CH 9.1

◎ the learning pyramid, have you mastered it? ◎

the scenery of the vast desolate mountains wasn’t extraordinary. all lin shuang could see were towering mountains one after another.

fortunately, with the recent heavy snowfall, the snow-covered landscape connected the blue sky like a blue sea, bringing her a bit of joy.

when she woke up after an incense stick’s time, she saw zhou xuanwu, moving forward on his flying sword amidst flying snowflakes, his gestures intimidating the fourteen bandits.

he pursued, they fled, and they couldn’t escape even with wings.

effortlessly, zhou xuanwu conjured a first-tier binding talisman, tying up the fourteen bandits and binding them to the back of the caravan’s horse carriage.

the action was cool, the rhythm was invigorating, and the satisfaction of beating up the villains was at its peak. hollywood blockbusters might not be able to achieve such special effects.

visually appealing, pleasant, satisfying.

worth the price of this trip.

seated on her wide sword, lin shuang offered her most sincere praise, “senior brother, impressive.”

standing on the sword, zhou xuanwu put one hand in front of him and the other behind him, his posture complex. he stood tall and proud.

lin shuang took out her diary and recorded diligently.

“well, the originally anticipated three incense sticks’ worth of entertainment for today is completed ahead of schedule.”

zhou xuanwu: “?”

her muttering couldn’t escape zhou xuanwu’s hearing.

“thank you, senior brother zhou.”

zhou xuanwu: “???”

lin shuang happily closed her diary, removed her earphones, and seriously admired the snowy landscape of the great wild mountains.

beside her, xiao qi floated on his sword, listening silently. finally, unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, “junior sister lin, what is this entertainment schedule?”

he had never heard of it before.

zhou xuanwu had moved too fast just now, so xiao qi didn’t even get a chance to fight a monster.

normally, he would itch to do so, but now, he was drawn in by lin shuang’s mumbling.

it was as if once he understood, he would enter a whole new level.

lin shuang turned her head in response, gently nodding towards him.

communication with fellow travelers during peripheral tourism was also a great way to relax.

it was also a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and enhance their relationships.

“yes, to maintain optimal energy, besides the physical fitness from daily cultivation, we also need to pay attention to our emotions.” lin shuang answered earnestly.

xiao qi froze, his face reddening for a moment, “what… emotions… do you mean dual cultivation?”

the hand behind zhou xuanwu’s back twitched.

however, he still silently perked up his ears.

“if emotions are low and one feels disheartened, they can’t fully invest in cultivation.”

lin shuang had personally experienced this after her rebirth.

“we need to have regular entertainment schedules, including but not limited to listening to music, reading novels, going sightseeing, and hanging out with friends,” she enumerated with pride.

xiao qi’s flying sword came to a halt.

since he started cultivating until now, senior brother had only urged him to practice morning and night, never mentioning that leisure activities could enhance cultivation.

what kind of technique was this?

he couldn’t believe it, but when he thought of the scene where she had pounded him into the ground with her delicate fists during the fight for the spiritual spring when he remembered her drawing two talismans with one hand when he considered her sharp and precise mental perception…

“senior sister lin, is this why you’re so powerful?” xiao qi exclaimed.

zhou xuanwu stiffly turned his head, looking at lin shuang, who, by his estimation, wouldn’t last three rounds under his hands due to her delicate constitution.

but soon his breath caught.

lin shuang faintly sensed his gaze and met his eyes.

in an instant, zhou xuanwu felt his vision dazzle, as if he was seeing a huge cocoon formed by nearly a hundred clusters of silk threads around lin shuang.

in a breath, this cocoon wrapped around her expanded.

what was this?

zhou xuanwu closed his eyes and then opened them, but found nothing unusual about lin shuang’s side as if he had mistaken something.

however, her eyes were now focused, emitting a halo of fluctuating light.

as if her spiritual awareness was growing.

“well, thanks to senior brother zhou’s impressive display just now, i’ve been exposed to an extraordinary and intense battle. now i indeed feel my sea of consciousness is full, my spirit is vigorous, and my spiritual awareness has grown stronger,” lin shuang nodded gratefully toward him.

zhou xuanwu: “?”

after lin shuang finished speaking, she gave xiao qi a look that said, “i’m willing to teach a promising student,” “i’m not that powerful; i’m just as strong as planned in the schedule.”

zhou xuanwu: “…?”

do you get stronger by following a schedule?

xiao qi also looked confused.

at noon, after the caravan rested, they continued to move through the mountains according to the map’s route.

zhou xuanwu soared into the sky on his flying sword, no longer paying attention to lin shuang’s banter, fearing he couldn’t resist the urge to challenge her, despite the significant gap in their strength.

xiao qi glanced at zhou xuanwu with mixed emotions, then finally turned to lin shuang, who was immersed in the view of the mountains and quietly apologized.

“senior sister lin, i misspoke in front of senior brother zhou just now.”

“you’ve always wanted to conceal your strength, and i shouldn’t have said you were very powerful.”

“not at all.” lin shuang raised her hand to stop his speculations.

concealing strength, such a time-consuming and thankless effort, was not something she would do.

xiao qi: “… you’re already at the condensation stage.”

they had thought she was weak.

lin shuang’s brows furrowed for a moment, and she clutched her abdomen.

“don’t talk nonsense.”

“inside my body, there are eighty-seven dantians, all at the qi refinement third layer.”

“…!”

why eighty-seven now? wasn’t it eighty-five before?

xiao qi looked puzzled.

shaking his head in resignation, he took out a jade slip from his mustard seed bag. “forget it, let’s not discuss this. i followed your advice and exchanged for the ‘diamond sutra’ from the sect seven days ago. i finished learning the first layer yesterday, the thousand gold body technique.”

as he spoke, his forehead twitched. he remembered the day of the boxing, and his chest still had a slight phantom pain.

lin shuang’s eyes widened. indeed, she seemed quite interested as she glanced at his neck exposed by his golden robe.

seeing his skin emit a faint golden aura of defensive qi when his technique operated, she excitedly nodded in approval.

the intensity and endurance of a sparring partner directly influenced the time she needed to ascend to the fat-burning heart rate.

the previous xiao qi had been unable to withstand much.

it took her a grade three enhancing spirit talisman just to make him break a sweat.

the talisman paper and ink all came at a cost.

this fat-burning exercise was burning her money.

thinking about it, lin shuang was quite satisfied with xiao qi’s level of enthusiasm, “good, you’ve indeed grasped the basics of the diamond sutra.”

she nearly reached out to inspect his chest muscles, but she restrained herself.

because today was not a fat-burning day, it was her rest day.

moderation brought good fortune.

“i can now withstand the force of my sword strike head-on,” xiao qi invited praise.

he was also a naturally gifted individual, and his cultivation speed within the sect had always been exceptional.

but at lin shuang’s words, his eyebrows furrowed. “ah, just one sword?”

xiao qi: “…”