“Princess Xue’s task won’t be difficult,” I said after pondering.
“But are they really no reward for that?”
The System remained quiet.
I went to the meditation mat and sat down, reflecting on the previous battle.
No experience.
No technique.
And a Cultivation Manual I don’t know how to use.
I tried to simulate the battle in my mind.
It didn’t help.
The Next Day.
I stood at the top of Long Suchen Peak.
“I thought you would never come back, Young Master Zaitian,” Elder Mo Xuan said as he walked out of his cottage.
I didn’t bother to greet him.
“Our lesson today is learning techniques suitable for you.”
I kept staring at his eyes with no emotion on my face.
“Are you angry at me, Young Master?” A smirk gradually appeared on his haggard face.
I looked away.
“After your previous battle, which was entertaining, I carefully chose this technique for you.”
His words made me look at him.
He walked a distance away and gradually manifested a wooden sword from qi.
Then he settled into a posture.
“This technique is called the Heaven Freedom Sword Art.
Watch my moves carefully.”
He started to move with a blur speed—erratic and incoherent, like wind coming from different directions at once.
Host, are you sure this man wants you to learn this technique?
I wasn’t surprised by the System’s doubt.
I didn’t understand what the hell Elder Mo Xuan was trying to teach me either.
“It’s now your turn to show me what you have learned,” Elder Mo Xuan said, turning to look at me.
“Me?” I asked, just to make sure he meant me.
A faint annoyance flashed through his face.
“This is one of the many reasons I hate training disciples,” he said tiredly.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
I stood in the pose I saw him take.
He tossed the wooden sword to me.
I caught it, then performed the most embarrassing swordplay of my life.
Host, I want to ask you something.
Are you performing swordplay or breakdancing?
Shut up.
“What did you just do, Young Master?” Elder Mo Xuan said, as if doubting his own life.
I scratched my head.
“I did what you performed.”
“I gave you the easy way.
Looks like you prefer the hard way.”
“Wait, Elder.
Just perform it again.” A bit panicked.
“What do you take me for?
Don’t you know I’m an old man with one foot in the grave?”
I like this Elder of yours, the System said with sarcasm.
He walked to a nearby rock and sat down.
“Go try again.
But before you perform another ridiculous swordplay that’ll give me a nosebleed—what’s the essence of the Heaven Freedom Sword Art?”
“The essence of the Heaven Freedom Sword Art?” I asked back.
He ignored me, giving me a look that suggested I had no hope.
I thought about it.
“I think, since it’s called the Heaven Freedom Sword Art, its purpose is to have freedom.
Not to be restricted to one particular movement.”
He raised an eyebrow, surprised.
“Your insight is good.
But a waste if you don’t use it properly in battle.”
“Go perform it again.”
I tried.
Tried to be free.
Tried to flow.
Tried to let the sword move like the wind.
It was slightly better than the first attempt, but still clumsy.
The blade stuttered mid-swing.
My footwork tangled.
The “freedom” I was reaching for felt more like flailing.
Mo Xuan watched without expression.
“Again.”
I tried again.
Same result.
“Again.”
My arms burned.
My grip on the wooden sword had started to slip from sweat.
I tried to picture the erratic flow he’d shown me, but my body kept falling into predictable patterns.
“Again.”
I couldn’t do it.
Then he went quiet.
I don’t like where this is heading, I said, tense.
Any time he went quiet in thought, he was thinking of something cruel.
You are done for, host.
“I think I have an idea where you’ll learn battle experience in a short while,” he said.
The smirk was already creeping across his face.
“Elder, the pace we’re learning at is already fast enough.
I don’t think we should accelerate it.” I tried to change his mind.
It didn’t work.
He waved me off.
“What do you think about fighting tens of thousands of beasts at the same time?” he asked, looking at me with a deep gaze.
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
You complained about seeing death three times when you only fought three demonic beasts.
Now you’ll face tens of thousands.
What are you going to see—hell or the underworld emperor?
Can’t wait for this.
I stared at Mo Xuan.
Then at the sky.
Then at the ground.
I need to choose my funeral date and last wish before I die.
Author’s Note: Give me your rating on Elder Mo Xuan training skill.
Will you prefer him teaching you martial arts