Chapter 214

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However, a person’s destiny is not something that can be decided by them alone. While Zhang Xiaohua seemed to have many opportunities to receive guidance from He Tianshu of the Piaomiao Sect, this was the Post-Immortal Cultivation Era. Zhang Xiaohua was destined to walk a path that had been obliterated ten thousand years ago. In this world, there was no one who could guide him even a little. The entire journey could only be traversed with his own feet, relying solely on the heart sutra of the Immortal Dao. Yet, these techniques have not been adapted to current times. The environment had changed; martial arts were flourishing, but what about the path of the Immortal Dao?

Zhang Xiaohua, of course, was unaware of all this. He was simply overjoyed to have achieved a sense of qi and to possess True Qi as thick as a thread of cotton.

The small courtyard of Zhang Chengyue was so serene. How could Zhang Xiaohua miss such an excellent opportunity for cultivation? He only wondered whether the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth here was the same as it was at his second brother’s place.

When he extended his senses, a groan emerged from deep within his heart—how was this even possible? The concentration of Yuan Qi in this small courtyard was no less than that of the Medicine Hall!

In Zhang Xiaohua’s understanding, the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth should be related to medicinal herbs. The denser the herbs are planted, the richer the Yuan Qi. Yet, recalling his walk into the residence, he hadn’t seen any herbs at all. How could this be explained?

But then again, he loved the richness of the Yuan Qi here. What did its origin have to do with him? After all, it was freely dispersed in the world. Why bother about its source?

Resolving his thoughts, Zhang Xiaohua calmed his mind and began methodically absorbing the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Zhang Chengyue came to find him early. Judging by Zhang Chengyue’s refreshed appearance, the fatigue of the previous day had already vanished.

In truth, though copying a fist technique manual might seem simple, it required accurately reproducing every move in the technique and recording the dynamic aspects of each move in words—a task far from easy. Fortunately, Zhang Chengyue was experienced in copying fist manuals, having accumulated a lot of practice, which allowed him to handle the task skillfully. However, Zhang Chengyue had never recorded a completely new manual before, so this was still a challenging endeavor for him.

That said, the recording of fist manuals was indeed rare in the martial world. How could a new set of techniques be so easily created, allowing for daily documentation? Most people primarily relied on copying existing techniques. This kind of detailed recording of fist techniques was typically a task assigned to specially trained disciples within the Piaomiao Sect. However, because the Big Dipper Divine Fist involved significant implications, Ou Peng dared not entrust the task to anyone else, which was why Zhang Chengyue had to handle it personally.

Fortunately, Zhang Chengyue and Zhang Xiaohua gained some experience from their first day. As the ancient saying goes: “The first time is unfamiliar; the second time is familiar; the third time one becomes a master.” Their collaboration on the second day was much smoother. However, Zhang Chengyue’s plan was for Zhang Xiaohua to perform each move of the technique slowly, pausing at any point when necessary. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaohua, using the excuse of stiff hands and feet, insisted on performing the entire sequence six times before stopping. To make matters worse, these six repetitions were extremely slow, leaving Zhang Chengyue silently grumbling in frustration.

Even so, the second day’s efforts resulted in the recording of twenty moves. After Zhang Xiaohua reviewed them and corrected several mistakes, the two finally stopped for the day, though Zhang Chengyue still felt a bit embarrassed.

Later, when Zhang Xiaohua returned to his guest room and sat cross-legged to practice, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that despite absorbing a substantial amount of Yuan Qi the previous night, this guest courtyard’s Yuan Qi seemed hardly diminished. In fact, it far surpassed the conditions of the Medicine Hall. He couldn’t help but marvel at the thought—surely, the living quarters of the Piaomiao Sect’s senior disciples must be places where spiritual energy converged. There must be some profound secret behind it. If he were fortunate enough to stay here long-term, wouldn’t he be able to cultivate daily? Unlike Huanxi Villa, where he dared not absorb any qi, or the Medicine Hall, where he had to be cautious about how much he took in?

Immediately, Zhang Xiaohua’s little mind began to spin rapidly. He wondered if he should find Ou Peng and ask for a different token!

Because of this tiny bit of selfishness, the previously smooth progress of recording the fist manual slowed down again. Each day, Zhang Xiaohua performed the moves slower, and made corrections slower, only about a dozen moves were recorded daily.

His intention was to stay longer at Zhang Chengyue’s place. However, Zhang Chengyue was not pleased at all. After each day’s recording, Zhang Chengyue would report to Ou Peng, allowing him to review the manual. Seeing the dismal progress—barely half of the moves recorded after three days—Ou Peng naturally expressed his dissatisfaction.

On the fourth day, with his keen perception, Zhang Chengyue directly asked: “Zhang Xiaohua, how are you finding your stay in my little courtyard?”

“It’s great, truly wonderful. I’ve been so happy I don’t even think about home!”

“Have I been treating you well?”

“Very well, extremely well.”

“Then, do you have something on your mind?”

“On my mind? I wouldn’t dare, Uncle Master Zhang. If there’s something, just say it directly.”

Seeing this, Zhang Chengyue said: “If you have no complaints about me, then I’ll be straightforward. On the first day, we recorded ten moves, which was understandable—it was our first collaboration, and we lacked coordination. But on the second day, we managed twenty moves. So how is it that on the third day, we only recorded a little over ten? I believe I’ve become increasingly proficient at recording, but why is it that your movements have grown slower and slower?”

“Well…,” Zhang Xiaohua stammered, looking like a thief caught red-handed, his expression unnatural.

Zhang Chengyue rolled his eyes and said with a smile: “Zhang Xiaohua, have you taken a liking to one of the young ladies here? If that’s the case, just tell me. If you’re interested, I can help arrange it for you. You’re at the age where such feelings are natural—I can understand.”

Dizzy with embarrassment, Zhang Xiaohua nearly fell over. His face flushed bright red as he hastily replied: “Uncle Master Zhang, what are you saying? Aren’t you tarnishing my pure and innocent heart? I just feel that life here is very comfortable, and I wanted to enjoy your relaxed lifestyle a little longer.”

“Is that all?” Zhang Chengyue asked, still unconvinced.

“That’s it, really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, positively, and definitely.”

Zhang Chengyue clapped his hands and laughed: “Then that’s easy! Once you’ve finished recording the fist manual, staying here a few more days won’t be an issue!”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s great! But, can I also visit more often in the future?”

Zhang Chengyue stumbled, nearly falling over. Who negotiates like this, shamelessly asking to visit someone’s home more often? With only a handful of lovely young women in his house, could this boy truly have his eyes on one of them?

With a wry smile, Zhang Chengyue said: “Actually, Zhang Xiaohua, with the token granted to you by Sect Master Ou, you can visit most places in Piaomiao Sect. However, since this is the primary residence of the sect leader’s chief disciple, it’s not appropriate for you to frequent here.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes lit up. “So, as long as it’s not a forbidden area or one of your core places, I can linger elsewhere?”

Zhang Chengyue thought for a moment before replying: “You’d still need to speak with the sect master first. After all, you’re not a disciple of Piaomiao Sect.”

Slightly disappointed, Zhang Xiaohua realized he had no choice for now. Without a better place to cultivate, he would have to make do with the Medicinal Hall until he found an unmonitored location suitable for his practice.

Since Zhang Chengyue agreed to let Zhang Xiaohua stay a while longer, Zhang Xiaohua stopped dragging his feet when recording the fist manual. In just a few days, the two completed the entire process.

Looking at the thin stack of papers, Zhang Chengyue couldn’t help but feel emotional. It had been no easy task—taking the familiar moves he knew by heart and transforming them into something almost unrecognizable, all while convincing himself they were correct. Now, he wasn’t even sure how he’d practice his fist routines in the future!

Zhang Xiaohua carefully reviewed the text from start to finish. To his surprise, he still found two flaws in it. Zhang Xiaohua was thoroughly speechless about this method of recording techniques with brush and ink. Even with such direct and face-to-face transcription, there were so many mistakes. What about future transcriptions? No wonder countless martial arts techniques had been lost or altered over time.

Zhang Chengyue, holding the repeatedly revised manual of the Big Dipper Divine Fist written by Zhang Xiaohua, happily went to find the Sect Master. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohua, also feeling pleased, continued to immerse himself in absorbing the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth. It was a situation where everyone seemed delighted.

Let us set aside Zhang Xiaohua’s efforts to guide Qi into his body to nurture the budding True Qi within him.

When Ou Peng received the manual of the Big Dipper Divine Fist drawn by Zhang Chengyue, he, too, was overjoyed.

He carefully read it from beginning to end, closed his eyes, and mentally rehearsed the techniques he had memorized over the past few days. Only then did he rise from his seat and practice the techniques in the empty and silent Assembly Hall.

Ou Peng, with decades of martial arts cultivation under his belt, had achieved exceptional skill. It could be said that he could handle and master any martial art with ease. Yet, when he performed the Big Dipper Divine Fist, it felt rather awkward.

Perplexed, he asked: “Chengyue, have you practiced it yourself? How does it feel?”

Zhang Chengyue replied: “I’ve practiced it many times. However, Sect Master, this technique does feel somewhat peculiar. When I first started practicing without using inner strength, I experienced some chest tightness, and it didn’t feel smooth. But when I tried using a bit of internal energy, my breathing became erratic, and I dared not continue. Yet, after some time of study and practice, I discovered that as long as I fully focused on practicing the techniques and completely disregarded thoughts of internal energy and other distractions, I could perform the entire routine from start to finish without issue.”

Ou Peng sighed in frustration and said: “But our martial arts are all founded on internal energy. If this Big Dipper Divine Fist relies solely on external strength, only someone like Zhang Xiaohua, blessed with innate divine strength, could make use of it. Wouldn’t that render it useless to others?”

Zhang Chengyue countered: “But Zhang Xiaohua is also practicing internal cultivation now. I’ve seen him meditating in my guest room, sitting cross-legged and nurturing his inner energy. Since he can practice it, our disciples should be able to as well. At worst, those who have already mastered their internal cultivation simply won’t practice this technique.”

Ou Peng nodded and said: “True. Internal cultivation methods aren’t something that can be altered midway. You can study this technique a bit, but don’t pour all your energy into it. Our Piaomiao Sect has thousands of years of martial arts heritage, all of great value. Don’t make the foolish mistake of picking up sesame seeds while dropping a watermelon.”

Zhang Chengyue bowed and said; “Thank you for your guidance, Master. The ancients said it well: The sea of learning has no bounds, yet life is finite. As long as disciples can bring their current martial arts to perfection, they can leave their mark in the martial world. I won’t be overly ambitious.”

Ou Peng nodded in approval and said: “Then select some disciples from the Young Eagle Hall to begin practicing the Big Dipper Divine Fist.”

Zhang Chengyue hesitated and said: “The disciples of the Young Eagle Hall have already started their foundational training. If we switch their focus to something else now, it might be inappropriate. Besides, our Piaomiao Sect hasn’t yet found suitable new recruits among the younger generation.”

Hearing this, Ou Peng said with a smile: “I happen to have an excellent candidate in mind.”
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