Sharpening the Axe Does Not Delay the Woodcutting

"Rise!" Xuanzhenzi gently waved his hand, and Huang Xiao felt a force lift him to his feet.

Was this Internal Power? Huang Xiao thought, surprised and delighted.

"Haha, now I have a Junior Junior Brother! Master, what will his Daoist name be?" Qinghe asked with a laugh. Qingfeng and Qingyun were much more restrained than Qinghe; they merely smiled.

"Hmm, you all belong to the Qing generation, and your original name was Huang Xiao, so your Daoist name shall be Qingxiao!" Having said this, Xuanzhenzi turned his gaze toward Huang Xiao. "My disciple, do you have any objections to this Daoist name?"

"Your disciple has no objections," Huang Xiao replied.

"You need not concern yourself too much with this Daoist name. It is merely a form of address. You fellow disciples will use these Daoist names within the temple, but outside, you may still use the name Huang Xiao. Of course, you may use Qingxiao as well," Xuanzhenzi said with a smile. "Qingxiao, now that you have become my disciple, there are some things I must explain to you."

Huang Xiao listened respectfully as Xuanzhenzi recounted some of the sect's history and origins. Xuanzhenzi's sect was called the Green Ox Gate. Its founder had been a Daoist a hundred years ago who called himself the Green Ox Perfected Person. After attaining mastery in martial arts, he had one day seen that Zhongnan Mountain was a place of outstanding people and spiritual beauty, and built the Green Ox Temple here. Xuanzhenzi was the third-generation sect leader. The Green Ox Gate had never had many members. The Green Ox Daoist had taken only one disciple, who was Xuanzhenzi's master. Xuanzhenzi, too, had been his master's only disciple. Only after Xuanzhenzi became sect leader had he taken three disciples-or four, counting Huang Xiao.

"Master, our founding patriarch must have been a peerless master, right?" Huang Xiao asked.

"I am not sure of that myself. According to your grandmaster, after the founding patriarch built the Green Ox Temple, he never fought again," Xuanzhenzi said with a smile. "Qingxiao, I know you were a scholar. Would you be willing to study martial arts?"

"Your disciple is willing!" How could Huang Xiao be unwilling? He continued, "Actually, not long ago, I learned a set of seizing techniques."

"Oh?" Qinghe was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Huang Xiao to know martial arts. When Huang Xiao had said he was a scholar earlier, Qinghe had not considered anything else. Of course, the main reason was that Huang Xiao had no Internal Power. If he had, Qinghe would naturally have been able to tell.

"Junior Junior Brother, why don't you show your senior brother a few moves?" Qinghe continued.

Seeing Xuanzhenzi smile and nod as well, Huang Xiao did not hesitate. He concentrated on performing the entire set of moves, then waited for Xuanzhenzi's assessment.

"Judging by the moves alone, it qualifies as an upper-middle-grade Seizing Art. Master, what do you think?" Qinghe asked.

"This Coiling Snake Hand has its own distinctive merits, but there are quite a few such arts in the martial world. Fist, kicking, and palm techniques modeled after wild beasts in the mountains can all be placed in this category," Xuanzhenzi said. "You have not yet cultivated internal arts, so relying on the moves alone leaves their power greatly diminished."

"Master, when can your disciple begin cultivating internal arts?" Huang Xiao asked expectantly.

"Junior Junior Brother, you must not rush the cultivation of internal arts," Qingfeng said with a smile.

"Exactly, exactly. Cultivating internal arts requires cultivating your state of mind," Qingyun added.

A puzzled look appeared on Huang Xiao's face. He knew internal arts were difficult to cultivate, and that not everyone could cultivate them, but what did cultivating one's state of mind mean?

"A state of mind can only be grasped intuitively, not conveyed in words. Simply put, if someone's state of mind is unstable, the chances of their cultivation going disastrously astray will be much greater when they practice internal arts," Qinghe explained.

"Then how do I cultivate my state of mind?" Huang Xiao was eager to know whether he could cultivate internal arts at all.

"There are many ways to cultivate your state of mind, and everyone can find one that suits them. Of course, for us Daoists, reciting the various scriptures and treating others kindly are both ways of cultivating our state of mind," Xuanzhenzi said. "Let us do this, Qingxiao: follow Qingfeng for a while first. Qingfeng, I will leave your Junior Junior Brother in your care for now."

"Master, I would like Junior Junior Brother to take responsibility for some of the sorting of scriptures in the scripture room for now. Of course, he will also need to join me for morning devotions and scripture recitation. Would that be suitable?" Qingfeng asked.

"Qingxiao, what do you think?" Xuanzhenzi asked Huang Xiao.

"Your disciple has no objections. Eldest Senior Brother, sorry for the trouble!" Huang Xiao said.

"As your eldest senior brother, it is only natural that I look after you," Qingfeng said with a smile.

"Good, then. There is no need to rush into learning an Internal Cultivation Method. Once your state of mind reaches a higher level, your cultivation will naturally yield twice the results with half the effort. Sharpening the axe does not delay the woodcutting." Xuanzhenzi could see what was on Huang Xiao's mind.

"Your disciple has taken your teaching to heart!" Huang Xiao said respectfully. He, too, realized he had been somewhat impatient. But this was only human nature. Ever since learning Coiling Snake Hand, he had longed to learn an Internal Cultivation Method. Now that the opportunity was before him, he was naturally excited.

Before he knew it, Huang Xiao had spent more than two months at the Green Ox Temple. During that time, he had also asked Qinghe about the location of Liu Qiang's village. Although the village was more than three hundred li from the Green Ox Temple, Huang Xiao had made a trip back because he wanted to know what had become of it.

Though he had harbored a sliver of hope, reality was cruel. The Mountain Stronghold had long since become a ruin, with traces of destruction from the fire everywhere.

However, when Huang Xiao saw the hundreds of burial mounds not far from the Mountain Stronghold, he knew that although most of the villagers of the Mountain Stronghold had fallen victim to the Wang Family's murderous hands, at least someone must have survived. Otherwise, there would have been no one to bury the villagers who had perished.

In Huang Xiao's mind, this must have been Liu Qiang. After all, Liu Qiang had been away from the village at the time. Huang Xiao did not know where Liu Qiang had gone, and as things stood, there was nothing he could do to help. Still, Huang Xiao took this matter to heart. One day, when he had the strength, he would seek justice for the villagers of this entire mountain village.

Apart from that one long journey, Huang Xiao stayed at the Green Ox Temple, joining his eldest senior brother Qingfeng for morning devotions every day. In his remaining time, he also learned some methods of pill refinement from his second senior brother, Qingyun. However, the art of pill refinement was profoundly mysterious, and could not be learned in a short time. In two months, Huang Xiao had merely learned the properties of a few medicinal herbs.

Of course, Qinghe would not leave his Junior Junior Brother alone, often dragging Huang Xiao along to practice martial arts. However, since Huang Xiao had yet to learn an Internal Cultivation Method, Qinghe taught him quite a few moves instead. In terms of power, they were considerably more advanced than Coiling Snake Hand.

Although Huang Xiao was very interested in martial arts, he had now also developed an interest in some Daoist scriptures and classics. He spent most evenings in the scripture room, sorting the scriptures. While sorting them, Huang Xiao also read quite a few. These were naturally different from the books he had read before, but they contained countless insights into life and its principles. Whenever there was something he did not understand, he would seek out his eldest senior brother, Qingfeng, whose understanding of the scriptures was second only to their master Xuanzhenzi's.

As for Xuanzhenzi, Huang Xiao had seen him only a few times over those two months. From his senior brothers, he learned that his master was currently busy refining Origin-Enhancing Pills.

These Origin-Enhancing Pills were primarily being prepared for the sixtieth birthday of Bai Tianqi, the Huaqing Sect's leader, a month later. The Huaqing Sect was the only major second-tier sect within a thousand li, and enjoyed some renown in the martial world.