Basics! (Seeking Votes!)

Deep night.

The Green Flood Dragon Army camp was silent, with nearly all the soldiers asleep; only the Martial Repository remained lit by candlelight.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

A knock sounded at the door.

Master Jingzhi set down the scroll in his hand and said with a smile, "Do you still knock when coming to see me?"

The door opened.

True Person Muxuan walked in, still dressed in his green robes with his long hair draped over his shoulders.

He glanced at the book on the table: "I knew you hadn't slept yet."

"I spent all of yesterday in a daze, sleeping for a day and a night, so now I can't fall asleep no matter what." Master Jingzhi looked at True Person Muxuan. "Is there something you need?"

"Did you pass the Free and Easy Wandering movement technique to Zhou Hao?" True Person Muxuan frowned. "Even if you intended to teach him, why stay up all night copying it out for him? You could have just taught him step by step."

Seeing that True Person Muxuan was frowning out of concern for his lack of sleep, Master Jingzhi felt a warmth in his heart.

However, he maintained an indifferent expression. "He is setting sail in two days, and I don't know how much longer this body of mine can hold out. Since I decided to pass it on, I might as well give it all to him at once."

"Back then, I asked you to pass it to Li Zhan, and you refused." True Person Muxuan looked at Master Jingzhi, whose pale face was tinged with a sickly cyan hue. "Now you pass it so easily to someone you've only met once. Aren't you worried?"

"Some people can be trusted after a single meeting. Others, you might not know their true nature even after a lifetime. Compared to Zhou Hao, I do not like Li Zhan."

Master Jingzhi shook his head. "A cold, selfish person with paper-thin loyalties wants to inherit Yueying's destiny? He is not worthy."

"Zhan is just obsessed with cultivation and is a bit reclusive..." True Person Muxuan's voice grew softer until it ended in a sigh. "Fine, if you won't pass it on, then you won't."

"You should be careful with him, too." Master Jingzhi's tone was solemn. "A ten-year-old child who felt nothing even as his parents died before his eyes. I knew from that moment that he was a wolf—a wolf that can never be tamed."

"Now you're worrying about me. I only took him in for peace of mind; I don't expect anything from him. It's no matter." True Person Muxuan shook his head with a smile.

"Since you've passed the secret technique to Zhou Hao, do you intend to take him as a disciple? If you don't want to ask, I will speak to him for you. Taking a reincarnated immortal as a disciple would certainly not diminish your reputation as True Person Yushu."

...True Person Yushu?

There was no True Person Yushu anymore; there was only Master Jingzhi.

Master Jingzhi was lost in thought for a moment before saying firmly to True Person Muxuan, "Zhou Hao is not a reincarnated immortal."

"He isn't? He manifested divine sense the moment he entered the Xiantian realm. Aside from a reincarnated immortal, have you ever heard of such a monster?" True Person Muxuan countered.

"Perhaps he has other fortuitous encounters, but he is certainly not a reincarnated immortal."

Thinking back to the day he lectured him, a smile appeared on Master Jingzhi's face.

"What is so good about being a reincarnated immortal anyway? Every sect treats them like treasures."

"Just because they couldn't pass their tribulation in a past life, does that mean they will succeed in this one? A joke!"

"If you ask me, they should do as the Upper Sect does: never accept reincarnated immortals from other sects as core disciples. That is the wisest path."

"The Upper Sect doesn't accept reincarnated immortals from other sects as core disciples?" True Person Muxuan looked at Master Jingzhi in surprise.

Seeing that he did not answer, he immediately realized his mistake. "Right, I shouldn't have asked."

Master Jingzhi remained silent.

He had sworn an oath to the Heavenly Dao; he could not reveal information about the Upper Sect to outsiders. He couldn't even speak its name, having to use the term 'Upper Sect' as a substitute.

Fortunately, the extra sentence he had just spoken was not classified information and would not expose the secrets of the Upper Sect, so he would not be punished by the blood oath of the Heavenly Dao.

"You still haven't said whether you intend to take him as a disciple," True Person Muxuan asked again.

He desperately wanted his younger brother to take on a disciple before his lifespan reached its limit.

Perhaps that would bring him some comfort, so he wouldn't truly end his life in solitude.

"I have no intention of taking him as a disciple." Master Jingzhi shook his head. "Even the Jade Dragon Sect is too small; he deserves a much broader sky."

"You don't mean to..." True Person Muxuan exclaimed in shock. "That is an opportunity to enter the Upper Sect's outer sect trials. Even within our own sect, only the Primordial Spirit Daoists like our Master have the qualifications to recommend someone."

"A little fellow who barely understands the realms of immortality, yet he cultivated the Chiming Nine Heavens Map to the Xiantian realm in a matter of days."

"His soul is so powerful that he can manifest divine sense, and he has even reached the realm of the True Meaning of the Dao."

"And in two days, he will have mastered the basics of Free and Easy Wandering..."

Master Jingzhi looked at True Person Muxuan with a smile.

"Such a monster—don't you want to see just how far he can go in the future?"

Junior Sister.

Perhaps he can finish what we could not.

...Early morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

In the courtyard.

Six children between the ages of six and seven, including Iron Pillar and Shitou, were already lined up. Each of them stood in a half-squat, holding their arms out level as they practiced their horse stance.

As time ticked by, sweat broke out on the foreheads of Iron Pillar and the others, and their legs began to tremble.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"Thud."

As the first little girl lost her stamina and sat down on the ground, it was like a chain reaction; the other five children collapsed one after another.

"Uncle Zhou Hao, I see my dad and the others lifting stone locks to train their strength. Is standing still like this also a form of training?"

Iron Pillar sat on the ground, rubbing his aching knees as he looked at Zhou Hao, who had remained silent the entire time.

When Zhou Hao returned last night and heard from Xiangcao that Iron Pillar and the other youngsters had enrolled in the school within Jade Dragon City, he promised to teach them the basics of martial arts.

The children were so excited they barely slept a wink, yet they never expected that instead of the legendary divine techniques they anticipated, Zhou Hao would simply have them stand there.

"Of course this is training," Zhou Hao said with a smile. For six or seven-year-olds to hold a horse stance for so long on their first try was no small feat.

At the very least, they all possessed a resilient nature and the ability to endure hardship.

"The horse stance is the foundation of all foundations. Mastering it not only makes your lower body stable and your legs powerful, but more importantly, it develops 'living force' rather than 'dead force'."

Zhou Hao shook his head. "Standing perfectly still like you did earlier is certainly not proper training. Doing it for too long is not only useless but will actually damage your bodies. Watch how I squat."

With that, Zhou Hao dropped into a horse stance.

Iron Pillar and the others noticed that while Zhou Hao was in a half-squat, his body wasn't motionless; instead, it rose and fell slightly, as if he were truly riding a horse.

"Horse stance, horse stance—the most important part is the 'horse'. You must manifest the horse to be considered initiated."

Seeing that they were all watching him closely, Zhou Hao continued, "You have all ridden Black Cunning Beasts. When they gallop, you feel that undulating force while sitting on their backs. In battle, you can use that force to multiply the power of your weapons, but since that force doesn't originate from you, it doesn't count as true skill."

"If you can generate this undulating force while standing in a horse stance on flat ground, it is equivalent to integrating the strength of a Black Cunning Beast into your own body, which stimulates muscle growth and increases power."

"When you practice boxing later, you will find it much easier to grasp the concept of 'power rising from the ground.' When that time comes, a single punch from you will carry far more force than anyone else's..."

Iron Pillar and the other children didn't fully understand, but they knew Uncle Zhou Hao would never lie to them, so they carefully committed every word to memory.

"Come, try squatting again." After demonstrating, Zhou Hao stood up and let them try once more.

"When you squat, the force as you sink should be relaxed. Keep your toes loose; as your knees relax, your thighs loosen, and your waist sinks, your abdomen will naturally bulge. When you rise, you must be tense. Dig your toes firmly into the ground; as you grip with your toes, your knees will naturally straighten. Once the knees straighten and the thighs tense up, follow the momentum to lift your waist and pull in your abdomen. This is the 'rising force'."

"Zhuzi, don't make the rise and fall too large. An inch of movement from your toes is the maximum."

Sure enough, after their first failed attempt, Iron Pillar and the others followed Zhou Hao's correct posture and immediately noticed the difference.

The previous soreness and strain were no longer as intense. Instead, once they mastered the rhythm of rising and falling, they felt their waists and legs growing warmer and stronger.

This time, the six children held the stance for nearly half an hour, and even the weakest little girl seemed to find it easier as she went on.

"Time to eat," Sister-in-law Zhamu said, walking over from the front courtyard to the group still practicing.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Zhou Hao said. "For the next month, you will stand for an hour every morning and evening. Whoever trains the best will be taught a set of boxing techniques."

"Yes!" Iron Pillar and the others stood up and cupped their fists in a salute to Zhou Hao, acting like little adults.

"Go eat," Zhou Hao said with a wave of his hand.

Through his own cultivation these past few days, he discovered that while the Wilderness World's Qi-refining and body-tempering techniques could produce internal energy and divine strength—and even grant extraordinary abilities upon reaching the Xiantian realm—they were inferior to the Internal Martial Arts he had learned from his master before transmigrating when it came to building a foundation and, specifically, the precise control of bodily force.

Moreover, based on his own experience, his ability to make rapid progress into the Xiantian realm on his first attempt and his quick mastery of various techniques and moves were all inseparable from the foundation he had built through martial arts as a child.

The soldiers of his Jade Dragon Army were already Xiantian experts and had no need for such basic training. However, Iron Pillar and the others were still young with fragile meridians; it was too early for them to practice Qi-refining, so using Internal Martial Arts to build their foundation was perfect.

As for the God-Devil Body Refining techniques, Zhou Hao had a plan.

He intended to teach them simple Taoist "Visualization Techniques." Once their soul power grew stronger, they could begin that training, which would surely yield twice the result with half the effort.

If he could cultivate a few more promising seeds for the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, the Iron Ox Tribe would have a safeguard for the future.

After all, he couldn't stay here forever.

"Brother Zhou Hao, come eat with us," Sister-in-law Zhamu said.

"Alright," Zhou Hao agreed, then asked casually, "Sister-in-law, where is Xiangcao? Why haven't I seen her?"

Usually, he would see Xiangcao the moment he stepped out of his room, but today, he hadn't seen her even after spending half the morning training with the children.

Was she still angry about last night?

He thought back to when he, Yang Yun, and Xiangcao were at the Zhu Da Tavern last night, and Yang Yun had intentionally used her drunken state to tease him and Xiangcao.

Looking at the shy and adorable Xiangcao, Zhou Hao felt quite conflicted.

Did he like Xiangcao?

He did like her quite a bit.

But that kind of liking felt more like the affection one has for family, for a younger sister.

It was a feeling of being accustomed to having someone by his side—plain yet warm, a presence that inadvertently made his heart feel cozy.

Yet, compared to love, this emotion seemed to be missing something.

In his past and present lives, Zhou Hao had never been in a relationship, so he didn't know what it felt like to truly like or love someone.

"Xiangcao is still in her room; she hasn't come out this morning."

Sister-in-law Zhamu's eyes held a hint of a smile. "What? Can't stand not seeing her for a moment? Why don't you go call her?"

"..."

Just then, the door to a room on the other side of the courtyard opened, and Xiangcao stepped out.

"Sister-in-law, what nonsense are you spouting!" Xiangcao's cheeks flushed red. "Go check if the little ones are finished eating; don't let them be late for school."

"Alright, alright, you two chat, you two chat." Zhamu's wife laughed and hurried away.

"I..." Zhou Hao opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Xiangcao spoke first, "I've cultivated my Qi and stepped into the Xiantian realm."

"Xiantian?" Zhou Hao was stunned.

Xiangcao waved her hand, and a surge of True Essence left her body, causing the door behind her to slam shut with a loud bang.

"It really is true." Zhou Hao realized.

It wasn't surprising, though. After Xiangcao began practicing the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, although she was limited by the small amount of Taiyin and Solar energy she could channel each time, it was, after all, the premier cultivation method for God-Devil Body Refining, providing a massive boost to her physique.

Breaking through from Post-Heaven to a Xiantian Lifeform didn't require an incredibly high level of insight; reaching the realm of Subtlety was sufficient.

Xiangcao was one of the top archers in the Iron Ox Tribe, and her archery had long since reached the realm of Subtlety.

"I want to join the Jade Dragon Army," Xiangcao said solemnly.

"Why?" Zhou Hao asked.

Why... because I don't want the gap between us to keep growing, Xiangcao thought to herself.

Feelings are truly hard to explain, sigh. I'm going back to writing; the third update will be around 8 o'clock! My friends, it's the first day of the month, please show your support!