Chapter 162

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The forest was still the same forest, with no extra people around. However, Zhang Xiaohua was no longer the Zhang Xiaohua of old. As soon as he entered the forest, he felt a sense of confidence. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and, following He Tianshu’s instructions, practiced the lightness skill diligently among the gaps in the trees.

In the Jianghu, there are many kinds of lightness skills. The simplest ones are techniques to make one’s body lighter, enhancing agility and speed. More profound ones involve specialized breathing methods and the flow of internal energy. The “Piaomiao Step” focused more on tapping into the inherent potential of the human body.

Although Zhang Xiaohua was already familiar with the Piaomiao Step by heart and had mastered it to a certain extent, he had never learned any lightness skills before. He had not even glimpsed the basic techniques, let alone the profound methods. What he practiced now was just the basic footwork techniques and key points that He Tianshu had briefly introduced. He Tianshu’s original lightness skill was a closely guarded secret of the Piaomiao Sect, so naturally, he could not teach it to him. Other lightness skills were unknown to He Tianshu, so Zhang Xiaohua had not been taught any of those either.

Despite this limited understanding of lightness skills, Zhang Xiaohua moved effortlessly through the forest, like a butterfly fluttering through flowers. His form was so ethereal it seemed as if he was about to become an immortal. Only the slightly coarse clothing he wore brought him back to the mortal realm.

After practicing for a while, Zhang Xiaohua felt a bit bored. The techniques he was practicing allowed him to move only between the gaps in the trees. While swift, they were still bound to the ground and could not achieve the height and freedom of true lightness skills. This fundamental difference made it hard for him to maintain his enthusiasm.

Zhang Xiaohua then familiarized himself with the second level of the Piaomiao Step before stopping. Because this footwork was mysterious, He Tianshu had only recently grasped a bit of it, and Zhang Xiaohua had completed his practice after just warming up. With no further progress, Zhang Xiaohua felt a lingering desire to continue. He pondered for a moment and then stepped out of the forest, heading towards the small courtyard.

As he walked, he wondered. How much more Captain He had comprehended?

He Tianshu’s room was half-open. When Zhang Xiaohua peeked inside, He Tianshu was in the same posture, holding a piece of paper and asleep at the desk. The room was filled with the scent of oil lamps, suggesting that Captain He had once again sacrificed sleep and meals for his research.

Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes darted around. He tiptoed inside and carefully pulled the pages from He Tianshu’s hand.

But just as Zhang Xiaohua exerted force, He Tianshu roared angrily, “Who’s there?”

Then, before He Tianshu even opened his eyes, his body shifted, and his left hand, clenched into a fist, was hurled straight toward Zhang Xiaohua’s face. Zhang Xiaohua, not wanting to wake He Tianshu, was already cautious, but the loud shout startled him. Before he could react, a fist loomed closer and closer, accompanied by a gust of wind. Without thinking, Zhang Xiaohua quickly released his grip on the pages and retreated. Despite his efforts, the fist continued to chase him and came closer to his face. Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to sidestep, his form becoming elusive as he dodged He Tianshu’s punch. Only then did Zhang Xiaohua manage to call out: “Captain He, it’s me!”

He Tianshu’s punch missed its mark, and as he was about to bend his arm and strike with his elbow, he heard the familiar voice and immediately stopped, opening his bleary eyes in surprise. “Zhang Xiaohua? Why is it you?”

Standing at a distance, Zhang Xiaohua sheepishly replied: “Of course it’s me, Captain He.”

He Tianshu rubbed his eyes, yawned, and said: “When did you come in? I didn’t hear any footsteps.”

Zhang Xiaohua approached with a smile, saying: “You were in such a deep sleep; how could you hear anything?”

He Tianshu frowned and said: “How is that possible? Do you think all internal martial arts masters sleep as deeply as you? I can sense anyone coming within three feet of me while I’m sleeping.”

He Tianshu’s mouth twitched a few times, and he added, somewhat embarrassed: “However, I was reading all night and didn’t stop this morning. Maybe I was just too tired.”

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and asked in surprise: “By the way, Zhang Xiaohua, did you actually manage to dodge my punch with the Piaomiao Step?”

Zhang Xiaohua, realizing this, responded with delight: “Yes, Captain He, it seems so. When you struck, I was also startled. I didn’t know how I dodged until now. Now that I think about it, it must be the Piaomiao Step.”

He Tianshu’s eyes crinkled with excitement. “The Piaomiao Step lives up to its reputation. For you to dodge my punch at your level is truly unbelievable. Hahaha, I must thoroughly comprehend this Piaomiao Step.”

Zhang Xiaohua was also thrilled after hearing this, and eagerly asked; “Captain He, how much have you comprehended? Please teach me quickly.”

Upon hearing this, He Tianshu’s smile froze, and he said angrily: “Zhang Xiaohua, do you think this is some ordinary technique like the Arhat Fist? This is one of the three divine skills of the Piaomiao Sect! I’ve already comprehended a lot over the past few days, but to fully master it and teach it to you within a few days is not possible. You always want to take shortcuts. Why don’t you take a look yourself? See how difficult this footwork is. From yesterday until today, I haven’t made much progress in understanding it either!”

After saying this, He Tianshu started to hand the pages to Zhang Xiaohua. However, halfway through, he pulled them back and muttered to himself: “I’ve only read through half of this. I’m not giving it to you.”

He then pointed to a page on the bed and said: “Look at that one yourself.”

Zhang Xiaohua was reluctant to read it on his own. It was much better to have someone teach him, and he didn’t want to figure it out by himself. Seeing He Tianshu’s irritation, Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to go over and take the page, pretending to study it, saying: “Alright, Captain He, I’ll take a look. Let’s study it together.”

He Tianshu snorted, mumbling: “That’s more like it. At least you’ll see how hard I’ve worked.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled obsequiously: “Yes, learning from Captain He and paying respects to Captain He.”

The page was covered with dense footnotes and some cryptic numbers, with tiny characters around the edges. Zhang Xiaohua was baffled and couldn’t make sense of it. What was he supposed to do? Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s confused expression, He Tianshu was secretly amused and said: “First, read the notes on the side. Then, follow the footnotes to understand the steps. The footnotes indicate the path to take, and the numbers show the order.”

Understanding this, Zhang Xiaohua slowly began to read. At first, he didn’t grasp much, but as he matched the footnotes with the explanations, he started to understand. The page turned out to be the second layer of the <Piaomiao Step>, which was exactly what He Tianshu had just comprehended.

As Zhang Xiaohua studied the page, a small figure appeared in his mind, performing the Piaomiao Step according to the text and his own understanding. By the time Zhang Xiaohua finished reading the page, the figure’s performance was almost identical to what Instructor He Tianshu had taught, with only a few differences. These differences were not in the steps themselves but in the figure’s form, which Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t determine if it was due to his misunderstanding or some other reason.

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua looked up and asked: “Captain He?”

He Tianshu, who had been squinting and frowning deeply as he focused on his comprehension, became even more impatient when Zhang Xiaohua called him. He frowned even more and said irritably: “What is it?”

Zhang Xiaohua had originally intended to ask: “Why does what you taught seem a bit different from what I’m seeing?”

Seeing He Tianshu’s impatience, Zhang Xiaohua immediately swallowed his question and stammered: “Th-this… this seems to be something I just learned.”

He Tianshu replied: “If you’ve learned it, then review it again. As the ancients said, ‘Review the old and learn the new’. That’s the true path to learning.”

With that said, he took the page from Zhang Xiaohua’s hand, looked at it carefully, and thought: “Indeed, I gave the wrong page. This kid actually understands it.”

Surprised, he glanced at Zhang Xiaohua and then picked up two pages from one end of the desk. He examined them closely and handed them to Zhang Xiaohua, saying: “This is the third level of the technique. Take a look at it. By the way, you should go back to your room to study it. I want to be alone for a while.”

Zhang Xiaohua took the pages and was about to turn to leave.

He Tianshu added with a hint of amusement: “If you have any insights, don’t forget to tell me.”

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled “Hehe,” and didn’t say anything, closing the door as he returned to his own room.

He Tianshu watched him leave, smirking and shaking his head, muttering to himself: “This kid is really impatient. He doesn’t understand how difficult these secrets are to grasp. This manual is not something you can master in just a few days. He’ll see how hard it is once he tries to learn it himself.”

Back in his room, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t waste any time. He sat on the bed and began to read the pages he had been given. The pages clearly described the Light Body technique, and Zhang Xiaohua was thrilled. Wasn’t this exactly the lightness skill he had been longing for? It was truly a case of finding what he had been searching for with no effort at all.

Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Xiaohua read carefully, comparing the illustrations with the text. After studying it thoroughly, Zhang Xiaohua’s enthusiasm was dampened. The foundation of this technique was internal energy; it was a technique for manipulating internal energy. And since he lacked internal energy, learning this technique would be like seeking fish on a tree.

Disappointed, Zhang Xiaohua tossed the pages onto the table, sighed, and thought: The core of all martial arts is inner energy. Lightness skills, advanced fist techniques, sword techniques—everything requires inner energy. It seems I need to focus on practicing the <Carefree Heart Sutra> first.

As he stood up and picked up the pages, he remembered that the Piaomiao Step’s third layer was spread across two pages. He hadn’t looked at the second page yet. However, he didn’t hold much hope, if he couldn’t master the first page, is it still possible for the second page to be of any help?

The second page is also very clear, describing the Air Floating technique.

Floating in the Air? Zhang Xiaohua was momentarily puzzled. What does this mean? He then slapped his forehead and laughed, realizing that the previous page was about the Light Body technique, so the second page must logically discuss what follows after mastering body lightening. It was likely a continuation. However, whether lightness skills could actually achieve floating in the air, Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t sure. Since the manual mentioned it, it must be possible.

Zhang Xiaohua thought so naturally.

However, upon careful study, Zhang Xiaohua realized that his understanding was somewhat off. The Air Floating technique wasn’t a continuation of the Light Body technique but rather a completely different lightness skill with significant differences. The Light Body technique focused on using internal energy to circulate within the body’s meridians to achieve the effect of lightening the body. In contrast, the air floating involved projecting the energy out of the meridians and using this external projection to achieve the effect of floating.

Regardless of the lightness technique, they were all based on internal energy, which was beyond Zhang Xiaohua’s reach. No matter how grandly described in the manual, or how thoroughly he understood it, it was all as insubstantial as flowers in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water.

At this point, Zhang Xiaohua recalled what the Piaomiao School’s eldest disciple, Zhang Chengyue, had said when handing him the <Piaomiao Step>—that this <Piaomiao Step> had little to do with internal energy. The first two levels were unrelated and did not require internal energy, but the third level marked the beginning of using internal energy. The subsequent levels of the technique would likely all require internal energy.

Zhang Xiaohua originally intended to return the two pages to He Tianshu. However, he thought that He Tianshu was probably still racking his brains trying to comprehend the densely written footwork. If he went now, wouldn’t he just make He Tianshu more frustrated? Besides, since he didn’t know any internal energy techniques, He Tianshu might not teach him this lightening-the-body technique this time. But just because he couldn’t understand it now didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to in the future. Once he solved the issue of his Yuan Qi disappearing in the acupoints, wouldn’t he then be able to circulate energy? It would be better to take this opportunity to thoroughly comprehend these two lightness techniques first, as that would be the most reasonable thing to do.

With this in mind, Zhang Xiaohua settled down again and focused intently on his study.

He spent the entire afternoon, and only when it was almost dark did Zhang Xiaohua finally leave his room.

Zhang Xiaohua did not appear full of joy; instead, he was filled with confusion. After an entire afternoon of comprehension, he had memorized and understood both lightness skills thoroughly. If he had internal energy, Zhang Xiaohua was confident that he could perform both techniques.

His confusion stemmed from the fact that while the first technique, the Light Body technique, could not form a clear image in his mind no matter how much he tried to comprehend it, he was still certain that he had learned it. On the other hand, the second Air Floating technique manifested vividly in his mind.

Why was this?

Since Zhang Xiaohua began by focusing on the Light Body method, he spent more time and energy on it, reviewing it thoroughly three times before concluding that he had mastered it. Only then did he move on to studying Air Floating. To his surprise, the comprehension of Air Floating was much smoother than anticipated—perhaps due to the groundwork laid by studying the Light Body technique. After just two passes, Zhang Xiaohua had fully understood it, and a clear image of a figure practicing the technique appeared in his mind. He could clearly see how the energy in the meridians was being projected outward and controlled.

At this point, Zhang Xiaohua realized that the Light Body method had not produced a clear image. He went back to review it, but no matter how hard he tried, the figure still wouldn’t form. After struggling with it until dusk, Zhang Xiaohua finally gave up.

Maybe I misunderstood something, Zhang Xiaohua thought to himself.

During dinner, Zhang Xiaohua remained deep in thought and didn’t notice the looks of admiration from others at the dining tables. His appetite was also noticeably smaller than usual. When he first arrived at the villa, he would eat voraciously after practicing martial arts, often being the first to arrive at meals and the last to leave. Zhang Xiaohua was in a phase of growth, and people often teased him for his hearty appetite.

But recently, Zhang Xiaohua had been eating far less, which seemed unusual. He was still practicing martial arts intensively, with a large amount of physical exertion, so logically, he should be eating more than before.

Perhaps it was due to:

Grown worn and thin from yearning?

The worries of a young Zhang Xiaohua?

Longing for the waters and feelings of home?

The servants around him whispered and speculated, seemingly having found a new topic of gossip.

Zhang Xiaohua, however, paid no attention to them. Mechanically, he took a few bites of food and hurriedly left the table.

Leaving only his retreating figure as fodder for further gossip.

Once outside the small courtyard, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t head to the forest as usual but returned directly to the hut by the medicine field. As he passed by other fields, he noticed that, contrary to his expectations, there were no other huts scattered across the ridges.

It seemed the other servants’ boastful claims had been for naught.

That night, Zhang Xiaohua continued his usual practice in the hut. As he mentally rehearsed the circulation of inner energy through his meridians as part of his <Carefree Heart Sutra> practice, he suddenly had a new thought: if he could practice the Carefree Heart Sutra by imagining the flow of inner energy, why couldn’t he apply the same method to practice lightness skills?

Since he had already learned two types of inner energy cultivation techniques, why not try visualizing the flow of inner energy through his meridians and attempt to practice lightness skills? However, the second technique—Air Floatiing—might be difficult to visualize. After all, he had no inner power to begin with, so how could he release it externally and then control it?

As Zhang Xiaohua pondered this, he gradually drifted into a drowsy state. His body quickly adjusted to a certain rhythm, and star energy from the stars was immediately drawn toward him. The Yuan Qi of heaven and earth also flowed into his body more efficiently. Everything seemed perfectly harmonious.

The next day, the sun was shining brightly. Zhang Xiaohua only practiced his fist techniques and sword forms by the grass hut. Since he needed to water the herb fields, he didn’t have much time to put into practice his ideas about lightness skills from the previous night.

Everything in the herb fields remained as usual, with fewer weeds than before. This reduction in weeds meant less labor for Zhang Xiaohua. If things continued at this pace, in another month or two, perhaps no more weeds would grow in the fields at all.

By three o’clock in the morning, as Zhang Xiaohua was watering the fields, he heard someone calling him from the field ridge. When he looked up, it was none other than Qiu Tong.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly walked over and, smiling, asked: “Sister Qiu Tong, what brings you here today? On such a hot day, don’t let the sun darken your skin.”

Qiu Tong replied: “It’s all because of you. That’s why sister had to come.”

Zhang Xiaohua asked curiously: “What’s the matter, Big Sister Qiu Tong?”

Qiu Tong looked at him with a smile and said: “Why don’t you guess? Do you really not know?”

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohua understood and tentatively asked: “Is it about the Piaomiao Sect’s Martial Arts Tournament?”

Qiu Tong clapped her hands and praised: “Exactly, Zhang Xiaohua, that’s it. The young lady sent me to inform you that she’s already signed you up. When the time comes, someone will come to notify you.”

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