Poetry Tutor

In the dim carriage, Jiang Youfei stared at Li Qingxian with glittering eyes.

"Why are you looking at me?" Li Qingxian asked curiously.

Jiang Youfei took a deep breath, lowered her eyes, and said softly, "I will surely repay the debt of saving my life."

"Wasn't there already the Heavenly Venerable Token?" Li Qingxian asked.

"The Heavenly Venerable Token was payment. Saving my life is saving my life." Jiang Youfei sounded weak, her voice growing ever softer.

Li Qingxian smiled. "Fine. I'll wait for the day you repay me."

Jiang Youfei said helplessly, "Your skin is really thick."

Seeing Jiang Youfei reveal such a girlish manner for the first time, Li Qingxian smiled.

"How is your body?" Li Qingxian asked.

Jiang Youfei hesitated for a moment before honestly saying, "Even with talismans and magical artifacts protecting me, my injuries were not light. But you shared some Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder with me, helping my Sword Body advance. A misfortune turned into a blessing. Before long, my Five Qi will reach completion, the Four Aspects will coexist, and I may hope to reach Third Rank."

Li Qingxian pondered. "So that means you still owe me a second debt of gratitude?"

"You..." Jiang Youfei was dumbfounded. How could there be such a shameless person in the world?

Seeing Jiang Youfei's dazed expression, Li Qingxian laughed even more happily.

"I... I taught you the Divine Firmament General Canon to help you reach Entry Rank. How should that count?" Jiang Youfei could not help bargaining.

"I reached Entry Rank? I was so busy saving you that I forgot to check."

Only then did Li Qingxian come to his senses and carefully inspect his body.

The carriage was covered over. Originally, only the area by the windows had any light, but now everything seemed bright as day.

Li Qingxian looked down. His feet ached from swelling, and the toes of his shoes had even been stretched into the outlines of his toes.

His thick, powerful legs had pulled his trousers taut.

Li Qingxian tugged open his collar and looked inside, then smiled.

His pectorals bulged, and his abdominal muscles stood sharply defined.

The V-line was decent enough. It would do.

"Does reaching Entry Rank have such a huge effect?" Li Qingxian raised and bent his right arm, squeezing out a bicep like a big mouse, then gently touched it.

Hard as iron.

Jiang Youfei looked at Li Qingxian helplessly. She had truly never seen anyone so lively and full of vigor. Before this, let alone senior brothers and junior brothers, even imperial princes and royal descendants had always been refined and courteous before her.

Jiang Youfei had not wanted to speak, but then she remembered that she had even passed on the Divine Firmament General Canon. In the future, she would likely ask her master to accept him into the sect. She would gain a little junior brother, and she suddenly felt rather happy.

She had never taught a little junior brother before.

Jiang Youfei patiently explained, "I cultivate soft techniques, so I will not grow taller. Those in my sect who cultivate hard techniques all stand over seven feet once they advance to Middle Rank. Your Command Guard Envoy is more than ten feet tall, and there are even taller ones, such as that Third Rank Demon Cultivator. There are some basic cultivation principles, though I do not know whether you know them. For example, Martial Cultivators use the lower dantian, Literary Cultivation uses the Middle Dantian, and Dao Cultivators use the upper dantian."

"Will cultivating the Dao interfere with my Fate Cultivation?"

"Fate Cultivators and Dao Cultivators share the same origin. Both cultivate the upper dantian, the Spirit Platform. Fate Arts are not adept at direct combat, so to make up for that weakness, Destiny Arts Masters often cultivate Dao arts as well to protect themselves. Besides, on rare occasions, Destiny Arts Masters receive gifted Righteousness Swords, though such cases are exceedingly rare." Jiang Youfei straightened her little chest like a small teacher, lecturing with grave seriousness.

Li Qingxian said, "I have heard something about that, though I do not know whether it is right. A First Rank Grand Confucian can grant a Righteousness Sword Seed to judge whether someone is good or evil. If a person of great treachery and evil receives the sword, their meridians will be utterly destroyed. I remember that, back then, an imperial censor was bribed into falsely accusing the famed minister Gu Bany u. Gu Bany u merely said, 'Do you dare accept the sword I grant you?' and forced that censor speechless. If a scholar who was not wicked received the sword, their literary qi would rise greatly. If the recipient was not a Literary Cultivator, receiving the sword would open their Middle Dantian and allow them to wield that Righteousness Sword. However, because it is a gifted sword, it can only be used once. Once used, it dissipates, and the Middle Dantian closes."

"That is correct. Unless an ordinary person becomes a Poetry Tutor who helps others revise poetry, they cannot retain the sword seed for long. Uncle Zhou has always wanted to find you a Righteousness Sword Seed, but Upper Three Ranks Grand Confucians are scarce to begin with, and First Rank ones are even rarer. He has yet to find one." Jiang Youfei said.

"Uncle Zhou has been thoughtful. For a First Rank Grand Confucian to bestow a Righteousness Sword Seed—how difficult that is." Li Qingxian sighed.

Jiang Youfei said, "Focus your intent on your Spirit Platform now. Then you can observe inwardly. It will be a hazy expanse with currents of qi surging within it. That is magical power. Your next step is to condense a Thunderfire Pearl. However, I can only teach you the method of condensing it after you formally enter the Sky Firmament Sect."

Li Qingxian fell silent for a while, then asked quietly, "What does it mean to focus my intent on the Spirit Platform?"

Jiang Youfei froze for a moment, then said helplessly, "In plain terms, think about the space between your brows and feel your awareness staying there. It is like 'seeing,' but not with your eyes—with your mind, with your intent. That is called inward observation."

"Alright."

Jiang Youfei taught him as conscientiously as if he were her disciple and comforted him, "The first time one focuses their intent on the Spirit Platform is extremely difficult. You need to fast and bathe, then sit cross-legged. Generally, it takes several hours before one can fully enter meditation. I was better than most; I only spent..."

Jiang Youfei suddenly stopped, staring blankly at Li Qingxian.

Li Qingxian was merely sitting casually, yet there was a faint glow between his brows, and his face shone with a jade-like radiance.

"That's cheating..." Jiang Youfei was stunned. She could not believe he had learned to focus his intent on the Spirit Platform in a single try.

Li Qingxian focused his intent on his Spirit Platform and "looked" at the Thunder Dragon Fire Seal, remaining silent for a long time.

Wasn't it supposed to be a hazy expanse with currents of qi surging through it? Wasn't he supposed to condense a Thunderfire Pearl? Why had a Thunder Dragon Fire Seal appeared the moment he entered? How was he supposed to cultivate this?

Not long after, Li Qingxian withdrew from his Spirit Platform. After pondering for a while, he decided he should trust Jiang Youfei and asked, "Sister Youfei, my Spirit Platform seems a little different."

A flash passed through Jiang Youfei's eyes. She asked curiously, "Could you be a Fate Cultivation or Dao Cultivation genius? What exactly is the phenomenon?"

Li Qingxian answered vaguely, "There is a large, hazy seal inside."

Jiang Youfei pondered for a moment. "Your talent is ordinary, and no sect would accept you, yet an unusual phenomenon has appeared in your Spirit Platform. It is probably related to the Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder."

"Couldn't it be because I'm a peerless genius blessed by heaven?" Li Qingxian was unconvinced.

Jiang Youfei silently looked at Li Qingxian and slowly asked, "Who was it that could not even enter a minor Dao Sect?"

"That purple crystal is called the Divine Firmament Thunder Seed? Are there records of it in the Dao Sect?" Li Qingxian smoothly changed the subject.

"It is said that whoever obtains this thunder seed receives Heaven's favor and becomes a hero of an age. You... Heaven may have accidents too..." Jiang Youfei contemplated this seriously.

"Sister Youfei, the Night Guard's intelligence is inaccurate. I was clever and bright from childhood; I simply never had a famous teacher. Look at me. At fifteen, I obtained the Divine Firmament Thunder Seed and became Tenth Rank on the spot. In the future, I will surely rise high into the blue clouds!" Li Qingxian said.

Jiang Youfei looked at Li Qingxian with eyes full of pity. "With the Divine Firmament Thunder Seed upon you, if your talent were even slightly better, you would have become Seventh Rank on the spot at the very least."

Li Qingxian was silent for a moment before asking, "You said just now—how long did it take you to successfully focus your intent on the Spirit Platform?"

The two looked into each other's eyes. Li Qingxian's expression was utterly serious, while Jiang Youfei's eyes glittered.

Jiang Youfei turned her small head and body to the right, saying in a soft voice, "I'm tired."

Li Qingxian said with complete satisfaction, "It is enough that you understand my talent."

The carriage suddenly jolted. Zhou Hen said from outside, "The carriage has been hitched again. I'll drive it myself. There are still remnants of the demonic formation at the edges, so it may be somewhat bumpy when we pass through."

"Thank you, Little Uncle Zhou." Li Qingxian glanced at Jiang Youfei.

Jiang Youfei did not move at all. Her fair, tender neck seemed to glow.