Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

“Hurry and get up!” the flustered Leng Huiqi quickly stepped forward to help Lu Zhiying up while looking around, hoping that no one else was around to witness this misleading scene.

“No, I won’t stand until you agree to teach me!” Lu Zhiying’s nose was almost touching the ground at this point.

However, her words only caused Leng Huiqi to frown deeply.

Leng Huiqi immediately regained her composure and stood back up with her arms crossed. “Do you think that I will relent just because you beg me like this? I am not that easy!”

“That’s not what I meant, Senior Martial Sister Leng!” Lu Zhiying immediately straightened her back and looked up at Leng Huiqi. “I just really want to learn from the best!”

“Oh?” Leng Huiqi was surprised upon seeing Lu Zhiying.

She was not too interested in the young lady earlier so she did not take a close look at her face. But now that she did, this young lady was actually rather pretty?

At least when it came to her appearance and figure, she was definitely more than suited to be a dancer!

That was of course if you ignored the bruises on her face, but those were superficial wounds that were already starting to heal.

Nevertheless, just Lu Zhiying’s appearance alone was not enough to convince Leng Huiqi just yet.

“You say that you want to learn from me, but I simply don’t have time to waste on some random girl,” Leng Huiqi said. “If you really want to learn how to dance, just join the Frost Lotus Dance Troupe and you will eventually learn the ropes.”

“That will not do, Senior Martial Sister Leng,” Zhao Yunxiao quickly interjected. “Junior Martial Sister Lu is part of our Flying Shell Performance Group. Please don’t steal her from us.”

“What’s the point in her staying with your Flying Shell Performance Group when you can’t even teach her the basics!” Leng Huiqi snapped back.

“That’s why we are hoping that our generous Senior Martial Sister Leng can help us out here,” Zhao Yunxiao said with an embarrassed smile. “It doesn’t have to be too long either. We just need you to teach her enough to show something at the upcoming New Year celebration. We promise not to further impose on you after that.”

“Of course, if Senior Martial Sister Leng is willing, this lowly one will be more than happy to keep learning!” Lu Zhiying bent her back again.

“Tch! Get up already!” Leng Huiqi clicked her tongue. “Otherwise, I am just going to head in!”

The kneeling Lu Zhiying quickly got to her feet, though she quickly bowed down after.

“Until the New Year celebration, eh?” Leng Huiqi narrowed her eyes at Lu Zhiying. “How serious are you about learning?”

“Very!” Lu Zhiying shouted. “If it’s for a chance to learn from esteemed Senior Martia-”

“All right, all right, enough!” Leng Huiqi cut her off irritably. “I have to warn you first. The New Year celebration is not far away. If you want to learn enough to perform by then, the training is going to be very difficult on you!”

“Ah! I am more than willing to brave the hardships!” Lu Zhiying responded immediately. “Though it would be better if Senior Martial Sister Leng can go easier on me a little...”

Zhao Yunxiao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Hmm? What did you just say?” Leng Huiqi furrowed her brows.

“I’m just kidding, Senior Martial Sister Leng. Please abuse me however you want!” Lu Zhiying quickly reacted.

Zhao Yunxiao: “...”

Can you not play with fire like this?

“Don’t worry, I won’t be abusing someone who just joined the sect. But all right, if it’s only until the New Year celebration, I guess I can make an exception seeing how sincere you are,” Leng Huiqi answered. “But Junior Martial Brother Zhao, you will be owing me big time for this.”

“Gladly, Senior Martial Sister Leng. Thank you for agreeing!” Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists in gratitude.

“Thank you, Senior Martial Sister Leng! Let’s get started then!” Lu Zhiying beamed excitedly.

“Calm down,” Leng Huiqi rolled her eyes. “Do you not see that I am wearing clothes from the designer Wushuang? What will you do if they get dirtied during practice? Come in and wait while I change out of it.”

“These clothes are from the designer Wushuang?!” Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone wearing one!”

“Wushuang?” Lu Zhiying looked at Zhao Yunxiao in confusion. “Is it very rare?”

Zhao Yunxiao cheered in his heart.

This follow-up from Lu Zhiying gave him the perfect reason to continue praising Leng Huiqi!

“More than rare! There are no two pieces of the same design in this world!” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “It is extremely difficult to get your hands on clothes from Wushuang. I heard that Wushuang only makes clothes for those of great fame or status. Even powerful kings of their regions might not be able to convince Wushuang to design clothes for them, so it is amazing that you are able to get your hands on one, Senior Martial Sister Leng! As expected, you are on a completely different level!”

“If only you spend more time cultivating instead of gathering news and intelligence, your cultivation level will surely improve by leaps and bounds!” Leng Huiqi remarked with a smirk. “But you are right. These are indeed precious clothes. Now do you understand why I have to change out of them first?”

Zhao Yunxiao and Lu Zhiying nodded profusely.

He might have said more than what he would originally have just to butter up to Leng Huiqi, but that did not take the value of the clothes themselves.

Wushuang was a world-famous designer sought after by all sorts of powerful and influential characters far beyond their league.

With that, one could imagine just how much each set of clothing from them would be worth.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that these were extremely precious clothes that Zhao Yunxiao would never be able to afford in his entire life!

“Come on in and wait then,” Leng Huiqi beckoned before stepping back in, though she quickly paused and looked back towards Zhao Yunxiao. “Wait, where do you think you are going?”

“Eh?” Zhao Yunxiao blinked blankly out of surprise. “Didn’t you tell us to go in and wait?”

“I meant Junior Martial Sister Lu, not you,” Leng Huiqi rolled her eyes. “I said I will be teaching her. Did I say anything about teaching you?”

“No...?” Zhao Yunxiao answered hesitantly. “But I was not intending to learn either. I just thought that I’d stay and watch how Junior Martial Sister Lu does.”

“If you are not the one learning, then why are you staying to watch?” Leng Huiqi let out a laugh in disbelief. “What? You think just anyone can go in to watch the Frost Lotus Dance Troupe and I dance? The world doesn’t work like that!”

“This...” Zhao Yunxiao looked over at Lu Zhiying. “Will you be all right alone?”

“Are you worried that I would eat her up or something?” Leng Huiqi shot a glare towards Zhao Yunxiao.

“Of course not, Senior Martial Sister Leng is known for your generosity and magnanimity, so why would I ever think that way?” Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly tried to appease her. “I am actually more worried about Junior Martial Sister Lu offending you because she is still unfamiliar with the sect’s customs.”

“Don’t worry, I am not one to pick on someone who is new!” Leng Huiqi scoffed.

“I will be fine alone, Senior Martial Brother Zhao,” Lu Zhiying smiled towards Zhao Yunxiao. “I was slightly worried before but now that I’ve met Senior Martial Sister Leng in person, I realise that she is much nicer than I expected.”

“What? Do I have a bad reputation or something?” Leng Huiqi commented, though one could see the corner of her lips curling up a little.

“Well... then I will be leaving Junior Martial Sister Lu in your care, Senior Martial Sister Leng!” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “Thank you once again for agreeing to this.”

“Stop being so naggy and get going already,” Leng Huiqi turned around and entered.

“See you later, Senior Martial Brother Zhao!” Lu Zhiying waved before following her in.

As the door closed in front of him, Zhao Yunxiao let out a deep breath.

Now then, he could only hope that Lu Zhiying can rein in her unpredictable personality while learning from Leng Huiqi.

In any case, while Lu Zhiying might have overreacted at certain points earlier, she had been rather tactful in general.

As long as she could keep this up, she would probably not get into trouble with Leng Huiqi.

Zhao Yunxiao looked up at the sky.

The sun was about to set, but Gu Qiansi probably still needed some more time to finish up on her culinary research.

Thinking about it, since Gu Qiansi was most likely at the Sect Library, he might as well go over as well.

Yes, he might not be able to help her with her research, but he was not intending to do so in the first place anyway.

It was just that if he did his own readings in the Sect Library, he would at least be able to know immediately once Gu Qiansi was done.

That way, they could immediately head out to make the necessary preparations for the meal.

Damn, just thinking about the upcoming egg feast was making him salivate!

***

“You’re here?” Gu Qiansi asked without lifting her head from the scroll in her hands. “How did things go with Senior Martial Sister Leng?”

“It went well, and Junior Martial Sister Lu is learning from her right now,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “I don’t know what time they will be ending, but I doubt they will take very long considering how late it is.”

“Sounds like it went well then,” Gu Qiansi said with a tinge of relief.

“We will only really know when she gets back. You can ask her more about how it went then,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “How’s it going on your end?”

“I already have a pretty good idea on how to prepare them. Now, I’m just trying to look through other scrolls to see if there are any better options,” Gu Qiansi answered.

“You already have a recipe in mind?” Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. We still have to wait for Junior Martial Sister Lu, remember?” Gu Qiansi said.

“Fine, I never said anything about wanting to eat right now anyway,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Let me know when you are done.”

With that, Zhao Yunxiao headed for a different section of the Sect Library where one could find a wide selection of various technique manuals.

Combat, movement, and auxiliary.

These were the three main types of techniques that cultivators come into contact with.

Some use a different way of categorisation, splitting all techniques into martial or non-martial types, referring to techniques that could be used in battle as opposed to those that could not.

But no matter which category one was looking for, they would be able to find the manuals of numerous techniques in the Sect Library, available for their perusal.

Of course, there were higher level techniques that were only available to members of the sect with a higher status.

This meant that inner disciples had access to a wider selection of manuals than outer disciples, and elders naturally had access to even more manuals than inner disciples.

Fortunately, that was not much of a concern for Zhao Yunxiao.

Currently, he was only focusing on perfecting his understanding of the Xuanwu Fist Art and Xuanwu Movement Art.

But at the same time, he would still go to the Sect Library and look through various different techniques whenever he had time to spare.

Today was no different.

Zhao Yunxiao settled down in a comfortable corner, holding the manual of a common combat technique in his hands.

His goal was not to master these techniques, but simply to understand the underlying concepts.

While many others had told him that he was wasting his time by doing so, Zhao Yunxiao believed that the most basic concepts behind all techniques were similar in one way or another.

By understanding how other techniques work, he could apply any relevant concepts back to the Xuanwu Fist Art and Xuanwu Movement Art, helping him apply any necessary adjustments to make them suit himself better.

For that reason, Zhao Yunxiao actually focused more on common and simple techniques, many of them techniques that other disciples would not deign to look at.

In fact, Zhao Yunxiao’s way of selecting techniques to peruse was completely different from that of most others.

While others preferred to go through complex and powerful techniques, Zhao Yunxiao’s criteria was simple – the easier they were, the better!

To him, the Xuanwu Fist Art and Xuanwu Movement Art were complex enough in their own right, and it was difficult enough trying to fully understand them.

That was the whole reason why he wanted to aid his understanding by applying similar concepts from other techniques.

So, the last thing he wanted was to exacerbate the struggle by adding the number of complex techniques that he had to figure out!