Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

Li Xiuyuan still had some affection for the disciple he had picked up out of nowhere; otherwise, he would have ignored him immediately instead of agreeing to the request like this.

Chen Xiang was still all smiles, showing no other expression. Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but think that this simple-minded boy would surely bring him more joy in the future.

Li Xiuyuan stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the vast sky where clouds rolled and the breeze came, exuding a somewhat otherworldly air.

"Listen up! Back in the day, I could punch tigers in the southern mountains and kick dragons in the northern seas. With a wave of my hand, the sky would collapse; with a stomp of my foot, the earth would crack. My breath became wind, my tears became rain, and a somersault could cover 108,000 miles. Which hero from all walks of life didn't treat me with utmost respect? I'd make them run for their lives!"

Li Xiuyuan's martial arts skills were impressive and lifelike, which drew applause and cheers from Chenxiang.

"Great! Master is amazing! He's just like a storyteller!" Chenxiang sat on the ground, his face filled with admiration written in regular script.

"If you really can't hold a conversation, then shut your mouth. What storyteller? Look at my handsome and refined appearance, I'm definitely a storyteller!"

"The opera singer?" Chenxiang looked up at him innocently.

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan wanted to grab his leg and throw him ten miles away.

Do you know why I'm so amazing?

"do not know."

Chapter 1161: A Disciple Appears Unexpectedly

"Hahaha, that's because I have a unique skill..."

"I know I know."

Chen Xiang interrupted, leaping up into a perfect horse stance. With his wrists pressed together and palms facing outward, he swung his hands in a half-circle from top to bottom, striking out with his palms at his waist. He looked at Li Xiuyuan with a smug expression and said, "The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!"

Li Xiuyuan stood there dumbfounded, only managing to stammer out after a long while: "That's a pretty good horse stance."

"Master, is it? Is it?"

It was still in the outstretched palm position.

"of course not."

Li Xiuyuan directly rejected the idea, saying, "Listen carefully, the reason I have been so powerful for so many years is all thanks to one ultimate technique—the Heavenly Thunder Palm. This palm technique can mobilize lightning to attack the opponent in an instant, and its power is astonishing! Watch closely!"

Li Xiuyuan looked around, patted Chenxiang's shoulder twice, and asked, "Do you know magic?"

"Just a little bit." Chenxiang pinched two fingers together.

"Go, turn that rock into the shape of a toad," Li Xiuyuan said, pointing to the spot where he had just fallen.

Chenxiang looked as if he had just realized something, and said, "I know, Master, this is the legendary Toad Kung Fu!"

"Go to hell! What kind of nonsense is this? I can tell you really don't know how to chat. How are we supposed to have fun together from now on?! Huh?!"

Li Xiuyuan, hands on his hips, yelled at Chenxiang, who lowered his head, looking utterly defeated. "I'm sorry, Master, I was too stupid."

He was a tender, young scholar, so fresh and tender that he could be squeezed for water. This made Li Xiuyuan feel utterly worthless; he had been defeated by him.

Softening his tone, Li Xiuyuan waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, go on ahead. I'm going to your house for dinner later."

"Master is coming to my house for dinner? That's great!" He lifted his little face, and all traces of his previous listless and pitiful appearance vanished; he immediately became full of energy.

Li Xiuyuan thought to himself, "As expected, you lose if you take him seriously."

"Go and turn into a toad."

"Oh, okay, okay."

Li Xiuyuan watched his retreating figure. Because he was running fast, he was bouncing around, and his dark blue scholar's robe became a sight to behold. No wonder he was able to win over the fox demon Xiaoyu later. He was such an easy boy to like.

He himself did not realize that he was smiling.

Chenxiang stood solemnly beside the stone, concentrating intently on chanting incantations. The entire large stone was enveloped in a layer of light, its shape gradually shrinking until it finally transformed into a lifelike stone toad.

"Alright, Master!" Chenxiang looked at the toad-like rock in front of him and was very happy. He turned around and waved to Li Xiuyuan with great joy, knowing that his master would be happy to see the toad-shaped rock.

Li Xiuyuan remained calm upon seeing the toad-shaped stone. After all, this Chenxiang was the son of the Third Holy Mother. Although his bloodline had been diluted by Liu Yanchang, his innate talent for immortal arts still existed to some extent; it was just a matter of how he used it.

When Chenxiang saw that Li Xiuyuan did not praise her, she felt a little unhappy. However, when she thought of her master's abilities, her little unhappiness was quickly dispelled. Her master was an incredibly powerful figure, and her magic was definitely nothing in front of him.

"Got it, get out of the way—" Li Xiuyuan said to Chen Xiang from fifty meters away.

Once Chenxiang had run away, Li Xiuyuan pressed his hands to his dantian, channeled his true energy, and chanted an incantation. Instantly, the once clear sky was filled with rolling dark clouds, which were accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Li Xiuyuan, palms facing upwards, closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, his eyes widened, "Go!"

In an instant, countless bolts of lightning converged and merged in the sky, attacking the stone toad at a speed invisible to the naked eye. With a deafening roar, all was silent.

Chenxiang was thrown several meters away by the shockwave, landing on his side with a ringing in his ears. He shook his head, got up, and looked at the spot again. It had been blasted into a crater at least five or six meters in radius and more than ten meters deep.

The stone toad has vanished without a trace!

Chenxiang's chin almost dropped to his chest. He never expected that this cheap master he had picked up would be so powerful. This time, he would definitely be able to save his mother.

Li Xiuyuan was unaware that his position in Chenxiang's heart had risen to that of a giant. He was currently only focused on covering his ears and jumping around. He had used too much force in that move, and his ears were now throbbing with pain.

"Oh no, oh no, could it be a ruptured eardrum?"

Chenxiang ran happily towards her master, only to see Li Xiuyuan sitting on the ground like a little old man, muttering to himself, "It's all over, it's all over. I'm so young and I've gone deaf. How am I going to get married? How am I going to reach the pinnacle of life? What kind of karma did I create? I shouldn't have come to this place. If I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have run into that damned child. If I hadn't run into that damned child..."

"Master, what are you doing?" Chenxiang squatted down and tilted her head to look at him.

Li Xiuyuan slapped him across the face and shoved him to sit down beside her. "Don't talk to me, I'm annoyed."

"What's bothering you, Master?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just deaf."

Li Xiuyuan covered her face and walked behind Chen Xiang. She was so embarrassed. How could she have done this in front of this guy? She couldn't live like this anymore.

Chenxiang pointed to a lantern shop not far away and said excitedly, "We're here, we're here, that's my home."

It was high in the sky, and every household was busy cooking. The aroma of food wafted from all directions, and Li Xiuyuan's stomach rumbled twice, much to his dismay.

His head was bowed even lower; this time, he really couldn't survive.

Chenxiang chuckled, deliberately reopening Li Xiuyuan's wounds, "Master, you must be hungry from overexerting yourself just now. Let's hurry up, Father should have already prepared the meal and is waiting for us."

Li Xiuyuan was in tears; what sins had he committed?

As soon as I followed Chenxiang into the shop, I sensed that something was wrong. The middle-aged man sat at the table, his lips tightly pressed together, his gloomy gaze fixed on Chenxiang. The atmosphere in the entire shop was incredibly tense. On the contrary, there was nothing else, except for the rolling pin in the man's hand.

Li Xiuyuan swallowed hard. This was the prelude to entering a domestic violence scene...

Chapter 1162 Father-Son Conflict

"Liu Chenxiang, you skipped class again! How many times this month is that?"

"The sixth time." Chenxiang lowered his head.

"What's the date today?"

"Number six."

So he was a problem student after all. Li Xiuyuan finally found some balance in front of Xiao Chenxiang.

Liu Yanchang strode over menacingly, rolling pin in hand, only then noticing a young man following behind his son—a young man with a face covered in blood…

Liu Yanchang's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them several times. He reached out and grabbed Chenxiang's ear, cursing, "You, Liu Chenxiang, you hit your classmate again and hurt him like this. I'll beat you to death today!"

He raised the rolling pin, as if to hit him, but Li Xiuyuan rushed forward and grabbed Liu Yanchang's arm, successfully rescuing the grimacing Chen Xiang, saying, "Don't hit me, don't hit me, I got injured from a fall, not from Chen Xiang."

Liu Yanchang calmed down a bit, then yanked his arm out of Li Xiuyuan's arms. Still pointing the rolling pin at Chen Xiang, he demanded sharply, "Why did you skip class?!"

Chenxiang turned his head to the side and remained silent.

"Liu Chenxiang!"

Liu Yanchang cried out in anguish, and Chenxiang turned around and shouted, "They called me a bastard, a motherless child! I don't like it there, I don't want to go to school!"

He forced out a few tears, and Liu Yanchang stood there stunned. His previous fierce momentum vanished, and his hand holding the rolling pin fell limply to his side.

"Clang." The rolling pin fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man's silence agitated Chenxiang even more. Why didn't he want to save his mother at all? Didn't he miss her? Didn't he love her?!

"Father, I will rescue Mother!" Chenxiang ran to Mo Tianwen, hugged his arm tightly, and pulled him in front of Liu Yanchang, her eyes shining with hope. "Father, look, he is my new master. He is very powerful. With him teaching Chenxiang, our family will definitely be reunited. At that time, we will be together forever and never be separated again, Father."

"Liu Chenxiang," Liu Yanchang raised his head, his face even more gloomy, "How many times have I told you, you should stop interfering in your mother's affairs!"

"Why?!"

"Because it's fate, fate won't allow us to be together! I've already lost your mother, I can't lose you too, can you understand?"

Liu Yanchang's eyes also reddened as he glared at his own flesh and blood.

The atmosphere plummeted to its lowest point, the air even seemed to freeze. Li Xiuyuan mimicked Liu Yanchang's earlier actions, swiftly pulling his arm out of Chenxiang's embrace. He spoke softly, saying, "If Heaven does not allow your family to reunite, then I will help Chenxiang break this curse."

Liu Yanchang looked up and saw a light in the young man's eyes. That light forced him to believe the wild words. Who was he? Why... did he get involved in such a dangerous and troublesome matter?

"Why?" Liu Yanchang asked.

Li Xiuyuan lowered his head, grinned at Chenxiang who was a head shorter than him, then looked at Liu Yanchang and said, "Because I am Chenxiang's master. What kind of master would stand up for his disciple when he is being bullied?"

Is it really that simple?

Liu Yanchang let out a short breath. What a simple kid, so simple that... it's impossible not to believe him.

Chenxiang gripped the sleeve of the man beside him tightly, trying hard not to cry, but why couldn't he stop the tears from flowing... How pathetic...

Li Xiuyuan imitated the schoolteacher, swaying his head as he recited two lines of poetry.

"How can I say that I have no clothes, but I share the same robe with you?"