Teaching

Although their statuses were not equal, Li Nannan still felt grateful toward Ji Ruo.

That was why, while neutralizing the poison and healing her injuries, she set aside part of her focus to seriously listen to Ji Ruo's sword theory.

Li Nannan had made up her mind to give Ji Ruo proper guidance, and if he was willing, she would even teach him everything she knew.

After all, he had saved her life.

But after hearing Ji Ruo's explanation of his sword theory, she suddenly felt that this student was a bit too ambitious.

Was Ji Ruo's sword theory bad? Actually, it was quite good.

Was it impractical? Theoretically, it was feasible.

But for the Martial Apprentice stage, it was far too advanced.

Even for her, a Qi Pulse Realm martial artist, it was somewhat ahead of its time.

As everyone knew, whether at the Martial Apprentice stage or the Qi Pulse Realm, if you wanted to use a sword technique to block hidden weapons or flying projectiles, the only way was to fight speed with speed—using extremely fast sword strokes to form a crude 'sword barrier' in front of you to block them. Simply put, it relied on luck.

Listening for sound to locate position was a skill almost all martial artists possessed, but prediction? That was not something you could learn just by listening for sound and locating position!

Battles with demons or other martial artists changed in an instant. To know the position of every flying projectile through sound in that split second, calculate their landing points with your brain, and then execute a sword move—this was nearly impossible!

Not to mention Martial Apprentices; even Qi Pulse Realm martial artists rarely had such powerful reaction speed!

The sword technique Ji Ruo described could only be called a fantasy sword technique!

Li Nannan hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Classmate Ji Ruo, the Martial Dao requires a solid foundation."

She couldn't say it too bluntly, afraid of hurting Ji Ruo's pride.

But Ji Ruo caught Li Nannan's subtext—wasn't she just saying he was reaching for the stars?

So Ji Ruo twirled the small wooden stick in his hand into a beautiful flourish and said, "Then let's stop the theory here. Teacher, could I ask you for a favor?"

Li Nannan was taken aback: "What favor?"

Ji Ruo turned and picked up a pile of small stones from various spots in the mountain hollow, placed them in front of Li Nannan, and said, "What you get from books is shallow; to truly understand, you must practice it yourself. You can't learn a sword technique just by hearing theory; you need actual combat drills. Please throw stones at me, Teacher, and I'll demonstrate for the class monitor."

"Throw stones?" Li Nannan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."

She was torn between throwing them hard or soft.

If she threw them hard and Ji Ruo couldn't block them, it might crush the kid's confidence.

But if she threw them soft, Li Nannan felt like she was deceiving these children, which wouldn't help them on the Martial Dao.

She was conflicted.

"Teacher, I'm ready."

"Mm."

Li Nannan took a deep breath and decided to throw them hard. Even if it crushed his confidence, so be it—on the path of martial arts, there was no room for shortcuts.

She would use this opportunity to teach Ji Ruo the lesson that 'you can't be too ambitious in training.'

So Li Nannan reached out, picked up a stone, twisted her wrist, and threw it with a standard hidden weapon technique.

"Whoosh—"

The sound of air splitting rang out, and the stone's speed was so fast that even Ji Ruo, a sixth-level Martial Apprentice, could barely see it.

Li Nannan thought to herself: If this stone hits him, it will definitely hurt, but the 'teaching effect' will be significant!

She stared at Ji Ruo. At her level, even if her strength hadn't fully recovered, she wouldn't miss.

And Ji Ruo was only a sixth-level Martial Apprentice—this strike would definitely hit!

But the next moment, she froze.

Because Ji Ruo didn't even look at the stone she had thrown; he even turned his head to talk to Liang Shixian: "Class monitor, watch closely. Listening for sound, locating position, plus prediction—that's the Nine Swords of Dugu: Arrow Breaking Form."

At the same time, the standard-issue sword that had been strapped to his back was somehow already in Ji Ruo's hand. Without even looking, he swung the sword as if casually, stopping it at a certain position—

"Clang!"

The stone was deflected by the blade, and Li Nannan was slightly stunned.

Luck? Or had Ji Ruo really mastered such a sword technique?

Just then, Ji Ruo turned back and smiled: "Teacher, don't stop. Throw more. Throwing one at a time doesn't really show the effect, does it?"

Li Nannan took a deep breath: "Fine!"

She picked up three stones and threw them all at once.

The three stones shot through the air at blinding speed, still too fast for the naked eye to track, forming a triangle as they struck toward Ji Ruo.

The angles of attack were extremely tricky. In Li Nannan's mind, even if Ji Ruo could block one, he would definitely be hit by the other two.

With the reaction speed of a sixth-level Martial Apprentice, there was no way he could block all three stones at once!

Even if he could react and block one, he wouldn't have time to block the other two.

But then, without any apparent reason, Ji Ruo suddenly extended his sword to the left, swinging it upward in a half-circle—

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Three voices rang out almost simultaneously!

Li Nannan's mouth fell slightly open.

It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but could Ji Ruo, a mere sixth-grade Martial Apprentice, really predict the flight trajectories and sequence of the stones she threw just by listening to their sound?!

Ji Ruo turned his head again and said to Liang Shixian, "Class monitor, once you learn this sword technique, it won't matter whether your eyes can see or not—as long as you can still hear."

Li Nannan's eyes sharpened. A flaw!

She struck almost instantly, using a special technique to throw seven stones at once!

These seven stones varied in speed, but the difference wasn't large—barely enough to count as simultaneous.

Not only that, but three of the stones didn't fly in straight lines: two followed arcs, and one traced a curve!

Let alone the fact that Ji Ruo wasn't even looking this way—with a sixth-grade Martial Apprentice's eyesight, he couldn't possibly see clearly. Even if he could, he'd have no way to predict the paths.

A continuous clatter rang out as stone after stone was knocked down, and Ji Ruo hadn't even turned his head!

Almost at the same moment, only the last stone—the one flying in a curve—remained of those Li Nannan had thrown.

Ji Ruo still didn't look back.

That stone had already reached him. If he didn't block it, it would surely slam heavily into his chest.

But Ji Ruo seemed completely unaware of this stone. Instead of parrying with his sword, he suddenly raised the blade and held it horizontally above his head.

Liang Shixian didn't understand the meaning of this motion, but Li Nannan was already stunned.

Because that stone didn't strike Ji Ruo's body. It defied the laws of physics, abruptly rising upward, then exploding above his head into over a dozen tiny fragments that rained down again!

Ji Ruo's sword danced once more, his movements graceful, relaxed, and effortless.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—"

The sound of gravel striking the blade formed a continuous chain—all blocked!

And Ji Ruo was still talking to Liang Shixian: "...to the sound, you can predict, and then break them one by one! In fact, this sword technique doesn't require much computational power. I'll tell you some tricks for it later. Once you master those tricks and practice diligently, class monitor, you'll naturally grasp this special rhythm and tempo. After that, using this sword technique in battle will be very easy—just follow your instincts."

"Ah, this..."

Li Nannan was dumbfounded.