The Guidance Technique

At noon, the sun blazed overhead like a ball of fire.

In Dormitory Xuan No. 10, Xian Wu was learning the Guidance Technique.

"The Guidance Technique is an advanced method of using Soul Force. It requires cultivators to have a certain degree of control over their Soul Force..." As he spoke, Nie Li pushed a sheet of paper across the table toward Xian Wu.

"What you need to do now is use your Soul Force to make this sheet of paper move. It doesn't have to move in any complicated way; you only need to control it well enough to move left and right. I'll demonstrate."

Nie Li formed a sword-finger gesture and held it a few millimeters above the center of the paper.

"Move!" Nie Li barked. His Soul Force surged out of his body at his command and entered the paper.

The sheet of paper began moving back and forth across the tabletop, as nimble as an extension of Nie Li's own body.

"Holy crap, Nie Li, how did you do that? That's amazing!" Lu Piao rubbed his hands together, eager to try. "Come on, let me have a go!"

His talent was just a tiny bit better than Nie Li's. If Nie Li could do it, there was no reason he couldn't.

But... Lu Piao just couldn't do it!

Lu Piao strained until his face and neck turned red, nearly bursting a blood vessel, but he couldn't make the paper move even a tiny bit.

"It moved! It moved!" Lu Piao clapped happily.

Xian Wu and Nie Li exchanged smiles. It had indeed moved.

You were blowing on it with your mouth, of course it moved!

Lu Piao found himself a way to save face, then put his hands behind his back and swaggered over to lie down on his bed.

"Phew, that was too easy. There wasn't even a challenge. I'm just a genius!" Lu Piao pulled up his blanket and waved a hand. "Wu, keep practicing. Don't get discouraged. Heaven rewards hard work, but not everyone's as talented as I am."

Xian Wu was speechless. He'd never met anyone so shameless.

"Listen to Piao and practice hard." Nie Li patted Xian Wu on the shoulder. "I was up all night. I'm exhausted. Wake us when it's time." He yawned and lay down on his bed.

"No problem. Leave it to me," Xian Wu readily agreed.

He sat on a little stool, frowning and staring intently. His left hand gripped his right wrist, while his right hand formed a sword-finger gesture above the paper.

Xian Wu focused with all his might, seeing nothing but his hand and the paper.

Unfortunately, even though his hand shook like someone with Parkinson's, he couldn't budge the paper in the slightest.

"Am I really worse than Lu Piao? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!" Xian Wu shook his head. If that were true, he might as well kill himself. A scholar could be killed, but not humiliated.

He'd been a model student and an outstanding Youth League cadre every year. How could he fail at something this simple? What a joke!

So Xian Wu switched the hand he was using to control the paper to his left hand.

You couldn't keep going down the same path when it wasn't working. You had to be willing to try something new and change.

Failure was the mother of success, but if you kept repeating the same failed experiment, you'd only waste your time and never succeed.

Sure enough, switching to his left hand made all the difference. His Soul Force passed easily through the pad of his left index finger and entered the paper.

The paper began moving from side to side according to Xian Wu's will.

After about a minute, Xian Wu felt dizzy, his ears ringing.

He guessed that he'd run out of Soul Force.

One minute per unit of Soul Force.

If Soul Force could be converted into new energy batteries, wouldn't they sell out instantly back on Earth?

"Come to think of it, how am I supposed to recover my Soul Force if I can't cultivate the Seven Star Divine Curse?" Xian Wu massaged his throbbing temples. It was a question worth thinking about.

If he tried to cultivate the Seven Star Divine Curse by force, he might lose control like he had that night and swell up like a balloon.

Without Vice Dean Ye Sheng's Spirit Transformation Pill to keep him safe, Xian Wu didn't dare take the risk.

The reincarnated Nie Li was incredibly resourceful. He ought to know what to do.

He'd ask him when he woke up.

Time flew by, and the lunch break came to an end.

As promised, Xian Wu woke Nie Li and Lu Piao.

"Don't bother me. Let me sleep a little longer? Just a little," Lu Piao whined, refusing to get out of bed.

Nie Li sat on the edge of his bed and stared at Lu Piao in exasperation.

A thought struck him, and he suddenly said, "Hey, Xian Wu, what class is that beauty walking past the window in?"

"Beauty?" Xian Wu froze for a moment, then immediately understood what Nie Li was up to.

"You don't recognize her? She's the belle of the junior Inscriptionist class. People call her 'Little Sweetie.' But what's she doing in the Male Dormitory Area? Looks like she's searching for someone. Come on, let's go see."

"Wait for me! I'm coming too!" Hearing their serious conversation, Lu Piao couldn't stay in bed any longer. He sprang to his feet in one smooth motion.

"Where? Where? Where's the beauty?" Lu Piao's eyes lit up as he leaned out the window, looking this way and that.

"Beauty? In your dreams! Hurry up, or we'll be late!" Nie Li hooked an arm around Lu Piao's neck and dragged him out of the dormitory.

Only then did Lu Piao realize that they'd been messing with him.

"You guys... That's too much! We're through! I'm cutting ties with you!" Lu Piao crossed his arms and huffed.

Xian Wu and Nie Li burst into laughter. Lu Piao was such a pushover.

The first class of the afternoon was taught by the arrogant Instructor Shen Xiu.

The six of them, including Nie Li, voluntarily stood at the back of the classroom. Xian Wu shrugged and got up from his seat as well.

They'd all stood together that morning. He couldn't have his brothers standing in the afternoon while he sat alone.

That would be downright inconsiderate.

Besides, his seat was already in a corner of the classroom. Nobody would care whether he sat or stood.

Instructor Shen Xiu entered the classroom with her chin held high, her slender hands on her hips, her rounded hips swaying as she walked with a coquettish catlike gait. A fragrant breeze of some indescribable scent followed her in.

The aristocratic male students gazed at Shen Xiu with adoration.

It was worth dying beneath peonies, even if one became a ghost.

They would gladly give up ten years of their lives for the chance to kiss her.

The commoner students generally disliked this flirtatious female instructor. Her words the day before had hurt them all deeply.

Seeing Nie Li and the others obediently standing at the back of the classroom, Shen Xiu snorted and said nothing more.

As yesterday, Shen Xiu spent the lesson talking about trivial matters between aristocrats. She didn't teach anything useful at all.

Xian Wu couldn't help muttering, "The people of the Sacred Family are all glitter on the outside, rotten wood within."

Fortunately, before coming to class, he'd gone to the library and borrowed a comprehensive book on the human body.

Nie Li had told him to borrow it. The second stage of learning the Guidance Technique was to become familiar with the body's acupoints and every meridian.

Xian Wu had a good memory. In a single lesson, he read through a quarter of the book.

He figured he'd finish the entire book by the time classes ended that evening.

Xiao Ning'er also ignored Shen Xiu's endless repetition and silently cultivated her Soul Force at her desk.

She lightly bit her teeth. Whenever she began cultivating her Soul Force, the area below her ribs hurt as if needles were stabbing her.