Chereads / The King of Cultivation / Chapter 5 - Old Apprentice

Chapter 5 - Old Apprentice

The shopkeeper of the clothing store followed Li Qiang nervously, secretly praying to God: "My silver, God bless you!"

Cheng Zizhong introduced: "This is the best and largest silver shop in the city, Zhaojibao Silver Jewelry and Gold Shop. Shopkeeper, don't be dazed, go in and say hello."

The shopkeeper of the clothing shop hurried in and shouted: "Boss Zhao, I brought you a distinguished guest, why don't you come out to greet him."

"Hey, it's you, Fatty Qi, slow down, don't fall. Who is the distinguished guest?" A thin and capable middle-aged man came out with a smile: "Isn't this Mr. Cheng? You are a busy man, how come you have time to come to our shop!" His tone was warm.

"Old monkey, can't I come and play?" Cheng Zizhong also smiled and pointed at Li Qiang and said, "I brought a big customer here, how do you thank me?" He introduced Li Qiang and said, "He is Zhao Degui from Zhaojibao Silver Jewelry Gold Shop. He is very famous in Hanlin City. Everyone knows him. He has opened a silver shop in Beijing." He said, "This is Lord Li Qiang. He is new to Hanlin. Please be friendly. Hey, old monkey, why don't you invite Lord Li in?" Zhao Degui nodded and bowed to let a group of people into the inner hall, sat down and served tea. With the master of the prefectural government personally accompanying him, it can be imagined that he must be a big customer. Zhao Degui greeted him happily. The four little girls, who were called sisters by Lord Li, asked the family members to come out to get snacks and chat with them. "The shop has recently made a batch of gold and silver jewelry. Lord Li, do you practice martial arts? I just bought three pieces of top-grade fairy stones from the capital. Would you like to take a look?"

Li Qiang nodded and placed two palm-sized pieces of top-grade jadeite, a piece of top-grade rain-bin stone, and four diamonds of varying sizes on the coffee table. He asked, "Old Zhao, take a look. Are these valuable?"

Cheng Zizhong saw it first, took a deep breath, and said in surprise, "Top-grade fairy stones, jadeite, and gemstones. Hey! Old monkey, look quickly." His voice changed.

Boss Zhao was busy asking the clerk to take the jewelry. He was startled by Cheng Zizhong. He turned his head and saw the things on the coffee table and was also dumbfounded. He has been in the jewelry business for so long, but he has never seen such beautiful pearls and jade.

The shopkeeper of the clothing store, Fatty Qi, suddenly opened his eyes wide, flashing with greed. He wiped his saliva and kept muttering in his heart: "Buddha of Wealth, please have mercy on me, I have climbed over the road of wealth. I, the price I quoted is too low."

Tap the coffee table lightly, Li Qiang coughed, and laughed to himself: "Oh! I was not very excited when I got it, it's just a few stones."

In fact, Li Qiang was already very rich on Earth, and when he reached the spiritual silence stage, his demand for material things would drop rapidly. He had surpassed the spiritual silence and reached the beginning of the Nascent Soul stage. The general cultivators have to spend a lot of effort to restrain the temptation of material life from the heartbeat stage to the spiritual silence stage. If they fail, not only will they not be able to keep the spiritual silence stage, but even the heartbeat stage will be considered in vain, and they must start from the fusion stage again.

Li Qiang's starting point was very high. "Purple Flame Heart" itself was a kind of unconscious Nascent Soul. He had a Nascent Soul first, and then made up for the missing parts. His mentality naturally changed with the degree of improvement.

"Please invite the old man here." Zhao Degui excitedly ordered the waiter.

"The old man is a cultivator, a famous half-immortal, and the real backstage boss here. He is very powerful." Cheng Zizhong quietly told Li Qiang.

Zhao Degui picked up the Yubin stone and said, "This is the first time I have seen this kind of top-grade immortal stone." He looked at it carefully and said, "This Yubin stone is worth at least 100,000 taels of silver. If it is in the capital, the price will be higher."

"The old man has arrived." A waiter reported.

A tall old man walked into the room, with snow-white hair gathered on his head, two longevity eyebrows like two unsheathed sharp swords inserted diagonally into his temples, and a steel needle-like beard on his wide mouth was neatly combed. The old man gave people a very generous feeling, and Li Qiang had a good impression of him at first sight.

As soon as Mr. Zhao saw Li Qiang when he entered the room, he never looked away, staring at him, even as if he didn't hear Cheng Zizhong's greeting.

Zhao Degui panicked, he had never seen the old man with such an expression, crying and laughing, very strange. Zhao Degui shouted: "Dad, Dad, what's wrong with you?"

Mr. Zhao waved his hand to stop Zhao Degui, and asked: "Have you already 'fused'? Well, it doesn't seem like it, you..." He actually used honorifics, and his tone was terrified.

Li Qiang was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that Cheng Zizhong had just said that he was a cultivator. He smiled and said two words: "Nascent Soul."

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded, and they didn't understand what the two of them were talking about.

"Plop", Mr. Zhao knelt on the ground, touching his forehead to the ground and said: "Please Master, please give me some advice. I just had my 'opening' two years ago, and I seem to have stagnated recently. Please Master, be merciful and accept me as your disciple."

Zhao Degui was dumbfounded. His father had already knelt down, so he couldn't stand up either. He knelt down with a "plop". Then, a series of "plops" sounded. It was because the clerks saw that the boss had knelt down, so they couldn't stand up either, and they all knelt down.

Li Qiang couldn't stand this. In modern Chinese, apart from worshipping their ancestors and Bodhisattvas, who would kneel down to worship a living person?

Just as he stood up, there was a loud "gulp" beside him. Li Qiang was shocked. Who could make such a loud noise? It was like hitting a big bull. He looked down and saw the fat shopkeeper of the clothing store was also kneeling on the ground. Li Qiang held back his laughter and said, "Get up, or I'll leave."

Walking in front of Mr. Zhao, Li Qiang went to help him. Unexpectedly, the old man was so stubborn that he refused to get up and kept saying, "Master, be merciful! Master, be merciful!"

Li Qiang sighed helplessly and said, "Okay, okay, I'm merciful, I'm merciful, get up quickly." He thought to himself, "It's not necessary to do this for the sake of cultivation."

He didn't know how difficult it was to cultivate on this planet. In addition to consuming energy, it also cost a lot of money to buy immortal stones and to visit a master. If you don't cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage in your lifetime, all your efforts will be in vain.

"Master, please take a seat." Old Master Zhao said respectfully.

Li Qiang screamed, "No, no, I dare not accept you as my apprentice. You, don't kneel anymore, don't kneel, let's learn from each other, okay?" He thought to himself: I just sold some gems, but I ended up with an apprentice who is older than my father. How can I get along with him?

Cheng Zizhong was not surprised that Old Master Zhao became his apprentice. After all, it is not a shameful thing for a wise man to be a teacher. What he found strange was that Li Qiang seemed to be afraid of others kneeling to him. He would be in a mess if others knelt to him.

Seeing Li Qiang refuse, he smiled and persuaded: "Everyone, listen to me. Master Li seems unwilling to accept disciples."

Li Qiang nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes."

"And Master Zhao is determined to become your disciple."

Master Zhao said anxiously: "Don't call me Master Zhao, call me Zhao Hao. Master, you must accept your disciples no matter what. I beg you sincerely." The firm attitude made Li Qiang shudder.

"Then let Zhao Hao be Master Li's registered disciple, how about it?"

After a fierce struggle, Zhao Hao finally got what he wanted. This old man in his seventies became Li Qiang's first registered apprentice.

At Li Qiang's insistence, the jewelry on the coffee table was given to Zhao Hao's family as a gift, and the Yubin stone was given to Zhao Hao for practice. The silver shop settled the account of the ready-made clothing shop, and Li Qiang gave the cloak to Cheng Zizhong without hesitation, and picked out some jewelry and other items for the four little sisters.

Li Qiang knew very well that "harmony" is necessary anywhere.

After staying in the VIP room of the prefectural yamen for only one night, Li Qiang asked to move to the hotel. He didn't have any objections to Feng Kaiyun, he just wanted to learn more about the local customs and customs, but he couldn't see anything in the prefectural yamen.

With Cheng Zizhong's mediation, Feng Kaiyun had to agree. Li Qiang gave Feng Kaiyun, Cheng Zizhong and four little maids many gifts before leaving. Feng Kaiyun was a little surprised and mixed when he received the gifts. He didn't care what he was given. The important thing was to see that Li Qiang had no ill will towards him.

Zhao Hao, the old disciple, tried his best to invite Li Qiang to the silver shop. Li Qiang also wanted to rely on his experience to inquire about the situation of Tianting Star. At the same time, he also wanted to find a quiet place to practice some urgently needed devices, so he followed him.

Zhao Hao was very happy and was busy in the silver shop. Not only did he clean up the entire back garden, but he also found a few servants to serve Li Qiang. After everything was done, he followed Li Qiang closely and listened to the master's teachings step by step.

That night, Li Qiang began to practice his first weapon. When he collected the materials and tools and returned to his residence, the old disciple Zhao Hao refused to leave no matter what and insisted on staying in the house. He drove the servants away, closed the door, stood devoutly by the side, and looked at Li Qiang intently.

Li Qiang was angry and amused, but he was embarrassed to drive him away.

He first placed a defense array in the room, activated it with his true energy, and after checking that it was correct, he told Zhao Hao how to enter and exit, and asked him to stand in the Kun position of the defense array, because once he started practicing, the temperature in the defense array was definitely not something Zhao Hao could resist, and only standing in the Yin corner of the Kun position would not be affected. After all the preparations were completed, he began his first practice.

Li Qiang planned to practice a protective gear, a hand crossbow, and a spear first.

These three things were all in the bracelet Fu Shan left him, but they were all semi-finished products with a rudimentary shape, and they were still a long way from being mature. Li Qiang decided to practice these three things first and accumulate some experience, after all, it was still the first time for him to practice with tools.

First, take off your clothes and pants, and only wear a pair of shorts. Take out the protective gear, which is a diamond-shaped arm shield, only 30 cm in size, silver-white, and without patterns on it. Looking at Zhao Hao, he reminded him, "Don't disturb me when I'm refining the weapon. Just watch me."

Zhao Hao's cultivation has not reached this stage yet. He doesn't know how to practice, and he can't help but get nervous.

The inner armor of the sky full of stars emerged from Li Qiang's body, and Zhao Hao immediately understood why he had to take off his clothes. The shorts immediately turned into ashes, and the purple light illuminated the whole room. The small silver shield was suspended in the air, and two purple flames shot out from Li Qiang's hands, burning continuously.

Zhao Hao was stunned. This is the Samadhi True Fire, also called the Heart Fire. Only those who have cultivated to the Nascent Soul can have such a powerful true essence. He thought to himself, "It turns out that Master has already cultivated the Nascent Soul and is already a fairy."

Zhao Hao is actually ignorant. The cultivators in the cultivation world never think of themselves as fairies, and the cultivators who have cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage can be said to be numerous. Cultivators who can reach this level usually avoid the secular society and practice in seclusion. Moreover, Tianting Star is not a planet where cultivators gather. The only planet that is truly dominated by cultivators is Fengyuan Star where Fu Shan is located. Li Qiang's appearance here can only be said to be an accident.

Li Qiang's spirit has been completely integrated into the small silver shield. He found that there is a small protective formation in the silver shield, and there is no energy in it. Because the manufacturing method is recorded in the Jade Pupil Slip, it is not difficult for him. After careful adjustment, Li Qiang began to input energy.

Since Li Qiang's foundation is "Purple Flame Heart", which belongs to the fire nature, it is of great help to refine equipment. There are two types of refining equipment: "making refining" and "heart refining", and the difference between them is incomparable. "Making refining" is to use utensils as cauldrons, fairy stones as bottom fire, and control cultivation with true essence. "Heart refining" is to use heaven and earth as cauldrons, and use Samadhi true fire plus true essence to control cultivation. It is the supreme method of refining top-grade utensils.

Energy gradually filled the silver shield. Li Qiang used the "Broken Word Technique" to cut off the true essence, the "Solid Word Technique" to seal the formation, and the "Transformation Word Technique" to make the formation flow slowly in the silver shield. Although he was not very skilled, he still completed it smoothly.

Li Qiang suddenly had an idea and decided to add another formation to the silver shield, an attacking formation.

At this time, the importance of the storage bracelet can be seen. One by one, the fairy stones emerged from his hand and were thrown into the silver shield. They are: four water-based fairy stones for their softness, two gold-based fairy stones for their sharpness, and one fire-based fairy stone for their explosion.

Because it was the first time to make it, it was inevitable to bump and modify it, but it was finally completed.

After the core part was completed, Li Qiang decided to make the appearance of the silver shield more beautiful. The first image that came to mind was the "dragon". No matter what, the totem of the Chinese nation will always be rooted in the hearts of every descendant of Yanhuang. Li Qiang felt very satisfied with using the dragon as the shield.

It was surprisingly easy to forge the shield with Samadhi True Fire. The shield would look like what you thought. Li Qiang made the edge of the silver shield into a flame shape, embedded some gold and silver threads for embellishment, and finally completed the task.

The old apprentice Zhao Hao felt that he had broadened his horizons. Although he had been guarding for seven days and seven nights, he was still very happy.

Li Qiang opened his eyes and looked at the arm shield in his hand, with a proud look on his face.

The 30-centimeter silver arm shield had changed its appearance. The silver color was golden purple. The dragon on the shield was slightly raised, baring its teeth and claws as if it wanted to fly into the air. The flame-shaped edge of the shield seemed to be burning with a raging fire. Li Qiang himself was amazed and doubtful: "Such a beautiful arm shield was made by me? I can't believe it."

When he raised his hand, the arm shield automatically attached to his left arm. He immediately felt that the arm shield and himself were integrated. As long as he activated the true energy, the formation in the arm shield would be activated immediately. Li Qiang wanted to try its power. When he saw Zhao Hao, he smiled happily.

The old disciple Zhao Hao held his famous weapon "Giant Wind Blade", exerted all his strength, and shouted: "Watch the blade!"

The giant wind blade cut through the air, and the sharp sound of breaking through the air made people's scalps numb. Li Qiang moved his mind, and the protective array of the arm shield began to activate. A purple-gold dragon full of flames surrounded his body, and the attack array was also activated, "Ping...", "Boom..."

The giant wind blade shattered.

Li Qiang secretly cried out that it was not good, and hurriedly retracted the attack array. When he moved, he grabbed Zhao Hao's collar and threw him out. "It was a close call! It was a close call! He was almost finished. It's really a joke to tell others that the first disciple was killed by the first arm shield I refined, dizzy!"

Zhao Hao's knife was like a chop on a steel pillar, and what terrified him was that the steel pillar could hit him back. As the giant wind blade shattered, the recoil made his entire arm numb and his knuckles bleed. He watched the purple-gold dragon pounce on him and thought to himself, "It's over." Suddenly, he felt his collar tighten and he flew out like a cloud.

Sitting on the ground, Zhao Hao was filled with emotion: "My martial arts are outstanding among the Three Kingdoms in the 'Green Basin'. I am a master anyway. Master only used a small arm shield to test his moves, but I couldn't even deliver a single move. If it weren't for Master's help, it would be unimaginable!"

Li Qiang felt guilty and helped Zhao Hao up and said, "Hey, I broke your weapon. How about this, I'll refine a new one for you, as an apology to you."

The old apprentice Zhao Hao was surprised and happy. The weapon given by the master must be a treasure from the immortal family. "Thank you, Master. Do you have a name for this arm shield?" Seeing Li Qiang shaking his head, he said, "I have a name in mind. I wonder if Master likes it?"

Li Qiang asked curiously, "Tell me about it."

"How about calling it 'Red Flame Dragon Shield'?"

Li Qiang cheered loudly, "Okay, I like it, let's call it 'Red Flame Dragon Shield', haha."