Chapter 12

This water jar must weigh at least two hundred catties! No matter how much Lu Yang enjoyed playing in the mountains as a child, climbing trees, swimming in rivers, hunting birds, and catching fish, he couldn't lift such a heavy water jar.

Yun Zhi casually drew a talisman on the water jar, and its weight suddenly decreased to the point where Lu Yang could just lift it with one hand.

She took out a puppet to supervise Lu Yang.

"Let's see how it goes for a day."

Yun Zhi left with a casual remark, disappearing into the clouds. Lu Yang and the puppet stared at each other, and he sighed, wrapping his shirt around his waist, and began his arduous life of lifting the water jar.

The puppet supervised from the side. After a brief rest, it immediately made Lu Yang continue lifting the jar, squeezing every bit of strength out of him.

When his arms were completely drained, the puppet fed him two large restorative pills. When his arms were so sore he couldn't move, the puppet fed him two more. When Lu Yang was so tired he wanted to sleep, the puppet fed him two more...

By the end of the day, Lu Yang's legs were trembling, his arms hanging limp, and he couldn't feel them at all. When he swayed to the left, his left arm swung like a pendulum; when he swayed to the right, his right arm swung, and then he fell to the ground with a thud.

The puppet, as usual, fed him two more restorative pills. Seeing no reaction from Lu Yang, it ended the day's training, found a small cart, and pushed Lu Yang back, covering him with a straw mat.

Smelling the aroma of food, Lu Yang's body began to salivate, and his consciousness gradually returned.

Finally, he could eat. Lu Yang sighed in relief. If it weren't for the food, he would have thought he was not a disciple of a immortal sect but a criminal sentenced to torture in a water dungeon.

As a disciple of the sect, he didn't have to worry about food; he didn't have to take grain-repelling pills every day. Various rare ingredients were made into delicious dishes, subtly improving Lu Yang's body.

Lu Yang still couldn't lift his arms, so the puppet fed him throughout the meal.

After the meal, Yun Zhi boiled a large pot of body-strengthening potion and had Lu Yang bathe in it. Lu Yang almost stumbled from the smell of the spiritual herbs in the air.

"Here." Yun Zhi handed Lu Yang a hollow reed.

"What's this?"

"When you soak in the body-strengthening potion, you need to soak your whole body. Your head will definitely be outside when you bathe. Later, you can bite the reed and breathe through it while your head is submerged."

Lu Yang thought that as the eldest sister, Yun Zhi was indeed thoughtful, even though she was putting him through torture, it was for his own good.

After Yun Zhi left, Lu Yang stripped naked, bit the reed, and splashed into the wooden tub, then a heart-wrenching scream echoed.

"Eldest Sister, are you using boiling water to bathe?!"

...

Yun Zhi came to the small courtyard. A gentle breeze blew, dispersing the smell of the medicinal bath from her body. She began to think about what she had overlooked.

She grew up in the immortal cave, surrounded by cultivators. Later, she joined the Wenda Sect and focused on cultivation, rarely involving herself in the mundane world, so she knew little about ordinary people.

To teach Lu Yang, she specifically found many books describing ordinary people. While Lu Yang was learning the basics of cultivation, she was learning about ordinary people.

However, it was clear that the books describing ordinary people did not mention the temperature of the water they used for bathing.

Hearing Lu Yang's hoarse scream, Yun Zhi thought for a moment. It was too late to cool the water now, so the only option was...

Yun Zhi took out a bottle of burn ointment from her sleeve, placed it at the door, and knocked.

"Little junior brother, I've put the burn ointment at the door. Remember to use it."

...

After some time, under the triple help of forced, tireless cultivation, spirit beast meat, and specially made medicinal baths, Lu Yang finally transformed from an ordinary person into an excellent folk performer skilled in juggling water jars.

Three two-hundred-catty water jars were tossed around like sandbags, forming an arc in the air.

At the same time, Lu Yang could walk in a circle on the edge of the water jars, as if walking on flat ground.

Even when the water jars were laid down, he could step on the rolling jars with the stability of a mountain, and still have the strength to juggle the other three jars!

With just this skill, he could draw cheers on the street!

"Good, your body-strengthening progress is faster than I estimated." Yun Zhi clapped lightly, giving Lu Yang great confidence.

Though Yun Zhi rarely showed up, she had always been paying attention to Lu Yang's progress.

"Can I start cultivating now?" Lu Yang put down the jars, asked excitedly, and waited for the result, not even daring to breathe.

During his body-strengthening period, Meng Jingzhou had visited him but was driven away by the puppet after a few words.

He heard that Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, and others of his cohort had already guided qi into their bodies, becoming true cultivators, sitting in meditation every day, transcending the mundane world. Only he was still struggling with body-strengthening, which made him somewhat anxious, feeling left behind and experiencing a significant psychological gap.

Yun Zhi didn't answer, taking out a piece of tofu from her storage space. The tofu was extremely soft, trembling in her white palm like a water-filled balloon.

"Palm down, grab it."

Lu Yang thought this was nothing difficult and obediently did as told, grabbing the tofu. But when he moved his fingers slightly, the tofu was crushed and fell to the ground.

Yun Zhi continued to hand Lu Yang another piece of tofu, gesturing for him to try again.

Lu Yang was not to be deterred, thinking the first time was an accident and the second time would be fine.

The tofu was still crushed, and he couldn't hold it.

After the third failure, Lu Yang realized the problem. His hands were now too strong, making it hard to control. The items around him were all used by cultivators; if they were ordinary items, he would have to be extremely careful to avoid breaking chopsticks or shattering bowls.

Moreover, his strength had grown too quickly, and his mind hadn't caught up with his body, causing his fingers to spasm occasionally.

Given this, how could he easily grab a piece of tofu as soft as water?

Yun Zhi no longer handed Lu Yang tofu. She held the tofu with one hand, moving it随意晃动, but it didn't fall apart.

Suddenly, Yun Zhi let go, and the tofu fell. She then quickly grabbed it again!

Lu Yang's eyes widened. Catching a falling piece of tofu was no easy task.

In the hands of the eldest sister, the soft tofu was as solid as iron, easily manipulated.

"You have achieved the ability to lift heavy objects as if they were light, but you are far from lifting light objects as if they were heavy."

Lu Yang remained silent, aware that he was still far from completing his body-strengthening. Cultivation could not be rushed. Meng Jingzhou and others had been trained by their families since childhood, allowing them to directly cultivate.

How could he easily catch up with them?

He had no guidance in his childhood, but now he was receiving personal guidance from the eldest sister and had the help of heavenly treasures, growing at an astonishing rate. What reason did he have to be dissatisfied?

Lu Yang also remembered what the eldest sister had said: cultivation was a lifelong endeavor, and temporary superiority was not important; what mattered was who could laugh last.

Lu Yang took two deep breaths, realizing his previous mindset was wrong. He promptly adjusted his attitude and no longer pursued rapid progress.

Then he saw the eldest sister have the puppet push over a cart full of tofu.