Chapter 5: The Monkey

Wang Jingyuan still didn’t understand the meridians and was confused by the terminology. But at this moment, he knew exactly how to cultivate the "Huashan Basic Internal Skill": what to visualize upon inhalation, where to focus attention upon exhalation, the subtle variations in breath’s strength, speed, and depth, and the precise direction in which to guide the flow of qi generated by breathing. He understood it all.

What surprised him even more was that once he began practicing the "Huashan Basic Internal Skill," he couldn’t stop. His body started to cultivate spontaneously without his conscious control. This gave Wang Jingyuan a faint sense of déjà vu — was this... AFK?

Great! Wang Jingyuan loved AFK. Not just him, but most gamers enjoyed it because AFK meant earning rewards effortlessly.

Most games require players to perform operations to gain benefits. But with AFK, players could free themselves from repetitive actions, still gaining rewards without any input — like passive income during sleep.

Unfortunately, to maintain player engagement, fewer games offer AFK features nowadays, so Wang Jingyuan often had to rely on mouse macros… but that’s beside the point.

He opened his eyes and looked at Yue Buqun, who was also studying him with curiosity.

“What are you staring at, Old Deng?”

“Ahem... I wanted to ask if Immortal Elder had anything I should explain… or repeat?”

“No, I have already learned it.”

Yue Buqun was not too surprised; after all, he was an immortal, and quickly mastering mundane martial arts was nothing extraordinary.

Then Yue Buqun drew his sword and began demonstrating the Huashan sword techniques. Similarly, information appeared before Wang Jingyuan.

[Yue Buqun is teaching you the "Huashan Sword Technique"]

[Learn? Yes/No]

Wang Jingyuan glanced at the prompt.

[Yes]

Just like before, Wang Jingyuan instantly mastered the Huashan sword technique.

Without a sword at hand, he grabbed a chopstick from the table and began mimicking the moves — perfectly standard Huashan swordsmanship.

Seeing that Wang Jingyuan had grasped the sect’s foundational skills, Yue Buqun excused himself and went to the backyard to find Ning Zhongze.

After meeting Ning Zhongze, Yue Buqun pondered for a moment before telling his wife, “Junior sister, this man is named Wang Jingyuan. He is not an immortal descended to the mortal realm, but someone bearing an immortal destiny.”

“Someone bearing an immortal destiny?”

“He was chosen by an immortal but must still undergo tribulations in the mortal world. Once his merits are complete, the immortal will take him away to cultivate. I took the liberty of accepting him into the Huashan sect. Since he must undergo tribulations, why not let him have them here at Huashan? Being favored by an immortal surely marks him as extraordinary.”

Yue Buqun half-jokingly recited the excuse he had just concocted. After all, he regarded Wang Jingyuan as the key to Huashan’s resurgence, and secrets should be kept — even from his own wife.

Ning Zhongze, who had always trusted Yue Buqun, thought for a moment and said, “What about the other disciples...?”

“Of course, they must not know. Just tell them Jingyuan is a newly accepted disciple,” Yue Buqun replied, pausing before adding, “But privately warn them that Jingyuan comes from an exceptional background and they should treat him with respect. No need to say more.”

Ning Zhongze nodded. “Understood. But what about the formal apprenticeship ceremony...?”

Yue Buqun waved his hand dismissively. “Consider it done.”

When the other disciples woke for morning training, Ning Zhongze announced the news. The disciples were puzzled. Even though Huashan had declined somewhat, accepting a new disciple was still a very big event.

Normally, when a new disciple was accepted, preparations for the apprenticeship ceremony took a long time. But Ning Zhongze’s announcement was that they already had a new junior brother, not that one would be joining in a few days.

That meant the new disciple had already been accepted.

They had all been on Huashan recently, and both their master and mistress had not left the mountain. When then was the ceremony held? Could it have been done secretly last night?

Though full of questions, Yue Buqun’s authority was unquestioned, and everything he said was law. The disciples accepted the fact that they had a new junior brother.

Among them, Yue Lingshan was the happiest. She had been the youngest junior sister for as long as she could remember, and it was finally time to shift that position.

Relying on her identity as Ning Zhongze’s daughter, she skipped morning training and pestered Ning Zhongze to take her to see the new junior brother. Ning Zhongze couldn’t refuse and agreed, thinking Wang Jingyuan would eventually meet the others anyway.

Yue Lingshan bounced along behind Ning Zhongze, from the Lofty Spirit Hall all the way to the sect leader’s residence. She saw Yue Buqun seated at a desk chatting with a handsome youth and felt a twinge of doubt.

This must be the junior brother, but why was he seated beside her father instead of standing? She and her senior brothers never dared sit when their father was seated.

Also, her father’s expression was different from when he lectured the disciples — less stern, filled with kindness, and even a hint of... caution?

Yue Lingshan wondered if she was imagining things, but then her attention was captured by Wang Jingyuan’s refined, sword-browed, starry-eyed appearance.

Such a handsome young man... her junior brother.

Her eyes lit up as she approached Yue Buqun and asked, “Is this the junior brother?”

Though she was addressing Yue Buqun, her gaze was fixed intensely on Wang Jingyuan. Yue Buqun saw her infatuated expression and, after some thought, said, “Yes, he is my newly accepted disciple, Wang Jingyuan. I have already taught him our sect’s martial arts. From now on, it is your duty to urge him to practice diligently.”

Wang Jingyuan’s eyes brightened as he looked at Yue Lingshan. This must be the wooden training dummy the sect provided to practice offensive techniques, right?

“All right, Daddy,” Yue Lingshan replied sweetly, without considering that she, the most playful one in Huashan, needed her parents to constantly supervise her training — hardly in a position to supervise others.

At this moment, she was utterly entranced by Wang Jingyuan’s noble and striking features. Jingyuan? Truly a man worthy of his name.

But just a few days later, she would painfully realize how utterly mistaken she had been.

By the pool below Reflection Cliff, Wang Jingyuan was wholly absorbed in practicing sword techniques, unfazed by Yue Lingshan fleeing in anger. Based on his experience, it wouldn’t be long before Yue Lingshan automatically respawned nearby.

A boy with a monkey perched on his shoulder watched Yue Lingshan’s retreating figure and shook his head as he approached the pool.

This was Lu Dayou, known as “Lu Monkey,” a disciple of Huashan.

When Wang Jingyuan first arrived, everyone could clearly see Yue Lingshan’s infatuation. As Linghu Chong’s number one fan, Lu Dayou couldn’t bring himself to hate his junior sister for shifting her affections; instead, he hated Wang Jingyuan.

However, within a few days, that hatred vanished. Lu Monkey believed there was no chance between the junior brother and junior sister. It wasn’t due to any peculiar preference of the junior brother — he was just... rare in a certain way.

Lu Monkey even wondered if his junior brother, blessed with such good looks, would ever find a wife in his lifetime.

Wang Jingyuan turned to see Lu Monkey, sheathed his sword, and waved. “Oi, Beast King Hunter, you’re here? Where’s your baby? Bring it out so I can pet it.”

Lu Monkey sighed, “Junior brother, you’re talking nonsense again.”

Still, he whistled, and a small monkey jumped from his back onto his shoulder.

Wang Jingyuan pulled a handful of dried fruits from somewhere and beckoned the monkey. The little creature nimbly leapt onto Wang Jingyuan’s arm and began eating.

Wang Jingyuan smiled as he rubbed the monkey’s head in mock anger. He had been craving this monkey for a long time. On the first day at Huashan, he had seen monkey troops living on the mountain, but none were like this one.

This monkey was intelligent and could understand human commands. Unfortunately, it belonged to Lu Monkey, who refused to part with it.

“Look, an airplane.” Wang Jingyuan pointed behind Lu Dayou. Though Lu Dayou didn’t know what an airplane was, he turned to look.

A white streak flashed through the air, and with perfect form, a white rainbow piercing the sun technique was executed in Wang Jingyuan’s hand, the sword thrusting straight toward Lu Dayou’s neck.