Wh Xue's Creepiness

"Teacher, please help me!" Wu Xue kneeled and prostrated himself on the ground, "I want to surpass Wu Qing!"

Black lines appeared on Xu Ling's face and she was momentarily speechless, "You sounded confident before, changed your mind?"

"I hate being pretentious, so I admit I was indeed wrong for being baselessly confident," Wu Xue said, "Please forgive me if I disappointed you."

"Hmmm," Xu Ling pondered for a few seconds before saying, "I heard she will be returning for a visit 8 years from now, so it's indeed difficult. 

"For others, that is."

Wu Xue's eyes sparkled in anticipation after heading that.

"But I won't help you unless you show yourself to be capable enough," Xu Ling smiled, "I will give you a test, and you need to pass it in one month."

Wu Xue gulped and asked, "Is it very difficult?"

Xu Ling grinned, "Very difficult!"

"Teacher, please be merciful!" Wu Xue shouted, "You know I have a mortal physique and soul, I have no exceptional talent except the luck of being born in my family."

"Already cowering in fear?" Xu Ling sighed, "It seems I expected too much from you."

"No! Of course, I'm not afraid! I... I was just saying I will have to do my best to compensate for my lack of talent," Wu Xue tried to explain his words with lies.

Xu Ling looked at him with a strange expression, as if impressed by the thickness of his skin.

"The test is for you to comprehend an Artistc Conception in one month, no matter the kind," Xu Ling explained, "If you fail, I will not help you in your goal of surpassing that girl."

Wu Xue took a deep breath and said, "Please, at least show and teach me more about it, I need your guidance!"

"It is supposed to be a test, why would I help you?" Xu Ling asked meaningfully 

"Because you are the one I trust the most," Wu Xue shouted bold words, "Your status in my heart has always been at the same height as my parents, but my parents don't have much time to teach me, they are always outside except a few days each month."

Xu Ling looked at him with tenderness, but quickly concealed it and said, "No matter, you should do your best."

"Teacher!" Wu Xue begged again.

Xu Ling sighed and found her heart to be quite weak to his pleading, "Okay, I will give you a tip." She then handed a small booklet to him.

"This is a very brief resume of what an Artistc Conception is, do your best," she left those words and left, leaving him alone in his cave abode.

Outside, Wu Cang was waiting for her and asked, "Aren't you basically refusing him? Why give him such an impossible test?"

"Because he needs to learn how harsh reality is," Xu Ling sighed, "It will be a harsh path for someone like him to reach a high cultivation base."

"Didn't you say he has a good comprehension?" Wu Cang asked.

"Yes, but it remains unknown how useful it is to comprehend things related to the rules of the world," she explained, "Even if he fails this test, as long as he comprehends an artistic conception within twenty years, I will still accept him as my true disciple

"Otherwise... I can only stop at being his teacher for a while. After all, if his comprehension is not enough, it won't matter how high my methods are."

Wu Cang shook his head and sighed, he knew it was difficult for someone like his son to comprehend an artistic conception in just twenty years. Although it wasn't impossible, it would require some luck and immense hard work. He wondered if his young son had the willpower to pass this test.

He knew that Xu Ling was being immensely generous by giving so much time to his son.

"Thank you for taking care of him," he bowed deeply, "I'm an incompetent father, and I almost don't stop at home."

"Just do your best," Xu Ling smiled and went to her own residence.

Wu Cang looked at his son's cave abode for a moment before leaving too.

Inside his cave abode, Wu Xue was focused on reading the booklet. It contained basic but solid information about how to comprehend Artistic Conceptions and could be used to give a firm direction to him.

"To comprehend, to incorporate, to use, to transform..." he muttered some words, "It's indeed not simple, but I will do my best."

He meditated for a while and decided what he would try to comprehend first, "Time, it feels amazing."

It was one of the most difficult Artistic Conceptions to comprehend, but he was oblivious to it since no one taught him. He just felt it would be very powerful.

He suddenly remembered some poems he had read before, they spoke of time as a river, as the strongest force, as the origin of cause and effect... 

"Time is merciless, but also tender

"Time is tender, but it is harsh to beart it's love

"The kiss of time is as sweet as a wine brewed in summer but tasted in the winter.

"It brings heat to the cold nothingness, but also coldness to the warm hearts when in excess.

"What is time? It is my words written but is also on the mind of the one who reads.

"Time is a beautiful poem, but without rhymes."

Wu Xue picked a pen and began to write poems, he felt like it could help.

Time passed quickly, and without him noticing, two days passed by and he was still writing poems.

He finally put his pen down and looked at the filled pages with his poems. He felt unsatisfied, but also sure about something.

"Time sucks... What is the meaning?" he suddenly muttered with melancholy, showing uncommon maturity for his age, "No matter how high, all peaks eventually turn into stones by the bank of the river...

"Time is not a river, it is a confirmation of our limitations.

"What has to be done, has already been done before, and before that.

"But time is not a cycle. For it cannot exist by itself, will time go against itself? First is the past, then comes the future.

"Who can fantom all the truth? 

"Someone who can die will always... eventually die, no matter how strong and mighty he is."

"If someone can die, he cannot fantom the truth, he is below it.

"But then, how can I comprehend such a high concept?"

He pondered for a whole day, he didn't eat or drink water despite his body's urges.

"Time... is not the culprit for the changes.

"But time punishes what is pretentious."

He had a sudden feeling, he looked at the mirror and saw his pale face, he remembered how his face normally looked.

It was such a simple thing. Some people might say such an act can't trigger enlightenment. But there is only one truth, no matter others' opinions.

"What is pretentious... " he muttered and suddenly collapsed on the floor.

But his mind was exceptionally active, various ideas surged like powerful rivers, but he refused all of them. He ignored all of it, he just counted time.

"One second... two seconds... three... four..."

After an unknown amount of time, he stopped counting, his mind was now as calm as an ancient pond. Rather than ideas, what appeared in his mind was what he called "meanings". It didn't come from himself, but from outside, from the world.

Those are truths not only about time but also about something that from the very beginning shouldn't be separated from it, space. Time and Space couldn't be without one another.

"If time is, space can only be as well. Space is the body of changes, and time is the soul.

"Space is one, as time is one.

"What is far away can be as close as one's shadow, time is also in it."

He knew his mind was in a strange state, it was somewhat detached from his body. Time in his mind... was passing more quickly than in real time, although the difference was minimal.

"Time..." he muttered, "I guess I was trying something incredible and succeeded. Am I great for doing it? I don't think so, it is also the work of time.

"But my body is not in a good condition, it is exhausted and all my energy was spent by my brain, or rather, my mind. It's a dangerous situation and my organs were on the brink of failing.

"I might die if no one notices..." Despite that thought, he felt relaxed, he even smiled, "I guess comprehending time has put me on a path I can't return from.

"It's difficult to comprehend and hard to pay the price.

"I once heard about depression in a book, mortals often suffer from it, do I have it now? But I guess it's more complicated, it's difficult for my brain to simply get sick now that I'm a cultivator..."

Fortunately, Wu Tian visited his cave abode and found him unconscious, he was worried and quickly found Xu Ling.

"Don't worry, he just needs some rest," she said as she used a healing spell on him, "I guess he immersed himself so much he forgot to pay attention to his body."

After a while, Wu Xue opened his eyes, the gloom below them seemed a bit deeper than before.

"Thank you, teacher, brother," he said with a smile.

"What were you doing there?" Wu Tian smacked his head mercilessly, "Don't you have bigu pills? It's so easy to eat them, and you also have easy to access water, there is everything, but you managed to get into this situation!!"

"...heh," Wu Xue grinned, "Thank you for saving me."

"When mother knows about it... she will peel off your skin!" Wu Tian said with clenched teeth.

"Nah," Wu Xue looked at his hands, "She won't."

"So?" Xu Ling suddenly asked, "Have you gotten anything useful out of this situation?

"If not, I will personally punish you..."

Xu Ling was genuinely angry. She never thought that the usually clever Wu Xue would be so stupid he would forget to eat and drink water.

But she knew it wasn't enough to put him in the state he was in, his body was basically on the verge of death after a few days. He was a cultivator, after all, so it shouldn't have happened.

Wu Xue felt it novel, it was rare for Xu Ling to show an angry expression.

"Are you not going to say anything?" she asked again.

"Well, I comprehended," he explained, "But it caused me to be out of touch with reality."

"Really?" Wu Tian looked at him dubiously, "Are you telling the truth?" He didn't believe his talentless brother could comprehend an artistic conception so quickly.

"Give me a pen and a paper," Wu Xue asked with a smile, "I will show you one of the things I learned."

Wu Tian then gave him what he asked and waited.

Wu Xue wrote the word "now" in the paper, but just after it suddenly disappeared. 

"!!!" Both Wu Tian and Xu Ling were shocked at the sight.

"Well, I'm still too weak to do a greater show of it, but I guess you can see what it is, right?"

"Time..." Wu Tian, "You, you, you... understood the artistic conception of time?"

Wu Xue was surprised at his extreme reaction and asked, "I felt it before, but is time more difficult to comprehend? It felt so majestic and untouchable."

"Hah," Xu Ling laughed with a surprised and confused expression, "You... how did you do it?" She knew very well he had no special physique and soul, so she didn't understand how he managed to comprehend time, one of the most difficult elements.

"I just wanted to do it, I tried my best," Wu Xue explained, "But my best wasn't enough, so I suddenly understood, that trying itself is wrong when dealing with time.

"It hates pretentious people, so I just allowed myself to be smaller and smaller, until I was so small that time accepted me."

"I don't understand what you are talking about," Wu Tian said, "But did a good job. It's extremely difficult to understand time, even to those with amazing talents."

"Oh," Wu Xue wasn't too surprised, "There's nothing to be proud of, it's just an artistic conception, there are many higher levels above it, that were more difficult to comprehend."

"You don't understand..." Wu Tian shook his head, "The most difficult part of comprehending time is getting started. After getting started, you can slowly figure out the following levels."

"Oh," Wu Xue gave a short reaction and asked, "Master, I passed your test, will you help me?"

Xu Ling was recovering from the shock she received and said, "I will keep my word."

"And not only that...

"Wu Xue, I want to take you as my disciple, do you accept me as your master?"

"He does, he does!" Wu Tian nodded Wu Xue's head in his place, "Of course he does."

"Big Brother," Wu Xue felt helpless.

"Stop," Xu Ling gave Wu Tian a sharp look and he immediately stopped.

Wu Xue was silent for a moment before he got up from the bed he was lying in, he opened a window and looked at the scenario outside.

"Teacher, the world is wide," he said with a calm face, "There are more talented people out there, don't waste your time with me."

Xu Ling felt unhappy with his words and said sternly, "You little brat, do you think I didn't think enough? I have always wanted to accept you as my true disciple, since your birth!"

"Huh?" Wu Xue was surprised, "So that's the reason you were my teacher."

"That is right!" Xu Ling nodded, "So, what is your answer?"

"No," Wu Xue said with a calm expression, "I don't want to."

The room was in complete silence for a few moments before Wu Tian exploded out of rage, but he was immediately thrown outside before he could beat Wu Xue.

"Why?" Xu Ling asked with a calm face but turbulent feelings, "Just so you know, I'm a very powerful being, even your parents dream of being my disciple."

"I don't feel worthy," Wu Xue said, "I learned a few things from this incident, and one of them is how small and insignificant I am.

"My ambition died, teacher, I don't think I can be your disciple properly, I will simply shame your name."

"What exactly happened?" Xu Ling asked with a frown, "Just one enlightenment caused such change in your temperament?"

"It's my choice," Wu Xue said lightly, "I lost my ambition, and don't want to build another."

Xu Ling suddenly understood what was happening. Wu Xue was just a kid, but he entered into contact with a very elevated concept such as time, and he couldn't avoid being affected.

She sighed and felt a bit guilty, but her eyes turned firm.

"No," she said, "You WILL be my disciple."

"Are you going to force me?" Wu Xue was surprised.

"That's right, you have no choice," she said with a determined mind, "Even if your parents refuse, it will be of no use."

"Okay, then," Wu Xue simply shrugged and kotowed, "Disciple greets Master."

"???" Xu Ling was stunned for a moment by the sudden turn of events.

"I don't want to, but if you, teacher, want it so much, I feel like changing my mind," Wu Xue grinned, "Didn't I say it before? You are a very important person to me, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable because of me.

"So, I think it is enough of a reason for me to change my mind. What can I do about it?"

Xu Ling felt her emotions boiling, she hugged him and said, "I'm sorry."

"What are talking about?" Wu Xue smiled, "I'm happy I experienced this. It made me... feel a kind of freedom I never felt before."

"Don't get lost in this feeling," she said, "You are just a kid, act and think like one!"

"Master..." Wu Xue smiled bitterly, "I'm not suffering, I'm actually happy the way I am. Why are you talking like this?"

"Are you really okay?" she asked with tenderness in her eyes.

"Pfft," Wu Xue couldn't help but laugh, "Are you my master or my mother?"

Xu Ling instantly felt angered, "You..."

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Wu Xue suddenly pointed to the pen he used just a while before, "I learned another artistic conception at the same time."

"???" Question marks popped above Xu Ling's head.

"Although it wasn't my intention, it felt somewhat inevitable. Anyway, it is..." he said and the pen suddenly appeared in his hand, as if it had teleported, "The artistic conception of space."

"!!!" Xu Ling was in shock for a moment, even her high cultivation base couldn't help her avoid it.

"Brother, you creep!" Wu Tian shouted from outside, he obviously heard what Wu Xue said.