Chapter 37: The First Lesson
Chen Changsheng suddenly thought of something and said, "By the way, my name is Chen Changsheng."
"I know." Luoluo replied with a smile.
Of course she knew the teacher's name was Chen Changsheng. Though she had never doubted him, since she wanted to become his disciple, the members of her clan living in the Hundred Herb Garden had already thoroughly investigated Chen Changsheng through various means. She knew he came from a small town called Xining, knew he was acquainted with Tang Thirty-Six, and even knew how he had entered the National Academy. Thus, she became even more convinced that the teacher was definitely not an ordinary person.
She also recalled something and said with some worry, "Teacher, was what I said to that instructor from the Heavenly Dao Academy just now inappropriate?"
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and replied, "Hmm, a bit. That phrase 'What business is it of yours?' could actually be said as 'What the hell business is it of yours?'"
After saying this, he laughed, and Luoluo laughed too, feeling very happy. She felt that being with the teacher made it easy to be happy, which was a very good thing. Then she remembered what had happened before that Heavenly Dao Academy instructor arrived.
"Why did someone from the Eastern Imperial Divine General's Mansion come looking for the teacher?"
"Some matters."
Chen Changsheng didn't know how to answer. Seeing the little girl's curious expression, he asked, "Do you know about the Eastern Imperial Divine General's Mansion?"
Luoluo said, "The legendary Phoenix Nest—how could I not know?"
The so-called Phoenix Nest naturally related to Xu Yourong's innate bloodline.
Chen Changsheng asked, "Do you know Xu Yourong?"
"I'd quite like to meet her."
Luoluo said with some regret, "When I arrived in the capital, she had already gone south. I didn't get a chance to see her."
Chen Changsheng recalled Tang Thirty-Six's assessment of Xu Yourong and advised, "Luoluo, I know you're very strong, but don't think about comparing yourself to her. We don't necessarily have to be stronger than anyone. As long as we keep improving ourselves, that's true strength."
Luoluo understood he had misunderstood something and said with a smile, "She's the reincarnation of the True Phoenix, unparalleled in the world. Even my family admires her greatly. They've always used her to motivate me since I was little, but I never really thought about comparing myself to her. I've heard she's a good person, just a bit cold in temperament, but much better than those so-called Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom in the south. I just want to get to know her. I want to be friends with her. Teacher, what do you think?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "She and I… don't have a very good relationship."
Hearing this, Luoluo was startled, then thought of something and said, "Teacher really does like to deceive people."
Chen Changsheng was puzzled and asked, "Where did I deceive anyone?"
"The teacher always says he's an ordinary person."
"I am an ordinary person."
Luoluo covered her mouth and laughed. "An ordinary person… how could they have a bad relationship with her?"
Chen Changsheng was speechless because what she said made sense. If he were truly an ordinary person, he could never have any connection with Xu Yourong, who dwelled high above the clouds. If there were no connection, how could the relationship be bad?
Luoluo looked at his expression, stopped laughing, and said seriously, "Teacher, from today on, I won't like her anymore, and I don't want to be friends with her either."
Chen Changsheng was slightly stunned and asked, "Why is that?"
Luoluo said matter-of-factly, "Because the teacher has a bad relationship with her, so she must not be a good person."
Chen Changsheng sighed. "Isn't that a bit too lacking in principles?"
Luoluo said, "The teacher is my elder and mentor. Of course I listen to everything you say. Isn't that the principle?"
Chen Changsheng had nothing to say to that. He gestured for her to sit down, then reached out his hand.
Luoluo insisted on becoming his disciple because she had some extremely difficult problems in her cultivation. Any cultivation method had a corresponding method for circulating true essence. Only by fully mastering it could one unleash the true power of that cultivation method. Her problem was that she couldn't circulate the true essence in her body according to the records in the books.
On the night the demon clan assassins tried to kill her, Chen Changsheng had proven with eight words that he could solve this problem, or at least had the possibility of doing so.
Now that he had written her name in the National Academy's registry, he was responsible for her cultivation. He roughly knew what her problem was, so his first lesson would naturally start from this aspect. First, he needed to confirm the condition of the true essence in her body.
Spring breeze entered through the window, gently rustling the pages and her skirt. Chen Changsheng and Luoluo sat facing each other on the shiny black wooden floor. He closed his eyes and meditated for a moment to clear his mind, then signaled Luoluo to extend her right arm. He raised his right hand and slowly placed it on her wrist.
His movements were casual yet precise. His joined index and middle fingers were like a drawn sword, gleaming with cold light, landing accurately on her pulse point. Yet the moment his fingers truly touched, they were extremely gentle, like autumn leaves falling, not startling the soil beneath the tree in the slightest.
Luoluo's eyes widened. She looked at his fingers resting on her wrist, very surprised. Having grown up in luxury with extensive knowledge, she had seen countless doctors and naturally recognized how remarkable this seemingly simple pulse-taking gesture was.
Could the teacher also be a famous physician?
While she was thinking these things in surprise, Chen Changsheng was also surprised, because he could clearly feel that the little girl's pulse beneath his fingertips was so strong and powerful, as clear as war drums… but the problem was, the drumbeat was too dense! How could the pulse be so fast!
His fingers retracted instantly, like raindrops bouncing off a drum skin.
He looked up into her eyes, seeing those clear, calm pupils. He confirmed she wasn't experiencing an accelerated pulse due to excessive excitement. After thinking for a moment, he placed his two fingers back on her wrist. The sensation beneath his fingertips was still the same.
Luoluo's heart rate was more than double the normal range!
If it were an ordinary person maintaining such a fast heart rate, they would definitely have a flushed face, dizziness, and sweating. If it continued for any length of time, they might even die from a burst blood vessel!
But… Luoluo showed no reaction at all. She appeared completely normal, and even her pulse rhythm was very steady. Why was this?
Chen Changsheng didn't withdraw his fingers. He focused intently on observing her pulse, studying her pulse condition. His brow furrowed more and more tightly. After a long time had passed, he realized that not only had her heart rate not slowed down over time, but it was actually getting faster!
He looked up again at Luoluo's face and noticed beads of sweat on her temples. Her breathing had become slightly quicker. He knew this time she was genuinely nervous.
Luoluo was indeed very nervous. She hadn't expected that the first action of the teacher's first lesson would be to take her pulse. Only when Chen Changsheng's fingers landed on her wrist did she remember that problem—that her pulse was very different from ordinary people's. What could she do?
Chen Changsheng withdrew his fingers and looked at her in silence for a long time before asking, "Has your pulse… always been like this?"
Luoluo lowered her head and softly hummed in affirmation, like a child who had done something wrong. "It's been like this since I was born."
Chen Changsheng continued to be silent, as if pondering a very troublesome problem.
He vaguely guessed Luoluo's origins.
No human could survive for long with such a fast heart rate, let alone grow to Luoluo's age.
There could only be one explanation: Luoluo was not human.
The spring breeze continued through the window, gently rustling the pages and the little girl's skirt, as well as the slightly damp hair at her temples.
The library was completely silent.
Luoluo kept her head down, looking very pitiful.
Chen Changsheng looked at her, wanting to ask something but not knowing how to begin.
Luoluo suddenly raised her head, seeing his hesitant expression. She gathered her courage and said, "Teacher, if you ask, I'll tell."
Chen Changsheng looked at her and suddenly felt she was very brave. He thought for a moment and said, "Then I won't ask."
Luoluo's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him. "Why, Teacher? Could it be… you're not curious?"
Curiosity was the hardest itch for any intelligent life to resist, the greatest temptation. For instance, she was now very curious why Chen Changsheng didn't continue asking, when she had clearly said that if he asked, she would tell him everything from beginning to end.
"Curiosity is sometimes not good."
"Ah?"
Chen Changsheng sighed and said, "I am your teacher, right?"
Luoluo was confused. "Of course you are, Teacher."
Chen Changsheng reached out and touched her head, smiling. "A teacher must act like a teacher. If the truth is too shocking, if your origins are too astonishing, how will we get along in the future? How can I maintain the dignity of the teacher-student relationship?"
"Ah…"
Luoluo had never expected this reason. She was stunned for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Teacher, then… aren't you afraid?"
Chen Changsheng said, "What's there to be afraid of? I've just never encountered this before, so I'm a bit unaccustomed."
Hearing this, Luoluo was very happy. She rubbed the top of her head against his palm like a cute little beast and mumbled, "Teacher is the best."
…
…
Perhaps because she felt that Chen Changsheng was good from the inside out, down to every strand of hair, Luoluo's already firm trust in him expanded unimaginably after this moment, like the sun bursting forth. So even though he didn't ask, she wanted to say something.
"Teacher, the amount of true essence in my body isn't small," she said.
Chen Changsheng, recalling the earlier pulse condition, confirmed this. The little girl's soul was extremely powerful. If she had that kind of origin, then the amount of true essence in her body naturally wouldn't be small—at least it should be many times greater than that of ordinary humans her age.
"But I don't know how to use it."
Luoluo explained, "My family naturally has cultivation techniques, but the highest-level techniques are only suitable for males… Even if my bloodline awakens, I can't cultivate to the peak with those techniques. At most, I could reach the upper Star Gathering realm, but I can't enter the sacred domain."
Chen Changsheng was speechless. He thought that if one could cultivate to the upper Star Gathering realm, that would make them one of the continent's notable experts. Yet this little girl student of his wasn't satisfied. This showed just how high her expectations for herself were, or how astonishing her origins were.
"If I can't become the strongest, I won't be able to inherit my father's scepter in the future. I'll have to marry his successor."
Luoluo looked at him pitifully and said, "But I don't want to get married."
"So you want to learn human cultivation techniques to see if there's a way to break through this limitation."
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment, then said, "No problem. We will definitely become the strongest teacher-student pair on the continent."
Luoluo's eyes widened. Although she had almost blind trust in Chen Changsheng, hearing this still made her somewhat incredulous.
Chen Changsheng thought of his own problems. He looked out the window toward the direction of the Misty Pavilion in the imperial palace and sighed with emotion. The things he wanted to do were considered wishful thinking by anyone, but he had to think that way and strive for it, because fate hadn't left him a second path.
"Dare to think. Before your dream comes true, never set limits for yourself in advance, never find excuses to retreat or reasons to fail. Only then can we have the possibility of turning seemingly distant dreams into real reality."
"This is the first lesson I'm giving you."