Tonight's wind and snow were somewhat boisterous, the howling cold wind pouring straight into the bamboo forest.
Whether it was his improved resistance to cold after reaching Qi Refining or the warmth of the Elder's Robe, Xiao Bai did not feel cold.
Quickly catching up to the girl in smoky robes amid the night snow, Xiao Bai called out gratefully:
"Senior Sister."
Mu Yun turned around with a sigh. Seeing Xiao Bai in a flowing, well-fitted Elder's Robe that made him look tall and erect, she was momentarily struck by the air of a Nascent Soul grandmaster around him in the night snow.
An illusion!
It was all an illusion!
Mu Yun shook her head, suppressing the ripples in her heart as she said irritably:
"Are you out of your mind? Putting that on in the middle of the night?"
Xiao Bai answered truthfully:
"I was worried that some tactless disciples might ask to see my abilities tomorrow, so I wanted to cram at the last minute and learn some basics from Senior Sister overnight."
Learning the basics in the middle of the night? Was this guy trying to tease me?
Yet when Mu Yun looked closely, Xiao Bai's face bore an extremely serious expression.
"What can you learn overnight? Your swordsmanship is already strong enough. You don't need any other basic skills."
Mu Yun said coldly, turning to leave.
Xiao Bai continued after her, walking beside her.
"I suffered a small setback in my battle with Zhao Hanwu, which made me realize the shortcomings of my cultivation technique. Right now, I urgently need some basic body techniques."
You suffered a small setback? The other man lost his life!
So you came here to show off!
Mu Yun furrowed her delicate brows and continued through the snow.
"I only know the barest smattering of body techniques. I have nothing to teach you. Go find Second Senior Brother."
"A bare smattering is enough."
Xiao Bai followed her all the way out of the bamboo forest.
The two arrived at the grassland beside the lake.
Looking out, the mountaintop was a field of white.
The summit of Hundred Herbs Peak, where fine snow usually drifted down and melted upon touching the ground, had unusually accumulated snow.
The atmosphere was so romantic that Mu Yun felt Xiao Bai was toying with her.
"The body technique I cultivate is not suited for men."
But Xiao Bai wore the expression of a starving man who would take whatever he could get.
"A woman's body technique will do too."
"..."
Speechless, Mu Yun let out a soft sigh.
"Fine. I'll teach you some body techniques I learned in the Imperial Palace with my imperial brothers when I was young."
Imperial body techniques?
Xiao Bai suddenly recalled that Xiahou Longcheng, the founding emperor of the Xiahou Dynasty, had been a body technique powerhouse who punched demons and devils and kicked cultivators.
It was said that the Xiahou Body Technique gathered spiritual power in one's fists and feet, producing a hard art capable of force penetrating through paper.
Its movements were simple and fierce, without many flourishes. It was a practical combat body technique that consumed very little spiritual power.
Its only drawback was that it was easy to learn but hard to master, placing extremely high demands on the practitioner's comprehension.
"It's too cold. I'll demonstrate it only once."
Mu Yun assumed her stance and could not help reminding him.
Xiao Bai nodded.
"Once is enough, but do the whole set."
In an instant, her petite frame abruptly became towering and razor-sharp. Her aura was icy as she stood firm amid the wind and snow.
After the entire sequence of movements...
Xiao Bai clapped excitedly, understanding absolutely nothing.
Ding—Congratulations, Host, for learning the Xiahou Body Technique taught by the Female Lead. It has automatically been deduced to max level. Please raise your cultivation as soon as possible in order to unleash this body technique's greatest power!
Seeing Xiao Bai grinning foolishly, Mu Yun instinctively checked whether she had exposed herself.
"Don't just stand there clapping. Do it once yourself."
Xiao Bai shook his head. With the max-level body technique in hand, there was no need to keep pestering an unmarried young lady in the middle of the night.
"No need. Thank you, Senior Sister. Tonight's harvest has been bountiful."
So he really had been toying with her!
Forcing down her anger, Mu Yun displayed the stern dignity of a teacher.
"You learned it after watching only once? Don't aim too high while your hands are too weak!"
Holding back a laugh, Xiao Bai waved his hand.
"You can't be too obsessed with grinding when learning martial arts. There's an old saying in my hometown: sit at home, and your ball skills rise in your heart. Didn't I say it already? I only need to learn the surface."
With that, Xiao Bai smiled and returned to the hot spring.
Leaving Mu Yun standing dumbfounded in the snowy curtain beside the lake.
For no reason, her heart felt a little empty.
She had thought...
Who would have expected that he was still a gentleman!
Just as Mu Yun was about to leave, she suddenly heard a miserable scream from the bamboo forest.
Extending her divine sense, she saw a Qi Refining shadow fly down the mountain from beside the pool!
"Serves you right."
Mu Yun curled her lips and turned away.
At the foot of the mountain.
Pine forest, thorns, and human flesh were tangled together.
A Blood Spirit Pill entered his stomach, and Xiao Bai's injuries instantly healed.
He patted his butt and got to his feet, restored to his lively, vigorous self.
He had never imagined that the elder could get jealous even in her sleep!
After cultivating Qi all night and learning the max-level Xiahou Body Technique, Xiao Bai had been beaten soundly by his Golden Core Realm wife while full of heroic swagger.
She had hit quite hard...
So hard that even with his Qi Refining fully unleashed, he could not withstand it, crashing at the foot of the mountain and landing face-first like a dog gnawing mud.
The path to becoming stronger through building a harem was long and arduous!
Xiao Bai sighed as he straightened his clothes.
Only then did he discover that after falling from the summit, his Elder's Robe had not even torn.
It seemed this Demoness had some real skill.
That pastoral female cultivator image was definitely more than just a persona.
Although he had been beaten by his wife, Xiao Bai could not hide the excitement in his heart.
He had truly reached Qi Refining!
Inside his dantian, the scattered, faint embryonic breaths had vanished, replaced by a vast spiritual reservoir called the "Sea of Qi."
His internal organs, limbs, every cell in his body, and every strand of hair all remained vibrant within this circulation of spiritual power.
When he opened his divine sense and looked upon heaven, earth, and all things again, every grain of sand, every stone, every blade of grass, and every tree seemed to breathe. It was as though he had entered another world.
It felt like his previous five years after transmigrating had been wasted.
This was the Cultivation World!
Xiao Bai was as excited as a child.
But he had to restrain himself for now.
Tomorrow's Sect Tour Ceremony would be a difficult hurdle!
He had to prove that Elder Yuhu was neither blind nor swayed by his beauty.
Though his strength was still low, he had to prove his talent.
Qi Refining cultivation, a max-level Butcher's Sword Technique capable of fighting above his realm, a max-level Xiahou Body Technique with explosive output and low spiritual power consumption, plus equal affinity for all five elements and nearly immortal recovery provided by the Blood Spirit Pill and Spine Gu Worm...
Xiao Bai felt that he might have no rivals in the Qi Refining Realm—the kind of strong that left him unable to make friends.
What he lacked, spirit manipulation and spells, both belonged to the category of magical attacks.
Spirit manipulation referred to controlling the five elements, though it could also control other things. Usually, one needed to specialize in a single type to reach the pinnacle and bring out Combat Power.
Spells were chained or combined moves learned after becoming proficient in spirit manipulation. They formed fixed patterns and could even carve spell seals into the dantian outer wall to maximize their power.
Given the spiritual pressure and depth of the Qi Refining Realm, spirit manipulation and spells were not very practical in real combat and wasted spiritual power.
They were fine against mortals, but against cultivators at the same Qi Refining Realm, their cost-effectiveness was far too low. They were not as fierce or direct as swordsmanship and body techniques.
Unfortunately, swordsmanship and body techniques were even harder to master!
That was Xiao Bai's advantage.
Besides, he had high magic resistance. Spirit manipulation and spells at the Qi Refining Realm could not hurt him at all, so it would not be too late to learn them later.
That was the theory.
In the pine forest at the foot of the mountain, Xiao Bai began practicing the coordination, successive strikes, and combinations of swordsmanship and body techniques...
Amid the wind and snow, he trained with the force of a tiger, advancing a thousand miles in a day, as if he had been reborn into another world.
Thinking back on everything from the past five years since transmigrating, the bitterness he had endured in Chaoge City and the Errand Disciple Quarters surged into his heart.
Senior Brother Li's death in particular left his heart unable to calm for a long time.
The Cultivation World was crueler than games because—
People really died in the Cultivation World!
Snow Flame Sect had never been a peaceful place. Now that he was entangled with the Demon Race and the Devil Race, both the sect's internal forces and the Sect Overseer of the Dao Alliance were eyeing him like tigers watching prey.
Time waited for no one. He had to become stronger as quickly as possible!
The path of the harem could not stop.
Thinking this, he rode his sword back to Hundred Herbs Peak.
Shamelessly returning to the elder's side, he leaned against the pool and fell asleep with his arms around his wife.
Come to think of it, since arriving at Hundred Herbs Peak, he had not spent a single night sleeping in a bed.
—It was too hard!
Heaven did not disappoint those with determination.
After daybreak, Xiao Bai would greet a brand-new world for the first time as a cultivator.
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