Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World

Chapter 54: King and the Master Teacher

Li Qinglin took the throne.

When a king who didn’t even care about the invasion of Xihuang and asked his son to deal with it, one could only imagine how weak his control over the army was. Li Qinglin didn’t even have to use any force and only temporarily controlled the royal palace to avoid any incidents because of what had happened to him. That was all he needed to do. The king then announced his abdication.

The decree had been sent out when Li Qinglin was throwing a tantrum at home.

No matter how little he cared about state affairs, the king was still a standard politician. He knew if he didn’t take the initiative, he probably wouldn’t even survive this. By abdicating, he could live happily as the retired father of the king and focus on his cultivation.

Of course, he had no idea that his days were numbered.

This voluntary abdication made Li Qinglin’s succession much smoother in the legal aspect, which enabled him to avoid a lot of possible upheavals and turbulence. While the capital city was busy searching for the remaining confederates of Donghuazi, the “evil priest of Xihuang”, Li Qinglin became the new king.

Qin Yi stayed at home and cultivated instead of going to the feast.

Li Qinglin had taken the throne without hesitation, which meant he wouldn’t give it up that easily.

Qin Yi felt conflicted about it as well. The best option for Li Qinglin now was to give up the throne and take up cultivation. However, Li Qingjun wouldn’t like that option because it meant that she would have to become the queen, a job she didn’t want, and take up the greatest burden.

If Li Qinglin wanted the throne, so be it… With him alive, Li Qingjun still had more than one option.

Qin Yi used to think that Donghuazi was his archenemy outside, but he now saw that Donghuazi didn’t matter. The most important thing was what he had experienced and gained during the process.

After all, this wasn’t a video game where one would gain points just by defeating the boss.

This was real life.

Even if Liusu could treat this life as a game, Qin Yi couldn’t do it. He had to admit that he was genuinely worried about Li Qinglin’s mentality, Li Qingjun’s future, and the fate of Nanli.

Minghe was right. He was too deep in this show that he was trapped.

His greatest hope lay in the reply from Minghe’s sect, which might turn everything around. That way, everyone would be happy and a lot of troubles would be saved.

Before that, there was no point in thinking about other things, and he might as well focus on his cultivation.

At least in that respect, defeating a boss would give him points.

It had been over three months since he transmigrated to this world and he had been practicing martial arts since day one under Liusu’s instruction, which had been obviously more effective than the approach the original Qin Yi used. He had also been taking herbal baths that were infused with ingredients that could temper the body and nourish internal energy, but he didn’t achieve much. Instead of making rapid progress, he couldn’t even make it to the Innate Stage.

Naturally, it was because of the deep resentment this body still had, which had been hindering his practice in both martial arts and cultivation. Now that he had killed both enemies with his own hands and contributed to the downfall of Donghuazi, he had taken his revenge and the resentment was all gone. Had it not been for Li Qinglin’s incident, which had dampened his joy of success, he should’ve made a breakthrough when Donghuazi died.

But that wouldn’t be a problem. All he needed was to focus his mind, meditate, and get rid of the distracting thoughts brought about by Li Qinglin’s incident.

In a semi-conscious state, a warm sensation spread out from his dantian and travelled through his body. It rushed down his spine all the way to his yongquan and all the way up to his tianling. He felt as if the gates to heaven were open and a divine bridge had been connected. The inner universe opened up and integrated with the outside world, achieving the great cycle.

It was as if vital essence was automatically seeping into his body through his pores, permeating through his skin and sinking deep into his bone marrow. Qin Yi felt that he didn’t even have to breathe to keep himself alive.

The Innate Stage.

Qin Yi opened his eyes.

He could see all the grains and lines on the stone doors of the quiet room.

The dust around him seemed to have been illuminated, and he could see all the motes he didn’t notice before.

The world had just become a lot clearer.

This feeling almost touched him from within because he knew he was one step closer to the origin of this world.

All cultivators, Taoist priests or warriors alike, must think differently from ordinary people… And could this lucid understanding of the world be considered otherworldly?

Qin Yi threw a punch at the empty air.

Internal energy gushed out, making a sound that resembled a tiger’s roar.

He was finally experiencing what Li Qinglin had been feeling. There were qualitative leaps in the improvements in his body, the enhancement of his strength, the vigor of his spirit, and even the exuberance of his vitality. Qin Yi was certain that if Li Qinglin hadn’t reached this stage, his sudden senile state would’ve rendered him unable to walk.

As expected, this breakthrough had benefited his spiritual essence as well. It used to be just a tiny streak, but now it grew like grass.

Liusu’s voice rang out in his head. “Once you’ve reached the Innate Stage, you can sense your mental faculties to some extent. Pure martial arts practitioners can’t use their mental power yet, but since you also have spiritual essence, you can take a shortcut…”

Something clicked in Qin Yi’s head. “You mean…”

“I’ll teach you a manual, and you can see if you can communicate with me through your mind, which means you can deliver your messages to the spiked club with your mental power. I think you’ll be able to do that one thing.”

Qin Yi was elated. Without the ability to talk in his mind, it looked so silly whenever he talked to a spiked club, which made him look like he was talking to himself. And he couldn’t even do that when other people were around, which was quite frustrating. If he could communicate with Liusu without speaking aloud, it would please him more than if his strength was doubled.

After some careful examination, he could indeed sense his vast, boundless mental space; however he didn’t know how to use it. Following Liusu’s manual, he thought he had achieved something and had just enough power to manage something… He then tried to send the spiked club a message with his mind. “Clubbie?”

Liusu remained silent.

“Did I fail?” Qin Yi wouldn’t give up and sent another message. “Let me try again.”

“Stop that. I just couldn’t be bothered to answer,” Liusu said. “Don’t even try to show off this petty trick when Minghe is around. She will be able to instantly tell that you’re talking to the club in your hand. It’d be so humiliating.”

Qin Yi continued playing with his mental power. “I see that you’re getting bolder around Minghe. Has your power returned to you a little?”

“Yes,” Liusu said indifferently. “Actually, I’ve been recovering continuously during the past three months, but this kind of self-recovery takes time, so I’ll need something to nourish my soul.”

Qin Yi said, “You should’ve told me. I could’ve asked the people of the crown prince’s residence to get some things for you when they were getting my materials.”

“I didn’t want to tell you,” Liusu said. “You were still on guard against me at that time, and you’d only be alarmed if you found out that I had been trying to nourish my soul.”

“Alright. I’ll start searching for them starting from today.” Rising to his feet, Qin Yi stretched and swept the spiked club across the air. “Clubbie, keep up your high spirits!”

Liusu was vexed.

A guard spoke outside his door. “Mr. Qin, His Majesty’s decree is here.”

His Majesty… It took Qin Yi a moment to realize that Li Qinglin was the king now. Fighting back his uneasiness, he went out of the room.

A eunuch stood outside and bowed obsequiously at Qin Yi. “Master Teacher, congratulations…”

Qin Yi frowned, “You’ve mistaken me for someone else. Donghuazi’s head is still on the pole.”

“There’s no mistake.” The eunuch unfolded his scroll, but the words on them weren’t ritualistic formalities—they were rather direct. “The king ascends the throne today, and the officials have been generously awarded. The first award goes to Qin Yi, who has been made the Supreme Sage Master Teacher of Nanli, and all remaining properties of the late Eternal Temple goes to the master teacher. Even this manor, which used to be the residence of the crown prince, has been given to the master teacher…”

The corners of Qin Yi’s mouth twitched and he was about to complain, but he ended up asking, “What remaining properties of the Eternal Temple?”

The eunuch smiled obsequiously. “Donghuazi, the evil priest, has been collecting treasures for years, and countless pieces are still sealed off in the vault. Master Teacher, we’re waiting for you to examine them…”

Looking at the spiked club, Qin Yi couldn’t turn the offer down. In the end, he sighed and said, “Please thank His Majesty for me.”

He suddenly sensed a pair of eyes on him. Turning around, he saw Li Qingjun watching him quietly from a few steps away.

Qin Yi felt embarrassed and was trying to find an excuse when Li Qingjun smiled. “Take them. You’re the only one who knows how to use them properly. I’m sure you want to use them to help my brother, right?”

What a wonderful girl! Qin Yi was so touched that he wanted to kiss her hard on the cheek right here in front of everyone. He said solemnly, “Don’t worry. I’m not Donghuazi.”