That night, in the small grove beside the Lu residence.
Zhang Jingqing stood at the front, his expression complicated as he looked at Gojo.
"Su…"
He studied Gojo for a long moment, then glanced at Zhang Zhiwei beside him before speaking.
"Gojo, do you think you did anything wrong today?"
"Something wrong?"
Gojo paused, thinking it over carefully before replying,
"Master… I don't believe I did."
Today, he had defeated Lü Ci and then Lu Jin, making quite a splash at the Lu family's birthday banquet.
But compared to the slap Zhang Zhiwei gave Lu Jin in the original story, his own actions had been far gentler.
Sure, losing to a flick on the forehead wasn't exactly honorable—but at least both Lü Ci and Lu Jin lost the same way.
If it ever came up in the future, they could face it together.
That was far better than Lu Jin being the only one slapped into tears back then.
"…This…"
Zhang Jingqing opened his mouth to say something, but then hesitated.
If Zhang Zhiwei had been the one to fight Lü Ci and Lu Jin…
He might have just slapped both of them flat on the ground.
And if that had happened, the situation would've been far harder to handle than today.
Thinking of that, Zhang Jingqing swallowed his words.
"Zhang Zhiwei! If you had been the one to step in today, what would you have done?"
He quickly turned his head and asked.
"Me?"
Zhang Zhiwei thought for a moment, then answered plainly,
"I'd first observe their qi circulation… then just interrupt it directly."
…Just as I expected.
Zhang Jingqing's brows instantly knitted together, his face twisting with frustration.
He really shouldn't have expected this disciple to consider anyone else's dignity.
Then, thinking back on Gojo's actions today, he gradually relaxed.
Zhang Zhiwei was a lost cause—
But Gojo was still salvageable.
Though his talent didn't match Zhang Zhiwei's monstrous level, in terms of understanding people and handling situations, he far surpassed him.
So…
When they returned to Longhu Mountain, should he let Gojo take the Zhang surname as well?
The moment that thought appeared, it surged like a breached dam, unstoppable.
The more he looked at Gojo, the more pleasing he seemed.
And the more he looked at Zhang Zhiwei—
The more flaws he saw.
"Master?"
Sensing the increasingly dangerous look in Zhang Jingqing's eyes, Zhang Zhiwei scratched his head, completely confused.
Zhang Jingqing cleared his throat and asked,
"Zhang Zhiwei! Tell me—what did you gain from this trip down the mountain?"
"Gain?"
Zhang Zhiwei thought back on their journey and answered honestly,
"If we run into Full Nature, kill them all. If we run into bandits or robbers, kill them all too."
"You unfilial disciple!"
Zhang Jingqing exploded with anger, slapping him on the head.
He had brought Gojo and Zhang Zhiwei down from Longhu Mountain to help the weak and punish evil, to let them see the harshness of the world and understand how difficult life was for ordinary people.
But after everything they had gone through—
Zhang Zhiwei still couldn't put himself in others' shoes.
He still didn't value other people at all.
At this point, Zhang Jingqing could only conclude—
His attempt to guide Zhang Zhiwei had completely failed.
"Master?"
Zhang Zhiwei rubbed his head, looking utterly puzzled.
"You unfilial disciple. I'll deal with you properly when we get back to the mountain."
Zhang Jingqing snorted, then turned to Gojo, nodding.
"As for you… not bad."
"Celestial Master… disciplining your disciples so late at night?"
At that moment, a voice came from the side.
The three of them turned at once.
Zuo Ruotong stepped out from the grove.
"Brother Zuo, what brings you here?"
Zhang Jingqing smiled.
"The three of you—I came because of my foolish disciple…"
As he spoke, Zuo Ruotong gestured toward the side.
Gojo and Zhang Zhiwei followed his motion—
But saw nothing except a patch of weeds and a few dead branches.
"…Huh?"
Gojo frowned in confusion.
"Hmm?"
"Jin'er?"
Zuo Ruotong also realized Lu Jin wasn't beside him.
"Jin'er, what are you doing? You insisted on coming—why act so shy now?"
He sighed and called out.
Only then did Lu Jin poke his head out from behind a nearby tree.
After glancing at Zhang Jingqing and the others, he took a deep breath, steeled himself, and walked over.
"Whatever you want to ask—say it yourself."
Zuo Ruotong patted his shoulder.
With his master beside him, Lu Jin finally gathered some courage.
He looked at Gojo and asked,
"Senior Brother Su… how did you interrupt my Reverse Life Threefold in a single move?"
Hearing the question, Gojo immediately understood—
This wasn't just Lu Jin's curiosity.
It was also Zuo Ruotong's.
After all, interrupting Reverse Life Threefold so easily—
In another sect's eyes, that could easily be mistaken for some kind of specialized countermeasure.
"Young Master Lu," Gojo began calmly,
"when you activated Reverse Life Threefold, I noticed something."
"It's fundamentally different from the methods of other schools present."
"It's actually quite similar to our Golden Light Spell—but far more complex."
"The Fire Virtue Sect relies on flames, body cultivators temper their physique, but the Golden Light Spell doesn't pursue protective light itself."
"It's about entering a state—one that elevates both life and cultivation."
As he spoke, Gojo raised his hand.
A strand of golden light ignited at his fingertips.
"The reason the golden light appears is simply because of certain rituals and incantations aligning by chance."
"So when using the Golden Light Spell, the focus isn't on how dazzling or brilliant the light is—"
"It's on entering that state as perfectly as possible."
"It's like meditation. The posture doesn't matter—the key is achieving inner stillness."
He slowly explained his understanding of the Golden Light Spell.
With his ninefold talent, his comprehension and mastery of it had advanced at an astonishing pace.
Combined with his prior knowledge of Reverse Life Threefold—
That it sought to manifest innate qi into the limbs and body—
When Lu Jin activated it, Gojo quickly traced its qi pathways.
And with that—
He found the flaw, and cut it off in a single move.
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