TGDS Chapter 72.2

The Good Dad System (Arc 10) Chapter 72.2: The Villain’s Dad in the Cultivation Novels (5)

He Shu’s feelings were hard to describe. He glanced at his junior brother, but he didn’t have the heart to burst his illusions. He’d been clearly there for days, listening to the math exercises alongside them, but he couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t learned. He didn’t know if it was because he wasn’t paying attention or if he simply didn’t have the talent.

“Master, I’ve thought we should sort out the accounts first, and then we can move on…”

“But Master, these accounts are quite a lot…” He Shu’s heart was in turmoil. Hearing his master’s words, he wanted to help him immediately, but with the current volume, it would probably take them several days to sort through the accounts.

“Of course, as cultivators, we still have to prioritize cultivation,” Pei Naochun mused, seeming hesitant. “But the future of the Lanyue Sect is also very important…”

The brainwashed disciples began to imagine their master constantly struggling between cultivation and sect affairs. The second senior brother spoke first: “Master, the Lanyue Sect is just as important to us as cultivation!” Most of them had a strong sense of responsibility towards their sect.

Pei Naochun instinctively concluded his speech: “So we must come from the masses and go to the masses…”

“Huh?” the disciples chorused, extremely puzzled.

“The prosperity of the Lanyue Sect requires the concerted efforts of the entire inner and outer sects.” Brainwashing master Pei Naochun turned back. “This depends on your efforts.” His words were profound, his gaze far outward.

…

As mentioned earlier, within the Lanyue Sect, most topics of discussion revolve around cultivation. On ordinary days, after greeting each other, the usual small talk usually centers on senior and junior brothers making significant progress in their cultivation and wanting to share their experiences, or sharing their recent insights into the mindset and rapidly improving state of mind, or sharing their experiences with others about their training missions and newly discovered secret realms… But recently, several of the sect leader’s disciples have sparked a new trend.

“Old Li, where are your disciples?” Elder Wu had just come out of seclusion and had made great progress in his cultivation. He was planning to examine his disciples’ homework, but he found that all his disciples were gone, leaving only a young one. The young one couldn’t explain clearly, but only said that his senior brothers had gone to do great things for the Lanyue Sect. But as an elder, he clearly hadn’t heard of any major events that had happened in the sect recently. Could it be so serious that even these guys had to be dragged out?

Elder Li frowned, he had also discovered this strange thing in the past few days, the disciples were acting mysterious, sometimes they would not be seen for several days, he specially went to the disciples’ rooms to check, there was no sign of seclusion, if he did not know that Lanyue Sect was safe, he would have thought that his disciples were swallowed by demons: “I don’t know where they went, could it be that a secret realm has been opened recently? But their cultivation is different, how can they all enter the same secret realm? Even if they really went in, shouldn’t they tell me as their master?”

“Yeah, what is going on? I even went to see the life lamp, there is nothing wrong.” Lanyue Sect has a special attic where the life lamps of all the disciples are placed. After all, in the world of cultivation, if you go out to gain experience, you may not be able to come back for several years. This world is very big, and it is not easy to find someone. A few years ago, the sect’s masters have studied the method of keeping a life lamp. If a person dies, the life lamp will be extinguished immediately.

Elder Li recalled something and pulled out a few pieces of paper from his mustard seed space. “I found these in my eldest disciple’s room. Take a look, what are these?” He had spotted these papers on his eldest disciple’s desk early that morning. The writing on them looked like astronomical figures, small characters like a vertical line and two circles, unlike their usual writing.

Elder Wu, a seasoned veteran, squinted for a long time but couldn’t make sense. “This… could this be some ancient writing?” he speculated, “Maybe they’ve truly discovered a secret realm!”

“No!” Elder Li remained worried. “After much thought, I think we need to go find the Sect Leader.” This was the Lanyue Sect’s custom: unsolvable problems were simply handed over to the Sect Leader! Since they couldn’t find their disciple, they decided to let the Sect Leader find them.

“Alright.”

Just as they were about to leave, a familiar figure appeared at the hall gate. It was none other than the Sect Leader they’d been talking about, Pei Naochun.

“Master, you’ve arrived just in time. I have to tell you, my disciple is missing!” Elder Wu’s eyes blazed, brandishing the paper he had just received. “Look, this is the note they left behind…”

Pei Naochun took a closer look and immediately made out the story on the note. The text was simple: just the Arabic numerals he’d taught his disciples. He didn’t betray his feelings, remaining calm and composed. After all, he knew exactly where these “missing” disciples had gone.

“Don’t worry, Elder Wu and Elder Li. I know where my disciples are. They’re all safe now.” Pei Naochun’s calm demeanor, his commanding presence, soothed the two elders’ anxieties.

“Since Master says so, I’m relieved,” Elder Wu agreed swiftly, thinking about continuing his retreat. The Master had given his word, so what was there to worry about? As long as they were safe, there was no problem!

“Wait.” Pei Naochun saw the two elders about to leave and suddenly stopped them. “I came here today because I have something to discuss with you two elders.”

“Master, please speak.” Elder Li sat down immediately. The master had been very prestigious in the Lanyue Sect for many years, and everyone was convinced by what he said. Since the master was looking for them, there must be something important!

“It’s like this.” Pei Naochun was well versed in the art of changing faces. He clenched his fists under his sleeves and frowned. “Two elders, our Lanyue Sect has reached a critical moment!”

“What!” The two elders stood up simultaneously, expressions of surprise. Was it a massive demonic invasion? Or a shattering of the upper realm? Or perhaps a war within the cultivation world? How could the Lanyue Sect, so prosperous, suddenly find itself in such dire straits?

“Listen to me…” Pei Naochun’s voice echoed faintly in the room. He looked deeply concerned for the sect’s survival, but behind him, invisible demonic wings fluttered silently. Soon, these two elders would understand how their beloved disciples had disappeared.

…

“Brother, what are you doing?” His father had left early, and Pei Mingzhen had circled several times without finding anyone. After practicing his sword skills for a while, he went to his brother’s place. Fortunately, the eldest brother was packing his bags.

He Shu habitually spoke, “Junior brother, do you know what our Lanyue Sect needs most right now?” He blurted out, then immediately stopped. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you with Master?”

“I need to get stronger!” Pei Mingzhen raised his hand. “The Sect Master is out. Can I go play with you?”

He Shu cleared his throat. “Senior brothers, we’re not going out to play. We’re fighting for the entire Lanyue Sect.” After listening to Master’s earnest teachings, he and his fellow disciples had become more conscious. Master was right. There were so many talented people in the Lanyue Sect. No matter what, we all had to work together.

He and his fellow disciples had already spread the arithmetic skills taught by Master, and they had taken fellow disciples of the same generation to the Outer Sect to “experience life.” Master was right about being among the people. Once there, they began to understand the arrogance and dominance of the Outer Sect stewards, who usually treated them with such respect. Many Outer Sect disciples had suffered injustice.

They disguised themselves to conceal their cultivation and were treated the same as everyone else. Take He Shu, for example. He Shu refused to be flexible and hand over some spirit stones. This was also the master’s order, asking them to learn to act like other outer disciples and not reveal their identities. As a result, they were assigned to cultivate the spirit fields. They only then realized that in some places, they had to work from morning to night and were so tired that when they returned to the house, they didn’t even have the strength to get up, let alone practice. This became a vicious cycle. They were bullied, assigned to low-grade jobs, too tired to practice, and if they didn’t practice, they couldn’t improve their cultivation and continued to be bullied. In the end, they basically had no choice but to compromise and make favors to the managers.

Furthermore, unlike other outer sect disciples, they all had spare capacity. Even from their own estimation, they knew the outer sect’s revenue differed significantly from what was reported in the accounts. As for where it went, they conducted a thorough investigation and discovered that some of the stewards had purchased outbuildings some distance down the mountain. It was too close, and they feared the monks would discover it when they descended. Some even exploited their connections with the Lanyue Sect to forcibly abduct women and force sales… This gave the Lanyue Sect a somewhat unfavorable reputation among the people of the surrounding towns. Some even heard that one child’s older brother was intent on joining another sect, cultivating diligently, and seeking revenge against the Lanyue Sect.

Initially, it was He Shu’s brainwashing that persuaded them to follow him, but eventually, nearly all the disciples developed an inexplicable sense of responsibility. While cultivation was their priority, the Lanyue Sect felt like home to them. Hearing those outsiders causing the Lanyue Sect to be publicly criticized was a source of rage.

Over the past few days, according to his master’s arrangement, He Shu has also collected the disciples’ opinions and plans for the future development of the Lanyue Sect. This is also a tough job, but He Shu didn’t find it hard. Instead, he felt that it was natural. The future of the Lanyue Sect is in their hands. Only when they, as disciples, work together can they create a better future for the Lanyue Sect. Strangely, after such an experience, many of the participating disciples have experienced a breakthrough in their state of mind. Those who were at a bottleneck in their cultivation have also been somewhat shaken, but they were not delayed.

Of course, they definitely did not do such things as kidnapping other elders and disciples! They just tried to persuade them with emotion and reason. The disciples insisted on following their footsteps. What could they do? Obviously, they are not to blame. Kidnapping and coercion do not exist at all!

He Shu didn’t know that their master was even bolder than them and had already set his sights on the elder himself. At this moment, he only knew that he had to dissuade his junior brother from doing so.

“But I also want to fight for the future of the Lanyue Sect!” Pei Mingzhen clenched his fists and waved them, full of confidence. Lately, he’d been eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. Even after practicing his swordsmanship for just a couple of strokes, his father would applaud, telling him he’d worked hard all day and could rest. Of course, he was happy to have his father’s concern.

“But it’s hard work. You’re still young, just practice your swordsmanship.” He Shu didn’t know that he looked at his junior brother with the care of a kind old father. He had discussed this with his master several times, and the master had said that everything should wait until his junior brother grew up. He was still young, so there was no need to pursue so much.

Besides, his master was the Lanyue Sect’s leader, a man of high cultivation, and he had only one son. He had several other brothers to protect him, so of course, his junior brother just needed to grow up happily!

“…Okay,” Pei Mingzhen said glumly. He clearly wanted to become stronger and make his father happy.

“As long as little brother smiles like this every day, the master will feel happy.” He Shu took out a bag of spiritual fruit crisps from the mustard seed space. Several of his fellow apprentices had these in their spaces, just waiting for the day when the little brother came to feed him. “Come, eat something delicious, and you won’t have any worries.”