All Things Can Be a Form of Cultivation

One day, Jia Ruo and his companions passed through a village.

"Let's rest here for a while, Master."

Jia Ruo had already inherited the Wuji Dao, and the vitality within him had grown increasingly vigorous. Long journeys like this no longer left him feeling the slightest bit tired, but he felt a little sorry for Neeko.

"Fine."

Yi knew what Jia Ruo was thinking and agreed.

When they entered the village, they saw that it was fairly large, but many of its buildings were in ruins.

The villagers grew tense when they saw Yi and Jia Ruo, two strangers carrying swords.

After Jia Ruo politely asked one of the villagers, he learned that the village had been caught up in Noxus's invasion, and its houses had been damaged during the war.

Most of the villagers had only returned to their village from the depths of the mountains and forests after hearing recently that Noxus had withdrawn its troops.

"It's not just our village. The ones nearby are pretty much the same."

A burly man carrying an axe grinned good-naturedly. "If you want a place to rest, I can have my two daughters squeeze in with us old folks. You can sleep in their rooms."

Once Jia Ruo explained that they were also from Ionia—especially when he added, "My master even fought in the war against Noxus"—

the man became even more welcoming.

Unable to refuse his warm hospitality, they decided to spend the night at his house.

By dusk, the three of them had settled into a side room in the man's home.

"You shouldn't keep telling people I fought in the war."

With no outsiders around, Yi spoke up. "I don't like bringing it up."

"Oh, I understand, Master." Jia Ruo hunched his shoulders.

"I'd like to stay here a few more days and help the villagers rebuild their homes. What do you think?"

"This disciple thinks Master is wise and heroic, a truly kind-hearted benefactor—like a living Bodhisattva sent down from heaven."

Without even lifting his eyelids, Yi slowly floated into the air and began to meditate.

Seeing this, Jia Ruo sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating his mana...

Early the next morning, the villagers—who usually rose at the first crow of the rooster—saw that someone else had gotten up even earlier.

Two figures entered the village, each carrying a log as thick as a person's waist.

They were none other than master and disciple, Yi and Jia Ruo.

Before dawn, Yi had woken Jia Ruo.

"I took a look yesterday. Quite a few houses in the village were damaged. Let's get started early so we don't hold things up for too many days."

"This disciple understands."

As he spent more time training with Yi, Jia Ruo's admiration for his master's character had far surpassed his reverence for Yi's swordsmanship.

Yi never spoke or looked at anyone harshly. He was always so kind and amiable, no matter who he was dealing with.

He never acted self-important because he was a master. He helped everyone he came across as much as he could.

A true master always kept the heart of an apprentice.

Those weren't empty words. Yi embodied them, and Jia Ruo could see it for himself.

Jia Ruo had loved reading Jin Yong's novels since he was a child.

As he grew older, he read newer fantasy novels where every protagonist believed that anyone who didn't put themselves first deserved to die, and where the values of the dark forest prevailed. He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with those ideas, but they had always left him with a strange, unnameable feeling.

After becoming Yi's disciple, he understood.

Yi's values were the exact opposite.

He always tried to see the best in others.

At last, Jia Ruo understood what Jin Yong meant by chivalry. If every strong person in the world acted in their own self-interest, how dull and hopeless the martial world would be.

"Thump."

Jia Ruo lowered the log from his shoulder, adding it to the stack of logs piled in the village square.

"Hey, young man, why'd you chop down so many trees?" the man from yesterday asked as he came over.

"My master said we should help everyone rebuild the village." Jia Ruo wiped his sweat and smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, but could you put us up for a couple more days?"

Yi simply smiled and nodded from the side.

"Oh, you really didn't have to!"

"You two got up so early. Come take a break."

"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? My wife's porridge is delicious."

"That young fellow's got some muscle."

More villagers gathered around, talking to Jia Ruo and Yi all at once.

Looking at the villagers surrounding them, Jia Ruo turned to Yi. "Master, I'd say doing good deeds like this is worth it."

Yi looked at his second disciple, who loved to grin and joke around, and simply said, "All things can be a form of cultivation."

After a quick meal, master and disciple picked up their swords and headed back into the forest.

Why bring their swords?

Because Jia Ruo practiced the Wuji sword techniques while felling trees. He wanted to try cutting through a tree as thick as his waist with a single strike.

Otherwise, with Yi's abilities, he could have felled all the timber they needed in an instant.

Instead, he took his time trimming the extra branches off the trees while teaching Jia Ruo how to apply his strength.

"This should be enough, folks."

Two days later, Jia Ruo asked, hands on his hips, "We'll be heading off now."

He wouldn't have minded staying a few more days to admire the shy, blushing girls who kept sneaking glances at him from the sidelines.

But if he delayed their journey for something like that, Neeko would probably give him a good thumping.

"Stay a few more days, Master!"

The villagers looked at the huge pile of logs. There was enough to repair the whole village, and they'd have plenty of firewood for the winter, too.

Hearing the villagers pleading behind them, Yi politely replied, "Please, don't trouble yourselves by seeing us off."

Jia Ruo nodded as well.

Even if the villagers didn't know how strong Yi was, he had more than earned the title of master.

Besides, both he and Yi carried weapons.

Especially his You Meng and Yi's Azure Sword. At a glance, they both seemed to exude an immortal air.

And so Jia Ruo and his companions traveled on, stopping here and there to help many villages recover from the ravages of war as quickly as they could.

They stood out, and they often did good deeds, so the villagers remembered them well.

Before long, a rumor spread among the villages in the area: a master and disciple wielding twin purple and azure swords had come down from the mountains to help everyone rebuild their homes.