Chapter 103: The Flowing Water Step

Indeed, most of Mo Hua's companions were cultivators with limited horizons, but there were also quite a few cultivators with exceptional insight.

Not to mention the Mr. who taught Mo Hua formation arts—he was certainly no ordinary cultivator; the woman Mo Hua called "Aunt Snow," veiled and ethereal, might even wield illusion arts, let alone other spells; and those two children who accompanied him on his stroll, seemingly surnamed Bai, their appearance and bearing clearly indicated an extraordinary origin; then there was his father, Seeing Mo Shan—though his cultivation was mediocre, his years spent hunting demons in the mountains ensured his vision and experience were far from weak…

Zhang Lan pondered: if they found out he'd taught Mo Hua a common, run-of-the-mill body technique, it wouldn't be Mo Hua who was looked down upon.

Mo Hua is just a child—what could he possibly understand?

The only one who'd be ridiculed would be Zhang Lan himself.

The thought of that veiled female cultivator gazing at him with contempt made Zhang Lan utterly unable to accept it.

No, he couldn't let his face be lost!

"This isn't just about my personal dignity—it's about the Zhang family's honor. I can't let them think the Zhang family has no cultivation foundation whatsoever," Zhang Lan told himself, searching for excuses.

"These body techniques are all mediocre. I'll teach you something different." Zhang Lan said to Mo Hua.

"Something different?"

"Yes, unlike any ordinary body technique."

Mo Hua, however, was troubled—he'd only meant to ask Zhang Lan for a bit of advice, to see which spells were worth learning, preferably ones everyone had heard of and practiced.

If everyone had learned it, the technique must be practical, not terrible; no cultivator would waste time learning something utterly useless.

And if everyone had learned it, the technique was likely stable, unlikely to cause major mishaps; even if Zhang Lan stopped teaching later, Mo Hua could still ask others for help if he had questions.

But now Zhang Lan wanted to teach him something different, and Mo Hua felt uneasy—what if this technique required rare, expensive spiritual items? He simply couldn't afford it…

"What's that expression for?" Zhang Lan couldn't help tapping the table lightly. "Why so reluctant? Others beg me to teach them, and I refuse. Don't you go taking advantage and acting spoiled!"

"I'm just worried about troubling you, Uncle Zhang," Mo Hua scratched his head. "Why not just pick any body technique from this book and teach me?"

Mo Hua spread open the "Collection of Qi-Refining Spells." It contained only common spells of the Qi Refining stage, familiar to low-level cultivators—Mo Hua would feel safer learning from it.

"No! I won't let myself be humiliated!"

Zhang Lan refused outright.

Mo Hua didn't understand—how could learning a spell be humiliating?

Zhang Lan gritted his teeth. "I'll teach you the Flowing Water Step—it's the Zhang family's secret art!"

Mo Hua hesitated for a long time, then whispered weakly, "Is your family's secret art really so cheap? You're just handing it out so casually?"

Zhang Lan nearly spat blood. He grabbed Mo Hua's collar and lifted him into the air with spiritual power. "Come with me!"

Liu Ruhua watched from the side, but she knew Zhang Lan was the Dao Ting Si's Gu Diansi and had a good relationship with Mo Hua—he wouldn't harm him—so she said nothing.

She merely thought silently: how can a grown man like Gu Diansi Zhang have a temper as childish as Mo Hua's?

Zhang Lan dragged Mo Hua by the collar to the foot of a mountain beyond Xiancheng.

The area was thick with Lin Mu, secluded and quiet, rarely visited by anyone.

Mo Hua felt spiritual power lifting his feet off the ground, then the world spun, the scenery blurred backward; after a moment, he regained awareness and found himself outside Xiancheng.

"Uncle Zhang, why did you bring me here?" Mo Hua couldn't help asking.

"Stab me with this sword."

Zhang Lan tossed Mo Hua a black lacquered sword inlaid with gold, engraved with ancient pine patterns—clearly not mortal grade.

Mo Hua opened his mouth. "That doesn't seem right."

"Stab me."

"What if I hurt you?" Mo Hua worried.

Zhang Lan stared at Mo Hua in silence, making Mo Hua realize he'd perhaps overestimated himself slightly.

With Mo Hua's cultivation, even if he stabbed Zhang Lan all day with the sword while Zhang Lan stood still, he wouldn't scratch a hair.

"Fine."

If Zhang Lan wasn't afraid, why should he be?

Mo Hua gripped the sword, prepared to stab Zhang Lan—but after testing it, he said again, "No."

"Why not again?" Zhang Lan asked.

"I can't lift this sword…"

Mo Hua whispered.

What kind of sword was Zhang Lan using? Why was it so heavy? Was this even a sword a spiritual cultivator could wield?

Zhang Lan sighed, pointed upward with two fingers. Before Mo Hua could grasp what happened, a branch fell from the tree above.

"Use this branch."

"Oh." Mo Hua nodded.

He took the branch, steadied his breath, focused his intent, and thrust the branch toward Zhang Lan with all his strength. Of course, his force was negligible—he wasn't a body cultivator.

But what happened next left Mo Hua stunned.

Mo Hua's branch passed straight through Zhang Lan's body.

Mo Hua startled, then realized there was no resistance, no feedback—he hadn't struck anything. When he looked again, Zhang Lan's figure before him blurred and vanished, and Zhang Lan appeared one step away.

Though Mo Hua didn't understand what had happened, he felt it was incredibly powerful!

"Is this a body technique?"

Zhang Lan smiled faintly, then his form dispersed like mist, leaving countless afterimages around Mo Hua—not even his eyes or spiritual sense could lock onto the real one.

Soon, all spiritual power faded, and Zhang Lan reappeared exactly where he'd stood, as if he hadn't moved at all.

Mo Hua was utterly astonished.

Seeing Mo Hua's wide-eyed, unworldly expression, Zhang Lan felt thoroughly satisfied, though his face remained expressionless.

"Now you want to learn, right?"

Mo Hua couldn't help nodding.

"This body technique is called the Flowing Water Step—it's the Zhang family's secret art, rarely taught outside the family. The Flowing Water Step is a spiritual cultivator's body technique, using spiritual power to control the physical form, allowing swift dodges and maneuvers within the narrowest spaces to evade attacks. When mastered, it can even produce afterimages to confuse vision and disrupt spiritual sense…"

Mo Hua listened with rapt attention, then worriedly said:

"If you teach me, isn't that leaking the family's secret? Won't the Zhang family punish you? If so, better not."

"Isn't this footwork good?"

"It's good, but I can't cause you trouble," Mo Hua said, torn.

Zhang Lan paused, then laughed: "Don't worry—I wouldn't teach you if there were any real danger. Those old conservatives in the clan can't touch me."

At most they'll lock me up for a few months and make me kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days…

Zhang Lan silently added in his heart—though he'd never say such a thing, it would lower his standing.

"Oh oh," Mo Hua nodded, then asked: "If I learn it, will your family kill me to keep the secret from spreading?"

Zhang Lan couldn't help but tap Mo Hua's forehead again. "What's going on in that little head of yours? How can you say such absurd things?"