baiyuyi 33: Passing on the Technique

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Chapter 33: Passing on the Technique

Hm…

Yuan Chenglei put a hand to the bottom of his throat.

Ever since this morning, he’d been feeling kind of strange.

It wasn’t heartburn, but …

It just felt like something was coming up, but had gotten stuck there.

“… It’s not something like a Breath, right?”

It would be so annoying if this was a Fire Breath or some other Dragon Breath-like symptom.

Although that was unlikely, Yuan Chenglei didn’t feel like he had the leeway to be 100% sure it wasn’t something ridiculous lately.

There are too many things that are strange about him these days!

Yeah, he should try asking Laoban about it when he gets back. That would be a good idea, yes.

Yep.

Deciding to stay optimistic about things, Yuan Chenglei continued on through his classes without worrying too much about things.

But on the way back…

“I feel like I’m running into a lot of cultivators, these days,” Yuan Chenglei said.

“It IS a lot more likely, these days. Statistically speaking,” Guang Shexian replied with a laugh.

While waiting for the bus, Yuan Chenglei ran into the 14-year-old prodigy cultivator with a penchant for parkour, Guang Shexian.

Well, even if Guang Shexian said that, the branch of the Crouching Tiger Sect he belonged to was actually based in J City, so it’s not like this current situation of the ‘Mingling of a Myriad of Sects’ had anything to do with the probability of Yuan Chenglei and Guang Shexian running into each other.

But it did explain all of Yuan Chenglei’s other inexplicable meetings.

Although there was a crowd of people around them, no one was really paying attention to what the two young boys were talking about.

The few that had overheard them were the ones who had pricked their ears up at the word ‘cultivators,’ but then rolled their eyes.

Just an older neighborhood bro playing along with a young chuuni.

Not that these eavesdroppers could say anything.

Becoming interested just because you overheard the word ‘cultivators’; you’re at least half-subscribed to the chuuni way of thinking!

Anyway, the next minute afterwards, everyone inexplicably lost interest and forgot about the two boys.

Yuan Chenglei noted a flash from a jade charm on Guang Shexian’s bracelet.

It was something similar to Expert Jiayi’s charm, definitely.

It might be something that most cultivators owned; a minor mystic treasure.

Judging that it was safe to talk about the cultivation world without worrying about their surroundings too much, Yuan Chenglei said, “Oh yeah, my Master said it was fine for me to teach you the stealth technique. He said it’s a slightly inefficient technique that requires a lot of qi that he had gotten from someone else, but if it can be of help, there’s no problems with teaching it to someone.”

Guang Shexian was surprised.

He wasn’t sure if he was surprised that Yuan Chenglei’s Master had given him permission to learn the technique, or if he was surprised that Brother Chenglei had even bothered to ask.

Stealth techniques weren’t highly prized in the cultivation world, after all. Well, not unless you were among the Jianghu and the sneak thieves of the cultivation world.

After all, it was commonly known throughout the cultivation world that if you had to resort to a stealth technique, you probably already lost the fight.

Strength is what’s important; as long as you’re strong enough, sneak attacks and underhanded tactics will have no effect on you!

Conversely, if all you had was stealth and underhanded tactics, strength would be enough to take you out.

In Guang Shexian’s opinion, a stealth technique would certainly be useful for traipsing around unseen in the mortal world, but it’s not really something vital. Nor would it be something worth bothering your Master about for another person’s sake.

He had thought that Yuan Chenglei had offered to ask just to be polite.

Furthermore, Brother Chenglei’s Master seemed like a very impressive elder, but this stealth technique was an ‘inefficient’ technique that required a lot of qi?

Something about that seemed…

Guang Shexian wasn’t called a young genius for nothing.

He instantly had the feeling that this technique was secretly hiding its potential; a true ‘crouching tiger’.

Although it was a stealth technique, Guang Shexian had an urge to see if he could improve it in any way.

And he hadn’t even learned the technique yet!

“There’s an abandoned business complex in about two stops; can you show me the technique there?” Guang Shexian asked excitedly.

“Ahahaha…”

Yuan Chenglei couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

Yup.

His instincts were correct. Guang Shexian was a cultivator very similar to Laoban.

Part of him couldn’t help but wonder if it would be better for Guang Shexian to become a disciple under Laoban, but another part of him had the feeling that suggesting it wouldn’t go over well.

Something about poaching another sect’s disciple and all that…

One of Yuan Chenglei’s principles is, ‘If you feel like it will bring you trouble, don’t say anything at all!’ And so Yuan Chenglei kept his mouth shut.

Instead he said, “Yeah, sure. I only have about half an hour, though.”

Arriving late for his shift was something he’d like to avoid getting in the habit of doing, after all.

Even if Laoban’s shop was just a laidback old bookstore with very few customers, it’s straight up rude if he can’t show the bare minimum courtesy of showing up on time.

Also, his boss is a Bigshot in the cultivation world and his own master, so…

Yeah, it would be good for him not to show up late to help with the bookstore.

Anyway, it took him about an hour to learn the Shrinking Turtle Breathing Technique, so since Guang Shexian is a prodigy, Yuan Chenglei estimated that he should be able to learn it within half an hour.

However, as reality proved…

“… Brother Cheng, did you really think I could learn such an advanced technique in just half an hour?”

In the shadows of the abandoned complex, Guang Shexian was completely overwhelmed by the Shrinking Turtle Breathing Technique.

Even though it was just called the Shrinking Turtle Breathing Technique!

Dammit!

He should have known something was wrong when he heard it was named a ‘breathing technique’ instead of a ‘stealth technique’!

This technique required advanced qi control to use!

And this Second Stage cultivator could use it?

Guang Shexian had only been calling Yuan Chenglei ‘Brother’ as lip service due to their apparent ages (and the fact that they often met in mundane settings, not cultivator settings or else Guang Shexian would be considered the elder in cultivation), but now he was going to seriously be calling him ‘Elder Brother’!

The Master of Brother Cheng was really something else, to make a Second Stage cultivator cultivate this technique!

As Guang Shexian complimented him silently, Yuan Chenglei had no way of pointing out that he wasn’t even a First Stage cultivator yet.

Instead, he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Huh…? Somehow, it feels like it’s more difficult than I remember… Ahaha, teaching a technique really is harder than learning it, huh?”

That’s not it! Guang Shexian protested loudly in his heart, but … haaa… forget it.

The Heavens just don’t make geniuses the same these days. If he lets this get to him, he might as well give up on cultivating.

Anyway, this was a good chance for him to refine his qi control.

Actually, if he used this qi manipulation technique for morning practicing and combined it with that qi control technique for pill forging… hm… maybe … yes, and then…

A-anyway, if this Second Stage cultivator can do it, then Guang Shexian, as a Third Stage Battle Warrior can sure as hell do his best to try as well!

But running into this Brother Chenglei every now and then… he was beginning to lose his confidence, haha… ha…

Urgh.

Guang Shexian had been trying to avoid thinking about it, but he might not have enough qi to be able to utilize the Shrinking Turtle Breathing Technique.

Which begged the question… just what was Brother Cheng’s qi pool like?

Of course, Guang Shexian didn’t guess ‘nonexistent’. Even though that was the case.

Instead he thought over the technique in his head, visualizing each of the steps Yuan Chenglei had shown him and trying to simulate how it would work.

Finally he sighed and said, “This technique is something else. It’s extremely complex, but really makes the user as if one with his environment. It doesn’t protect against other ways of detection other than by sight and presence, but at the same time, it has a lot of potential. It’s just … somewhat needlessly excessive with the qi consumption…”

“Ah, that’s what Lao -er, my Master said, too.”

Lao-? Was he going to call his Master Old something or other?

… Guang Shexian decided not to pursue it.

Anyway, what bothered him more was,

“Is it really okay to teach me something like this? I feel like … in the hands of the wrong person this could be an evil technique…”

“Ah… my Master said that too…”

And he still said it was fine for you to teach me?

Before Guang Shexian could become thoroughly confused, Yuan Chenglei continued.

“My Master also said, ‘If it bothers you so much, then you might as well turn it into something less dangerous if you wish.”

“…Hah? Wait. So then, this technique isn’t your Master’s technique?”

Guang Shexian couldn’t understand that sort of attitude towards the technique if that wasn’t the case.

Most people would be crazy protective of their own created techniques!

“Ah… yeah. I think the original creator died? And my Master inherited it? Although he said it was more or less useless to him.”

Then why would you teach it to your disciple…?

“But, well, he said I had some affinity to it? Although I’d be pretty useless in refining it.”

Ah… that’s true. Brother Chenglei seems to have a massive qi pool (wrong), but as a newbie cultivator, it’s extreeeeemely unlikely that he could continue to refine a technique.

Hell, it’s questionable if he, Guang Shexian, could even do so as a Third Stage Battle Warrior.

But somehow, after hearing a little bit more about the technique’s background, Guang Shexian was feeling pretty motivated.

Not only was the Shrinking Turtle Breathing Technique something that could potentially let him run freely throughout the mundane world without worrying about mortals or security cameras, studying how to refine a technique like this could not only greatly improve his qi control, but also give him some insights into developing his own techniques.

Alright!

The Heavens were definitely smiling upon him when Brother Chenglei came wandering by that night!

Guang Shexian returned to the J City branch of the Crouching Tiger Sect in high spirits that day.

As for Yuan Chenglei…

“… … I feel like we didn’t really get anywhere with that, but he seems happy, so… … Ah, jeez, Laoban! I told you I couldn’t teach worth anything!”

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<a/n: Aaaargh… this is kind of a filler chapter… the pacing’s all whack with baiyuyi atm. Oh well.
No fluvia this time, soz.

Took some time off for my hands. I think it’s something like partial carpal tunnel and partial muscle strain, but I couldn’t really tell what it was that was effecting it because a lot of things happened all at once. Cut out a bunch of things, set strict time limits on other things, and then spent a few days off doing practically nothing to let my hands rest and recuperate.
Farewell rhythm tap games… actually, I’m not that sad about that. It’s better to cut out some of my time wasters for reasons other than just ‘my new phone is way heavier than my old one.’

There’s a bit of activity on klinhcomics>