Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?-Chapter 40: A Good Master Makes a Great Disciple

Hearing that the Master and Disciple from the General Store had moved into the room next door, Duan Tianpeng cursed under his breath, but still relaxed. After all, that wasn’t unusual for a hotel.
Plus, he’d already scouted the place in advance. That General Store was half an old establishment by now, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But soon enough, an annoying sound came through the not-so-soundproof walls.
“How is it? Isn’t your Master amazing?”
“Master, don’t press there! Ah~”
“Then do it yourself.”
Duan Tianpeng thought to himself,
Are these two seriously using tools? Playing it wild, and yelling this loud? What a disgrace!
Still, as an “underwear thief,” he wasn’t really qualified to judge anyone. He had no choice but to lie down by the window and rest with his eyes closed.
Originally, this hotel floor had been fairly quiet—just his room and the one to the right were occupied, and there hadn’t been any noise next door until now.
Now the whole floor was noisy. That Master and Disciple were in the room just to the left, way too close, and the "A Good Master Makes a Great Disciple" sound show was crystal clear. Duan Tianpeng even thought about going out for a walk.
But just then, a loud roar came from the room to his right:
“You f***ing done yet? Some of us are trying to sleep!”
It was a man’s voice, and clearly bad-tempered—obviously pissed off by the live "audio show" from the left-side Master and Disciple.
The pair on the left weren’t having it either. The young Master’s voice soon came from near the window:
“Mind your own d*mn business! What, I’ve got stamina, that’s a problem now?”
He sounded a little out of it—probably drunk.
The guy on the right was even more enraged after hearing that:
“Make one more noise in the middle of the f***ing night and I’ll come over and break you!”
Then the room on the left suddenly went quiet. Duan Tianpeng thought maybe the two finally got scared and decided to pipe down—but then came a dull thud.
Bang—
The door to the left room slammed open. The young Master stepped into the hallway, still swearing:
“Come on! I’m right here! You got the balls? Come fight me!”
Duan Tianpeng furrowed his brow slightly. Sounded like the neighbors on both sides were about to throw down—but that had nothing to do with him, so he didn’t get involved.
Bang—
To his surprise, the next knock came to
his
door. Outside, the young Master was yelling again:
“I’m here, b*stard! Didn’t you wanna fight?”
Now Duan Tianpeng was confused. He slipped to the door and saw that the young Master was leaning unsteadily against the wall, already changed into black pajamas. His clothes were messy—clearly things had gotten a bit heated with his Disciple.
At that moment, he was kicking the door while shouting. Looked like he’d had a few drinks.
Clearly, he’d mistaken the room. He thought Duan Tianpeng was the one who cursed at him earlier and came to pick a fight.
At first, Duan Tianpeng considered pretending no one was home and waiting for the loud guy on the right to come out and argue. But strangely, the right-side neighbor went completely silent. The guy who was just yelling about breaking the young Master now didn’t make a sound.
The young Master, unaware of this, kept shouting:
“Come on, get your a** out here! Weren’t you yelling just now? Now you’re playing turtle?”
Duan Tianpeng sighed and replied through the door:
“I wasn’t the one yelling at you. It was the guy in the room to your right. Go take it up with him.”
But whether he was too drunk, or just didn’t want to lose face by switching targets now, the young Master kicked the door again and cursed:
“Cut the bullsh
t! We’re so close, of course it was you! Get the h
ll out here! Or I’ll call my people! You even know who I am?”
Listening to the guy get more and more worked up, Duan Tianpeng started worrying he’d really end up calling hotel staff—or worse, the police. That would bring all kinds of unwanted trouble.
To avoid blowing his cover, Duan Tianpeng decided to calmly redirect the guy to the right-side room. If he still wouldn’t back off, then he’d just kill the two of them. He couldn’t let this escalate any further.
Click—
The door opened smoothly. Duan Tianpeng slipped into character instantly, pretending he’d just been woken up. He eyed the young Master at the door while explaining:
“Bro, I wasn’t the one yelling at you. You two just woke me up. The one talking to you earlier was the guy on your right. You should go…”
While speaking, Duan Tianpeng lifted his hand and pointed toward the room on the right—but before he could finish, the young Master suddenly raised his hand and fired right at his exposed right underarm.
Zzzzt—
Duan Tianpeng instantly recognized the sound of a stun gun. His nerves tightened, but his reflexes didn’t lag behind. Just before the taser dart struck, he retracted his right arm and caught it mid-air.
Realizing something was off, he caught the dart and instantly jumped back, putting space between them.
Doing what he did for a living, he’d seen his fair share of electric traps and gadgets. For safety, he’d modified his entire right arm to be insulated. Catching a stun dart didn’t harm him.
But something still felt off—the strange tactile sensation and the slight sting in his fingertips made Duan Tianpeng glance down.
He found that the dart was laced with two tiny, sharp caltrops—and they’d clearly cut into his fingers.
These little things wouldn’t do much damage, but if they were hidden like this, odds were they were coated in poison.
Wasn’t that General Store supposed to be an old, safe spot? I picked this place randomly, didn’t reveal my identity, and didn’t alert the cops. How did they find me? How did they set this up so thoroughly? Could this place be a front for something shady?
He didn’t know whether they were aware of who he really was, but it was obvious this person’s target was him. Duan Tianpeng suppressed all his questions and grabbed his backpack, preparing to flee.
But the young Master at the door didn’t speak. His body flickered into multiple phantom shadows, blocking the exit and attacking again.
As a fellow movement technique expert, Duan Tianpeng immediately recognized that the guy’s technique was no weaker than his own. Without hesitation, he spun around and tossed a poison gas bomb.
Pop—
Then, Duan Tianpeng kicked through the hotel window and leapt out. He figured once he was out in the open, even a Grandmaster couldn’t stop him from escaping.
But what he didn’t expect was that the moment he leapt out the window, two ropes shot out from both sides and wrapped around his body midair.
Then came the sound of something slicing through the wind behind him. Duan Tianpeng turned his head and saw a black silhouette leaping from the neighboring room, a kick flying straight toward him.
The cold moonlight spilled down, muting the aggression of the attack—but it was still clear: this was the final move of Water-Splitting Strike.