“Oh.” Conch seemed to only vaguely understand what he meant.
She had been cultivating the breathing technique that Lu Zhou gave her during the past three months. She was forming Primal Qi and expanding her dantian’s sea of Qi. These basic cultivation exercises were inevitably bland. When she saw her seniors unleashing various energy seals every day, she could not help but feel envious.
“Let’s start small; the size of your finger. Follow my instructions: Calm your breath, focus your mind, guide your Primal Qi along the Extraordinary Eight Meridians, and release them from your finger into energy.”
Zhu Honggong was instructing her seriously. At the same time, an energy sword materialized above his palm. It was only the size of his finger as it hovered there silently.
“You’re amazing, Eighth Senior Brother,” Conch said as she applauded Zhu Honggong.
A proud expression appeared on Zhu Honggong’s face. He said, “This is nothing… With better control, you’ll be able to form purer, larger, and more energy swords… Be patient. It won’t be a problem so long as you’re willing to spend some time on it.”
“Is this how you do it?”
Whizz!
A finger-sized energy sword hovered above Conch’s fair palm. It seemed more translucent than Zhu Honggong’s.
“Uh…” Zhu Honggong was stunned. He could not believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and focused his gaze again. It was a genuinely bright energy sword. Faint red radiance swirled around the energy sword.
“Eighth Senior Brother?” Conch said softly.
“Oh, oh, oh… Yes, that’s what you can do once you reduce the size enough.”
Zhu Honggong focused his mind and raised his hand. A palm-sized energy sword hovered above his palm. Surely, he could show his prestige as a senior brother with an energy sword of this size, right?
“Is this it?” Conch spread her palm again. A palm-sized energy sword appeared.
Zhu Honggong. “???”
‘She’s so powerful?’
Who should he turn to? ‘No, no, I must soften her edges.’
As he looked at Conch’s pure and innocent face, Zhu Honggong decided to try something more difficult. He had to establish his superiority as a senior brother, after all. “Condensing energy is only at the beginner’s level. I think that you’re initiated enough to form a palm-sized energy sword… To be honest, energy swords aren’t my forte. That’s more of Second Senior Brother’s specialty. He can instantly form 100 energy swords. The Sword Saint, Luo Shisan, can form 13 substantial energy swords.”
“What about you, Eighth Senior Brother?” Conch looked at Zhu Honggong expectantly. Then, she added, “I want to see.”
“…” Zhu Honggong cleared his throat and calmed his spirit. Then, he said, “I’m more skilled in energy fists.” After he said this, he raised his hands. The Tear Stain Boxing Gloves covered his hands, and he punched the air. A fist-shaped energy shot out.
Bam!
It struck a tree. A dent could be seen on the tree’s trunk.
“Do you want to learn this?” Zhu Honggong looked at Conch. A hint of delight could be heard in his voice.
Conch who was initially interested shook her head when she saw the huge fists that were in no way aesthetically pleasing. “No.”
“What do you want to learn, then? I’ll teach you,” Zhu Honggong said.
“Energy swords.”
Zhu Honggogn was rendered briefly speechless. Then, he said, “Energy swords are fine. I might not be skilled in them, but I think it’s more than enough for me to teach you.”
He put his boxing gloves away. He focused his breathing and mind. Three energy swords materialized above his palm. Although they were not huge, it was an easy feat for a Nascent Divinity realm elite.
Conch spread her palm and asked, “Like this?”
Three energy swords appeared above her palm.
“…” Zhu Honggong’s eyes widened. He felt stifled.
Ordinary cultivators would need years to reach the Sense Condensing realm from the Mystic Enlightening realm. They would have needed two to three years of training to produce energy swords like these. Yet, she managed this in three months?
He looked at the three energy swords. ‘Stay calm! Hold the fort!’
This time, he did all he could. Within a few meters of himself, palm-sized energy swords filled the air. They were arranged neatly, and they shone brightly.
“What do you think, Little Junior Sister?”
Indeed, Conch could not achieve this level of energy condensation. However, she seemed to like such gorgeous displays. Hence, she applauded him and said, “Again, Eighth Senior Brother. More, more!”
‘More, what?’
He was not skilled in this to begin with. It was taking a lot out of him to maintain them for long.
Zhu Honggong clenched his fist. The energy swords faded away. “Master is more skilled in these messy and flashy energy sword skills. I can’t do it.”
Inside the hidden chamber, the sentences that reached Lu Zhou’s ears were usually in pieces. However, this particular statement clearly entered his ears.
Lu Zhou instinctively rebuked Zhu Honggong, “Nonsense! Are you asking for a beating?”
A faint blue light shrouded the soundwave as it traveled out of the hidden chamber and reached the outside of the great hall in just an instance.
To Zhu Honggong, it was as shocking as seeing a bolt of lightning when the sky was blue. He trembled inwardly.
Thud!
Zhu Honggong fell to his knees as he said, “I was wrong, master! I’ll slap myself!”
He did not hesitate as he slapped himself twice on the cheeks.
“Disciplined Zhu Honggong. Reward: 200 merit points.”
Conch appeared shocked as she looked in the direction of the hidden chamber. She bowed. “Master.”
There was no reply from the hidden chamber. Everything was as silent as it had been.
Zhu Honggong looked up, making a mental note to himself. ‘Master is too powerful. It’s as though he’s omnipresent. How did he hear that? I should stay far away from now.’
He got up and looked at Conch meaningfully. “Let’s go to the back of the mountain.”
“Back of the mountain?”
“It’s quiet there and suitable for cultivation… You’ve only managed to form three palm-sized energy swords. That’s far from enough. I’ll teach you how to form the fourth one.”
“Fourth one?” Conch scratched her head and spread her palm again.
Whizz!
As her Primal Qi surged, energy swords appeared on her palm.
There were four of them, no more, no less…
“…” Zhu Honggong’s expression turned stiff. He was at a loss as to what to say. He snapped back to his senses after Conch clenched her fist and the energy swords scattered.
Conch said, “Eighth Senior Brother, I want to learn how to make as many energy swords as you did.”
“…” Zhu Honggong seemed to be put in a tight spot. He turned around and left.
“Eighth Senior Brother, how can I make bigger energy swords?”
“N-next time…”
“Eighth Senior Brother, I want to learn. Eight Senior Brother, don’t run! How can I make an energy sword as huge as a large tree?”
Zhu Honggong picked up the pace.
Conch gave chase.
After they vanished, Mingshi Yin poked his head out from behind a nearby tree. He had dark circles around his eyes. He patted his chest and sighed in relief. “Finally, I don’t have to teach that little ancestor anymore…”
Throughout these three months, the seniors had been taking turns to teach Conch. In the beginning, everyone was eager to take on the role of a teacher. However, with the passage of time, they realized that Conch was not merely talented, she was sharp, loved to learn, and was persistent about reaching perfection. She loved to get to the bottom of things, no matter what the topic was. She would not rest until she mastered what she wanted to learn. As this went on, even Duanmu Sheng and Zhao Yue were tormented by this. Even someone as slippery as Mingshi Yin could not escape Conch’s persistence.
Mingshi Yin stretched his limbs and yawned as he said to himself, “Let’s take a nap.”
As soon as Mingshi Yin finished speaking, Conch’s voice reached his ears. “Fourth Senior Brother, can you continue to teach me? I want to learn how to make a lot of energy swords.”
Thud!
Mingshi Yin’s chest tightened. He cursed silently as he fell off the branch.
At this very moment, a female disciple hurried down the mountain. When she saw Mingshi Yin and Conch before the great hall, she bowed and said, “Greetings, Mister Fourth, Miss Tenth.”
Mingshi Yin struck the ground with a single palm. He did two flips in the air as he stood and calmly asked, “What’s with the urgency?”
“Someone’s requesting an audience at the foot of the mountain.”