Li Sushang nodded, pushed open her bedroom door, and led Kaino inside.
The room was not large, about the same size as Kaino's room at the Orphanage, but it was fully furnished. A table, an oil lamp, a washbasin, a wardrobe... Though small, it had everything it needed.
"If you need to use the latrine, it's that lonely little hut outside. Oh, right, remember to knock before going in. Master might be in there."
After taking off her shoes, Li Sushang sat directly on her bed and swayed from side to side. Sunlight streamed through the window behind her and fell across her body, making her look relaxed and content.
Kaino nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "First question: is swaying your head around also part of practicing the Sword Heart Sutra?"
Li Sushang froze at once.
Now she did not know whether she should keep swaying or stop.
With a wave of his hand, Kaino conjured a bed identical to the one he had used at the Orphanage in the corner of the room. He took off his shoes and sat down on it as well.
"Come on, begin your explanation."
"You weren't nearly this talkative when Master was here. You only know how to tease me."
After snorting twice, Li Sushang crossed her legs and her expression turned serious.
"The Sword Heart Sutra is the foundational mental method of the Tai Xu Sword Qi, a basic ultimate art coveted by everyone in the martial world. But even though it's only foundational, it is absolutely not simple. It places extremely high demands on one's talent."
"But Raiken, you're already so strong. You could even use my sword form after seeing it only once, so your talent definitely isn't lacking."
"Next, I'll teach you the incantation for the Sword Heart Sutra. Its pronunciation is strange, so listen carefully."
"Alright. Go ahead."
Kaino imitated Li Sushang by sitting cross-legged, then nodded.
"...Moo... ta ci li... moo... ruo ku luo..."
After finishing, Li Sushang opened her eyes.
"Alright, that's the Sword Heart Sutra. Try it once."
"...Are cultivation incantations in Shenzhou all this strange?"
After committing the incantation to memory, Kaino's expression became rather subtle.
Why could a completely irregular rhythm enhance one's ability to control Honkai energy?
"I told you the Sword Heart Sutra was strange, but it really works. Recite it silently in your heart, and you'll feel True Qi circulating through the extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, changing every part of your body. At the same time, you'll be able to sense your own Heart Lake."
Kaino nodded suspiciously, closed his eyes, and silently recited the incantation he had just memorized.
The incantation really did work. As he recited it in his heart, the Honkai energy within him immediately began circulating in an exceptionally complex manner. It spread through his extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, flowing through every limb and bone.
His body became increasingly light, while his consciousness grew ever more hazy.
The meaningless rhythm was indeed having some effect on Kaino's body. It influenced his body and consciousness, attempting to guide them toward some predetermined result in order to strengthen the human body.
Then...
"Raiken, what's wrong? Raiken, wake up!"
What reached his ears was Li Sushang's anxious voice.
Kaino opened his eyes in confusion and saw Li Sushang's worried, panicked face.
Instinctively, Kaino looked down at his body.
It was covered in blood.
Then the pain came.
The Immortal's Trail
"I've never seen this situation before."
Beside Kaino's bed, Cheng Lingshuang held his left wrist in one hand and slowly shook her head. She was only one expression away from looking like she was saying, You're beyond saving. Just wait to die.
"His talent is astonishingly good. Even without practicing the Sword Heart Sutra, True Qi can already flow freely and smoothly through his body. If he had enough True Qi, it might not even be impossible for him to practice the Tai Xu Sword God directly. No wonder he has never suffered qi deviation until now."
"But if that's the case, then it makes even less sense."
Cheng Lingshuang frowned slightly.
"The Sword Heart Sutra absolutely does not have side effects like this. Senior Sister was even older than him when she practiced it, yet I have never heard of her encountering such a problem."
"When you were circulating the Sword Heart Sutra, Kaino, did you feel anything?"
"As for how it felt, Honkai... I mean, True Qi circulated on its own without me urging it, then my body felt light and my mind felt relaxed?"
Kaino scratched his head, recalling what had happened.
Kaino was currently lying in bed. The blood-soaked clothes and sheets had already been thrown away by Li Sushang, and Kaino had recreated them himself. The inexplicable injuries had also completely healed under the effects of Life Force, but Li Sushang had forcibly insisted that he lie there like a corpse.
Li Sushang was standing beside him and watching him even now.
Otherwise, he would have gotten up and started running around long ago.
"The other symptoms match, but..."
Cheng Lingshuang pondered slightly as she looked into Kaino's sky-blue eyes.
"Are you certain all you felt was a momentary relaxation of consciousness? Nothing else?"
"If I had to put it into words, there was a strange discomfort that I can't really describe?"
Kaino thought for a moment and gave an uncertain answer.
"Discomfort?"
"Yes, the hard-to-describe kind... It's like when you leave home after checking that you've brought everything you need, then later confirm that you really did bring everything, but still keep feeling as if you forgot something."
"I've never felt that way, but it sounds like an ominous premonition."
Cheng Lingshuang nodded slightly.
"After practicing the Sword Heart Sutra, one's consciousness should enter the Heart Lake no matter what. It is only because the Heart Lake is turbulent at that time that the practitioner has yet to enter the Still Water Realm."
"Setting aside that feeling of yours, the fact that you only felt your consciousness relax but did not enter the Heart Lake means something went wrong with the Sword Heart Sutra in your case."
"Huh? Then Master, what should Raiken do?"
Li Sushang spoke from the side.
Cheng Lingshuang replied calmly, "Why ask me? Though my cultivation of the Sword Heart Sutra far surpasses yours, I am not its creator. I have never heard of such a situation either."
"Right, the Sword Heart Sutra was passed down by the Red Sparrow Immortal... Master, do you know where the Immortal went?"
Kaino silently gave Li Sushang a thumbs-up.
The Immortal's former residence had been burned down, and there was clearly some hidden story behind that. If Kaino asked rashly, he might directly provoke his nominal master. That was why he had delayed asking Cheng Lingshuang about the Immortal's whereabouts.
But it was different if Li Sushang, who had spent ten years with Cheng Lingshuang, asked.
Still, it was fortunate that this incident had happened. Otherwise, Li Sushang might have forgotten to ask altogether.
Li Sushang hesitated before continuing, "They all say the Immortal ascended... Master, can you still contact the Immortal?"
Huh? Ascended?
Kaino was utterly dumbfounded.
The materialist Kaslana from five hundred years in the future could not understand this.
"I don't know."
Cheng Lingshuang replied.
"Where Master ascended to is something I wouldn't know. If you refuse to give up, go take a look at Mount Tai Xu yourselves."
"But let me make this clear first: even if you go, you probably won't find anything. Perhaps because they resented Master for ascending without taking them along, your martial uncles and aunts set Mount Tai Xu on fire."
"What? Master, you burned down Grandmaster's old residence?"
Li Sushang's eyes widened in disbelief.
This was the first time Cheng Lingshuang had ever mentioned this matter to her.
"Um, may I ask something presumptuous? Master, did you and the Immortal usually not get along?"
Kaino could not help asking.
In his view, no matter how poor their relationship was, there was no need to burn down someone's home... But people could not all be judged by the same standard.
"It wasn't that we had a bad relationship. It was simply that Master often traveled outside, so we barely had any chance to communicate."
Cheng Lingshuang's face remained expressionless.
"And unlike me, your eldest martial uncle was quite jealous of Master's ageless beauty."
For a teacher and students to end up like that was truly something else...
Kaino could not help sighing.
"In any case, don't practice the Sword Heart Sutra again for now. Of course, if you still want to keep trying, that's up to you. Your healing ability is strong enough anyway."
"I think Raiken should stop practicing it too. You bleed every time you cultivate. That can't be a good thing..."
Li Sushang advised from the side.
"I think so too."
Kaino nodded.
"Then, Sushang, teach him the Form and Soul essences first. Since True Qi is almost harmless to him, set the matter of the Sword Heart Sutra aside for now."
Cheng Lingshuang continued, "Once you have mastered those two essences, I will teach you the Spirit Essence. As for Intent Essence... neither Sushang nor I have mastered it, so you will have to comprehend it yourself."
"If you want to find Master, then look for her yourself in the future. Alright, I'm going back first."
With that, Cheng Lingshuang left their room, leaving Kaino and Li Sushang staring at each other.
"I didn't expect even Master wouldn't know why you can't practice the Sword Heart. Hey, Raiken, do you think it could be because Raiken and Shenzhou people have different bodies, so you can't cultivate it?"
Kaino rolled his eyes.
"How could that be? As long as someone is human, their body... Forget it. Why am I even explaining this to you?"
"Let's not talk about that for now. Do you know where Mount Tai Xu is, Li Sushang?"
Li Sushang said, "Just call me Sushang. As for Mount Tai Xu, it isn't in Mobei. It's near Shanxi in the Central Plains, very far from here."
"If you want to go... how about I take you there after we rest here for a few days? It's your first time in Shenzhou, after all. You can't even tell officials from bandits, so there's no need to mention finding the way."
"Sure. Then I'll thank you in advance, my guide."
Kaino nodded.
"But let's make this clear first: I don't have any money I can spend here in Shenzhou. Not only can I not pay your guide fee, but if something comes up, you might even have to pay for me."
"If that doesn't work, should I sell you my Xuanyuan Sword?"
After all, it was something he had obtained without spending a thing.
"Don't worry, there's no need! It's only a little money, and I'm very rich."
Li Sushang puffed out her chest and declared proudly.
"Alright, then I'll be relying on you when the time comes."
Kaino looked at Li Sushang and smiled faintly.
Kaino sincerely hoped she would not regret this decision in the future.
Ma Fei Ma Wakes Up
Cluck, cluck~
Accompanied by a rooster's crow, Kaino rubbed his hair, which had turned into a bird's nest, and opened his eyes in irritation.
There was no such thing as an alarm clock at the Orphanage. The priest would not wake the children too early either, instead giving them ample time to sleep. So aside from the morning he left, Kaino had always slept until he woke naturally over the past few years.
And today, he had been defeated by Shenzhou's natural alarm clock.
Pulling aside the bed curtain he had recreated because men and women living under the same roof were expected to keep their distance, Kaino yawned at the sunlight streaming in.
What time was it?
Looking at the dim sunlight coming through the window, Kaino could not help questioning his life.
What made him question his life even more was that Li Sushang's bed was already completely empty.
Do all Shenzhou people get up this early?
Before you continue