Chapter 201: Senior Brother Ji, I Know Where the Problem Is

Just as Lu Yang was deeply imprisoned, pondering how to escape, Immortal Fairy awoke from her slumber.

Seeing Lu Yang confined in the dungeon, she beamed with delight. "Lu Yang," she exclaimed, "have you finally done enough bad deeds to be caught and punished?"

Lu Yang replied, "...Fairy, can't you ever wish me well?"

"Alright, I wish you a smooth reduction of your sentence."

Lu Yang took two deep breaths and reluctantly explained, "I'm just practicing a spell; there was a minor hiccup."

"What kind of spell are you practicing?" Immortal Fairy asked, curious about a spell that could imprison its caster in a dungeon.

"Drawing a Circle as a Prison."

"I see."

As they conversed, a large hand suddenly appeared, pulling Lu Yang up from underground. It was Ji Hongwen.

Earlier, Senior Brother Ji had watched as Lu Yang burrowed underground and constructed a cell for himself out of dirt.

Senior Brother Ji simply couldn't understand. Did the spell he taught have anything in common with what this kid had learned?

Oh, only the names were similar.

That was even more absurd!

Meeting Senior Brother Ji's helpless gaze, Lu Yang innocently blinked.

"Senior Brother Ji, is my 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison' still salvageable?"

Senior Brother Ji nodded calmly. "The sage advocated for teaching without discrimination," he said. "As long as the method is right, no student is unteachable. I can certainly teach you!"

Lu Yang's spirits lifted. "See," he thought, "Senior Brother Ji is reliable."

"Demonstrate what you've learned again," Senior Brother Ji instructed. "This time, draw the circle around me. I'll see where the problem lies."

"Understood."

Lu Yang recalled the sensation of casting the spell earlier. Using his hand as a pointer, he drew a circle around Senior Brother Ji.

The circle was perfect, mathematically precise.

Then Senior Brother Ji felt his body sink, and he was confined within a dungeon.

Senior Brother Ji was speechless.

He blinked, utterly bewildered by what had just occurred.

As a cultivator in the Integration stage, he could have easily resisted, preventing Lu Yang from imprisoning him. However, doing so would prevent him from understanding how Lu Yang had so drastically misinterpreted the spell.

Senior Brother Ji frequently substituted for the Fourth Elder in lectures, making him essentially a half-teacher.

As a teacher, it was his duty to educate his students.

Before teaching, one must first understand the student.

Senior Brother Ji knocked on the earthen pillars, finding the dungeon surprisingly robust—strong enough to hold a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, making it a viable combat technique.

Still, he couldn't grasp how Lu Yang had so completely twisted the spell.

Senior Brother Ji emerged from the dungeon. "Again," he said.

Lu Yang once more used his hand as a pointer, trapping Senior Brother Ji again.

Senior Brother Ji resembled a groundhog, repeatedly popping out and sinking back in. This cycle repeated dozens of times until, just as Lu Yang was preparing to cast it again, Senior Brother Ji called a halt.

"I know where the problem lies," Senior Brother Ji said, nodding calmly, his gaze deep.

Lu Yang was overjoyed and quickly asked Senior Brother Ji what the exact problem was.

"The problem is that I shouldn't have been teaching you."

"Huh?"

Senior Brother Ji sighed inwardly. It wasn't that he wasn't upholding the sage's philosophy; it was simply that his own insight was limited, and he couldn't comprehend it.

He even suspected that it wasn't a matter of him being unable to teach Lu Yang, but that even the sage himself would fail.

"Man Gu, Jing Zhou, both of you remember to practice diligently."

"Understood."

After extensive practice, Meng Jingzhou had gradually mastered the knack of 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison,' significantly improving his success rate. Man Gu, however, was still the same: he could only draw circles but couldn't trap anyone.

With that, Senior Brother Ji floated away, leaving the three still drawing circles in place.

"It's over, Senior Brother Ji has given up on you," Meng Jingzhou gloated, mocking Lu Yang.

"Dungeon!" Lu Yang, furious and embarrassed, quickly drew a circle around Meng Jingzhou. Meng Jingzhou yelled as he was confined to the dungeon.

Meng Jingzhou violently broke out of the dungeon and immediately drew a circle around Lu Yang, trapping him. "Drawing a Circle as a Prison!"

"Dungeon!"

"Drawing a Circle as a Prison!"

"Dungeon!"

"Drawing a Circle as a Prison!"

"You beast, you've caused boundless slaughter and countless vengeful spirits! Watch as this old monk suppresses you in the dungeon, never to rise again!"

"Old bald donkey, it's still uncertain who will suppress whom today! I'd like to see if you can escape the circle drawn by this Demon Venerable!"

"Hmph! Take this!"

"Take this!"

The two practiced the newly learned spell through actual combat, their proficiency visibly improving at a rapid pace.

Only Man Gu, with single-minded focus, continued drawing circles repeatedly on the side.

The two fought until their spiritual power was depleted, and both ceased fighting.

The two sat on the ground, panting with exhaustion. Having shouted out their moves during combat until their throats were parched, they used their remaining spiritual power to condense water spheres in the air and drank them with satisfaction.

"Senior Brother Man, I finally found you." A figure walked into the bamboo forest and found Man Gu.

"Li Haoran?" Lu Yang recognized the newcomer.

"So, Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Meng are both here," Li Haoran greeted.

"Senior Brother Man, the great hammer you commissioned me to modify is ready."

"So fast! Quick, quick, let me see!" Man Gu exclaimed, eager and excited to hear his weapon had been upgraded.

Without another word, Li Haoran retrieved a man-sized great iron hammer from his identity jade token.

The hammerhead of the great iron hammer resembled a massive red agate, looking incredibly substantial and weighing a thousand pounds. It shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight. The handle had been changed to pure white, perfectly matching Man Gu's white scholar's robe.

"Not bad, not bad," Man Gu said, weighing the great hammer. He swung it twice, creating whooshing sounds, and was very satisfied.

Li Haoran had also preserved the crucial function of playing "Words of the Sage" during combat.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged strange glances. "Junior Brother Li," Lu Yang asked, "are you sure this is a hammer?"

"Of course," Li Haoran nodded as if it were obvious.

Meng Jingzhou retorted, "What 'of course'? This is clearly a giant lollipop! Man Gu was just licking the hammerhead!"

Li Haoran explained his reasons for the modification. "Senior Brother Man originally asked me to add ramming horns to both ends of the hammer. However, considering he's a Confucian cultivator, I suggested that using a hammer to hit people would be an unrefined act, contradicting the public's impression of Confucian cultivators."

"Since Senior Brother Man enjoys fighting with a hammer, I devised a compromise: to transform the hammer into a giant lollipop. It's more approachable, can be used as a weapon in combat, and can be eaten during leisure. Carrying this large hammer around the streets can even spark children's interest, enhancing his popular appeal. It's truly a multi-purpose solution!"

Indeed, for popular appeal, no weapon could compare to a giant lollipop.

Lu Yang was speechless.

"Oh no," he thought, "I actually find some sense in what Li Haoran is saying. Have I been assimilated by Immortal Fairy?"

Man Gu added, "And Junior Brother Li's lollipops are twenty percent cheaper than those in the cafeteria."

Only then did Lu Yang recall that the cafeteria was also run by Artifact Forging Peak. He suspected Li Haoran was planning to open a lollipop shop there and was merely using Man Gu for some advance practice.

"This isn't about whether it's cheap or not..." Lu Yang mumbled, too weary to argue further. "Never mind, as long as you're happy." He gave up trying to dissuade them.

"Hmm?" Lu Yang heard someone transmitting a message to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Senior Sister Master is back. She wants me to return to Tianmen Peak."