Since you wish to learn the sword, do you have a weapon that suits your hand?

Bodhi said:

"The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts would suit you better."

Grandmaster pointed at his arm.

"A strong body can withstand the power of the five elements. Only with sturdy muscles and bones can you control the weight of your sword. The Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Art can also nurture an immortal body, but when it comes to enduring blows and restoring a broken body, the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts excel."

Xiao Yan was about to nod when something else occurred to him:

"Which would be stronger against those evil arts that specialize in seizing souls?"

Bodhi said:

"The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts require you to cultivate a primordial spirit, so they naturally include ways to strengthen the spirit and secure the soul. Once you also cultivate Command the Five Thunders, what common fiend that captures and refines souls would dare come near you?"

His tone was casual, as though he were talking about mosquitoes in the courtyard.

The last of Xiao Yan's misgivings finally settled. He felt Grandmaster made perfect sense. Even after the monkey mastered the Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Art, Black and White Impermanence had still seized his soul and taken it away.

But he had never heard of Yang Jian having his soul seized!

What he feared most about the Soul Hall was precisely those sinister methods of capturing and devouring souls.

Now, with the arcane arts to protect him, the Five Thunders to destroy evil, and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Methods besides, he knew the calamities facing the Xiao Clan no longer had to follow their original course.

As for cultivating more slowly... that hardly mattered. With Grandmaster here, what did he have to fear? Besides, his father was still at home, and disaster had yet to strike the Xiao Clan. There was still time for everything.

At that thought, Xiao Yan lowered his head and gently flexed his aching hands. That single wisp of energy from heaven and earth had already laid his weaknesses bare.

He had a body with considerable natural potential, but he was still only a youth who had just become a Dou Zhe. Even the finest immortal art needed a powerful body to wield it.

"This disciple chooses the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts."

Xiao Yan hesitated no longer, his gaze fixed on the cultivation diagram outlining flesh, sinews, and bones.

"No matter how powerful a Divine Ability is, I need to be alive to use it. Once I've mastered this, I want to survive someone's blade and still be able to answer with a strike of my own."

Bodhi glanced at him:

"You've thought it through, at least."

Xiao Yan grinned and added:

"If anyone comes looking for trouble with the Xiao Clan in the future, I'll be able to stand at the front too. I can't leave my father to shoulder everything."

Bodhi paused slightly as he lifted his tea. He extended his index finger and lightly touched Xiao Yan between the brows. A cool sensation flowed into Xiao Yan's mind, followed by a profound scripture, every word perfectly clear.

The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, the introductory section!

Xiao Yan's heart stirred. He was just about to read it from the beginning when Grandmaster's voice sounded in his ears.

"Steady your mind. Memorize the method of circulation first."

The diagram of muscles and bones slowly unfolded before his eyes. A thin line of light rose from the Dantian, passed through the waist and back, branched into the limbs, and finally gathered back together.

Bodhi explained as he demonstrated:

"The Nine Breaths of Qi draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for you. The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts then refine that energy into your flesh, sinews, and bones. Together, they form the path of cultivation you need at present."

Xiao Yan listened intently.

Earlier, he had focused solely on drawing spiritual energy into his body, trying to retain however much entered. No wonder his meridians had swollen painfully.

Now that he had the arcane arts, that power had somewhere to go.

"Try a single wisp first."

Bodhi raised his hand, and a wisp of spiritual energy slowly gathered beside the window.

Following the formula for the Nine Breaths of Qi, Xiao Yan gathered his concentration and drew it into his body little by little. The Dou Qi in his Dantian began circulating in response.

This time, the wisp of spiritual energy did not squeeze entirely into his qi vortex. Instead, it followed the route laid out by the arcane arts, slowly spreading toward his shoulders, back, and limbs.

At first, there was only warmth. After a moment, however, that warmth gradually worked deep into his flesh, and even between his sinews and bones, a fine, prickling ache arose.

Xiao Yan's fingers tightened, and beads of sweat appeared at his temples.

Bodhi's voice came just in time:

"Slow down. Refine this wisp completely before drawing in the next."

Xiao Yan did as instructed.

His slightly hurried breathing steadied once more. The warm current gathered in his shoulders and back slowly dispersed, seeping bit by bit along tiny meridians he rarely touched in ordinary practice.

He could even feel clearly how a little of that power merged into his flesh with every stretch of circulation.

It was as though something deep within his body was slowly awakening. When he reached the end of the circulation route, a thread of cool energy traveled upward along his meridians and came to rest between his brows.

Xiao Yan's mind, which the prickling ache had disturbed, actually settled with it. The meridians on the diagram grew a little clearer as well.

"Nurturing the spirit through the body begins here."

Bodhi's voice was calm and unhurried.

"Remember this energy. Do not let it disperse."

Xiao Yan dared not let his attention stray. He held that thread of coolness steady, and only after the last wisp of spiritual energy had been fully refined did he slowly open his eyes.

The sunlight outside the window had already moved across most of the table.

He exhaled a breath of stale air and lowered his gaze to his hands. His arms still ached, and the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat, but when he clenched his fists, his muscles felt firmer than before.

With a thought, Xiao Yan tried drawing in another wisp of spiritual energy.

It was the same amount as before. Earlier, that power had made his meridians feel narrow and painfully swollen at every turn. Now, under his guidance, it could slowly complete a stretch of the circulation route.

The feeling that he might be stretched to bursting at any moment had noticeably eased.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in a low voice:

"It really works!"

And this time, Grandmaster had not reached out to guide it for him.

"Master, I can take it in now!"

"Even if you can take it in, you must know when to stop." Seeing that he still wanted to continue, Bodhi pointed at the cultivation diagram. "This is your first day tempering your body. Gently nourish it for half a quarter-hour, then conclude your practice."

Xiao Yan hurriedly reined in his eagerness and regulated his breathing according to the formula. When he finally stopped, his stomach suddenly let out a long rumble.

It was so loud that even he froze.

Bodhi looked at him.

Xiao Yan rubbed his stomach, his expression rather odd:

"Why do I feel like I could eat an entire ox right now?"

Bodhi explained:

"You were refining your flesh, sinews, and bones just now, so naturally you also consumed some of your own vital essence. If you only know how to train and not how to replenish yourself, you will exhaust yourself before you get anywhere."

He first made a calculation on his fingers, then casually swept his hand. Illusory images of several medicinal herbs appeared above the table, with their names and dosages beside them. All were things found on the Dou Qi Continent.

"From now on, you can use Medicinal Bath to gently nourish your body and help relieve the fatigue left by tempering it. Learn to identify the herbs first. Once you know them properly, go prepare them."

Xiao Yan hurriedly fetched paper and a brush.

So these arcane arts of his required not only time and effort, but food and medicine too. No wonder Grandmaster had specifically mentioned cultivation resources earlier.

He lowered his head and copied a few lines, then suddenly looked up again.

"Master, about the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts..."

Bodhi glanced at him.

"If I hadn't told you to stop just now, you would have trained until you couldn't even lift your brush. Learn to control the energy within your own body first, then come learn transformations."

Xiao Yan looked at the faintly trembling tip of his brush and obediently swallowed the rest of his words. Since he already had the cultivation art, the transformations would be his sooner or later.

He copied down the names of the herbs one by one. Just then, Xiao Zhan's voice came from beyond the courtyard gate.

"Yan'er, it's time to eat."

At the mention of food, Xiao Yan immediately perked up.

"Coming!"

He strode quickly to the door. The moment he pulled it open, his aching legs made him instinctively brace himself against the doorframe. Xiao Zhan's gaze dropped to them.

"Didn't I tell you to rest for a day?"

Xiao Yan smiled.

"I did. I sat all afternoon."

His father looked at his legs, then at the sweat that had yet to dry on his forehead.

"Sitting did this to you?"

Xiao Yan opened his mouth, then finally answered sincerely:

"I was very serious about sitting."

Xiao Zhan clearly did not believe him. Still, his son's face was rosy and his eyes bright; he genuinely did not look injured. Only then did Xiao Zhan relax a little and reach out to straighten Xiao Yan's collar.

"You need to look after your body when you train, too. Go change your outer robe first. Don't sit down at the dinner table drenched in sweat."

With that, he turned to leave, then casually asked:

"What would you like to eat tonight?"

Xiao Yan considered his empty stomach.

"Anything with meat. Just give me extra."

Xiao Zhan agreed with a smile. Only after his father's footsteps had faded into the distance did Xiao Yan release the doorframe. He lowered his gaze to his hands and thought:

Everything only began today.

If mastering these arcane arts lets me protect even one more person in the future, all this soreness will be worth it.

He went back inside and took down an outer robe. He was just about to put it on when Grandmaster's voice suddenly came from the ring.

"Your muscles and bones need tempering, but you must not neglect your skill with a sword either."

Xiao Yan paused and immediately turned his head. At some point, a figure had appeared by the window.

Bodhi stood in the slanting sunlight, holding an utterly unremarkable dry twig between his fingers. Seeing Xiao Yan look over, he asked casually:

"Since you wish to learn the sword, do you have a weapon that suits your hand?"