People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 369, Jing Ni's Training (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
Xu Qing looked at Jing Ni, whose expression was cold and stern, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then a smile appeared on his face.

"It seems there's still a significant gap between my strength and yours," Xu Qing said with a light laugh.

Fortunately, it was just a friendly spar. If it had been a life-or-death struggle, and Jing Ni hadn't held back her final sword strike, he would probably have been seriously injured the moment he was knocked back.

Similarly, Jingni wouldn't easily break free from Chao Sanfu's fickle control.

"No, you are very strong. Your sword techniques are varied and unpredictable, and the Cheng Ying Sword is also difficult to defend against. If you hadn't held back, I would have been injured even if I wanted to defeat you."

Jing Ni shook her head slightly, her pale yellow eyes gleaming, and a slight smile appeared on her cold face.

The moonlight shone on Jingni, and the smile on her face was like a snow lotus blooming on the summit of a snow-capped mountain—cold, holy, and beautiful, making Xu Qing unable to look away.

"Ahem, you flatter me. This is all the skill I have," Xu Qing said, feigning modesty.

He knew exactly what the Eight Swords of Noble Void were all about, and without some confidence and resources, he wouldn't dare to even think about fighting to a draw or defeating Xiaoyaozi.

Jing Ni ignored Xu Qing's modesty and, after recalling her fight with him, continued...

"Your unpredictable sword techniques and Cheng Ying Sword are your greatest strengths, especially your strange sword techniques. If someone is fighting you for the first time or is caught off guard, once they are in the situation just now, it will be difficult to break free unless they injure themselves."

"But you can't be careless. After all, Xiaoyaozi has been famous for a long time and has cultivated in the Human Sect for many years. His strength is unfathomable. It's hard to guarantee that he won't have a way to break through."

"During our exchange just now, I also discovered that you have three major weaknesses. First, your basic swordsmanship is too poor. You can handle ordinary people, but you are not good enough against people who are of higher level and have better swordsmanship. Your sword techniques can make up for it to some extent, but it is not enough."

"Secondly, although your sword moves are unpredictable, you have too few killing moves. If you could incorporate your killing moves into those eye-catching sword moves, you would definitely catch people off guard."

"That move is called 'Changing One's Mind in the Morning and Evening,' and the illusion behind it is called 'The Tower of Human Transformation,'" Xu Qing reminded him.

Jing Ni nodded slightly. Although she knew Xu Qing's swordsmanship was extraordinary, she didn't expect her to understand the historical allusions behind it. So she continued...
"Thirdly, your strength is insufficient to unleash the true power of this sword technique. If I'm not mistaken, this sword technique can only unleash its full power when one reaches the level of a Celestial Master and integrates their cultivation path into it."

Xu Qing listened to Jing Ni's story and nodded repeatedly. He finally understood the true value of the Heavenly-level assassins of the Luo Wang.

Being able to wield a famous sword like the Eight Swords of the King of Yue, Jing Ni's swordsmanship is not only top-notch in terms of assassination and skill level, but she is overlooked because of her identity as an assassin.

"Do I still have a chance to get promoted?" Xu Qing asked.

With such a renowned teacher right in front of her, how could Xu Qing possibly let go of the opportunity to learn?

"Time is running out before the covenant between heaven and man, and it will be difficult to improve your basic swordsmanship in a short period of time. As for the second point, if you learn swordsmanship from me, I will teach you the final sword strike. You can hide the sword energy in the blade and unleash it at the crucial moment."

"As for the third point, I don't know what kind of cultivation technique you practice or what path you follow, but in the time to come, you need to try your best to enter the Celestial Master realm."

Jingni looked at Xu Qing and said what solutions she could think of.

“Alright, in that case, let’s start by learning swordsmanship. I’ll figure out the problem of cultivation level myself,” Xu Qing nodded and said.

The Evergreen Skill and the Way of Tai Chi are two things that he can only solve on his own. Even if he cannot reach the Celestial Master realm, he must break through the sixth level of the Evergreen Skill and forcibly convert his internal energy into true qi.

"I'll demonstrate the sword technique first and explain the key points to you."

After speaking, Jing Ni drew her sword again and began to demonstrate her swordsmanship in front of Xu Qing, explaining the key points to him.

Xu Qing sat quietly to the side, watching, using his fingers as a sword to follow Jing Ni's movements, while simultaneously circulating the purple energy in his dantian according to the key points Jing Ni had mentioned, earnestly learning swordsmanship.

After Jingni unleashed the sword energy from her sword, shattering the stone bench beside her, she looked at Xu Qing.

Just as he was about to ask Xu Qing if he understood, he saw a wisp of emerald green sword energy suddenly erupt from Xu Qing's fingertip, shattering the bluestone floor.

Upon seeing this, Jingni's eyes flashed with surprise. She had never seen such a prodigy as Xu Qing, who could perform the technique so skillfully after only seeing it once.

"you"

Jingni looked at Xu Qing, unsure of what to say.

"It's just a trick, but this sword technique is indeed exquisite. If it could be transferred through other meridians, perhaps it could be expanded into a finger technique," Xu Qing said thoughtfully.

Just now, when he shot out sword energy from his fingertips, he thought of the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

If he were to use this sword technique, along with Tai Chi and Wan Chuan Qiu Shui, to create an enhanced version of the Six Meridians Divine Sword, and borrow the Yin-Yang transformation of Tai Chi, he would surely be able to catch Xiaoyaozi off guard.

The Six Meridian Divine Sword is a rather abnormal martial art. The sword energy shot out from the fingers is invisible and colorless, and it can be fired in rapid succession. As long as one has sufficient internal strength, it can be used like a machine gun.

"This is a sword technique from the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven). I don't even know its name or origin. If you're interested, you can give it a try." Jing Ni suppressed her surprise and said calmly again.

"Hmm, I'll practice my sword first. This isn't urgent."

Xu Qing picked up the Cheng Ying sword and prepared to continue practicing. Creating a martial art is difficult; it requires the right time, place, and people, and cannot be based on a fleeting idea. He couldn't put the cart before the horse; his focus should be on practicing swordsmanship, not on trying to take shortcuts or unorthodox methods.

"Okay, I'll accompany you."

Jing Ni nodded and began to teach Xu Qing how to spar, helping him to master the sword techniques he had just learned and improve his experience in fighting others.

In an instant, the sounds of metal and steel filled the courtyard as Xu Qing and Jing Ni clashed.

The next morning, Xu Qing arrived at the Imperial Hospital to scout the location.

When Xia Ru, Xia Wuqie, and the others saw Xu Qing arrive, they prepared to step forward and ask him about medical matters. However, upon seeing the fatigue on Xu Qing's face, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Imperial Physician," Xia Wuqie and the others greeted.

Xia Ru was the previous Imperial Physician, and he was quite old. He wanted to pay his respects to Xu Qing, but Xu Qing did not dare to accept it.

"Elder Xia and Wuqie, you're both here. Is there anything going on at the Imperial Hospital today?" Xu Qing asked the group after perking up a bit.

"It's nothing serious. The imperial physician advised you to get plenty of rest. From now on, the medical profession of Qin will need your support," Xia Wuqie said with concern.

"It's nothing, I just went to bed late last night."

Xu Qing waved his hand dismissively. Last night, under Jing Ni's tutelage and guidance, he practiced swordsmanship until late at night, and then practiced the Evergreen Skill. By the time he finished, it was almost dawn.

Seeing Xu Qing's response, Xia Wuqie and the others couldn't say anything more and could only think of asking Xu Qing questions another day.
"Imperial Physician Xu, His Majesty sent someone earlier, saying that you should go to Zhangtai Palace after you arrive," Xia Wuqie continued.

"Alright, then I'll leave the affairs of the Imperial Medical Academy to Elder Xia and you. I'll go and pay my respects to the King first."

After handing the medicine box to a royal physician, Xu Qing turned and left, intending to see what Ying Zheng wanted from her and also to hand over the invitation to the Heavenly Pact.

After passing through the deep passageway, Xu Qing, after being informed, found Ying Zheng in the rear hall.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Xu Qing said, bowing respectfully to Ying Zheng.

Upon seeing Xu Qing arrive, Ying Zheng raised his head from among a pile of memorials and smiled slightly, saying...

"Sir, please sit down and wait for me to finish reviewing this memorial."

After speaking, Ying Zheng lowered his head again to review the memorials.

Xu Qing glanced at the mountain of memorials piled on the table, then at Ying Zheng, who showed no signs of fatigue from the numerous government affairs, but rather seemed to enjoy them. He then sat down and began to wait.

Ying Zheng's early death was largely due to overwork. In order to concentrate power in his own hands, he personally handled all memorials.

He would only rest after reviewing a certain number of memorials each day.

No one can withstand such high-intensity work, let alone Ying Zheng who was also taking drugs, those pills were all heavy metals.

At this rate, even the gods couldn't stop it.

Although Xu Qing wanted to offer some advice, he considered that Ying Zheng had just regained some power from Lü Buwei and was currently in high spirits.

Advice at this point is probably useless; we can only wait for another opportunity to speak.

After reviewing the memorials in his hand, Ying Zheng looked up at Xu Qing, his expression slightly solemn, and said in a deep voice...

"Sir, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I have asked you to come here today because there is something I would like to discuss with you. My mother came to see me yesterday."

"The Empress Dowager is looking for you?" Xu Qing asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes, Mother came to see me about the three officials: the Commandant of the Guards, the Grand Historian, and the Left Attendant. These three were falsely accused by Lao Ai and imprisoned. Now that their positions are vacant, Lao Ai wants to take them. So he encouraged Mother to come to me and suggest that Lao Ai's three retainers be placed in these three positions."

Ying Zheng's expression was solemn, his eyes flashed with coldness, and he spoke in a low voice.

Only half a day after the matter concerning the imperial clan ended, Lao Ai no longer concealed his ambition, immediately offering three high-ranking and powerful official positions, involving politics, the military, and weaponry. What was he planning? Was he going to rebel?
At the same time, Ying Zheng was even more disappointed in Zhao Ji. He did not believe that Zhao Ji was unaware of the importance of these three official positions. Moreover, Lao Ai had just offended the royal family and was in the eye of the storm, yet Zhao Ji dared to help him obtain these three important official positions.

This shows that they don't care about him or the Qin state at all, and they completely disregard the stability of the court and the situation in the Qin state.

“Lao Ai’s actions are too hasty, but it also proves that his arrogance is justified; he no longer hides his ambition for power,” Xu Qing said.

Lao Ai's eagerness to place the Commandant of the Guards, the Grand Secretary, and the Left Attendant on his own side was truly beyond Xu Qing's expectations. In his plan, no matter how arrogant and foolish Lao Ai was, he wouldn't be so quick to demand power as soon as he was cleared of charges.

Ultimately, he underestimated Lao Ai's stupidity.

(End of this chapter)