Teacher Ice Block Goes Online, Li Mo's Strange Talent

After Elder Han He left.

"Elder Shang Wu, have you made any arrangements for Li Mo these past few days?"

Ying Bing asked.

Shang Wu narrowed her almond-shaped eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and said:

"Other than cooking, there is nothing of great importance."

"Then I must trouble you to lend him to me for three days."

"I would like him to learn swordsmanship from me for three days."

Ying Bing said softly.

After all, she was not Li Mo's master.

If she wanted to teach him something, she still had to ask the 'rightful owner' for permission.

"I trust your swordsmanship, Little Bing'er, but three days... won't be enough to learn much, will it?"

Shang Wu nodded in agreement, yet felt a bit curious.

"I have this."

Ying Bing took an object from her sleeve.

Three sky-blue incense sticks.

"Spirit Rhinoceros Incense? The Sect Master even gave you this? She is truly generous..."

Shang Wu's almond eyes widened slightly; she clearly knew the value of this item.

It was not a product of the Eastern Wasteland Domain.

Rather, it originated from the Central Divine Province, ground into powder from a rare treasure called Spirit Rhinoceros Wood, and then refined with other precious materials.

Lighting this incense to contemplate martial arts could double one's intelligence and insight.

However, Spirit Rhinoceros Wood grew slowly, only one inch every three hundred years, so its yield was extremely scarce.

The sect likely did not have much left; it was a legacy from the founding ancestor, saved bit by bit by successive sect leaders.

Giving Ying Bing three sticks at once was enough to show how much they valued her.

Shang Wu scratched her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

It seemed that apart from giving her disciple two martial arts manuals, she had only been freeloading off him...

"Wait, you mean you want to use the Spirit Rhinoceros Incense on Little Mo?"

Shang Wu came back to her senses.

"Yes, this item is of no use to me."

Ying Bing nodded.

"Alright, then I'll leave him to you."

"Tsk tsk... this kid is quite blessed."

Shang Wu nodded in agreement with a smile.

She hadn't been able to use the good stuff herself, but it was the same if her disciple used it.

"Learn swordsmanship with you?"

Li Mo had just opened up another meridian.

Eleven meridians, and his small world had expanded by a few more feet.

Then he saw Ying Bing push the door open and enter.

"Yes, follow me downstairs."

Ying Bing's expression was calm and indifferent; after saying this, she turned and headed downstairs.

"What's gotten into her all of a sudden..."

Li Mo scratched his head, seemingly realizing something.

The "Ice Block" was not one for flowery words.

She hadn't said anything about what happened under the Clear Abyss, but she had definitely kept it in her heart.

That was fine, too.

With the Ice Block around, he could save a lot of time on martial arts comprehension.

He knew he wasn't exactly cut out for sword practice, but Student Li had no intention of giving it up entirely.

Besides, he didn't have any other martial arts to practice right now.

The open space of the Autumn Water Pavilion.

Blue smoke curled lazily from the bronze censer.

The scent was such that a single whiff left one feeling clear-headed and mentally sharp.

Li Mo knew this was a rare treasure.

"Moving from Great Success to Perfection means you have truly made the martial art your own, no longer constrained by the forms."

"Eventually, you won't even need to rely on sword forms."

"By the same token, every sword form is merely an approach to the true essence of the Sword Dao; once you master one, you master them all."

Ying Bing pressed her fingers together and brushed them lightly against a nearby bamboo stalk.

Traces of crane feathers appeared on the surface instantly, but they were not fire-red—they were ice-blue.

Li Mo's eyes widened slightly, unable to suppress his amazement.

The "Fire Crane Thousand Feathers" had actually been transformed by this ice block into "Ice Crane Thousand Feathers."

It was proof that she had completely understood and internalized this superior sword technique.

And he had never even seen her practice it.

"The pinnacle of your sword technique should allow you to freely control the timing, quantity, and location of your force's eruption."

"You could even condense the thousand feathers into one, focusing everything on a single point to pierce stone like dripping water."

No sooner had the words left her lips—

Snap—

One of the crane feathers suddenly detonated, its power ten times greater than a single burst.

"What you must do now is forget the 'forms'."

"Pick up your sword."

"Alright."

Li Mo drew the Green Steel Sword, its edge riddled with notches.

Just as he prepared to move, a small, cool, and soft hand gripped his, and the maiden's faint, refreshing fragrance washed over him.

Ying Bing held his hand tightly.

Li Mo: "!"

This felt different from when they had jumped into the Clear Abyss.

Back then, it was a freefall; his mind had been a blank slate, leaving no room for other thoughts.

But now...

"Don't lose focus. I will guide you through this only once."

Her clear, cold voice resonated beside his ear.

Truly, she was teaching him hand-in-hand.

Even among her disciples in her past life, there were many brilliant talents, yet she had offered them at most a word or two of guidance.

Ying Bing had never taught anyone with such earnestness.

"Understood."

Li Mo steadied his mind and began to learn in earnest.

A quarter of an hour later.

Ying Bing released his hand and stood silently to the side.

She held a ruler in her hand—he didn't know where she had produced it from—and watched him with calm eyes, her vermilion lips parting slightly:

"Practice."

Li Mo: "..."

Surely the ice block didn't mean that if he practiced incorrectly, she would strike his palms with that pointer?

Five minutes later, young Li had his answer.

It wasn't his palms.

"I'm a grown man, and you're resorting to spanking!"

Li Mo clutched his backside in protest.

It didn't actually hurt.

But it was humiliating!

"Hahahahaha!"

Shang Wu laughed until she was doubled over, rolling on her recliner with tears of mirth streaming down her face.

Ying Bing remained unmoved, her gaze lowered as she said, "Forget the forms. You used a sword form just now. Force rises from the ground and flows through the meridians; you can achieve the same result without relying on forms."

She didn't mention a single word about his backside.

Well, no room for negotiation.

Fine, fine, fine.

If I, Li Mo, don't pull out a little something, you really don't think I'm a cheater, do you?

Martial arts enlightenment, activate!

[Five years of martial arts enlightenment successfully injected.]

[First year: You received guidance from Ying Bing, gained inspiration, and began to diligently pursue the essence of swordsmanship, forgetting the existence of sword forms.]

[Fifth year: Through arduous practice, you have forgotten a small half of the sword forms, and the first three stances are no longer confined to their shapes.]

Good grief.

With the Ice Block giving pointers, five years of martial arts enlightenment only yielded this much progress.

If I had been working behind closed doors, smashing my head against the wall, who knows how long it would have taken.

"I'm ready."

Li Mo picked up his sword and began to practice again.

"You really learned it?"

Watching him swing his sword, a hint of surprise flickered in Ying Bing's eyes.

However, after only a few strikes, Li Mo stopped.

"Um... could you lead me through it one more time?"

"...Fine."

Ying Bing was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

And so, the Ice Block's little swordsmanship class was back in session.

"Wait for me a moment..."

"I've got it! Lead me through it one more time."

This scene played out over and over again.

Ying Bing felt an indescribable sense of strangeness.

It felt as if Li Mo... was both clever and dull?

He was very clumsy when being taught, often requiring her to adjust his form and point things out, frequently making mistakes she considered very low-level.

But if she let him close his eyes and think for a while, it was as if he had an epiphany, and those flaws and errors would all vanish.

A while later, he would ask her to teach him the next part again.

What she didn't know was.

Little Li was just trying to save his martial arts enlightenment points.

Three days later.

The Ice Block, who had just broken through to the twelve meridians, had another dream that night.

She dreamed of the time when she held sway over the Cassia Palace, before she had ascended to the Phoenix Throne.

At that time, the righteous and demonic paths of the Central Province were locked in a fierce struggle.

The imperial court sat on the mountain watching the tigers fight, fanning the flames from behind the scenes, hoping that the sects would both suffer heavy losses.

The Cassia Palace was neither strictly righteous nor evil and rarely intervened in the affairs of the martial world, yet it gathered nearly half of the powerful female cultivators from the nine heavens and ten lands, so both sides were doing their utmost to win them over.

But the Great Yu Dynasty clearly did not want to see the Cassia Palace join either side and disrupt the balance.

Thus, the Crown Prince, who was already acting as regent at the time, prepared countless betrothal gifts that would make even the great powers green with envy and went to the Cassia Palace.

"This Crown Prince wishes to enter into holy matrimony with the Master of the Cassia Palace, to be united in eternal friendship."

This was not the first time someone had come to propose, but it was the one with the grandest display.

However, the outcome was no different.

The other party couldn't even block three of her strikes.

"This Seat has no interest in the weak."

There were always people coming to disturb her, and it was endlessly annoying.

In truth, she had no interest whatsoever in imperial hegemony or endless slaughter.

Other than stabilizing her position at the pinnacle of the martial path, nothing else occupied her heart.

So, that must have been what she said back then.

But as the rumors spread, they eventually morphed into:

"The Mistress of the Cassia Palace fancies men stronger than herself."

This gossip persisted even after she ascended as the Phoenix Heavenly Empress; it was just that no one dared to come and challenge her anymore...

"I have been dreaming quite often lately..."

"Without reaching the Divine Observation Realm, one is ultimately unable to control their own spirit."

Ying Bing rose, brushing the frost from her shoulders.

The sound of sword dancing drifted in from outside the window, and she propped the sash open.

Under the sunlight, the young man was dancing with his blade.

The sword shadows transformed into hundreds or thousands at one moment, then merged into one the next.

His movements were free and fluid, like a crane stretching its wings.

Ying Bing watched him quietly, the corners of her lips curling into an arc she herself did not notice.

She supposed she was, at the very least, a decent teacher.

Of course, it also had to do with Li Mo's talent.

It was strange, come to think of it.

When someone taught him, he progressed by leaps and bounds; when left to his own devices, he was utterly mediocre.

But all in all.

Through fits and starts, he had actually brought this superior sword technique to the realm of perfection.

Originally, Ying Bing had thought that reaching mastery would be quite good enough.

It could be said that he had far exceeded her expectations.

Half a month from now, when the system ranked the geniuses within the Eastern Wasteland Domain, might she truly see him somewhere in the middle of the list?