Morning Training on the Back Mountain

The back mountain of Nuoding Academy was much larger than Nan Feng had imagined.

Passing through the small gate behind the dormitory and following a dirt path half-hidden by weeds for the time it took an incense stick to burn, the ground began to rise. Sparse elms and locust trees grew denser. A little farther up, a clearing ringed by low pines opened before him.

The clearing was about half a mu across, enclosed by pines on three sides and facing east on the fourth, directly toward the sunrise. A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, making no sound underfoot.

A large green stone stood in the middle of the clearing, its surface smoothed by wind and rain, as though someone had meditated there for years.

Nan Feng had taken a liking to the place on his first visit.

It was quiet and secluded, with no one to disturb him. From the edge of the clearing, he could see the outlines of the mountains east of Nuoding City. The morning mist had yet to disperse, and the mountains looked like a pale ink painting blurred by water.

Every day, he rose before dawn, followed the half-hidden dirt path, and sat on the big green stone to cultivate the Primordial World Qi Refining Art Old Huai had taught him. Soul Power circulated through his meridians, completing circuit after circuit.

The thin membrane between rank nine and rank ten was washed over again and again, growing thinner and thinner, but it still had not broken.

On his seventh morning at the grassy clearing on the back mountain, he ran into Xiao Wu.

He was circulating Qi with his eyes closed that day when a sound came from the pine grove. He opened his eyes to see a pink figure squeezing out between two low pines.

A withered leaf clung to her hair as she brushed the cockleburs from the hem of her clothes.

Xiao Wu.

She saw Nan Feng too. She paused in surprise, then grinned, showing two little canine teeth.

"Tower Blockhead? What are you doing here?"

"Cultivating," Nan Feng said. "What about you?"

"Morning exercise." Xiao Wu flicked her braid and plucked the withered leaf from her hair. "Don't work-study students have to clean? I got up early and finished sweeping, so I came out to get some exercise. You sure know how to pick a place. It's much quieter back here than in the courtyard."

She walked to the middle of the grassy clearing, kicked her legs a few times, then bent over and stretched twice.

Nan Feng sat on the green stone slab and watched her warm up. He neither deliberately averted his gaze nor stared.

Xiao Wu was more flexible than he had expected. When she bent over, she could press her palms flat against the ground, and when she raised a leg, her toes could kick as high as her shoulders. The whole sequence flowed smoothly; one look was enough to tell she had practiced it for years.

Her Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul gave her a natural flexibility and lightness. As she moved, she looked like a rabbit stretching its limbs.

"Do you come here every day?" Xiao Wu squatted down and tugged at her shoelaces.

"Mm."

"Then how about a match with me?"

Nan Feng looked at her. "A match?"

"Yeah, a little sparring." Xiao Wu stood and brushed the bits of grass off her knees, her eyes bright. "We can't just practice by ourselves like fools every day, can we? You need someone to trade blows with before you know where you're lacking. That guy Tang San spends all day with his nose in a book and won't fight me. You're free anyway."

Nan Feng thought it over and stood up from the green stone slab. He did need real combat to test the results of circulating his Soul Power.

Old Huai had said that Soul Power Level was only one part of cultivation; knowing how to use Soul Power was a Soul Master's true skill.

Xiao Wu was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit. Even if she had yet to truly exert herself, her combat instincts were far stronger than those of ordinary children. Fighting her would not be boring.

"All right."

Xiao Wu stepped back three paces, spread her hands, and lowered her center of gravity.

She fixed her gaze on Nan Feng, most of her earlier playfulness fading away. Her eyes grew focused and sharp, like a rabbit that had spotted prey and was judging the distance.

Before Nan Feng could take a stance, she moved.

Too fast.

The force of her push-off sent her forward so quickly that Nan Feng's eyes could barely follow her afterimage.

She covered the three meters in less than a stride and a half. Her right leg was already sweeping toward his waist.

Nan Feng raised an arm to block, half a beat too late.

The top of Xiao Wu's foot struck the outside of his forearm. The blow was much heavier than he had expected, sending him staggering two steps to the left.

"Not bad reactions."

As soon as Xiao Wu landed, she sprang back at him, driving a straight kick with her left leg at his chest.

This time Nan Feng was ready and dodged sideways. But Xiao Wu's assault did not let up. Her kicks came fast and thick, like a wind blowing in from every direction.

After blocking three kicks, Nan Feng was driven to the edge of the pine grove. His back struck a trunk, shaking loose a shower of pine needles.

Xiao Wu's fourth kick was already in front of him.

Nan Feng did not dodge again.

With a thought, he pushed a cyan phantom out from his chest. The phantom of a bronze tower took shape before him, its base facing forward, and collided squarely with Xiao Wu's kick.

The top of Xiao Wu's foot struck the tower with a dull thud. The tower phantom absorbed most of the force, and the remaining backlash sent her two steps backward.

Once Xiao Wu had steadied herself, she paused, glanced down at her foot, then looked up at the tower phantom dissipating in front of Nan Feng.

"Tower Suppression," Nan Feng said. "A suppression skill that comes with my Martial Soul. It can suppress movement and force within a certain range."

"So your tower really can suppress things!" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "I thought you were joking last time! Again, again!"

This time, Nan Feng was ready when she charged.

The instant Xiao Wu closed in, he activated Tower Suppression again. The cyan tower phantom spread a halo of light around his feet. Its range was small, covering only a few paces around him.

Xiao Wu rushed into the area and felt something dragging at her movements. Her kicks were still fast, but that speed had gained a heaviness, as though several pounds of sand were tied to her legs.

Nan Feng took advantage of her slowed movements to sidestep around her and reach for her shoulder.

The corner of Xiao Wu's mouth curled up. The moment Nan Feng's hand touched her collar, she rolled on the spot.

As nimble as a loach, she slipped under Nan Feng's arm, spun around, and kicked him in the lower back.

The kick sent Nan Feng stumbling two steps forward. His knees struck the grass, and one trouser leg picked up dirt.

But when he turned over, there was no frustration on his face. He had sensed it.

During those few seconds of close combat, when his fingertips touched Xiao Wu's shoulder, the Primordial World Imprint in his soul had suddenly pulsed.

It had sensed the power hidden in the deepest part of Xiao Wu's body. Immensely heavy, immensely vast, and sealed by something.

It was like a giant beast locked in a deep cage, its breathing slipping through the gaps between the bars, faint but steady.

That was the origin power of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit, sealed in the deepest place by the transformation technique. Only perception on the same scale could touch its outer edge.

Nan Feng touched it for only an instant before being pushed away. But that instant was enough for him to sense a seal deep within the core of Xiao Wu's Martial Soul.

"What are you spacing out for? Get up!" Xiao Wu stood a few paces away with her hands on her hips, looking pleased after a satisfying fight. "You're not giving up already, are you?"

Nan Feng brushed the dirt off his knees and stood up.

"Your kicking techniques are impressive."

"Of course!" Xiao Wu lifted her chin. "That tower of yours isn't bad either. My legs got heavy for a moment when I charged in just now, like I'd stepped into mud. What was it called again? Tower Suppression?"

"Mm."

"Pretty interesting." Xiao Wu walked over and squatted beside him. "Use it again and let me see. I want to see how far that light reaches."

Nan Feng activated Tower Suppression again. The cyan halo spread out around his feet, a little larger than before.

Xiao Wu reached into the edge of the halo, and her hand looked as though it were covered with a thin veil.

"Can you train this to make it bigger?"

"Yes. The stronger my Soul Power, the greater its range and the heavier its suppression."

"Then once you've made it bigger, won't anyone who comes near you be suppressed wherever they move?"

Xiao Wu stood up and clapped her hands.

"This thing is too useful in a fight. No, I have to fight you a few more times and work out a way not to get suppressed by it."

From that day on, the grassy clearing on the back mountain became a morning training ground for the two of them.

Every day before dawn, Xiao Wu appeared by the pine grove, sometimes with stray locks still sticking out untidily on her head, yawning as she walked over. Once they started fighting, she perked right up.

Her kicks grew trickier and trickier, and Nan Feng's Tower Suppression grew steadier. Each of them won and lost. Xiao Wu was fast and her moves were flexible, while Nan Feng could slow her down once he deployed Tower Suppression. Who gained the upper hand depended entirely on who spotted an opening in the other's defenses first.

One day, while they were catching their breath after a match, Xiao Wu sat cross-legged on the green stone slab, panting, sweat plastering the stray hairs on her forehead to her face.

She suddenly turned her head and glanced at Nan Feng.

"Tower Blockhead, you're pretty interesting. You're only a few months older than me, but you're silent all day like an old man."

"I can never guess what you're thinking." She stretched and jumped down from the green stone slab. "But fighting you feels good. You don't go easy on me."

Nan Feng watched her from behind and did not answer.

There was something in his heart he did not say: I'm thinking about how to help you break through that seal deep inside your Martial Soul.

He could sense that seal every time he fought Xiao Wu. It was like a thin chain fastened around the outermost layer of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit's origin power. Nan Feng could not touch the seal itself, but he knew the Primordial World Imprint in his soul was recording its structure.

Once his cultivation deepened and the first level of the tower was opened, perhaps the seal could be loosened.

Old Huai grunted from the crack at the bottom of the tower.

"That seal on the little lass is old, at least a few thousand years. Your Soul Power can't even touch its edge right now."

Nan Feng replied in his heart, There's no hurry.

Xiao Wu walked to the edge of the clearing, picked a foxtail grass stalk, and put it in her mouth. She turned and called to Nan Feng.

"Coming again tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Xiao Wu smiled. Morning light shone through the mountain pass to the east and fell directly on her face, dyeing the foxtail grass at the corner of her mouth gold.

She turned and ran downhill along the dirt path she had taken there, her pink figure flashing between the pines until she was soon out of sight.

Nan Feng stood in the middle of the clearing as the morning breeze passed through the pine grove, carrying the scent of grass and dew.

He lowered his head and glanced at his palm. The warmth stirred up by the Primordial World Imprint during his fight with Xiao Wu had already faded.

The depths of his palm lines were a little brighter than before, as though something had wiped them.

Nan Feng clenched his fist, tucked that feeling away in his heart, then turned and followed the dirt path down the mountain.

The breakfast bell rang out from the academy in the distance, one peal overlapping the next.