Two days later, at the Scripture Palace.
"Brother Nanfeng, here are ten Taoist scriptures on Pure Yang True Qi, as a penalty from Elder Ku. Please take care of them." A disciple from the Scripture Palace handed over a thick stack of books.
Xiao Nanfeng took them, "For the punishment of memorizing at the Thinking Cliff, can I choose more?"
"???" The disciple paused, then said, "There's no rule against it, but if you choose more, you must memorize every word correctly. And as long as it's up to three times, you won't have to repeat the same scripture."
"Great, please help me select twenty more." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
"Are you sure?" The disciple was momentarily confused, thinking he misheard.
"Is there a problem?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, puzzled.
"No, brother, you have such spirit! A model for us all!" The disciple's face twitched awkwardly.
Never seen someone willingly seek hardship. Has he lost his mind?
"Thanks! With the Yin Shen Pearl, I have an excellent memory and can comprehend thoroughly. More is better for me."
Soon, bidding farewell to the disciple, Xiao Nanfeng headed straight for the Thinking Cliff, but today felt different.
"Good morning, Brother Nanfeng!"
"Good morning, Brother Nanfeng!"
...
Along the way, many fellow disciples greeted Xiao Nanfeng, their tones surprisingly grateful.
Xiao Nanfeng felt a bit puzzled but politely nodded back.
"Isn't it strange how polite they are to you?"
It was Xiaoyu approaching, dressed in a form-fitting black Daoist robe, her figure perfectly accentuated.
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up, "Sister Xiaoyu, you're here! Please enlighten me."
"Two days ago, your victory over Zhao Yuanjiao spread throughout the sect," Xiaoyu said with a smile.
"And then?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, confused.
"Zhao Yuanjiao is the senior brother of the Xuan Faction and has the authority to enforce discipline among disciples. He is very strict, punishing anyone for even minor mistakes. Everyone fears him and doesn't dare to resist. But you made him suffer, doing what everyone wished to but feared to attempt, so naturally, they are grateful."
"Uh, but is memorizing scriptures really a punishment?"
Xiaoyu's smile stiffened: "…"
"Anyway, it was thanks to you," Xiao Nanfeng smiled.
"Of course, I'm the timely rain of the Taiqing Immortal Sect. But you promised to convince Elder Ku to take me as a disciple; there seems to be no progress?" Xiaoyu asked, smugly.
"Don't worry, I will make it happen," Xiao Nanfeng assured earnestly.
Xiaoyu's eyes brightened, "Hehe, thank you!"
As they chatted merrily, they arrived at the Thinking Cliff.
Just as Xiao Nanfeng and Xiaoyu were talking, he suddenly sensed an inexplicable aura of resentment and murderous intent approaching.
Turning, he saw a group of eleven familiar faces not far away.
"Ye Dafu? What are you doing here?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed in surprise.
It was Ye Dafu and his gang, glaring at Xiao Nanfeng with resentment, their eyes full of killing intent.
"Hmph!" Ye Dafu scoffed, turning away to ignore Xiao Nanfeng, his followers mimicking his attitude.
"What's going on with them? This is bizarre!" Xiao Nanfeng was bewildered.
"Didn't you say Ye Dafu and the others knew you paid for a boarding pass? Zhao Yuanjiao confronted them yesterday, and since they didn't tell the truth, he punished them to memorize scriptures, hehe!"
Xiao Nanfeng: "…"
No wonder Zhao Yuanjiao is disliked; as the senior brother of the Xuan Faction, he punishes new disciples of the Huang Faction? What about their dignity?
"Ye Dafu, what exactly did you tell Zhao Yuanjiao?" Xiao Nanfeng couldn't help but ask.
"Hmph!" Ye Dafu looked infuriated, turning away to ignore him.
"I heard they exaggerated your actions, slandering you. Zhao Yuanjiao initially got excited, thinking he had found a huge issue, but once he investigated, he found it all to be falsehoods and got furious," Xiaoyu explained with a laugh.
Xiao Nanfeng: "…"
This Ye Dafu is still so reckless, seeking his own downfall!
"Alright, I need to visit the Scripture Palace; you memorize your scriptures," Xiaoyu said cheerfully as she walked away.
"Brother Nanfeng, I'm in charge of supervising the memorization; you're memorizing these thirty books, right?" A disciple came forward.
"Correct, I'll call you once I'm done," Xiao Nanfeng replied, looking at the supervising disciple.
"Okay!" The supervising disciple stepped back.
"Thirty books? Man, he's worse off than us!" One of Ye Dafu's followers suddenly brightened.
Instantly, Ye Dafu and his gang turned to the thick stack of books in front of Xiao Nanfeng.
"He's really memorizing thirty books? Haha, we thought he was doing well, but it turns out he's worse off than us! We were punished to memorize one book, but he has to memorize thirty. How long will that take?" Ye Dafu was suddenly in high spirits.
"Yeah, seeing him struggle makes me feel better!" another follower lamented.
Xiao Nanfeng: "…"
Are you all crazy? Where do you see me struggling?
Ignoring them, Xiao Nanfeng picked up a scripture and began to read.
Ye Dafu and the others, having enjoyed their moment, started memorizing their single book, which was still a headache.
"Junior Brother, I've finished this book; I'll start memorizing," Xiao Nanfeng said to the supervising disciple behind him.
"Ah? Brother Nanfeng, you just looked at it once and are going to memorize it?" The supervising disciple was astonished.
"Hmm?" Ye Dafu and the others turned their attention to him.
"What nonsense! We haven't even finished a page, and he's memorized a whole book?" a follower scoffed in disbelief.
But not far away, Xiao Nanfeng began to recite.
His powerful voice rang out, and the supervising disciple, following along with the text, showed a look of astonishment. He hadn't made a single mistake?
"Is this for real? He memorized it after just one look?"
"But the supervising disciple didn't interrupt him…"
…
Ye Dafu and the others turned dark with jealousy.
Before long, Xiao Nanfeng finished reciting one book flawlessly.
"Not a single mistake! Brother Nanfeng, have you memorized this book before?" The supervising disciple asked, amazed.
Xiao Nanfeng smiled slightly, not explaining, and began to read the second book.
"He's definitely memorized it before!" Ye Dafu sulked, trying to rationalize.
"Brother is right; he got lucky. He still has twenty-nine books left." His followers quickly reassured themselves.
As they brooded, they continued memorizing their scriptures.
Half an hour passed.
"Junior Brother, I finished this book too; I want to memorize it," Xiao Nanfeng said to the supervising disciple.
The supervising disciple approached, puzzled.
Ye Dafu and the others again turned their heads, very focused. He couldn't possibly have memorized this second book too, right?
But as they listened to Xiao Nanfeng flawlessly recite the second book quickly, Ye Dafu and his gang's expressions darkened further.
At this moment, they lost all interest in their own memorization, fixated on Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng finished reciting the second book, went to the third, and after a brief contemplation, began to recite again.
Everyone was dumbfounded: "…"
This must be a trick; what we're seeing is definitely an illusion.
As Ye Dafu and the others questioned their reality, the morning passed by.
Xiao Nanfeng completed five books in total, not a single word wrong.
Five books, not just five pages! Ye Dafu and his gang spent the entire morning watching Xiao Nanfeng, while they hadn't even finished the first page of their single book. They observed Xiao Nanfeng's remarkable ability, and many disciples gathered around, looking at him with admiration.
"What's so great about it? It's just rote memorization; it's not like he understands the scriptures. Memorizing or not, what's the difference? Rote memorization isn't worth bragging about."
A pungent aroma of resentment erupted from Ye Dafu and his followers, turning heads around them in curiosity.