Proficiency Improvement / Performing an Opera

Copper coins, bells, or small totem ornaments were sometimes tied to its tip.

When swung, it lacked the fierce power of a rigid whip and was extremely difficult to control, making it unsuitable as a weapon for close combat.

Alarm bells rang in Qing He Miao's head. With no time to think, he almost instinctively held the same kind of War King Whip crosswise before him while hastily retreating.

He tried to channel qi into the whip using a special circulation method, temporarily making it capable of blocking the attack.

Chapter 22: Proficiency Improvement

In the Horse-Riding Immortal tradition, the War King Whip was primarily a ritual implement used alongside the King Wen Drum to provide "accompaniment."

Or, in certain rituals, it was used to "urge on" and "guide" spirits.

It was not particularly effective as a direct physical weapon.

Yet this thrust was so fast that it nearly exceeded the limits of Qing He Miao's ability to track it.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out.

As the two whips met, he felt a bizarre force travel through his whip.

It was not a simple impact, but a force carrying the penetrating sensation of high-frequency vibrations. In an instant, the web between his thumb and forefinger went numb, and the qi he had channeled into the whip was nearly scattered by the single blow!

He staggered backward, the War King Whip nearly flying from his hand.

Guan Shihua held a short whip of archaic material and a dull color. Her steps seemed unhurried, yet they were elusive and unpredictable, and she closed the distance in an instant.

She held the War King Whip in no exaggerated stance, merely gripping the handle loosely at her side. Yet the whip itself seemed to have come alive, faintly resonating with the qi around her, deep as the sea.

It was no longer an inanimate object, but an extension of her arm.

The whip's flickering shadow shifted unpredictably, combining hardness and softness as it sealed off every avenue of escape for Qing He Miao.

Even more frighteningly, whenever he was struck by the qi contained in it, Qing He Miao's mind would grow hazy from time to time, forcing him to divide his attention to resist.

[LV51 Horse-Riding Immortal Guan Shihua used War King Whip (expert) against you, dealing minor damage. A check against soul resilience will be made.]

[Check failed. Abnormal status: Soul Tremor (extremely mild). Please recover after battle. Recovery time: 5, 4, 3...]

Qing He Miao did everything he could to respond, circulating the Bingbing Ritual within him to its limits and swinging his War King Whip with all his might. He tried to rely on his youth and strength, meeting speed with speed and breaking skill with force.

But his attacks were often casually deflected or guided wide, while each of Guan Shihua's counterattacks struck precisely at an opening in his technique or a point where his strength gave out.

"Crack!" "Whoosh!"

A lash struck the arm Qing He Miao had raised to block, sending sharp pain through it and leaving it instantly sore and numb.

The sharp wind it kicked up stung his skin, while the interference on a mental level made his head swim.

Short and stout, Guan Shihua was like a Claymore mine that could automatically track its target, unstoppable as it approached before his very eyes. It was truly despair-inducing.

"Hehe, boy, take this!"

Guan Shihua gave a soft shout, and the whip slipped around Qing He Miao's hasty sweep like a spirit serpent, lightly tapping the soft tendon at the side of his knee.

The strength went out of Qing He Miao's leg, and he immediately lost his footing.

A trace of amusement flashed in Guan Shihua's eyes. With a deft turn of her wrist, the whip settled lightly around the ankle of the other leg Qing He Miao was using to steady himself, as though it were sticky. A skillful force followed.

It was not a hard yank, but a lift and a guiding pull.

"Ow!"

Qing He Miao felt his foot leave the ground, and he lost his balance completely. As the world spun around him, the deft force sent him through two somersaults in midair.

Then, with a thud, he landed squarely on the ground, sending dust flying.

Though he had not fallen hard, he had been spread perfectly across the ground like a pancake, so he could not be bothered to move.

Where he had fallen, there he lay, opening the system panel while he was at it:

[In a sparring match with an expert in War King Whip who held nothing back in teaching you, your War King Whip proficiency has increased dramatically. Current proficiency: War King Whip (proficient)]

Qing He Miao lay on the ground, feeling the involuntary numbness in his body and the persistent buzzing and sluggishness in his head caused by the Soul Tremor gradually fade. He could not help letting out a long sigh.

According to Guan Shihua, the grand leader herself, she was not actually skilled in the art of the War King Whip.

For once her cultivation had grown somewhat deeper, she had learned more advanced methods of communicating with and commanding the immortal families, as well as certain large-scale ritual spells.

Things like the King Wen Drum and War King Whip were methods ordinary Horse-Riding disciples used in earlier years, performing on the streets to make a living.

She had long since had little use for them.

Even so, she still possessed a terrifying level of mastery at the "expert" level!

This was not merely an overwhelming difference in power and skill, but a complete disparity in realm and understanding.

No wonder that in the world of The Outcast, most of the top adepts of the older generation grew stronger with age.

During cultivation careers spanning decades, relying on exceptional talent and persistent tempering,

these people not only had an advantage in numerical stats,

but had also honed numerous skills to the pinnacle, possessing a collection of skills so lavish it was astounding.

If she faced someone of a lower level than herself, this skill alone would probably be enough to deal with them.

"What? Had enough?"

Seeing Qing He Miao give up trying, Guan Shihua strolled over and lightly patted his thigh with the War King Whip in her hand, asking with a chuckle.

"Mm, let's stop here for today."

Qing He Miao came to his senses, stopped lying there, and rolled over to sit up. Then he sprang to his feet, patted the dust off himself, and said politely:

"Sorry for the trouble, Grandma Guan. You've spent another whole morning putting up with me."

"No trouble at all. These old bones of mine feel quite comfortable having someone to move around with like this every day."

Guan Shihua chuckled, reversed her grip to put the whip away, then stepped forward and reached out to give Qing He Miao a hand instead:

"It's just that, boy, are you sure getting beaten every day like this really does you any good?"

Qing He Miao and his master had already been staying there for some time.

Because he himself had declined, it was awkward for Guan Shihua to teach him anything truly valuable directly.

But when he asked to spar, Guan Shihua did not often refuse.

She thought the youngster simply wanted to broaden his horizons, and it gave her a chance to exercise every day as well.

As it turned out, apart from a moment of insight during one fight a few days ago, when his whip technique had suddenly become much more proficient, he had made no progress since.

Every match ended much the same way.

She had thought that once the young man saw the enormous gap between them and ran into a wall a few times, he would feel he was gaining nothing and naturally retreat in the face of difficulty.

Unexpectedly, after all these days, Qing He Miao still never tired of it.

"I've gained a lot, really."

Qing He Miao used her support to straighten up. Though his body ached, he was in high spirits.

Once on his feet, he naturally took Guan Shihua's arm to support her instead, and they walked together toward the little house where she lived.

At the same time, he discreetly opened the system panel that only he could see:

[Name: Qing He Miao]

[Race: human]

[Level: 9]

[Abilities: ...Short Whip Handling (proficient), Single Drum Performance (proficient), Folk Tune (mastered), Bai-Style Chinese Medicine (proficient)]

[Cultivation methods: Bingbing Ritual (mastered), King Wen Drum (proficient), War King Whip (proficient)]

This was what he had gained most over the past month or so.

Though his experience points had not increased, with Guan Shihua's help, his proficiency in the Bingbing Ritual, King Wen Drum, and War King Whip had all improved.

Even Short Whip Handling, the more general weapon-handling ability, had improved along with them.

Not to mention that in his spare time, he could also look through some of the old books in Guan Shihua's collection.

They included plenty of records on herbs, human meridians, folk medicine, and the customs and features of different regions, allowing both his Bai-Style Chinese Medicine and his knowledge to grow slowly.

Chapter 23: Performing an Opera

Under ordinary circumstances, these improvements...

If Qing He Miao had relied on practicing hard by himself, each one would probably have taken half a year to a year to reach its current level of proficiency.

And he might not have been able to advance several cultivation methods at once so comprehensively and efficiently.

His Master Chai had old arms and legs, and his proficiency was not this high either, so he could not keep this up all day.

For him, Guan Shihua's place was practically a major dungeon for grinding proficiency.

As for the deeper, more unique secret arts of the Horse-Riding Immortals?

It was not that he did not want to learn them. For one thing, he had turned down the arrangement to "take another renowned master" for the time being, so naturally Guan Shihua could hardly take over someone else's role and teach him the core arts.

For another, there were only so many hours in a day, and his were already filled to the brim. He truly had no energy left to explore anything more.

"As long as you've gained something, then the beating wasn't for nothing."

Seeing that his expression did not seem feigned, Guan Shihua asked no more and let him support her back into the room, where she sat down on the edge of the kang:

"In a little while, give me another bit of that later part from yesterday."

"Sure."

Qing He Miao set the standard War King Whip he had been using from Guan Shihua's stock on a nearby table and answered casually.

His own War King Whip was, of course, lying quietly in the system's equipment slot.

He could take it out and use it at any time.

But to conceal the system's existence, he could not produce a weapon out of thin air, so he usually borrowed one from the stock here when sparring.

Fortunately, the Horse-Riding Immortals' main hall was bound to have plenty of such things.

After setting down the whip, he turned and picked up the King Wen Drum resting at the other end of the kang.

This drum was more exquisite than Master Chai's, its stretched hide glossy and its frame carved with simple cloud patterns.

Qing He Miao picked up the matching drumstick and began tapping at will. The beats were casual at first, but soon flowed into a lively rhythm with a touch of humor.