Elder Han He was scratching his head.
“Elder Shang Wu, do you have any plans for Li Mo these days?”
Ying Bing asked, her tone inquisitive.
Shang Wu squinted her apricot-shaped eyes, pondering for a moment before replying, “Aside from cooking, nothing too important.”
“Well, I’d like to borrow him for three days,” Ying Bing said softly.
“I want him to learn swordsmanship with me for three days.”
She wasn’t Li Mo’s master after all. If she wanted to teach him something, she had to check with the ‘main character’ first.
“Little Ice Girl, I trust your swordsmanship, but three days…? He won’t learn much, right?” Shang Wu nodded, slightly curious.
“I have this.” Ying Bing pulled out something from her sleeve.
Three azure incense sticks.
“Spirit Heart Incense? Even the sect leader gave you this? Wow, that’s generous…” Shang Wu’s eyes widened slightly, clearly recognizing the item’s value.
This wasn’t a product of the Eastern Wilderness. It originated from Central China, crafted from a rare wood called Spirit Heart, ground into powder and mixed with other precious materials. Lighting this incense to comprehend martial arts can double one’s wisdom.
And since the Spirit Heart wood grows slowly—only one inch every three hundred years—it’s extremely rare. The sect probably doesn’t have much left; it’s been saved up by the founding ancestors and previous leaders from their own stash.
That she gave three sticks to Ying Bing showed just how much she valued her.
Shang Wu scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. It seemed all she had done was feed her disciples and mooch off them…
“Wait a minute, you mean to use the Spirit Heart Incense on Little Mo?”
Shang Wu realized.
“Yep, it’s useless to me.” Ying Bing nodded.
“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Wow… this kid really is lucky.” Shang Wu smiled broadly, nodding in agreement.
Good stuff not used by her still benefited her disciple—win-win!
—
“Learning swordsmanship from you?” Li Mo had just opened a new meridian, expanding the small world by a few more inches.
Just then, Ying Bing pushed the door open and stepped in.
“Hmm, come with me.”
Ying Bing’s expression was tranquil. After saying that, she turned and headed downstairs.
“What’s going on all of a sudden…?” Li Mo scratched his head, starting to connect the dots.
The Ice Chunk wasn’t one for many words. Even if she didn’t mention it verbally, he knew she was keeping track of things in her heart.
It was good. With Ice Chunk around, he could save a lot on martial insights.
He understood he wasn’t cut out for sword practice, but little Li wasn’t planning to give up entirely either. Besides, he didn’t have any other martial arts to practice right now.
—
In the Qiushui Pavilion’s courtyard.
The bronze stove was billowing with green smoke.
The aroma from the incense made one feel clear-headed and mentally active.
Li Mo knew this was a good thing.
“From mastery to perfection implies that you have truly turned the martial arts into your own, no longer fixated on techniques.”
“Even, one need not rely on sword moves anymore.”
“Understand, any sword move is approaching a kind of true essence of the sword; mastering one opens the door to mastering all.”
With her fingers, Ying Bing gently traced the bamboo next to her.
Immediately, traces of crane feathers appeared, but not in fiery red, rather in icy blue.
Li Mo’s eyes widened slightly in amazement.
The ‘Fire Crane Thousand Feathers’ had somehow become ‘Ice Crane Thousand Feathers’ under Ice Chunk’s touch.
This indicated she had thoroughly understood the advanced sword technique without even practicing it.
“How strange…”
“Your sword technique’s realm should allow you to control the explosiveness of your strength—its timing, quantity, and position.”
“You can even condense a thousand feathers into a single strike, piercing stone with water.”
As her voice fell—
Bam!
One part of the crane feather suddenly exploded, its power ten times stronger than a single blast.
“What you need to do now is forget the ‘techniques.’”
“Pick up your sword.”
“Okay.”
Li Mo retrieved the chipped blue steel sword.
Just as he was about to move, a cool, soft little hand grabbed his, bringing the fragrance of the girl along with it.
Ying Bing tightly held his hand.
Li Mo: “!”
This felt different than when he jumped into the Observation Realm. Back then, it was a free fall, his mind blank, not a care in the world.
Now…
“Don’t get distracted; I’ll only demonstrate once.”
Her clear voice rang in his ear.
True hand-holding teaching. Even in her past life, with disciples full of extraordinary talent, she only offered a line or two of advice.
Ying Bing had never been this serious about teaching anyone.
“Got it.”
Li Mo focused and earnestly began to learn.
A quarter of an hour later, Ying Bing released his hand and silently stood to the side.
—
She had somehow conjured a ruler from nowhere, looking at him with tranquil eyes. Her crimson lips parted to say, “Practice.”
Li Mo: “…..”
Was the Ice Chunk suggesting that if he practiced incorrectly, she’d smack his palm with the ruler?
Five minutes later, Little Li got his answer.
Not his palm.
“I’m grown up now; do we still gotta do the spanking thing?!”
Li Mo protested while covering his rear.
It didn’t hurt, but how embarrassing!
“Hahaha!”
Shang Wu was rolling on a lounge chair, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face.
Ying Bing remained unperturbed, her gaze downcast, “You just performed a sword move again. You need to forget the techniques; strength stems from the ground, emitted from the meridians—without relying on sword moves, you can achieve the same results.”
Not a word was said about the b*tt incident.
There was no negotiation.
Alright, so Li Mo wouldn’t just open up like that, huh?
Martial insight, activate!
【Five years of martial insight injected into skill.】
【Year One: You absorbed Ying Bing’s guidance, found inspiration, and began diligently pursuing the essence of swordsmanship, forgetting about the original techniques.】
…
【Year Five: After diligent practice, you have forgotten half of the sword techniques; the first three moves are no longer constrained by form.】
Oh boy.
With Ice Chunk’s guidance, even five years in martial insight only yielded this much progress.
If he had just been banging his head against a wall, who knows how much time he would have wasted.
“I’m ready.”
Li Mo picked up the sword and began practicing again.
“Really learned?”
Ying Bing watched him, her eyes revealing a hint of surprise.
Yet, after only a few sword strikes, Li Mo stopped.
“Um… could you show me again?”
“…….Fine.”
Ying Bing paused for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Thus, the Ice Chunk’s sword technique class was back in session.
—
“Wait for me…”
“I got it! Teach me again!”
—
This scene played on repeat.
Ying Bing felt an indescribable oddity.
It was like Li Mo… was both clever and foolish?
When she taught, he often got clumsy, needing her to adjust her pointers, making silly mistakes that made her cringe.
But when she let him think for a moment with his eyes closed, it was like enlightenment struck; all mistakes faded away.
A while later, she found herself needing to teach the next steps.
What she didn’t know was that Little Li was saving up on martial insights.
—
Three days later.
Having just broken into the tenth meridian, that evening, the Ice Chunk had yet another dream.
She dreamed of presiding over the Gui Palace before ascending to Phoenix Sky.
At that time, the Central China was embroiled in fierce battles between righteous and demonic factions.
The imperial court stood by, reveling in the chaos, eager to stir the pot, wishing for both sides to suffer mutual defeat.
The Gui Palace walked the line of righteousness and wickedness, rarely meddling in the martial world, yet gathering nearly half of the powerful female cultivators from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, causing both sides to put forth their utmost efforts to win her favor.
However, the Da Yu dynasty clearly didn’t want to see the Gui Palace ally with either side, fearing it would disrupt the balance.
Thus, the regent Crown Prince prepared a plethora of marriage gifts that would make any big power envious.
“The esteemed Crown Prince wishes to share in a joyous union with the Gui Palace, binding our destinies forever.”
This wasn’t the first time someone had come to propose, but it was the grandest show yet.
Yet the outcome was no different.
The suitor didn’t even block three sword strikes.
“The esteemed one is not interested in the weak.”
There would always be disturbances, and she was utterly annoyed.
In truth, she had zero interest in imperial ambitions or violence.
Stabilizing her martial peak was her only concern.
So she had probably said something like that back then.
But over time, the narrative shifted to:
“The Gui Palace favors men stronger than herself.”
This rumor persisted until she became the Phoenix Sky Empress, but nobody dared to challenge it anymore…
“I’ve been having dreams lately…”
“Without reaching the Observation Realm, I cannot control my own spirit.”
Ying Bing rose, brushing the frost from her shoulders.
The sound of swords danced outside the window; she pushed it open.
In the sunlight, a young man was dancing with his sword.
The sword shadows sometimes morphed into hundreds or thousands, sometimes merging into one.
Graceful and flowing, like a celestial crane stretching its form.
Ying Bing quietly watched, a slight, unnoticed smile gracing her lips.
She should be considered a good teacher.
And, of course, it was also related to Li Mo’s talent.
Funny how it worked.
With guidance, one could progress by leaps and bounds; without it, one would stagnate.
But all in all, despite the stumbles, he had reached an advanced state in swordsmanship.
As for what Ying Bing thought, achieving perfection would be splendid.
It could be said it far exceeded her expectations.
In half a month, as the system listed the talents within the Eastern Wilderness, she might just find him among the rankings!
