Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

Qi Zhimu pressed himself against Jing Liu's back, covering her small hand with his right hand and gripping the sword hilt, while pressing down on her side with his left hand to forcefully adjust her posture.

"Grip the ground with both feet, and generate power from your heels. Be careful not to tilt your waist too much."

As he spoke, Jingliu felt the hand on her waist exert force, causing her to bend forward slightly.

A force travels upwards through the spine and then to the shoulders.

"That's it, stay calm."

His palm enveloped her small hand, and Qi Zhimu guided the longsword to rise swiftly.

The two were very close to each other.

Jingliu could even feel the rise and fall of his master's chest behind him and smell his faint scent.

An unprecedented sense of security enveloped her, and her previously anxious heart, which had been agitated by a series of mistakes, quickly calmed down.

The master's hands were warm, unlike his cold expression.

"Focus on that line, and remember the feeling and posture of exerting force at that moment."

"When your eyes, your mind, and your sword are all in motion, the battlefield is ever-changing. You must be able to make your body move before your brain commands so that your attack will catch the enemy off guard and make it difficult for them to defend against or dodge."

"That's it, draw your sword!"

This time, Jingliu didn't use brute force.

Following Qi Zhimu's guidance, she slightly contracted her waist and abdomen, and held her breath.

Feeling the power flowing through his body, finally converging in his palm, the longsword in his hand seemed to become part of his arm at this moment.

Suddenly—the longsword sliced ​​through the air.

There was no extra wind noise, only pure speed; the sword's edge sliced ​​precisely across the black line on Bu Liren's neck!

The jade chime emitted a clear buzzing sound, which was the notification sound of the chipping.

"Remember this feeling."

Qi Zhimu released his grip and took a step back.

The comforting warmth suddenly vanished, leaving Jing Liu feeling somewhat lost, but mostly shocked.

The feeling of that sword strike just now was so amazing.

There was no obstruction, and not a single ounce of power was wasted; it was as if the sword itself yearned to cut through that spot.

She turned to look at Qi Zhimu, her awe lessening and replaced by a strange emotion.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Qi Zhimu looked into her bright eyes and nodded slightly in his heart, but his face remained expressionless.

When he was correcting her hand by hand, he could feel the stiffness and trembling of the girl's arm muscles.

That's a side effect of high-intensity training, but it's also an inevitable part of it.

He didn't want Jingliu to develop a dependency, so he put on a stern face and spoke in a cold voice.

"Strike while the iron is hot. If you can unleash ten sword strikes in three seconds tonight and hit different fatal points four times in a row, you will be allowed a day off tomorrow."

Jingliu's eyes lit up, and he immediately straightened his back.

She took a deep breath and assumed a new stance, replaying in her mind the trajectory of Qi Zhimu's sword strike, savoring the feeling.

The girl drew her sword again.

Although it wasn't as perfect as the previous strike and was slower, the blade remained firmly pressed against the black line, without any hesitation.

Undeterred, she continued to launch attacks that gradually became more precise.

Qi Zhimu watched the petite figure repeatedly swinging her sword and adjusting her posture in front of the illusory image, a barely perceptible sense of satisfaction hidden deep in her eyes.

What is inherently deficient can be made up for with hard work.

In this cruel era, there are few shortcuts to becoming stronger and possessing the power to ruthlessly annihilate the abundant evil creatures.

Only by viewing oneself as a sword, forging it a thousand times, and by persevering...

As the sun set, Jing Liu finally achieved the goal set by Qi Zhimu.

Furthermore, she didn't faint from exhaustion on the spot.

"Master, Master..."

Jingliu, who had been consciously controlling his breathing for a long time, suddenly relaxed and gasped for breath while holding his sword with both hands.

"I did it! I did it!"

"Okay, starting the day after tomorrow, the minimum speed for morning runs must not be lower than 80 km/h, everything else remains the same."

"..." Jingliu's face stiffened.

At such a young age, she couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment.

No wonder her master allowed her to rest for a day; it turns out that after the rest, she would face a completely new hell.

The speed limit is now 40 km/h, and it will double later...

The thought of another day of exhaustion and fainting awaited her, and Jingliu felt her body, which was about to fall apart, silently protesting.

The emotions and breathing were not well coordinated, and coupled with the fact that the body and mind were about to reach their limits, multiple negative forces clashed together—

Jingliu fainted on the spot.

The last thing I thought of before my consciousness faded was my master's face, as stern as a demon.

Clang!

The longsword fell to the ground, but did not leave his hand.

……

The day and night cycle repeats.

Jingliu was used to waking up at the crack of dawn.

Everything was as usual.

After changing clothes, washing up, and having breakfast, we headed to the training ground.

As he took in that familiar figure, Jingliu finally remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness yesterday.

Master said that she could rest today.

"division--"

父？

Before he could even say hello, Jingliu froze on the spot.

Qi Zhimu took off his shirt, and two golden robot machines next to him immediately swung their huge iron fists and slammed them hard into his back and chest.

Jingliu's first thought was: Is the Immortal Ship about to be hit by another Golden Man crisis?!

But when she saw that Qi Zhimu's upper body was only slightly trembling and his horse stance was not affected, she realized that it was not a crisis.

That might also be part of the training.

The Jin man's iron fists rained down on Qi Zhimu's body without mercy.

Even when he suffers a heavy blow, he at most furrows his brow slightly, without even blinking.

Jing Liu focused his mind on sensing the movement caused by the golden man's punch, roughly estimating the force of the punch, and couldn't help but shudder.

Probably... one punch would shatter his own skull...

"Could it be that...?"

She recalled a site she had skipped during her previous pilgrimage: the Hammer of the Corpse.

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and she swallowed hard.

Could it be that... in the not-too-distant future, I too will be struck by the iron fist of the Jurchens?

The thought was extinguished as soon as it popped up. Jing Liu shook his head vigorously, returning his attention to Qi Zhimu.

It took half an hour to look at it!

The golden man's punches never stopped; instead, they accelerated at specific intervals.

Qi Zhimu's upper body was bruised and swollen, and his limbs had been hit countless times.

Every now and then, Jingliu would occasionally hear a faint sound of bones breaking, and he would unconsciously cover his mouth.

She only came to her senses and wiped her eyes when the golden statue finally stopped moving.

Although she knew that the hellish training her master gave her was not intentional torture, and that his training programs were far more difficult than her own.

But I still didn't expect it to be to such a terrifying extent.

Qi Zhimu stopped his posture, his brows furrowing slightly, and remained silent.

Jing Liu discovered that there were many strange protrusions between the well-defined muscles on his body, which were obviously caused by broken bones.

Especially when turning around, the shape of his spine, almost like that of a camel...

"Master... are you alright...?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that she had subconsciously asked a pointless question.

How can it get better when it's already like this?