Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 282: Chapter 159: What is Prodigious Talent?

Li Chang’an began his cultivation under Li Lin.

Li Lin was quite dedicated to Li Chang’an, his new closed-door disciple. He quickly offered a few casual pointers on cultivation techniques and insights.

He himself was a Martial God in the Refining God Realm.

Even a few casual pointers from him on the Martial Dao were as profound and untraceable as a gazelle hanging by its horns; an ordinary Martial Artist would have to rack their brains just to comprehend them.

But after Li Chang’an heard them, he only needed a moment of thought before he immediately began to answer.

Not only could he answer, but Li Chang’an could also extrapolate from one point to understand ten more, immediately firing back with several even more profound and difficult questions.

Upon hearing these questions, Li Lin was somewhat stunned.

He knew Li Chang’an’s talent was exceptional, but he never imagined it could be *this* good.

He had only casually tossed out a few insights on cultivation…

The fact that Li Chang’an could answer so quickly was already outrageous. What was even more outrageous was that not only could he answer, but he could also use those answers to formulate several new questions…

’Is this really a fucking five-year-old kid?’

’How can a five-year-old understand so much about the Martial Dao?’

Li Lin was taken aback, but he forced himself to calm down and answered the questions one by one. He was a Martial God, after all, and still had plenty of unique insights into the Martial Dao.

Li Chang’an nodded repeatedly as he listened, captivated by the profound principles he was hearing.

[With Heaven-defying Comprehension, you listened to the Martial God Li Lin’s discourse on the Martial Dao. Your understanding of the Martial Dao has deepened!]

[With Heaven-defying Comprehension, you listened to the Martial God Li Lin’s discourse on the Martial Dao. You have gained a deeper understanding of the Martial Scripture you created!]

[With Heaven-defying Comprehension, you listened to the Martial God Li Lin’s discourse on the Martial Dao. You have comprehended many new things and compiled them into the Martial Scripture!]

…

One day, two days.

One month, two months.

Li Chang’an continued to study under Li Lin.

At first, Li Lin was extremely satisfied with Li Chang’an’s performance—ecstatic, even. For such a genius to be born into the Royal Family was truly a great blessing for the Great Zhou Imperial Family.

But as time went on, Li Chang’an’s questions became increasingly tricky, and sometimes they were so profound that even Li Lin himself didn’t understand them.

Li Lin started to feel a headache coming on.

He was discovering that he couldn’t answer the questions posed by a five-year-old child!

And these were questions in the Martial Dao, his greatest area of expertise!

For a moment, Li Lin felt a bit dazed.

There was no doubt he was highly accomplished on the path of the Martial Dao; otherwise, he could never have climbed to the Martial God Realm.

’So where did the problem lie?’

Li Lin felt the problem wasn’t with him, but with the fact that Li Chang’an was just too good at learning.

Anything he taught, Li Chang’an almost never needed to hear a second time. He would basically master it on the spot.

Even on the rare occasion he made a mistake, as long as he received a timely correction, Li Chang’an would fix it immediately and guarantee he wouldn’t make the same error again.

No, that wasn’t all.

There were some problems and mistakes that Li Lin hadn’t even noticed himself, let alone corrected. But if Li Chang’an was given some time to tinker and ponder on his own, he could correct them himself.

Li Lin had lived for nearly two thousand years.

This was the first time he had ever seen anyone in the world with such terrifying talent.

Faced with this unreasonable, all-consuming absorption, even with all of Li Lin’s vast accomplishments in the Martial Dao, he couldn’t withstand being drained like this by Li Chang’an!

So, by the second month, the relationship between Li Lin and Li Chang’an had shifted from master and disciple to one of equal conversation and discussion.

By the third month, Li Chang’an and Li Lin had already become friends despite their vast age difference.

When Li Lin addressed Li Chang’an, he called him “little brother.” While Li Chang’an didn’t go so far as to call Li Lin “big brother,” he essentially maintained a posture of equality.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, three years had gone by.

By the time Li Chang’an was eight, Li Lin was starting to break out in a cold sweat. He found that not only could he no longer guide Li Chang’an’s cultivation, but on occasion, Li Chang’an could now offer him guidance instead.

This made him feel like he was losing face, so he secretly sought out Emperor Wu of Zhou and said, “Jie’er, your Martial Ancestor needs to discuss something with you!”

Emperor Wu of Zhou’s given name was Li Wuji, and at that moment he was in the Imperial Palace handling state affairs.

Seeing his Martial Ancestor suddenly seek him out, his forehead beaded with sweat, the Emperor’s expression immediately turned serious. He asked, “Martial Ancestor, what happened? Don’t tell me Great Yuan has sent troops to attack?”

Hearing Emperor Wu’s voice, Li Lin couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and shake his head. “It’s not about that…”

Li Wuji had a short temper—he wouldn’t be known to the outside world as Emperor Wu otherwise. Seeing his old ancestor’s hesitant expression, his eyes widened. “Martial Ancestor… what on earth happened to make you so agitated? Could it be that Great Yuan has allied with the Qiangman to… attack our Great Zhou?”

As he said this, Emperor Wu’s voice trembled.

If it were a war with just one nation, he wouldn’t be the least bit afraid. But if two nations had secretly formed a pact and joined forces, it would likely be an utterly brutal and vicious battle.

’But there were no signs of this beforehand. This shouldn’t be happening!’

Seeing his look of alarm and uncertainty, and guessing he was imagining all sorts of wild things, Li Lin couldn’t help but sigh. “No, no, that’s not it. Your Martial Ancestor has come to ask you to find a new master for your son!”

Hearing this, Li Wuji was completely dumbfounded. It took him a long moment to recover before he asked cautiously, “Martial Ancestor, what do you mean by that? Did Chang’an do something to make you angry?”

’Over the years, while I haven’t been entirely clear on my son’s and the Old Ancestor’s cultivation progress, the fact that the Old Ancestor has patiently taught him for so long must mean there have been some gains.’

’So what’s this about the Old Ancestor suddenly showing up to discuss finding a new master?’

Li Wuji was bewildered.

…