Great Love for All Heavens Begins with Huang Yaoshi

Chapter 189 With each strike, the entire body moves in unison, spirit and will become one; that is all.
The next day, early in the morning.

Tian Ling'er landed quietly in a courtyard, then suddenly paused, noticing a young man leaning against the wall. A slight smirk appeared on her lips.
"Junior brother, you're up really early."

"Perhaps it's because I'm about to be taught the Daoist arts of the immortal sect by my senior brother today that I can't sleep and have woken up early."

"I hope you can maintain this excitement when you do your homework later." Tian Ling'er handed her a wood-chopping knife.

"Grab your machete and let's go."

Zhuang Buran followed Tian Ling'er out of the courtyard and saw a large yellow dog, about half a person's height, with a shiny coat.

A short while later, the two people and the dog walked on the path leading to the back of the mountain.

More than half an hour later, Tian Ling'er clicked her tongue in amazement:

"I didn't realize you could walk so well. Yesterday, my senior brother brought you here, and you barely walked at all. Yet today you're keeping up with me."

"Perhaps it was from running around aimlessly in the mountains and fields that I developed such excellent physical strength."

A thin layer of sweat appeared on the boy's forehead, as if he had warmed up and felt slightly refreshed.

"Don't you want to ask why our lineage makes its new disciples cut bamboo?" Tian Ling'er said with a smile.

"It's nothing more than needing an excellent physique to cultivate the Tao."

"You're absolutely right. Our Qingyun Sect originates from Taoism and places great emphasis on health and wellness. When one's Taoist cultivation reaches a certain depth, the body becomes even more important. All our sect's unique skills require an excellent physique, otherwise, one will suffer a backlash from the true techniques."

Afterwards, Tian Ling'er led Zhuang Buran into the bamboo forest and found a black bamboo stalk about the thickness of an infant's arm.

"Senior Sister, I think this bamboo is a bit too thick. I'll go look for some bamboo that's about the thickness of a finger," Zhuang Buran said with a serious expression.

Tian Ling'er let out a silvery laugh:

"Haha, you're really cunning. It's a pity that I've cut down almost all the black bamboo that's as thick as a finger in the past two years."

"There are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding."

Zhuang Buran found a clean spot to sit down, leaning on his wood-chopping knife, and quietly examined the black bamboo in front of him.

"what are you doing?"

"I plan to take advantage of this black bamboo when it's not paying attention and cut it down with one stroke."

Zhuang Buran casually waved his hand:
"Junior sister, you should go and finish your homework first."

"Uh"

Tian Ling'er seemed unable to believe what she was hearing and said:
"Are you OK?"

"It's alright, and please don't disturb me while I'm doing my homework, Junior Sister," Zhuang Buran said without looking at him.

Tian Ling'er pondered for a moment, then said disdainfully:
"You probably guessed that you couldn't cut the bamboo, so you came up with such a lame excuse."

"Please don't disturb me while I'm doing my homework, junior sister," the boy repeated.

"Alright, I'd like to see how you finish your homework in two hours. If you try to cheat, you'll be in for a beating later. I won't plead for you."

Tian Ling'er rolled her eyes, turned around and left, going to another place to cut down black bamboo.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and Tian Ling'er rushed over as soon as she finished her homework.

Then he was so angry that he laughed. He immediately saw the boy who was sitting upright with his sword leaning on him dozing off and being lazy.

Hello, it's me.

Zhuang Buran suddenly stood up, raised his hand and brought down his knife. The sound of the knife cutting through the air pierced the air, and a black bamboo fell down with a thud.

Tian Ling'er stood there dumbfounded, her mouth slightly open, as if she was too shocked to close it.

After a while, she approached and examined the black bamboo that the boy had chopped down. Finding nothing amiss, she snatched the bamboo-cutting knife from the boy's hand and discovered it was just an ordinary tool. But the more normal it seemed, the more something was wrong. She had been cutting bamboo for two years and had reached the fourth level of the Jade Purity Realm, yet she still needed four cuts to cut down such thick black bamboo.

Tian Ling'er turned to look at the unremarkable young man who hadn't embarked on the path of cultivation, and three words popped into her mind:
"Why!"

Immediately, she asked with a puzzled look:
"This bamboo is incredibly resilient. When I first started cutting it, it was like splitting a rock with a knife. My palms would go numb from the impact, and I'd often get whipped hard by the bamboo branches. How did you manage to do that?"

"Didn't I already say that we just need to catch it off guard?" Zhuang Buran said casually.

Tian Ling'er's lips twitched:
"Do you think I'd believe such a ridiculous lie?"

"It won't hurt you to believe it, so why won't you?" the boy asked with a smile.

Looking at the smile on the boy's face, Tian Ling'er suddenly circled around him a few times, poking his back, chest, and arms, and asked with great confusion:

"It's just an ordinary body of flesh and blood, there's nothing wrong with it, so how could it cut through the black bamboo with one strike?"

"Junior sister, have you had enough fun? It's time to go back and have dinner."

The boy smiled, turned around, and walked out of the bamboo forest.

"Junior brother, how did you do that?" Tian Ling'er quickly followed.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, so just consider it as me catching him off guard," the boy replied leisurely.

"You, Zhang Xiaofan, you start looking down on your senior sister on the very second day. Is this how you act as a junior brother?"

“If you call me Seventh Senior Brother, I will tell you.”

"Damn it, you still harbor thoughts of rebelling against the Heavenly Gang? Dream on!"

As their figures gradually faded, the faint conversation between the two revealed a contrast between increasing agitation and increasing peace.

About half an hour later, it was time for lunch.

As soon as the two arrived at the dining hall, Tian Ling'er saw that everyone was there and, without the slightest hesitation, began to complain to her father.

"What?! He chopped down a bamboo stalk as thick as a baby's arm with a single stroke!"

Du Bishu said, dumbfounded.

The others also looked at the seemingly nonchalant young man with shocked expressions, and one thought simultaneously surfaced in their minds:

"Could my junior brother be a genius?"

Tian Buyi carefully examined the boy, who was only slightly sweaty, and muttered to himself:

"Could this kid be a genius with hidden talents, just like me?"

Compared to Tian Buyi's laziness, Su Ru was more competitive and fond of martial arts. Previously, the former would teach the disciples Taoist techniques and then ignore them, leaving them to practice on their own. The latter could not stand the fact that the disciples of Dazhu Peak were repeatedly defeated in the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament, thus becoming a laughing stock within the Qingyun Sect.

Thus, he often taught these unworthy disciples on behalf of Tian Buyi, and immediately spoke up:
"Seventh Brother, how did you manage to cut through the black bamboo with a single blow?"

Zhuang Buran said respectfully:

"Spirit is the mind, intention is the body. With each strike, the whole body follows, spirit and intention become one, that's all."

Everyone looked puzzled after hearing this, but then Tian Buyi suddenly spoke:
"Seventh Brother, you know martial arts?"

"I don't know if I know martial arts, but after suddenly realizing that my parents and the uncles and aunts in the village died tragically, I feel much more enlightened than before."

The boy's eyes dimmed:

"It's like the scene of morning light breaking through the fog that I've seen before, or like the fog in my heart suddenly dissipating, leaving everything clear and transparent."

(End of this chapter)