He changed Tiwat

So Shen He is actually a "melee mage," only his arm strength is a tiny bit greater than that of a warlock like Ye Lan.

It took Liu Yun Zhenjun less than a week to teach Shen He the "Flowing Sky Spear Technique". He taught him the secrets orally while guiding him through practice. After he went through it once, Shen He memorized it all. Then Liu Yun let Shen He study on his own.

To be honest, Master Liuyun probably only served as a textbook for martial arts through correspondence courses...

The reason Shen He was able to master the "Flowing Sky Spear Technique" to such a high level was not because Liu Yun Zhenjun taught him well, but because Shen He's talent was too terrifying—after all, the Liu Yun sect's standard for accepting disciples was being able to kill a demon god in one fell swoop when they were young.

Xingqiu, who mastered the ancient Huapai's unique skills in three years, is already a martial arts genius with excellent aptitude; he can be considered a "top student." But Shen He is more like a "god of learning."

The difference between "academic superstars" and "academic geniuses" is something they are born with; it's something you can't envy or learn.

The result of "academic genius" Shen He trying to teach "academic failure" Han Fulai how to use a spear was that Shen He decided to become stronger herself and then protect her brother Han for the rest of her life—well, she should become an immortal faster than she taught Han Fulai the "Flowing Sky Spear Technique".

Xingqiu, having anticipated this, nodded and adopted a mature and authoritative master's tone: "Hmm, that's good too. Without a foundation, there are no preconceived notions, which is actually beneficial for learning the essentials of 'Thornming Technique' from scratch. Just like this spear manual in my hand, creating something from scratch is much easier than modifying existing ink marks."

Han Fulai stared at the "earthworms" on the paper, stunned: "This is a spear manual?... Xingqiu, I remember your calligraphy had improved a lot, how come it's still..."

Xingqiu's hand holding the pen trembled slightly, followed by a fit of anger and embarrassment: "These are not words! This is called 'Ding'er's Manual,' a martial arts manual I drew especially for you!"

Han Fulai discovered that Xingqiu's writing not only had the function of a "code," but his paintings could also be used as a "code."

Actually, when Xingqiu first entered this "Spiritual Time Room", the room was just an ordinary martial arts dojo.

The interior has solid wood floors, with a soft mat in the center – what the Inatsumi people call "tatami". The walls are decorated with common training tools such as bamboo swords, bamboo spears, arm guards, and chest protectors, as well as some wooden signs that look like attendance records and plaques that resemble decorations. However, the wooden signs and plaques are all blank and have no words on them.

The entire training ground is only about a hundred square meters in size, even smaller than the once-declining Guhua Sect... At least the Guhua Sect occupied a whole mountain!

In reality, the dojo's design was copied by the Divine Child from the "Mirror Still Water Flow" dojo, so it was naturally quite cramped. Because Inazuma's land area is small, most martial arts sects only occupy a dojo in Inazuma City to open a school and recruit students, which is nothing compared to the grandeur of Liyue's martial arts sects, which often occupy entire mountain territories.

—If we include the Liyue Celestials as martial arts sects, then it's not just one mountain; there are mountains like Mt. Aozang, Mt. Hulao, and so on... the entire mountain range is the territory of the Celestials.

Furthermore, the martial arts training model in Liyue is very different from that in Inazuma. Liyue martial arts emphasize "cultivating both internal and external skills", rather than just swinging a sword at thin air in the dojo or exchanging blows with fellow disciples using bamboo swords.

For example, the three great skills of the Guhua School, "Rain-Cutting Technique", "Bright-Piercing Technique" and "Generation and Restraint Technique", are not the fancy sword moves and spear techniques that outsiders see. Those are called "fighting techniques" and are used to fight enemies. The "practice techniques" that are practiced on a daily basis are another set of movements. Without the foundation of "practice techniques", the cool poses in those "fighting techniques"... no, the moves, are simply impossible for ordinary people to imitate.

"Practice methods" can strengthen muscles and bones, enhance physical strength, and increase power. They are the foundation of all martial arts techniques. In the terms of martial arts novels, they are "body refinement," "foundation building," and "internal strength."

In this sense, the "training methods" of Liyue martial arts are actually much more important than the "fighting methods".

For example, Xingqiu's "Rain Curtain Sword" includes a move called "Painting Rain Enveloping the Mountain," which requires two consecutive kicks in mid-air. Even disregarding the water element attack that comes with the "Rain Curtain Sword," the jumping power and flexibility required for this series of aerial kicks alone would be something that most of the samurai on Inazuma's side could not do.

And for ordinary people who can't touch their toes in a sit-and-reach position or can't jump more than three feet in a standing long jump, that's even more out of the question.

This is why in Liyue, whether it's cultivating immortality or practicing martial arts, they start from childhood. Once a person grows up, their physique and bones are already set, so trying to toughen their body at that point is much less effective and often accompanied by great pain.

In contrast, Inazuma places more emphasis on "fighting style." Regardless of the martial arts school, the only reason it has survived to this day is because its techniques can actually kill on the battlefield. Even a farmer who comes to the dojo to practice kendo for a few months will have the means to fight to the death on the battlefield.

Xingqiu didn't have much prejudice against different schools of thought and didn't think there was any difference in the martial arts between Liyue and Inazuma.

After all, she had actually been on the battlefield and witnessed those life-or-death battles, and she knew the importance of practicality.

While the Inazuma Samurai's training model, which emphasizes "fighting style," may result in a weak foundation and doesn't raise a warrior's upper limit as much as Liyue martial arts, its lower limit is indeed much higher—at least higher than the lower limit of the Guhua School disciples who only knew some fancy moves in the past...

Xingqiu looked at the empty dojo and recalled her cultivation experience. Suddenly, the scene in front of her changed. The wooden dummy, plum blossom stakes, bamboo forest, rocks and other things in her memory appeared in the dojo, exactly the same as the scene in her mind.

This temple can actually change according to her wishes!

Xingqiu was overjoyed and immediately began to renovate the training ground—thus, the Liyue-style training ground that Han Fulai saw when he entered came into being.

Not only are there the tools and places for cultivation, but Xingqiu has also built a bedroom for rest and a bathroom for bathing according to his own preferences... After all, he will be staying here for at least a month.

Then she started preparing "teaching materials" for her brother Han, which she called "Ding'er's Manual".

Xingqiu said this thing was a "gun manual", but Han Fulai really couldn't see the shape of a "gun" in what she drew. According to the martial arts novels and TV series he had read before, shouldn't "martial arts manuals" be drawings of little people holding weapons?

Even if it's a secret manual like the "Nine Yin Manual", it should be a written record. I've never seen anything like this earthworm-shaped thing.

Xingqiu sighed, his voice tinged with reproach: "Brother Han, you've only seen those written manuals preserved in the 'Wangshan Hall,' but you haven't really cared about the daily cultivation of our disciples, have you?"

Han Fulai felt even more embarrassed.

He was essentially just a figurehead in charge of the Guhua Sect, mainly responsible for smoothing things over with the General Affairs Department, securing funding and equipment for the sect, and issuing official positions to its members. These things were indeed important, but he didn't concern himself with the sect members' serious daily cultivation at all, leaving it all to the real sect leader, Xingqiu.

Xingqiu knew that he was too busy to manage such trivial matters, so he just pointed it out and stopped talking. Instead, he picked up the newly written "Ding'er Manual" and carefully explained to him: "The so-called 'Ding'er Manual' is a secret manual used by our sect to record the stances and form the moves used in daily practice into illustrations."

"I think you probably imagine the diagram to be a little figure holding a sword, right, Brother Han?"

Han Fulai nodded honestly.

Xingqiu smiled slightly: "Those are all fabrications by storytellers and novelists to make it easier for listeners and readers to understand. Each school and sect guards its own martial arts techniques very closely, so these kinds of secret manuals must be drawn with 'codes'."

“Such techniques as our sect’s ‘Rain-Cutting Technique’ and ‘Brightness-Piercing Technique’ are not even qualified for ordinary disciples to learn. How could we possibly draw them into human-shaped diagrams that anyone could understand and distribute them? If they were leaked, who would want to become our disciples and learn from us? And how would the sect leader make a living?”

Upon hearing Jing Xingqiu's words, Han Fulai immediately understood.

The immortal power and demonic power in his body were all obtained through Zhongli's "initiation and transmission of power". He only started to seriously cultivate immortal techniques recently after receiving the spiritual treasure inheritance from the lineage of Master Boyang. Moreover, even the "Wuzhen Pian" and "Lingbao Qimen" were directly passed down to him orally by Boyang and were not written down.

Thinking about it this way, apart from the book of ancient poems and lyrics left by Gu Hua, he had never seen a real "martial arts manual" in this world, so of course he didn't know what a "martial arts manual" in this world looked like.

The trope in martial arts novels where the protagonist falls off a cliff and finds a secret manual is merely a "cheat code" to make the protagonist stronger. If an author were to write a story where the protagonist falls off a cliff and finds a divine martial arts manual that they can't understand at all, readers would likely criticize the author for "torturing the protagonist," calling it "toxic," and declaring they'd "drop it"...

Reality is obviously different from fiction.

Putting everything else aside, if the manual is drawn in a way that everyone can understand, then what's the point of having a master like you? I can just learn by myself from the manual.

"Martial arts manuals" are, after all, the foundation of a martial arts school's heritage, so it's more reasonable to use "codes" for "patent protection."

Xingqiu continued, "This 'Ding'er Manual' is the diagram used by our sect to record the techniques. Only disciples who have been taught the sect's unique skills are qualified to learn it. Moreover, each 'Ding'er Manual' is hand-drawn by the master. If it is not taught by a master, even fellow disciples will find it difficult to understand."

"Actually, the two characters '丁儿' plus the horizontal '枪' in the middle can be combined to form the character '天'. The character '丁' represents the human torso and shoulders, used to record the movements of the upper body; the character '儿' is formed by splitting the left and right strokes of the character '人' into two legs, used to record the movements of the lower body."

"Besides the 'Ding'er Manual,' our sect also has the 'Rain-Cutting Manual,' which draws raindrops to record the landing point of longswords; and the 'Rainbow-Leaving Manual,' which draws rainbow bridges to record the trajectory of spear thrusts... I will draw these for you to see one by one later."

As Xingqiu spoke, he used his pen to draw some dots, horizontal strokes, and diagonal lines in the air as examples.

"Brother Han, come and see..."

Xingqiu beckoned him closer and at the same time used a brush to draw some dotted lines on the "earthworms" on the paper as "auxiliary lines" to describe the movement path of the figures. Sure enough, the figures immediately came to life and turned into abstract human body movements.

When the spear is thrust out, it is clear and easy to understand which direction the hands should exert force and what movements the legs should use to generate power.

According to Han Fulai, this "Ding'er Score" is similar to "motion capture technology" in modern film technology, which abstracts the human body movements recorded by sensors into a skeleton composed of lines, and then remodels and integrates them into CG images in the movie.

The fact that Xingqiu could draw "Ding'er Pu" in such a way that even a layman like Han Fulai could easily recognize the movements and shapes shows that Xingqiu's painting skills were actually excellent, and he had captured the key points of the movements very accurately. This is why people can imagine the correct movements through such abstract graphics.

This also shows that Xingqiu is a really good teacher. He uses an explanation method that even someone with no foundation can understand. He really breaks down and teaches the martial arts of the Guhua School and feeds it to him in a clear and concise way.

And... this teacher smells really good.

Because of the explanation of the diagrams, the two were now very close. The fragrance of books and ink, mixed with Xingqiu's faint, delicate, and virginal scent, all rushed into his nostrils.

He didn't even realize that he was quietly closing the distance between himself and Xingqiu...

Until Xingqiu suddenly stopped writing.

Before they knew it, their cheeks had touched.

Chapter 359 A Sword in the Eyes, a Spear in the Side [4k]

Skin to skin, then separated at the slightest touch.

Han Fulai was surprised to find himself standing so close to Xingqiu. He was annoyed and thought to himself, "What if Xingqiu thinks I'm being frivolous?"

When he asked Xingqiu to teach him the unique skills of the Guhua School, he truly had no ulterior motives whatsoever.

The saying goes, "A gentleman does not deceive himself in the dark." Even when he was alone in a room with his adopted sister, he felt that he was upright and had a clear conscience.

This is the consciousness space inside the Divine Cherry Tree. The Divine Child should be able to see what's happening inside. This training ground was specially created for them by the Divine Child. He's not some pink-haired fox; he doesn't have any penchant for "incestuous" behavior...

Furthermore, the divine child went to great lengths to build a training ground for them and personally escorted them there to cultivate, which naturally meant that he trusted his character and believed he wouldn't misbehave. If he were to do something he shouldn't inside, wouldn't he be betraying the divine child's trust?

But then again, Xingqiu's appearance of "wearing a green robe and holding an inkstone to urge the writing of the scroll, while a red-sleeved beauty adds fragrance to the reading" is really too unfair.

In terms of beauty alone, Xingqiu was not outstanding among the beauties he had seen, but she had a scholarly air that others did not have.

With the spirit of a scholar and the boldness of a swordsman, he would go forth even against a thousand men if righteousness were to prevail.

It can be said that Xingqiu is the ideal image of a Chinese scholar.

What's even more terrifying is that this is a female scholar disguised as a man.

Which scholar in China doesn't know the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai? And who wouldn't want a sweet and soft "brother" by their side while studying?

"In books, one finds beauty like jade; in books, one finds houses of gold"—Xingqiu herself is even a combination of "beauty like jade" and "houses of gold." A wealthy young lady disguised as a man, a swordswoman in the world of books and swords—this attribute is perfectly captured, every single detail perfectly matching the wildest fantasies of a certain Han-surnamed small-town exam-taker in his youth…

In the dead of night, I dreamt of books as my pillow, for once a beautiful woman had come to visit.

The fragrance of books, ink, and the scent of a beautiful woman constantly stirs the imagination and makes one's heart flutter.

Xingqiu's cheeks were also burning hot.

The words she had spoken to Brother Han on the day they became sworn brothers echoed in her mind once again: "Before, I was a rabbit; later, I was a deer; now, I am you. You are my path of chivalry."

Let Liyue no longer need the chivalrous ways of heroes.

In her heart, Brother Han was the hero she admired most.

The two had known each other for nearly a year. During this time, Brother Han had performed countless heroic deeds, each of which made Xingqiu proud. However, at the same time, she also felt a little resentful, resenting that she was not capable enough, not strong enough, and unable to help him in many ways or occupy the place beside him...

It's quite rare that her brother Han would humbly beg her for help, and it's true that only she can help him with this matter.

She finally gets a place in his "stories of chivalry," and she's still the "master"!

For this reason alone, she would help Han Fulai even if he didn't agree to any "conditions".

The so-called "conditions" were nothing more than a way to lose face but not back down, to gain a verbal advantage and make that vixen less smug.

When Han Fulai asked her what the conditions were, she hadn't even considered it...

Therefore, after entering the temple, Xingqiu tried his best to suppress his wandering thoughts and only thought about being a good "master" and helping Brother Han.

However, the scene of being alone with Brother Han in this secluded Taoist temple was far too stimulating for a young girl who had just come of age.

That brief skin-to-skin contact sent a jolt through Xingqiu's mind, instantly triggering a whole host of random thoughts.

For example, when she first entered the dojo, she didn't think too much about it. She only created her own bedroom and bathroom. If Brother Han found out, would he misunderstand that she had strange ideas?

Teaching martial arts always involves physical contact. Doesn't that feel a bit too ambiguous?

What should I do if I smell sweaty after practicing martial arts? Will he find it offensive?

There's also taking a shower and changing clothes... Not everything in her storage space is men's clothing; at least her pajamas are women's. Wouldn't it be awkward if she bumped into someone?

Logically speaking, if Xingqiu only treated Han Fulai as her "elder brother," then none of these things would be a problem. What younger sister would care about her image in front of her elder brother?

Xingqiu's older brother often complains that she has no sense of propriety as a girl at all—it's common for her to wander around the house in her underwear, and sometimes she sneaks out to "change clothes in one go," leaving her little skirts hanging on the windowsill...

When she was little, her older brother used to help her tidy up her room. But in the last two years, he hasn't dared to go near her boudoir, for fear of seeing something he shouldn't have.

Every time her older brother saw Xingqiu, he would nag her, "If you can't sweep a room, how can you sweep the world?" But Xingqiu always let it go in one ear and out the other.

In Kexingqiu's mind, Brother Han is neither "brother" nor "sworn brother." Her feelings for Brother Han are those of the "Brother Han" that Sister Shenhe calls her.

As a result, all these small things became big problems.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

At that moment, both of them were thinking the same thing: whether they should apologize and make things clear, or pretend that nothing had happened.

About half a minute later, they both made the same decision—well, nothing happened just now.

Then the two of them spoke at the same time: "Xingqiu, there's still something I don't understand about that part you just mentioned..."

"Brother Han, is there anything you didn't understand in what I just said...?"

They were both taken aback for a moment, then smiled at the same time.

Xingqiu stepped back slightly, pointing with the tip of his pen at the figures of "Ding" and "Er" on the diagram, and said, "Brother Han, it's normal for you to have questions. After all, these things are like 'codes' and can easily lead to ambiguity."

"However, I want to say something on behalf of our ancestors of the Guhua School—writing and drawing sword and spear manuals using coded language is not necessarily a sign of our ancestors being overly protective of their knowledge. In essence, it is a reminder to future generations that 'one cannot learn martial arts without a teacher.'"

She said solemnly, "Swords and blades have no eyes; the slightest mistake can mean the difference between life and death. This is not something to be taken lightly. Even if our predecessors wrote down the techniques and mental methods of martial arts in great detail, so that people could practice by imitating them, there would still be times when a single word could lead to a completely different result. If a self-taught person misunderstands something and fails to notice it, it could lead to serious consequences, or even endanger their life."

“We’re not like those characters in novels who are born with innate knowledge and can just pick up any manual and master unparalleled skills. So, Brother Han, before you start practicing, you must memorize the diagrams. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me anytime…”

Han Fulai naturally knew that Xingqiu was trying to defuse the awkwardness, and immediately smiled and said, "I understand this principle as well, which is why I sought out Master Qiu, isn't it? I'll postpone my bow to Master Qiu for now. Master Qiu, could you first help me figure out how to apply force to this gun holder?"

His constant use of "Master" made Xingqiu, who was always the "little brother," very happy.

Students eagerly asked questions, and the teacher answered them all without reservation. For a time, the teacher and students got along quite well, creating a real classroom atmosphere.

Moreover, their relationship is that of "master" and "student," not "teacher." It's not a formal apprenticeship ceremony; they are simply fellow disciples exchanging ideas and insights, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Since Han Fulai had almost no foundation in martial arts, Xingqiu's teaching was essentially a process of reviewing her own knowledge from scratch, which was also a process of learning new things by reviewing old ones.

During this teaching process, she also gained new insights and experiences.

In fact, there has always been a saying in martial arts that "teaching and learning complement each other": "Learning makes you realize your shortcomings, and teaching makes you realize your difficulties."