Wen Hanshan had always been rigorous in his work. Since he agreed to teach Lou Xingyao swordsmanship, he would naturally take it seriously.
It was also at this time that Lou Xingyao discovered that Wen Hanshan’s attitude when supervising his cultivation in the past was nothing compared to his strictness in swordsmanship.
In the first six months of agreeing to follow Wen Hanshan to learn the sword, Lou Xingyao didn’t even touch the hilt of the sword. Under Wen Hanshan’s supervision, he practiced basic skills like the horse stance.
Yes, basic skills.
Lou Xingyao even suspected that he misheard when he heard Wen Hanshan’s request.
If it wasn’t for the spiritual power always running through his body to remind him that the Tianming Continent was indeed a world of cultivation, he would’ve suspected that he transmigrated into the world of martial arts when he heard this request.
However, Wen Hanshan only said casually, “The foundation of swordsmanship is the stance. Based on your current ability to control your body, you won’t be able to complete something as simple as moving your body according to your wishes. If you hold the sword now, are you planning to fight the enemy or hurt yourself?”
This theory was like heresy in the Tianming Continent.
It was because Wen Hanshan’s theory paid more attention to the strength of the body itself. His intention was to polish the bones and muscles, and to control every detail. It was more inclined to the body cultivation of other big worlds.
The cultivators of the Tianming Continent were more inclined to magic cultivation. Compared to the body itself, cultivators paid more attention to the accumulation of spiritual power and the proficiency of spells.
However, Lou Xingyao knew that Wen Hanshan’s request wasn’t deliberately made to embarrass him.
Even Wen Hanshan himself trained following this set of theories.
Since Lou Xingyao chose to study with Wen Hanshan, he was naturally willing to accept the other person’s teachings and arrangements. He even exercised his physical body according to Wen Hanshan’s standards.
The process could be described as extremely rigorous without the slightest slackness.
Of course, he couldn’t relax even if he wanted to.
After setting the plan to learn the sword, the two of them left the Endless Forest and returned to the small courtyard they purchased in Xilin County.
Now that they were home, they had to continue their morning and evening training.
But this time, it changed from Wen Hanshan practicing swordsmanship in the morning and Lou Xingyao quietly cultivating to Wen Hanshan practicing swordsmanship and Lou Xingyao practicing the basic skills.
During the whole process, the distance between the two of them was only a few feet. If Lou Xingyao was distracted in the slightest, Wen Hanshan would notice it. How could he dare to be lazy?
In order to achieve a better effect, Wen Hanshan didn’t allow Lou Xingyao to use spiritual power during the whole process.
This really made him struggle.
In the beginning, Lou Xingyao couldn’t hold on for half an hour and wanted to give up several times. Then after facing Wen Hanshan’s calm gaze, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
In the end, it often ended with Lou Xingyao falling to the ground from exhaustion.
Fortunately, Wen Hanshan didn’t allow Lou Xingyao to use spiritual power during the training, but he didn’t restrict it after the training.
At the end of each day, Lou Xingyao would use spiritual power to dispel the tiredness in his body.
Combine this with Lou Xingyao’s abnormal healing ability, and he could often return to the best state in two or three hours.
Even Wen Hanshan was amazed when seeing this speed for the first time.
Then the convenience made him increase the intensity of the training. It could be described as very devilish.
After half a year of high pressure training, Lou Xingyao finally barely met Wen Hanshan’s standards of his body following his thoughts.
Among the dead leaves flying in the sky, Lou Xingyao was dodging back and forth while dressed in dark clothing. The meaning of his movements couldn’t be seen, but a special rhythm and sense of beauty could be seen from his actions.
Once the last dead leaf landed, Lou Xingyao gradually stopped moving and landed leisurely like a feather.
His back stood upright among the dead leaves on the ground and his clothes swayed slightly with the breeze. He really looked like the protagonist of a movie.
The dead leaves that had already fallen to the ground were faintly blown up in the breeze.
Looking closely, it wasn’t difficult to see that there was a faint flow of white liquid between the veins of these dead leaves.
As Lou Xingyao moved, white liquid seeped directly from the leaves and gradually stained the soles of his shoes.
These dead leaves all came from the Trace Tree.
The tree didn’t bloom or bear fruit. After around ten years of growth, the size would stagnate, and it couldn’t be cultivated for timber.
Its entire body was covered with only leaves, which were still valuable things.
The leaves of the Trace Tree fell off once a year. It was because after it withered, the sap in the leaf veins would gradually solidify and develop color. Once it completely wilted, it just had to be touched lightly and the thing that touched it would be stained with the white sap contained in the leaf veins.
They dyed things extremely easily and were often used as coloring and fixing agents for clothing in the Tianming Continent.
Wen Hanshan’s request to Lou Xingyao was for him to pass among the leaves of this Trace Tree. He had to pass through ten thousand leaves without touching the leaves.
It was easy to say but not easy to do.
If he wanted to dodge, he had to use his eyes to capture the traces of the dead leaves flying in the air and predict their next trajectory.
It wasn’t enough to do this. He also needed to control his body and dodge accurately.
If he wasn’t careful, it would be easy to end up in the state of ‘it looks easy to learn, but falls apart when doing it.’
The fallen leaves might be light and fluttering, so they didn’t seem to be moving very fast in the air, but he couldn’t hold up against the sheer number of them.
In the beginning, Lou Xingyao often avoided one but not another.
Forget the half an hour that Wen Hanshan requested. Even one cup of tea was enough for Lou Xingyao to soak the dark clothes on his body with the white sap.
At one time, Lou Xingyao felt that this was an impossible task.
Unexpectedly, Wen Hanshan saw his thoughts but didn’t say anything. He just practiced swordsmanship among the leaves.
Wen Hanshan’s body proportions were already superior, with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and slender legs. These advantages were brought into full play when he danced with the sword.
He stood among the leaves, causing the falling leaves to fly along with the body of the sword. The leaves that flew randomly seemed to turn into butterflies, dancing with his swordsmanship.
Such scenes and pictures were enough to be described as beautiful and unforgettable.
Of course, the most important thing was that for three full hours, Wen Hanshan’s body wasn’t stained by the leaves of the Trace Tree.
What else did Lou Xingyao not understand after seeing that Wen Hanshan’s clothes were still clean and tidy after the sword practice?
The other person was clearly telling him with practical actions that this wasn’t impossible.
The other party didn’t ask him to dance with the sword among the leaves. He only asked Lou Xingyao to dodge the leaves, which was already relaxing the requirements.
What else could Lou Xingyao say?
In his previous life, the most devastating comment for online critics was probably, ‘If you’re so capable, why don’t you do it yourself?’
Now, as a critic, Wen Hanshan could not only do it, but he did it very well!
Lou Xingyao put away the little thoughts in his heart and started to work towards the goal set by the other person for him.
Wen Hanshan’s demonstration did allow Lou Xingyao to see some tricks.
When the other person danced with the sword, his movements and rhythm were clearly no different from the past, but he was able to remain undisturbed by the fallen leaves.
It was clear that he didn’t dodge it specifically, but the leaves seemed to have their own consciousness and didn’t touch Wen Hanshan’s body.
Lou Xingyao carefully recalled Wen Hanshan’s every action and seemed to understand something.
He gradually developed from his clothes being stained in one cup of tea to being able to last for one stick of incense.
This time, it was the first time in six months that Lou Xingyao met Wen Hanshan’s requirements.
In other words, he lasted for half an hour among the leaves and the clothes on his body were as good as when he first put them on. They weren’t stained by white sap at all.
After checking the clothes on his body again and confirming that it wasn’t stained at all, Lou Xingyao hurriedly glanced at Wen Hanshan, eyes bright with expectation.
Wen Hanshan was extremely strict in teaching, but he didn’t hesitate to give praise when Lou Xingyao made progress.
At almost the moment that the other person looked over, Wen Hanshan understood the meaning in his eyes and didn’t disappoint him. “Very good. It is much faster than I imagined.”
“Really?” This was the compliment he begged for, but Lou Xingyao still couldn’t help feeling happy in his heart.
“Of course.” Wen Hanshan smiled. From Lou Xingyao’s performance in the Endless Forest, it could be seen that he had no foundation at all in this regard.
In just half a year, Lou Xingyao had been able to grow to the point where he was today. This could indeed be called rapid progress.
A smile appeared on Lou Xingyao’s face. In the past six months, he had sweated more than in the past thirty years combined.
What made him grit his teeth and persevere, in addition to his unwillingness to admit defeat, was a trace of not wanting to disappoint Wen Hanshan.
He was naturally overjoyed now that he was acknowledged by the other person.
Lou Xingyao’s soul might be in his 30s, but his body was that of a teenager.
Usually, his calm and steady temperament meant people might ignore his age. However, the smile on his face combined with the innocent fawn-like eyes made him show a childishness that belonged to a teenager.
At this moment, Wen Hanshan suddenly remembered that Lou Xingyao was still a child.
Thinking of this, Wen Hanshan swallowed back the words that had originally come to his mouth and changed them. “Let’s stop here today and continue tomorrow.”
“Huh?” Lou Xingyao looked at the sky. It was still far from the ending time. Why end it early?
“What? I am rewarding you with a day off. Don’t you want it?” Wen Hanshan couldn’t help chuckling before he pretended to be serious. “If you really don’t want it, we will move onto the next stage now. First…”
“Of course I do!” Lou Xingyao hurriedly interrupted Wen Hanshan out of fear that his hard-won vacation would fly away.
A vacation!
Who wouldn’t love that?
This was especially the case after six months of high-pressure training.
However, Lou Xingyao didn’t dare to take the initiative to mention it. It wasn’t because he was afraid that Wen Hanshan wouldn’t agree. He was afraid that laziness was contagious.
If he was lazy for a day, he might end up being lazy every day until he was finally completely lazy.
Therefore, during this time, there were occasional thoughts like, ‘Why am I so tired?’, ‘It is good to be a Buddhist cultivator’ or ‘Why don’t I just give up?’ but Lou Xingyao suppressed them with the fastest speed and a strong belief. He no longer thought about it.
Unexpectedly, now Wen Hanshan offered to let him rest. Lou Xingyao naturally wouldn’t miss it.
“Go have fun!” Wen Hanshan’s words about going directly to the next stage were a joke, and he didn’t pursue Lou Xingyao’s eagerness to play.
He gave Lou Xingyao a light knock on the head, signaling that he could go off and do his own thing now.
Lou Xingyao was afraid that Wen Hanshan would change his mind and catch him back for training, so he hurriedly ran away.
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Thanks for the chapter! Looking like those pretty drama scenes, lol.