Chapter 24: Body Tempering

Wen Xu tensed and stepped back. “But what?”

“But, Little Grand-Uncle Master, you should be here to strengthen your physique, right?” Ah, so this was what it felt like to call someone else “Little Grand-Uncle Master.” It was quite a subtle feeling. Zheng Jin leaned back, resting against the bookshelf behind him. “Although the idea of using swords to set up a formation is good, it doesn’t match Little Grand-Uncle Master’s current needs.”

Wen Xu naturally knew this. “Thank you for the reminder, True Lord. You do not need to call me Little Grand-Uncle Master.”

Zheng Jin immediately took advantage of the opening. “How could I do that? If my master heard, he would probably nag in my ear again, saying I have no respect for etiquette or my elders. Sigh.”

Wen Xu: …What a difficult person to talk to.

So he thought about it and simply answered the previous question. “The Wind-Folding Fan is excellent. I like it very much. Thank you, True Lord, for parting with your treasure.”

“It’s good that you like it. And there’s no need to call me True Lord. See, I’ve already agreed not to call you Little Grand-Uncle Master.” Zheng Jin was accustomed to pushing his luck. “How about you call me Senior Brother Zheng, and I call you Junior Brother Wen?”

…He really was difficult to talk to.

Wen Xu decided not to argue over such trivial details, feeling that arguing would be useless anyway. So he simply changed his form of address. “Senior Brother Zheng.”

Ah, how wonderful. If this guy didn’t have a Mutated Wind Spiritual Root, he would have snatched him up for his master no matter what. What a pity. Now, even his master had to call this guy “Little Martial Uncle.”

“Junior Brother Wen, you must be lacking a sword, right?”

Zheng Jin flipped his hand, and a longsword instantly appeared in his palm. “What do you think of this one?”

First a folding fan, now a sword. Wen Xu knew he wasn’t exactly a likable person. “Senior Brother Zheng, why are you being so good to me?”

“I treat whoever I want well. Why must there be a reason?” Zheng Jin casually toyed with the sword in his hand. It was actually just a very ordinary low-grade spiritual sword. Outside, it would be worth a hundred low-grade spirit stones at most. Its only unique feature was that it could adjust its weight based on the spiritual energy the cultivator channeled into it.

In other words, it was an excellent introductory practice sword for a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage.

Did Wen Xu believe him? Of course not.

“I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps we just get along well.”

Zheng Jin spoke with sudden seriousness, but quickly reverted to his usual self. “Just take it. At worst, you can pay me in spirit stones. I just feel like making this deal with you today.”

In the end, Wen Xu paid eighty spirit stones to buy the sword, and the other party thoughtfully provided a body tempering sword art for reference.

“How about this 《Nine Revolutions Sword Art》?”

Wen Xu used his spiritual energy to read the jade slip and quickly discovered that this was a sword art that ignored spiritual root attributes. In other words, a cultivator with any spiritual root could practice it. However, he soon realized that if a Wind Spiritual Root cultivator practiced it, there would be a unique training benefit just for him.

The Nine Revolutions Sword Art, as the name implied, had nine forms, and each form required the swordsman to spin their body while swinging the blade. After completing all nine forms, the body would have rotated nine times with the sword. If practiced frequently and repeatedly, it would not only meet his body tempering needs but also allow him to comprehend the formation of wind through his practice.

Wen Xu suddenly realized that every cultivator who successfully advanced possessed an unparalleled comprehension and insight into cultivation.

Even though Senior Brother Zheng’s spiritual root had nothing to do with wind, he could easily find the body tempering sword art that suited him best among the vast sea of jade slips.

Wen Xu was genuinely convinced. “Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Zheng. I have learned much.” Having just officially embarked on his cultivation journey, he had immediately experienced an epiphany and advanced to the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Stage. Although Wen Xu hadn’t shown it, he had indeed felt a faint sense of pride.

But now, that pride scattered and dissolved, gradually returning to tranquility.

Sensing the change in the Little Grand-Uncle Master, the amusement in Zheng Jin’s eyes instantly spilled over. As expected of a Mutated Spiritual Root; his comprehension was truly beyond reproach. Not only could he achieve epiphanies, but he could also reflect on himself in time after just a few words. Zheng Jin was already looking forward to next year’s Yonglu Mountain disciple tournament.

Ah, he just loved watching geniuses show off.

“Well, since Junior Brother Wen wants to thank me, shouldn’t there be some practical action to show it?”

For the first time, Wen Xu realized that talking to someone could be this exhausting. “What do you mean, Senior Brother Zheng?”

Zheng Jin immediately rubbed his hands together. “Do you mind practicing your sword in a different place?”

“Huh?”

“How about next to my forging furnace on the Refining Peak?”

Wen Xu had not expected the other party to have this in mind. Was he trying to get someone with a Wind Spiritual Root to fan the flames?

“Ah, you didn’t refuse, so that means you agree. Quick, quick, no time like the present! Go copy these three jade slips first, and then we’ll go fan the fire—oh, I mean, practice your sword! I came to find you the moment I got out of the Discipline Hall! This is an emergency. Any later, and my forging furnace won’t be able to hold out!”

This was the first time Wen Xu had ever been rushed along by someone. By the time he arrived at the Refining Peak carrying his sword, before he could even steady himself, a young disciple ran over in a hurry. “Little Martial Uncle, you’re finally back!”

“Oh, don’t worry. Didn’t I go fetch a savior?”

A savior? The young Lu Nian only now noticed the blindfolded, handsome young man beside him. “Ah, Little Grand-Uncle Master?!” Heavens! Because his seniority was suppressed, Little Martial Uncle was starting to bully the Disciple of the Divine Venerable! Sect Master, save the Refining Peak! Since the Peak Master went into seclusion, Little Martial Uncle has become completely lawless!

“Hello…” Wen Xu had barely greeted him before he was pushed along again. As they walked, he heard the person pushing him say, “No time for pleasantries. Junior Brother Wen, just treat the Refining Peak like your own home. Don’t be polite.”

Lu Nian’s face filled with terror. Junior Brother Wen? Does Little Martial Uncle want to become a Disciple of the Divine Venerable too?

Peak Master, please come out and take charge!

No one heard the silent screams of the young Lu Nian. By now, Zheng Jin had already led Wen Xu to his forging furnace. The furnace was over ten meters tall, colored entirely in black and gold, with complex runes climbing up from the base. It was clearly an extremely high-end forging artifact.

Wen Xu knew nothing about artifact refining, but that did not stop him from sensing that the forging furnace was currently on the verge of exploding. “It…”

“That’s right. Because we used too much wind spirit beast blood, the Qi inside the furnace, or rather the wind, is about to reach its critical limit.” Zheng Jin made a scattering gesture. “Before long, it’s going to blow!”

Wen Xu: …

“Actually, I’m out of options too. So, could Little Grand-Uncle Master think of something?”

Peeking through the crack in the door, the nephew disciple Lu Nian thought: …Little Grand-Uncle Master, you absolutely must not be fooled by Little Martial Uncle’s sweet talk! Everyone on Refining Peak has fallen victim to his sob stories!

However, things did not go as he hoped. Little Grand-Uncle Master was still too naive. Lu Nian clenched his fists in silence. It’s all my fault for being so insignificant. I don’t have the power to protect Little Grand-Uncle Master.

Wen Xu was forced to become an unofficial member of Refining Peak. Of course, he didn’t believe Senior Brother Zheng was truly helpless to stop the furnace from exploding, but… this place was indeed a good spot to practice his swordplay.

Although Wen Xu looked like a refined, gentle soul, he was actually someone who could endure great hardship.

His foundation in martial arts was indeed very weak, even to the point of being negligible, but he was highly intelligent. Wind was everywhere, and he was the person on this mountain most sensitive to it.

Naturally, when he lacked physical strength, wielding his sword with the wind allowed him to conserve his energy as much as possible, keeping the Nine Revolutions Sword Art running. And when his energy was abundant, wielding his sword against the wind allowed him to temper his body to the maximum.

Wen Xu immediately understood that he needed to forge a stronger body to adapt to the rapid leap in his cultivation. But on a deeper level, it was to better perceive the wind, to let the wind pass through his body, and to comprehend its power.

After practicing his swordplay for five consecutive days, Wen Xu finally attained a basic grasp of the Nine Revolutions Sword Art, and he could finally guide the wind brushing past his body solely by swinging his sword.

Wind was everywhere. Most of the time, it was gentle, warm, and inert. But a sword was a bladed weapon, a double-edged tool meant to harm. When the wind became sharp and keen enough, it could transform into a wind blade.

Perhaps I can try practicing with a saber, Wen Xu thought.

Being on Refining Peak, the one thing the peak did not lack was all kinds of weapons. Moreover, Wen Xu did not need any high-grade spiritual saber; he simply picked up a random saber from a scrap heap on Refining Peak to practice with.

But he quickly discovered that Chen Zui was right; he really was not suited for the saber.

The saber in his hands was not even as easy to control as the sword.

What about a spear? A staff? An axe? A hammer?

Wen Xu tested all eighteen types of weapons. Some felt relatively comfortable to use, while others were completely unsuitable for him. In the end, the sword remained the most natural. However, if he were to speak of the weapon that utilized the wind to its absolute limit, it was not the sword, but the bow and arrow.

More precisely, it was the bow. This was because the arrows used in archery did not need to be physical objects at all; they could be replaced entirely by long, sharp wind blades. Furthermore, the jade slip that described laying formations with the wind actually suited the bow and arrow much better in his hands.

At the very least, Wen Xu was not a sword-fighting genius, so his sword strikes were nowhere near as fast as wind arrows. Even the Wind-Folding Fan, the only magic tool he had on hand, could not compare to the combination of a bow and the wind.

But the bow also had a disadvantage: drawing the bow and aiming took time. During this interval, he would have no way to defend himself. It was a weapon better suited for teamwork.

Scholars often said that a gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall^[1]. If there was no danger, one could naturally take their time drawing the bow and aiming. Archery was indeed the martial art most suited for a scholar.

But he was no longer a scholar now; he was a cultivator.

Wen Xu did not like relying on others. He preferred to possess the absolute power to protect himself.

Therefore, between the sword and the bow, perhaps he could make some adjustments to the Wind-Folding Fan. Maybe I can learn a bit about artifact refining and try to make some modifications to the Wind-Folding Fan myself, Wen Xu thought.

Just then, he suddenly received a transmission talisman from Bian Chunzhou: “Ahhhhh! Wen Xuxu, I succeeded! I broke through! I really am a totally ordinary little cultivation genius^[2]!”

Wen Xu stared at the transmission talisman in a daze for a moment, then burst out laughing. Who on earth praised themselves as a genius? Only Bian Chunzhou would do such a thing.