Early the next morning, before dawn, Zhao Ping'an opened his eyes.
Going to bed early and rising early for a long time had given him a steady biological clock. When the time came, he woke.
After washing up, he headed to the woods behind the house to practice Turtle Shell Art. From afar, he saw a tall figure swinging a long saber in the clearing from the day before.
"Senior Disciple Brother?"
Zhao Ping'an recognized the figure at a glance. It was Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming.
He hadn't expected Senior Disciple Brother to wake even earlier than him after drinking so much the night before.
So this is what being a Martial Artist is like? His qi and blood are abundant, and his metabolism is astonishingly fast!
Zhao Ping'an murmured to himself. He didn't go over to disturb him, but turned and headed in another direction.
That's... Junior Brother? I didn't expect him to be so diligent after only a month of martial arts training. Truly rare...
In the quiet morning, Ji Xiangming also heard the faint footsteps. He glanced over casually, and recognized the petite figure at once as his Junior Brother, Zhao Ping'an.
Listening to the footsteps gradually fade away, Ji Xiangming murmured to himself as well, then continued swinging the long saber in his hands.
He was practicing the Blazing Blade Sect's signature technique, the first-rate saber art—Explosive Blade Art.
He wasn't supposed to learn it until he reached the Innate Realm, but Master Zheng Hetong feared something might happen to him while he was out on his own, so he'd made an exception and taught him the first three forms of Explosive Blade Art.
Those three forms alone had helped him turn the tables in fights many times, so he practiced them all the harder.
On the other side, Zhao Ping'an soon found an Ironwood Tree as thick as a bowl in the woods. He drew his Hundred Refinement Blade and hacked at it.
The panel required him to use a wooden saber weighing one kilogram. A better iron saber would work too, of course, like the Hundred Refinement Blade in his hands, but that saber weighed a full eighteen jin—nine kilograms.
It wasn't suitable for him right now. After just a couple of swings, he'd be exhausted.
The Ironwood Tree before him was perfect for making a wooden saber. Its wood was as hard as pig iron, yet weighed only a third as much as iron.
A kilogram of ironwood could be carved into a wooden saber a little over half a meter long, just right for someone his height—only one and a half meters.
But, naturally, making one would be exceptionally difficult.
Zhao Ping'an used every ounce of strength he had before finally chopping down the Ironwood Tree, thick as a bowl.
"Phew! Phew! Phew!..."
Deep in the woods, Zhao Ping'an leaned on his saber with both hands, panting hard.
"Damn, it's tough! I'll have to come back this afternoon..."
Watching the blazing sun begin to rise over the horizon, Zhao Ping'an grumbled and shook his head helplessly. He sheathed his long saber and headed back. It was time for his morning training.
"Wait! Why am I making a wooden saber myself? I could just ask Master to make one for me!"
After taking a couple of steps, Zhao Ping'an turned back. He quickly chopped off the useless branches and leaves, then dragged the roughly four-meter-long, nearly two-hundred-jin tree trunk back with him.
"Where's Ping'an? He's not in his room."
In the dining hall, Mistress Zhao Xiuyun asked the several brothers.
"I don't know."
"Haven't seen him."
They shook their heads one after another.
"I saw Ping'an this morning. He went deep into the woods to the west. He should be back soon."
Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming swallowed his porridge and spoke up.
"Thud!"
A heavy object suddenly hit the ground outside.
"What was that?"
Everyone immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks and rushed outside. There, Zhao Ping'an sat atop the ironwood, drenched in sweat and panting hard.
The trip had nearly worn him to the bone. If he hadn't reached the Martial Warrior Realm and gained so much strength and stamina, he'd probably still be on the way.
Even so, he'd hurried as much as he could and still returned late.
"Ping'an, what are you doing? Why did you bring back a tree trunk?" Zheng Hetong asked, puzzled as he looked at Zhao Ping'an, who was drenched in sweat.
"Master, it's nothing. Senior Disciple Brother gave me a saber art manual yesterday, and I want to practice whenever I have free time. But steel sabers are too heavy, so I thought I'd make a few wooden ones."
"Wooden sabers? You could've just said so. The Blazing Blade Sect has plenty in the storeroom. Why go to all this trouble..."
"Those sabers are too big for me. Could you make me a few wooden ones this long? They can follow the shape of this saber."
Zhao Ping'an used the Hundred Refinement Blade in his hands to indicate a length of about seventy centimeters.
"That long? Easy. Hand me the saber, and stand to the side."
Zheng Hetong nodded at the size Zhao Ping'an had indicated.
"Clang!"
As Zheng Hetong drew the Hundred Refinement Blade, his entire bearing changed in an instant!
His usual gentle, refined air vanished. He looked far more like a Blade Master whose aura soared to the heavens!
Then a layer of pale-red qi gathered along the blade of the Hundred Refinement Blade, especially at its tip, where it stretched a full three inches.
Zhao Ping'an, standing beside him, felt a chill run through his body.
"Blade Qi!"
He'd seen this scene many times already, but every time it still felt unreal.
This was the hallmark of an Innate Martial Master: the ability to extend one's true qi beyond a weapon, cutting through gold and iron with extraordinary sharpness.
Then the Hundred Refinement Blade moved in Zheng Hetong's hands like a nimble butterfly, darting swiftly up and down.
In just a few minutes, ten Ironwood sabers had taken shape, neatly laid out on the ground.
"Clang!"
The long saber slid back into its scabbard!
"Let's head back and eat. After breakfast, Ping'an, sweep the courtyard before you go to the Training Ground!"
Zheng Hetong handed the Hundred Refinement Blade back to Zhao Ping'an and spoke as he walked toward the dining hall.
"Yes, Master!"
Looking at the Ironwood sabers and wood shavings scattered everywhere, Zhao Ping'an nodded at once.
Three days later, Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming said goodbye to Master, Mistress, and his fellow disciples, then left down the mountain.
About half a month later, Master and Mistress also went down the mountain. They didn't return for a full twenty days.
From that day on, Zhao Ping'an noticed that the smile never left Mistress's face.
Unfortunately, no one told the child what had happened.
The sun rose and the moon set; time flew by!
At dusk, three months later, deep in the woods!
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
A steady series of thuds rang out.
"Phew..."
After a long while, a deep breath escaped him.
"Finally, it's done!"
Three months of good food and drink, combined with nonstop practice, had brought Zhao Ping'an's height to over one meter sixty. His entire body had also grown firm, solid muscles.
His Game Panel now looked completely different:
[Name: Zhao Ping'an] [Realm: Warrior First Level] [Body Cultivation: Warrior Ninth Level] Cultivation Method: [Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 200/200 (Ninth Level Perfection, Simplified) Available for deduction!] Martial Arts: [Blade Draw Slash (Second-rate Cultivation Method): 156/300 (Proficient, Simplified) Draw a wooden saber weighing at least two kilograms 100 consecutive times to increase Training Progress by 1 point] [Deduction Points: 100%] (Method for gaining Deduction Points: Eating, absorbing external energy, and other activities can all grant Deduction Points! The higher your cultivation, the greater your total Deduction Points! After a cultivation method or martial art reaches perfection, you can spend Deduction Points to deduce and advance it!)
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