Zhang Junbao's insights on cultivation

"Senior Brother, are our two martial uncles really going into seclusion for several months?"

Chin propped in her hands, Jiang Qinyue crouched beside the newly restored riverbank, watching the little fish in the river in utter boredom.

Yuan Heqing stood guard outside the straw shelter with several inner disciples. He had not left, but was examining the traces left by the great battle.

His fourth junior brother's words had rather stabbed him in the heart.

Yuan Heqing was a very proud man. Ever since his grandmaster brought him up the mountain at eight years old, he had harbored one wish: to become the brightest star of all.

So, from the day he developed internal power, he skipped all foundational martial arts and went straight to practicing the most difficult one, the Pure Yang Daoist Canon!

The Pure Yang Daoist Canon was both an internal cultivation method and a collection containing many external martial arts moves.

Difficult as it was, he followed its steps faithfully.

When he was eighteen, his master recognized his efforts and accepted him as his eldest direct disciple.

Afterward, he held himself to even stricter standards, reciting scriptures morning and evening and cultivating every day without interruption.

Among all his peers, he was the hardest-working of them all, and the most skilled in martial arts.

At thirty, he went down the mountain to attend the Great All-Heaven Offering and the competition for Daoist disciples at the Kunlun Limitless Holy Mother Cult, yet only placed tenth.

As the eldest second-generation disciple of Pure Yang Palace, he was under tremendous pressure.

Pure Yang Palace was the foremost Daoist sect, unrivaled throughout the martial world, and he was the Daoist leader's disciple.

Yet when competing against his peers, he had failed to defeat even many fellow Daoists from smaller sects. It hurt as though a knife had stabbed his heart.

Back then, his grandmaster had fought three great Demonic Cult experts alone, standing unrivaled in the martial world with that one-against-three battle.

His master had shone even brighter, venturing alone into Great Feng's capital and narrowly defeating the previous generation's Sword Immortal by a single move in their sword duel.

But he himself...

Although his master always reassured him that the Daoist leader did not necessarily need great martial prowess, that many past patriarchs had been poor martial artists too, and that all he needed to do was carry on Patriarch Lü's legacy.

As an immensely proud man, however, he could not accept this reality.

Why couldn't I do it?

Why shouldn't I be able to?

I'm the best martial artist among Pure Yang Palace's second-generation disciples. How am I not a genius?

Troubled, troubled to the extreme.

Pressure, enormous pressure.

Today, he had once again witnessed what it meant for immortals to fight.

Two nineteen-year-old martial uncles had actually forced his master into such a state. They were only nineteen!

Was this what geniuses were like?

Nineteen, and they could create high-grade martial arts. They had only trained for two years, yet that matched thirty years of my bitter cultivation!

This... why?

"Senior Brother? Senior Brother?"

"Huh?"

Called out of his thoughts, Yuan Heqing turned to look at his little junior brother.

Jiang Qinyue enunciated each word. "I said, do our two martial uncles really need several months before they come out of seclusion?"

Yuan Heqing looked over and explained, "You haven't been cultivating long, and you're still laying your foundations. Generally, once you reach our martial uncles' level, every insight is extremely precious, and once you gain an insight, you must digest it thoroughly.

"Because inspiration only comes in an instant. Fail to grasp it, and it passes.

"As for how long it takes to think those insights through and digest them, that varies from person to person.

"Some people take longer, while others need a little less time."

Jiang Qinyue nodded in realization. "I was wondering why Third Martial Uncle needed so long in seclusion last time."

"Third Martial Uncle is the best martial artist apart from our master. It isn't easy for him to gain any new insights."

"True." Jiang Qinyue felt that Third Martial Uncle was getting on in years, so it was normal for an old man to think slowly. Then she thought about these two young martial uncles who had come from elsewhere and sighed. "I hope they wake up soon. It's already been five days."

For five days, the two had sat cross-legged on the ground without moving.

Yuan Heqing laughed. "How could it be that quick?"

"Ah." Jiang Qinyue sighed.

"Speaking of which, how is your Dongxuan Technique coming along?"

Among Chen Xugu's disciples, only his third disciple and she had switched to the Dongxuan Technique. Besides them, there were also Seventh Martial Uncle's disciple and two inner disciples.

The third disciple was doing fine. He had already cultivated the Pure Yang Mental Cultivation Method quite well before. Though he had now discarded his cultivation to start over, his meridians were all open, so he would certainly cultivate faster than before.

Jiang Qinyue was different. She had only been sent up the mountain at sixteen, and before that, she had always been trained as a scholarly Daoist.

Only last year, after being accepted as the Daoist leader's direct disciple, had she encountered martial arts for the first time. She had only just crossed the threshold now.

Jiang Qinyue nodded. "I'm doing all right. There are just a few points in this technique I don't understand, so I was hoping to ask our two martial uncles to explain them when they come out of seclusion."

"No rush, wait..."

Before Yuan Heqing could finish, Jiang Qinyue interrupted him. "Senior Brother, look! Our martial uncles are smoking!"

Yuan Heqing whipped his head around and saw both martial uncles releasing their True Qi at once. The True Qi flowing out of their entire bodies gathered above their heads, forming vortices before being drawn back inside.

"Is this... a breakthrough?"

Over there, Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao opened their eyes at the same time.

Their Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang techniques had both broken through to the eighth level!

That was right, both at once!

During the battle, Zhang Junbao had circulated Supreme Yin True Qi, gaining insights as he fought, and finally broken through to the eighth level. During this seclusion, apart from reviewing his experience, he had spent the rest of his time practicing the Supreme Yang Meridian-Concentrating Divine Skill as well, bringing his Supreme Yang technique to the eighth level too.

For Zhang Qingyuan, it was the reverse!

The two rose, exhaled a breath of stale air, and simultaneously took a deep breath of fresh air.

"That felt great!" Zhang Qingyuan stretched and looked up. "When did they put up a shelter?"

This seclusion had been fairly deep, so he had shut off his perception of the outside world as well.

It was Brother Gu's territory, after all. Surely he would protect him?

"Brother Yuan, you're awake?"

"You're awake too?"

"That was a good sleep."

"Same here."

The two stood up and walked out of the straw shelter.

Outside, Yuan Heqing approached with several junior brothers, sounding rather incredulous. "Martial Uncles, you're already out of seclusion?"

"Yeah."

"So soon?"

"How many days were we in seclusion?" Zhang Qingyuan asked.

"Five days."

Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao frowned at the same time and exchanged a look.

Yuan Heqing dared not speak. Their expressions made him think something had gone wrong, but instead, the two said, "It's already been five days? No wonder I'm so hungry."

Jiang Qinyue watched them curiously and poked her senior brother's arm.

"Is this what Master meant by several months?"

Yuan Heqing sighed too. Comparing yourself to others really could anger you to death!

"Yuan Heqing, that's your name, right?" Zhang Qingyuan asked.

"Yes, Martial Uncle."

"Sorry, I'm not very good at remembering names."

"That's all right, Martial Uncle. You can call me Xiaoqing."

"All right then, Xiaoqing. Go back and tell your master to hurry up and cook. We're starving to death!"

"Of course."

One disciple used his lightness skill to head on ahead, while Zhang Qingyuan and the others walked behind.

Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao said nothing, but both brothers kept giving off a sense of eagerness, wanting another fight with Brother Gu.

This time, it would be best to have Brother Gu use his full strength and keep us suppressed.

Only enough pressure would bring more insights.

Seeing that the two remained silent, Yuan Heqing did not dare open his mouth either.

Noticing his hesitation, Zhang Qingyuan turned to him. "What is it, Xiaoqing? Something on your mind?"

Zhang Junbao looked at him curiously too. Yuan Heqing paused, then said, "Oh, nothing. This disciple was just wondering what insights you two martial uncles gained during this seclusion."

"Heh, plenty of insights!" Zhang Junbao laughed. "I could take on five, six, seven, eight of my pre-seclusion self now!"

"That much?"

"Is that much? Isn't seclusion all about improving your strength?" Zhang Junbao countered.

Yuan Qingshan felt he was humblebragging, and there was ample evidence.

He asked, "Then, Martial Uncle, how do you cultivate so quickly? Do you have any special methods?"

Zhang Junbao gave it serious thought, then said, "I do have quite a few insights on that!"

Yuan Heqing's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Might Martial Uncle be willing to instruct us?"

"Of course."

Yuan Qingshan hurriedly took out the little notebook he carried, then pulled out a writing brush and dabbed it in his mouth to moisten its tip.

The inner disciples behind him all pricked up their ears too. These were a genius's insights, a genius's methods.

Zhang Junbao stopped and faced them. "First, regarding external martial arts moves.

"You must first learn the moves, then practice them until they become familiar, gaining an understanding of the variations in every move and stance.

"Whether palm techniques, fist techniques, or sword techniques, they're broadly much the same. The purpose of practicing these martial arts is to defeat your enemy faster.

"So when we practice, we must think about how to strike our opponent with less effort, more effectively, and more quickly in battle, or how to evade or block the enemy's attacks.

"As for internal cultivation, you first need to understand the cultivation method and its principles, grasp the meaning of the technique, then simply cultivate step by step!"

Zhang Junbao spoke with utter sincerity.

Everyone was still looking at him, waiting for him to continue.

After three seconds passed without Zhang Junbao saying anything, Yuan Qingshan asked curiously, "Martial Uncle, and then?"

"Then you've learned it!"

Everyone: "..."

Wasn't that just stating the obvious?

That's how we practice too!

So infuriating. If beating him wouldn't mean defying our teacher and betraying our patriarchs, we'd really like to give him a thrashing.

Zhang Qingyuan chuckled inwardly, thinking, This is the difference between a god-tier student and an ordinary student.

The same teacher, the same textbooks, the same lesson, the same listening.

The god-tier student understands as soon as they hear it. The ordinary student still doesn't understand afterward.

Ask the god-tier student, "How did you learn it?"

The god-tier student answers, "Pay attention in class!"

"We're asking how you managed to understand this formula."

"I understood once the teacher finished explaining!"

Everyone else: "Bullshit! You must have some method!"

Zhang Junbao did not understand why they could not learn it, and they did not understand why Zhang Junbao learned it as soon as he practiced.

Zhang Qingyuan understood this principle, but not everyone believed it.

He spoke up. "Ten days from now, I'll give a lecture on the Dao at Pure Yang Palace's martial training grounds. Anyone who wants to listen can come."

Consider it repaying Brother Gu's favor!