92. You Don't Have Enough Talent
"...No." Yun Ling replied, somewhat speechless.
"Master, the Immortal Jingwei is Ahua!" Li Sushang explained the whole story.
"Oh." Cheng Lingshuang nodded.
The contrast between Ahua and Jingwei was too great; she subconsciously thought they were two different people.
"Hello, Ahua." Cheng Lingshuang greeted Ahua.
"I want to talk to you…" Ahua said, revealing her purpose.
"Hmm." Cheng Lingshuang showed no intention of moving.
After a while, the atmosphere became awkward again. The two of them should at least keep their conversation a little private and take Ahua inside to talk it out slowly!
But Cheng Lingshuang was completely unaware of it and just stood there waiting for Ahua to speak.
"Uncle-Master, let me take you for a stroll down the mountain." Li Sushang took the initiative to pull Yun Ling away from there.
Ahua finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked seriously at Cheng Lingshuang in front of her.
"Cheng Lingshuang, I want to ask you... Do you hate me?"
Cheng Lingshuang shook her head decisively.
"We have no connection, so why should I hate you?"
"No... I mean, um, do you hate Jingwei?" Ahua quickly corrected herself.
"Why ask this question?" Cheng Lingshuang didn't answer directly, but asked in return.
"Because...she wants to know!"
...
Li Sushang led Yun Ling to the market at the foot of the mountain and familiarly introduced the surrounding scenery to Yun Ling.
Aside from her daily sword practice, her greatest interest was lingering at the foot of the mountain.
"Uncle-Master Yin Ling, this is my favorite shop."
"The clothes here are all so beautiful!"
"And over there, that's where I often hear stories of the martial arts world. This storyteller has been here for over ten years! Let's go take a look!"
Li Sushang led Yun Ling to a teahouse. The storyteller was taking a break. Many people were sitting in the teahouse, but most of them were children.
The storyteller held a folding fan, took a sip of tea, looked at the expectant expressions of the people below, waited for a moment, and then stood up.
The storyteller tapped his folding fan against his palm, making a crisp sound.
"Today we're going to talk about Yun Ling, the chief disciple of Taixu."
"Hey, that's exactly what I was talking about!" Li Sushang said with a hint of excitement.
"Legend has it that Yun Ling is the reincarnation of a sword immortal. When learning swordsmanship, he can perfectly replicate it after seeing it only once, and master it after practicing it only once."
"Wow, Uncle-Master, is this true?" Li Sushang asked in a low voice.
"More or less." Yun Ling took a sip of tea and nodded.
"Uncle-Master is so amazing... So who is more amazing, you or Master?" Li Sushang blinked.
"She's a little less talented than me," Yun Ling explained.
"Were you even better than Master..." Li Sushang's eyes were filled with longing.
"It's a pity that his talent was so outstanding that even the heavens were jealous of his talent and sent him an incurable disease." The storyteller sighed with regret.
"Despite his frail health, under the guidance of the immortals, he can still wield a long sword and vanquish all demons."
"Today we're going to tell the story of Yun Ling's first sword test!"
As the storyteller slowly began to speak, he vividly described Yun Ling's sword-testing process.
Upon hearing that Yun Ling, at only six years old, was able to exorcise demons on his own and act decisively to destroy the soon-to-be-resurrected "Chi You's flesh and blood," the audience below applauded and cheered.
"Good!" Li Sushang responded loudly and began to clap her hands uncontrollably.
Yun Ling glanced at her. Was it really necessary to get so worked up?
"Uncle-Master, did you really start testing your sword skills at the age of six?" Li Sushang turned to ask Yun Ling, but in a joking tone.
After all, many of the things storytellers say are fabricated and cannot be taken at face value.
"Yes, because at that time I had already learned everything except 'Divine Essence', so my master took me down the mountain to test my sword skills."
"The process wasn't as bizarre as he described. It was simply a matter of finding the lair of the Nine Netherworld Clan and wiping them out in one fell swoop."
"Huh?!" Li Sushang's mouth dropped open; she hadn't expected it to be true.
And at only six years old... he's already learned everything except for Divine Essence?
"Uncle-Master, you're not kidding, are you? It took me two whole years to learn just the Form Essence! And it took me five years to fully comprehend the Soul Essence!" Li Sushang said sourly.
"Then I guess you must have started learning when you were one or two years old, Uncle-Master." Li Sushang comforted herself.
"No, I went to Mount Taixu when I was six years old. I learned the Form Essence and Soul Essence in one day, the Intent Essence in two days, and there is no more progress in Sword Heart Essence after I reached the 'Dustless' level because the Sword Heart Technique isn't suitable for men, and men can only reach the 'Dustless' level."
"How long did it take?" Li Sushang felt as if swords were being stabbed into her chest.
Although Yun Ling didn't mean it that way, she felt that Yun Ling was constantly emphasizing that she was a good-for-nothing...
"Half an hour."
"What about the Divine Essence?" Li Sushang continued to ask.
"Less than a month."
"Uncle-Master, I suddenly feel that it's only right that Heaven punish you... Ouch!" Li Sushang held her head; a bump had appeared on her forehead.
After the storyteller finished telling his story, people gradually dispersed.
But the storyteller did not walk towards the back; instead, he walked towards Yun Ling's direction.
His expression was utterly empty, as if he had been possessed.
Yun Ling frowned, feeling that this scene seemed familiar.
"Yun Ling, I will find you!"
"Who exactly are you?" Yun Ling asked the storyteller.
He remembered—wasn't this the same scene as on Wangshan Mountain back then?
It's just that the Jiang sisters were the ones who relayed the message at the time.
"Hehehe..." The storyteller chuckled sinisterly, without replying.
The illusion vanished, and the storyteller disappeared without a trace.
"Uncle-Master, Uncle-Master?" Li Sushang poked Yun Ling's face.
"...What's wrong?" Yun Ling asked, puzzled.
"Should we go now..." Li Sushang asked cautiously.
Yun Ling looked around. The teahouse was almost empty, and it was already dark outside.
More than an hour had passed.
"Let's go." Yun Ling took a deep breath, got up, and left the teahouse.
"Uncle-Master, are you alright?" Li Sushang asked.
Yun Ling had been in a daze for a full hour before he came to his senses.
"It's nothing, just a slight insight," Yun Ling shook his head, making up a casual excuse.
"Huh? You've had another insight while we were just having tea?" Li Sushang's lips twitched. This was really discouraging.
"By the way, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now. Since you've already mastered the Taixu Sword Qi at such a young age, what will you learn next?"
"Next, I created my own cultivation method," Yun Ling replied.
"Self-created?! Martial Uncle, your self-created technique can't be more powerful than the 'Taixu Sword Qi', can it?" Li Sushang's eyes showed a hint of anticipation.
"Um."
"Can you teach me?"
"You don't have enough talent."
"..."