CH 8.2

“miss lin, you’ve read popular novels?”

a female warrior from the caravan, emboldened by curiosity, asked.

lin shuang had been sitting on her broadsword all the way, floating at the edge of the carriage. she was engaged in lively conversation with sun lao and the other warriors.

the whole caravan quickly became familiar with her, and even the bolder ones dared to ask her questions.

“i’ve read ‘the handsome scholar runs with the ball’ too.”

to read a book together with a daoist fairy was thrilling for the female warriors.

“i thought that daoist immortals are in closed-door cultivation, meditating all the time, levitating on beams and puncturing their legs to achieve transcendence, and wouldn’t have time to read popular novels.”

lin shuang waved her hand with a smile. “what’s wrong with cultivating while reading novels? i’d go bald from hanging myself all day and night.”

“hahaha…” the warriors burst into laughter.

the sound pierced zhou xuanwu’s ears, especially harsh.

what kind of twisted logic was this?

zhou xuanwu’s mouth twitched, and he sternly said, “junior sister lin.”

the laughing warriors and xiao qi immediately fell silent.

“hmm?”

holding a novel in her hand, lin shuang looked at zhou xuanwu’s upright figure.

“don’t spout nonsense about cultivation matters.”

“oh, okay, senior brother.”

lin shuang shrugged, a tinge of regret flashing in her eyes.

zhou xuanwu’s sea of consciousness and dantian was tense all year round, every day.

year after year, like a bowstring drawn tight, there was a constant fear of snapping.

lin shuang closed the novel and put on her earphones, playing soothing music.

during this journey, as she watched zhou xuanwu, who didn’t even relax a bit during the trip while cultivating, she recalled her past self.

she used to believe that putting in continuous effort would naturally lead to rewards.

the outcome was that she lost far more than she gained.

after the grandmother, dean passed away, she locked herself in her room for two months in agony. after coming to terms with the pain, she decided to change, to study how to become an efficient master and not be strangled by time.

after reading over a hundred research reports, she learned that her previous habit of working overtime was a mistake.

outstanding athletes on the field, when breaking records with physical prowess beyond the norm, not only depended on training but also on energy management.

once a critical movement on the field was completed, an outstanding athlete’s heart rate would rapidly decrease from its peak to a calm state, entering a state of self-protection and energy conservation in an instant.

being overly tense would only lead to gradual exhaustion.

lin shuang smiled at the female warrior who dared not speak.

“excessive or insufficient use of energy can both result in decreased efficiency.”

“it’s great that you enjoy reading popular novels.”

zhou xuanwu’s brows deeply furrowed.

he couldn’t help but turn to look at lin shuang.

coincidentally, he saw lin shuang looking at him with sympathy, her gaze fixed on his unrelaxed dantian, and sighed.

zhou xuanwu: “???”

“junior sister, why mislead mortals? everything in this world, just like cultivation, requires diligence to make up for deficiencies. daily, an unceasing effort is the true path.”

however, as soon as he finished speaking, a sigh of resignation escaped lin shuang’s lips.

“ah, i spoke too much, senior brother.”

“some people haven’t reached the point of enlightenment. i said it, but he doesn’t understand. ah, he wasted my five breaths of tomato timer for reading the novel…”

zhou xuanwu: “???”

what’s a tomato timer?

his disciple’s ranking was 17,000 places higher than hers!

xiao qi smiled wryly, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “ah, i remember a cultivation story. let me share it with everyone—”

however, lin shuang’s eyes slightly narrowed, and she raised her hand to stop him.

her gaze penetrated through them, gazing into the deep valley southwest of the caravan, looking into the distance.

after observing for a while, she pressed her lips together, “shh. we’ll talk later. there are visitors.”*

“huh?”

sun lao from the caravan suddenly tensed up, and the warriors by the carriage gripped their swords and blades.

“is it an ambush?”

“are there bandits up ahead?”

zhou xuanwu and xiao qi were taken aback.

where were the incoming people?

especially zhou xuanwu; his consciousness had been probing outward all along. apart from a few sparrows, there were no living creatures within ten li (chinese unit of length, about 0.5 km).

“junior sister—”

but before he could finish, his expression changed dramatically.

xiao qi also stood up abruptly from his floating position on the sword, his gaze intense, piercing through the distant trees.

“ambush ahead!”

“twelve people, no, fourteen people. they haven’t cultivated, and their vitality is vigorous. most likely bandits.”

zhou xuanwu’s expression turned grim.

he managed to hold back his urge to turn around!

she was right.

how was that possible?

she had been chatting all along, how could she detect the ambush faster than him and xiao qi?

lin shuang comfortably turned over on the wide sword, closing her left earphone again.

during the pause in her music cultivation, the mental energy in her forehead shifted from its heightened frequency of scanning the surroundings back to its ordinary low point.

just like how top athletes would briefly lower their heart rate after scoring, to rest and recover.

“all right, my shift is over. i’ll rest for a bit. after an incense stick’s worth of time, senior brother can call me again.”

zhou xuanwu: “…???”

when an incense stick’s worth of time passed, the ambushing bandits came into view as expected.

the caravan and xiao qi couldn’t help but exclaim, “lin fairy’s calculations were right. it really took just an incense stick’s worth of time!”

“junior sister lin’s mental perception is too accurate.”

the flying sword under zhou xuanwu’s feet trembled.

ranked 17,000 in the outer sect, yet here she was, a foundation establishment junior stage cultivator, chatting with a caravan and reading novels!

her keenness and precision in her mental realm exceeded his?

how was that possible?

‘using energy excessively or inadequately will lead to a decrease in efficiency in one’s tasks.’

zhou xuanwu looked at the bandits before him, who were panicking and attempting to flee, his gaze flickering.

‘some people haven’t reached the point of enlightenment yet.’

‘i talked too much… i said it, but they didn’t understand…’

junior sister, you might as well just call his name directly!

author’s note:

《notes of the 134th generation master of the qingshui sect, zhao》: the quickest way to learn, no matter how many times you read it, you’ll gain something new.