Chapter 13 of 100
Chapter 13
17 min read4,154 words
Ding Qi closed his eyes slightly, sensing the circulation of the true qi within his body. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he got up from the bed and shook his head helplessly.
"The Heart Method of the Mountain Slapping Palm seems unsuitable for me as well. Compared to the Iron Sand Palm's Heart Method, it is far inferior." Ding Qi frowned, feeling very troubled.
The Mountain Slapping Palm was already the fifth martial arts Heart Method he had tried to cultivate, but none of the results were satisfactory to Ding Qi. These Heart Methods all had the same flaw as the Iron Sand Palm: slow progress. To achieve a small level of success, it would take several decades, and Ding Qi simply couldn't afford to wait that long.
Looking at the remaining four Heart Methods, which he had copied from the Liangcheng blacksmith shop and had yet to cultivate, he felt depressed and fell into silence.
"If none of these four Heart Methods are suitable for me to cultivate..."
Thinking this far, Ding Qi no longer wanted to think further.
Since receiving the notebook from Zhao Guan, which recorded the growth habits of medicinal herbs, Ding Qi had studied it diligently, trying to memorize its contents as soon as possible. At the same time, he began to cultivate the martial arts Heart Methods he had copied in Liangcheng.
Just half a month ago, Zhao Guan had tested Ding Qi's mastery of the growth habits of medicinal herbs. Because he had studied the notebook's content very seriously and the amount of information to memorize was not too much, he passed the test quite easily, much to Zhao Guan's satisfaction.
After that, Zhao Guan entrusted the care of the herb garden to Ding Qi, visiting the garden less frequently. Most of the time, he either drank and amused himself in his room or went to Qixia Town to listen to music, showing no interest in managing the garden.
Caring for the herb garden was a leisurely job. The garden, which was less than half an acre, required only a little time each day for Ding Qi to take care of it.
After passing Zhao Guan's test and no longer needing to memorize the growth habits of the herbs, he devoted all his energy to cultivating martial arts Heart Methods.
Ding Qi only wanted to verify which of the nine Heart Methods he had copied was suitable for him to cultivate. If he really put his mind to it, he could determine the suitability of each Heart Method in just three to five days.
By now, he had already verified five Heart Methods, but each result was extremely disappointing.
Now, he could only hope that one of the remaining four Heart Methods would be suitable for him. However, after several consecutive disappointments, Ding Qi began to worry that it would be difficult to find a suitable Heart Method among the remaining ones.
After all, his cultivation aptitude was not good.
"If only I had Zhang Tao's aptitude," Ding Qi muttered to himself, thinking about his own aptitude.
Zhang Tao, who came from the same village as him, became a core disciple of the Qingyun Sect directly due to his special constitution and excellent aptitude, without any examination.
Ding Qi was extremely envious of the miraculous encounter that happened to Zhang Tao two months ago.
After all, the difference in life experiences between childhood friends who used to play together was so great that it was hard not to feel a sense of regret.
Since Zhang Tao became a core disciple of the Qingyun Sect, Ding Qi had received two letters from him.
When they were young, both Zhang Tao and Ding Qi were sent by their families to the village's old scholar to learn basic literacy, so writing letters was not a problem for them.
The letters Zhang Tao sent contained a lot of information about the core disciples of the Qingyun Sect. From this information, Ding Qi gained a general understanding of what core disciples were.
Newly initiated disciples of the Qingyun Sect could only cultivate relatively basic Heart Methods at first. Only those with sufficient seniority or who had made contributions to the sect would be granted more advanced Heart Methods.
Core disciples, however, were completely different.
From the very beginning, they were granted the most profound martial arts and Heart Methods, and were the elite that the entire sect cultivated with all its might.
Not only did they have extraordinary cultivation aptitude, but they also cultivated the most advanced Heart Methods and received a large amount of precious medicinal herbs supplied by the sect to aid their cultivation. Compared to ordinary martial artists, their cultivation speed was incomparable.
After they grew up, they would quickly become high-ranking members of the Qingyun Sect and reach the level of top martial artists in the world.
Whenever he thought about how his childhood friend had become so high and mighty, while he struggled to cultivate even the most basic Iron Sand Palm, Ding Qi couldn't help but feel ashamed.
However, he also knew that life experiences were not something that could be forced. Instead of envying others, it was more practical to work hard himself.
Fortunately, he still had several Heart Methods in his possession, so there was still hope.
As long as he found a suitable Heart Method and put in the effort, he might still achieve success.
With this thought, Ding Qi extended his right hand toward a Heart Method he had not yet cultivated, intending to verify whether it was suitable for him.
However, as his right hand touched the Heart Method, Ding Qi seemed to remember something and withdrew his hand.
"Come to think of it, I haven't been to the herb garden today. A batch of herbs is at a critical growth stage, and Zhao Guan is becoming less and less involved. I'll have to take better care of them," Ding Qi thought.
He was naturally very focused on cultivating Heart Methods, wishing he could spend all his time on it. However, taking care of the herb garden was also his responsibility, and he couldn't neglect it just because he was eager to cultivate.
With this in mind, Ding Qi got up from the bed, left the room, and walked toward the herb garden.
The closer he got to the herb garden, the more intense the refreshing medicinal scent became. Breathing in the pleasant herbal aroma, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
Entering the herb garden, Ding Qi began to check the growth of the herbs one by one. The herbs in the garden usually did not require special care and could grow naturally. Only at critical growth stages did they need special measures to prevent any accidents.
"In about a month, the black marrow orchids will need more watering. But for now, letting them grow naturally is fine."
...
"These bitter herbs are the least troublesome in the garden. As long as I let them grow until maturity, they don't need any special care."
...
"After fertilizing the golden flower vines last time, their growth has indeed improved. The experience recorded in the notebook is really effective."
...
As Ding Qi walked through the herb garden, he checked the growth of various herbs, muttering to himself, reminding himself which herbs needed attention and which could be left alone for now.
Soon, he reached the end of the garden, which was the area he focused on during this inspection.
"These three-leaf herbs are also at a critical growth stage these days and need the soil to be loosened," Ding Qi muttered, looking at a small patch of herbs in front of him.
The herbs he called three-leaf herbs looked like small purple flowers. However, Ding Qi knew that when these three-leaf herbs matured, the purple color would disappear, and the flowers would turn into red, blue, and yellow.
Standing near this small patch of herbs for a moment, Ding Qi then circled around the three-leaf herbs, carefully checking their growth. He frowned from time to time, as if making some deductions.
"Loosening the soil for these three-leaf herbs today is possible, but according to the notebook, it's best to wait two more days to achieve the best results," Ding Qi muttered, standing next to the herbs.
In the end, he decided to wait two more days and loosen the soil when it would have the best effect.
Having made his decision, Ding Qi got up from the three-leaf herbs and inspected the growth of the last two types of herbs.
After checking the growth of all the herbs, it didn't take Ding Qi much time. Soon, he returned to his room along the same path.
In the following days, apart from the routine care of the herb garden and loosening the soil for the three-leaf herbs, Ding Qi, as before, devoted most of his energy to cultivating Heart Methods.
Unconsciously, half a month passed.
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