Based on his words, he didn’t have the slightest nostalgia for the ‘good sword’ that the Zhou family found.
“You will get a sword that suits you better.” Lou Xingyao didn’t think much of it any longer and only comforted him.
As he spoke, he didn’t forget to think in his mind.
Just like an alchemist, a refiner was divided into nine levels in the description of The Dao and Heaven are Equal.
The first-grade was the lowest, and the ninth-grade was the highest. Magic weapons also followed this order.
But unlike pills, in addition to the magic weapons refined by the weapon refiner, there was also a magic weapon called a spiritual weapon.
Just like a spiritual root, it was also born and raised.
Therefore, in terms of power, it was often more powerful than a magic weapon refined by a refiner.
However, there were advantages and disadvantages in everything. The power of a spiritual weapon might be strong, but it was also extremely difficult to obtain due to the relationship between nature and earth.
Even if one was lucky enough to obtain it, it might be difficult to take advantage of it due to incompatible attributes.
Therefore, there was a type of magic weapon that was the lifelong wish of all cultivators. It was a natal magic weapon.
There were many ways to obtain the natal magic weapon, one of which was to find a suitable refiner, refine a magic weapon that was extremely consistent with their own attributes, and put it in their dantian. Polish and cultivate the magic weapon in the dantian for a long time, so it could reach the point of unity.
It was just that this method had a lot of drawbacks.
For example, it was already difficult to find a weapon refiner who matched. If one was lucky enough to find a weapon refiner, the level of the natal weapon would also be affected by the level of this refiner.
If the refiner’s grade was low, the cultivator would inevitably be dragged down by a magic weapon that wasn’t as good as themselves.
Even if the refiner was of a higher level, it was possible for the cultivator to break through to a higher realm. Then at that time, the original natal weapon would no longer be applicable.
It would inevitably hurt the cultivator if he had to replace it at that time.
No cultivator would admit that their spiritual path had reached the point where it couldn’t be improved, so seeking a refiner to refine the natal weapon was just an inferior choice. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t take this into consideration.
On the other hand, there was a method of directly collecting a spiritual weapon as a natal magic weapon.
Due to the natural cultivation, the spiritual weapon itself had a certain growth. This meant there was no need to worry about the low grade of the magic weapon dragging down the master.
However, the difficulty of obtaining a spiritual weapon wouldn’t be reduced due to this. The particularity of the natal magic weapon meant there would be more stringent requirements for the fit of the spiritual weapon.
A person who could successfully collect a spiritual weapon as a natal weapon was one in a million among cultivators who were lucky enough to obtain a spiritual weapon.
Therefore, this method might be good, but it wasn’t suitable for most cultivators.
As for the last method, it was to find a heavenly treasure that was very consistent with one’s own attributes, incorporate it into the dantian to cultivate it as early as possible, and gradually polish it into a magic weapon that was in line with one’s own mind in the process of cultivation.
This heavenly treasure that matched one’s own attributes was difficult to find, but it was much easier than a spiritual weapon.
Even if they really couldn’t find a heavenly treasure, they could temporarily replace it with a refining material with the same attribute.
The things that were placed in the dantian might be lacking in grade at the beginning, but it could be adjusted and supplemented after obtaining more suitable things. This could be called a growth magic weapon tailored for cultivators.
In the whole process, the changes in the magic weapon were determined by the cultivator’s mind. So in The Dao and Heaven are Equal, the process of refining the natal treasure was called heart refining.
The biggest drawback of this heart refining was the method itself.
In the original novel, the heart refining method was the secret of the big forces in the big world. Only the key core figures in it could have the opportunity to get a glimpse of it.
This was the biggest shortcoming, but it wasn’t difficult for Lou Xingyao.
It was because there was a very detailed description of the heart refining method in the original novel, from the selection of refining materials to the formation of the magic weapon in the later stage.
At that time, Lou Xingyao hadn’t entered the path of Dao. His mind was confused when he read it and he couldn’t understand the meaning.
Now looking back and thinking about what was mentioned in the novel, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of enlightenment in his heart.
For the method of heart refining, which was regarded as the guideline in the big world, it was completely presented in Lou Xingyao’s heart at this moment for him to use.
The Dao and Heaven are Equal had the protagonist as the center of the world. As the villain, Wen Hanshan naturally wasn’t described too much.
Therefore, Lou Xingyao didn’t know what the sword held by Wen Hanshan was in the original storyline, but it wasn’t as useful as the natal magic weapon tailored by heart refining.
Lou Xingyao didn’t mind sharing the heart refining method with Wen Hanshan.
At that time, he only needed to find something that matched Brother Wen’s attribute…
Just as Lou Xingyao was thinking about it, Wen Hanshan’s warning rang in his ears.
“Don’t be in a daze!”
He looked up and found that the other person had started to demonstrate the basic movements of swordsmanship at some point.
Lou Xingyao didn’t dare to think about things for a while. He hurriedly put all his attention on Wen Hanshan out of fear that if he made a mistake, he would ignore the details.
Fortunately, he had the basic skills he had practiced. Now Lou Xingyao could always quickly understand the key points when analyzing Wen Hanshan’s movements.
Wen Hanshan only demonstrated it twice, and Lou Xingyao could already imitate it decently.
Even so, this exercise wasn’t easy for Lou Xingyao.
It was just like when he practiced the basic skills. When practicing basic sword moves, Wen Hanshan didn’t allow him to use spiritual power.
In addition, Lou Xingyao needed to ensure that every movement was perfect while understanding the mysterious feeling described by Wen Hanshan: treat the sword as part of your body and let it be like an arm.
It was only when he fully comprehended the meaning of these words and when he was able to swing the sword that the long sword in his hand seemed to exist yet not exist all the time. Then this stage would be completely over.
At that time, his swordsmanship could be regarded as barely getting started.
No matter whether it was treating the sword as part of his body or feeling the existence and non-existence of the sword, these things were too far away from Lou Xingyao.
For the current Lou Xingyao, according to Wen Hanshan’s requirements, practicing the sword for at least two hours a day was enough to exhaust all his physical strength.
The hourglass on the side finally stopped the timer. Lou Xingyao’s body finally couldn’t hold on and fell to the ground. Even the long sword in his hand fell to the side due to the sudden loss of strength in his hand.
“There is no such thing as being obsessed with cleanliness or not. It is just that I haven’t been tired enough.”
Lou Xingyao thought like this while lying on the ground.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to use the spiritual power in his body to reduce the fatigue in his body.
Just when Lou Xingyao thought that today’s torture was over, Wen Hanshan’s demon-like evaluation entered his ears.
“If you aren’t qualified today, will you make up for it later or tomorrow?”
Wen Hanshan was a person who either did things or didn’t do them. Since he did them, he would strive for perfection.
The same was true for teaching Lou Xingyao.
Therefore, before practicing the basic skills, the two of them had already made an agreement. After practicing every day, Wen Hanshan would evaluate Lou Xingyao’s performance that day.
If it was excellent then today’s practice would end here. Lou Xingyao could go down his own thing or rest.
If he didn’t qualify, he needed to complete the day’s task again.
If he failed again, he would need to complete it again along with the second failure.
This would repeat until Lou Xingyao could make up for all the lacking homework with excellent standards.
As for a good result?
Wen Hanshan said that in his place, there were only two standards: excellent and unqualified. There was no intermediate option.
Such a requirement might seem demanding, but it wasn’t unattainable.
At the very least, since Lou Xingyao had followed Wen Hanshan to practice, he had never received an unqualified evaluation due to his cautious, serious, and hard-working attitude.
Now that he heard this unqualified at first glance, it was obviously a bit unexpected for Lou Xingyao.
He had even more doubts in his heart when he recalled his performance and made sure there was nothing wrong.
However, Lou Xingyao also knew that Wen Hanshan wasn’t the type to target others, so he didn’t refute it. He hurriedly replied, “I’ll make it up today.”
Wen Hanshan was willing to understand that Lou Xingyao was occasionally in a bad state, so when setting the standard, he said he could allow Lou Xingyao to postpone the time to make up for his task the next day.
But Lou Xingyao’s habit was to finish things on the day. What could be completed on the same day definitely wouldn’t be postponed to the next day.
After answering, Lou Xingyao stopped talking. He knew that since Wen Hanshan gave an unqualified evaluation, he would naturally explain the reason. There was no need to ask more.
Sure enough, the next moment, Wen Hanshan’s slightly serious voice sounded in the courtyard.
“This is the reason for all the points deducted today. Never let go of the weapon in your hand until the last moment of your life.”
Once the weapon landed, what was lost wasn’t only the weapon but also the courage and fighting spirit in the bottom of the heart.
Therefore, no matter when or where, as long as there was a breath of air, one shouldn’t throw away the weapon in hand.
Others might say that this was just a subconscious move after practicing hard and it shouldn’t be so harsh.
However, Lou Xingyao immediately understood the deep meaning of Wen Hanshan’s move.
If he was so lax in his daily life, he would become accustomed to it. Then once he finally faced real danger, he would easily drop his weapon as usual.
Lou Xingyao closed his eyes slightly as he grabbed the sword that had fallen aside. He held it back in his hand, got up, and replied, “I understand. Thank you, Brother Wen, for reminding me.”
Lou Xingyao made a move. Wen Hanshan knew that Lou Xingyao already understood and nodded. “Let’s start when you’ve rested.”
“Okay.” Lou Xingyao nodded slightly. Then he took a deep breath and resumed the practice of basic sword moves.
Lou Xingyao’s physical fatigue had disappeared thanks to his super recovery ability and the operation of his spiritual power.
Still, the practice of two hours wasn’t completely non-existent.
Repeating the same action over and over again was extremely boring.
Lou Xingyao experienced not only physical exhaustion but also psychological.
In addition, he had already received an unqualified evaluation. It would be a bit too ugly if he received another one.
He didn’t dare to relax in the slightest, and his attention became more and more concentrated.
For Lou Xingyao, such two hours could be called torture.
The moment the hourglass sounded again, Lou Xingyao even felt that he had never heard such a beautiful sound.
His physical fatigue was even worse than the first time.
Even so, Lou Xingyao still kept Wen Hanshan’s sentence about never dropping the sword until the last moment of his life in mind.
He finally fell to the ground with all his strength, but he still held the hilt of the sword tightly in his hand. He didn’t dare to relax at all.
Once the spiritual power in his body had run one lap, and he recovered a bit, the evaluation he wanted to hear finally entered his ears.
“You did excellent today. Well done.”
Yes, even if he just completed his daily homework, Wen Hanshan still didn’t hesitate to praise Lou Xingyao.
This was also a signal given by Wen Hanshan. It meant that the strict master mode had been lifted, and the two of them could return to their usual mode of getting along with each other.
Lou Xingyao finally dared to purse his mouth and complain a bit, “I’m so tired. I don’t want to move.”
“Then don’t move.” Once he left teaching mode, Wen Hanshan was always willing to indulge some of Lou Xingyao’s petty tempers.
“But the ground is so dirty…” He said this, but Lou Xingyao didn’t intend to get up from the very dirty ground at all.
After getting along for such a long time, Wen Hanshan also had an understanding of Lou Xingyao’s cleanliness.
Seeing that the other person would rather endure the dirt than get up, he knew that today’s homework was indeed a bit beyond the scope of the other person’s endurance.
Wen Hanshan thought about it for a moment before directly stepping forward. He bent down and picked up the person from the ground.
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