossed in the Qiongqi Tribe’s legendary journey.
However, in Lu Yang’s perspective, the Qiongqi Tribe’s legendary journey featured in the Dreamlike Bubble Mirage was ridiculously exaggerated. But it doesn’t matter. It just needs to be entertaining.
“Who wants to watch this kind of thing? What a waste of time! I’d rather make use of the time to practice fists on my own!” A youth rose indignantly, utterly unable to make sense of Lu Yang’s methods. He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Lu Yang recalled that the youth who had left was called Gong Che, the one with the best fist technique among this batch.
~~~
“Alright, that’s it for today. Class is dismissed.” Lu Yang clapped his hands.
Just then, Murong You walked over and whispered, “Little Lu, we’ve been getting feedback from parents these days. They say you haven’t been properly teaching their children fist techniques and that you’re slacking off, spending half the class time playing Dreamlike Bubble Mirages.”
“Who? Gong Che’s parents?”
Lu Yang remembered that Gong Che had come every day, but once he saw the Dreamlike Bubble Mirage playing, he would turn and leave. Although Lu Yang had repeatedly suggested that he stay and watch for a while, insisting it would help with his fist technique, Gong Che was clearly prejudiced against Lu Yang and refused to listen.
“Never mind who; it’s not just one person who has brought this up. Little Lu, let me tell you something. We, cultivators, perform good deeds and form good karma; you can’t cut corners when teaching students, either.”
Lu Yang chuckled. “Gong Che is outside, isn’t he? Call him in and have him spar with one of the students. You’ll understand then.”
Lu Yang had already perceived with his spiritual consciousness that Gong Che’s parents were outside as well. Both appeared to be Qi Training cultivators.
“Fine.”
Murong You called in Gong Che and his family. Gong Che’s parents held some reverence for Lu Yang, a Foundation Establishment expert, but Gong Che was young and headstrong, paying no heed to such things.
The students who had been about to leave noticed the spectacle and decided to stay. Those who had already left the martial arts school were called back by their companions.
“What, you have a problem with my teaching methods?” Lu Yang looked at Gong Che with a cryptic smile.
“You’re wasting our time!” Gong Che fumed, but Lu Yang remained unruffled.
“Then pick any one of your classmates and exchange a couple of moves with him.”
“Fine! Shi Yi, let us spar!”
Shi Yi wasn’t surprised about being called. After all, his proficiency in fist techniques was second only to Gong Che’s.
The two squared off. Gong Che struck first, his fists whipping through the air like wind, producing faint sounds.
“Awoo!”
To everyone’s amazement, Shi Yi had unleashed a tiger’s roar. Compared to just a few days ago, he had practically been reborn, shedding his mortal body and bones.
Ten days before Lu Yang’s arrival, the two had sparred, and Gong Che had consistently outmatched Shi Yi. Yet in just ten days, their positions had reversed—Shi Yi was now keeping Gong Che on the defensive!
If anyone was the most flabbergasted, it was undoubtedly Murong You. Shi Yi’s ability to produce a tiger’s roar meant he had truly achieved a significant attainment in Tiger Roar Fist. Someone of this caliber might not appear even once in cohort after cohort of students.
The only issue was that Shi Yi’s tiger roar sounded a bit immature, not quite like that of a ferocious adult tiger.
1. “Dayu” means heavy rain. ☜
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