Chapter 11

Jining listened, feeling completely lost amidst the clouds and mist, and asked, "Father, you said I need to prepare my body for sword practice, which I can barely understand. But what do you mean by preparing my 'heart' for sword practice?"

"Don't rush."

Ji Yichuan looked at his son, and a thick book appeared in his hand, which he threw directly to Jining. "First, take a careful look at this boxing technique. This technique is divided into sixteen forms, encompassing the most basic and fundamental methods of physical power. Once you master this set of boxing techniques, you will feel your body moving freely and effortlessly, as if everything is under your control."

"The sword is an extension of the body. If the body cannot move freely and effortlessly, how can the sword do so?" Ji Yichuan looked at his son, worried that he might aim too high and too far. "You need to calm your mind."

Jining clearly understood the principle that sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of wood.

"Yes, Father." Jining responded, lowering his head to flip through the book, carefully memorizing the subtleties of the boxing technique. The secret manual looked thick, but it was actually because it was made from some tanned animal skins, making each page quite thick.

After memorizing the subtleties, he began to practice, with his father continuously providing guidance, pointing out mistakes, and demonstrating the techniques.

In fact, the "Wind Shadow Step" already involved some aspects of physical power, but it mainly focused on the legs. Because of his experience, Jining learned it quite quickly.

...

An hour later.

"Take a break." Ji Yichuan looked at his son, who was drenched in sweat. "From now on, practice boxing for an hour every day until I believe your body is ready for sword practice."

"Preparing the body is one aspect."

"Your 'heart' also needs to be prepared for sword practice." Ji Yichuan produced two black iron swords and threw them to his son. "Hold them!"

Jining held the two swords.

Ji Yichuan pointed to the empty ground, and a metal puppet appeared there, holding a knife.

"This is a puppet," Ji Yichuan said. "In the cultivation of Qi and Immortality, there are those skilled in puppet-making. This puppet is one of the most basic, with the strength of a perfected mortal, but its body is incredibly resilient."

"Father, why are there red dots on its body?" Jining asked, puzzled.

This black metal puppet had over a dozen red dots on its body, located at the forehead, throat, chest, abdomen, arms, wrists, back, and other positions.

"Try to stab the red dot on its forehead with your sword," Ji Yichuan said directly. "Be quick."

"Yes." Jining quickly stabbed with his right hand.

Swish!

The sword tip stabbed the head, but it was about an inch off.

"This..." Jining was slightly stunned. He had clearly intended to stab the forehead, but he couldn't help but try again three times, always missing slightly.

"Did you notice?" Ji Yichuan said coolly. "Even though you intended to stab the forehead, when you actually did it, you couldn't hit it accurately. How can you hit it accurately? First, you need to have better control over your body, and second, you need to practice thousands of times."

"Any sword technique, when fully broken down, can be divided into the basic thirteen forms: slash, stab, sweep, thrust, chop, point, cut, block, intercept, entangle, lift, deflect, and hang."

"Slash, stab, sweep, chop, and point are offensive."

"Entangle, cut, block, lift, deflect, hang, and intercept are defensive."

Ji Yichuan pointed to the metal puppet. "This puppet doesn't move, and it has nineteen red dots on its body. You will practice the six offensive forms—slash, stab, sweep, chop, and point—on it. I will teach you the subtleties of each form, how to coordinate your body and movements, and you will practice each basic sword form millions of times!"

"Then, the puppet will move, attacking you with its knife. You will defend using the seven defensive forms—entangle, cut, block, lift, deflect, hang, and intercept—also practicing millions of times."

"Attack!"

"Defend!"

"When you become proficient, the puppet will engage you in combat, and you will use the basic thirteen sword forms in combination on it." Ji Yichuan looked at his son. "The day your basic thirteen sword forms are deeply ingrained and executed with precision, you will have truly engraved the essence of the sword in your heart, and your heart will be ready for sword practice."

Jining listened, holding his breath.

"Prepare your body."

"Prepare your heart."

"Only then can you truly begin practicing sword techniques." Ji Yichuan looked at his son. "Sword techniques are complex and are composed of the basic thirteen forms. If you haven't integrated the basic thirteen forms into your bones... how high can your sword practice go?"

"When I teach you the sword techniques and you become proficient, you will have reached the first realm of sword techniques, 'Foundation.'"

"Swords also have three realms."

"Foundation, Mastery, and Unity with Heaven and Earth!"

"The subtlety of footwork is the exquisite control of the body. The subtlety of sword techniques, however, is the exquisite control of both the body and the sword, and they must be as one! The difficulty increases tenfold!"

"Unity with Heaven and Earth? That's even more distant."

Ji Yichuan looked at his son. "Jining, do you understand the path you must walk?"

"Yes." Jining nodded firmly.

The cultivation of the Nine Heavens of Chiming grants a body like a god or demon, with incomprehensible power.

But the cultivation of footwork and sword techniques determines... how much of your potential you can actually realize!

"Father, how long will it take for me to achieve unity with the sword?" Jining couldn't help but ask.

"Hard to say." Ji Yichuan shook his head. "I spent six years laying the foundation and another six years to achieve unity with the sword. So, it took me twelve years!"

"Twelve years?" Jining held his breath.

Father, who became the strongest in the Western Manor of the Ji family at such a young age, also took twelve years. For many ordinary people... a lifetime of sword practice might not even reach the realm of 'unity with the sword.'

"Don't aim too high, and be down-to-earth." Ji Yichuan looked at his son. "Let's start. I'll teach you the basic thirteen sword forms—starting with 'stab'!"

...

Under his father's guidance, Jining's posture was very standard, repeatedly stabbing, slashing, sweeping, and pointing.

It was very tedious.

It was very tiring.

Fortunately, Jining's body recovered quickly, and his past life of enduring illness had forged a personality that did not easily give up.

After an hour of offensive practice, he began an hour of defensive practice.

The metal puppet never tired, repeatedly swinging its knife for Jining to defend against.

"Yichuan." Weichi Xue stood in the distance, watching her son's hard practice.

Ji Yichuan also walked to his wife's side, looking at their son who was battling the metal puppet from afar. "Xue, I never expected... our son to have such strong willpower. I was even prepared to force him to practice if he complained about the fatigue. I never thought I wouldn't need to force him!"

"Morning footwork practice." Weichi Xue looked at her son with concern. "Although he complains about being tired, he never stops. Three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon... he practices for six hours a day. How old is Ning'er this year?"

"I remember when I was young." Ji Yichuan said softly. "I was forced by my father. I felt so tired, almost on the verge of collapse, but if I gave up, my father would beat me with a whip. I cried and repeatedly swung and stabbed the sword... until I was ten years old, when my father was killed by a great demon from Dongshan Ze. My status plummeted, and I saw the coldness of human nature. My mother even died of illness... only then did I realize I couldn't complain about the fatigue and hardship, and I practiced diligently every day."

Without cultivation, one cannot understand how exhausting continuous practice can be.

The body is tired, but the mind is even more tired.

Without sufficient determination and desire, one cannot persist.

"I was still skeptical about my son's future achievements." Ji Yichuan said softly. "He has high talent in divine and demonic body cultivation, but if he isn't diligent, his future achievements won't be high... Now, I believe that my son will definitely become a true strongman on this land. Definitely!"

Weichi Xue listened to her husband and looked at her son, who was immersed in practice, and nodded gently. "I believe it too!"

******

Watching himself grow stronger, even more so than the superheroes in movies from his past life, was an incredibly wonderful feeling!

One year later.

Swish~~ Standing in the distance, Mengyu suddenly threw four pebbles. The slightly taller 'Jining' quickly drew his bow, holding four arrows with his fingers.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The four arrows flashed, leaving four trails of air in the sky, and directly hit the four flying pebbles, causing them to shatter and fall to the ground.

"Good." Mengyu walked over, laughing heartily, his laughter like thunder.

"Master Mengyu." Jining put away his bow.

"Your Heart Arrow is already complete, and even my proudest technique, the simultaneous release of four arrows, you have mastered so quickly." Mengyu praised and nodded. "I have nothing more to teach you about archery. Next, you need to practice more and accumulate experience. As your strength increases, you will naturally be able to shoot stronger arrows. This training ground is too small for you. You need to go to more open areas, shooting from a distance of one or two miles, or even three or four miles! The farther the distance, the more you need to consider factors like wind speed."

"I understand." Jining nodded.

Archery requires incredible precision.

You need to consider gravity, as the arrow will fall due to gravity during flight. You also need to consider wind!

It sounds complicated, but in practice, you can shoot without even aiming, as the angles and techniques are ingrained in your bones through countless repetitions. At least for Jining now... within 500 meters, not even a fly could escape his bow!

But this is far from enough!

As your strength increases, some innate beings can shoot arrows that remain powerful even after flying several miles. The farther the distance, the harder it is to maintain precision... which requires even more practice to accumulate experience.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't come here. Young Master, you are the most talented I have ever taught." Mengyu looked at Jining. "Don't waste your talent. In the future, you will definitely become the most terrifying archer on the Yan Mountains."

**

Preview: The next chapter is six years later~~~ Don't forget to add to your favorites and vote for recommendations! Tomato needs your support!

{Piaotian Literature}