Chapter 4- Was Your Journey Home Worry-free?

The training grounds of the Wu Clan were rather large. After one entered through the main entrance they would be greeted with an open area that could hold about two stadiums.

It had spectator seats that could hold more than a few thousand people. At its center were three huge podiums and four smaller ones. Off to the sides were areas with training dummies and targets that could be used for weapon practice.

On one of the smaller podiums that were closer to the main entrance, and where the crazed disciples were crowding around, a youth dressed in white scholar robes was there sitting in a lotus position.

He gave off a gentle and refined temperament that would make him stand out in any crowd. One striking feature of this youth that one would immediately notice upon looking at him was that his left pupil was blue while his right pupil was golden.

Coupled with his shoulder-length ash-brown hair and his smooth pale white skin, he gave people the sense of being odd. But this oddness was like a unique charm that would fill any young maiden's heart with adoration and longing.

One other thing that should be pointed out, was that if Longwei were to remove his disguise, his features and this youth's would have a 95% similarity.

"Young Master Longmin, isn't it better to practice Runes 'after' one enters the Foundation realm? Wouldn't it be detrimental to the mind and consciousness if you start at the 9th level of the Qi Gathering stage?"

Hearing the question, a smile appeared on Longmin's face. This instantly caused a few ladies in the crowd to feel faint while others had dazed expressions.

Though, a few of these fan girls strangely glared daggers at the male disciple who had asked the question, wishing that it was them that Longmin had smiled towards.

"Judging by the two runic symbols on your chest, you are a Grade Two Formation Master. That's rare for someone in the Qi Gathering Realm, you must be very talented."

Longmin praised, causing that disciple to slightly blushed while lowering his head. The female disciples after hearing Longmin's compliment intensified their jealous stares at him.

"You’re not wrong to ask that question, I'll explain why I said practicing Runes in the Qi Gathering realm is helpful, even with the risks involved."

Longmin paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.

"To break through to the Foundation Building realm, you first have to develop Spiritual Strength. And where does Spiritual Strength come from? It comes from the mind and consciousness of a person.

"You can think of the mind and consciousness as the physical body, and for your physical body to become stronger you'd first have to push every bone, muscle, and ligament to its limit. Only when they are at their absolute limit can they surpass that limit and become stronger. The same goes for your mind and consciousness. By practicing Runes, it pushes them to their limit to form Spiritual Strength.

Longmin paused before saying seriously.

“However, as you said, there are detriments in going about doing this. Runes were originally supposed to be practiced with Spiritual Strength in the first place, so practicing Runes with your mind and consciousness before they develop Spiritual Strength can cause irreparable damage to your soul. But if you are careful when practicing low-grade Runes and don't rush such a delicate matter, only great benefits can be rewarded for your efforts. Even disciples not from the Runes and Formation Division should think about using this method."

The disciple having his question answered had his eyes brightened as said.

"Thank you Young Master for your pointers."

Another disciple not too far away asked in a curious tone.

"Eldest brother Longmin, did you use this method to break through to the Foundation Building Realm?"

Longmin smiled and replied.

"Yes I did, and I was at the 7th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm when I developed Spiritual Strength."

The crowd immediately started to buzz with conversation while some disciples in the crowd exclaimed in admiration.

"Young Master Longmin is the Wu Clan's number-one genius in runes and formations!"

"Haha, of course he is! Even the Head Elder of the Runes and Formations Division have rumored to receive help from eldest brother Longmin to create the Qi Gather Formations on the four divisions' Mountains. Him giving us a lecture can be considered as a fortune for us."

Longmin with the same captivating smile on his face looked around the crowd and then said.

"As disciples from the four divisions, you are all considered to be new seedlings that will grow to support the clan in the future. As your Young Master and eldest brother, it is my responsibility to help each of you, no matter how small it may be to grow faster. So, you can ask me any questions and I'll do my best to answ..."

"I HAVE A BURNING HOT QUESTION!!

"Why are you tricking these poor disciples so shamelessly little brother? You're putting on so much airs you might as well have been a large fan in your past life."

Before Longmin could finish his sentence, a loud voice boomed in the training grounds followed by a round of slander to effectively cut him off.

All the disciples immediately felt a ringing in their ears from the initial shout. They covered their ears in an attempt to block out the piercing sound, but it was no use. It felt like the shout was directly entering their heads ignoring their hands.

Luckily, it didn't last for long as after a few breaths of time the shout died down.

Some of the disciples were still standing slightly disoriented, while some were on their butts with ashen faces, having received a jumpscare by the shout.

There were only two disciples that were completely knocked out with froth coming from their mouths. A wretched sight to behold.

If one was paying attention, one would immediately realize those two were the only ones that had addressed Longmin as eldest brother. That shout had been significantly louder for them than the others.

The skill and control someone would need to infuse their voice with Spiritual Qi and increase the volume for a person in a crowd while lowering it for the others was nothing short of difficult for anyone below the Core Formation Realm. But Longwei had done that even with his cultivation suppressed.

Following where the voice came from, everyone turned to look at the open booth above the main entrance that was only reserved for the Patriarch and Elders.

In the chair allocated to the Patriarch, they saw a youth with average looks sitting there lazily, a lackadaisical expression on his face.

But even with his average looks and comical sitting posture, he still gave off an unruly but aloof aura, which was a complete contrast with Longmin's gentle and approachable one.

"W-Who is that?"

"He actually dares to sit in the Patriarch's seat?!"

"Shush! Have both of you turned deaf from the shout? Didn't you hear him address Ying Master Longmin as little brother?"

The young man that just reprimanded the other two disciples then looked to the ground where the unconscious and frothing disciples were, before shivering slightly.

"It's young master Longwei, he's back. And it seems some people slipped up and broke his taboo in the clan. You know he has a massive ego that doesn't allow someone to address Young Master Longmin as eldest brother."

That’s right!

The two disciple's faces immediately turned white like a sheet of paper.

Longwei's reputation in the clan wasn't necessarily a bad one, after all, he was praised for his talents in martial arts and was even given the nickname the 'Wu Clan's young dragon.'

But his attitude at times could come off to others as very obstinate and overbearing, leading to some people being displeased on one end of the spectrum, and some respecting him for his manliness on the other end.

On the stage, Longmin was still sitting in a lotus posture as he gave Longwei a sheepish look. Which to some would've made their anger towards him lessen a notch.

"Welcome back twin brother, was your journey home worry-free?"

Longmin said while emphasizing the word twin.