Chapter 20

The next morning.

Qin Shuo and Qin Lan arrived at the martial hall early in the morning.

While the other senior brothers had not yet arrived, he needed to seize the time to practice his stance, in order to speed up the refinement of the White Ape Stance imprint inside the Taotie cauldron.

The White Ape Stance is the basic skill of the White Ape Heavenly Gang Blade, and also, before internal strength is developed, it is a daily required course for every outer sect disciple.

The outer sect had over thirty disciples; each took a turn, and the day ended.

Therefore, Qin Shuo could only practice extra before everyone arrived in the morning.

Without the aid of the White Jade Ginseng King, the soreness in his muscles quickly spread throughout his body.

Even though his physique now far exceeds that of ordinary people, after an hour of White Ape Stance practice he still sweats profusely, his clothes soaked through with sweat.

【Ingredient: White Ape Stance】

【Current refinement progress: 5%】

The sky grew bright.

When Qin Shuo had finished twenty rounds of the White Ape Stance, the martial hall only then saw disciples arriving one after another.

「Oh? Junior Brother Qin, you came this early? 」

When the outer sect disciples discovered that Qin Shuo was already drenched in sweat from his practice, they all showed looks of surprise.

「Just look at how much he's sweating—he must have done at least ten rounds! 」

「He's just trying to curry favor, wanting to leave a good impression of hard work on the hall master—who knows how many days he can keep it up。」

「If you don't cultivate internal strength, no matter how hard you train, the hall master won't notice you; you're oversimplifying things。」

Everyone chattered among themselves, but Qin Shuo seemed oblivious, completely immersed in the refinement of the White Ape Stance.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

Everyone gradually grew accustomed to Qin Shuo's arduous stance practice, and no one commented further.

Even disciples who lived nearby began to emulate Qin Shuo, arriving half an hour earlier each day just to squeeze in a few more rounds of stance.

This undoubtedly made Qin Shuo feel somewhat gloomy.

Training the White Ape Stance does not require stepping on plum blossom posts; walking on the ground works just as well.

Qin Shuo had to practice on the posts because he needed to refine the White Ape Stance.

But seeing that Qin Shuo always trained on the plum blossom posts when practicing his stance, the other disciples followed suit, making the already scarce opportunity to train on the posts even rarer.

Before they knew it, another ten days had passed.

With Qin Shuo's relentless effort, his White Ape Stance training finally underwent a major breakthrough.

【Ingredient: White Ape Stance】

【Current refinement progress: 80%】

Looking at the prompt on the panel before him, Qin Shuo slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi.

An eighty percent refinement progress meant that his White Ape Stance had reached the Great Accomplishment realm.

Stance training can be divided into five realms: Entry, Proficiency, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection.

Generally, once stance training reaches Minor Accomplishment, Lin Feng will begin teaching the White Ape Heavenly Gang Blade technique.

But since Qin Shuo's time in the Entry stage was too short, they let him train for a few more days.

As a result, Qin Shuo directly attained Great Accomplishment in stance training.

「Junior Brother Qin, you… have you attained Great Accomplishment in stance training? 」

Watching Qin Shuo leap about on the plum blossom posts like a monkey, as if strolling leisurely in a courtyard, Lin Feng couldn't help but flash a hint of astonishment on his face.

For an ordinary disciple, being able to enter the Entry stage of stance training within a month is already not bad.

This Junior Brother Qin, however, had cultivated his stance training to Great Accomplishment in just twenty short days.

Such perceptiveness is truly astonishing.

「I won't hide it from you, Senior Brother—it's truly Great Accomplishment。」

Qin Shuo nodded, not hiding anything.

He knew that the martial hall gave special preferential treatment to disciples with excellent aptitude and perceptiveness.

Therefore, during practice he did not deliberately conceal his shortcomings.

His aim was to let everyone witness his growth, so that the hall master could make up his mind to allocate some resources to invest in him.

With dozens of disciples in the courtyard, the martial hall could not possibly support every single one.

Thus Qin Shuo could only hope to receive preferential treatment by demonstrating his extraordinary qualities.

「Not bad, not bad! I'll go see the master later to apply for it—starting from now, I'll provide you with an extra bowl of medicinal soup each day。」

Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

The disciples training nearby, upon hearing this, all cast envious glances at Qin Shuo.

Don't think it's just a bowl of medicinal soup; it's as valuable as rare beast meat.

If sold outside, it might cost two or three qian of silver.

Little by little, it adds up—over a month it consumes about ten taels of silver, enough to match half a year's income for an ordinary household.

「Thank you, Senior Brother。」

Qin Shuo hastily clasped his hands in thanks.

「Since your stance training has reached Great Accomplishment, today I will teach you the blade technique。」

「Come on, first follow me to the storehouse to pick out a convenient training blade。」

Lin Feng led Qin Shuo to the central courtyard, pointing to a house with its door wide open and said:

「The choice of a training blade is crucial; it should best match one's feel and strength。」

「Remember, liking the new and disliking the old—what suits you is the best。」

Yes.

Qin Shuo stepped into the storehouse, only feeling a wave of coolness rush over him.

He looked around and found that this armory was not large, only twenty-something square meters.

Weapon racks stood along the walls, mostly swords and spears, with a few long spears and odd weapons, but all were covered in dust, clearly not often used.

Qin Shuo walked straight to the sword rack on the left, which was filled with various long blades meant for the martial hall's disciples.

The disciples varied in height and strength.

Therefore, the practice swords suitable for each disciple also varied.

This is also why Lin Feng arranged for Qin Shuo to pick his own sword.

Whether a practice sword suits you can only be known by holding it; you can't tell just by looking.

Qin Shuo's gaze swept over the sword rack.

These swords varied in length and weight.

Obviously they were forged to suit different disciples' heights and strengths.

Soon he locked onto a target.

It was an old-looking saber that had seen some years.

The hilt was badly worn, covered in dust, somewhat dilapidated, lying in a neglected corner.

"Senior Brother, I choose this one."

Qin Shuo didn't hesitate, directly picking up the saber.

He hefted it in his hand twice; it was neither too light nor too heavy, just right for him.

"Junior Brother Qin has good taste; this saber is Master's practice sword from his early years. Because it's old and the blade is heavy, no disciple has chosen it, yet I didn't expect you, Junior Brother, to take a liking to it."

Lin Feng has a good temper; he always appears smiling and easy to talk to.

Seeing Qin Shuo pick the master's old practice sword, he couldn't help but praise his good eye.

"No wonder I felt a connection with it the moment I saw it." Qin Shuo grinned.

At the same time, he suddenly realized.

No wonder this saber's refining effect is the best among all practice swords; it turns out it was the hall master's sword from his earlier practice.

In a void unseen by Lin Feng, a line of text appeared before Qin Shuo's eyes:

【Ingredient: Practice Sword】

【Refining Conditions: White Ape Stance perfected, practice Heavenly Gang Sword Technique three thousand times】

【Refining Effect: Heavenly Gang Sword Technique perfected, grasp the true intent of the White Ape!】

Sword technique perfected, true intent entered?

Qin Shuo's eyes lit up; he knew he had found a treasure.

Sword technique differs from stance training; this is something that can truly greatly enhance combat power.

Stance training tempers the body and strengthens blood and qi, while sword technique focuses on combat, being a genuine killing art.

Returned to the outer courtyard.

Lin Feng began teaching Qin Shuo the sword technique of the White Ape Heavenly Gang Sword.

The sword technique consists of thirty-six forms.

Lin Feng first transmitted six forms to Qin Shuo, then let him familiarize himself, while he went on to guide the other junior brothers.

Qin Shuo stood in the courtyard, assuming the White Ape Stance, his mind immersed in the Taotie Cauldron.

Hum!

At the instant his mind touched the illusory image of the Heavenly Gang Sword within the cauldron, vivid, lifelike images surged into his mind like a tide.

In a daze, he seemed to transform into the young hall master Wei Yuan, holding a practice sword, and began to practice in the courtyard with precise movements.

At first his movements were still stiff and awkward, many forms not flowing.

But gradually, his sword technique became smooth, and the connections between forms became natural.

To conceal the secret of his possession of the Taotie Cauldron.

Qin Shuo suppressed the urge to practice other forms, always only practicing the six sword forms taught by Lin Feng.

Days passed one by one.

After five days, Qin Shuo had learned all thirty-six forms of the Heavenly Gang Sword Technique and could openly begin refining the practice sword.

【Ingredient: Practice Sword】

【Current Refining Progress: 3%】

A day's sword training ended.

Qin Shuo slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, then sheathed his sword and stood still under the jujube tree.

Unlike the White Ape Stance, which can only be refined within the martial hall.

Qin Shuo specially requested from Senior Brother Lin Feng to take the practice sword home.

Thus, even if the martial hall closes at night, he can continue practicing the sword at home.

Thus, his Heavenly Gang Sword refining progress increased rapidly, allowing him to practice a hundred times a day.

"At this pace, I won't need three months for my stance and sword technique to both reach great perfection."

Qin Shuo silently calculated his cultivation progress.

When stance training and sword technique are perfected, it also means he can prepare to accumulate blood and break through the barrier.

At that point he will need to undergo medicinal baths and nutritional supplements, all of which cost money.

"Two hundred taels of silver... that's hard!" Qin Shuo felt a bit balding.

For a moment he couldn't think of how to obtain such a large sum in a short time.

"Perhaps we can only go hunt strange beasts."

After thinking it over, Qin Shuo also realized that only hunting strange beasts was a viable option.

Thump thump thump!

Suddenly, a violent knocking sounded from outside the door.

"Who is it?" Qin Shuo frowned.

At this late hour, who would come looking for the two siblings?