10: Chapter 10 The Milk Dragon Emerges from the Mountain, Azure Phoenix Martial Arts School

[You are stuck.]

[You discover that the five routes you designed are each feasible on their own, but they conflict with each other when combined. Route A is optimal for Meridian point A, but once it reaches point B, it clashes with Route B from Meridian point C. Instead of achieving Fusion, your Internal Energy collides and explodes.]

[You spent a week adjusting, changing Route A to Route C. The problem at point B was solved, but a new issue arose at point D.]

[You spent another two weeks adjusting. Point D was fixed, but point A collapsed.]

[It is like playing a game of chess that never ends.]

[One month later.]

[You are seventeen.]

[You squat by the pool, staring blankly at the water surface. It reflects your face: a seventeen-year-old girl with furrowed brows, faint dark circles under her eyes, and disheveled hair, looking like a madwoman.]

[Another month passes.]

[You sit in the cave. The ground in front of you is covered in diagrams of Meridians. The dense lines and annotations make one's scalp tingle, yet every time you think you are close to success, you discover a new point of conflict.]

[Another month passes.]

[Xiao Wang walks into the cave carrying a pheasant. It glances at the dense lines on the ground, then at you, who are squatting in the corner pulling at your hair. It silently puts down the pheasant and silently retreats.]

[Three months later.]

[You give up.]

[It is not because you lack talent. The talent granted by Martial Arts Prodigy is powerful enough to allow you to perceive the optimal path and instinctively avoid the danger of Qi Deviation.]

[However, talent cannot solve the problem of insufficient knowledge.]

[You have only learned one set of Mysterious Tiger Force, plus you have peeked at a few teaching sessions by the instructor. Your martial arts knowledge base is pitifully small. Creating a Cultivation Technique requires more than just talent; it requires a broad foundation in martial arts. You must have seen enough Cultivation Techniques and understood the design logic of different paths to innovate based on that foundation.]

[You are like a math Genius with a fast-spinning brain who has never learned the multiplication table. Asking you to prove the Goldbach conjecture is a case of a clever housewife unable to cook without rice.]

[You need to see more Cultivation Techniques.]

[And Cultivation Techniques... cannot be found in the deep mountains.]

[You must go out.]

[You do not know if you are still being wanted outside, so you perform a simple disguise.]

[One day later, you say goodbye to Xiao Wang.]

[You squat in front of it, cupping its large, furry head in your hands, and say to it seriously: "I am going out for a trip, for at least ten days or half a month, and at most one or two months. Stay home, behave yourself, don't cause trouble, and wait for me to return."]

[Xiao Wang tilts its head to look at you, seemingly understanding.]

[You rub its ears again and stand up to leave.]

[After walking a dozen steps, you look back. Xiao Wang is squatting at the cave entrance, staring motionlessly in your direction.]

[You turn back around and quickly head down the mountain.]

[You do not go to Jia Shi City again; you have shown your face there, and it is too dangerous.]

[You choose a farther town, Qinghe County, a medium-sized city about sixty miles from Daliang Mountain. It is not prosperous, but it has a few decent restaurants and martial arts halls.]

[When entering the city, you deliberately lower your hat brim, and a veil covers most of your face.]

[More than half a year of life in the deep mountains has left obvious marks on you. Your skin has darkened by more than a shade from the sun and wind, and your Physique is stronger than before. Coupled with the fact that you specifically used herbal juice to change your eyebrow shape before leaving the mountain, your entire temperament is completely different from the fair and slender girl in the portrait.]

[The first thing you see is the notice on the wall.]

[The tiger head seal of the Black Tiger Gang, a bounty of ten thousand taels of gold, and the familiar portrait.]

[You walk past without changing your expression, even stopping to take a few extra looks.]

[An old man selling sesame seed cakes nearby leans in to chat: "Young lady, are you looking at the bounty too? Ten thousand taels of gold! Tsk tsk, I've never seen so much money in my life."]

["She looks quite pretty." You point at the portrait, your tone casual, "What did she do?"]

["Who knows? I heard it's some big shot's concubine who ran away." The old man shakes his head, "It's been posted for several months, and no one has claimed the reward."]

[You nod and turn to leave.]

[After staying in the city for four or five days and confirming that no one noticed you, you start asking about the martial arts halls and escort agencies in Qinghe County.]

[Your goal is very clear: to find an Innate-Grade Cultivation Technique suitable for a female Physique.]

[After asking around, there are eleven martial arts halls and six escort agencies in Qinghe County, among which only one martial arts hall has a female Innate expert as its Master.]

[Qingluan Martial Arts Hall, Master Su Wanqing, Innate Early Stage. It is said that she was a famous female warrior in the Jianghu when she was young. After her husband died early, she has supported the martial arts hall alone until now, with over a hundred Disciples, and is well-known in Qinghe County for teaching women martial arts.]

[You change into clean clothes and remove your veil. Since the person in the portrait is quite different from you now, excessive concealment is more likely to arouse suspicion.]

[Qingluan Martial Arts Hall's storefront is not large, but it is kept clean and tidy. Two female Disciples are guarding the entrance. Seeing you walk over, one of them steps forward to stop you: "Young lady, are you looking for someone or signing up to practice martial arts?"]

["I am looking for your Master," you say, "I am here to apply for an instructor position."]

[The two female Disciples look at each other, size you up, and their eyes are filled with obvious suspicion.]

[A moment later, you are led into the backyard.]

[Su Wanqing is about forty-something, tall, with well-maintained features and extremely sharp eyes. She is sitting by a stone table drinking tea. Seeing you come in, her gaze rests on your face for a moment.]

["How old are you?" she asks.]

["Twenty-four," you say without changing your expression.]

[Su Wanqing puts down her teacup, her brows slightly raised: "Twenty-four?"]

["I look young; I take after my mother."]

[Su Wanqing does not pursue the question. She sizes you up for a few seconds, her tone flat: "Not just anyone can be an instructor. What is your cultivation level?"]

["Post-Heaven Peak."]

[Su Wanqing's hand pauses. She looks up at you again, her gaze much more serious than before.]

["A twenty-four-year-old Post-Heaven Peak is quite good," she says slowly, "Which famous Master did you study under?"]

["No Master; I practiced on my own."]

[Su Wanqing's expression is neither believing nor disbelieving. She stands up, walks to the open space in the courtyard, casually pulls a wooden staff from the weapon rack, and throws one to you.]

["Saying more is not as good as having a fight. Post-Heaven Peak, take three of my moves."]

[You catch the wooden staff and adjust your breathing.]

[Su Wanqing does not waste words. With a tap of her toes, she is already in front of you. The speed of an Innate Early Stage expert far exceeds your reaction limit, and the wooden staff pierces straight toward your shoulder with a sharp sound of breaking air.]

[You do not take it head-on; you dodge sideways while taking the opportunity to slash downward.]

[Su Wanqing twists the tip of her staff, effortlessly parrying your counterattack, and the second strike immediately sweeps toward your waist.]

[You block with your staff, your arms tremble, and the webbing between your thumb and forefinger goes numb. The difference in power between Innate and Acquired is even greater than you imagined.]