What must come will come

Inside the Stockade Chief's house, there was good wine, good meat, and a brazier glowing warmly.

Watching Yue Hongling happily eating her meat, Zhao Changhe sighed inwardly. If only they had enjoyed these conditions when Xia Chichi was here... she would surely have been delighted.

Their current income came from a bunch of fools challenging him and practically handing over their money. Zhao Changhe found that he was growing stronger in actual combat, yet compared with before, something was missing.

There was no one to guide him. He was a blind man feeling an elephant.

Whether it was the Xia Family Heart Method, lightness skills, the Blood Baleful Art, or the Blood Baleful Saber Technique, he now had to figure everything out himself, following the secret manuals and illustrated guides.

He could not be sure whether he had gone astray. There was no longer an Instructor Sun barking, "That slash wasn't precise enough," or, "You twisted your waist too far."

Whether he could break through to the inner-outer second heaven, whether his training was still a little short of readiness-he had only his own judgment to rely on. There was no longer an experienced elder to tell him, "Your training is about there. You can try breaking through today."

Only after losing certain things did one realize how vast the difference was between having them and not. In the end, he was someone who had practiced martial arts for barely two months. He did not yet have enough experience to correct his own mistakes, and uncertainty had always gnawed at him.

But now Yue Hongling had come right to his door. She could pin Instructor Sun's cult master down and beat him, and she could take on a whole crowd of Instructor Suns. Compared with thoughts of romance, Zhao Changhe cared far more about finally having someone to guide him again. This teacher was even more badass than the cult master.

Did he have any romantic thoughts?

He did not know. She was so beautiful that, ordinarily, any man would have ideas.

Yet, just as when he had lived with Xia Chichi, Zhao Changhe felt that things would be easier and more natural without all that. Her tumble into that pit had been a real pain in the balls, creating a whole mess out of nothing.

Had she abruptly brought up serious business instead of dwelling on those embarrassing subjects because she had realized this too?

And so both of them relaxed, at least on the surface.

If Xia Chichi had been here, she would probably have widened her eyes, then laughed and said, "Spoken like a true hero of the jianghu."

Every detail of that expression seemed to appear before his eyes.

She seemed jealous of Yue Hongling... there was really no need.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, Yue Hongling comfortably wiped her mouth and said leisurely, "I'm not your master. This is just an exchange between friends. You don't need to sit there looking so solemn and proper."

"You might have misunderstood something... would you believe me if I said I was thinking about a woman?" Zhao Changhe remained expressionless. "Ever since you fell into that pit, the Yue Hongling I gazed up at like a lofty mountain has been gone."

Yue Hongling nearly choked to death. Only after a long while did she say, "I don't need you gazing up at me like a lofty mountain either... I have no idea what strange version of Yue Hongling lives in your head. Was I that solemn the day we met? I distinctly remember smiling at you..."

Zhao Changhe said, "...How touching. You actually smiled."

Yue Hongling could not be bothered with him and turned to the matter at hand. "Speaking of which, I've watched quite a few of your fights. More than you imagine."

Zhao Changhe looked up at her.

How can you sound so pleased about spying on a man? Did you watch me bathe too... never mind.

"Your foundations are extremely solid. Your saber reaches wherever your eyes look, and you shift between hard and soft at will. You're also quick-witted, not bound by routines and established forms. All you need is to keep fighting. Once you've accumulated enough experience, you'll naturally develop more of your own understanding and expression in your moves. In terms of technique alone, there isn't much more I can teach you. What you need is a better, more powerful saber technique."

Zhao Changhe was dubious. "Is it really that simple? I'm not even sure whether I handled any given slash correctly. I'm acting entirely on instinct. Don't I need someone to tell me how that last slash could have been better? Then I can learn from the experience and fight better next time."

"The fact that you think that way is already enough."

"Huh?"

"You need that at the beginning... but you've already made your debut. Do you really expect your master to offer pointers after every fight? You can only rely on yourself. Whether you can reflect, draw conclusions, and glean more nourishment from every battle is part of your talent too. Otherwise, what makes you a Hidden Dragon? You'd just be a sniveling brat trailing after your master."

"I've only been learning for two months!"

Yue Hongling said calmly, "You are Zhao Changhe. After one month of training, you cut down a second-heaven opponent, entered the Hidden Dragon rankings, and shook Mang Mountain with your might. How many people in this world can do that? Do you really think being ranked two hundred and fifty on the Hidden Dragon rankings is shameful? That is recognition hundreds of millions of people yearn for and never receive."

Zhao Changhe did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Well, thank you very much. Fine, you said I need a better, more powerful saber technique. Got any? Let me take a look?"

"You really don't stand on ceremony." Yue Hongling rolled her eyes. "No."

"Hey!"

"Over the years, I've fought plenty of challenges and killed quite a few people. I have indeed acquired some saber manuals and illustrated guides, but honestly, the Blood Baleful Saber Technique is very formidable. The techniques I've collected might not even reach its level. If you want them, I can give you all of them to study. Consider them stones from another mountain that can polish your jade. Just learn a little more about the strengths of different schools. For now, I still suggest focusing on the Blood Baleful Blade." As she spoke, Yue Hongling pulled a travel bag from beneath the table, took out several books, and tossed them over.

"You even brought a travel bag..."

"I told you already that I came to seek shelter with you. Would I lie to you?"

"...Hard to say." Zhao Changhe caught them, feeling dissatisfied. "You beat someone using the Blood God Art despite being a realm below him. Now you're saying the Blood Baleful Saber Technique, which goes with the inferior Blood Baleful Art, is formidable. That sounds like you're brushing me off no matter how I listen to it."

Yue Hongling could not help laughing. "What I practice isn't necessarily superior to the Blood God Art."

She stopped there, and Zhao Changhe understood.

It depended on who practiced the art. Deputy Helmsman Huang had used the same Blood Baleful Art and Blood Baleful Blade, yet Zhao Changhe had finished him in three moves.

So it was not that the Blood God Art was rubbish. Cult Master Xue simply was not good enough...

Yue Hongling continued, "And the Blood Baleful Art isn't an inferior transitional art beneath the Blood God Art either. It was originally a shortcut split off from the Blood God Art. The Blood God Art cultivates both the internal and external, while the Blood Baleful Art focuses exclusively on blood and vitality. Though lopsided, it is also more convenient, and ranks among the very best external arts for cultivating blood and vitality. It simply lacks harmony between the internal and external, leaving obvious drawbacks. As a result, few people can cultivate it to any great depth. You know that better than I do."

Zhao Changhe nodded slightly. "True. Practicing it myself, I've felt that the Blood Baleful Art is really powerful. I thought that was just an illusion because I knew too little and hadn't seen any high-end external arts. Since you say so too, it seems it really is powerful."

"But..." Yue Hongling hesitated. "The drawbacks of this art aren't limited to impairing your judgment and making cultivation painful."

Zhao Changhe's eyes widened. "One negative effect is bad enough for an ordinary art. This damn thing already has two, and that's still not disgusting enough? There's more?"

"Yes," Yue Hongling said. "Haven't you noticed that the more people you kill, the more power the art feeds back to you?"

Zhao Changhe paused. That was indeed true, and it was openly recorded in the secret manual. It even specifically stated that this feature existed in the Blood God Art as well. The Blood God Cult's slaughter of countless people was rooted in its very foundation.

Blood and baleful intent-not just blood and vitality, but killing intent too. The more people one killed, the more one naturally nurtured that baleful intent. A frail scholar using this art would certainly never wield it as effectively as a bandit who had slaughtered countless people.

Am I stacking a kill book here, or stacking a "one against ten thousand" buff... Zhao Changhe was rather speechless. He could not even decide whether this counted as a strength or a drawback. Thinking about it, it certainly made it easy to become a great demon whose victims littered the wilderness.

And once his killing intent grew stronger, would it become even easier to lose his reason? He had not yet experienced any mindless berserk episodes merely because his cultivation was still low. What would happen when it grew higher?

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and asked cautiously, "Can an internal art solve these problems?"

"Internal arts don't all share the same nature. I haven't figured yours out. It seems to have no particular characteristics, and I don't know whether it can help your situation..." Yue Hongling smiled slightly. "Does it feel as though, after all this talk, there's nothing I can teach you?"

Zhao Changhe was rather speechless. "At least you know it. Still, you've helped me sort through the situation. It's good to know where I stand."

"There are at least three things I can teach you. First, your internal art must have come through improper channels. You only have the circulation routes for true qi, and no one has taught you breathing and qi absorption, or the key formulas and subtleties of the mind method. That might not cause any problems when you're first starting out, but once you try to advance, you'll definitely feel something is missing, as though you lack a key."

Everything suddenly became clear to Zhao Changhe. His intuition had been right. No wonder he kept feeling that he was not quite ready to break through to the second heaven. Something really was missing! If Yue Hongling had not come, how long would he have remained stuck before the second heaven?

"Can I use your mind method?"

"Mind methods are largely similar across different schools. They're simply used to strengthen guidance, focus the spirit, and illuminate the mind. You can absolutely use my mind method to circulate qi through your own pathways. The true qi you cultivate will still be your own. There's no problem."

Like using the Nine Profound Great Art Fu Junzhuo taught to circulate the Longevity Formula, and still ending up with the Longevity Formula? Zhao Changhe suddenly felt that many Tang-era fanfics where someone simply obtained the Longevity Formula and started practicing might be missing something... The irrelevant thought flashed past, and he quickly said happily, "Please teach me, big sister."

"Before that, I'll teach you breathing and qi absorption. Sit steadily... you don't need to cross your legs. Just sit normally."

Zhao Changhe obediently settled into his seat.

Yue Hongling stood and walked over to him. After a brief hesitation, she bent down and placed her hand on his lower abdomen. "First, draw in your abdomen. Yes... breathe deeply. Feel the swelling as the breath enters your body, then combine it with your inner breath..."

His female teacher stood so close, her delicate hand stroking lightly, her subtle fragrance beneath his nose. The tips of her hair brushed his cheek, making his face itch and his heart itch too. Zhao Changhe suddenly understood why Yue Hongling had been unwilling to take a disciple back then. It was not merely about freedom, or how dragging a burden along would hinder her travels through the jianghu... perhaps this concern mattered even more?

Teaching martial arts inevitably involved close physical contact. When Instructor Sun taught him saber techniques, grabbing his hand was routine. He had adjusted his shoulders and pressed his waist into place in every possible way, and had even slapped his backside. Now, with a female teacher and a male student of similar age, this instruction felt liable to take on a different flavor no matter how he thought about it.

"I told you to breathe deeply. Why has your breathing become erratic and hurried instead?" Yue Hongling's face was expressionless, her voice sounding as though it had been squeezed through clenched teeth. "Could it be that, because Yue Hongling is in your room, you're considering how to play with her?"