A Genius's First Lesson

"Is this courtyard going to be Zhexian's residence from now on?"

"The sect master made the arrangement himself. Who would dare fake it?"

Ning Rongrong stood in the doorway, clutching a bag of candy.

"I'm going to come check every day to see if he's slacking off."

Li Zhexian sat inside the courtyard, a wooden sword held across his hands.

"With that much candy, I don't think I'm the one you came to check on."

"What does it have to do with you if I eat my own candy?"

"Did you come here to cultivate or to eat?"

Ning Rongrong put the bag of candy behind her back.

"I didn't come here to eat!"

"Then put the candy down and practice with me for half an hour."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Didn't you come to keep an eye on me? You should at least make a show of it."

Ning Rongrong hugged the bag of candy even tighter.

"All I need to do is keep an eye on you."

"Then I'll keep an eye on you too, so you don't sit there eating candy while watching me practice."

"Li Zhexian!"

Chen Xin walked in through the courtyard gate, carrying two wooden swords.

"Less talking. Stand up."

Li Zhexian held his wooden sword out to Ning Rongrong.

"Hold this for me."

"I won't."

He had no choice but to put the wooden sword on his legs and push himself up with his hands on his knees.

Ning Rongrong shifted to the side, but the bag of candy was still visible.

Chen Xin raised a wooden sword and pointed it at the middle of the courtyard.

"First, learn the thrust. Plant your feet firmly, keep your wrist steady, and point the tip of the sword forward."

Li Zhexian copied his movements and thrust the wooden sword out. His first thrust missed by half a chi.

"Again."

His next thrust missed by only three cun.

Chen Xin tapped his wrist with the wooden sword.

"Don't look at your hand. Look at the tip of the sword."

"Like this?"

"Move your right foot half a step forward."

Li Zhexian moved his foot, but his thrust was still half a beat slow.

Chen Xin looked at him.

"You have Innate Full Soul Power. Why are you struggling so much to learn a simple thrust?"

"I'd like to know that too."

"Enough useless talk."

Ning Rongrong sat on a stone stool and unwrapped a piece of candy.

"You've practiced three times and still haven't learned it. Weren't you so capable when you were talking just now?"

"This is my first time holding a sword. Missing by only three cun is already giving you face."

"I don't think you could even hit the stone table."

"The stone table wouldn't dodge."

"Are you going to blame the stone table too?"

Chen Xin held his wooden sword horizontally in front of Li Zhexian.

"Attack me."

The two wooden swords collided. Li Zhexian's wrist sank, and his sword nearly slipped from his hand.

Chen Xin reached out and caught the hilt.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, but my hand's gone numb."

"You can't rely on strength alone when wielding a sword. Plant your feet first, then strike."

Chen Xin instructed him twice more.

Li Zhexian continued practicing the movements, but every one of them was always half a beat slow.

Ning Rongrong had eaten three pieces of candy and reached for a fourth, her eyes still on Li Zhexian.

"Why haven't you learned it yet?"

"You've been watching for so long. Why aren't you hungry yet?"

"I already ate my fill."

"Then what's that in your hand?"

Ning Rongrong closed her hand around the piece of candy.

"This is the last one."

Chen Xin stopped the sword practice and placed his fingers on Li Zhexian's wrist.

His Soul Power traveled a short distance along the meridians before it struck the golden shield in Li Zhexian's chest, unable to proceed.

Chen Xin changed position and checked again.

Li Zhexian asked, "What's going on?"

"The Soul Power is inside your body, but you can't draw it out."

"Is it because I'm too young?"

"Possibly."

Chen Xin withdrew his hand.

"You're only six. Practice the basics first, and don't rush to cultivate your Soul Power."

"Will meditating every day help?"

"Yes."

"Can I gain a level?"

"We'll only know after you cultivate."

With candy in her mouth, Ning Rongrong said, "You've only just awakened. What's the rush?"

"I'm not rushing. I just don't want to waste time."

Chen Xin looked at him.

"Starting today, you'll practice swordsmanship and meditate every day. You can't neglect either one."

"All right."

Ning Rongrong put her bag of candy on the stone stool and sat down cross-legged.

"I'll meditate too. My father said I should learn to control my Martial Soul."

"You finally remembered what you came here for."

"I never forgot."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda emerged from her palm, its tiers lighting up one by one from bottom to top.

Ning Rongrong closed her eyes, and sweat soon appeared on her forehead.

Li Zhexian sat down beside her and began circulating his Soul Power according to the cultivation method.

On the first day, nothing happened.

On the second day, his chest began to feel tight.

On the third day, another tier of the pagoda's silhouette lit up in Ning Rongrong's palm.

She opened her eyes and looked at Li Zhexian.

"Did you succeed?"

"I succeeded too."

"You haven't even managed to draw out your Soul Power. What did you succeed at?"

"At least I can keep sitting here."

"What good is sitting there?"

"When you can't sit still anymore, I can remind you."

Ning Rongrong withdrew her Martial Soul.

"I don't need your reminders."

Chen Xin came over to the two of them.

"Rongrong, you're doing quite well at drawing out your Martial Soul."

Then he looked at Li Zhexian.

"Zhexian, keep cultivating. Don't compare yourself to others."

Ning Rongrong lifted her chin.

"My leveling speed will definitely surpass yours in the future."

Li Zhexian uncrossed his legs.

"Don't celebrate yet, support type."

"Who are you calling impatient?"

"Whoever was first to talk too big."

"I'll be able to increase my Soul Power soon. Can you?"

"I'm still practicing swordsmanship."

"When will you be able to catch up to me?"

"After you catch up to yourself."

Ning Rongrong grabbed her bag of candy.

"All you do is talk in circles."

"Haven't I made myself clear enough?"

"You just wait here!"

Chen Xin looked at Li Zhexian.

"Come with me to the library pavilion tomorrow. We'll look for the reason you can't draw out your Soul Power."

Ning Rongrong slung the bag of candy over her shoulder.

"I'm coming too."

"You're going to read books?"

"What? Can't I?"

"You can. Just don't leave your candy on the books."

"I won't!"

The next day, the three of them arrived at the library pavilion.

Several rows of wooden shelves stood inside. The disciple in charge recognized Chen Xin and let them pass.

Chen Xin told Li Zhexian to look for old books about Martial Souls and Soul Power, then walked toward another row of shelves.

Ning Rongrong pulled out a thin booklet and flipped through a few pages before she began to yawn.

"All the books here are the same."

"How many pages have you read?"

"Lots."

"Exactly how many?"

"I've forgotten."

Li Zhexian leafed through the old book in his hands and searched for a long time, but he found no record of a shield, nor did he see anything about a divine body.

He looked up and asked Chen Xin, "Do the books mention anything about a body being sealed?"

Chen Xin stepped out from behind a bookshelf.

"No."

"Nothing about a shield either?"

"Not the shield you described, and there's no similar cultivation method either."

"It doesn't like leaving records behind."

"Can you be certain there's something inside your body?"

"My Soul Power can't get past it, so of course I can be certain."

Chen Xin asked no further questions and simply placed another old book in his hands.

Its pages had come loose, and when Li Zhexian turned to the middle, a line of text caught his eye.

"Cultivate wine and sword together; drunkenness and sobriety give rise to each other."

His hand stopped on the page.

"What does that mean?"

Chen Xin took the old book and studied it for a while.

"It's a saying left by someone from the past. It doesn't specify which two Martial Souls, and it doesn't give a cultivation method either."

"Wine and sword?"

"You only have a Sword Martial Soul right now."

"That makes it sound like I won't be able to drink in the future."

"You're only six. You can't drink."

Li Zhexian committed the line to memory, then put the book back on the shelf.

The character for "wine" gave him a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"Let's leave."

Chen Xin turned and walked outside.

"Let me take one more look."

"That line won't run away on its own."

Ning Rongrong stood beside the door, holding two more pieces of candy.

"You've been searching for so long. What did you find?"

"Cultivate wine and sword together; drunkenness and sobriety give rise to each other."

Ning Rongrong repeated the line.

"What use is that?"

"It's no use yet."

"Then why did you memorize it?"

"To wait until it can be of use."

When they returned to the courtyard, the sect disciples had already begun calling Li Zhexian "Little Azure Lotus Sword Immortal."

Li Zhexian cupped his hands.

"I don't dare accept that. I can't even thrust a sword straight yet."

The disciple laughed. "We'll call you that once you've mastered it, then."

"Then put the wine jars from the kitchen in my room first."

"What do you need wine jars for?"

"To keep them there and look at them."

Chen Xin happened to be passing under the corridor. He stopped when he heard that.

"You're only six. Why would you want to look at wine jars?"

"People outside say sword immortals all drink."

"Who told you that?"

"That's what everyone outside says."

"Don't believe everything you hear outside."

That night, Chen Xin came to the courtyard on his rounds. He pushed open the door and saw Li Zhexian holding a wine cup, with half a flask of fruit wine still on the table.

"Where did you get that?"

"The kitchen. I traded fruit for it."

"How much have you drunk?"

"Half a cup."

Chen Xin took the wine flask away.

"You're too young. You can't drink even fruit wine."

"Then will you still leave me some fruit?"

Chen Xin placed a few spirit fruits on the table.

"These are for you to eat, not to trade for wine."

"How many can I eat?"

"Two. Save the rest for tomorrow."

"Does the sect master know you came to bring me fruit?"

"Don't let Ning Fengzhi find out you were drinking in secret. He'll punish the kitchen, and he'll punish you too."

"What about you, then?"

"I'll punish you too."

"But you still brought me fruit."

"What I brought you was fruit."

With that, Chen Xin turned and left the room.

Later, when the night had grown deeper, Li Zhexian sat back down on the bed and began to meditate.

His Soul Power circled the thick wall in his chest, but in the end, it still couldn't get out.

He opened his eyes, and the panel in his sea of consciousness lit up.

"Natural cultivation yields extremely low returns. Host is advised to seek external stimulation."

Li Zhexian looked at the line, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

He had cultivated for three days, but aside from a stuffy feeling in his chest, he had gained nothing.

Others could cultivate Soul Power after awakening their Martial Souls, but he couldn't even take the first step.

Innate Full Soul Power sounded wonderful, but in his case, it was nothing more than a name for now.

The sound of footsteps came from outside the window.

A patrolling disciple passed outside the courtyard, the longsword at his waist striking its scabbard with a clear ring.

Li Zhexian looked at the longsword, and an idea suddenly came to him.

The system said he needed external stimulation, so he couldn't keep waiting in his room.

He threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the window.

"Who's by the window?"

The patrolling disciple outside the door stopped.