Chapter 575

Chapter 575: The Lazy Advances (5)

Humans need rest.

This is a fact that doesn’t even need to be proven. No matter how strong a person is, if they don’t recharge through rest, sooner or later they will collapse.

Those who pursue great goals often overlook this reality due to their impatience.

But that is a serious mistake.

In their desperation, they try to reduce even their sleeping hours to strive harder, but that only reduces their efficiency. A body that hasn’t recovered with sleep and rest can’t even perform at half its normal capacity.

The saddest thing is that this cult of effort is widespread in the martial world.

Most martial artists grow up hearing that they must train non-stop, sleeping less than two shichen (4 hours) a day and substituting meals with fasting pills, all to become respectable masters.

It’s a useful anecdote to motivate Lazy disciples or children, so many masters and parents repeat it to emphasize the importance of effort.

Those who grow up hearing this attribute their lack of progress to their own lack of dedication. So they reduce their sleeping hours, even the time to eat, and strive again and again.

Those who can’t maintain that pace think they lack determination and abandon their path to strength. Those who can, increase the intensity of their training, convinced that they still aren’t striving enough.

The world is plagued with this mentality. But it’s something very strange.

Rationally, if the desired results aren’t obtained, multiple factors should be considered to find a solution. But in the martial world, it all comes down to a lack of effort.

People whose bodies haven’t had time to recover get up forcefully, with swollen and barely open eyes, wielding their swords from dawn. What efficiency can that training have?

—Stupid.

And the one who best demonstrates how stupid this is, is Baek Muhan.

Baek Muhan had to turn Wei Yanho into a top-tier master in just five years. Honestly, every minute Wei Yanho spent sleeping was a waste. But even though Baek Muhan controlled his sleep time, he never reduced it to the extreme.

He rarely used breathing techniques to recover him and train again. If Wei Yanho was exhausted, he forced him to rest to recover.

—Exhaustion isn’t just physical. Mental fatigue is an even bigger problem. You can alleviate physical exhaustion with breathing techniques, but the mental one is only cured by sleeping.

That was all. There was no further discussion.

So the conclusion was…

—I’m not being Lazy now.

Wei Yanho felt warmth under the thick blankets covering him.

How long had it been since he slept in a comfortable bed?

Each person is different.

What is right for someone can be a terrible mistake for another.

In that sense, Wei Yanho was very different from others. To stay in his best condition, he needed to rest five times more than others.

—The master also said I should rest. I’m not wasting time. Isn’t this taking a step back to advance better?

Was it an excuse?

No.

Confirming that there wasn’t a hint of doubt in his heart, Wei Yanho hugged the pillow with tranquility.

—When it’s time to rest, you rest.

Thinking about it, he had been acting very unnaturally lately.

Sleeping briefly on the road, running non-stop until reaching the Central Plains, and then rushing to Luoyang without resting. It was incredible that someone like him had endured such a grueling march.

If the situation wasn’t so urgent, he would have thrown himself on the ground kicking and screaming.

—So this rest is deserved.

Even though the problems in the Central Plains hadn’t been resolved yet and the situation was still desperate… as the saying goes: “The more you rush, the more you should step back.” So his rest was justifiable.

But even so…

—How strange.

Something disturbed him.

Wei Yanho opened his eyes a little and observed his surroundings.

—There’s no reason to feel like this.

The atmosphere was perfect. The thick blankets he loved, a fluffy bed, the window half-open to prevent the heat. A cool breeze entered, refreshing him.

The sunlight wasn’t too intense, ideal for sleeping deeply.

So, there was no problem with the environment…

—Why do I feel uneasy?

Could it be that, deep down, he felt guilty for enjoying this rest?

Wei Yanho closed his eyes and looked inside himself.

As his level in the martial arts grew, he could observe his interior with clarity. But no matter how much he searched, he found no remorse for resting.

He wasn’t that kind of person. He knew it very well.

—Then, what’s the problem?

Confused, he stretched out his hand and tucked himself in better.

—I don’t know. I’ll sleep a little more first and then think about it.

The time it takes someone to fall asleep after deciding to is a good measure to judge a Lazy person. And Wei Yanho was, without a doubt, the biggest Lazy person in the world, so he fell asleep instantly.

The wind caressed his hair.

—Hmm.

—————————————————————————-

Wei Yanho looked around as if it were the most normal thing.

A white space.

This world he came to every time he slept was already too familiar to him. Since he left the cave, there hadn’t been a single day he hadn’t come here. It was natural: if he slept, he came here, and there was never a day he didn’t sleep.

His gaze turned to a point.

A man was sitting in a meditative position. Wei Yanho silently observed that back that seemed to fill his entire field of vision.

It was enormous.

Immensely enormous.

It wasn’t something physical, but the feeling it conveyed.

Although he wasn’t doing anything in particular, Baek Muhan’s back always felt that grand.

—That back…

How much comfort he had found in it.

When his master was still present, he hadn’t noticed. He only thought of him as a wicked old man who tormented him. But after he disappeared, he understood.

Comfort.

What Wei Yanho had received from his master wasn’t just martial techniques.

It was the comfort he hadn’t received from his father, his brother, his mother, or Wei Suryun.

Someone who accepted him, understood him, and scolded him no matter what he did.

Someone he could lean on.

For him, his master’s name was synonymous with comfort.

Only when his master was no longer by his side did Wei Yanho understand how great it was to have someone who gave him shade.

That’s why he looked at him like that sometimes.

As if he were bewitched.

That back he would never see again in reality.

—Huh?

Suddenly, Wei Yanho made a sound of surprise.

His master’s figure was becoming blurry, as if he were about to disappear.

He reached out urgently.

His body moved as if cutting through light, grabbing him by the shoulder.

His master slightly turned his head to look at him.

His expression was…

Indescribably…

—PAF!

—GYAAAAAH!

Wei Yanho grabbed his head and fell to the ground.

No matter how much he was beaten, he would never get used to this pain. It was as if something was piercing his bones and stirring his brain. He rolled on the ground, writhing.

—AAAAH! AAAAAH!

—Stop exaggerating! Get up right now, brat! How dare you put your hand on your master’s shoulder? Are you looking for a beating?

Wei Yanho became enraged.

—It was because I was worried! Worried!

—Wor-rrr-iiii-eeeed?

Baek Muhan let out a mocking laugh. Seeing that smile on his handsome face enraged him twice as much.

—Who is worried about whom? You? About me?

Wei Yanho shrank back.

He couldn’t refute it. Him worrying about Baek Muhan was like a mouse worrying about a dragon.

—You were becoming blurry, as if you were going to disappear.

Baek Muhan smiled and put a hand on Wei Yanho’s head.

—Disciple.

—Yes?

—That dream will never come true, so abandon those vain hopes.

—…

—Tsk, tsk. How desperate must you be to hallucinate like this?

—KAAH!

Wei Yanho tried to protest, but he received another blow and rolled on the ground. Baek Muhan looked at him with disdain before speaking.

—It seems that by gaining a little weight, your brain also rotted.

—Heh, heh.

Despite everything, Wei Yanho took “gaining a little weight” as a compliment and was happy.

—The truth is, I’ve become a little stronger.

—You?

Wei Yanho jumped up and puffed out his chest.

—I’ve crushed two bishops of the Demon Cult! Praise me! Even you can’t ignore this, right?

—…

Baek Muhan sighed.

—Seeing my disciple rejoice for defeating some miserable bishops of the Demon Cult… If I had known, I would have never taught you.

Wei Yanho became enraged again.

—Everyone congratulates me, but you’re so stingy with praise! Does it hurt you that your disciple is so talented?

The moment he said it, he regretted it.

Baek Muhan’s expression became as if he were seeing an insect.

—Praise?

—…Yes.

—Why should I praise you?

—For defeating the bishops of the Demon Cult.

—And what’s so impressive about that?

—Because they are strong.

—Strong?

—…

—Do you mean they are powerful?

—No, master. I have been naive.

Wei Yanho gave up completely.

Strength is relative. For an ant, a beetle can be an impossible monster to defeat, but for a human, it’s just an insect that can be crushed with a finger.

For Baek Muhan, the bishops of the Demon Cult were that.

Insects that he could crush with a finger if he wanted to. And now his disciple was asking him for praise for killing those insects?

—This makes no sense!

Wei Yanho felt unfairly treated. It was inevitable.

He understood his master’s stance, but if things continued like this, would he ever recognize him? In the current martial world, there was no one whom Baek Muhan considered strong.

—Master.

—What?

—I want to ask you a question.

—Go ahead.

Wei Yanho hesitated for a moment.

Baek Muhan, impatient, burst out.

—You said you had a question, why don’t you speak?!

—I’m thinking! Why are you so impatient?

—Do you want me to show you what it’s really like to be impatient?

—I was wrong.

Wei Yanho swallowed and finally spoke.

—Tell me the truth.

—Tell me.

Wei Yanho looked directly at him and asked:

—Will I ever be stronger than you?

Baek Muhan smiled.

And answered without hesitation:

—No.

As firm as an ax that cuts wood.