514: Chapter 24 Basic Teaching

"Two Junior Brothers, let's take you to chop bamboo."

On the second day after the apprenticeship ceremony, Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu changed into a set of well-fitting Qingyun Sect Disciple uniforms. They were excitedly watching Song Da Ren, Wu Da Yi, and the others practice the Sword Flight Technique when they were stunned by Tian Linger's words.

Seeing this, Meng Li explained casually, "This is a rule passed down through the Dazhu Peak Legacy; new Disciples who have just entered the sect must chop bamboo for three years."

"First, it's to train basic skills, and second, it's to temper one's Heart-Nature."

"Cultivation is not easy. Without a solid Foundation and good Heart-Nature, it is difficult to achieve anything."

"Exactly." Tian Linger nodded repeatedly, then said to Meng Li, "Junior Brother, you use your sword to carry them. My Amber Red Silk is not convenient for carrying people."

The Amber Red Silk was a Magic Treasure used by Su Ru when she was young. It was passed down to Tian Linger not long ago, and the meaning of Legacy was self-evident.

Tian Linger liked this Magic Treasure very much, finding it more comfortable to use than a sword, so she used it to replace her Flying Sword. However, she didn't discard her Flying Sword; she just put it away. Like the Bamboo Butterfly Hairpin Meng Li gave her and other Magic Treasures, she didn't use it very often.

Meng Li nodded, summoned a Flying Sword to enlarge, stepped onto it, then turned to Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu and said, "Come up, stand behind me."

Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan followed his instructions.

Once they were standing steady, Meng Li's mind moved, and the Flying Sword rose smoothly into the air, flying toward the Black Bamboo Forest.

Tian Linger summoned the Amber Red Silk and followed along by manipulating it.

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu were greatly amazed as they watched the scenery retreating around them.

Lin Jingyu couldn't help but ask, "Seventh Senior Brother, what level of cultivation is needed to fly on a sword like this?"

Zhang Xiaofan didn't speak, but his eyes were equally filled with curiosity.

Meng Li replied calmly, "You just need to Cultivate the Yuqing Volume of our sect's Cultivation Technique to the fourth layer's Minor Achievement."

Actually, entering the fourth layer of the Yuqing Realm allows one to generate Mental Power and Master the ability of Object Manipulation. However, flying by manipulating an object involves carrying a person; the weight alone increases by at least a hundred pounds, and one must also control direction, speed, and so on. The consumption of magic power also increases, making it much more difficult than simple Object Manipulation.

Generally, to fly freely using Object Manipulation, one's cultivation must reach the fourth layer's Minor Achievement.

"Then how many volumes are there in our sect's Cultivation Technique, and how many layers in each volume?" Lin Jingyu asked again.

Meng Li said, "You will naturally know this when you have practiced your basic skills and the Master passes the Cultivation Technique to you. Knowing now would only make you overly ambitious."

Tian Linger followed, "That's right. What you need to do for these three years is chop bamboo and practice your basic skills well."

"A ten-thousand-foot building rises from the ground. Only with a solid Foundation will you avoid problems in your later Cultivation."

Just as she finished speaking, they reached the destination, and the group landed one after another.

Immediately, Meng Li took three wood-chopping knives out of his storage ring, kept one for himself, and handed two to Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu.

Seeing this, Tian Linger explained, "The bamboo here is called black-joint bamboo. It's exceptionally hard; if you rely solely on brute force, even an ordinary strong man would find it difficult to chop through. Therefore, you must use a special force-exertion technique when chopping."

"This technique is one of the basic skills you will be training next. Initially, it needs to be exercised through specific postures and movements."

After speaking, she said to Meng Li, "Junior Brother, demonstrate it for them once. You two, pay close attention."

The latter half of the sentence was addressed to Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu.

Hearing this, the two nodded quickly and then looked at Meng Li.

Meng Li stood before a black-joint bamboo, assumed a stance, slowed down his movements, controlled his strength, and chopped at the black-joint bamboo with his knife.

The knife fell, and the bamboo snapped.

The movement was smooth and accomplished in one go.

As the bamboo fell to the ground, Tian Linger looked at Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu and asked, "Did you see clearly?"

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu nodded.

"Then you guys try it," Tian Linger said.

The two did as told, each finding a stalk of bamboo to try.

As a result, when they chopped down, the shock made their hands go numb, yet they only left a faint white mark on the surface of the bamboo.

This left the two of them a bit dazed.

Meng Li and Tian Linger, however, were not surprised at all.

If this basic skill were truly that easy to practice, there would be no need to chop bamboo for three years.

Tian Linger was even a little excited.

The two new Junior Brothers were clearly not as much of a Prodigy as Meng Li. She could finally experience what it felt like to be a Senior Sister.

Therefore, she quickly pointed out where Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu went wrong and even specifically broke off a bamboo branch to use as a teaching whip for tapping and instruction.

"Junior Brother Jingyu, raise your arm a bit higher and bend your legs a bit more."

"That's right, just like that."

"Junior Brother Xiaofan, adjust the position of your grip on the knife."

...

With Tian Linger's current cultivation, instructing them in these basic things was more than enough.

Meng Li didn't intervene and stood aside watching quietly. After watching for a while, he noticed that the difference in talent between Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan was very obvious. The former, after some correction and guidance from Tian Linger, had already grasped a bit of the knack, and his posture and movements looked decent. The latter, however, remained clumsy and couldn't get the hang of it.

Tian Linger also noticed this and couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache.

Because some things cannot be learned just by being taught; one must also rely on one's own comprehension.

This is what is meant by 'the Master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.'

After several rounds of instruction failed to produce much effect on Zhang Xiaofan, Tian Linger scratched her hair and looked at Meng Li. She saw him watching with great interest, even pulling out a handful of melon seeds to snack on.

She immediately curled her lip, ran over to snatch the seeds, and said huffily, "I'm tired. You, the Senior Brother, go teach Xiaofan."

Meng Li said with a smile, "Alright, Senior Sister, you take a break. I'll teach."

After speaking, he walked up to Zhang Xiaofan and said, "Next, I will break down the stance and movements of the basic skill and teach you one by one. Pay attention to watching and imitating."

"Junior Brother Jingyu, you too."

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu both nodded.

In the next second, Meng Li assumed the force-exertion stance.

Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu observed carefully and then imitated the stance.

"Very good, hold it right there, don't move," Meng Li instructed. Then he retracted his stance and adjusted the areas where Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan had issues. Only after ensuring everything was correct did he speak, "Stay like this and hold it for fifteen minutes first."

Watching this, Tian Linger seemed to realize something. "Junior Brother, do you want to train them using the methods of mundane Martial Artists?"

Meng Li nodded, "That's right. Our basic skills are also hand-to-hand combat, similar to those of mundane Martial Artists. Because Martial Artists don't have Spells, they can only refine their martial arts, giving them a more unique approach to hand-to-hand combat. Training with a Martial Artist's method will make the progress of basic skills a bit faster."

As he spoke, he suddenly flicked the bamboo strip and whipped Zhang Xiaofan's arm with a special technique.

Zhang Xiaofan jolted from the pain. Before he could cry out, Meng Li said sternly, "Your hand is too low, raise it a bit. Don't Divided Soul just because you hear Senior Sister and me talking. Focus your attention on your stance, maintain it, and memorize it. This helps in training basic skills."

"In addition, focus is also part of the training, and it's very important."

"After you formally start Cultivating, you will need to guide the Spiritual Qi and magic power to circulate within your body with your will."

"In such a situation, once you are distracted by external influences, it can easily lead to magic power going out of control. At best, your Meridians will be damaged; at worst, you will die on the spot."

"Therefore, while training your basic skills, you must learn to control your thoughts."

Zhang Xiaofan immediately shut his mouth and shifted his focus to maintaining his stance.

Lin Jingyu did the same.

Seeing this, Meng Li continued chatting with Tian Linger, during which he used the bamboo strip to whip them a few more times. Not only Zhang Xiaofan but Lin Jingyu also got whipped.

This caused the two of them to feel a bit more fear toward Meng Li, their Senior Brother.

Because being whipped by the bamboo strip was too painful!

Fifteen minutes later, Meng Li let them relax and rest.

The two, whose foreheads were covered in sweat, felt as if they had been granted a grand amnesty. Taking advantage of the break, they secretly checked the spots where they had been whipped, only to find not a single mark.

Seeing their small movements, Meng Li said calmly, "Don't bother looking. I whipped you just to use the pain to make you remember your mistakes; I didn't want to cause any harm. So I used a special technique—it's very painful, but it won't cause you any substantial damage."

"You've rested enough. Continue."

...