Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

They drank it down and coughed a few times, their expressions not very pleasant.

Some people stuck out their dry tongues after drinking it, while others frowned and covered their lips with their sleeves for a long time.

After a short while, Xi Heng was seated in front of the wooden table.

She took a deep breath, picked up a bowl without much sniffing, skillfully brought it to her lips, and sipped it in small mouthfuls.

The bitter taste permeated the back of my tongue, and a certain stimulating sensation flowed down my throat to my stomach. Even my breath had a distinct medicinal taste as I drank it.

However, once the initial nausea subsides, you'll feel the muscles in your limbs, chest, and abdomen gradually begin to itch and heat up.

A warm sensation spread throughout the body along with the medicinal effects, and the soreness and stinging in the muscles lessened in the slightest.

After drinking a bowl of medicinal soup, Xi Heng actually felt a slight flow of blood in her limbs and bones. More noticeably, the strength she had almost exhausted was quickly replenished by half after drinking the soup.

Although this medicinal soup is bitter and difficult to drink, it is quite effective.

"Good medicine tastes bitter." She exhaled, and this time the taste of the medicine in her mouth did not bother her.

"Exactly." The old man fetching the medicine glanced at Xi Heng again before continuing to ladle the soup.

The medicine bowls were piled up in several stacks. Xi Heng put down the medicine bowl in his hand and went into the dining hall.

Previously, in the vast training ground, the people practicing swordsmanship in the Sword Academy were scattered around, and Xi Heng did not deliberately count them.

Now that everyone is in the canteen, they can easily count the exact number at a glance.

There are only about thirty female students, which is not even half full in the dining hall.

Xi Heng had heard that the famous martial arts schools in Jinshi City always had five or six hundred people practicing martial arts there, and sometimes the number could even reach a thousand during peak season.

From this perspective, the number of apprentices in the Red Thread Sword Academy is truly small.

Xi Heng took a meal, found Yan Hongji, and sat down next to her to eat.

There were a few pieces of meat in the food, but overall it wasn't very tasty, especially since I had just taken some bitter medicine. Now, every time I swallowed the food, I could taste a distinct bitterness.

They chatted casually about their sword practice earlier, and the mealtime quickly came to an end.

When he returned to the training ground, he had eaten a full meal and regained his strength. Xi Heng's moves were no longer as weak and unsteady as before.

During formal sword practice, the senior female instructor would often walk over with her arms crossed to supervise the newcomers' practice.

She sat by the spring, sometimes approaching to correct Xi Heng and the others' postures and movements, sometimes stopping them all to explain the purpose of their actions and teach them how to connect the sword moves.

"The Red Thread Sword is based on sharpness; when the sword is drawn, the body is as fast as lightning and the sword is as swift as the wind." During the explanation, the senior sister beckoned to Xi Heng to bring over the wooden sword.

After gripping the sword, she slightly moved the blade to the right, easily executing the first move of the Red Thread Sword Technique.

In the next instant, Hong Miao swept her sword to the left, while simultaneously bending her waist slightly and stepping her left foot to the right. The sword then drew a curve in the air and struck downwards to the left, before twisting downwards to the right.

The three strikes were completed in the blink of an eye.

Before Xi Heng could react, the wooden sword had already been put away.

The senior sister tossed the wooden sword back and said to the four newcomers, "The word 'sharp' requires not only strength and speed, but also a pure heart."

"If one has hesitation, indecision, or unwillingness in their heart, no matter how proficient they become in swordsmanship, it is not the Red Thread Sword."

"We enter the martial arts through swordsmanship, but if we do not understand the sword intent of our sect, it will be even more difficult for us to control our qi and blood to generate power."

After she finished speaking, she walked over to another group of people practicing swordsmanship, leaving the newcomers time to figure it out on their own.

Xi Heng stared at the spot where the opponent had instantly unleashed three sword strikes, his mind replaying the scene.

If those three swords had landed on him, his body would probably have been intact one moment and then cut into four pieces the next.

"A pure heart..." She kept these four words in her heart.

A moment later, Lin Ying began practicing her sword again, but this time, her sword moves were no longer as brief as before, but began to develop in a swift and fierce direction.

She used considerable force in every move, as if she were facing a vengeful enemy and was determined to cut him into pieces.

Seeing that the other party seemed to have grasped the concept, Xi Heng also learned to make his sword movements more unrestrained.

Soon after, she realized that practicing like that was too strenuous, so she returned to her previous, steady and methodical approach.

My body is too weak, so it's better to make the training process more gradual...

Time passed slowly amidst the sounds of sword dancing.

After a day, Xi Heng was in excruciating pain all over his body, with a strange heat and soreness grinding against each other inside him, as if the medicinal soup he had drunk in the morning was still working.

She returned to her residence, and the accumulated exhaustion caused Xi Heng to fall asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.

She fainted three times today before finally managing to perform the most basic Red Thread Sword Technique completely and fluently.

She seemed to have some talent, but because she was too weak, she couldn't stick to long-term practice and eventually only managed to keep up with the others.

"I'm so tired."

However, Xi Heng was quite satisfied with himself today.

……

Chapter Six: Perils of the Martial Path

I get up early to exercise, then take medicine and eat, and continue exercising from dawn until sunset.

This process repeats itself, and the days flow by naturally.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

Through daily practice of sword moves, learning swordsmanship, and repeated sword dances, coupled with a regular and balanced diet, Xi Heng's originally frail and delicate body has been strengthened and is now more robust.

They can practice swordplay for longer periods and wield the sword with more strength.

Unlike at the beginning, when I would be out of breath and sore all over after just a few swings of the sword.

Even while showering, you can see that you have developed some muscle definition, and you are no longer pale and weak with a lot of soft flesh.

"It doesn't matter what talent I have anymore, at least my health has improved."

Inside the apartment, Xi Heng patted his flat chest, softly convincing himself.

During the past ten days or so of martial arts training, Xi Heng has come to a clear understanding that he is not a martial arts prodigy at all.

Among the apprentices at the Sword Academy, her talent was only slightly above average; at most, she was just a little better at understanding than others.

They are far from being true geniuses.

What's troubling is that among the four new apprentices who have just entered the academy, there really is a genius—Lin Ying, who is not talkative and is most focused on swordsmanship and martial arts.

Now, only half a month later, Lin Ying has already grasped the essence of the Red Thread Sword and has moved beyond the stage of practicing sword techniques. She has begun to learn various sword variations with her other senior sisters.

Xi Heng and the other two are still honing their basic sword techniques, and it's unclear when they will be able to perfect them.

Only after being recognized by the senior sister and mastering the basic sword techniques to a standard level can one move on to learn other extended variations and practice against other sword academy students who have not yet reached the advanced level.

Xi Heng sighed softly, shifting his attention to continue feeling the changes in his body.

She pressed her upper arms, calves, and abdomen; the muscles had become more defined, no longer as soft and supple as before.

Logically speaking, his body should already be considered healthy.

but……

Xi Heng covered his lips and coughed lightly twice.

Her cough had not improved, and she could not speak loudly. Although she had muscles, she could not exert force for a long time.

Therefore, when practicing sword moves, her accuracy and stability were not as good as others.

Moreover, symptoms such as dry mouth and tongue, hot flashes and night sweats, hot flashes in the palms, soles, and chest, tinnitus, and dry eyes often occur.

Although these symptoms do not directly hinder martial arts practice, they can have a significant impact on physical fitness limits and the extent of martial arts progress over time, making one always a level below others.

During their morning practice this morning, Senior Sister Hongmiao, who came to observe their sword practice, noticed Xiheng's unusual physical condition. She pointed out that these symptoms were caused by weakness in the internal organs, and that external exercises to strengthen the muscles and bones were of little help in treating these ailments. She suggested using medicinal herbs to nourish and regulate the body.

Xi Heng kept these words in mind and went to Jian Sheng Tang next to the Sword Academy during his lunch break to ask for a prescription and get the medicine. In the end, he bought a few large black honey pills for a high price of one tael of silver.

Now, she held these pills in her hand.

“Building muscles is easy, but how do you train internal organs?” Xi Heng shook his head.

She opened the piece of paper in her hand, took out a honey pill from it, and put it in her mouth, swallowing it several times with warm water.

"Does mastering martial arts benefit the internal organs? If not, and I can't find a way to strengthen them, I'll probably be a sickly person for the rest of my life..."

These few tonics can only provide temporary relief for her.

She was born with deficiency of both qi and blood and poor circulation in her meridians. Not long after she stopped taking the medicine, her body will probably become weak again.

"Take advantage of this time while I can take the medicine and get into the swing of things as quickly as possible," Xi Heng silently encouraged himself.

……

Since taking the medication, most of Xi Heng's symptoms have gradually subsided.

Therefore, when she practiced swordsmanship every day, she didn't need to rest after practicing a few times, and at least she kept up with the frequency of her fellow apprentices Yan Hongji and Li Anxue.

With constant practice, her swordsmanship became increasingly smooth, fluid, clean, and precise.

Whether it was a stroke of good fortune or the end of hardship, after suppressing the effects of his illness, Xi Heng made remarkable progress in the few days that followed, gradually surpassing his peers.

Just five days later, Xi Heng had mastered the basic sword moves of the Red Thread Sword and was told by his senior sister that he was ready to move on to the next stage.

"Understanding the moves in twenty days is not bad," Hong Miaoyan said.

"Can you apply force at this speed?" But that was all Xi Heng wanted to know.

"Hmm..." After thinking for a moment, the senior sister shook her head and told the truth: "Of those who master the moves in twenty days, less than one in ten can actually enter the realm of internal strength."

"Not even one in ten survives?" Xi Heng frowned slightly and asked again, "Does it mean that you can't enter the realm of internal energy during these three months of cultivation in the courtyard, or...?"

"For life," the other person simply added.

Yan Hongji and Li Anxue, who were standing nearby and had not yet made a move, felt a chill upon hearing this.

"Martial artists do not speak falsehoods." The senior sister glanced at the three of them, then sat down cross-legged and addressed them, "In our Red Thread Sword Academy, only one out of ten people who pay silver to enter the academy to learn swordsmanship can reach the level of mastery within three months."

"Those who choose to pay the additional silver to stay in the Sword Academy after March will also only have a 10% chance of entering the realm of mastery."

"If you haven't reached the level of mastery after six months, you must stay in the courtyard to continue your practice. You may only have reached half of the level of mastery left."

"After that, there is nothing more." She stated this fact calmly, looking back at the few people who were constantly cultivating in the corner of the Sword Academy behind her.

"Like those few, they've been training at the Sword Academy for over two years, yet they still haven't mastered the basics. Who knows when they'll give up?" She sighed, a rare occurrence for her.

"In the end, martial arts still depend on talent."

"Of the four of you from the same cohort, I only think Lin Ying has the best chance of success." Hong Miao concluded, "If you believe that you are not a martial arts prodigy and that martial arts is not the only path you can take... leaving early is not a bad thing, and the remaining silver can be returned."

"..." All three listeners fell silent.

A look of confusion crossed Yan Hongji's eyes, and she gently bit her lower lip.

Xi Heng blinked. Is this something someone who runs a martial arts school should say?

"That's all I have to say." Hong Miao stood up and said to Xi Heng, "I'll take you to the sword-fighting arena so you can meet the other senior sisters."

"Hmm." Xi Heng nodded, snapping out of his reverie.

She had already made up her mind to learn martial arts in this lifetime, even if she died along the way, so how could she possibly give up?

……

Seven days later, Xi Heng learned many variations of the Red Thread Sword Technique and practiced swordsmanship with other sword academy students, but rarely won.

During this period, she fought against Lin Ying, a genius of the same generation, several times, and was easily defeated every time.

When sparring with that person, Xi Heng was basically overwhelmed by the opponent's sword moves, and could only defend. He had no way to use his own moves and was eventually easily defeated.

The opponent's moves were extremely fast. Even though the two of them were using the same sword technique and knew each other inside and out, Xi Heng knew which flaws in the opponent's sword technique could be exploited. He could try to strike at the enemy's weaknesses.

However, Lin Ying's swordsmanship was too fierce and swift, and before Xi Heng could seize the opportunity, the opening vanished in an instant.

Her ideas and techniques were completely useless in the sword fight with her opponent, leaving her feeling frustrated and powerless.

And once this feeling surfaced, it was the moment of her downfall.

Xi Heng was eventually deflected by Lin Ying's sword, which then stopped at his throat, thus determining the outcome of the battle.

After her defeat, she had no choice but to return to her original spot to rest and resume practicing her swordsmanship.

No matter how much she practiced, her swordsmanship could not be as sharp and fierce as Lin Ying's, and her speed and strength could not keep up with her opponent.