“You certainly have a way with words, Junior Sister.”
The smile faded slightly as her gaze fell back onto the sword at Shen Qingci's waist, and she asked casually, “I heard from Master that before you reach Foundation Establishment, you are only focusing on the basics and not touching sword techniques?”
“Yes, Master instructed me to only touch sword techniques after my foundation is firmly established, so I won't easily go astray.”
“Perfect.” Chi Yuan stood up. “I have nothing to do today, so I'll accompany you to the sword-practice platform to go over it. If your basic power generation is wrong and builds into an old habit, it will be hard to correct later.”
Shen Qingci said, “Thank you for your trouble, Senior Sister.”
The two of them left the cave dwelling and walked along the stone steps to the side.
The mist had just dispersed. The mountain wind swept the bitter scent of pine resin past their ears, and beads of last night's dew still clung to the cracks between the stone steps.
Shen Qingci drew her sword.
The Jinglei sword unsheathed, its cool blade transferring to her palm as lightning arcs danced gently along the edge. Dropping her shoulders and sinking her elbows, she executed her strikes one by one according to her usual routine.
Thrusting, sheathing, turning, slashing.
Her posture was perfectly upright, her power steady without any floating, each strike moving with uniform force. After completing over twenty moves, she sheathed her sword, turned, and stood still, her breathing even and showing not a hint of disorder.
Chi Yuan leaned against a pavilion pillar with her arms crossed, watching. Only when Shen Qingci stood still did she stroll over.
“Your foundation is solid; the people who taught you in your family clearly put a lot of effort into it.” Her fingertip lightly tapped the peak of Shen Qingci's shoulder. “But your shoulders are too stiff. All the force is trapped in your forearms, unable to reach the blade.”
“A Lightning Spiritual Root follows a fierce and overbearing path. If your body is stiff, your spiritual energy will deplete quickly, and your moves won't come alive.”
Shen Qingci tried to relax her shoulders.
Just as she adjusted them and thrust her sword, they unconsciously tensed up again.
Chi Yuan wasted no words and went directly behind her.
“Don't move.”
Both of her palms rested on Shen Qingci's shoulder area, carrying the cool warmth of pine resin and cold jade, kneading away the stiffened muscles through the fabric.
“Drop your shoulders, sink your qi into your dantian, and let it flow downward.”
Shen Qingci's waist and abdomen suddenly stiffened for a brief moment.
A breath of clear pine fragrance drifted over as the other woman drew close. It was as faint as the morning mist atop the mountain, yet it drifted clearly into her nose.
“Sink your waist another half-inch. Turn your hips as you strike. Let the power rise from your waist and abdomen, pass through your shoulders and back, and penetrate to the tip of the sword...” Chi Yuan's voice fell beside her ear, cool and soothing.
Shen Qingci's throat tightened slightly. She lowered her waist and sank her hips as instructed, adjusting her posture under Chi Yuan's guidance.
Chi Yuan's hand slid down her arm, covering the back of the hand holding the sword.
“Watch closely. First style, the cleave.”
Leading her little junior sister's hand, she raised it and brought it down. Power surged all the way from her waist and hips. The blade sliced through the mountain wind, producing a clear, resonant sword hum.
As this strike fell, the lightning arcs did not scatter at all, but were entirely concentrated on the edge, making it more than a fraction heavier than before.
Retracting the sword, returning to stance.
“Second style, the thrust.”
Chi Yuan guided her forward, lightly twisting her wrist. The tip of the sword trembled slightly, steadily pointing into the empty space ahead.
The three moves were executed extremely slowly, with every point of power generation explained with absolute clarity.
Shen Qingci kept her chin stiff, even lightening her breathing.
Her back was practically pressed into the chest of the person behind her, her heartbeat thumping louder than the wind of the sword. The warmth of her second senior sister's palm, and the sensation of the thin calluses on her fingertips from sword practice rubbing against the back of her hand, were unbelievably clear!!!
By the fourth move, her focus finally wavered.
She lost control of her lightning spiritual energy for a split second, and it surged halfway out along the blade, striking the stone railing with a sharp crack, leaving behind a small scorch mark.
Shen Qingci snapped back to reality, the tips of her ears instantly burning hot.
Her fingers curled unconsciously.
【I didn't feel hot at all after practicing all morning; this is entirely due to my state of mind.】
“Senior Sister, I...”
“It's fine.” Chi Yuan withdrew her hand and took a half-step back.
“It's always like this when you first change your power generation method. Calm your mind and try again.”
Shen Qingci gripped the hilt, her tiger's mouth slightly numb. She secretly sighed at her lack of composure. She had maintained the air of a great family's eldest young lady for so long, yet her mind had been thrown into disarray just because her senior sister had touched her hand.
“Run through it twenty more times.” Chi Yuan walked over to the pavilion and sat down. “Carefully find the sensation of generating power from your waist and hips. Don't tense your shoulders; it's not like you're carrying a hill on your back.”
“Yes.”
Shen Qingci composed herself and assumed her stance once more.
This time, she focused entirely, generating power from her waist and hips according to the sensation from earlier, completely relaxing her shoulders and elbows. Her sword moves suddenly became much smoother, the lightning arcs steadily contained on the blade. Every time she slashed, it carried a sharp, crisp sound of tearing through the air.
Every now and then, Chi Yuan would offer a word of guidance.
“Your wrist is too loose, sink it a bit more.”
“Turn back half a fraction faster, don't drag your feet.”
“Hold back twenty percent of your spiritual energy, don't pour it all out at once.”
Occasionally, she would walk over to adjust Shen Qingci's wrist or press down on her lower back. With every touch, Shen Qingci had to hold her breath and compose herself for a good while before she could drag her drifting thoughts back to the sword.
After practicing for nearly another hour, the sun moved directly overhead, flooding the sword-practice platform with golden light and heating the stone surface until it glowed with warmth.
Shen Qingci sheathed her sword, beads of sweat sliding down her jawline. It wasn't that her spiritual energy was lacking; it was mostly her mind repeatedly fluctuating, unable to suppress that trace of inexplicable heat.
“That's enough, take a break.” Chi Yuan walked over from the pavilion and handed her a water skin.
“To grasp this level of understanding as a beginner is already considered fast. Don't be too greedy; overexerting and damaging your meridians will only delay your progress.”
Shen Qingci took the water skin, her fingertips accidentally brushing against her senior sister's knuckles before she quickly pulled them back. Uncorking it, she took a few gulps. The cool spiritual spring water slid down her throat, finally suppressing the restlessness in her chest.
“Your comprehension is much better than mine was back then, Junior Sister.” Chi Yuan leaned against the stone railing, her gaze drifting toward the distant mountain peaks.
“When I first started practicing the sword, Master felt my foundation was too unstable and punished me by making me practice basic stances for two years, five thousand strikes a day, until my arms were so swollen I couldn't even hold chopsticks.”
Shen Qingci was slightly startled.
She had not expected her aloof Second Senior Sister to share these past stories with her.
“Master has always been strict.”
“Strict she may be, but the results are clear.” Chi Yuan turned her head to look at her, a smile playing on her lips. “Once you reach Foundation Establishment, Junior Sister, I will take you to the back mountain to hunt demon beasts.”
“Ultimately, swordplay must be tempered in actual combat to show its true worth.”
“Alright.”
Shen Qingci replied, her heart skipping a beat for some reason.
After resting for a moment, Chi Yuan stood up and dusted off the hem of her robe. “I'll head out first so I don't delay your cultivation. Oh, right, classes at the Dharma Academy start tomorrow. I'll come pick you up at the Mao hour so you don't lose your way.”
Shen Qingci looked up, meeting her gaze directly.
The sunlight fell upon the corners of Chi Yuan's eyes, softening the sharp lines of her phoenix eyes.
Her heart stirred slightly, and she nodded. “Alright, thank you for your trouble, Senior Sister.”
“No need to be so polite.” Chi Yuan waved her hand and turned to walk down the stone steps. Her steps were steady, and in a few strides, she rounded the bend and vanished from sight.
Shen Qingci stood in place, unmoving.
The cool warmth of the other woman's palm still lingered on the back of her hand, and the heat at the tips of her ears refused to dissipate. The mountain wind swept by, carrying the scent of pine resin, which felt somewhat similar to the scent lingering on her own body.
She looked down at her palm and scoffed softly at herself.
Turning back to the center of the sword-practice platform, she drew her sword and assumed her stance once more...
This time, she completely quieted her mind, her control over generating power from her waist and hips becoming increasingly precise.
Her sword moves were several fractions more condensed than before, the lightning arcs locked tightly to the blade, and the force of her slashes grew significantly heavier.
Whenever her mind drifted and her strike went off by half an inch, she would immediately pull herself back and start over, not indulging herself in the slightest.
The sun gradually sank in the west, and sword light rose and fell across the sword-practice platform.
By the time she sheathed her sword at dusk, she had swung it a full five thousand times today, two thousand more than her original target. Though the web of her hand burned, her foundation had grown yet another layer sturdier.
This minor emotional fluctuation would not delay her path.
Rate on N.U.
