Chapter 14: Progress

During this period of confinement, Zhao Chuan brought not only her newly acquired short sword and throwing knives but also the Mind-Clearing Powder and Qi-Boosting Powder she had received previously.

The former, once diluted with water, became the Mind-Clearing Dew that Cao Wenguan had used to bestow favors upon the people of the Chu State; cultivators often used it to assist in spell cultivation, allowing them to focus without distraction and sharpen their wits. The latter, as the name suggested, increased the spiritual energy within the body to aid cultivation, but it possessed significant medicinal properties that could be harmful if accumulated. After taking a dose, a cultivator had to wait three days for the medicinal properties to dissipate before taking another.

Zhao Chuan had never had the chance to use the Mind-Clearing Powder, but now that she had acquired spells, she could finally put it to use. As for the Qi-Boosting Powder, she had four doses remaining, and since she didn't know if she would receive her monthly stipend during her confinement, she had to use them sparingly.

The "Single-Line Flying Dagger" was relatively simple; Zhao Chuan could master it after only two practice sessions. Although it did not reach the level described in the manual—"the blade exits like a thread, and where the thread passes, the throat is sealed"—it was still capable of distracting enemies.

However, one matter left her frustrated. Zhao Chuan had thought she had scored a bargain with the "Swift Sword Technique," but it turned out it was rated as low-grade precisely because the technique itself was flawed; because it was forcibly converted from a footwork technique, the coordination between sword and step was quite stiff. She was unwilling to give up on it; even with a perfect sword technique, the transition from theory to practice would vary from person to person. Since the original form of the "Swift Sword Technique" was footwork, she decided to start from the footwork and gradually integrate the swordsmanship to see what the results would be.

In an extremely quiet environment, one tends to feel as though time is being infinitely stretched, yet after immersing herself in cultivation, Zhao Chuan felt that time was becoming increasingly insufficient.

Her suspicion was correct: since entering the quiet room, her allocated resources had never reached her hands. It was likely that, seeing she hadn't come to collect them, they had simply been withheld.

To her surprise, after she stopped taking the Qi-Boosting Powder, her cultivation progress actually accelerated. The rejection of medicinal properties by her Gold-Fire spiritual roots was extremely intense; Zhao Chuan had not known this before, but after the medicinal properties of her last dose of Qi-Boosting Powder dissipated, she realized her spiritual roots had shed their previous sluggishness and become vibrant and full of life. With two days remaining before the end of her confinement, she had not only rapidly stepped into the second level of Qi Refinement but had also successfully connected her three Yin Meridians—a total of three meridians.

At the same time, her practice of the "Swift Sword Technique" was also reaching a state of proficiency. Although the swordsmanship portion still appeared separate, Zhao Chuan had become proficient in the footwork, making her faster than before by about thirty percent.

In just three short months, her progress was so immense that she was like a dusty pearl beginning to reveal its luster.

On the day she returned to Xuan Cao Garden, several people in the courtyard had specifically taken leave to celebrate for her. Having been in the sect for only a little over four months, Zhao Chuan had already caught up to Hu Wanzhi and Cui Lan'e, much to their surprise and delight. They laughed and said, "I reckon it won't be long before we see you become a formal disciple. When that happens, we'll hold a banquet and invite all your friends from your hometown!"

Zhao Chuan thought to herself that among her fellow townsmen, she was only close to Zhou Pianran; she no longer had much contact with Xie Baoguang, let alone those three who were intent on distancing themselves from her.

Regardless of her thoughts, she said outwardly, "I will have to trouble my senior sisters then."

Returning to the Lecture Hall, Zhao Chuan's seat was already in the front-middle section. There were very few disciples in the Thirty-Ninth Courtyard who had promoted this quickly, and given her young age, her future could be described as bright. Naturally, no one came to cause her trouble anymore. When some approached to make her acquaintance, Zhao Chuan would speak politely but did not make friends easily.

On her way back, a tall, thin figure blocked her path. Zhao Chuan looked up, and to her surprise, it was Peng Zheng!

Liu and Zhang, who were usually by his side, were nowhere to be seen; he stood alone on the road.

"Why are you here by yourself? Where are they?"

Hearing Zhao Chuan's question, Peng Zheng's expression became even more embarrassed, and he murmured, "They... they went to Senior Brother He's side..."

Zhao Chuan did not know this Senior Brother He and had no idea what kind of person he was, but for those two to abandon a high-potential candidate like Peng Zheng with his three spiritual roots to join him, he must be a senior with decent cultivation and talent.

As for Peng Zheng, he had been quite proud of himself previously, thinking his talent was sufficient, which led him to neglect his cultivation. He hadn't expected that after three months, disciples with four spiritual roots had already broken through to the first level of Qi Refinement, while he had yet to guide Qi into his body. Seeing this, Liu and Zhang felt they had bet on the wrong horse and, without any regard for their past friendship, left him directly. Fortunately, this incident had matured Peng Zheng's mindset; learning from his mistakes, he had successfully broken through to the first level of Qi Refinement a month ago.

Zhao Chuan had no interest in the grievances between these three, so she asked directly, "You stopped me—is there something you want?"

Peng Zheng said flusteredly, "I... I came to apologize... I offended you in the past, and I hope you can forgive me."

"How did you offend me?" Zhao Chuan's attitude was cold, and she added, "The ones who offended me were you all, but instead of apologizing to Xie Baoguang, you've come to apologize to me."

Peng Zheng said urgently, "How can those be the same!"

In his eyes, Zhao Chuan was a rising star of the Thirty-Ninth Courtyard, whereas Xie Baoguang had not yet even guided Qi. He was utterly unwilling to humble himself before the latter.

"They are indeed different. He is hot-tempered, whereas you know how to bend and stretch," Zhao Chuan said.

Having her pride exposed and insulted, Peng Zheng did not have the thick skin to stay. He threw out a sentence—"If you won't accept it, then fine! What kind of person insults others for nothing!"—and left in a huff.

Zhao Chuan was speechless. When she returned to the courtyard and told Zhou Pianran, they both sat in silence.

After two months of such tranquility, Zhao Chuan finally found the knack for merging the swordsmanship with the footwork. The "Swift Sword Technique" was difficult because the swordsmanship tended toward ferocity while the footwork was light and graceful; the two were polar opposites, which made the transition stiff. It just so happened that Zhao Chuan's style was relatively light and agile, which coincidentally neutralized the ferocity of the original swordsmanship, allowing the sword and the step to gradually complement each other.

However, Zhao Chuan could not simply ignore her shortcomings. There were many spells in the Wan Zang Pavilion that increased strength, and she secretly coveted them, but she simply lacked the power to purchase them.

She was truly too poor!

The loss of three months of resources amounted to a full sixty Essence Stones, which, converted, could have bought half a volume of a low-grade spell manual.

Zhao Chuan did not have the time to find odd jobs to earn Essence Stones like Zhou Pianran. The "Tiger Strength Manual" she was interested in had to be used in conjunction with the "Serpent Form Footwork," costing a total of eight hundred stones. If she only relied on her monthly quota of twenty stones, she had no idea how long it would take to save up.

Even if she stopped using the Qi-Boosting Powder and sold it to others, she would only earn an extra ten stones per month. At the fastest, it would take over two years, and that was without accounting for any other expenses.

As Zhao Chuan calculated the costs, her head throbbed with worry. She truly understood the saying that even a hero can be brought low by a single penny.

Just as a glimmer of hope appeared, before Zhao Chuan could ask her senior sisters for ways to make money, someone came knocking on her door...

(End of Chapter)