Having made progress with his physical recovery, his physical condition was then on par with normal healthy people. However, it would not be possible to recover the vital Qi that he lost in the past overnight. The Shen family was influential in many fields and it would be easy for them to get their hands on precious herbs. Thus, Shen Lian very likely would have tried to find a way to return to the Shen family even if Steward Wu had not come.
As the saying went, 'Academia is for the masses, while martial art is reserved for the wealthy ones'. The same could be said about cultivation.
Even back in the ancient times on Earth, the famed Daoist monks were from an affluent family. The founder of the Way of the Celestial Masters, Zhang Daoling, was from a wealthy family. Even the well-known Celestial Master, Sun En, was from one of the great and affluent families. Ge Hong was even the Secondary Marquis, while Tao Hongjing was known as the 'Prime Minister of the Mountains'.
Regardless of their achievement in relation to their celestial training, all of these cultivators of Daoism that we were familiar with had plenty of resources at their disposal. Even if they were geniuses, they would not be who they were if they had to concern themselves with supplying the basic needs of life.
The real Shen Lian was a frog in a well. His lack of guidance led him to think that the greatest masters became who they were by training hard with any secret texts of martial exercises.
Both cultivation of Daoism and martial arts training focused on the evolution of an individual. Gathering knowledge from the information-rich era that he came from, Shen Lian figured that cultivation required much more than the attainment of one's mind. On top of that, the acc.u.mulation of information and resources was just as important.
In the modern world, even a project as simple as the Human Genome Project required the cooperation of different nations; a clear indication that the road of evolution was not something that Shen Lian could conquer on his own.
"Method, companion, resource, and land," said the Ancients.
In relation to 'method', he was aware of the method of cultivation; albeit his understanding was a shallow one.
'Companion' could be the kindred spirits that he would meet on the path of cultivation or a famous Kung Fu Master who would impart knowledge unto him. It could even be friends who share information and their experiences with him. Just as the modern world, scientists would attend conferences and be involved in universities in order to take advantage of the databases.
'Resource' refers to the resources concerning the cultivation of Daoism. This was limited to knowledge, as he himself was unaware of any tools that could be relevant to his cultivation.
As to 'land', he did have training rooms that were safe and quiet at his disposal.
It would seem that he had everything that he needed, but there was a lot of room for improvement.
At that moment, the most important thing was not training, but companionship.
As someone who came from the modern age, Shen Lian agreed with the saying that 'learning alone without interactions with others will lead to ignorance'. For instance, the real Shen Lian would not have been so frail and ended up losing this body to him if he had someone to guide him along the way.
If that was the case, when he traveled through time, he would have been assimilated by the real Shen Lian instead of taking over his body.
All of these would have been pointed out by doyens of the various schools of cultivation.
Judging from the real Shen Lian's memories, those who managed to attain celestial status did so after they joined one of the cultivation schools.
Just as the case of a great scholar – one would first have to learn before proceeding to carry out independent research.
Based on the reasons stated above, Shen Lian knew what he had to do.
In the long run, it would be great if he could be accepted into one of the elite cultivation schools.
In the short run, it would be to get his body into good shape in order to have a solid foundation.
Despite his frailty, there were perks to having a stronger than average spirit. He was able to detect even the tiniest stimuli. Coupled with some training, he would be able to have a good grasp over his own limit. With that, he could exert himself at his maximum capacity without causing harm to his body.
After training day after day, his hand-eye coordination and sensory organs were in tip-top condition.
If he were to return to the modern world, he would be unbelievably good at any online game.
Time passed by slowly, and there came the morning of the day of departure.
Seated in the comfortable carriage driven by the skilled Steward Wu, Shen Lian had a smooth journey without so much as a bump. He had to give credits to the Shen family as well; the Shen family ran a logistics business among others, and the roads nearby were well paved for this exact purpose.
Even though the Shen family spent an enormous amount of paving the roads and repairing the bridges, the long-term benefits far outweighed the short-term costs. The Shen family secured its reputation in the State Capital of Qing, while the officials at the state could claim some credit for it. Besides the financial expenditure by the Shen family, this could be said to be a win-win situation for all.
All of these were Old Master Shen's initiative. Despite the disagreement from Shen Lian's uncles, which were Master Shen and Second Master Shen, Old Master Shen had his way as he was highly respected. The deal was made back when the Shen family was less wealthy.
From things like that, one could easily deduce that Shen Lian's grandfather was an impressive individual. Old Master Shen had great insights and was decisive; it was no wonder that the Shen family was as affluent and wealthy as it was.
As he was thinking, Shen Lian combined his analysis with the real Shen Lian's memories and painted a picture of Old Master Shen in his mind.
This was another perk of having a strong spirit. His ability to deduce based on logic and analysis improved significantly.
Due to his strong spirit and 'The Mastery of Senses', he became steadier, sharper, and increasingly rational.
Whenever he pictured the deity from the cover page of 'The Mastery of Senses' in his mind, all the distracting thoughts would slowly fade away.
...
The State Capital of Qing was bustling with activities. A low-profile, luxurious carriage pulled over at the doorstep of a reputable and wealthy family – the Shen family.
"Steward Wu, did you bring Third Young Master home?" the doorman greeted as soon as the carriage had arrived.
"That's right," Steward Wu replied.
Slowly, Shen Lian alighted from the carriage. The real Shen Lian had not been back for six or seven years, but judging from his memory, nothing much had changed.
However, the scratches on the two lion stone statues by the door showcased the passing of time.
The door swung open and a middle-aged man walked out. The man was Shen Qingsan, Shen Lian's second uncle.
Shen Qingsan used to be a martial arts apprentice when he was younger. It was said that once when he was transporting goods, he fought a gang of thieves off with just his bare hands. Shen Qingsan was known to be a brave and skilled man in the State Capital of Qing.
It was possible that due to his age, Shen Qingsan had gotten noticeably fatter and his muscles were not as toned as they used to be. His saving grace was his eyes; they were much sharper than those of normal people.
Shen Qingsan took a good look at his nephew. He thought Shen Lian was too skinny, not as muscular as he was back in his younger days. After all these years, Shen Lian looked more approachable; his slender built reminded one of the tenacious and upright bamboos.
Shen Qingsan could not help but notice the striking resemblance Shen Lian bore with his mother, Shen Qingsan's late sister.
Shen Qingsan was closer to his sister than his elder brother was. This was so as his elder brother got sent away for studies, while he and his sister spent most of their time together at home.
It was when he left home for seven years to receive martial arts training that they grew apart. In addition to that, his sister's premarital pregnancy did not sit well with him back then; he saw it as a great shame to the family.