Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 160: Display of Talents

Chu Qiguang had no intention of revealing the full extent of his martial arts and Dao arts cultivation base, but he had to put some of his talent on display in order to secure more resources and attention from the Demon Vanquishing Department.

The criteria to access the Demon Vanquishing Department's four orthodox arts hadn't been revealed, but aptitude was undoubtedly of the utmost importance.

To support his claim, he answered all of Yi Shuang's questions; he even answered some of the more difficult questions about the traits and internal hierarchy of the Immortal Dao.

After some thought, Yi Shuang flipped the book in his hand open to a page that he hadn't yet covered, and he handed the book to Chu Qiguang. "If you really do have an eidetic memory, then read this page once and recite it to me backward."

All of the other trainees were looking on with keen interest, and they were astonished to see Chu Qiguang completing the assignment with ease.

"So what? It's not like that's going to help him in a fight." Jiang Longyu harrumphed. "I brought some Seven Treasure Pills with me. Once I've taken them, I'll also be able to learn everything just as quickly as him!"

Under normal circumstances, his actions would have attracted a great deal of attention from the other trainees, especially if one were to consider how expensive Seven Treasure Pills were, but at the moment, everyone was too astonished by Chu Qiguang's display of talent to pay any heed to Jiang Longyu.

"I was already twenty-five years old when I reached the third state in Dao arts, and my master praised me as a prodigy," Yi Shuang mused with a shake of his head.

Meanwhile, Chi Shude was looking at Chu Qiguang with a less-than-pleased face. Dao artists were quite rare to begin with, and he thought that he would be the most accomplished Dao artist here, yet he was completely outshone.

"You're a fantastic prospect," Yi Shuang praised. "Seeing as you're a third-state Dao artist, I'll put in a good word for you with my higher-ups so you can go to the archives in your spare time to read the scriptures there."

The archives were situated to the west of the Moon Water Villa, and they were home to many of the Demon Vanquishing Department's scriptures.

It was normally inaccessible to trainees like Chu Qiguang, so the latter was pleased with this opportunity. One of his main objectives here was to access the Demon Vanquishing Department's scriptures, but he certainly hadn't expected such an opportunity to come so quickly.

Yi Shuang then examined Chu Qiguang's notes, and even though the handwriting was still rather unsightly, it pleased him immensely to see Chu Qiguang still conscientiously taking notes even with his eidetic memory.

"The rest of you should all follow his example," Yi Shuang said, encouraging the others. "Don't slack off on your notes just because you think you've committed everything to memory. Even the things that you learn can be forgotten over time, so the only way to reliably retain knowledge is to put it on paper.

"The Great Han Empire may seem like a safe place, but there's danger constantly lurking in the shadows. Any piece of knowledge that you absorb today could possibly save you in the future."

By the time the afternoon lesson drew to a conclusion, it was already around three in the afternoon.

All of the trainees were summoned to the training ground, where they were greeted by Yang Ling. Yang Ling was an imposing man, and he had a no-nonsense attitude, which hinted at his military background.

"Ever since the founding of the Demon Vanquishing Department, it has been tasked with protecting the imperial clan from demons and fiends," Yang Ling said. "While knowledge is important, martial arts are even more crucial if you are to carry out your future duties in the Demon Vanquishing Department.

"From now on, at this same time every day, you will come here to learn the martial arts of the Demon Vanquishing Department. Today, I'm going to teach you the Demon Vanquishing Department's battle footwork.

"Footwork is the foundation of martial arts, and it's vital for both offense and defense. If you possess superior footwork to your opponent, you can ensure an unassailable position for yourself.

"What I'm going to be teaching you is the Demon Vanquishing Department's standard footwork. Once you master this footwork, you will be in good standing when you learn more advanced footwork once you're assigned to your faction."

After a brief demonstration, Yang Ling instructed the trainees to give the footwork a try. He also told them that he would provide them with guidance and corrections.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Longyu immediately raised his hand with a proud face.

"What is it, Jiang Longyu?" Yang Ling asked.

"I've already mastered the Demon Vanquishing Department's basic footwork, Instructor Yang!" Jiang Longyu declared loudly.

"What a show off!" Zhang Haizhu scoffed in disdain.

"Alright, show me," Yang Ling prompted.

Jiang Longyu sprang into action, and in the blink of an eye, he covered over half of the training ground's diameter.

He displayed the footwork that Yang Ling had just demonstrated, but he had also injected elements of his Ghost Feet into the footwork.

Jiang Longyu turned around in a triumphant manner, ready to see all of the other trainees' astonished and reverent faces, only for Li He to say, "I've mastered the footwork as well, Instructor Yang."

"Me too," Chi Shude chimed in. "It's really not that hard."

"I feel like I can already pull it off after seeing it just once," Chu Qiguang said with an innocent expression.

The three of them exchanged glances. A sense of rivalry had clearly developed between them.

Are they both trying to show off their aptitude? Chi Shude scoffed inwardly. No matter how you think about it, aptitude has to be an important factor behind the consideration of whether one is worthy to receive one of the four orthodox arts.

The sooner you display your aptitude, the sooner you'll catch the attention of the instructors, and the better your chances of receiving one of the four orthodox arts.

Out of the thirty-two trainees, Jiang Longyu, Chi Shude, and Chu Qiguang are the only ones who can compare with me, Li He thought to himself. However, I'm going to show them that I'm superior to all of them!

As for Chu Qiguang, he considered turning them both into fiends.

Jiang Longyu was furious at the fact that he was being ignored, and he became determined to surpass all three of his rivals over the course of the coming year.

Yang Ling was very pleased to see the resolve and fighting spirit in Jiang Longyu's eyes.

The head instructor is right; everything has gone too smoothly for Jiang Longyu so far, so he needs some hardships and setbacks to ignite his fighting spirit. Given his potential as one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals, there's a chance that he might surpass even Li He over the next year.

He then turned his gaze to Chu Qiguang, and he immediately thought of Li Changqing, the former thousand-man commander of the Demon Vanquishing Department.

Even though Li Changqing had disappeared, he was charged with treason for colluding with the Ding Clan. As a result, all of the men in his clan were forcibly conscripted into the border military, while all of the women were sent to the brothel division.

Even his seventy-year-old mother wasn't spared; the poor old woman was washing clothes at the brothel division at the moment.

Yang Ling was a former disciple of Li Changqing, and it was due to his connection to Li Changqing that he was transferred to Jade Face Mountain to serve as a fist technique instructor, which had essentially put an end to his career progression.

With that in mind, a cold light flashed through his gaze.