Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

The group began to wield their longswords, while Xi Heng supervised the three of them as they practiced their moves, occasionally offering pointers, demonstrating sword techniques, and correcting any mistakes they made.

The morning exercise ended quickly, and a little girl's voice rang out from the sword-fighting field, asking everyone to go to the canteen.

Xi Heng was also going there, but first he saw his senior sister approaching.

Hong Miao moved closer, patted Xi Heng on the shoulder, and praised, "I didn't expect you to have a talent for teaching."

"It's just expressing my thoughts, it's not serious teaching." Xi Heng shook his head.

She didn't want her senior to think she was very capable and then stuff her with a lot of work.

“I think it’s great. Why don’t you try mentoring the new recruits?” Hong Miao said with great interest.

"Three people are already a lot, and I still need to practice martial arts," Xi Heng immediately declined, changing the subject:

"There are many things I don't understand about the techniques in the manual that I need to ask my senior sister..."

……

Chapter Seventeen, Evil Magic Shortens Lifespan

Three days later, with Hong Miao's explanation, Xi Heng thoroughly understood and memorized the first three levels of the Red Thread Sword Technique, and finally began to practice the external moves and internal skills according to the mental formula.

After warming up during his morning exercise, Xi Heng sat in the incense-filled practice room, continuously circulating his internal energy and blood, slowly circulating it through his meridians, nourishing his dantian, strengthening his energy and blood, and developing his control over his energy and blood.

In the afternoon, Xi Heng stopped circulating his internal energy and returned to the sword training ground to continue supervising the sword practice of the three apprentices he was training.

Among them, Lin Ying, who has the best talent, has already mastered the basic routines of the Red Thread Sword.

Although her swordplay was still relatively slow and superficial, it was at least superficially impressive.

As for the other two, they would occasionally freeze or lose their footing while practicing swordsmanship, and would become disoriented as they danced.

"You still need to practice."

Xi Heng gave them some brief instructions, then went to the side and began practicing the first move of the first level of the Red Thread Sword—Blood Drinking Cold Blade.

This is a fast, accurate, and ruthless thrust. It can barely release one's vital energy into a thin red thread, increasing the blade's killing distance by about ten centimeters.

In battle, this will make it difficult for enemies to determine her actual attack range, causing them to become extra cautious.

The Red Thread Sword Technique, which is based on sharpness, is least afraid of the enemy adopting a defensive posture. Once the initiative is taken, it can easily take a life in a storm of sword dance.

However, this move consumes a lot of energy, so you need to pause and rest after every five sword strikes.

"Senior sister." A voice came from the side.

Xi Heng closed his eyes and swung the sword in his hand, feeling the flow of energy in his chest.

It wasn't until another senior sister's voice came from the side that Xi Heng realized that the word "senior sister" was actually being called to him.

Looking back, Yan Hongji, whose gentle beauty seemed completely at odds with her chivalrous attire, was slowly approaching.

"What's the matter?"

"I want to ask my senior sister some questions."

Her eyes were filled with confusion as she asked Xi Heng:

"In the past two days... I have realized that my talent is not as good as that of my other senior sisters, and they are all much more persistent and hardworking than me. Even so, they have not yet made progress and their hopes are obviously slim."

"If I just continue practicing in this ordinary way, it seems that I really will not be able to achieve anything. But if I can make up my mind to become a martial artist like you said, senior sister, will I have the opportunity to become a martial artist?" She desperately wanted the answer to this question.

Xi Heng replied, "Nothing is difficult in this world if you set your mind to it."

"..." Yan Hongji turned her head, looking confused and hesitant, and finally only managed to utter a weak voice: "But I don't think I can do it."

"Then you can leave." Xi Heng didn't seem to care.

In this life, she only wants to try the simplest and most direct method. If the other party cannot bear it, and there are still some opportunities in the next few lives, she will try a different approach.

"Senior sister, do you think it's possible for me to enter the martial arts world if I just maintain this attitude?" she asked again, pursing her lips.

Xi Heng waved his hand:

"If you keep looking back and forth like this, Heaven will not reward your diligence."

"Is that so..." The other person lowered their head.

“Yes.” Xi Heng said, then turned around to continue practicing his Red Thread Sword Technique.

Yan Hongji took a deep breath, took off a jade bracelet from her wrist, and handed it to Xi Heng.

"Hmm?" Xi Heng stopped in his tracks.

"I want to make a bet with my senior sister," she said. "We'll bet on whether I can achieve mastery of internal energy by June."

"How do we gamble?" Xi Heng became slightly interested.

"If we fail, this jade bracelet, worth three hundred taels, will belong to you, Senior Sister." The other person's tone gradually became serious: "If we succeed, you must return the bracelet to me, Senior Sister."

Xi Heng held the jade bracelet in his hand, and asked suspiciously:

"Can such a simple bet really make you make up your mind?"

“Our family has been business people for generations, and we would never do anything that would lose money.” Yan Hongji reluctantly withdrew her hand.

“Then I’ll add three hundred taels too. The bet can’t be just me profiting alone.” Xi Heng casually took out three hundred-tael silver notes from his pocket.

Seeing that Xi Heng could so naturally take out a large amount of money, Yan Hongji couldn't help but ask:

"...Is Senior Sister also from a prominent family?"

"You would never guess my identity," Xi Heng said casually.

"...This Empress?"

"Ah, I let it slip." Xi Heng smiled and waved his hand, not sure if he had said it on purpose, "Please pretend you didn't hear it, Junior Sister."

Yan Hongji hesitated for a moment, then nodded nervously.

……

On the fourth day of his hospitalization, the arrow mark on the back of Xi Heng's hand, drawn in blood and originally impossible to wash off, gradually faded.

After a certain period of fading, the girl felt something, went back to her bedroom, grabbed a damp towel, wiped her hand, and the mark on the back of her hand disappeared without a trace.

That persistent, peculiar sense of energy also quickly disappeared.

Xi Heng raised his hands again, pinching his fingers in an attempt to urge the blood arrow to be released.

"Fu!"

Once the mark is gone, there will be no fluctuation.

Xi Heng relaxed and wiped the back of his hand again.

"The stored spells seem to only last for five days... not bad."

With this Blood Sea Technique, one can sacrifice a large amount of flesh and blood before facing the enemy to enhance oneself and increase one's magical reserves, thus achieving unexpected results in battle.

Although most spells are only slightly more powerful than ordinary hidden weapons, and require a great deal of sacrificed flesh and blood, and the ritual is quite troublesome, spells at least do not take up weight; they only require drawing some simple red patterns on the skin.

Xi Heng dried his hands, tossed the wet wipe aside, and then took out the red book called the Blood Sea Great Art to continue reading and studying it.

"Blood Claw Technique... Sword-Dyed Technique... Bone-Shocking Transformation... Body-Disintegrating Technique..."

"The costs are increasing with each one; even opening a slaughterhouse wouldn't be enough to sustain it, would it?"

"Or is there somewhere we can find free flesh and blood to scavenge? We can't exactly go grave robbing... the flesh and blood we get from grave robbing isn't enough."

Xi Heng shook his head: "I follow the righteous path."

As she pondered, she put the magic spell in her hand aside. She didn't have the resources to use many of the spells on it; she would wait for an opportunity.

Then, he continued to review his family's Red Thread Sword Technique.

……

Time flies by, and January has passed in a flash.

In the days that followed, Xi Heng would warm up and eat every morning, supervise and guide the cultivation progress of the junior sisters he was mentoring, and then go to the incense-filled training room to sit cross-legged, control the circulation of qi and blood, and strengthen the qi and blood to nourish the dantian.

During this period, she did not deliberately take any pills or soups to nourish her spleen and liver, yet she did not experience any symptoms of physical weakness.

It seems that the flow of qi and blood after entering a state of deep concentration also has some benefits for the internal organs.

At the very least, it can bring Xi Heng long-term health.

"I'm cured..." Xi Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

In the morning, he practiced the Red Thread Sword Technique, and in the afternoon, he took the time to guide the cultivation of several junior sisters. At night, he washed up and went to sleep.

As for the three apprentices that Xi Heng took on during his sword training—their progress and skill in swordsmanship were not much different from those in his previous life.

Lin Ying, who possessed the greatest talent, was the first to master the basic moves and has already gone to the other side to practice more complex sword techniques.

The other two were not to be outdone and caught up with Lin Ying's pace within a few days.

Unlike her previous life, Yan Hongji has now surpassed Li Anxue in her swordsmanship progress, although only by a day or two. It is indeed a significant improvement over her previous life.

It seems that other people's fates are not immutable.

However, Xi Heng didn't have much hope for Yan Hongji, only glancing at her occasionally, his attitude not particularly concerned.

Within a month, Xi Heng had also learned many moves of the first level of the Red Thread Sword Technique.

Compared to the magical spells in the Blood Sea Technique, these sword techniques that rely on blood and qi are clearly more practical.

The moves can be executed simply by activating one's qi and blood to slash the blade, unlike evil arts and spells which require pinching fingers and casting spells. Moreover, the destructive power is by no means weak.

Therefore, Xi Heng put down the evil book, stopped multitasking, and focused on cultivating the Red Thread Sword Technique.

Through daily, disciplined practice and occasional instruction, Xi Heng gradually mastered all the moves of the first level of the Red Thread Sword Technique. He could now freely circulate his own Qi and strength, coordinating and unifying his Qi and strength with his body, gradually making it stable and orderly.

Thanks to Senior Sister Hongmiao's words, Xi Heng has now crossed the threshold of the Entry-level Strength realm and become a formal Ming Jin Xiao Cheng martial artist.

After cultivating to the second and third levels, one can advance to the level of Ming Jin Da Cheng (Great Mastery of Ming Jin).

The Ming Jin (明劲) skill is the pinnacle that ordinary martial artists can reach, while the An Jin (暗劲) skill is a realm that only a very few geniuses with both opportunity and hard work and comprehension can reach.

While chatting with his senior sister about these things, Xi Heng asked, "Speaking of which, how did you achieve your hidden strength, senior sister?"

Hong Miao was visibly taken aback upon hearing this, then looked puzzled: "You know I possess Dark Force? Did I mention that before?"

"I guessed it." Xi Heng then realized that he had brought the conversation from the previous life into this life, so he casually told another lie.

"Oh?" Hong Miao narrowed her eyes at Xi Heng, and after a moment, as if she hadn't thought much of it, she began to recount her own experiences:

"When my master was ambushed and seriously injured by the enemy, I faced three enemies alone when my life was in danger. Listening to my master's instructions as he lay on the side, I understood what hidden strength was during the fight and thus defeated the enemy."

"It feels like Senior Sister is the protagonist of a martial arts story," Xi Heng remarked from the side.

"Now that you mention it, that's indeed true." Hongmiao shook her head, not continuing the topic, and only said:

"You've only just entered the Ming Jin realm. Come back and ask me questions when you've mastered it."

"The method of hidden strength is somewhat mysterious. It is difficult to understand before mastering the obvious strength, and even after mastering it, considerable comprehension is required... because if the obvious strength is considered a mortal realm, then a martial artist with hidden strength is already considered extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, Xi Heng agreed.

Soon, she returned to her daily, repetitive cultivation routine.

Time flies, and the days pass swiftly.

In the third month since Xi Heng was admitted to the hospital, he was still stuck in the second level of the Red Thread Sword Technique.

The second level is not just about laying a solid foundation like the first level; it adds many variations—including different ways of using qi and blood, what movement techniques are needed to connect sword moves, and how qi and blood should circulate, etc.

The circulation of Qi and blood becomes increasingly complex in the second move; if the flow is misdirected to any meridian or acupoint, the entire move will be ruined.

Furthermore, due to the limitations of his Qi and blood, Xi Heng could only practice the moves twenty or thirty times a day at most. After that, his strength and Qi and blood would weaken, causing his body to become weak and sweaty.

Therefore, he practiced swordplay and techniques with utmost care and precision, putting in his full effort.

Even so, progress was still extremely slow.

"At this rate, it might take three or four years to reach the Great Perfection of Ming Jin." Xi Heng wanted to speed things up.

Although martial artists must accumulate over many years to gradually integrate the power inside and outside their bodies.

However, during his martial arts training, Xi Heng had heard of some methods that could stimulate the latent qi and blood in the body, which could directly increase one's qi and blood.

One of them is related to the Red Thread Sword Technique.

The principle is that the red lines formed by the condensation of qi and blood connect the major acupoints of the body's extraordinary meridians, break through the barrier, and unleash power far exceeding the usual level.

However, this was just a rumor within the Sword Academy, and no one had actually mastered it.