Chapter 18: Unremitting Self-Improvement

  The sun has long since set, and the sky is very dark.

  The dark night, as if it were going to swallow everything, also made people's hearts desperate.

  In this endless darkness, there is a faint flame the size of a soybean slowly burning, without any sound, quietly burning.

  Tang An had already woken up, and apart from feeling weak all over, he felt that everything else about him was unchanged. How he wished that yesterday's events were just a dream! But facing the empty dantian, he could only silently accept this helpless fact.

  The room is very large, but the light is very dim.

  This isn't his room, he knew it from the moment he woke up.

  The room was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. This sandalwood has an excellent effect on calming the mind, and the owner of this house must be someone who likes quietness. The room was decorated very simply, with a large bed, a round table, and a row of bookshelves. On the wall hung a calligraphy painting, with bold strokes and delicate lines.

  The picture is unclear, but there are only four words.

  Self-improvement with perseverance!

  Tang An saw these few words and suddenly felt a pang in his heart, but then he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh: "Self-reliance is easy to say, but hard to do."

  Just then, a "creak" sound came from the door, and the door was opened from the outside. A person walked in.

  After he came in, he gently closed the door again. His movements were very careful, and it could be seen that he was a very meticulous person. He didn't seem to want to wake up Tang An inside. In fact, he originally didn't want to come in, even though this was his room.

  But as soon as he saw the child lying on the bed inside, his heart was filled with guilt.

  Cang Feng walked into the house and first went to the bedside to see if Tang An had woken up.

  Seeing Tang An lying calmly on the bed, he turned back and added some oil to the lamp on the table.

  The light came on and the room gradually became clearer.

  Cang Feng poured himself a cup of tea, the tea had long been cold, he didn't care, and with a sudden jerk of his neck, the icy tea water entered his throat. The chill that pierced to the bone suddenly stimulated his mind, making him feel refreshed.

  "Hidden blade, hidden blade, what you did today, is it right or wrong?" The room was quiet, with no sound, only his own sighs.

  Cang Feng slowly pulled out a small, golden token from his bosom. This was the token given to him by his master, Li Chengfeng, as proof of his position as the sect's leader. His fingers gently stroked the surface of the token, and the sensation transmitted through his fingertips was clear. On it were clearly written four characters: "Tian Di Zheng Qi".

  Cang Feng's eyes stared fixedly at these four words, without blinking!

  He had never felt that these four words were so piercing, so full of irony!

  Suddenly, his eyes saw these four words twisted, as if mocking himself, not worthy of owning this token at all!

  Cang Feng's heart suddenly surged with a fierce stir, and he slammed the token heavily onto the table.

  "Of course it's wrong! How can I live up to these four words if I act like this? I, Cang Feng, from now on, where will I put the unyielding and upright spirit in my heart? In the future, when I teach my disciples, how can I speak with righteousness and severity? As a teacher, one should set an example, but if I myself cannot do it, how can I teach my disciples to be like this? I, Cang Feng, have always been upright and straight, but now... Alas..."

  Cang Feng let out a sigh, but then put the gold medal back in his pocket and started drinking tea with his head down. The water was icy cold and piercing to the bone. Perhaps only under such stimulation did Cang Feng feel that he hadn't made a mistake. Everything he did was for Shu Mountain!

  His mind flashed back to his master handing him this token, saying he was to inherit and maintain the thousand-year reputation of Shu Mountain in Jianghu.

  As for morality?

  Li Chengfeng didn't say much more.

  Cang Feng is no fool, he naturally understands that the Jianghu code of honor is insignificant compared to the thousand-year reputation of Shu Mountain!

  "Cough cough"

  A sudden coughing sound had abruptly entered Cang Feng's ears.

  It came from the bed.

  Tang An lay on the bed, and he heard every word that Cang Feng said. He had originally just wanted to continue pretending to sleep, but his throat suddenly felt a bit dry, and he couldn't help but start coughing.

  Cang Feng heard this voice and hastily concealed his expression. He quickly walked to the bedside, felt Tang An's pulse, and checked his condition.

  "Your body is fine, it's just your inner energy..."

  Cang Feng said, but couldn't continue. For a martial artist, losing one's inner energy was simply too devastating.

  Cang Feng looked at Tang An's dim eyes and comforted himself: "I hope this child is young and doesn't understand the reason for losing his inner energy. If that's the case, my heart will feel a little better too. If he's willing, there are many industries in Shu Mountain, I'll let him manage some of them, and it won't be a problem for him to become a rich man."

  Tang An saw that Cang Feng was in a difficult situation, and he already knew his own circumstances, but he thought it was only temporary. What Tang An didn't know was that Cang Feng felt guilty for not being able to deal with Wang Feng fairly.

  Tang An thought he understood why Cang Feng was having a hard time, but instead comforted him by saying: "I know my inner energy is gone, but I'm not afraid! As long as in the future, I work even harder to cultivate, this inner energy will one day return. Eldest senior brother, you don't have to be too self-reproachful."

  Looking at the six-year-old child's clear eyes, Cang Feng felt even more guilty. How he wanted to say, "You're right, inner energy can be cultivated back. In the future, when Shixiong has time, I'll guide you a bit, and who knows, your martial arts might make rapid progress."

  He couldn't tell the child in front of him the truth, saying "Your internal energy is very likely to never recover. Many people on Jianghu have been poisoned by the Bixi snake, but so far, only a few have recovered their internal energy."

  Cang Feng wanted to say something comforting to Tang An, but the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

  Cang Feng could only helplessly shake his head and comfortingly patted Tang An's head.

  Tang An saw Cang Feng's actions and observed his expression, Tang An's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think: "Could my situation be so bad?"

  Tang An thought of this and looked at Cang Feng again, his eyes only filled with deep guilt.

  Tang An's body suddenly trembled, his teeth clenched tightly, and he kept deceiving himself in his heart: "This is not true, this is not true!"

  But after a while, Tang An suddenly shook off the despair in his mind: "I don't believe it, there must be a way for me to recover! If even crossing over can happen, what's impossible in this world?"

  "Strive on with diligence! If I myself were to give up hope, then there would truly be no hope left!"

  Suddenly, Tang An thought of Zhang Wuji from "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber". He had been suffering from the cold poison since he was a child, and his parents had passed away, leaving him to wander the world alone. His experiences were far more tragic than his own. But then again, what about his ending? His martial arts skills were unmatched in the world, and he got to spend his life with the one he loved. How perfect is that?

  Thinking of this, Tang An felt that temporarily losing his inner strength was no big deal.

  He saw through the candlelight, and also saw the calligraphy hanging on the wall. The four big words "Self-improvement" were deeply imprinted in his mind.

  He looked and looked, and suddenly said to Cang Feng: "Brother, the calligraphy on your wall is very well-written."

  Cang Feng suddenly turned his head and saw the four big characters on the wall, and he was stunned.

  Immediately, Cang Feng burst out laughing loudly: "Good kid, good kid, you can understand, it's really great. From now on, as long as Shixiong is here, I will never let you suffer any grievances." However, Cang Feng didn't know that this promise of his was self-contradictory.

  But Tang An didn't listen carefully either, because at this moment, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

  "Congratulations, host, on completing the system's mental tempering. You are now on the path to becoming a master. Reputation +5."

  "Ding! The host currently has 11 reputation points, meeting the minimum requirement, and the system's treasure pavilion is unlocked." (Outer door disciple 1 point, inner door assessment won 5 rounds 5 points, plus these 5 points)

  "Ding~ Due to the host's current poisoned state, the system suggests that the host purchase 'Universal Antidote Pill', requiring 10 reputation points."

  To buy or not?

  Tang An was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became wildly excited!

  "So it was like this, I knew it shouldn't be like this now. It's really a narrow escape!"

  As soon as Tang An decided to buy it, a black pill appeared in his mind, and under the pill were the five big characters "Wanling Antidote Pill", along with a row of dense small characters introducing the efficacy of the pill.

  Universal Antidote Pill: After taking it, all negative effects caused by toxins in the jianghu will be eliminated within three days, and the host can recover to their pre-poisoned state within seven days.

  With the system's medicinal pill, Tang An only needed to infuse this effect into other medicinal pills and take them, and he would quickly recover.

  But after his recovery, he had to face a problem.

  Wang Feng!

  What will Shu Shan do to him?