Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 7 – The transformation of the great furnace, nature becomes art

"Every word they said when they passed by me, I remember it clearly."

Su Yun's tone was also extremely calm: "After I went blind, I could only recognize people by their voices. If I hear their voices again, I will definitely recognize them."

At this time, rustling sounds came from the distant mountains and forests, and several foxes with bloodstained faces poked their heads out from under the trees.

"Xiao...Xiao Yun..." a fox called from afar, looking at Qiu Shuijing with some fear.

After last night's massacre, these fearless little foxes became a little afraid of humans.

Su Yun showed a happy expression and stood up, "Hua Er Ge? Are you still alive?"

It was a fox with black and yellow fur, and it emerged from under the tree with a few little foxes behind it. The little foxes held the tails of their companions in front of them, walking towards them with fear.

The leading Hua Hu looked at Qiu Shuijing with fear, confirming that he was not one of the people who slaughtered Huqiu Village, and then bravely led the remaining three little foxes closer.

Su Yun stood there, making Hua Hu and the three little foxes feel at ease. This young man was like their backbone, giving them a sense of reliance.

This feeling was not unfounded, but the influence Su Yun's calm and composed demeanor had on them after six or seven years of being together.

"...Some people from the city came this morning, saying that they didn't get any good deals in the Ghost Market, so they came to hunt demons. The gentleman argued with them, but they ignored him and only said that we would harm people..."

Su Yun listened quietly and asked, "Do you still remember their faces, Er Ge?"

Hua Hu shook his head, ashamed, "I was running away with my younger brother and sister and didn't have time to get a good look at their faces. I only remember one of them was very delicate, young, and wearing a red fiery robe. Suddenly, fire burst out behind him, and a divine bird flew out of the fire..."

Su Yun noted this feature and turned around to bow, "Does Mr. Shuijing's words still count?"

Qiu Shuijing looked at the kneeling youth for a moment before saying, "Naturally, my words count. But do you have money?"

Su Yun stood up and opened his palm. In his palm were several blood-stained five-zhu coins that he had found in the ruins when he was collecting bodies.

Qiu Shuijing picked up one of the five-zhu coins from his palm, but at this moment, Su Yun gave him all the other five-zhu coins.

Qiu Shuijing was stunned and looked at him in confusion.

Su Yun looked up, "Wild Fox Master taught me for six years and didn't drive me away because I was human. I implore you not to drive them away just because they are foxes."

Qiu Shuijing pondered for a moment before saying, "Did Wild Fox Master charge you for teaching you?"

Su Yun shook his head.

Qiu Shuijing returned the blood-stained five-zhu coins to him and said, "He teaches without charge, and if the fox demons want to charge, they are not as good as him. This five-zhu coin is your tuition fee, they don't need it."

Su Yun accepted the coins.

Qiu Shuijing watched as he and Hua Hu buried Wild Fox Master and the fox demons of Huqiu Village. Many of them were their classmates, and Hua Hu and the little foxes couldn't help but cry again.

They returned to the school, and Qiu Shuijing glanced at Su Yun and the four foxes, "Wild Fox Master taught you the 'Nurturing Qi' chapter of Confucius, right? How many years have you been studying it?"Su Yun nodded, "I have studied for six years."

Hua Hu said, "I have studied for seven years."

The other three little foxes have each studied for two or three years.

Qiu Shuijing said, "Although Master's Qi Cultivation Method is a orthodox method, is there any teaching material that has not changed for five thousand years? In this era, ten years without change is considered outdated. When I came to the countryside, I found that there seemed to be a gap of a thousand years between the city and the countryside!"

He shook his head and said, "What I want to teach you is the latest and most basic Foundation Building Method in the official school of the capital city, the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method."

The heavens and the earth are the furnace, and nature is the craftsman;

Yin and Yang are the charcoal, and all things are the copper.

This sentence is the general outline of the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method.

Although Master's Qi Cultivation Method was originally used to nourish the Qi in the simplest way, it is difficult to practice it deeply. On the other hand, the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method regards the body as the heavens and the earth, and the internal organs as the furnace, stimulating the potential of creation, using the Yin and Yang Qi in the body as charcoal, and the internal organs, muscles, bones, and blood as copper to cultivate powerful Qi.

Although this Qi Cultivation Method is complicated, it is extremely effective, and the speed of cultivation is much faster than that of Master's Qi Cultivation Method.

Qiu Shuijing started from the basics, beginning with the extraction of the essence of the sun and moon, using oneself as the heavens and the earth, and the heavens and the earth as the furnace, then talking about how to use nature as the craftsman, and finally how to use Yin and Yang as charcoal and all things as copper.

Su Yun and the others had weak foundations, plus the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method was profound, even Qiu Shuijing himself spent five or six days before they could barely understand the first part of the Qi Cultivation Method.

Hua Hu learned the fastest because he had a foundation in Master's Qi Cultivation Method, so it was easier for him to learn.

The other three little foxes were slightly slower, and Su Yun was the slowest to learn. Qiu Shuijing had to teach him repeatedly, which was very difficult.

Fortunately, although Su Yun's learning speed was slow, his mind was agile and he could understand the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method the deepest.

These days, Su Yun invited Hua Hu and the other three little foxes to live in Tianmen Town, but they were all very afraid of the town and preferred to live in the school.

Su Yun also invited Qiu Shuijing to live in Tianmen Town, but he politely refused.

One morning, Qiu Shuijing and the four foxes were breathing and practicing facing the morning sun. Suddenly, Qiu Shuijing felt as if there was a small sun next to him, and when he opened his eyes, it was Hua Hu's position.

"Hua Hu is a demon, but his talent and understanding are very good. He has already cultivated to the first level."

Qiu Shuijing secretly nodded, absorbing the essence of the morning sun, using himself as the furnace, tempering his body, and cultivating his Qi. This was the sign of cultivating to the first level of the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method.

It was impressive that Hua Hu could cultivate to this level in just five or six days.

Qiu Shuijing checked the progress of the other three foxes, and although they had weak foundations, their progress was not slow, and they would soon be able to cultivate to the first level.

He then checked Su Yun's progress and frowned slightly.

Although Su Yun had a deep understanding of the Honglu Shanchan Qi Cultivation Method, he was still blind, and although he could learn the theory, he needed to put in several times the effort of others to master the physical aspects.

Moreover, Su Yun's progress in cultivation was slower than he expected.According to his prediction, Su Yun, due to his eye disease, should have been the slowest in learning, but the fastest in cultivation. However, Su Yun turned out to be the slowest one.

Qiu Shuijing sighed inwardly, "I had too high expectations for him. Even the fox demon could reach the first level in such a short time, but he couldn't do it. The impact of his eye disease on him was too great."

However, he did not know that Su Yun's vitality was running vigorously in his body, but something strange happened every time it reached his eyes.

Su Yun's vitality flowed into his eyes, and the originally pitch-black eyes suddenly "saw" something!

Before him, the Tianmen Gate appeared out of nowhere!

In addition to the Tianmen Gate, there were also eight towering Chaotian Towers!

Behind the Tianmen Gate and Chaotian Towers was a vast and boundless ocean.

The Chaotian Tower in Tianmen Town had long since disappeared, so these eight Chaotian Towers were naturally not the ones in Tianmen Town, but the imprint in Su Yun's eyes.

What was strange was that the eight Chaotian Towers were actually absorbing Su Yun's vitality!

The Chaotian Towers were like eight bottomless pits.

The Chaotian Towers kept devouring Su Yun's vitality, making it impossible for him to reach the first level of the Honglu Shanchan transformation.

Qiu Shuijing did not expect Su Yun's eyes to undergo such changes, thinking that he only had good comprehension but ordinary aptitude.

Su Yun thought that this situation was to treat his eye disease, so he did not tell Qiu Shuijing about the anomalies that occurred during his cultivation, leading to Qiu Shuijing's misunderstanding.

After the morning class ended, Qiu Shuijing intended to leave.

He was, after all, a private tutor, and there were many students from the gates and families in Shuofang City who needed him to teach, so he could not delay too long in Tianshi Yuan.

He taught the second part of the Honglu Shanchan transformation to everyone before leaving.

"Yun, in the world today, it is difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son. Why is that?"

Su Yun saw Qiu Shuijing off, and after hesitating for a moment, Qiu Shuijing taught him earnestly, "Although the sons of poor families have the national academy to study with the sons of noble families, it seems fair. However, the sons of noble families have money and power, and they also have private schools outside of the national academy. What you learn in the national academy is only one thing, but the sons of noble families can learn two, three, four, or even five things in private schools. Therefore, the gap in knowledge between the sons of poor families and the sons of noble families continues to widen."

Su Yun followed him step by step and said, "I heard that poor scholars can still succeed through hard work..."

"Wrong! With private schools, poor scholars can never be more hardworking than the sons of noble families! What is taught in the national academy is all superficial, but in private schools, they can invite teachers like me!"

Qiu Shuijing said, "The sons of noble families work harder than the sons of poor families! When the national academy finishes classes, children from rural areas go out to play, but the sons of noble families study in private schools! When the national academy is on vacation, the sons of poor families stay at home, but the sons of noble families are still studying in private schools!"

"Emperor Yuan promoted the national academy, hoping for equality in education, without dividing between poor and noble families. However, a hundred years have passed from Emperor Yuan to now, and education has actually been monopolized by the noble families. Poor children cannot afford to go to private schools, and they cannot learn the latest knowledge in the national academy. The social classes are becoming more and more rigid. The road to promotion for the sons of poor families is becoming narrower and narrower, like a fish turning into a dragon."He stopped and turned around, speaking frankly: "And the situation is even worse in the countryside. Yun, you come from a poor family, but your aptitude is not bad, and your comprehension is excellent. If you stay in the countryside, you will be buried. You must go to the city to study! But even if you go to the city to study, just entering the official school will not make you stand out. You also need to study at a private school."

"However, even if you study the same things as the scholars, you may not be able to achieve great success like them. Because the sons of the aristocratic families have prominent family backgrounds and extensive social connections, and all of this requires you to catch up for ten or even dozens of years. Is this fair?"

"It's unfair, but it's just! Because this is the legacy left by their ancestors, and it's only natural for them to inherit it. A poor scholar without roots, family background, or social connections, if you want to stand out, then you only have one advantage that others don't have."

Qiu Shuijing patted his student's shoulder and said seriously, "That is wildness. The wildness of the countryside! The scholars in the city don't have the wildness that you possess!"

He walked forward with his sleeves fluttering, his voice echoing from afar, "The city is a furnace of heaven and earth, full of struggles and opportunities. You must preserve your wildness, use it as the yin and yang, use struggle as the charcoal fire, ignite the furnace, seize the transformation, and break through the rigid class system, transcend boundaries, and ascend!"

Zhaizhu: The first phase of the review event for "Walking on the Edge" is about to begin. Please pay attention to the review section on Qidian.