socalfunplaces 816. Expressing one's feelings
816. Expressing one's feelings
Seeing this, Wei Jiangyuan frowned and explained, "I just feel like I've wasted time. Can't I try harder?"
To everyone's surprise, Shennong, the old man, was furious upon hearing this: "Wei Jiangyuan! You've been by my side since you were thirteen. As your teacher, do you think I don't know your true nature better than you do?"
"On the surface, you seem indifferent to everything, and you appear unconcerned about winning or losing. But in reality, your competitive spirit is stronger and fiercer than anyone else's!"
"After the Pill Gathering ended, you refused to go back to see me. Wasn't it because you felt you had lost to Xiao Yan and were still holding a grudge?"
"I have reminded you many times that the speed of progress of the descendants of Dou Di before reaching the Dou Sheng realm is beyond imagination. You believe it on the surface, but deep down you are unwilling to admit defeat, so you have always wanted to compare yourself with them."
"But this time you discovered that the gap was too big, so you got scared. You felt that you would really fall behind completely. You couldn't keep up with Xiao Yan and that little guy from the Thunder Clan, so you didn't even bother to sort out your mindset. You were so eager to break through the bottleneck in alchemy and painstakingly maintain your reputation as a genius."
Hearing this, Wei Jiangyuan, who had been silent all along, began to feel unconvinced and wanted to refute, but he didn't have a chance to speak.
"I know what you're trying to say—that you don't care about the empty title of a prodigy. Yes, I believe that. But you're afraid that you're just an ordinary person, not a truly outstanding genius. You desperately want to use alchemy to fill the void and disappointment in your heart. Wei Jiangyuan, am I right? Have I misjudged you?"
These words struck Wei Jiangyuan's heart like heavy hammer blows. All color drained from his face, and he felt an overwhelming sense of shame. He stared intently at the ground, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he finally slowly raised his head.
When his gaze met his teacher's, he saw reproach, disappointment, but more importantly, concern for him. Finally, with difficulty and hesitancy, he nodded, acknowledging everything his teacher had said.
Seeing that his disciple had finally stopped being stubborn and was willing to face his own heart, the stern look on Shennong's face softened slightly, but his eyes remained solemn.
"I won't stop you from wanting to win, but you must understand that there are always people better than you, and the sky's the limit. Don't think that just because you're not as good as others, it means you haven't worked hard enough. There's an even harder-to-accept possibility: that they are simply better than you!"
"There's nothing shameful about recognizing this."
"I don't believe it!" After listening to what the old man Shennong had said, Wei Jiangyuan finally looked at the old man Shennong and answered him very solemnly, word by word.
"Don't believe in what?"
"I don't believe that everyone of them is really better than me. I admit that I am not as good as them now, but I don't believe that every single one of them can be ahead of me." He took a breath, as if he wanted to expel all the pent-up frustration in his chest.
"Teacher, whether it's one or two, I won't let everyone get ahead of me. If it's not possible now, it's not possible. With your guidance, I will definitely have a chance." Wei Jiangyuan's eyes regained their sparkle.
"Very well." A hint of relief suddenly appeared in the eyes of the old man Shennong.
"Good lad! With you saying that, I'm relieved!"
"Let me show you that as long as you're determined to catch up with them, the resources I can provide will definitely be no worse than theirs!"
Before he finished speaking, Shennong, the old man, suddenly waved his sleeve, and a vast amount of life force surged and filled the entire room. A warm, jade-like emerald flame floated quietly above Shennong's palm; this was none other than the fifth-ranked wonder of heaven and earth on the list of extraordinary flames—the Flame of Life.
"Get ready, the Flame of Life will be passed on to you in a while."
Upon hearing this, Wei Jiangyuan was completely stunned. He knew all too well what the Flame of Life meant to his teacher; it was a rare and precious flame that his teacher had finally subdued after overcoming countless hardships and expending countless efforts.
"How can this be?"
The old man Shennong chuckled easily, "Why not?"
"Are you worried that without the Flame of Life, your teacher won't be able to refine ninth-grade pills?"
"Or do you think you're unworthy of this flame?"
The old man Shennong looked at the strange fire in his palm without any hesitation: "The strange fire is, after all, just an inanimate object. When my lifespan ends, I will have to give it to you sooner or later. Do you think I would let this flame be buried with me?"
"You are my heir; if I don't give this extraordinary fire to you, who else can I give it to?"
Hearing this, Wei Jiangyuan knew perfectly well how much his teacher cared for him, but a thousand words stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered: "Teacher..."
"There's no need to say anything more mushy; you don't know how, and I don't like to hear it."
"You've learned your lesson enough this time. You don't like hearing it usually, so I'll have to say a few more words today. It's good that young people are competitive, but you must also remember that the people in the Heavenly Tomb are the most outstanding geniuses on the continent."
"It's fine if you're confident you can catch up, and your teacher will do everything in her power to help you. But if you do lose to one of them, don't be discouraged, and don't lose your temper like you did this time."
"Human strength has its limits. When I was young, I wanted to reach the ninth rank or higher, but now it seems hopeless in this lifetime. For someone like you, recognizing your own ordinariness is a hurdle."
Wei Jiangyuan listened very attentively this time, and finally nodded seriously: "I understand, teacher. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
"There is indeed one more extremely important thing that you absolutely must do!"
Wei Jiangyuan quickly composed himself and straightened his back: "Teacher, please speak, I am listening."
"Don't let Qingyu down, or if she becomes a Dou Sheng, I'll be the first to not forgive you!"
Upon hearing Yao Qingyu's name, Wei Jiangyuan was also very surprised: "Qingyu, what happened to her? She was the first person I saw when I came back."
"Hmph, you brat, you still remember seeing her? If Qingyu hadn't told me, how would I have known you were about to go crazy?" Shennong the Elder scolded.
Recalling everything that happened three days ago, Wei Jiangyuan immediately understood everything. Thinking back on his actions at the time, his heart felt as if it had been violently squeezed.
"Teacher, what should I do now?"
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to them properly!"
Upon receiving confirmation, Wei Jiangyuan rushed out of Shennong Elder's room as fast as lightning, disregarding all etiquette.
Seeing Wei Jiangyuan's retreating figure, Shennong smiled and knew that his disciple would undergo significant changes after this.