Long ago, a young man named Wang Qi heard that many immortals dwelled on Mount Lao and journeyed there at once.
He met a Daoist who appeared young despite his great age and became his pupil. In his first month, Wang Qi diligently followed other students into the hills each day, patiently listening to his teacher's instructions. By the second month, he grew weary of the hard life but stayed, hoping to learn magical skills. In the third month, his patience ran out. He confronted his teacher: "I've toiled for many days. Please teach me some skill now, or my time here is wasted."
"What do you wish to learn?" asked the Daoist.
"Anything," Wang Qi replied.
"Then I shall teach you to pass through a wall." The Daoist taught Wang Qi the incantations needed. After reciting them, Wang Qi successfully walked through a wall. Overjoyed, he bid his teacher farewell and returned home.
At home, he boasted to his family and neighbors about meeting an immortal and learning to magically pass through walls, but no one believed him. To prove it, Wang Qi recited the incantations and charged at a wall. However, his head struck the wall with a loud "Bang!" and he fell to the floor. His wife helped him up and found a large bump on his forehead.
The moral of the story is that bragging leads only to failure.