“Punishment...?”
How to punish him?
She hadn't really thought about how to specifically punish this junior brother who seemed well-behaved but was actually slyly mischievous.
Make him face the wall and reflect? Make him stand facing the bamboo for a few hours?
That seemed too light, and he'd probably seize the opportunity to doze off or daydream.
Spanking his palm? Ning Xian imagined the scene: she holding a discipline ruler, Fang Xuan obediently extending his hand...
She felt a strange sense of... oddness.
Punish him by copying sect rules? He might even come up with some twisted logic.
Several options flashed through Ning Xian's mind, but she rejected them all.
Looking at Fang Xuan's expectant eyes, she suddenly felt that her dignity as a senior sister was utterly lost at a moment like this.
'Never mind... he didn't really do anything wrong anyway.'
Ning Xian felt a surge of relief, and was about to complete her sentence, "Since you know, then..."
“Senior Sister, I have a whip here.”
Fang Xuan's voice interrupted her thoughts.
He pulled out a long whip from his storage pouch, entirely black and extremely thick.
Ning Xian: “......!”
Her cool eyes widened slightly, and she quickly said, “No... no need.”
“No, Senior Sister.”
Fang Xuan, however, insisted, even stepping forward and holding the whip in both hands, signaling, "Please, Senior Sister, wield the whip.”
“My actions today were indeed rash. I spoke disrespectfully to senior sister and was too heavy-handed with a fellow disciple. If I'm not disciplined, I fear I'll become even more arrogant in the future and commit greater mistakes.”
“As my instructor, Senior Sister should strictly supervise me.”
He spoke righteously and earnestly.
Ning Xian was momentarily speechless by his profound and righteous words, her small face turning even redder as she waved her hands repeatedly, “No...”
“No,” Fang Xuan echoed, his gaze earnest.
“No,” Ning Xian's voice rose slightly.
“No,” Fang Xuan refused to back down, even pushing the whip further forward.
How could he let such a good opportunity slip by?
His great training endeavor was about to take a substantial step, escalating from appreciating jade feet and personal garments to being fiercely whipped with a small whip.
Wouldn't the system rewards just pour in? Perhaps it would even reward him directly with a plate of real pickled vegetables.
Ning Xian was both anxious and embarrassed by his persistent behavior, watching his rascally expression that seemed to say, 'If you don't whip me, I won't give up today.'
'This junior brother's temperament is truly dreadful.'
He was clearly teasing her with these words, enjoying her predicament.
She bit her lower lip.
“If you're not satisfied... then just hit senior sister twice.”
After speaking, she slightly turned her body.
Fang Xuan: “......?”
'Wait... this script isn't right.'
'How did it turn into me hitting senior sister? Who exactly is training whom here?'
He silently put the small whip back, feeling a bit weary.
'Why does it feel like senior sister is listening to me more and more?'
'According to a normal training progression, shouldn't I be the one becoming more obedient and submissive...?'
'Now, if I want to be hit, senior sister would rather take the hits herself than lay a hand on me.'
'What's with this strange reverse training...?'
...................
Ning Xian no longer mentioned the punishment and quickly turned to enter her own room, closing the door.
Fang Xuan stood in the courtyard, thinking.
'It seems the path of actively seeking punishment to rapidly advance training progress is temporarily blocked.'
'It's better to maximize her favorability first; maybe then senior sister will... step on him barefoot.'
'Mm, that could work.'
Temporarily casting aside distracting thoughts, he walked to the center of the courtyard, sat cross-legged, and took out the gray jade slip he had obtained from the Scripture Pavilion.
As his divine sense sank in, the first three layers of the nameless cultivation method clearly appeared.
This cultivation method, much like his little brother, was essentially simple and crude.
One pursued hardness, the other pursued quantity—both took extreme paths.
This was quite different from the mainstream cultivation methods he had encountered before, as most emphasized purity and refinement.
The cultivation method was indeed strange, requiring repeated impact in a specific way to expand the meridians and dantian.
'Senior sister said it should be very difficult to get started...'
Fang Xuan recalled Ning Xian's words, composed himself, and began carefully mobilizing the spiritual energy within his body, following the guidance of the first layer's spell.
At first, it was somewhat sluggish, with spiritual energy flowing slowly.
But after running it for less than three grand cycles—
Fang Xuan's body trembled slightly. The spiritual energy within his dantian seemed to be drawn by some powerful force and began to circulate on its own at an accelerated pace.
The meridian pathway that had initially felt awkward now became incredibly smooth.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drawn in, surging into his body from all directions, several times faster than when he usually cultivated the Qingyun Qi Drawing Art.
Not only that, but he clearly felt his total spiritual energy rapidly growing and expanding at an astonishing rate.
If his original spiritual energy was like a small pond, now a continuous stream of water was pouring in, and the pond was visibly transforming into a lake...
The first layer, just like that, naturally... broke through?
Fang Xuan was a little bewildered.
He exited his internal observation, opened his eyes, looked at the jade slip in his hand, and then felt the indeed surging spiritual energy within his body.
Something's not right.
What about the promised difficulty and pain? What about the high demands on physical body and will?
A fake cultivation method? Impossible, the increase in spiritual energy was real.
Could it be... he was really a genius?
Still, as long as it worked.
Fang Xuan quickly cast his doubts aside and eagerly began to attempt cultivating the second layer.
It was just as incredibly smooth.
Half an hour later, he had initially mastered all three layers of the nameless cultivation method.
Although it still required time to fully integrate and master, the cultivation method now circulated without any sluggishness, and his total spiritual energy had surged by nearly fifty percent compared to before.
Moreover, this increase was not superficial; although the spiritual energy was not as refined and sharp as before, it was more profound and continuous, like a vast river or sea.
A thought stirred within him, and he wanted to test its effects.
He stood up and faced a half-person-tall bluestone by the distant stream.
In an instant, the immense spiritual energy within his body was unleashed, surging out like a bursting flood.
The bluestone had no room to resist, instantly ground to dust.
Even a small patch of bamboo forest behind it was swept askew by the violent spiritual energy aftershock, with bamboo leaves fluttering everywhere.
And what stunned Fang Xuan even more was—
“CRASH—!!”
His bamboo hut, which only had half a roof left, collapsed on the other side under the sudden spiritual energy shockwave and airflow impact.
Fang Xuan: “......”
The door of the adjacent bamboo hut creaked open, pushed violently.
Ning Xian quickly walked out, and after seeing Fang Xuan, she merely uttered two words faintly: "...Wasteful."
Fang Xuan: "..."
Ning Xian looked at the completely ruined roof, then glanced at the sky.
“Tonight, it seems we won't be able to rest here again.”
The materials they bought were only enough to repair half the roof.
Fang Xuan's eyes lit up, 'An opportunity.'
“Senior Sister, if you take out an extra mattress from your room, I can just sleep on the floor outside, right?”
She averted her gaze, looking at the scattered thatch on the ground, her voice almost inaudible: “There's still space inside the room.”
After speaking, she no longer looked at Fang Xuan and turned to walk back into her room.
'Snuggling up to Senior Sister's bed... ah, no, the plan to stay for the night seems to have succeeded again.'
As for repairing the roof?
'Anyway, it won't be fixed anytime soon.'
'Hmm, I'll deal with it tomorrow.'
'No, the day after tomorrow is fine too.'
'Repair it? Absolutely.'
'But, do it slowly.'
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