Chapter 351: An Observation Diary About My Good-for-Nothing Apprentice

Chapter 351: Chapter 18: An Observation Diary About My Good-for-Nothing Apprentice

After learning the truth about this world’s structure, the Little Daoist felt a bit sad.

From the Daoist Temple on the mountainside, he could see the Water Town below, the distant mountain ranges, the passage to the outside world, and the omnipresent Mist that lay beyond.

Through his phone, he knew the world was vast, filled with countless interesting things and people.

But reality told him that while the world outside was indeed like that, it had nothing to do with him.

He remembered cooling off in the courtyard with his Master as a child, when fresh watermelons would float down from the river’s source, arriving in such numbers they’d pile up and fill the entire yard.

The river’s upper reaches had always been a mystery to him. Things often floated down from upstream.

Sometimes it was a huge number of coconuts, sometimes fresh sushi, and sometimes even a PlayStation 5, though unfortunately, it only had *Sekiro* to play.

The Old Dao liked the books that came down the most. The Little Daoist didn’t know what was so interesting about the unclothed ladies inside, but the Elder Daoist loved them. He would even offer commentary while reading: “Damn! It’s NTR again!”

The river that flowed around the town carried all his imagination, making him believe the outside world was just as rich and colorful.

Unfortunately, there was no such river outside, and for him, there was no outside.

The Little Daoist let out a long sigh. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.

His Master had probably known the truth of the world long before he did, yet his Master was clearly far more carefree.

Even knowing he was surrounded by ghouls and ghosts, he could still make a move on the paper effigies. He was truly vigorous for his age, treating death as if it were life itself.

After his moment of reflection, the Little Daoist asked, “Is that all?”

“That’s it.” Duan Fei shook his head.

After sitting on the ground melancholically for a while, the Little Daoist said, “I…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Duan Fei said. “I’m interested in an NPC’s personal journey, but not yours. It always feels like an attempt at a redemption arc.”

“…”

Duan Fei’s words completely silenced the Little Daoist.

In the awkward silence, he could only pretend to be resting with his eyes closed. Every second was an agony.

Finally, another imp brought a Daoist Scripture, but unfortunately, it still wasn’t the “Cultivation Chapter.”

This Daoist Scripture was clearly not as profound as the last one, because the Little Daoist could actually read its title.

*An Observation Journal About My Good-for-Nothing Disciple*.

Seeing such a long title, they both knew who had written it and couldn’t help but fall into silence.

After a moment, Duan Fei shook the book and asked, “Want to read it?”

“…I get the feeling that if I read this, I’ll learn something I’m not supposed to know. Besides, with a title this long, wasn’t he a little strange when he was alive?”

“He was a light novel author, wasn’t he? They love these kinds of titles that are a whole synopsis in one sentence. And you should be glad the book’s title isn’t *What Do I Do If I’m So Cute After My Gender Swap That My Disciple Is Way Too Into Me?*”

The Little Daoist felt as if his brain had been stabbed with a red-hot iron poker, and his ears were ringing.

The psychological trauma he suffered in that moment might take a lifetime to heal.

Staring numbly at Duan Fei, the Little Daoist gritted his teeth and said, “Duan Someone, are you a Demon?”

“I get that a lot, but let me correct you. I’m a man of the East. You could say I’m a demon.”

“…”

“A vexing little demon is fine too. I’m not picky.”

Sighing, the Little Daoist and Duan Fei opened the Elder Daoist’s *An Observation Journal About My Good-for-Nothing Disciple* together.

But unexpectedly, unlike its frivolous title, the journal was exceptionally serious.

So serious it was almost terrifying.

“Year X, Month X, Day X.

Bored.

Master’s Cultivation is profound. After his divinations, he said that soon it would just be the two of us left in the world. And not long after that, the world would shatter, and not even our bones would remain.

As he said this, Master held me, his face streaming with tears, lamenting that I had to learn this truth so young.

What a joke. My Cultivation surpassed you old geezers when I was six. How could I not know something that even you’re aware of?

So don’t you cry for me. Just obediently come along and let’s enjoy life to the fullest!

That female ghost next door… she’s really something else.

Year X, Month X, Day X.

Master is gone.

I’d long since calculated this day would come, but when it actually arrived, I still felt a sense of grief.

Some things you can foresee a thousand times, but when you actually experience them, you still feel reluctant to let go, still feel a pang of melancholy.

Oh well. I’ll go find the female ghost next door tonight and bring her to life.

Year X, Month X, Day X.

Although I had already calculated that a baby would float down from upstream today, I was still pleasantly surprised to actually see it.

And although I already knew this baby’s future achievements would be limited, with his Cultivation stopping at the Illusion Technique stage at best, I’m still quite happy.

Of course, his aptitude is already better than my Master’s. But I am a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius, the kind of person who could have ascended if I’d been born just a few years earlier. Unfortunately, I was just a little too late and couldn’t gather enough Spirituality.

If his aptitude isn’t enough, so be it. It’s not like having enough aptitude would save him from dying. We all have to die.

Year X, Month X, Day X.

My disciple seems very happy.

Cultivation has two major stages. The first is Refining the False, and the second is Preserving the True.

During the Refining the False stage, everything one gains is an Illusion Technique. Some Magic looks earth-shattering and spectacular, but it’s essentially just manipulating ghosts to produce illusions.

If someone wasn’t targeted by the ghosts, what they saw would probably be quite embarrassing.

But the second stage is the true path of Cultivation: Preserving the True.

Once you reach this stage, things become real and tangible. Telekinesis, fireballs and ice, divining the future—you can use it all, play with it all.

A realm my Master could never reach in his entire life, I reached it at the age of ten. A pity…

I was truly just a little too late.

Watching my disciple excitedly show off the little Illusion Technique he’d learned, I did some calculations and realized I still had a chance.

Just a tiny little chance.

I ate a pomegranate, its flesh as sweet as blood. The distant sunset was as beautiful as a painting. Everything around me was cheering in exultation—it was my ambition stirring.

I still have a chance.

Year X, Month X, Day X.

Bored.

I’ve given up.

I placed that good-for-nothing disciple of mine in a stone mortar, a giant stone pestle poised above his head.

The moment I let go, he would be turned into meat paste. The Spirituality within his body would become mine, helping me ascend.

The poor thing had no idea what I was planning. He even naively took out a peach blossom he had conjured and showed it to me.

What a joke! I reached the Preserving the True stage at ten. The Water Town you see was pieced together by me. The ten miles of peach blossoms in the mountains are a product of my boredom.

With a point of my finger, the Daoist Temple in the mountains formed according to my will. In this world, I am the one true god. Taking the meager Spirituality from your body would be as easy as reaching into my own pocket.

And you? You dare present a fake flower to me as if it were a treasure?

How ignorant! How absurd!

And yet… how utterly endearing.

Lifting you out of the stone mortar, I wept uncontrollably.

I cried for the me who had lost his last chance, and I cried for the me who had found his last chance.

My good-for-nothing disciple, I calculated that you would one day read my journal.

So keep reading.

See what your Master truly intended to do.”