Chapter Seventy-Six: Acknowledging a Young Grandmaster

Zhang Chengxing wiped the tears from his face and, fuming, pointed at Li Mi, saying, "Lang-ge is dead, why are you making such a fuss? The dead should be respected, do you understand?"

Li Mi looked unconvinced. "Nonsense! Even if all of you died, he'd still be alive. You people have no idea who the real protagonist is!"

The peachwood sword transformed into a streak of light and hovered over the coffin. Li Mi himself seemed as sharp and unmatched as a blade. "Yu Lang, don't think you can fool me by pretending to be dead. If you don't tell me where Qingqing went today, I'll tear down the entire city of Yangzhou!"

"Don't force us to act!" The members of the Langzi Battalion, seeing Li Mi insult Yu Lang, all drew their swords.

"Ants shaking a mighty tree—ridiculous, you overestimate yourselves." Li Mi couldn't be bothered with them.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred. The coffin suddenly exploded, and Yu Lang, dressed in funeral robes, stretched with satisfaction. He had just returned from a spiritual journey in the Northern Abyss and was completely oblivious to the situation, casting a bewildered glance at his brothers.

"A corpse coming back to life!" The scholars from the Moon-Washing Academy scattered in terror.

Li Mi pressed the peachwood sword to Yu Lang's neck. "Where did Qingqing go? Before she left, I placed a mark on her, but now that mark has vanished. With your abilities, you couldn't have erased it. You owe me an explanation!"

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Not long after, tales of Li Mi reviving the dead with sorcery spread throughout the Tang Empire. This gifted young man had always been regarded as a true immortal descended to earth, and now the rumors grew more extravagant.

Inside the main hall of the Yu residence.

Li Mi laughed heartily, patting Yu Lang's shoulder. "You really know your place, don't you? You realized Qingqing would eventually be mine, so you didn't dare touch her, right? When Qingqing and I are married, I'll explain things to you. I can quite understand how weaklings like you would be awestruck by a genius like me."

Yu Lang was helpless. "Does your confidence come entirely from self-hypnosis?"

Compared to their previous meeting, Li Mi was in much better spirits this time. Firstly, he was pleased that Qingqing had been accepted by the South Sea Divine Nun, severing ties with Yu Lang; secondly, he had finally reached the threshold of the Formless Realm, only lacking the right opportunity to break through to the Revelation Realm.

Fresh from his seclusion, Li Mi had discovered he could no longer sense the mark left on Qingqing, and had rushed to Yangzhou in haste. Now, he understood: it must have been erased by the South Sea Divine Nun herself, an extraordinary figure beyond the Three Realms, for whom removing a Formless Mark would be an easy feat.

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After the initial joy, Li Mi resumed his usual measured tone. "It's only been a few months, and you've managed to enter the Enlightened Profundity Realm by your own merit? Achieving enlightenment before forming the Dao Seal, your fortune is not small."

"Enough," Yu Lang replied, uninterested in Li Mi's praise, which always carried a note of mockery.

Li Mi had intended to guide Yu Lang in forming his Dao Seal, but, knowing Yu Lang's stubbornness and unwillingness to accept favors, he gave up.

"In fact, I came to Yangzhou not only for Qingqing, but also on a mission for my sect."

"What mission?"

"To support the Moon-Washing Academy."

Yu Lang's expression became serious. "Is my master's injury very severe?"

Li Mi nodded. "More serious than you imagine. For safety, he cannot leave the Academy. That's why so many restless, petty villains have appeared in Yangzhou lately. My purpose here is to keep them in check until Dean Chen recovers."

"When did Myriad Phenomena Mountain become so closely allied with Moon-Washing Academy?" Yu Lang was puzzled. Myriad Phenomena Mountain, as the leading Daoist school, had always acted independently. The Academy, with its imperial backing, should have been one of the least likely institutions for Myriad Phenomena Mountain to associate with.

"The connection is both deep and shallow. The previous dean of Moon-Washing Academy, Liu Changqing, was originally from Myriad Phenomena Mountain. He was my master's most admired senior when he was young, but after much ostracism, he left the mountain in anger and eventually became dean of the Academy."

Li Mi seemed to recall something and added proudly, "Let's talk about seniority: Liu Changqing and my master are equals, so Dean Chen and I are peers, while you... heh."

Yu Lang replied without hesitation, "Greetings, junior uncle!"

Li Mi was surprised at how readily Yu Lang accepted the title, expecting a verbal sparring match.

To Yu Lang, recognizing a junior uncle was like gaining an adoptive father—an advantageous bargain with no obligations attached.

"Are you shameless?"

"I'm three years younger than you. As a younger generation, my prospects are broader."

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Li Mi scoffed. "You have no chance of catching up to me. I reached the Formless Realm at seventeen, while you've just entered Enlightened Profundity. The gap between Enlightened Profundity and Formless is vast; many never cross it in their lifetime."

Yu Lang refused to concede. "Seventeen-year-old Yu Lang can't compare to seventeen-year-old Li Mi, but that doesn't mean twenty-year-old Yu Lang can't match twenty-year-old Li Mi, or that thirty-year-old Yu Lang can't surpass thirty-year-old Li Mi. So you can never claim to have definitively beaten me."

Li Mi was taken aback. "There's truth in that. I didn't expect your casual words to carry such hidden insight. No wonder Du Zimei speaks so highly of you."

"You've met Du Fu?" Yu Lang asked with delight. He was quite fond of his friend, and any news about him brought him joy.

"You two really are good friends. Your manner and tone are so similar—always so... excitable. I, Li Mi, am a man of my word. I promised to deliver your hush money to Du Zimei, so naturally, I did."

"Is he doing well?"

"He's opened several inns in Luoyang and Chang'an, offering free lodging and meals to scholars. He's the most popular yet least profitable businessman in the dual capitals of Tang. If I hadn't brought him some silver recently, his Cottage Inn might have closed down." Li Mi spoke of Du Zimei's business with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Yu Lang beamed. "He succeeded. When I reach Chang'an, I'll find ways to help him earn more to keep the Cottage Inn running."

Li Mi sneered. "Neither of you are fools, but opening the Cottage Inn is a foolish venture. It's just a stopgap, not a real solution. There are millions of impoverished scholars; what can you two do to save them all? Does anyone really care about your efforts?"

Yu Lang recalled a fable from his previous life and recounted it gently. "The tide rises and falls on the shore, leaving many fish stranded and dying from dehydration. A young boy, moved by pity, began returning them one by one to the sea. An old man passing by scoffed, saying there were thousands of fish on the beach, and the boy's actions were just a drop in the ocean—nobody cared."

Li Mi listened intently, gesturing for Yu Lang to continue.

"The boy kept picking up fish, saying, 'This fish cares. That fish cares. Every rescued fish cares.' So, junior uncle, clever people like you often overestimate yourselves and underestimate others. Some things may seem foolish, but they help those in need. And while you criticize this and that, have you ever devised a real solution for the world's poor?"

Li Mi pondered long and hard, unable to find words. Daoism teaches detachment and inaction, but Yu Lang's words unsettled his worldview. If everyone practiced inaction, humanity would still be in its primitive, agrarian state. It is the countless insignificant ants, striving beyond their limits, who have made the world ever better.

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