Legend of the Cultivation God Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Question

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Zhang Xiaohua was grateful, “Elder Sister Qiu Tong, these little things could have waited, or you could have had someone bring a letter. Why would you come here in person?”

Qiu Tong smiled and said, “I thought that way too, but your thatched shed is very famous in the Mountain Villa these days. I especially came to visit it. If I could build one in the courtyard then the Young Lady might also pay attention to me.”

Zhang Xiaohua was very embarrassed. Scratching his head he said, “Elder Sister Qiu Tong is making fun of me. I set up a grass shed just to practice Internal force. Who knew that it would cause such big waves and make many people misunderstand.”

Qiu Tong nodded and said, “I have already asked the Young Lady, naturally I understand your original intentions, but others do not. Your proposing something so new and different would, of course, attract the others’ attention, especially in the present scenario. From now on, others would pay even more attention to you.”

Zhang Xiaohua was shocked and said, “No, Elder Sister Qiu Tong, I did not build a shed to bring up these many matters. I'll tear it down.”

Qiu Tong waved her hand and said, “No, don’t you have to use this grass shed for practising martial arts. It has already been made. Why bother? Besides, the lady has made the person in charge of the warehouse scold those servants. Also, if you dismantle it, the Young Lady will lose face.”

Qiu Tong looked around at the little grass shed, smiled and asked, “This grass shed was built by you alone?”

Speaking of his own grass shed, Zhang Xiaohua immediately became spirited. Puffing his small chest, he proudly said, “Yes, Elder Sister Qiu Tong, I built it myself.”

Qiu Tong praised, “It's built well, I didn’t know you had such skill.”

Zhang Xiaohua listened, but was instead embarrassed and said, “It's nothing. When I was in my Guo Village, I often helped my dad and Elder Brother. They won't consider it so good when they take a look.”

Qiu Tong smiled and asked again, “How about your Inner strength cultivation? Have you found the Qi Sense?”

Zhang Xiaohua thought about it and said, “I have not found the Qi Sense yet. But staying here at night is very helpful. It's really quiet and suitable for practising Internal cultivation. I think I should have a breakthrough by the time the Martial Arts Competition begins.”

Qiu Tong nodded and persuaded him, “It's a good thing to assiduously practice martial arts, and Elder Sister won’t stop you, but you should know when to stop. Don't practice it desperately just because you want to participate in the Martial Arts Meet. That would be bad.”

Zhang Xiaohua listened and nodded seriously, saying, “I know, Elder Sister Qiu Tong. In fact, you also know that even if I want to avoid sleep and just exercise all the time, I can't do it.”

Qiu Tong froze for a moment, immediately understanding his meaning, and couldn't help but smile.

They chatted for some more time, after which Qiu Tong said goodbye and left for the inner courtyard.

Zhang Xiaohua sent Qiu Tong away and went to the ground to work, but before long, he heard someone outside shouting, “Zhang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaohua, where are you?”

Zhang Xiaohua wondered, what day is it today? There are not many people in this Medicine Field on weekdays, recently nobody came around here. But now two people have already come to look for him. Who is it this time?

When he stood up and looked closely, it turned out to be his master, He Tianshu.

Zhang Xiaohua felt strange. He Tianshu's voice was extremely familiar to him, but the voice that he just heard was completely foreign.

Zhang Xiaohua walked to the boundary ridge between fields and smiled and said, “Captain He, did you call me?”

He Tianshu said hoarsely, “Of course it is me, is there anyone else here?”

Zhang Xiaohua asked, “What's going on with your voice?”

He Tianshu frowned, “Who knows? It was fine yesterday, today it became like this.”

Zhang Xiaohua looked at He Tianshu's large dark circles and asked, “Did you not sleep again last night?”

He Tianshu scratched his head and said, “Sleep... I fell asleep while reading, and don’t know what time it was.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn't ask why He Tianshu was looking for him. He pulled out the two pages of the book from his bosom and gave it back to He Tianshu saying, “Captain He, let me return this to you first.”

He Tianshu seemed to have known this result long ago, and reached out saying, “What’s wrong? You are returning it after just one night after knowing how difficult it is. Don't say anything cool to me in the future. You need to be practical. Martial arts needs a steadfast and unwavering attitude.”

Zhang Xiaohua opened his mouth and wanted to refute. However, He Tianshu was right. Of course, it was difficult, he couldn't cultivate without Internal force. Though he wanted to refute, he didn't know what to say. He just listened to a boring expression.

He Tianshu saw Zhang Xiaohua’s humble attitude and did not say anything. He said happily, “You really set up a grass hut here, I thought you were just joking. By the way, how is your practice of the Headstrong Bull Strength? Have you got Qi Sense?”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head. He Tianshu said patting his shoulder with sympathy on his face, “Don't worry, this Headstrong Bull Strength is the easiest, and you will definitely get it after you have more understanding.”

He Tianshu took out a page from his bosom and said, “After my painstaking efforts yesterday, my throat became hoarse, and then I learned some footwork. I went to look for you in your room, not knowing that you had settled down in this Medicine field. It seems that you are determined to participate in the Martial Arts Competition. Let's go to the woods. I will teach you the insights I just gained. I hope that in a month, you can have some achievements.”

Zhang Xiaohua listened and sullied in his heart, “Your way of understanding can actually make your mute. You must be the first one in the world.”

Hearing He Tianshu about going to the woods, he persuaded, “Captain He, it's on the other side of the Medicine Field. There is quite some distance.”

He Tianshu put on a serious face and said, “Faction Master repeatedly told us that there are no problems if the two of us practice, but we cannot give it to someone. There is no obstruction around the Medicine Field. These are the guild regulations. We can’t be negligent.”

Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to follow him.

In the woods, He Tianshu demonstrated the moves that he learnt last night, and let Zhang Xiaohua learn with him. Zhang Xiaohua learned very well the last time and with little difficulty. This time, it should have been smooth sailing, but who knew, as soon as Xiaohua learned half of it, he made a mistake. It was a simple step but he could not perform it. He put his feet in position but it changed his posture making him unable to continue to the next step.

He Tianshu was depressed. It seemed like his good days were coming to an end.

Therefore, He Tianshu resisted his temper and taught him step by step. However, no matter how He Tianshu explained, Zhang Xiaohua couldn't learn footwork according to his instructions.

He Tianshu was anxious. In front of Zhang Xiaohua, he demonstrated each step gradually, looked into his eyes, and asked, “Zhang Xiaohua, do you understand?”

Zhang Xiaohua said helplessly, “I understand, Captain He.”

“Then why can't you put your feet here?” He Tianshu asked, pointing at his feet.

“I know it can be put there, but I just can't do it. Inertia pushes me. My feet can't be put in the position you said according to my heart.” Zhang Xiaohua was also innocent in this. Yes, he clearly knew that he should put his leg in the place where He Tianshu said, but his whole body seemed to not listen to the command, it was really weird.

He Tianshu wanted to reprimand Zhang Xiaohua again but immediately thought of Zhang Xiaohua's situation of learning fist techniques. He sighed. Zhang Xiaohua's talent was not good. When teaching boxing techniques, he could let Nie Xiao’er and others teach him and let him cope with it himself, but this time teaching the Misty Steps couldn’t be taken so perfunctorily.

He Tianshu thought for a while, waved his hand, and said, “Well, you practice what you have learned before. I will go back to rest. Wait until tomorrow when I have enough energy. I will teach you seriously then.”

Zhang Xiaohua agreed, and He Tianshu turned around to leave the woods. He heard Zhang Xiaohua's timid voice behind him asking in a small voice, “That, Captain He, please go back to rest. But can you leave the Second Layer of Misty Steps Art for me to see?”

He Tianshu stopped in response, thought a little, and took out a few pages from his bosom. Turning to Zhang Xiaohua he said, “Look at it carefully, I hope you can understand something. Anyway, I don’t plan to read it today, I'm going to rest first. I hope I wake up tomorrow to see a brand new Zhang Xiaohua.”

“Brand new?” Zhang Xiaohua didn't understand, and asked, “My clothes are old. Is my body also dirty?”

He Tianshu laughed haha and said, “It's a Zhang Xiaohua who is no longer stupid.”

After talking, he walked out of the woods with a hoarse laugh, and the expression on his face said that he seemed to have encountered something very interesting.

Listening to the laughter of his master, Zhang Xiaohua whispered, “I didn't say that I'm not stupid, look at your smile, what are you proud of!”

After He Tianshu went out of his sights, Zhang Xiaohua carefully looked at the pages in his hand. These pages of paper were the complete Second Layer of Misty Steps, including some parts that Zhang Xiaohua had already learned.

Zhang Xiaohua picked out the part that he just practised, and looked carefully. After he finished reading, he didn't find any abnormalities. They were all understood correctly by He Tianshu, it was exactly the same. What was the reason? Zhang Xiaohua couldn't help scratching his head.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Xiaohua came up with a way. He looked at the pages he learned earlier and the page he just learned and connected the steps they recorded together for insight.

Looking at the annotations and figures on the book, a figure slowly emerged in Zhang Xiaohua's mind, which was walking step by step according to the records of the book. When it reached the step where Zhang Xiaohua was having difficulty today, that figure did not move in the position He Tianshu instructed, instead stepped on another place based on inertia. Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes lit up, wasn’t this step mentioned as the next step!

Is there an extra step here?

Zhang Xiaohua, full of doubts, continued to think. When the figure in his mind reappeared, when he arrived at the difficult part, he first ignored that step and took the next step directly, and the next step also did not follow the records but put him into the previous position at which Zhang Xiaohua was having difficulty.

Zhang Xiaohua suddenly thought, are these two footwork annotations reversed? He hurriedly looked at the small script next to the figures. The annotations of these two steps were very simple and brief. Even if they were reversed, the annotations would be justified.

With a smile on his mouth, Zhang Xiaohua tried it in the open space in the woods. It was just as Zhang Xiaohua thought. When these two steps were reversed, he was able to perform it smoothly. In a flash, Zhang Xiaohua reversed these two steps in his mind.

The reversal of the steps is easier said than done. If He Tianshu was here, it would definitely not happen. It is not that Zhang Xiaohua is very smart, or that He Tianshu's thinking is very rigid. It's just that the two people have received very different education. Zhang Xiaohua started thinking about the arts from the time when he started practising martial arts. His fist arts, the Heavenly Dipper Fists were also made by him. He had a habit of doubting everything, breaking everything and building from scratch. What moves would be suitable, how could he use them? He dared to create a whole set of fist arts let alone changing a step of this Movement technique.

He Tianshu received formal martial arts education in the Misty Faction since childhood and is accustomed to textbook-style thinking. Being able to learn and practice one of the three Divine Cultivation Arts of Misty Faction, he was filled with pious and reverent thoughts. He would never dare to doubt and question the authority of this footwork. Even if it was wrong, he would only work diligently to follow and accept it.

This can be said to be a problem of education.

After this discovery, Zhang Xiaohua was no longer polite. Previously too, he felt that there were a few points where he differed from He Tianshu. Since it was still early, Zhang Xiaohua did not return to the Medicine Field. He wanted to read the rest of the Second Layer of Misty Steps in one fell swoop.

Of course, he didn't dare to hope that he could learn and understand the steps in this short half-day which He Tianshu hadn't been able to comprehend in a few days.

But the result was out of Zhang Xiaohua’s expectation. Maybe because he had the experience of understanding a lot of fist arts, and he already knew the beginning steps in the Second Layer of Misty Steps, armed with his powerful memory and the figure in his mind, he managed to fully integrate the remaining footwork of the Second Layer into his mind in the short period before the afternoon. The entire Second Layer footwork had a smooth flow in his mind. But after all, there is a gap between theory and practice. Although he has come to understand how to practice, if he wants to display the Second Layer completely, it would still be difficult.

With this result, Zhang Xiaohua was extremely satisfied. Misty Steps is one of the Divine Cultivation Arts of the Misty Faction. Although this layer was one of the beginner layers of Misty Steps, it was still considered incomparably mysterious, such that even He Tianshu was having difficulty in understanding it in a few days. However, Zhang Xiaohua could actually understand it in a short period of half a day. What else could he wish for? Now that the Second Layer was already in his mind, he could slowly master it.

Zhang Xiaohua wanted to practice again, when suddenly there was the sound of thunder in the distance, a cool wind began to blow, and soft misty rain began falling from the heavens above.

Zhang Xiaohua extinguished the idea of hitting the iron while it was hot and ran quickly towards the courtyard. Arriving halfway, he thought of the books in the grass shed and rushed to the grass shed in the Medicine Field.

The rain was already heavy, by the time he reached the grass shed. Fortunately, the quality of his straw shed was good enough, the rainwater did not leak in.

Standing in the grass shed, looking at the rain outside, Zhang Xiaohua discarded his thoughts of returning to the courtyard. He lit an oil lamp, and read the book peacefully.

The raindrops hit the grass shed continuously, the sound of thunder and the flashes of lightning came from time to time. Zhang Xiaohua moved his lamp closer to read.

The cold wind blew in, it is not the coldness that ordinary people can bear.

It was getting darker, but there was no sign of the rain ending. The sounds in the grass shed were heavier. The sound of the thunder in the distance was getting louder as if it were getting closer. Zhang Xiaohua closed the book, put it carefully in his bosom, then extinguished the oil lamp, and sat down cross-legged to draw Qi into his body as per his usual routine.

After Zhang Xiaohua entered meditation, carefully perceiving the world's vitality, he discovered to his joy that the Yuan Qi on this rainy day was much more than other days. Every strand of Qi felt lively, seeming to have a little more vitality. A thought emerged from Zhang Xiaohua’s mind that these strands were very fresh.

But these fresh and lively strands of Qi made Zhang Xiaohua's absorption a little difficult.

These strands were not as calm as usual, but they were rushing about like fishes. Zhang Xiaohua's perception could not introduce them into his body as easily as usual, so Zhang Xiaohua had to intensify his perception and let it out like a fishing net.

There is an old saying that time does not disappoint a person with high aspirations. After patiently trying for many times, he successfully introduced a strand of fresh Qi into his body. This strand of Qi is really different from the previous ones. Although Zhang Xiaohua cannot fully perceive its appearance in his body, he can feel it faintly.

The successful introduction of the first strand of Qi seemed to allow Zhang Xiaohua to build a bridge with the outside world. More traces of Qi continuously poured into Zhang Xiaohua's body like moths to a flame and were continuously absorbed.

Zhang Xiaohua was happily introducing the traces into his body. He imagined circulating his Qi in his meridians according to the Serene Heart Sutra, and many lively traces of the Qi joined in the circulation.

At this time, suddenly an accident happened. With a loud ‘ka-cha’ sound lightning flashed just above Zhang Xiaohua’s grass shed.