Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Many years ago, he was already blocked by this obstacle. Although he practiced swordsmanship every day, his progress was extremely slow, almost stagnant.

Lingwei and Linghui, who belong to the same generation as him, have already become disciples of Chisui and Heisui respectively, while he is still just a disciple of Qingsui. Even if he wants to leave the mountain, he needs the permission of his teachers.

He was the first to become a disciple of Qing Sui, but in the end, he, who was ahead of the pack, is now at the very back.

This sense of disparity made him feel extremely anxious, so he practiced swordsmanship even more diligently, putting almost all his energy into the only swordsmanship he was good at. However, he already knew those sword techniques by heart, and even though he practiced swordsmanship at the sword dance platform from dawn till dusk, he could not make any progress in his cultivation.

He didn't know what the problem was, so he asked his teacher, who only told him to calm down and rest.

We can rest, how can we let him go any further?

When he was alone, he still practiced swordsmanship diligently, practiced swordsmanship, and practiced swordsmanship again.

Only now, watching the child wielding a sword, did his heart finally calm down.

Lingyi could understand that the child was simply enjoying the experience.

This reminded Lingyi of the excitement he felt when he received his first sword after following the Taoist priests up the mountain.

Why did he learn swordsmanship?

Is it so that one can become a disciple of Ako or Kuroko?

Is it so that he can use his own sword to go down the mountain to slay demons and monsters?

No, that's not it. His reason for learning swordsmanship is actually very simple: he just really enjoys wielding the sword. When he was a child, he looked forward to swordsmanship class every day. Other children walked there, but he always ran ahead of them.

Even though more than ten years have passed, he still carefully keeps the wooden sword he used when he first started learning.

They're back, they're all back.

Those things he had forgotten returned to his body.

He suddenly felt an urge to practice swordsmanship. His daily practice had not been without effect; in fact, he was just one step away from mastering the skill. Now that he had overcome his mental block, the results of his hard work were immediately apparent.

Lingyi placed his hand on the hilt of the sword and exhaled a long breath.

Qingxuzi turned to look at him, slightly surprised, but then nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"good."

Lingyi lowered his head slightly, his gaze lingering on the child's face.

If I remember correctly, this is the child with innate Qi that Uncle Qingxuzi mentioned, named Zhuang Xing.

Zhuang Xing paused, sheathed his sword, and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He noticed the biggest change in his body: the "Primordial Qi" that would normally only grow thicker with age had now increased by more than half.

Not only that, he seems to be able to control that unruly aura a little. Originally, he had to activate his acquired true qi to drive the flow of innate qi, but now, if he concentrates, although it will be a bit difficult, he can indeed get that "stubborn ox that can't be pulled" under his control.

Chapter 65 Seven Records Studio

Zhuang Xing opened his eyes and then realized that something was wrong.

He was so engrossed in sensing the sword intent left on the cliff that he paid no attention to anything else.

Why are so many people looking at me? Don't you all have anything better to do?

Before we knew it, even Daoist Qingxuzi had arrived.

The old Taoist priest smiled with narrowed eyes and took a step forward.

"Child, what did you see?"

What did you see?

I saw a cheerful little old man.

Although Zhuang Xing thought this way, he still had to maintain his image in public.

Looking at the withered leaves gathered at his feet, he thought to himself that the current situation was like getting a pentakill. In this situation, he would usually type "recruiting apprentices" in the chat box, or silently show off his level 7 badge.

If you lose your temper and get killed by a monster, that would be a bit of a joke.

"Reporting to the Daoist Master," Zhuang Xing said with a righteous expression, "After I got up this morning, I wanted to warm up, but when I saw that steep cliff, I seemed to see someone practicing swordsmanship in front of me. In a daze, I picked up a wooden sword and tried to swing it around a few times."

The old Taoist chuckled twice, patted Zhuang Xing's head, and didn't say much, but you could tell from his expression that he was very happy.

"Lingyi, go and call all the disciples over. We're going to have our morning lesson."

"Yes." Lingyi cupped his hands in greeting.

"Let's go too."

The old Taoist priest walked forward, and Zhuang Xing glanced back before following beside him.

"The founder of my Xuanqing Temple was a sword cultivator," the old Taoist priest recounted. "It is said that when our founder was determined to establish a sect, he found this Qingxuan Mountain, split it in two with his swords, and established Xuanqing Temple here."

“In the past, some disciples were able to comprehend the sword intent left by the founder, but most of them had been practicing swordsmanship for a long time. You, who have just entered the sect and have already had an epiphany, should be the first person since the establishment of Xuanqing Temple.”

Oh, so you're saying I'm pretty awesome?

Zhuang Xing was secretly pleased, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Our ancestor is so amazing!"

"Do you want to become as powerful as our ancestor?"

"miss you!"

"Lingyi, come here." The old Taoist priest beckoned to Lingyi.

"What are your instructions, Uncle-Master?" Lingyi asked, bowing his head.

“Starting tomorrow, you will take Zhuang Xing to practice swordsmanship.”

Lingyi paused for a moment and said, "But Uncle-Master... this disciple is merely a junior disciple... it would be better if the elders..."

"He will still attend his sword practice as usual, but you can take him to practice when you have time," the old Taoist said.

“This…this disciple understands,” Lingyi replied.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that geniuses do indeed receive special treatment; they were going to give him extra tutoring.

This is a good thing, and he naturally wouldn't refuse. In cultivation, one either progresses or regresses. One day, he also wants to cultivate to the point where he can split a mountain in two with his sword.

He exchanged a few words with his senior brother Lingyi, and then Daoist Qingxuzi led them to the dining hall for breakfast. Afterward, he led them to a pavilion.

A plaque hangs in the attic, which reads "Qi Lu Zhai".

Zhuang Xing followed the group across the threshold. There were already people sitting in the hall on the first floor. Zhuang Xing saw Yunling, and the girls were already seated.

A faint fragrance permeated the hall. On the table at the front was a bronze incense burner. A Taoist priest, holding bamboo slips, nodded when he saw Qingxuzi arrive.

"All sit down."

Zhuang Xing responded and sat down next to Yunling. The hall was extremely quiet, and he was too embarrassed to whisper, so he could only sit upright.

The Taoist priest didn't use any polite words or give any long speeches; he simply told his disciples about the arrangements for the future.

This Qiluzhai is a place for learning culture. Every morning, they come here to attend classes and learn writing and arithmetic.

It's likely that the class was scheduled for the morning because regular children would attend it as well.

For novice disciples of Shirai, there isn't much to learn besides academic subjects and swordsmanship.

After morning lessons, they would go to the sword-dancing area to practice swordsmanship with their teachers. They would also practice swordsmanship in the afternoon and be taught breathing techniques.

The first and fifteenth of each month are rest days; students do not need to attend classes on these days and can make their own arrangements.

Other knowledge, such as talismans, swordsmanship, common knowledge about demons, treasure forging, and pharmacology, can only be studied in depth after one has cultivated true qi, performed the kowtow ceremony, and become a prospective disciple of Qing Sui.

Zhuang Xingxin said that he and Yunling did not need to take this cultural class, as they had already learned arithmetic and literacy.

We can see how things go later and see if we can skip this course and use the time to do other things.

On this day, he still followed the arrangement and sat obediently in the Seven Records Studio, listening to the Taoist priest's lecture.

It was all preschool knowledge, but because there was no blackboard or chalk, many children still struggled to understand. When there were parts they didn't understand, the Taoist priest had to go to each child's seat and teach them one by one.

Zhuang Xing felt a little bored and scanned the classroom with his eyes.

He noticed that Da Chun seemed to have a lot of trouble with reading. The Taoist priest stayed by his side for a while, and finally sighed, shook his head and left.

In addition, the girl named Bai Yu is not in the school. Some of the children who came with them by carriage are not here. Presumably, those children are the orphans that their mothers and fathers told them about, who were taken up the mountain to be raised. They usually have to do odd jobs. If they want to come to class and learn to read, they must be diligent and finish their assigned work in advance.

Zhuang Xing sighed softly, feeling that there were many things in this world that he couldn't decide for himself.

In short, Zhuang Xing officially began his life as a disciple of Bai Sui.

Compared to the relaxed daily life in the village, the temple is much more orderly, with a daily schedule that reminds Zhuang Xing of his school days.

Every morning he practiced warm-up techniques under the big birch tree, but he never had that same epiphany again.

After having dinner in the afternoon, he would practice swordsmanship with his senior brother Lingyi at the sword-dancing area. It was a sparring style of sword practice. Senior brother Lingyi said that the teachers would teach the basic moves in the classroom, so he used actual combat to hone Zhuangxing's skills.

To be honest, Zhuang Xing was no match for him. Their fight was just a simple swordsmanship duel. Before this, he had never trained with a sword with anyone. Although he remembered the moves, when it came to actually fighting, his movements were very rigid and he could not adapt flexibly.

He was acutely aware that he was still far from perfect, but this did not dampen his confidence. He was still just a child with a lot of room for growth, and he was sure he would master the sword techniques in a few years.

On this day, he sparred with Senior Brother Lingyi as usual. The wooden swords clashed and crackled. Zhuang Xing had made some progress compared to the previous few days. He suddenly changed his move and attacked the opening that Senior Brother Lingyi had revealed. Little did he know that this was a trap that Senior Brother Lingyi had deliberately set. Senior Brother Lingyi twirled his sword and knocked his wooden sword to the ground.

"Let's call it a day." Senior Brother Lingyi bent down, picked up the wooden sword, and handed it to Zhuang Xing. "I'm going down the mountain today."

"When I am not around, you can practice swordsmanship with your peers, but you must not neglect your sword skills."

"When will my senior brother be back?"

"This trip is to go down the mountain to exorcise demons. It may take half a month or a month."

May your journey be smooth, senior brother.

The senior brother nodded and said goodbye to Zhuang Xing. There were already people calling him over there. Two of them were Bai Sui disciples and one was Qing Sui. They went down the mountain together.

Zhuang Xing watched their departing figures, picked up his wooden sword, and practiced alone for a while longer.

He planned to talk to the Taoist priest at Qiluzhai with Yunling the next day to explain the situation and ask if they could skip the cultural classes. He also wanted to find more time to practice swordsmanship.

Chapter 66 Big Fool Chun (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)

Back inside, Zhuang Xing saw Da Chun holding a bamboo strip and using a small knife to carve strokes on it.

Da Chun was writing, and the marks he made were crooked and uneven. Zhuang Xing could tell at a glance that he had written the characters incorrectly.