Chapter 9

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"Hey, as a teacher, how can you let your students learn on their own?" Li Yan protested.

"Li Yan, the one who sits with his buttocks back and flat like a goose landing, didn't you want to study everything?" The mature teacher chuckled and said, "If you can't even learn on your own, what's the point of studying everything... Remember, I've left my 'library card' with the librarian for this book. Even if you can't master the technique, you need to memorize the text inside as soon as possible to get the 'library card' back. I'm giving you one month."

Li Yan responded with an "oh." Hearing that time was short, he didn't dare to say more. Whose fault would it be if time was wasted? He quickly hugged the secret manual and squatted in the corner. He had heard that having a secret manual of divine skills could easily make one a target, so he subconsciously looked around. He saw that all the classmates were practicing their own skills, and no one was paying attention to him. His only friend, the toothless girl Guo Jing, was still frantically practicing "Branch Striking White Ape," but the fool probably wouldn't learn it in a lifetime.

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed no one would try to steal the secret manual at school. He opened the book and saw that the first page was the general outline of the entire book:

- Calm your mind, and your emotions will fade.

- Empty your body, and your qi will flow.

- Die your heart, and your spirit will live.

- When yang is strong, yin will diminish.

He turned the page, and there were four more lines of verse:

- Cultivate your qi, forget words, and guard your life foundation. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying, let your breathing be natural.

- With each breath and exhalation, maintain silence. Do not let your original spirit wander freely.

Below it was written: "Let your mind be clear and empty, without a single thought. Then lie on your side, with a gentle breath, without internal agitation or external wandering. Maintain this continuously, solidify the roots, and when you inhale, lift the qi to the navel. When you lift, swallow it, and let the heart qi descend to the navel. In this way, the qi from your feet and the qi from your nose can meet and blend in the dantian. After the blending of water and fire, inner qi will naturally be cultivated."

To be honest, this was hard to understand, and it was difficult to learn inner techniques without guidance. Fortunately, Li Yan's perfect score in Chinese wasn't fake, and his ability to read classical Chinese was top-notch. Although the text was difficult, he understood it after a short while.

When you inhale and lift, you breathe in through your nose, lifting the qi from your kidneys to the center of your navel. When you lift and swallow, you swallow it immediately, letting the heart qi descend to the navel. In this way, the qi from your feet and the qi from your nose can blend in the dantian. After the blending of water and fire, inner qi will naturally be cultivated.

Li Yan sat cross-legged in the corner and followed the instructions. At first, his mind was chaotic, but soon he entered a state of self-forgetfulness, maintaining a rhythmic breathing. After a long time, he gradually felt a warm qi rising in his dantian, slowly advancing through his meridians, making his body feel warm and comfortable. This was inner technique. As long as he practiced step by step with the same method, he could accumulate true inner strength in his dantian in no time.

His attention was entirely focused on the meridians in his body, unaware of the outside world. Unbeknownst to him, the mature teacher was quietly watching him. Seeing his calm and steady breathing, she was surprised: This kid is indeed impressive. He flipped through the secret manual a couple of times and actually understood it. This is truly a rare talent. With such a genius, I dare not teach him recklessly. If I teach him the wrong way, it could ruin his future. It's better to let him learn from the secret manual on his own.

Li Yan practiced a little and confirmed he was on the right track. He then deliberately stopped. His main goal in learning this inner technique was to help the toothless girl improve her inner qi and learn "Branch Striking White Ape." Time was very tight. If the toothless girl couldn't master "Branch Striking White Ape" by today, she would be punished with no food for ten days. Li Yan could practice inner techniques anytime, with no time limit, so his current priority was to teach the toothless girl.

Li Yan put away the secret manual of the Complete Perfection Subtle Technique and walked to Guo Jing's side. The clumsy girl was still pitifully swinging her sword, not a single move done properly. In a short breath, the toothless girl had already fallen and had a big bump on her head, looking very pitiful. This girl was Li Yan's only friend, and seeing her practice so hard, he felt quite heartbroken. He said, "Toothless girl, aren't you tired from practicing? Do you want to rest a bit?"

"No, I can't rest. I need to master 'Branch Striking White Ape' today, or I won't be able to eat for ten days. That's a minor issue, but I don't want to disappoint the teacher. She's been very kind to me, and I don't want her to be disappointed..." Guo Jing panted, her chest rising and falling slightly, looking quite cute.

Li Yan didn't directly say, "Come practice inner techniques," but instead said with a smile, "But you're very tired now, and your breathing is all over the place. Practicing further will be counterproductive and might even get worse. You need to adjust your breathing to practice the sword better. I have a quick method to adjust your breathing. Do you want to try it?"

The toothless girl, being innocent and trusting, believed Li Yan without hesitation and sat down next to him, asking, "What's the method for adjusting breathing?"

"I'll tell you, and you follow along." Li Yan didn't recite the complicated general outline and verses of the Complete Perfection Subtle Technique but directly explained the breathing and qi cultivation method to Guo Jing in plain language: "Lie down and sleep, and while you sleep, use the method I just told you to breathe. You'll quickly adjust your state and be ready to practice the sword."

The toothless girl didn't doubt him at all. She lay down on the mat and followed Li Yan's instructions. She didn't ask for any reasons and trusted him completely, even though they had only met today. It was truly amazing.

Li Yan wasn't surprised. Guo Jing should be this kind of person. In "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," the male version of Guo Jing, when he first came to China, gave all his best things to Huang Rong on the same day they met... This is a kind of excellent quality. Although in a materialistic world, this quality is often called foolish, Li Yan didn't dislike such people.

He sat by Guo Jing, helping her drive away the occasional mosquitoes... He carefully observed her side face. The toothless girl was really cute, incredibly cute, with a serious expression on her chubby little face, making one want to pinch her. This naturally innocent type would definitely have countless fans in the future, but unfortunately, it wasn't popular in this world.

The toothless girl couldn't master the sword technique but showed great talent in practicing the Complete Perfection inner technique. She followed Li Yan's instructions and soon entered a state of self-forgetfulness, clearly reaching the realm of self-forgetfulness. Soon, the sun set, and the school bell rang. Li Yan heard his classmates cheer, "It's time for dinner!" and they all ran out of the classroom, heading for the cafeteria. However, he didn't dare to wake Guo Jing, fearing that interrupting her practice might cause her to go into a state of mental confusion.

Not eating for a meal wouldn't kill anyone, but a friend going into mental confusion could be fatal. He decided not to go to dinner and to stay and guard his only friend!

Soon, the sun set, and the sky turned dark. The moon quietly peeked out. A cool breeze blew, and the toothless girl's body trembled, finally waking up. She blinked her eyes, looked at the dark night, and pouted, crying out, "Oh no, I overslept. The whole day is gone... I haven't mastered 'Branch Striking White Ape' yet."

She cried, tears and snot streaming down her face, her big eyes shedding tears like a broken string of pearls, looking extremely sad.

Seeing the little girl cry like this, Li Yan was startled. The most terrifying thing in the world is a woman crying, and even more terrifying is a girl crying. Li Yan quickly said, "Don't worry, it's not midnight yet. It still counts as today."

"Ah? It's not midnight yet? That's great!" The toothless girl's tears were still flowing, but her eyes had returned to their usual innocent look. She flipped over, got up, picked up the green sword from the ground, and got into a stance, ready to practice again: "As long as it's not midnight, there's still a chance. I must master 'Branch Striking White Ape.' I don't want to disappoint the teacher."

Li Yan quickly reminded her, "Remember, maintain the rhythm of your breathing... You must breathe well..."

"Okay, I understand." Guo Jing nodded, took two deep breaths, and maintained the rhythm of inhaling and lifting, adjusting her breathing. Although she had just started practicing the Complete Perfection inner technique and hadn't reached the first level, a day of breathing and qi cultivation had greatly regulated her body, eliminating fatigue and making her mind clearer.

She ran a few steps, and her body lightly leaped... Normally, she could only jump about two feet high, but this time she jumped nearly four feet high. She clearly didn't expect to jump so high and let out a surprised "Oh!" and forgot to use the sword technique, falling with a thud.

Li Yan was startled, afraid that the little girl might be hurt, which would be heartbreaking.

But the toothless girl flipped over and got up, patted her bottom, and didn't seem to care. Although she had just cried, she was actually a very strong girl and wouldn't cry over things like falling or bleeding. A fall was nothing to her, and she said with a thick accent, "Oh, I jumped so high, it scared me."

Li Yan was delighted. Indeed, the orthodox inner technique of Daoism was helpful to her: "Sister, you jumped higher, so your body will stay in the air longer, giving you more time to use the technique. This time, you might be able to complete 'Branch Striking White Ape.'"

"Ah? Really?" Guo Jing hadn't thought of this and was enlightened by Li Yan's reminder: "Right, let me try."

She took two deep breaths, ran a few steps, and leaped suddenly. Her body flew into the air, and she flicked her wrist, forming two sword flowers in the air. Then she spun around and slashed backward. As the tip of the sword slashed down, her body also landed. To her surprise, she successfully completed the technique "Branch Striking White Ape" this time, although the landing wasn't very graceful, it was much better than her previous level.

She felt very surprised and, after landing, looked at her hands and feet, saying in a daze, "Huh? I did it?"

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