The punishment that was so easily inflicted on her had finally come to an end, leaving Luo Jinxiu once again idle and unable to use her spiritual energy. She spent her days aimlessly sweeping the courtyard or daydreaming by the yellow dog.
As for the poor beast she had summoned, it only appeared to be ferocious, sleeping in a corner all day long, but it had an astonishingly voracious appetite, capable of eating half a cow every day.
At first, Luo Jinxiu was able to get some food from the mess hall, but later she was forbidden to do so. The people there would close their doors and windows as soon as they saw her, as if they were afraid of a thief.
One day, when Luo Jinxiu wanted to go hunting, he saw Luo Ning secretly crawling down from the wall, carrying a large package on her back. The poor beast seemed to sense something and immediately jumped at it, drooling profusely.
“Shh, shh, shh,” Luo Ning hurriedly raised a finger and looked worriedly at the door, afraid that Elder Willow would discover them.
“How did you get here?” Luo Jinxiu stood up and went to help her.
“This place is too far away, and I didn’t dare to use spiritual energy for fear of arousing Elder Willow’s suspicion, so I had to come secretly to bring you some things,” Luo Ning stealthily landed and placed the package on the ground, and the poor beast, already smelling the blood, excitedly buried its head in it and began sniffing enthusiastically.
“I caught a wild boar in the forest this morning,” Luo Ning smiled proudly and asked for approval.
Luo Jinxiu patted her shoulder and smiled even brighter than she did.
The door behind them creaked open and Elder Willow walked out with an angry look on her face. Luo Jinxiu was used to his eccentric temper, so she stood still, but Luo Ning was startled and greeted him respectfully.
“Why does Master have time to go out today?” Luo Jinxiu beamed at him.
Elder Willow sighed, her face filled with helplessness, and waved her hand. “Ever since I took you in, my courtyard has never been peaceful. What about today?”
He looked at the poor beast lying on the ground and suddenly understood.
“Since you’ve been resting for a few days, I think your body has recovered. Starting today, you can resume your training. In the future, you will not need any manuals – I will teach you personally,” Elder Willow sighed deeply.
“Really, Master?” Luo Jinxiu was both surprised and pleased. She ran up to Elder Willow and said, “You finally agreed to teach your disciple?”
Elder Willow frowned and nodded reluctantly. “I made it clear beforehand – if you truly are a block of wood that cannot be carved, I will not waste any more effort on you. I’ll let you come and go as you please.”
Luo Jinxiu nodded vigorously, unable to contain her excitement.
In just over ten days here, she had experienced a strong desire to become stronger, something she had never felt before.
“Do you have a sword?” Elder Willow asked.
Luo Jinxiu was about to shake her head when she felt Luo Ning tug on her sleeve and hand her a small package.
Seeing the confused look in Luo Jinxiu’s eyes, Luo Ning said quietly, “After you and Senior Uncle Qu disappeared that day, I went back to the forest to wait for you. But you did not return, and instead, Senior Uncle Qu did. She asked me to give you this package, saying that it contained your weapon.”
Luo Jinxiu looked at the small and delicate package embroidered with a large red hibiscus flower. It seemed to exude a faint fragrance that belonged to Qu Weiying. Intrigued, she shook it; the package was heavy.
“Since it was given by that girl, it must be something good. I am very poor and have nothing suitable for you to use,” Elder Willow nodded in satisfaction. “Well, I’m going to take a nap and come back later.”
With that, Elder Willow returned to his house, his long robe billowing in the wind.
“Sister, quickly open it and see what’s inside,” Luo Ning was even more excited than Luo Jinxiu. Intrigued, Luo Jinxiu untied the soft straps of the package and reached inside. It was quite large, but empty. As her hand reached inside, she felt the hard grip of a sword.
She pulled it out and a shiny sword appeared in her hand. The silver-white sword was light and agile, easy to wield, and had a resounding impact. Although it wasn’t as rare as a divine sword, it was a formidable weapon that could cut through iron like mud.
“Sister, this is a precious sword kept in the Spirit Weapon Pavilion, and I never thought that Senior Uncle Qu would let you use it,” Luo Ning exclaimed, unable to contain her joy as she danced around with excitement.
“It is indeed a fine sword,” Luo Jinxiu said with a suppressed smile. With a flick of her wrist, she gracefully created a display of sword flowers in the air, causing silvery reflections to fill the room, resembling a gentle shower of snowflakes.
“Sister, why is Senior Uncle Qu so kind to you? You should know that no one dares to provoke her in the slightest at Regretless Gate,” Luo Ning asked as she lovingly touched the sword, her curiosity piqued.
Luo Jinxiu shook her head, confused. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I suppose it’s a form of gratitude.
Although she was unsure about this conclusion, she was still satisfied with it.
After Luo Ning finished delivering the items, she hurried back to continue her training. Alone at last, Luo Jinxiu, barely able to wait until evening, burst into the room excitedly, startling Elder Willow who was sipping his tea.
“What’s all this noise? This isn’t dignified behavior,” Elder Willow scolded, glaring at her with displeasure, his trembling hand now steady.
Luo Jinxiu’s excitement remained unchanged as she stood up straight and asked Elder Willow, “Master, what are we going to learn?
“Your talent is lacking, so you will start with the basics – sword control. In a few days, there will be a unified test for the new disciples, and the winner will have a chance to go to the Heavenly Realm, where they can summon spirit weapons. However, don’t set your sights on that, just don’t do badly in the written test, that’s my wish,” Elder Willow said soberly, carefully putting down his plain teacup.
Luo Jinxiu did not mind the slight condescension in his words. She respectfully pulled out the sword that Qu Weiying had given her and held it in front of her with great reverence.
“Please teach me, Master,” she said.
Elder Willow looked at her, then nodded slightly and blew on the hot tea in his cup. He couldn’t help but admire her – that calm and collected demeanor was remarkable. If only she wasn’t so talented, teaching her everything he knew wouldn’t be such a daunting task.
Unfortunately, he shook his head slightly.
“Hold your breath and channel your energy into your soul,” Elder Willow said as he looked down at the blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand. He paused in mid-sentence, then continued, “Anyway, let’s go. If you can’t control the sword, you might end up smashing my house to pieces.”
“Okay,” Luo Jinxiu said and immediately took her sword and jumped out of the door.
“That girl,” Elder Willow shook his head with a helpless expression, then followed her out.
“The unity of man and sword, heaven and man combined,” he continued.
Before he finished speaking, the sword in Luo Jinxiu’s hand seemed to come alive, lifting her effortlessly into the air. Feeling a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt in a long time, she joyfully circled twice in the air before coming to a stop.
Elder Willow almost threw the teacup at her.
With her skill level, she was clearly not a beginner.
Luo Jinxiu could also sense that something was wrong. According to the small amount of spiritual energy in her body, she shouldn’t have found it so easy. Yet, here she was, standing on the sword as if she were on solid ground, with an abundance of spiritual energy still flowing through her, not depleted as it should have been.
Could it be that the spiritual energy in her body hadn’t dissipated after the forbidden technique she used that day?
It seemed like she had never heard of such a nonsensical occurrence.
“When did you learn the sword control skill?” Elder Willow asked with a frown.
Luo Jinxiu opened her mouth, but hesitated. She thought that she might have revealed herself too quickly, but then she reconsidered. Concealment was useless; it might be better to be honest and straightforward.
“It’s just that I have heard and practiced your mantra in the past,” Luo Jinxiu replied, scratching her head.
Elder Willow waved her hand to signal her to come down, and Luo Jinxiu obediently did so, although she felt a little uncomfortable.
As the pale blue spiritual energy flowed into her spiritual aperture, Luo Jinxiu closed her eyes and felt a sense of anticipation. If she could restore her previous spiritual energy, even if it was only half, it would be better than being a waste of space.
After what seemed like an eternity, Elder Willow finally lowered his hand and looked at Luo Jinxiu, unable to hide his astonishment.
“You don’t need to practice sword-fighting anymore. Tomorrow, you will practice with them, and if you can’t make it, come and ask me,” he said.
Luo Jinxiu was about to ask a question, but Elder Willow interrupted her.
“Prepare for the test. If you can win, you will have a handy spirit weapon that will be beneficial to your cultivation. Remember,” he suddenly lowered his voice, “before the final test, do not reveal your true abilities to anyone unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Luo Jinxiu understood his meaning, her face showing surprise as her voice trembled, “Are you saying… the disciple has spiritual power now?”
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