Chapter 377: The Small Circle of Body Cultivation at the Witch Academy
“Alright, I was too anxious.” The senior sister slightly rubbed her forehead, realizing that her actions had been a bit over the top.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Tao Ling. May I ask how to address you, senior sister?”
“Huh?” I looked at the senior sister who called herself Tao Ling with confusion. Does everyone at the Witch Academy call those stronger than themselves ‘senior sister’?
The last person who called me ‘senior sister’ was Betty; by the way, it seems like I haven’t been attending her mentor’s alchemy classes for quite some time.
“Just call me junior sister. As for my name, just call me Yue.”
“Junior sister? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You must be an upperclassman who has been immersed in body cultivation for many years! Otherwise, someone who can use energy like that…”
“Of course it’s due to good luck in mastering it,” I interjected.
“That’s also impossible! Something like body cultivation has no element of luck involved; your body is your own, and time is the measure of effort. Every moment spent honing is an accumulation of yourself.”
“Okay, think what you want. Please step aside; I’m leaving,” I said coldly, pretending to be aloof.
After all, just from her earlier statements of “impossible,” I could tell that she stuck rigidly to her beliefs. Even if her perspective was slightly off, it wouldn’t stray far. Did she really want me to tell her I am doing self-awakened body cultivation?
She doesn’t even acknowledge that I’m her junior sister. I didn’t want to waste too much energy arguing with her.
“Wait… senior sister, teach me body cultivation! I also want to punch with that kind of explosive sound! You must have held back earlier, right?” At this moment, she seemed to recognize my attitude and quickly tried to persuade me to stay.
“Isn’t it better for you to learn from those extraordinary mentors? You have your own mentor now, don’t you?”
“I do have a mentor, but mine doesn’t teach anyone. My mentor practices body cultivation as a subsidiary skill. She can achieve the level of generating energy, but there’s an extraordinary gap between us. You’re closer to my level; I want to know how you trained!”
“Ugh…”
I looked at the senior sister from earlier, who now seemed to want to cling to my legs and cry for help, prompting me to emit a sound of disdain.
Who would have thought that this senior sister had been acting aloof while practicing body techniques just moments ago?
“Let go, please let go,” I said helplessly, but with no mercy in my legs, I stomped my foot, shaking her hand off with a blast of energy.
Using my foot and leg strength to resonate energy is a pretty good idea. At least I can quickly break free when someone is clinging to me.
“Alright, I don’t like being taken advantage of, and I have a girlfriend now. Understand?”
“What… girlfriend? Oh… I get it, I’ll be careful from now on.” After a moment of shock, she quickly accepted this new concept. “Um… may I ask…”
“I don’t have time to teach you. Stop thinking about it.” I rejected her notions again.
“Uh… I actually wanted to ask how you reached this level. Which mentor’s body cultivation style did you practice? Can you reveal it?”
“I don’t practice any body techniques; I don’t even know any styles. Or rather, the body cultivation I practice isn’t conventional, so it’s pointless to keep bothering me about it.”
As I explained, I prepared to leave. Stepping outside felt completely different from the atmosphere in the body technique practice hall, which felt more lively and casual.
Tao Ling followed me out, still questioning me with various inquiries.
“Not conventional body cultivation? No techniques practiced? How is that possible?”
“That’s just how it is; you can think of it as having talent.”
“Talent? So it’s talent? No wonder I haven’t heard your name in the body cultivation circle at the academy.”
“Body cultivation circle?”
“Yeah! Haven’t you heard? How about I introduce you to the body cultivation circle at the Witch Academy? With your abilities, you’ll definitely be well-received in that circle!”
“Well-received? No thanks.” I waved my hand to reject.
If even a new student like me can get such attention, then that circle isn’t worth much to me. Not to mention, I dislike trouble, so I should avoid doing astonishing things.
Just the fact that my name is known among the mentors has already brought quite a change to my life.
“Okay, since you don’t want to, that’s fine. After all, that circle mainly exchanges insights on body techniques, which might not be much use to you. By the way, do you have any secrets regarding your body cultivation?”
“Um… think more?” I pondered before answering.
After all, whether it’s self-awakened body cultivation or those martial arts runes, it’s not something I developed by brute force; I can only say that more practice helps, but it can’t just be practice.
“Think?” The mention of thinking gave Tao Ling a headache.
“Of course! You’re pursuing body cultivation, which essentially is physical training, not just body technique practice. There’s a lot to cultivate in body cultivation. Don’t you know that? Muscles are only the most superficial part; isn’t your brain part of your body too?”
“Huh?”
“You really don’t know?” I slapped my forehead, somewhat speechless as I confirmed this once again.
This knowledge was something Sister Bai had told me when we discussed spirit vision and the five senses; five senses cultivation is also part of body cultivation.
But this girl… she didn’t know?
“Did my mentor… mention it… or something?” she spoke uncertainly.
“Then you should check out related books rather than looking for shortcuts here. Don’t you understand that body cultivation has no shortcuts? Only effort counts?”
“Okay…”
At that moment, I scanned my membership card to exit the body technique training hall. I must say, my first experience here was… extremely poor.
I regretted wasting my money; luckily, I wasn’t tricked into signing up for other services.
However, the name of this hall clearly indicates it focuses on body techniques, which I guess I just had too high expectations.
At that moment.
This senior sister, Tao Ling, kept calling me senior sister and chatting with me about many things, trying to get closer.
Much of the information she shared was from the body cultivation circle at the Witch Academy, which aligned with what I wanted to learn.
The body cultivation circle at the Witch Academy is small; after all, compared to the cooler, more convenient spellbooks, pursuing body cultivation is a strenuous choice for many.
Only a small portion of those who pursue body cultivation genuinely love it. I heard that many senior sisters were once boys who got tricked into joining and became interested in body cultivation.
Many senior sisters choose to study body cultivation as a supplementary skill; by the time they reach upperclassmen, the degree of witch transformation associated with their magic source gradually strengthens their physical condition, giving them a certain physical foundation. Thus, many senior sisters develop an interest in practicing body techniques.
Either they want to have a good figure to attract pretty junior sisters… She directly shared these thoughts with me.
One could say the body technique circle at the Witch Academy is quite chaotic; it was once dominated by female students. Pure body cultivators like Tao Ling, who have even mastered energy, are not very numerous anymore. Interestingly, those like Tao Ling, who have mastered energy, are quite popular in the body cultivation circle.
It’s somewhat similar to how excessive muscle training attracts the same gender in a gym.
Within the body cultivation circle, there has even emerged a strange trend of “energy worship,” somewhat akin to the educational elitism among some women in the outside world.
And it seems Tao Ling has subtly become a part of this energy-worship trend in body cultivation.
Though I don’t quite understand it, I was greatly shocked.
After being pestered for a long time, I finally managed to shake off this girl. I have to say, being stuck to someone like this is really exhausting, especially since I have to come here regularly for body training in the following days. I might run into her frequently.
I’ve been considering whether to change to another body technique training hall; however… if I switch places, my previous show of strength here would be meaningless. So… I might as well tolerate it for now.
Moreover… the information I gained from Tao Ling also had some unexpected details. For example, I thought about Sister Bai also being into body cultivation and inquired about her, and she actually knew Sister Bai.
Furthermore, Sister Bai is reputedly the most aloof flower in the body cultivation circle and has publicly expressed refusal of same-s*x relationships…
If I hadn’t confirmed it repeatedly, I might not have believed it was Sister Bai.
However, I didn’t hear Tao Ling mention that Sister Bai recently advanced to being an Extraordinary Witch, which seems to be quite low-key.
That’s just as well; Sister Bai will be mine from now on! Those who covet her won’t stand a chance!
I checked the time; it was almost noon.
One could say that a session of meditation plus body training had consumed half my day. What a time-consuming endeavor.
However, compressing that time isn’t easy since both activities are important.
Other than those two tasks, I don’t have much else to do.
On the way back, I decided to take this opportunity to buy some athletic clothing, like sports tank tops and shorts. I really don’t want to practice ritual dance in my current outfit. Also, I need to buy those stretchable leg bands; if I do intense exercise, I’m afraid I’ll snap this style of leg band.
As for why I don’t just take them off… There’s no need to elaborate on the reasons.
I have to admit, there’s a specialty store for sportswear nearby the body technique training hall, saving me from making a long trip.
Following the tradition Sister Bai taught me about trying on different clothes before purchasing, I tried on several styles.
In the end, I chose something comfortable and more conservative. The more revealing and provocative ones… I merely looked at them. I’ll wait until Sister Bai can teach me one-on-one before buying those.
I remember suggesting to Sister Bai that she should come to teach body techniques at the academy, so I will have the opportunity to wear them.
“Welcome to visit again next time!”
As the part-time senior sisters enthusiastically bid me farewell, I left the store.
But I must say, the clothes here are really expensive. Clearly athletic wear made from very little fabric, yet still so pricey…
I think I have no intention of coming back here next time.
After leaving, I opened my phone and checked my dormitory group. It was getting close to noon, so I asked the few guys who had nothing to do in the dorm if they wanted to order lunch.
As I sent the message, I quickly saw replies popping up. I realized that this dormitory group will eventually become a meal-sharing group.
When I returned to the villa.
“Xiao Han Jie! You finally came! Where’s my food?” At this moment, Hong Chanyi was practically peering through the peephole at the door, and upon seeing me, she immediately opened the door to welcome me.
“Is that all you remember, your food?”
I pretended to be annoyed as I handed over the portion she asked me to bring.
“No, no! Heehee~ But Xiao Han Jie, you look great today! Is there something good happening?”
“Uh-huh~” I instinctively touched my face. If I set aside the unpleasant experiences at the body technique training hall and the discomfort of parting with Sister Bai, today does count as a good day since it officially confirmed my relationship with Sister Bai!
“You can tell?”
“Of course! Xiao Han Jie, you ranked second in this month’s theoretical exam! That’s across the entire grade! Wow! That’s amazing!”
“What?”
When Hong Chanyi mentioned this, I was a bit off guard. Was this what she meant?
It turns out she wasn’t talking about the situation with Sister Bai… After being pointed out by the Academy Head earlier, I thought my changes had been quite obvious.
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. The monthly exam just finished yesterday, right?”
“The monthly exam results come out quickly; don’t underestimate the speed of the mentors! Those mentors are all Extraordinary Witches!”
“True; that’s not surprising. But… wait, how did you all know?” I asked curiously.
“There’s a public ranking of scores in the academy system! Hahaha! Xiao Han Jie, you’re simply a genius! You don’t know, but last time when you were absent, that became a topic of scorn for other classes for a long time. Now you’ve given them a solid slap in the face! They can’t boast anymore.”
“I don’t care about that. By the way, who’s first? Tan Han?”
“Yeah, first place is Tan Han. Who would’ve thought that the first and second in the grade would be the only two exempt from courses, and you two returned just days before the monthly exam due to the sleeping curse. Having such scores… Xiao Han Jie, how did you do it?”
“Um… just work hard to find a suitable study method,” I casually deflected, after all… I can’t exactly say I have many spells for studying, can I?
Besides, it’s not lying; I know I’m just an ordinary person, and I have a significant gap compared to the geniuses around me. So, I will use various means to bridge that gap until I surpass them. Using the power of spells is just one of those means.
If you want to learn, the means are limited only by your imagination, not your capabilities. If you can’t manage it, that means your execution in that area isn’t strong enough.
“Ah… saying it is easy, doing it is hard.”
“Perhaps… you could try to acquire some auxiliary learning spells, like… rapid memory, memory enhancement, etc. While such spellbooks are rare at the Witch Academy, they do exist.”
“Really?! There are such spellbooks?”
“Of course! The good things within the Witch Academy are beyond your imagination. Maybe you should explore this area more. Or perhaps you don’t prioritize learning in this way and haven’t broken out of your habitual thinking. You should learn to reasonably take it easy; after all, learning can be quite tiring.”
“I’ve always been slacking off… but my rank decreased so much this time. Clearly… so many people were affected by the sleeping curse, yet my overall rank didn’t go up…”
“That means slacking off isn’t suitable for you. You’d better work harder to make up for your shortcomings,” I said teasingly, “Go eat your food.”
