Douluo Continent: The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? A Soul Beast Pagoda!

For a whole month after that chance encounter by the lake, the two had no further contact.

Jiang Bai naturally dared not, and had no reason to, take the initiative to seek out this senior student whose identity was sensitive.

He was happy to have some peace and quiet and focused on his cultivation. Qian Renxue's sudden appearance and greeting him surprised him.

"Yes," Jiang Bai stopped and nodded, his tone calm.

"Going to the back mountain to cultivate. What's wrong, Senior Qian?"

Qian Renxue crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head slightly, and looked Jiang Bai up and down with her purple eyes, especially noticing his posture as if he was ready to turn around and leave at any moment to continue his cultivation. She pursed her lips and said.

"Can't you relax for a bit? All you do all day is cultivate, cultivate, cultivate! I heard you spend all your time on the back mountain except for classes and meals? You even use meditation to sleep at night?"

Her tone was clearly puzzled, even carrying a hint of accusation, as if she were saying, "Have you become a madman?"

After receiving the information from Qian Daoliu, Qian Renxue did indeed develop a complex curiosity about Jiang Bai, a boy with a peculiar background who had seen her at her most vulnerable.

She secretly instructed someone to keep an eye on Jiang Bai's daily life at the academy.

Upon receiving the report that "her life is extremely monotonous, and apart from necessary activities, all her time is spent on meditation and cultivation," Qian Renxue's first reaction was surprise, followed by deep confusion.

Why would a support-type Soul Master train so hard?

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's soul skills are fixed, and its level cap is locked. The speed of cultivation has a far less impact on actual combat than that of a battle soul master.

Based on her upbringing and understanding, support Soul Masters should focus more on the precision of Soul Power control, tactical awareness, teamwork, and... how to be better protected.

It's truly rare to find someone like Jiang Bai who trains like a Soul Master to the point of exhaustion.

"Is there anything wrong with cultivation?"

Jiang Bai countered with a question, his tone remaining calm.

"Soul power is the foundation of a Soul Master. The sooner you break through, the sooner you can obtain a Soul Ring and possess true Soul Skills."

What he said made perfect sense.

Qian Renxue was taken aback. Of course she knew the principle, but something still felt off.

Looking into Jiang Bai's calm yet unwavering eyes, she suddenly felt that talking to this "cultivation maniac" about relaxation was like casting pearls before swine.

"This is so boring..." she muttered under her breath, feeling a little annoyed.

But then, her eyes darted around, a sly glint flashing in them.

She seemed to have thought of something interesting. She lowered her arms, took two steps forward to close the distance, and a mysterious smile returned to her face.

"Just burying yourself in meditation and absorbing soul power won't do, Junior Brother Jiang Bai."

She deliberately dragged out the pronunciation of "junior."

"Although you're a support-type Soul Master and will mainly rely on your teammates for protection in the future, you still need to have some basic self-defense skills, right? What if you get separated from your team, or your teammates can't take care of you for a while? Are you just going to stand there and wait to die?"

Jiang Bai's heart stirred slightly.

He did consider this issue.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda has no direct combat ability and its body is relatively weak. Once it is approached or trapped in a helpless situation, it is indeed very dangerous.

Learning some basic fighting or weapon skills, even if it's just to buy time or create an escape opportunity, is very necessary.

"So...?" Jiang Bai asked, following her words, a hint of interest appearing on his face.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue felt smug and raised her chin slightly, speaking in a seductive tone.

"So, I, your kind senior, have decided to give you... a chance to beg me."

She paused, observing Jiang Bai's reaction, before slowly continuing.

"Want to learn swordsmanship? I happen to know a little. As long as you..."

Before she could finish her sentence, with the rest of her lines still stuck in her throat, she witnessed a scene that left her speechless.

Before her eyes, Jiang Bai, almost the instant she finished saying "Do you want to learn swordsmanship?", moved with unwavering speed and naturalness.

He quickly clasped his hands together in front of his body, bent forward, and performed a standard and extremely sincere bow!

At the same time, a clear, loud, and fast-paced voice, with each word distinct, rang out.

"Please, kind, beautiful, generous, cute, and gentle Senior Qian, teach me!!!"

His head was bowed low, and his tone was full of "sincere" longing. He seemed as if he would immediately prostrate himself and become a disciple if Qian Renxue nodded.

"..."

Qian Renxue was completely stunned, her prepared lines and expressions frozen on her face.

Her beautiful purple eyes widened, her small mouth slightly open, looking at the guy in front of her who practically had "following one's heart" and "knowing the times" written all over his face, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably a few times.

How could you give in so quickly?! That's not how the script was written!

According to her envisioned plot development, Jiang Bai shouldn't first be stubborn and say things like "support doesn't need to learn this" or "I can protect myself," and then she should subtly tempt him.

Did he finally "reluctantly" or "half-heartedly" bow his head and ask for advice?

That's where the fun lies!

This kind of complete surrender, skipping all steps and going straight to the point without any struggle... gave her no sense of accomplishment whatsoever! It even made her feel frustrated, like punching cotton!

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the inexplicable sense of defeat in her heart and... the urge to kick the bowing guy in front of her.

She gave a soft hum, trying to make her voice sound calm and even.

"Hmph... at least you have some discernment now."

Jiang Bai straightened up, her face showing no embarrassment whatsoever, but instead a bright smile: "Thank you, senior!"

Qian Renxue was too lazy to waste any more words with him. She turned around and strode towards the depths of the back mountain, her golden ponytail swaying behind her.

Jiang Bai stopped smiling, touched his nose, and quickly followed.

Learning practical swordsmanship skills is a real benefit, but as for face and such... what is that? Can you eat it? Can it accelerate soul power cultivation?

……

The two of them, one after the other, soon arrived at the open space where Jiang Bai usually meditated, backed by rocks and facing the shade of trees.

This place is spacious and flat enough, and also secluded and quiet enough; it is indeed a good place to practice.

Qian Renxue stopped, looked around, and nodded: "The place is not bad."

As she spoke, the silver bracelet on her left wrist glowed slightly, and with a flash of light, two wooden swords appeared in her hand.

The wooden sword is about three feet long, with a straight blade. It appears to be made of some kind of hard ironwood, and it is polished very smoothly. It feels quite heavy in the hand.

She casually tossed one of the handfuls to Jiang Bai: "Take good care of it, don't break it."

Jiang Bai reached out and caught it steadily.

The wooden sword felt heavy in his hand, heavier than he had imagined.

He subconsciously flicked his wrist, performing a simple sword flourish.

Although the movements were not standard, and even somewhat casual, the fluidity and wrist flexibility made Qian Renxue, who was about to begin teaching, raise an eyebrow slightly.

Jiang Bai held the wooden sword, the familiar touch making him feel somewhat dazed.

He couldn't help but recall his time in Niuma Village.

Back then, one of his happiest moments was finding a long, straight, and handy wooden stick in the woods or along the edge of a field during breaks from herding cattle and horses.

With a wooden stick in hand, he imagined himself as a chivalrous knight-errant, with the blue silver grass along the ten-mile-long field ridges serving as his "testing stones."

Often, when his "sword energy" reaches them, they are "cut in half," leaving behind a mess, but also the purest joy and fantasy of a child.

Qian Renxue casually twirled the wooden sword in her hand, her movements light and agile, carrying a unique sense of rhythm, clearly a result of rigorous training.

She stopped, facing Jiang Bai, a sly glint in her purple eyes, and a malicious smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense."

Qian Renxue pointed the tip of her sword at Jiang Bai. "I'll first teach you a few of the simplest and most basic sword-holding postures and footwork, as well as some techniques for blocking and thrusting. Watch carefully and learn diligently; I'll only demonstrate and explain three times."

Her tone became serious, shedding her previous joking and arrogance, revealing the strictness of an instructor.

"Okay, senior!" Jiang Bai also composed himself and replied seriously.

Next, Qian Renxue began to teach meticulously.

She first explained the most basic way to hold a sword, then several basic stances: the starting stance, the bow stance, the empty stance, the resting stance...

Next come simple attack moves such as straight thrusts, diagonal slashes, upward slashes, and downward chops, as well as corresponding blocking and deflection techniques.

She personally demonstrated each step, breaking down the movements and explaining the key points of power generation, weight transfer, and footwork coordination.

Her teaching was clear and concise; although strict, she was never impatient.

Jiang Bai studied very diligently and quickly. But he soon discovered that knowing and doing are two different things.

Those seemingly simple movements require a lot of repetitive practice and muscle memory to be performed accurately, steadily, and smoothly, and to be able to adapt to changes in the situation.

After Qian Renxue demonstrated and explained three times, she stepped aside and watched Jiang Bai practice on his own with her arms crossed.

She would occasionally correct him.

"My wrist is too stiff!"

"Unsteady steps!"

"Pay attention to your center of gravity! Watch your center of gravity!"

"When you thrust out, your waist must follow through with the force!"

Jiang Bai remained silent, simply repeating those few tedious basic movements over and over again, following her instructions.

Sweat quickly soaked his forehead and the back of his hospital uniform, and his arms began to ache and tremble from the continuous exertion.

Qian Renxue looked at the boy who was so obsessed with cultivating his soul power and equally persistent in practicing the basics of swordsmanship, a complex look flashing in her purple eyes.

Where does this guy's obsession with "becoming stronger" come from?

Is it really just because the martial soul is a support type, and there is a lack of security?