Cramming Education?

Though Liu Xing was only three, after mastering the first of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, he was almost a match for an adult in strength, running, and jumping. He could already help the old man hunt for food.

On Connors Star, there was no third person besides the old man and the boy. To survive in this savage wilderness, they could rely only on themselves.

Through firsthand experience, Liu Xing had come to understand the law of survival-the weak were meat for the strong-at a very, very early age.

At first, the old man did most of the hunting. But as he aged and Liu Xing's mastery of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms deepened, their roles reversed.

Especially after Liu Xing mastered the second of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms at five, he did all the hunting alone. By then, the old man had grown too feeble to cross mountains and ridges.

Only then did Liu Xing understand why the old man had forced him to practice the Nine Great Wilderness Forms. If he had not made enough progress before the old man grew feeble, he would have been unable to hunt alone, and they could only have starved to death on Connors Star. After all, an ordinary five-year-old could not possibly contend with the countless primeval creatures on Connors Star.

Once he understood this, Liu Xing practiced the Nine Great Wilderness Forms even harder. Following the old man's instructions, he also trained his body and built his strength through all sorts of methods bordering on self-torture, such as walking while dragging a huge rock.

Only by constantly growing stronger could he ensure that he and the old man survived on Connors Star!

Given the choice between becoming prey and becoming a predator, Liu Xing would choose the latter without hesitation.

Fortunately, Liu Xing possessed an unyielding will. Another child, even one capable of mastering the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, might well have been driven mad by such harsh conditions.

Only after Liu Xing mastered the fourth of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms did life become somewhat easier for him and the old man. At that stage, few fierce beasts could still threaten Liu Xing. By then, however, the old man had grown too feeble to get up and could only lie in bed all day.

Liu Xing had once asked the old man curiously why he did not practice the Nine Great Wilderness Forms himself. Perhaps it could breathe new vitality into his aging body.

The old man had merely shaken his head with a bitter smile, and Liu Xing had taken the hint and stopped asking.

Liu Xing had always wondered why he and the old man were the only two people on Connors Star. Why did all the animals have parents, while he had none?

Liu Xing believed the old man could answer all these questions. Perhaps one day, when the time was right, the old man would explain everything to him. But when that day would come was beyond Liu Xing's ability to guess.

The old man knew a great many things and carried many jade slips with him. When Liu Xing was very young, he had taught him to examine their contents with his Divine Sense. From time to time, he would select a few jade slips for Liu Xing to memorize.

Apart from the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, Liu Xing had no idea what most of the contents of these jade slips were good for. The old man only explained certain pieces of knowledge relevant to daily life. He never discussed anything deeper or more abstruse, merely insisting that Liu Xing remember it all.

Once Liu Xing had memorized the contents of a jade slip, the old man would destroy it, then take out the next one and continue making him memorize it.

Fortunately, practicing the Nine Great Wilderness Forms not only strengthened his muscles and bones and built his strength, but also sharpened his mind and improved his memory. That was enough to let Liu Xing cope with this cramming education and fix the contents of those jade slips firmly in his mind.

Over the years, Liu Xing had lost track of how many jade slips he had memorized. He knew only that nearly half of those the old man carried had already been destroyed.

Lately, Liu Xing felt that the old man had become much more impatient. He had less and less patience when teaching, as though he wished Liu Xing could memorize all the jade slips in a single sitting.

Liu Xing had a vague sense that the old man's allotted time was probably running out, which was why he was so eager to pass on everything he had learned.

The only thing Liu Xing could do now was learn as much as possible. If the old man truly had to leave, at least he could depart with greater peace of mind.

Now Liu Xing returned to the place where he had trained the night before. He took out the jade slip, extended his Divine Sense into it, and resumed practicing the fifth of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms.

With Liu Xing's current level of mastery, learning the fifth of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms was not difficult. The real hurdle was integrating everything into a seamless whole, so he could perform all nine movements of the fifth form in one continuous flow, without the slightest pause.

The Nine Great Wilderness Forms was a rather unusual cultivation method. Each form consisted of nine movements, all bizarre poses that pushed beyond the limits of what the human body could endure, and each successive form was more difficult than the last.

This method of cultivation bore some resemblance to yoga, but it was far more difficult, and the benefits were beyond comparison. Fortunately, Liu Xing had begun practicing in infancy. Had he waited until he was older, after his bones had settled into their shape, practicing the Nine Great Wilderness Forms would likely have yielded half the results for twice the effort.

Of course, Liu Xing's innate physical constitution was also excellent, allowing the Nine Great Wilderness Forms to produce astonishing results in him. Someone else who began practicing at the age of one, just as he had, would not necessarily have become as formidable as Liu Xing.

Liu Xing had poured every ounce of effort into the Nine Great Wilderness Forms. After all, it was the most effective way to increase his strength.

By the time another night had passed, Liu Xing could perform all nine movements of the fifth of the Nine Great Wilderness Forms.

Liu Xing withdrew his Divine Sense from the jade slip. Before he could even stretch, he discovered that the old man was standing silently before him, seemingly having been there for quite some time.

The old man was small, thin, and withered, like a candle guttering in the wind in his final years. Yet, remarkably, a rare flush of color had appeared on his sickly face.

"Old man, why did you come out?" Liu Xing asked in surprise. "It's windy out here. Be careful you don't catch something."

The old man smiled. "It's not often I feel a little better, so I came out to see whether you were slacking off instead of training. As for catching something? Heh, with this body of mine, another ailment or two hardly matters."

As he spoke, the old man approached Liu Xing and sat down cross-legged, facing him.

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