Chapter 181: Meeting One’s Match, the General Meets the Genius
Chen Fan arrived at the same time as his words. He landed in front of Meng Hao, glaring up coldly at the man named Li.
The Li man’s expression became somewhat unsightly. He stared at Chen Fan, and his gaze especially seemed to take note of the black flying dagger.
“Do you really think you can protect him forever?” he said with a cold snort. His face filled with disdain as he looked at Meng Hao. “He won’t amount to anything if all he can do is hide behind others. It seems mid Foundation Establishment is the end of the line for him!”
“As long as I’m here, I won’t let you touch a hair on my little Junior Brother’s head!” said Chen Fan, his voice cool, but hard enough to chop nails and slice iron.
Li glared hatefully at Meng Hao, his disdain growing thicker. “If it weren’t for your Elder Brother, I would kill you with the wave of a hand. Let’s see how long you can keep hiding!” He turned, flicking his sleeve and disappearing into the distance.
Meng Hao sighed as he watched the man leave. He had read the man’s expression, of course, but could do nothing about it. Exterminating him would be simple, but twice now, Chen Fan had stood in front of him, making it impossible to proceed with battle.
Chen Fan looked back at Meng Hao, who gave a wry smile.
Chen Fan, of course, misinterpreted Meng Hao’s expression. “Don’t worry, little Junior Brother,” he said comfortingly. “That Li fellow is nothing. With me here, he won’t dare to bully you.” His expression was one of concern, leaving Meng Hao without a word to say. “Unfortunately, Master went into secluded meditation last month, and it seems he won’t emerge for a few more months. I left him a message, though. He’ll get it as soon as he comes out.
“After you and I get back from the Song Clan, you can officially join the Solitary Sword Sect. Then that Li guy won’t dare to mess with you. Although, in the meantime, you need to be a bit more careful. Well, I’ll be here by your side anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Chen Fan’s concern made Meng Hao feel warm in his heart. “Many thanks, Elder Brother,” he said, clasping hands and bowing.
“What’s there to thank? Don’t be so polite! Come come. Let’s light some candles and chat all night.” He laughed heartily as he pulled Meng Hao into the house. Once inside, he slapped his bag of holding to produce two jars of alcohol.
“Your Elder Brother doesn’t have much to offer here. But when I went to Master’s I grabbed these two jars of Sword Wine. This stuff is pretty good. I’ve really come to like it over the past few years.” He handed one of the jars to Meng Hao, then opened his own and took a swig.
Meng Hao accepted the jar and took a drink. His face immediately grew a bit red, and his entire body suddenly felt hot and dry. Sweat broke out all over. He took a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.
He felt as if his entire body had just been washed out. Sweating, he continued to breathe in and out. His eyes seemed to glisten a bit more brightly. He looked at Chen Fan.
“What alcohol is this?”
“Master brews it himself. Heh heh. Come on, drink up. This alcohol is really good for Cultivators, especially for the Foundation Establishment stage. It’s comparable to medicinal pills!” He smiled and took another drink. “I drink this stuff all the time. Oh, by the way, little Junior Brother, I see your Cultivation base is at the mid Foundation Establishment level. Don’t forget, we Cultivators are building mountains; you must establish a firm foundation.” His words were earnest, causing Meng Hao to put down his jar of alcohol and listen thoughtfully. Occasionally he nodded in agreement. “Don’t greedily speed through the various stages and ignore your fundamentals.
“Take me, for example. I could have created my fourth Dao Pillar and entered mid Foundation Establishment last year. But Master wouldn’t permit it. He always says that creating Dao Pillars is like turning trees into boats. It can’t be undone. The best thing to do is go with the flow, and exercise caution. Creating a fourth Dao Pillar isn’t as important as refining the third pillar. Once it is full and complete, then the fourth Dao Pillar can be created properly.
“Another thing,” said Chen Fan, sounding extremely serious. “During the course of our Cultivating, we are bound to encounter friction with other Cultivators. But you cannot solve all problems by killing! You need to understand that regardless of whether you’re talking about magical techniques or magical items, they are all just ways to protect the Dao! They are protection, not the Dao itself!
“What is the Dao? My Cultivation base isn’t high enough, so I probably shouldn’t even bring it up. But Master told me that even though he doesn’t quite understand it himself, there’s something that should never be forgotten; killing and magical techniques are all just for protection!
“Don’t let your Dao be overwhelmed by kil