The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 19, The Cultivation of a Genius
Lu Chen followed Huang Rong to learn martial arts for a month. Although he spent most of his time practicing swordsmanship every day, even if he was only cultivating true qi from the outside in and did not need to meditate, he still needed to understand the knowledge of meridians and acupoints.

Therefore, Huang Rong had already taught him these basics long before he developed internal strength.

At this moment, following Huang Rong's instructions, he circulated his inner energy, pushed off the ground with both feet, and instantly leaped more than five feet into the air.

The height of his leap was far beyond that of the strongest basketball player in his previous life, and even in this "main world," it was a height that ordinary people could not reach.

Of course, in the eyes of a master of light-body skills, a leap height of more than five feet is far from impressive.

But there was nothing he could do; Lu Chen's skill was only shallow enough to support him jumping that high.

After learning how to leap from a stationary position, Huang Rong taught him how to increase his running speed, how to breathe and exhale while running to greatly reduce the consumption of true energy, and how to suddenly leap, stop quickly, and turn while running, among other light-body techniques.

These seemingly scattered methods of application are actually the superior lightness skills of Peach Blossom Island.

Since Lu Chen had already cultivated true qi, he naturally learned and applied the techniques extremely quickly.

In less than half an hour, he was already able to leap more than ten feet in a single step. When he flew and ran, his leaps, stops, and turns were all effortless, and his posture was quite elegant and graceful, showing some of the charm of Peach Blossom Island's lightness skill.

With the breathing techniques taught by Huang Rong to reduce the consumption of true energy, his meager true energy could sustain him for a long time. He felt that he could run for an hour or two without exhausting his true energy and physical strength.

After teaching Lu Chen the art of lightness skill, Huang Rong told him to continue practicing, while she went to the main house to prepare a bedroom for Huang Yaoshi, and then obediently invited her father to come in and rest.

When Huang Yaoshi saw that his daughter had arranged for him to stay in the main house, which was only separated from her bedroom by a quiet room, he realized that she had no chance of hiding from him and sneaking away at night.

Master Huang concluded that his daughter had secured favorable terms for Lu Chen and was willing to obediently return to Peach Blossom Island with him to wait for Lu Chen to fulfill the bet. He was immediately overjoyed and went to his bedroom to meditate and rest.

Of course, even while meditating, he still kept some attention on the movements in the courtyard to prevent Rong'er from playing tricks on him.

Huang Rong did not use any trickery.

Anyway, on the first night after her father arrived, she didn't do anything unusual. She washed up early and went back to her room to rest.

In the courtyard, only the sound of Lu Chen's clothes rustling in the wind as he practiced his lightness skill alone, until midnight.

Huang Yaoshi initially thought that Lu Chen was studying until midnight in order to leave a good impression on him.

Unexpectedly, before dawn the next day, the sound of a long sword cutting through the air rang out again in the courtyard.

By the time Huang Rong emerged yawning, it was already broad daylight.

Huang Yaoshi was standing under the eaves of the main house, hands behind his back, watching Lu Chen intently practicing the rapier technique. Lu Chen had practiced this most basic move hundreds, even thousands of times without showing the slightest sign of boredom or aversion. Huang Yaoshi said to Huang Rong:

"Does he practice like this every day?"

Huang Rong, like her father, stood with her hands behind her back, looking at Lu Chen with pride on her face.

"Yes, he practices until midnight every day, and then gets up at dawn the next day to continue practicing. He has been doing this every day since we met, rain or shine, without ever slacking off."

Huang Yaoshi frowned and said:

"Then he's only sleeping two or three hours a day? You haven't even taught him internal energy cultivation, just this kind of arduous external training. Aren't you afraid of ruining yourself?"

Huang Rong smiled and said:

"Lu Chen is exceptionally talented and has remarkable recovery abilities. No matter how tired he is, he can fully recover after sleeping for two or three hours. Rong'er didn't believe it at first and was worried that there might be some hidden dangers. After carefully examining him with her internal energy, she found that he had truly recovered completely without leaving any hidden injuries."

Huang Yaoshi was slightly surprised:
"That's truly a gift."

However, given the vastness of China, since ancient times, there have been countless extraordinary people and individuals. Some are born with superhuman strength, some are born with all their meridians open, and some are born with exceptional wisdom.

Although Huang Yaoshi had never heard of Lu Chen's extraordinary recovery ability, it was not surprising that one case had occurred.

But even with exceptional talent and remarkable recovery, such persistent and arduous training requires extraordinary willpower and perseverance.

Huang Yaoshi himself was far from focused when practicing martial arts, and his daughter shared this flaw. However, he didn't dislike those who practiced diligently; in fact, he once hoped that his daughter could be more focused and hardworking in her martial arts practice. Unfortunately, his daughter's personality was too much like his, and he couldn't correct it no matter what he did.

He couldn't bear to be too strict with his daughter, so he could only let her be. As a result, Rong'er, who was exceptionally talented and whose comprehension and aptitude were no less than those of the heroine Lin Chaoying back then, and who had been personally taught by him, a master of the Five Greats, could only be considered mediocre in martial arts.

Lu Chen is not only exceptionally talented, but also so focused and diligent. If he continues on this momentum, he may become one of the Five Greats before he turns thirty.

Furthermore, he wasn't just a martial arts fanatic; he was also quite accomplished in scholarship and talent...

Huang Yaoshi glanced at Huang Rong beside him and saw that his daughter was smiling and watching Lu Chen practice his sword intently. Her bright eyes were full of pride and expectation. Huang Yaoshi couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart. He simply turned and went into the house to avoid seeing her.

Seeing her father throwing another inexplicable tantrum, Huang Rong smiled, made a face at his back, and skipped into the west wing to make breakfast.

After breakfast, she tested Lu Chen's lightness skill and then began to teach him the "Falling Petal Sword Technique".

Lu Chen was quite looking forward to this—after unlocking "Sword One," there were two prerequisites for unlocking the second level of "Immortal Slaying Sword Intent." One was to master two more extraordinary sword techniques, and the other was to have complete control over "Sword One."

To master "Sword One," one only needs to continuously perceive the imprint of sword intent and practice relentlessly to improve proficiency. Sooner or later, one will be able to control it at will and wield it with ease.

But extraordinary swordsmanship is not so easy to learn.

In the martial arts world, sectarianism is rampant, and each sect has its own rules prohibiting the leakage of martial arts skills.

Aside from common sword techniques like the Yue Maiden Sword, advanced sword techniques like the "Falling Blossom Sword Technique" are impossible to learn without kowtowing to a master and joining a sect—even the Yue Maiden Sword was only learned by Rong'er after she spent a lot of money. As for becoming a master or joining a sect, that depends on whether the sect is willing to accept you.

Without a stroke of luck, or the favor of a renowned master, even if an ordinary person finds a school, they might not be able to gain entry. Furthermore, Lu Chen wasn't an "ordinary person"; he was a rootless, unregistered individual, and to legitimately seek a master to learn martial arts, he didn't even have a guarantor…

Now, thanks to Rong'er, they can directly learn the high-end sword technique "Falling Blossom Sword Technique" and unlock the first prerequisite for "Sword Two" - "Two Extraordinary Sword Techniques". They will soon be halfway there.

As one of the main predecessors of the core martial art of Peach Blossom Island, the "Falling Blossom Sword Palm" is a sword technique with exquisite and complex moves, full of illusions and unpredictable changes, making it much more difficult than the common Yue Nu Sword Technique.

Previously, when Lu Chen was learning the Yue Maiden Sword Technique, he could only learn three moves in a morning.

But ever since he comprehended "Sword One" and touched upon the ultimate principles of swordsmanship, his swordsmanship comprehension has also begun to advance rapidly. He learned the more exquisite and complex Falling Petal Sword Technique even faster than he learned the Yue Maiden Sword Technique. In just one day, he had already learned half of the Falling Petal Sword Technique.

That evening, he practiced the half of the moves he had learned on his own. Huang Yaoshi sat at the stone table, playing chess with Huang Rong while occasionally glancing at him. After watching for a while, surprise gradually appeared in his eyes.

When Lu Chen first practiced the Falling Flowers Sword Technique, he was just like all beginners, copying each move exactly, without any outstanding performance.

After practicing a few times, his swordsmanship gradually developed a spiritual quality. His originally conventional swordsmanship seemed to come alive, giving people a sense of freedom and unrestrained style.

Given Huang Yaoshi's temperament, this "free and unrestrained, elegant and unrestrained" style is precisely the essence of Peach Blossom Island's martial arts.

Huang Yaoshi really didn't expect that Lu Chen, who was just starting out and had only learned a small part of the sword techniques and moves, and had only practiced them a few times, would actually grasp the essence of Peach Blossom Island's martial arts so quickly!

"Is this what a swordsmanship prodigy is like?"

The swordsmanship talent that Lu Chen displayed at this moment was something that even Huang Yaoshi, with his discerning eye, had never seen before, and he couldn't help but secretly marvel at it.

Thinking of Lu Chen's audacity—"daring to sit on equal footing with emperors, what can wealth and honor do to me?"—and then looking at his swordsmanship talent and the effortless elegance with which he wielded the sword, Huang Yaoshi couldn't help but think:

Perhaps this child is a born disciple of Peach Blossom Island?

Two days later, Lu Chen had mastered the entire Falling Petals Sword Technique. He wanted to spar with Huang Rong to test his moves, but Huang Rong resolutely refused.

Lu Chen could fight her for more than three hundred moves using only the Yue Nu Sword Technique. Now that he has also learned lightness skill and the Falling Petal Sword Technique, if they were to spar with each other again, wouldn't her invincible body against Lu Chen be broken?
That will absolutely not do.

So Huang Rong then begged her father to step in and instruct Lu Chen.

Over the past three days, Huang Yaoshi had actually been eager to test his skills. However, due to his awkward personality and pride, even though he greatly admired Lu Chen's swordsmanship talent, he refrained from personally instructing him.

At this moment, his daughter pleaded and begged, and he took advantage of the situation. He pretended to hesitate for a while, then acted as if he couldn't refuse his daughter. He accepted the wooden sword that his daughter offered with both hands, got up and went to Lu Chen.

(End of this chapter)