Teach Me!

Ever since their chance encounter by the lake, an entire month had passed without the two crossing paths again.

Jiang Bai naturally neither dared nor had any reason to take the initiative to seek out this senior student with such a sensitive identity.

He was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet, burying himself in his cultivation. Qian Renxue's sudden appearance and proactive greeting caught him somewhat by surprise.

"Yes." Jiang Bai stopped walking and nodded, his tone calm.

"I'm going to the back mountain to cultivate. What is it, Senior Qian?"

Qian Renxue folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head slightly, her purple eyes sizing Jiang Bai up and down. In particular, she noticed how he looked ready to turn around and leave at any moment to continue cultivating. She pursed her lips and said,

"Can't you relax a little? All you do every day is cultivate, cultivate, cultivate! I heard that aside from attending class and eating, you spend all your time on the back mountain? You even use meditation instead of sleeping at night?"

There was obvious confusion in her tone, along with a faint accusation of, "Are you obsessed with cultivation or something?"

After obtaining the information Qian Daoliu had given her, Qian Renxue had indeed developed a complicated curiosity toward Jiang Bai, the boy with an unusual background who had also seen her at her most disheveled.

She had secretly ordered someone to keep an eye on Jiang Bai's daily life at the academy.

After receiving the report that his "routine was extremely monotonous, with all time aside from necessary activities devoted to meditation and cultivation," Qian Renxue's first reaction had been surprise, followed by deep confusion.

Why was an auxiliary Soul Master cultivating so desperately?

The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's soul skills were fixed, and its level cap was locked. The speed of cultivation had far less impact on actual combat than it did for battle Soul Masters.

Based on the education and understanding she had received since childhood, auxiliary Soul Masters ought to place greater importance on Soul Power control, tactical awareness, team coordination, and... how to be better protected.

Someone like Jiang Bai, training himself to death as though he were a battle Soul Master, was truly rare.

"What's wrong with cultivating?"

Jiang Bai asked in return, his tone still even.

"Soul Power is the foundation of a Soul Master. The sooner I break through, the sooner I can obtain a Spirit Ring and gain real soul skills."

What he said was perfectly reasonable.

Qian Renxue was momentarily choked up. Of course she understood that logic, yet she still felt that something was off.

Looking into Jiang Bai's calm eyes, which held an unshakable determination, she suddenly felt that telling this "cultivation maniac" to relax was like playing music to a cow.

"How boring..." she muttered under her breath, feeling a little irritated.

But then, her eyes darted around, and a crafty glint flashed through them.

She seemed to have thought of something interesting. Lowering her folded arms, she took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. A mysterious smile returned to her face.

"Just burying your head in meditation and absorbing Soul Power won't do, Junior Jiang Bai."

She deliberately drew out the words "junior."

"Even though you're an auxiliary Soul Master and will mainly rely on your teammates to protect you in the future... you should at least have some basic means of self-defense, right? What if you end up alone, or your teammates can't spare attention for you for the moment? Are you just going to stand there and wait to die?"

Jiang Bai's heart stirred.

He had indeed considered that issue.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had no direct combat ability, and his body was comparatively frail. If an enemy got close or he found himself isolated and helpless, he would be in serious danger.

Learning some basic fighting or weapon techniques, even if they were only used to buy time or create an opportunity to flee, was certainly necessary.

"So...?" Jiang Bai followed her lead, allowing a hint of interest to show on his face at the right moment.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue felt pleased with herself. She raised her chin slightly and said in a tempting tone,

"So, this kind senior of yours has decided to give you a... chance to beg me."

She paused, watching Jiang Bai's reaction before leisurely continuing.

"Want to learn swordsmanship? I happen to know a little. As long as you..."

Before she could finish, with the rest of her lines still caught in her throat, she saw a scene that left her dumbfounded.

Jiang Bai, standing before her, moved almost the instant the words "want to learn swordsmanship" left her lips. Without the slightest hesitation, his movements were incomparably smooth and natural.

He swiftly pressed his palms together before his chest, bent forward, and gave a standard, deeply earnest bow!

At the same time, a clear, ringing voice emerged, spoken extremely quickly yet with every word distinct.

"Please teach me, kind, beautiful, generous, adorable, gentle Senior Qian!!!"

He bowed so deeply that his head was nearly lowered to the ground, his voice full of "sincere" longing. It looked as though, if Qian Renxue merely nodded, he would immediately throw himself down and kowtow to become her disciple.

"..."

Qian Renxue froze completely. All the expressions and follow-up lines she had prepared stiffened on her face.

Her beautiful purple eyes widened round, and her small mouth fell slightly open. Looking at this guy, who had practically written "go with the flow" and "know when to yield" across his face, the corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

You... how could you give in so quickly?! This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!

According to the scenario she had envisioned, Jiang Bai should have stubbornly argued for a few lines first, saying things like, "An auxiliary Soul Master doesn't need to learn this," or "I can protect myself."

Then she would cleverly tempt him a little.

Only then would he lower his head and ask for instruction, either "reluctantly" or "half-persuaded, half-willingly."

That process was where the fun lay!

Skipping every step and yielding immediately without any struggle at all... there was no sense of accomplishment whatsoever! It even made her feel as though she had punched a pile of cotton!

Qian Renxue took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the inexplicable frustration in her heart, along with... the urge to kick the bowing guy in front of her.

She gave a quiet snort through her nose and tried her best to make her voice sound calm and unaffected.

"Hmph... at least you have some sense. Get up."

Jiang Bai straightened up without the slightest trace of embarrassment on his face. Instead, he flashed a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Senior!"

Qian Renxue could not be bothered to waste any more words on him. She turned and headed toward the depths of the back mountain, her golden ponytail swaying behind her.

Jiang Bai put away his smile, rubbed his nose, and hurried after her.

Learning practical swordsmanship was a tangible benefit. As for pride or dignity... what even was that? Could it be eaten? Could it speed up Soul Power cultivation?

One after the other, the two soon arrived at the clearing where Jiang Bai usually meditated, backed by a rock face and facing a shaded grove.

It was spacious and level, as well as secluded and quiet. It truly was a good place to practice.

Qian Renxue stopped, looked around, and nodded. "Not a bad place."

As she spoke, the silver bracelet on her left wrist glimmered faintly. A flash of light passed, and two wooden swords appeared in her hands.

The wooden swords were roughly three feet long, with straight blades. They seemed to be made from some sort of hard ironwood, polished exceptionally smooth and carrying a satisfying weight.

She casually tossed one to Jiang Bai. "Hold it properly. Don't break it."

Jiang Bai reached out and caught it steadily.

The wooden sword felt heavy in his hand, somewhat heavier than he had imagined.

Instinctively, he flicked his wrist and spun it through a simple flourish.

The motion was not particularly standard and was even somewhat casual, but its smoothness and the flexibility of his wrist made Qian Renxue, who was about to begin teaching, raise an eyebrow slightly.

Holding the wooden sword, Jiang Bai felt dazed by the familiar sensation.

He could not help recalling his days in Niuma Village.

Back then, one of the things that made him happiest was finding a long, straight wooden stick that felt good in his hand while tending cattle and horses, whether in the woods or beside the field ridges.

With the stick in hand, he would imagine himself to be a wandering swordsman. The Blue Silver Grass along the ten-mile field ridges became his "whetstones for testing a blade."

More often than not, everything touched by his "sword qi" would be "cut cleanly in half," leaving behind a complete mess—and also the purest joy and fantasies of a child.

Qian Renxue casually spun the wooden sword in her own hand through a flourish. Her movements were light and agile, carrying a unique rhythmic grace that clearly came from rigorous training.

She planted her feet and faced Jiang Bai. A crafty gleam flashed through her purple eyes, and the corners of her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

"Alright, enough nonsense."

Qian Renxue pointed the tip of her sword vaguely at Jiang Bai. "First, I'll teach you several of the simplest, most basic sword stances and footwork, along with the essentials of blocking and thrusting. Watch carefully and learn seriously. I'll only demonstrate and explain them three times."

Her tone turned serious, shedding her earlier teasing and arrogance to reveal the strictness of an instructor.

"Understood, Senior!" Jiang Bai also composed himself and answered earnestly.

Next, Qian Renxue began teaching with meticulous care.

She first explained the most basic way to grip a sword, followed by several fundamental stances: opening posture, bow stance, empty stance, resting stance...

Then came simple offensive techniques such as straight thrusts, diagonal cuts, upward slashes, and downward chops, along with corresponding blocking and force-dispersing techniques.

For every step, she personally demonstrated, broke down the movements, and explained the key points of exertion, shifts in center of gravity, and coordination of footwork.

Her instruction was clear and easy to understand. Though strict, she showed no impatience.

Jiang Bai learned earnestly, and he learned quickly. Yet he soon realized that understanding something and actually doing it were two different things.

Those seemingly simple movements required a great deal of repetition and muscle memory to be performed properly, steadily, smoothly, and adapted at any moment to changing circumstances.

After demonstrating and explaining everything three times, Qian Renxue stepped aside and watched Jiang Bai practice alone with her arms folded.

From time to time, she spoke up to correct him.

"Your wrist is too stiff!"

"Your steps are unsteady!"

"Your center of gravity! Watch your center of gravity!"

"When you thrust, your waist needs to follow through with the force!"

Jiang Bai said nothing. He merely followed her instructions and repeated those tedious basic movements again and again.

Sweat soon soaked the hair at his forehead and the academy uniform across his back. His arms began to ache and tremble from the sustained exertion.

Watching this boy, who was frenzied when cultivating Soul Power and equally persistent when practicing the basics of swordsmanship, Qian Renxue's purple eyes flashed with a complicated expression.

This guy... where did his obsession with becoming stronger come from?

Was it really only because his Martial Soul was an auxiliary type, leaving him without a sense of security?