Drawing

"Xiao Jiu, your butt looks so perky."

Jiang Jiu: "?"

"I'm asking you to check my form."

Jiang Jiu held the empty bar across his shoulders with both hands, maintaining a half-squat.

The fifteen-kilogram empty bar was still easy for him to handle.

At Soul Scholar rank, one's basic physical condition was already better than that of an ordinary adult, let alone now that he was a Soul Master.

As for asking Xiao Wu to check his form, although she didn't know the proper technique for a Barbell Squat, movement patterns often carried over between exercises.

She could tell him whether a movement looked fluid or whether he was compensating with other parts of his body. A quick look was enough for her to offer some advice.

Jiang Jiu could also feel his muscles stretching and contracting as he squatted up and down. By combining what he felt with Xiao Wu's observations, he was sure he could gradually refine his form until he got it right.

Besides, Jiang Jiu didn't have any postural problems, which would also help him master the correct technique more quickly.

"But it really is perky." Xiao Wu giggled again, but then she stepped forward to help him with his form.

Whatever else, she knew how to adjust his center of gravity and align his joints.

As a master of joint techniques, Xiao Wu knew exactly which movements would avoid injuring the joints, and how to reduce the strain on them while improving performance.

"So, Xiao Jiu, you want to train your lower-body strength?"

Xiao Wu could sense which muscles Jiang Jiu was engaging as he squatted with the iron bar. And since he was using the bar as a weight, it counted as resistance training.

"Yeah. You can try it too when you have time, once I've got the rest of the equipment ready."

"It sounds exhausting."

Xiao Wu naturally didn't think Jiang Jiu would keep training with just this iron bar. Just like the distance he covered on his morning runs kept growing, the weight he carried would surely get heavier and heavier.

"Think of it this way: the stronger your legs are, the more satisfying it'll be to kick someone, right?"

Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes as if she'd had a revelation, then smiled until her eyes narrowed.

"Any objections?"

"Nope."

Judging by the sky, it was about time for their usual cultivation session.

For now, he'd only been showing Xiao Wu what the empty bar was for. They could take their time figuring out the right strength-training techniques.

But one thing was different from before: Jiang Jiu could take a nice, comfortable shower first.

Having a private bathroom was just too good.

"Uh..."

"What are you embarrassed about? Hurry up and shower, then get to cultivating."

He'd already expected this, but Xiao Wu really was getting bolder and bolder.

She dressed neatly in Dorm Seven, but at home, she could wear whatever was comfortable.

Jiang Jiu could only pretend he hadn't seen anything. He finished washing up early and returned to bed to begin cultivating.

Over the next few days, Jiang Jiu used the empty bar to work on his form for the Barbell Squat, deadlift, and Bench Press. At the same time, he thought about how to fit Barbell Plates onto the bare iron bar.

He also needed a rack to hold the bar and the plates.

He and Xiao Wu could work out the techniques between them, but for everything else, he'd have to sound out the blacksmiths.

When it came to making practical things, those seasoned masters with years of forging experience could probably offer useful advice.

All Jiang Jiu could do was absorb their experience, then use better materials to make the equipment himself.

His little stash of money was running dangerously low. Making money was hard, but spending it was as easy as water flowing away.

Another change was that Tang San had moved out, too. He lived close to Jiang Jiu and Xiao Wu, close enough to count as a neighbor.

Jiang Jiu felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

With Tang San living nearby, Jiang Jiu's safety had actually shot up.

At dusk, the three of them walked home together after leaving the Blacksmith Shop.

"Xiao San, do you want some Iron Essence? Nine Gold Soul Coins per kilogram."

Tang San's mouth twitched. Jiang Jiu's price was indeed cheaper than the market rate, but Tang San could get an even better deal from the Blacksmith Shop.

Besides, scrap metal was enough for what he needed for now.

If he really ran short on Iron Essence, he could forge it himself.

"Wouldn't it be better to sell it to someone else for ten Gold Soul Coins?"

"Just kidding. I don't have enough for myself."

Tang San was curious about what Jiang Jiu was doing with so much Iron Essence. Was he really just making an iron bar?

"See you."

"See you."

Tang San watched Jiang Jiu and Xiao Wu stroll toward their house. He went inside first; he still had to head to Nuoding Academy later. Grandmaster's lesson was that evening, as usual.

Although he had to walk back and forth more each day, just being able to wash away the day's fatigue after forging and before seeing his teacher made Tang San feel that renting this house had been the right choice.

As for Jiang Jiu—

"Tang San hardly seems to spend any time cultivating. Xiao Jiu, do you think he's even lazier than me?"

Xiao Wu's comment struck Jiang Jiu as counterintuitive.

How could Tang San possibly be lazier than Xiao Wu?

But on second thought, Tang San had classes in the morning, forged metal in the afternoon, and attended Grandmaster's lessons in the evening. By that reckoning, he had very little time to cultivate each day.

Under Jiang Jiu's influence, Xiao Wu sometimes cultivated from dusk until bedtime. Other times, she joined him in cultivating during the morning.

If cultivation was the only thing that counted, it really was hard to say who was lazier.

"Forging is cultivation for him, in a way."

There couldn't be anyone lazier than Xiao Wu, or she'd have an excuse to slack off without a care.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Jiu wasn't just making that up. Forging with Soul Power did count as a kind of cultivation, though it still needed to be paired with seated meditation.

"Forget him. Xiao Jiu, do you think I should teach you about Soul Beasts too?"

Xiao Wu had already taught him most of her Soft Technique. The rest would mainly come down to Jiang Jiu mastering it himself and finding ways to build on it.

Of course, Xiao Wu still had a few spectacular moves she'd teach him once his Soul Power and physical condition were better.

Now that Xiao Wu had joined the "martial arts lessons," the teacher wanted to give him some "theory lessons" too.

"You know about that?"

"Of course I do!"

It was good that Xiao Wu had brought it up herself. Jiang Jiu hadn't been able to find a natural way to hint that he wanted her to teach him about it.

Back in the Soul Hunting Forest, he'd been completely in the dark. There wasn't even anywhere to learn this at Nuoding Academy.

"Really?"

"Forgot? I was the one who recognized your First Soul Ring!" Xiao Wu said proudly.

"I stand corrected."

"Hmph."

Once Jiang Jiu began cultivating, Xiao Wu started fretting again.

She'd offered to teach him, but how was she supposed to do it?

The Soft Technique was all about the body. Her body and Jiang Jiu's were the teaching materials.

But when it came to recognizing Soul Beasts, she couldn't just point at things and say, "This is this Soul Beast, and that is that Soul Beast."

Even if she listed all their features, descriptions and imagined pictures could differ from the real thing. If Jiang Jiu failed to recognize one or mistook it for another, that would be her fault as his teacher.

If they ran into that Soul Beast later, the consequences could be serious.

"Hey? I've got it!" Xiao Wu noticed the paper cutouts she'd bought and stuck on the wall.

The next day, Xiao Wu dragged Jiang Jiu out to buy a big stack of white paper, along with a few pens.

"Ta-da!"

In the room, Xiao Wu held up a sheet of paper, looking pleased with her handiwork.

"A little furball?"

"What furball? I clearly drew a Soft Bone Rabbit!"

"That's what a Soft Bone Rabbit looks like?"

Xiao Wu examined her drawing carefully. She couldn't bring herself to argue. "I guess it doesn't really look like that."

A little white rabbit was ten thousand times cuter than the one she'd drawn.

Jiang Jiu studied it a few more times.

"Is this the neck?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Xiao Wu nodded excitedly.

"The chest?"

"Right, right!" Xiao Wu was even more excited.

"And the butt?"

"Um, I forgot to draw it." Her excitement wilted.

But Jiang Jiu didn't know how to draw either.

Xiao Wu had a good idea, but unfortunately, Jiang Jiu couldn't offer any constructive advice.

So all he could do was encourage her.

"It's really good for a first try."

"Really?"

"My first drawing definitely wouldn't have been as good as yours."

"But if no one can tell what it is, then drawing it was pointless, wasn't it?"

Especially since Xiao Wu had drawn a Soft Bone Rabbit, the Soul Beast she knew best.

If her drawing fell flat, this method might not be much better than teaching him by describing things aloud.

"Take it slow. You'll improve eventually, and I can ask you about anything that isn't clear."

Helping Xiao Wu find a hobby was nice too, if she really came to enjoy drawing.

Besides, drawing wasn't entirely useless.

Just as forging could strengthen the body and even contribute to Soul Power cultivation, drawing might be worked into cultivation techniques too—perhaps by gathering Spiritual Power to draw?

It didn't seem completely implausible. Once Xiao Wu gained the Charm Soul Skill and learned more about using Spiritual Power, who knew?

"Then I'll keep drawing for now?"

"Just don't expect to become an expert overnight."

"I'm not going to turn into a big fatty." Xiao Wu nudged Jiang Jiu with her little butt.

Before long, Jiang Jiu began his morning cultivation. Unless they were scheduled to practice the Soft Technique, this was usually the time for Soul Power cultivation.

Xiao Wu held her pen and looked up at Jiang Jiu, seated in meditation, then glanced at the paper on the table.

Suddenly, she didn't feel like drawing Soul Beasts.

She secretly giggled and sketched Jiang Jiu on the paper.

"These are the eyebrows, this is the nose, and this is the mouth..." Xiao Wu murmured as she worked.

"And this is... Hmm, Xiao Jiu would probably get mad if he saw this. Better erase it."

She blacked out the "model" she'd drawn, took out a fresh sheet of paper, and started drawing a Soft Bone Rabbit again.

"Mom, I've met a male rabbit, just like you met Dad."

"We'll have a daughter as cute as me, won't we?"

"Hee-hee, it'd be even better if we had a few. Then she'd have someone to play with."

"Oh, I forgot about Daming and Erming."

Xiao Wu looked at the four "furballs" on the page. She slowly added a monkey that looked nothing like a monkey and a little snake that was just a line, then blacked out the whole sheet again.

"I really don't have much talent for drawing," Xiao Wu muttered.

"I'll try drawing that Ghost Leopard we saw the other day."

It was at least a Soul Beast she'd seen recently, and most importantly, Xiao Jiu had seen it with his own eyes.

Maybe by comparing her picture to the real thing, she'd understand the difference between her drawing and the actual Soul Beast.