Dragon Canon

When class was over, and Wei Yuan returned to his house, he saw that Zhang Sheng was waiting for him.

He walked over to his master and paid his respects. After asking him a little about his homework, Zhang Sheng said smilingly, “Your grandmaster exited his secluded cultivation earlier today because he wishes to see you. He’s very happy that you earned the Skyblue Hall a lot of face. This’ll be a good opportunity to pry some of his valuables off of him!”

Wei Yuan looked forward to this as a matter of course. Thus, he performed his ablutions and tidied his appearance. Once he was ready, Zhang Sheng summoned a palm-sized mini sword that instantly swelled to two zhang long. The scholar then helped him onto the sword before taking off into the sky.

This was the first time the boy flew on a sword, so he was both excited and terrified to say the least. Looking down at the rapidly shrinking courtyard and valley, he couldn’t help but feel weak in the knees. He also felt like he might fall off the sword at any moment.

It was at this moment Zhang Sheng tapped him on the back and instantly flooded his entire body with warmth. He suddenly felt comfortable beyond words like he was basking in a pool of warm water. Not only that, he also felt like he had become one with the sword—he was the sword, and the sword was him. Naturally, he no longer feared that he would fall off.

Zhang Sheng wasn’t moving swiftly. From time to time, someone would fly past them and disappear in the blink of an eye.

They flew higher and higher toward a treacherous peak in the sky. Moments later, they finally reached the foot of the mountain and landed on a plaza paved using green jade. The scholar then put away his sword and led Wei Yuan up a winding stone path. They passed through forests and creeks until they ultimately arrived at a temple.

The most eye-catching feature of the temple was easily the two massive, red jade pillars that formed the front entrance. Fire was visibly rising from inside the pillar, and Wei Yuan could feel the terrible heat waves even from a far, far distance. Still, it was manageable thanks to the thin blue rain that his master had summoned to protect him.

The main door swung open on its own, and a powerful voice boomed from inside the temple. “Come in!”

Wei Yuan was filled with anticipation and anxiety. While attending his classes, he heard a lot about the Skyblue Hall in the past two days. He learned that True Lord Xuan Yue rarely took to the battlefield personally in recent years, but when he did, it was always a world-shaking affair. He also learned that Trueman Fen Hai was the Truemen with the greatest amount of achievements and the most impressive battle successes. Almost no one could stop his sky-scorching, sea-boiling Daoist arts. Naturally, he was pretty excited to meet such a legendary figure.

Zhang Sheng led him past the main hall and into the backyard. That was when Wei Yuan saw an old man in Daoist attire standing next to a pond and feeding his fishes. The pond wasn’t filled with water, however. Instead, it was ablaze with fire and lava. The fishes swimming in the pond looked like they were enjoying the time of their lives.

The old Daoist slowly turned around and rested his gaze on Wei Yuan. At that moment, he felt a fiery stream entering from the top of his head and filling his whole body instantly. He was this close from combusting from the inside out!

It was at this moment a jade toad appeared inside Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness and opened its mouth. Incredibly, it consumed all of the fiery stream in one gulp. Its whole body turned crimson red in an instant, but wisps of black qi flashed in its eyes, and the unnatural complexion gradually faded away into nothing. In the end, all that was left behind on its lustrous white body was a red line.

All this lasted only an instant, but Wei Yuan was steaming from the top of his head and sweating all over. He also felt as thirsty as a man trekking through a desert. That said, he also felt a lot lighter and cleaner as if he had shed much of his impurities.

The old Daoist looked greatly astonished. He asked, “Did you just swallow the heavenly fire I gave you to refine your foundation?”

Both the old Daoist and Zhang Sheng saw what happened in Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness as clear as day. The scholar had never seen something like this before and so couldn’t make sense of it immediately. As for the old Daoist, he appeared before him in one step and examined him carefully. His gaze penetrated the boy like a pair of swords as he looked him up and down, scanning each and every inch.

Wei Yuan looked up. It was only now he managed to get a clear look of the old Daoist. He wasn’t a tall or muscular man by any means. One might even call him wizened. His face was perfectly average except the shade of dark red that colored the tip of his brow as well. All in all, he looked just like an ordinary old man from the mountains. One simply could not imagine that he had anything to do with the famous Trueman Fen Hai at all.

A smile gradually spread across the old Daoist’s face. “His foundation has not yet been properly established, yet his image has already gained a life of its own. You did well to find him, disciple. I guess the few years you squandered aren’t squandered after all.”

Zhang Sheng frowned. “Wait a second. What do you mean by that?”

The old man, also known as Trueman Fen Hai, replied, “I’m saying that the future of our Skyblue Hall now rests on this grand-disciple of mine!”

The scholar looked aghast. “Did you just write me off?”

Still staring at Wei Yuan, the Trueman grinned like a flower in full bloom and said, “The rear waves push the front waves forward, and the front waves eventually die on[1]... ahem. What I mean to say is that you’re a part of the front waves now, disciple. It’s just how things are! Just accept it for what it is and move on!”

Zhang Sheng didn’t look happy to say the least. “You’re a ‘front wave’ yourself, you know.”

Trueman Fen Hai stroked his beard. “Eh, it’ll take a couple decades at least before this little rear wave reaches full maturity, but it’s not a long time. I can afford to wait that much!”

He then grabbed the boy by the waist and lifted him into the air. “Let me hold you for a bit, okay? Good boy!”

Unfortunately, Trueman Fen Hai was a short man, and Wei Yuan was pretty tall for his age. As a result, it looked pretty awkward.

Zhang Sheng huffed with a furrowed brow. “You’re not even trying to hide your favoritism, aren’t you? Which part of him is better than me, pray tell?”

The Trueman replied without even looking back at him. “He’s more attractive than you!”

“You—!”

Zhang Sheng nearly choked on nothing when he heard this. His long hair floated on its own, and bluish sword qi flickered faintly behind his eyes. “This is my shell, dammit! Are you seriously comparing him to my shell?! My real appearance is way better than his, no?”

Trueman Fen Hai was still watching Wei Yuan as he replied, “Whatever you say. I don’t want to hurt your pride. Anyway, your boy absolutely crushed the martial test and took the sails out of every aristocratic family. This hasn’t happened for thousands of years. Forget me, even Founder Xuan Yue is brimming with pride. Surely you understand the significance of this?”

“Like he could’ve crushed his opponents without my Outlawed by Heaven and Earth! Also, what the heck did you mean by hurting my pride? Since when is my true appearance inferior to anyone’s?!”

The scholar was losing his shit at this point.

The Trueman casually put a knife through his heart. “You are the inventor, yes. But can you use it?”

Zhang Sheng’s face turned as black as the bottom of the frying pan. Try as he might, he simply couldn’t utter another word. There was a reason Trueman Fen Hai’s mouth was “praised” to be on the same level as his heavenly fire.

Trueman Fen Hai finally had his fill and set Wei Yuan back on the ground. He said, “Your boy’s otherworldly fortune is quite extraordinary, but as of now, it is difficult to say if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. You made the right choice teaching him the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting. There’s no harm in converting his fortune into extra foundations after all. That said, otherworldly fortune ultimately hails from another world, so the foundation created from it is inevitably flimsy. Additional effort will be required to compensate for it.”

Trueman Fen Hai stroked his beard and fell into deep thought. Moments later, he spoke up again with a grimace, “Alright, let’s do it this way. I still have three Chonglou Sea Pacifying Pills with me. They are exceptionally effective in compensating for foundational weaknesses. Once he’s consumed them all, he would have to eat a Vigor Nurturing Pill once per three days. That, I leave it to you, his shifu, to figure it out!”

Zhang Sheng grunted, “So, I need to prepare his pills because I’m not as good-looking as him?”

The Trueman threw him a look. “Yes, you should. Is that so wrong? Did I skimp on you when you were forging your Dao Foundation? Heavens know I shamelessly begged and borrowed from everyone I knew to gather the materials you need. The immortal silver I borrowed for you alone took three years to repay!”

The scholar’s features softened, and he ultimately sighed. “Fine. I’ll find a way.”

Trueman Fen Hai harrumphed. “Now we’re talking. Oh right, that reminds me. I’ve submitted Outlawed by Heaven and Earth to the Palace, but you’re probably not going to receive much from it. After all, your boy is probably the only one who can use it.”

Zhang Sheng replied, “It was something I created in a moment of passion. I never intended for anyone to use it except Yuan’er. Speaking of which, where is the founder? Is he still in secluded cultivation?”

“The day your boy took his martial test, the founder fought against three on his own and suffered some minor injuries. Otherwise, the aristocratic families would have interfered, and your boy would never have clinched first place in the exam.”

The scholar looked taken aback. “He fought against three? I only sensed two.”

Trueman Fen Hai grunted unhappily, “Of course you didn’t. The Bao Clan’s Bao Manshan hid in the Beyond and ambushed him there.”

Zhang Sheng fell quiet for a moment before saying seriously, “I’ve remembered this. You should remember this as well, Yuan’er!”

Wei Yuan nodded firmly.

Trueman Fen Hai’s face split into a wide grin again when he saw this. “What are you doing? Don’t set a bad example for the boy! We at the Skyblue Hall aren’t the type to hold grudges!”

The longer he looked at Wei Yuan, the more his heart grew fonder. In the end, he put a hand on the boy’s head and said, “Three hundred years isn’t too late for a True Lord to take revenge, boy, so feel free to wait until you have attained mastery of your Dao. Also, remember not to go too far when the time comes, and you ‘run into’ Bao Manshan. We’ve known each other for a long time after all. Just break a few legs, and it’ll be enough[2]!”

1. The beach. The second half of this idiom isn’t part of the original. It was added afterward. Just a bit of Chinese black humor. ☜

2. Yep. Just break three of his legs. Totally not vengeful. ☜