LS & Snowy woke up after a few days partially healed, LS was able to eat & take rest without doing any hard tasks. Snowy healed faster due to its natural healing ability. After LS woke up Grandpa informed him about the spirit contract ritual that was performed between Snowy & LS. Generally, summoners have weak constitution. Not adept in martial arts, they use their spirit beasts & intelligence to win battles. Brute force attacks are their weakness. There are a few Summoners who are both adept in Martial arts & summoning, but such instances are extremely rare only heaven’s pride level genius are capable of excelling in both fields.

LS seemed to be one of the rare exceptions having dual talents & showing signs of talent in pill dao / alchemy too. Oftentimes talented individuals shine too bright in their rise to the top, they burn like a sun & will soon be extinguished by jealous competitors. Especially if the talented individual has no background to support them, they will either end up dead / waste their potential due to lack of supporting resources etc., Grandpa didn’t want LS to suffer the same fate, so he said: “ Shen’er You might have many talents, I am very happy to learn that but not everyone in the world is like your grandpa, there are many who will try to suppress/ destroy your progress due to jealousy, it is a sad truth that we cannot escape our basic instincts like the buddha. ** I suggest you hide your talents as much as you can. Reveal only what is necessary - do not show off for it will be the cause of your downfall.** I won’t say this again. Your survival comes first - no matter what happens you should always make sure you have an exit strategy to make sure you will survive. Understood?”

“I understand grandpa - I will make sure to not show off, no matter how powerful I get, reveal only what is absolutely necessary and I will always make my survival the primary goal ” repeated LS. With this Grandpa’s concerns lessened as he was afraid that due to the influence of age LS might also become brash & get hurt because of others. It is best to put boundaries/ checks & balances in the beginning to avoid disasters at a later stage. Prevention is better than firefighting.

“Long Shen - You have become a summoner but also have talent in Martial arts & pill dao, that is very impressive but many have wasted their potential pursuing too many things simultaneously - becoming a master of none. I don't want you to end up like that. A summoner’s weakness is brute force / physical attacks. But you have a strong physical body - although weakened you have endured the focus blast of the wild beast above your cultivation level, that is an impressive feat in itself. Your body is stronger than your peers in the same cultivation level. This is your strength that assists you as you don’t have the major weakness of summoners. But i want you to focus on martial arts as you are very good in theory, analysis & practical knowledge - Power gives Authority & Martial arts gives Power. To reach the peak, martial arts is the direct path - there are many other unconventional paths that others take but you don’t need that. Your talents in Martial arts will provide an edge to you wherever you go. It is a dog eat dog world out there, entirely different from our monastery. There will be betrayals, backstabbing, plotting, scheming, exploiting and many un imaginable things in the real world. Do not see the world with hope, it is corrupt with the darkness that has invaded everyone’s hearts. Be mindful of your surroundings at all times, do not trust anyone easily. In the outside world people with power can get away with anything, no one can question those in power, it is the sad truth of the world. The one with the mighty fist rules…” said grandpa Shen with a hint of pain in his eyes.

Long Shen listened to everything & burned them into his memory - his grandpa is his only family. Sr Shen is higher than heavens to Long Shen, he would never disobey grandpa’s teachings whether he is in front of grandpa or not.

Long Shen asked “SO, Grandpa should I stop learning alchemy & pill dao as you asked me to concentrate on martial arts? “

“No No … Alchemists are one of the richest apart from businessmen & traders. Martial artists need resources & resources cost a lot of money. Keep martial arts as your primary profession but keep Alchemy & pill dao as your secondary profession but keep it a secret from others just like your summoning skills. Summoning doesn’t require resources but extraordinary luck in finding powerful spirit beasts & making a contract with them. Summoner’s professional progress is based on an individual’s luck / destiny. You can practice summoning as a hidden trump card. We never reveal all our secrets at once - Always keep a few trump cards in your hand - they are our life saving talismans during an impossible situation.” replied grandpa.

“Sure grandpa, I will focus on martial arts & develop my alchemy skills as a way to gather resources for my growth, as for summoning i only have my friend snowy so I don’t have to reveal it to others, in the future when i have enough friends & form spirit contracts, it will be my trump card…” replied LS

“Good … my grandson is as intelligent as ever… Ha Ha ha..” chuckled grandpa as he walked towards Old man Ji’s hut.

“ Good morning, Brother Shen.. What brings you here today..” asked Old Ji happily.

“Brother Ji I want you to divine something, Why is there an increased incidence of powerful wild beasts recently?” asked Grandpa Shen. (There was one more incidence of a peak Qi Accumulation stage wild beast attacked after LS got hurt )

“I was also thinking the same thing … there seems to be an ominous feeling i can’t seem to ignore, i am afraid there will be a disaster coming upon us in the near future… These incidences will get more frequent. Worst case in a year or 2-3 years from now we might have to face a big calamity, it is better if we prepare ourselves first…” replied the fortuneteller.

“Hmm, just as i suspected... 1 year is indeed too short but we have to start preparing for the worst case …” sighed Sr Shen.

After chatting for a few more minutes Sr. Shen took his leave & went to his hut to meditate what should be done as a precautionary measure.

To be continued….