Chapter 3: Three Years in a Snap

In the mountains, one loses track of the years; time passes in the snap of a finger.

Lu Li had already spent one New Year's Eve on the mountain, and now it was the winter of the second year, with another heavy snowfall descending.

During this period, Lu Li's study of the Huashan Sect's sword techniques could be described as advancing a thousand miles a day.

The sword techniques of the Huashan Sect only needed to be demonstrated once in Lu Li's hands for him to grasp seven or eight tenths of them.

Sword techniques that would take others half a year to cultivate could be practiced to Major Accomplishment by Lu Li in just half a month.

This speed of learning swordsmanship was something even Linghu Chong could not match.

Lu Li's talent for using the sword left Yue Buqun greatly astonished.

Previously, he had always felt that his eldest disciple Linghu Chong's aptitude for swordsmanship was already brilliant, yet he did not expect Lu Li's insight into Sword Dao to be several degrees superior to Linghu Chong's.

Yue Buqun was, after all, cautious and prudent; he immediately sent people to secretly investigate Lu Li's background once more, but they gained nothing, finding only a clean family history.

On this day, the sky cleared after the snow.

On the training grounds, several disciples were practicing their swordsmanship, and Yue Buqun casually asked if Lu Li had practiced any other martial arts. Lu Li did not hide it, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Master, as a youth, the disciple admired the sword and practiced the Basic Sword Techniques Thirteen Forms for many years."

Having said this, Lu Li picked up a wooden sword and demonstrated.

This performance of the Basic Sword Techniques was different from his time on the Tianxuan Continent.

Back then, Lu Li was fully focused, his moves heavy and meticulous.

But at this moment, while the movements of Lu Li's Basic Sword Techniques were the same, the Spirit Rhyme within them was as unpredictable as an antelope hanging its horns, boundless and unconstrained.

Yet, it did not lose its steadiness, which was truly astonishing.

When Lu Li finished demonstrating the Basic Sword Techniques, Yue Buqun looked up to the sky and sighed: "Li'er, seeing your rapid progress in swordsmanship, I originally had my doubts.

But seeing you demonstrate the Basic Sword Techniques today, I finally know that there are indeed people in this world born for the sword.

These thirteen forms are the most fundamental of sword techniques, yet you have been able to practice them to such a level of Mastery; it is no wonder that learning other sword techniques is like advancing a thousand miles a day."

Ning Zhongze, standing to the side, also nodded, understanding the difficulty of this.

Even in Linghu Chong's eyes, there was admiration and surprise; clearly, he saw that practicing the Basic Sword Techniques to this extent was extremely difficult.

As for Shi Daizi and Liang Fa, they were somewhat confused.

However, looking at their Master's expression, they knew that their Second Senior Brother's swordsmanship was extraordinary.

Yue Lingshan blinked her eyes from the side and muttered: "Mother, Second Senior Brother's sword technique seems quite ordinary, yet it looks very comfortable."

Ning Zhongze said: "Shan'er is right, but for your Second Senior Brother to be able to practice these basic sword techniques to such a comfortable realm, that is what is truly impressive."

Yue Buqun nodded and said: "Li'er, although your talent is high, you must not become arrogant because of it.

You must know that on the path of martial arts, only diligence matters. Since ancient times, there have been many clever people, but those who become masters are few and far between; you must remember not to slacken."

Lu Li kept the word 'diligence' in his heart and bowed: "Thank you for your instruction, Master."

Yue Buqun's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with immense joy.

"The Basic Sword Techniques—how could that count as having studied under another master? Not only is there no problem with this Lu Li, but he is also a genius of swordsmanship!

Not only did I take in Linghu Chong, but I have also managed to obtain a disciple like Lu Li; it is truly Yue Buqun's good fortune, and the good fortune of Huashan."

Yue Buqun was pleased in his heart, feeling that the revival of Huashan was in sight, so he spoke to Liang Fa and the others: "You all must also learn from Lu Li; the foundation of swordsmanship must not be neglected."

"Yes, Master."

"You have all been at the Entry level for some time; today, I shall impart the Huashan Sect's mental method to you. Remember that our Huashan Sect's kung fu emphasizes controlling the sword with Qi; you must focus on nourishing and refining Qi, and must not become obsessed with sword techniques and walk the path of evil."

Originally, Yue Buqun would have had the disciples practice horse stance to build a solid foundation before imparting the internal mental method.

But today he was truly happy, so he decided to impart it all at once.

"Yes."

Everyone was filled with excitement.

Having been at the Entry level for over a year,

they finally obtained the Huashan internal kung fu.

... The Huashan Sect in the Smiling Proud Wanderer was founded by Hao Datong, known as Guangningzi, one of the Quanzhen Seven Masters.

Therefore, the basic techniques of the Huashan Sect were evolved from the Quanzhen Sect's Foundation Establishment Mental Method and the Quanzhen Great Dao Song.

It was filled with all sorts of Daoist terminology, and Yue Buqun needed to explain them one by one for the disciples to understand; for Huashan Sect disciples to comprehend internal kung fu, they had to read the Daoist Canon extensively and study to understand the principles.

Although Lu Li had the experience of his past life, his progress in learning this internal kung fu was only excellent; compared to his monstrous talent for Sword Dao, it was somewhat lacking.

And seeing that Lu Li's progress in internal kung fu was only slightly higher than the others, Yue Buqun felt increasingly at ease.

"That's right, his talent for sword techniques is superb because he practiced basic sword techniques from a young age, but he is coming into contact with internal kung fu for the first time, so it is naturally not that fast."

Little did he know, Lu Li was actually greatly surprised in his heart.

This Quanzhen Great Dao Song was an extremely orthodox and peaceful Daoist mental method, and it had many similarities with the Qi Refining Technique he had practiced on the Tianxuan Continent.

He had no trouble practicing it at all.

Yet, the speed of this cultivation was extremely slow!

Lu Li was puzzled and practiced alone for several days before he suddenly realized.

It turned out that the Spirit Qi in the world of the Smiling Proud Wanderer could not be compared to the Tianxuan Continent at all!

When he practiced the Qi Refining Technique back then, he could feel the Spirit Qi around him in just a few breaths.

But here, the majestic river of heaven and earth's Spirit Qi had turned into a small, drying puddle; how could Lu Li be accustomed to this? His cultivation progress naturally fell into a bottleneck.

Lu Li smiled bitterly: "I fear that thirty years of cultivation in this world might not even compare to three years on the Tianxuan Continent."

He suddenly felt that he had been tricked by this system.

But thinking about it, this was the first world he had traveled to; if he traveled to a world with more abundant Spirit Qi in the future, such a thing would not happen again.

Although the Spirit Qi in this world was insufficient, Lu Li discovered that the sword moves in the Smiling Proud Wanderer were more exquisite than those on the Tianxuan Continent.

It made sense; on the Tianxuan Continent, everyone could absorb the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth, and with a single slash of a blade or sword, one could unleash crimson flames, thunder, or tides of sword wind.

The suppression of realms was exceptionally terrifying, and everyone was obsessed with improving their realm; who would still spend effort on these many flashy moves? In this way, people on the Tianxuan Continent seemed to have all taken the path of controlling the sword with Qi.

By comparison, the world of Tianxuan Continent is the Qi Sect, while the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer has instead become the Sword Sect.

Lu Li shook his head inwardly; carrying the memories of his past life, he knew deeply the importance of dual cultivation of sword and Qi.

In layman's terms, moves are the power amplifier, while internal energy is the foundation; the two complement each other.

However, the people of Tianxuan Continent are lost in the situation, and even those great cultivators likely do not realize this point.

If he could use the system to have sufficient time to study the dual cultivation of sword and Qi, he might even be able to fight across cultivation realms.

Lu Li's fighting spirit grew stronger in his heart; only now did he realize the true wonderful use of this system.

Currently, Lu Li was concentrating on practicing sword techniques at Huashan, while also doing his best to merge the Quanzhen Great Dao Song with the Qi Refining Technique to experience the wonderful use of dual cultivation of sword and Qi.

In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.

Yue Buqun would occasionally go down the mountain to eliminate evil and promote the Huashan Sect as well as his own

reputation as the "Gentleman Sword".

By chance, he brought back two more disciples, Gao Genming and Lu Dayou.

At this time, more than a decade had passed since the Sword-Qi Conflict for the Huashan Sect.

The older generation of experts had all withered away, while the younger generation was growing sturdily.

Seeing that the aptitude of both Lu Li and Linghu Chong was so high, Yue Buqun felt only joy in his heart, and the smile on his face became increasingly bright.

At this moment in Huashan, excluding the servants whose martial arts were not worth mentioning,

there were two big cats, six young cats, and one kitten.

And Lu Li knew that hidden within the back mountain of Huashan was an old cat.

On this day, everyone finished celebrating the fifteenth birthday of the little junior sister, Yue Lingshan.

Lu Li then knew that only one year remained until the plot of the Lin Family's destruction at the beginning of Smiling Proud Wanderer.

The current Lu Li had already learned all the martial arts on Huashan.

Huashan Basic Sword Technique, Yangwu Sword Technique, Xiyi Sword Technique, and the light skill Golden Wild Goose Skill—Lu Li had already practiced them all to the realm of Perfection.

It was just that he did not know what level his current martial arts would be considered in the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer.