In the courtyard of the Qingyun Sect, sunlight filtered through the branches of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows.
Jiang Li swept the last fallen leaf into the bamboo basket with a clean and efficient motion. She dusted off her hands and walked over to Lin Zhou, who was lying in a rocking chair, humming a little tune with his eyes half-closed. Her tone carried a hint of barely perceptible expectation: "Master, the floor is finished sweeping."
After a pause, seeing that Lin Zhou didn't react, she added, with a touch of girlish stubbornness: "Now, can you teach me? I've done all the work."
The shock Jiang Li experienced during her time at the Qingyun Sect was greater than all the shocks she had received since her reincarnations.
Her master, seemingly lazy to the extreme, casually tossed a spear to her senior brother that was an imperial-level divine weapon, and his casual pointers on spear intent could lead even a Golden Core cultivator to enlightenment; the crooked old locust tree in the courtyard, despite having gained sentience, could conceal its aura as ordinary as a stone, and occasionally at night she could feel its shadow swaying gently, as if it were cultivating; the little chick that Lin Zhou had picked up in the corner looked harmless and fluffy, but every time she approached it, she felt her soul go numb, as if she were facing a sleeping primordial monster; and the stray dog that always lay at Lin Zhou's feet, though it looked like a mongrel, the slightest aura it occasionally leaked made even this reincarnated empress's heart tremble—that was the oppressive aura only a colossal demon who had lived for over ten thousand years possessed!
Lin Zhou seemed to take all of this for granted. Every day, besides sunbathing and taking a nap, he would casually offer a few pointers while she was working.
On the first day, as she was sweeping, Lin Zhou pointed to the fallen leaves scattered by the wind: "A sword is not just about slashing. Going with the flow is more energy-efficient than brute force." Jiang Li paused in her grip on the broom, and her understanding of swordsmanship seemed to have subtly improved.
The next day, as she wiped the table in the bamboo house, Lin Zhou watched her use her spiritual power to brush away the dust: 'Spiritual power isn't for showing off. Even the smallest details require careful attention to clean.' She suddenly understood, and her control over her spiritual power became several times more precise.
On the third day, she was chopping wood on the back mountain when Lin Zhou, with a blade of grass in his mouth, said, "Chopping wood is about observing the wood grain, and drawing a sword is about looking for weaknesses; it's all the same principle." Her axe-wielding motion paused, and the hesitation in her swordplay inexplicably disappeared.
On the fifth day, she was sorting through the 'junk' Lin Zhou had casually tossed in the yard when Lin Zhou pointed to a cracked stone: 'Looking at the outside is useless; what's inside is valuable.' As soon as he finished speaking, she felt a roar in her mind, and the bottleneck that had troubled her for so long began to loosen!
...
At this moment, Jiang Li stood before Lin Zhou, her eyes shining brightly. She knew that her master's guidance, though seemingly casual, was full of profound wisdom, far more exquisite than any imperial scripture she had ever read in her previous life.
Lin Zhou yawned, sat up from the rocking chair, and glanced at her: "What do you want me to teach you? I don't know how to use a sword."
Jiang Li: "..." She was already used to her master's "humility".
She gripped the rusty iron sword at her waist tightly—ever since Lin Zhou threw it to her that day, she had been polishing it day and night. Although the seal had not been completely broken, she could already feel the sleeping imperial sword intent within the sword becoming more and more in harmony with her own aura.
“Master, you can say whatever you want,” Jiang Li said earnestly.
Lin Zhou thought for a moment, then pointed to the mountain path outside the courtyard gate: "Going up the mountain is easy, but going down is hard. Cultivation is the same. If you make rapid progress, you have to learn to keep your footing."
These words were unremarkable, but to Jiang Li they were like a thunderclap!
With the help of the spiritual energy of the Nine Revolutions Gathering Spirit Array, her cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds, and she has already touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm. However, she always feels that something is missing, which is the principle of "standing firm" - foundation!
In her previous life, she was an empress with an incredibly solid foundation. After reincarnation, she was so eager to recover that she neglected the most basic foundation!
"Disciple understands!" Jiang Li's eyes flashed with brilliance. She bowed deeply to Lin Zhou, then turned and rushed to her room, sat down cross-legged, and began her attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm!
Lin Zhou watched her retreating figure and scratched his head: "You understand now? I haven't finished yet..." He originally wanted to say, "Don't fall down the mountain."
He shrugged, lay back in the rocking chair, and continued sunbathing.
Inside the room, Jiang Li incorporated Lin Zhou's words "step firmly" into her mental cultivation technique. Her originally restless spiritual energy instantly became calm, like a gentle stream slowly washing over every tiny node in her meridians.
In my past life, it took me eight years to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage. At that time, I was hailed as a genius who only appeared once every thousand years. Normally, it would take at least a hundred years to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. However, with my master, I broke through in just a few days. My master is truly terrifying.
The golden core within her dantian began to tremble and shatter. A small nascent soul, identical in appearance to Jiang Li, slowly rose from the fragments of the golden core and opened its eyes.
"Buzz—"
A powerful aura erupted from the house, the pressure of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator spreading like a tide, causing the leaves in the yard to rustle. Even the stray dog lying on the ground raised its head, glanced at the house, and then lazily lay back down.
The branches of the old locust tree swayed gently, as if offering congratulations.
The chick in the corner flapped its wings twice and chirped.
Lin Zhou squinted as the breath hit him, and casually said, "Oh, you've broken through."
He took an apple out of his storage ring, took a bite, and looked at the room shrouded in a halo of spiritual energy. He muttered, "This girl is making good progress, much less of a worry than that kid Xiao Chen... I just wonder if she'll cause less trouble after we go down the mountain."
Inside the room, Jiang Li slowly finished her cultivation, feeling the immense power brought by the nascent soul within her body, her eyes filled with shock and awe.
With just a simple "step firmly," she successfully broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, even with a more solid foundation than when she was at the same level in her previous life!
Just who is this master?
Jiang Li stepped out of the house, her red dress dazzling in the sunlight. She walked up to Lin Zhou and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Lin Zhou waved his hand and tossed the half-eaten apple core to the stray dog: "Alright, now that you've broken through, go practice your swordsmanship in the back mountain. Don't wander around in the yard and block my sun."
Jiang Li: "..."
She watched as her master closed his eyes again, looking as if nothing was happening to her. Helplessly, she shook her head and turned to walk towards the back mountain.
In the instant she turned around, a faint, expectant smile appeared on the corner of the girl in red's mouth.
Perhaps, staying in this dilapidated Qingyun Sect and following this lazy master is truly the luckiest thing she has ever done in her life... no, in both her lives.
Lin Zhou, completely unaware, had casually offered guidance that would give rise to a future powerhouse who would make the entire Southern Region tremble.
His mind is now filled with thoughts of: What should we eat for lunch? Chicken soup or roast chicken?
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