The night was alluring and complicated.
Chu Yi strolled out with his hands in his pockets, just in time to see Tan Yu and several male teachers anxiously waiting at the door.
"Tan teacher, don't worry. The police said they'll be here soon."
"Soon? It's been so long already. It doesn't even take three minutes to walk from here to the police station. They're doing this on purpose," Tan Yu said uneasily.
Although she had some disagreements with Chu Yi before, she still admired his character and conduct.
This was Dunhuang KTV, where ordinary fights would not be taken seriously by the police.
"Don't worry...look, Mr. Chu is coming out." A male teacher patted her shoulder.
"What's wrong? You guys haven't gone back yet?" Chu Yi glanced at the two male colleagues who stayed behind. Their relationship with him was relatively harmonious without any conflicts or disputes.
"You...are you okay?" Tan Yu widened her eyes in disbelief because she knew some inside information due to her family business being quite successful.
Fan Hong was definitely not someone easy to deal with.
"Do you want me to have something happen?" Chu Yi smiled and raised his hand. "I'm a teacher after all; I naturally have to reason with him. He was convinced by me and became enlightened on the spot, releasing me."
Tan Yu rolled her eyes: "Okay, Mr. Chu, you must have used Principal Lao's reputation for this matter. I heard that Principal Lao has high prestige in Jiujiang City."
The two male teachers next to them also nodded their heads in agreement after chatting for a while since they saw that nothing really happened and went home feeling relieved.
Naturally, Chu Yi wouldn't tell them what actually happened since they had already come up with an excuse themselves which made it easier for him.
...
Early the next morning, it was still dark outside, but the temperature had become somewhat hot.
Chu Yi lived in a rented apartment with two bedrooms and one living room. His roommate had just moved out recently, leaving only him behind.
"If I don't find a place with abundant spiritual energy to break through from martial artist to martial master, I'm afraid it will take me another week."
Chu Yi walked while eating buns and headed towards the outskirts of town.
The more greenery there was in an area, the more abundant its spiritual energy would be.
Jiujiang City wasn't an industrial city; thus, the environment in its suburbs was quite good.
Third Middle School was located in the suburbs as well.
After walking around inside school grounds for a while, Chu Yi realized that this place had beautiful scenery. Two rivers flowed by and water vapor rose up into the air. He noticed that there were much higher concentrations of spiritual energy here than in downtown areas.
"I'm afraid they also invited feng shui masters to look for this treasure trove."
In his previous life on Earth he didn't believe any of these things at all; however now he knew that strange things did exist on Earth.
"It's been thousands of years since I last saw them. This time coming back really feels like being reborn."
Chu Yi sighed emotionally as he looked forward to seeing those little rascals again who once made fun of him so badly when he was younger.
Walking along beside the riverbank slowly and steadily, Chu Yi's eyes glowed faintly with fluorescence as he used his most basic "Observing Qi Technique" to search for a treasure trove.
"Now I can only use my inner strength. If I achieve innate mastery then I can directly borrow power from heaven and earth without needing 'Observing Qi Technique'."
He quickly left school grounds after walking past it and found the most abundant spiritual energy in this area under an old banyan tree by the riverbank.
Green leaves dotted, one cluster piled on top of another, each leaf like a sprite jumping with vitality.
"A thousand-year-old banyan tree!" Chu Yi was somewhat surprised. He could see the age of the banyan tree at a glance. "Growing for a thousand years and still so vigorous, attracting the gathering of spiritual energy around it. Perhaps in ten thousand years, it may truly become enlightened."
In the immortal realm, not to mention plants, even stones can become enlightened.
"This is a good place."
Chu Yi calmed his mind and stopped daydreaming. His gaze became serious as he began to perform Tai Chi poses while practicing the Tai Chi Heart Method.
In the immortal realm, he had joined under the sect of Tai Chi and naturally became famous for his mastery of Tai Chi.
Tai Chi on Earth was not authentic; it only had form but lacked spirit. The so-called spirit was hidden within the Tai Chi Heart Method.
This was considered one of the best postnatal heart methods in Tai Chi Sects. With Chu Yi's qualifications from his previous life, he could easily read through it.
Standing under an old banyan tree gave him an imposing aura that made its leaves rustle loudly when moved by his hands as if touching an invisible ball that gathered irregular winds around him until they converged into his arms' center.
Sometimes soft and sometimes roaring like there was a powerful force wrapped around Chu Yi trying to break free but trapped inside instead.
Sweat seeped out from every pore on his skin as sunlight shone down crystal clear drops onto him.
Suddenly Chu Yi opened both hands upward causing thunderous sounds to echo across flat ground making some drooping leaves suddenly rise up while carp in nearby rivers were startled leaping out onto lake surfaces creating ripples along with rustling wild grasses all over their surroundings
It seemed like something inside Chu Yi's body had been switched on, and his spirit was fully elevated.
"I finally broke through. My body is full of energy; this is the stage of entering a martial artist. The next stage will be a great martial artist."
A martial artist could already cross rivers with their qi and fly in mid-air like high-level characters in wuxia novels.
Of course, for Chu Yi, these were not worth mentioning.
"The spiritual energy on Earth is too scarce. Even if my talent is excellent, I cannot quickly improve without finding some treasures."
He muttered to himself before smiling at the old banyan tree saying: "I borrowed your spiritual energy today to break through. As Yan Luo Xianzun, I will repay you and help you when needed."
Afterward, Chu Yi nodded respectfully towards an elderly man nearby whom he had noticed arriving shortly after he began practicing.
...
Although Principal Guo has been retired for a long time, he has a habit of practicing Tai Chi under an old banyan tree near the school every morning.
Over time, despite being over seventy years old, his body became stronger and stronger.
One day, as usual, Principal Guo came to practice under the old banyan tree but was surprised to find a young man practicing Tai Chi there too. He felt relieved because he had been obsessed with Tai Chi for decades and wanted to encourage his family members to practice it together. However, they were all busy people and those who practiced in the square could not meet his standards.
According to him, these people only had form but no spirit.
Principal Guo observed closely and appreciated Chu Yi's posture. "Not bad," he said. "Although you are young, your moves show that you have already put in some effort."
"Since you're here so early in the morning, I assume you work at the school - are you a teacher or part of the support staff?"
Principal Guo developed an interest in this talented individual because Tai Chi is about righteousness and only those with good character can truly master it.
However, as he watched more intently at Chu Yi's movements something seemed off: "The wind moves along with it; trees move along with it; water moves along with it; everything follows its lead... This...this..."
His face turned red from excitement as he recalled what an expert once told him - that everything should follow one's movements when doing Tai Chi which is considered its highest level of achievement.
Every move affects heaven and earth!
He immersed himself in studying Tai Chi for many years just to reach this level yet now saw how easily Chu Yi demonstrated such mastery before him leaving him stunned beyond belief!
But then suddenly thunder roared across the sky waking up Principal Guo from his trance-like state. Looking towards where Chu Yi stood, he saw a young man standing tall, basking in the sunlight with golden rays shining down on him like a grandmaster.
...
Chu Yi watched as an elderly man wearing Tai Chi clothes approached him with excitement and enthusiasm.
Principal Guo was so moved that he couldn't contain himself and bowed deeply to Chu Yi.
Chu Yi was taken aback: "Sir, what are you doing?"
"Please accept me as your student," Principal Guo replied. He had always been righteous and upright, dedicated to teaching and nurturing students while being passionate about Tai Chi. However, due to circumstances of his time, he never had a teacher during his youth but instead learned everything by himself.
Now that his teaching career has come to an end without ever mastering Tai Chi completely, he felt no shame in asking a younger person for guidance - especially one who demonstrated such skill before him!
"You're Principal Guo?" Chu Yi recognized the old man before him as the former principal of Sanzhong School. He smiled wryly: "You'll kill me if anyone finds out."
"They dare not!" Principal Guo's eyes widened at this remark but then realized it might be inappropriate behavior on his part so quickly corrected himself: "Master teaches apprentice according to their aptitude; I have been obsessed with Tai Chi all my life yet still unable to master it fully. Please help me achieve my goal."
Chu Yi hesitated because accepting someone as a disciple is considered karma (cause-and-effect) which can lead to unforeseen consequences later on. But seeing how sincere Principal Guo was made it difficult for Chu Yi not to agree!