You Want to Learn? I'll Teach You!

"Come on, come on, let's go~ Hand in hand, our little hands together~ Come on, come on, let's go~ Off on an outing together~"

After escaping the Tail-Stinger Demon Bees, Ji Ruo and the others slowed down. After all, sprinting nonstop made a lot of noise and could easily attract trouble they didn't need.

Ji Ruo was in a pretty good mood. He even started singing a children's song.

This time, he'd collected a total of thirty-five Tail-Stinger Demon Bee stingers. At market price, they'd fetch around thirty-five thousand yuan.

Each stinger could be used to make a single special arrow coated in potent poison. The stinger alone could sell for a thousand yuan.

That price wasn't exaggerated. The poison might not do much against some higher-level Monster Beasts or Demonic Beasts, but it would still have some effect.

At a crucial moment, that little bit could be enough to turn defeat into victory. So there was never any shortage of buyers for the stuff.

Or rather, materials and precious medicines or ores obtained from Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts were never short of buyers.

Everyone practiced martial arts, and anything related to the "Martial Dao" was always in demand.

"Ji Ruo, your swordsmanship..." After hesitating for a long while, Liang Shixian finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and cautiously asked.

He knew this might be Ji Ruo's secret, and that it wasn't right to ask about it out of the blue. But he really couldn't help himself.

That swordsmanship was far too exquisite. It struck before the attacks could land and blocked every single stinger, without one breaking through its defensive circle!

Liang Shixian had never seen or even heard of swordsmanship like it. Now that they were safe, his curiosity clawed at him like dozens of kittens, and he simply couldn't bear it.

He knew he should be considerate of Ji Ruo's feelings and that prying into someone else's secrets wasn't right. But Liang Shixian was still just a teenager.

Curiosity and the thirst for knowledge were human nature.

"I came up with it myself. Impressive, right?" Ji Ruo chuckled.

The boy wasn't lying.

Although he'd still named the sword art Nine Swords of Dugu, it had little in common with the original Nine Swords of Dugu.

The [Sword Dao Favor (First Glimpse of the Path)] buff was absurdly powerful. Ji Ruo had only needed to recall how the sword art was described in the original novel, and he'd immediately comprehended and mastered sword moves with the corresponding effects.

What was more, the swordsmanship felt so familiar, as if Ji Ruo had practiced it for years.

For the first time in his life, the sword in Ji Ruo's hand moved like an extension of his arm!

"Improves comprehension related to ways of using a sword, with the increase set to the current level's max"—that was such a simple description, yet it gave him MAX-level comprehension of the Sword Dao!

Ji Ruo had grasped an entire sword art in an instant from just a few descriptions. How terrifying was that?

There was nothing wrong with saying he'd created the sword art himself. Apart from the theory behind it, every sword move and every method of wielding the sword had been comprehended and created by Ji Ruo himself.

"Y-You came up with it yourself?!"

Liang Shixian's eyes widened. He'd suspected as much, but even after hearing the answer, he still found it hard to believe.

There were plenty of Martial Techniques at the Martial Apprentice stage, but most of them had the word "basic" in their names.

And they really were just "basic."

Powerful Martial Techniques required Blood Qi Power to practice. Without it, they were nothing but empty forms.

Take Ji Ruo's Iron Sand Palm, for example. Under normal circumstances, a Martial Apprentice couldn't possibly train it to Mastery. Reaching the Entering the Hall level would already require extraordinary talent.

Its high temperature—even its scorching properties—needed Blood Qi to enhance them.

Martial Apprentices had a relatively weak understanding of the Martial Dao. In theory, it was impossible for them to create their own Martial Techniques. Even if they somehow managed to, they wouldn't be very powerful—at the very least, not much stronger than those "basic Martial Techniques."

After all, every "basic Martial Technique" had been compiled and refined by humanity over many years. In theory, they'd already reached a certain limit, making further breakthroughs difficult.

Martial artists of a higher level had enough understanding of the Martial Dao and enough insight to create some powerful Martial Apprentice-level techniques.

But they were already so advanced. Wouldn't it be better for them to comprehend higher-level techniques instead?

The Martial Apprentice stage was only a transitional stage before becoming a full-fledged martial artist!

"Of course." Ji Ruo raised his chin and pointed a thumb at himself. "Did you forget what I told you before? I'm Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword!"

"So you really are Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword..." Liang Shixian's mouth fell open.

Ji Ruo's swordsmanship was already outrageous in his eyes, and that was only the "sword" part. Liang Shixian glanced at the Standard Issue Miao Saber strapped to Ji Ruo's back, still unsheathed, and swallowed hard.

Liang Shixian suddenly felt that he'd been outshone as class monitor.

But the person who'd surpassed him was Ji Ruo, so he accepted it wholeheartedly.

After all, Ji Ruo's family situation was no secret. Even under those circumstances, he'd maintained his grades and ranked among the best in the class—and even the whole grade—in every aspect of martial arts. He'd even created powerful sword and saber techniques!

Talent was certainly important, but hard work was indispensable too.

His parents were both dead, and he relied solely on government assistance. To reach this level was beyond what talent alone could explain.

No matter how gifted someone was, practicing martial arts required resources. Given Ji Ruo's family circumstances, it was destined to be difficult for him to obtain anything beyond the bare minimum needed for training.

At the very least, even with his annual scholarships, Ji Ruo couldn't afford the supplementary medicinal solutions needed to practice Iron Sand Palm.

If someone else had surpassed him, Liang Shixian might have felt jealous. But if it was Ji Ruo, he accepted it wholeheartedly. He'd only feel happy for him, and draw encouragement from him to work even harder and catch up!

Liang Shixian said sincerely, "Ji Ruo, the sword art you came up with is truly exquisite! I'd love to see your saber techniques too. I bet they're just as impressive, right?"

"Heh, you'll get the chance."

Ji Ruo grinned, without dwelling on the topic.

As for saber techniques—he didn't know any yet. Liang Shixian wasn't the only one who wanted to see them. Ji Ruo himself did too.

Liang Shixian hesitated, then said, "Ji Ruo, your swordsmanship is so impressive. After the Martial Exam, would you consider selling it?"

He was thinking about Ji Ruo's situation.

If they got a really good result in this Martial Exam, the school would surely reward them with some money. If their results were even better, the Cloud City Education Bureau Branch might offer a reward too.

That money would be more than enough to pay for college, but it wouldn't do much to improve Ji Ruo's family circumstances.

Selling a self-created Martial Technique—even one for the Martial Apprentice stage—would be enough for Ji Ruo to live comfortably in the future.

After all, selling a Martial Technique wasn't a one-time deal. There'd be ongoing royalties. The Martial Apprentice stage was known as the Martial Artist Reserve, and everyone had to pass through it before becoming a martial artist.

In theory, if Ji Ruo chose to sell his sword art, his potential customers would be everyone in Great Xia!

The royalties would surely amount to an astonishing sum.

But not everyone sold their Martial Techniques.

Every Martial Technique represented the creator's painstaking effort. Whether to sell one was entirely a personal choice.

Not everyone cared about money. Even in this day and age, there were still people who treasured their possessions too much to share them.

Liang Shixian was thinking of Ji Ruo, of course, but there was another very important reason.

He wanted to learn the sword art too!

To be able to block flying projectiles without Blood Qi Power, with swordsmanship so exquisite, light, and graceful—how cool was that?

If Ji Ruo agreed to sell it, Liang Shixian would make sure his family gave him money to buy it right away. That would be a perfectly reasonable way to help Ji Ruo, killing two birds with one stone.

Liang Shixian was just worried that Ji Ruo wouldn't want to sell it.

If that happened, Liang Shixian would be a little disappointed, but he wouldn't push him. After all, it was Ji Ruo's choice.

"Sell it? Of course I'll sell it." Ji Ruo didn't have any objections. With [Sword Dao Favor (First Glimpse of the Path)] boosting him, he could create as many similar sword arts as he wanted. Why wouldn't he sell them?

Liang Shixian was delighted. "Really? That's wonderful! Ji Ruo, I'll wish you riches in advance!"

"Monitor, you want to learn it, don't you?" Ji Ruo looked at Liang Shixian with a knowing smile.

"Ah, I..." Liang Shixian felt a little embarrassed to have his thoughts exposed.

But Ji Ruo burst out laughing. "You want to learn? I'll teach you! For free."

Thanks to the book friend 'Yu Xue Lishang' for the 309 reward coins~