Chapter Fifty-Three: Transferring Power

  On a sunny and beautiful afternoon, Su Jing wanted to teach me martial arts. My mood was complicated (suddenly feeling that the beginning of this chapter is quite atmospheric...).

  When it comes to learning martial arts, we are not unfamiliar with those predecessors who are famous for their martial arts. The style of those predecessors is impressive: Jue Yuan practiced the "Nine Suns Divine Skill" by carrying a few buckets of water; Tong Lin became invincible after circling a big tree for 8 years; As for Zhang Wuji, his learning process was not surprising at all, and Jin Yong finally let his protagonist fall off a cliff...

  But all of these are too far away from me, I have little confidence in delivering water and running around Lao Wu, let alone jumping off a cliff. So I'm very curious about what method Su Jing will use to turn me into an extraordinary master.

  I sat with Su Jing in the small dining hall, while Duan Tianya hid far away on one side. Although he was also very curious, he knew the rules and understood that teaching martial arts was a matter that outsiders should not overhear.

  Su Jing looked at me and said, "Normally, to become a sword child, you have to start with basic training like horse stance and endurance exercises. However, we don't have much time, so I'll share my experience with you and help you cultivate your sword energy quickly."

  "Come on, I'm ready."

  "First, I divide the human body into three regions from head to toe: the head, chest and abdomen, and legs. The head is used for thinking, when the enemy attacks with one move, you need to rely on it to analyze the enemy's movements, think of a way to defeat them, and your legs and feet need to take corresponding steps. If these two are well-coordinated, then even if your sword energy is not as good as the opponent's, you can still stand undefeated. Of course, these are all issues that need to be considered after entering the late stage of sword mastery or becoming a quasi-sword saint. Your main task now is to make your dantian produce sword energy, and the dantian is located in the middle region of your body..."

  "Wait a minute, you first tell me where the dantian is?" I knew this was a wonderful place, always hearing about the dantian.

  "Three inches below the belly button."

  I lowered my head and felt around: "Is it here?"

  Su Jingdao said, "Right, the chest and abdomen are the most critical areas for martial artists. They can provide you with a constant flow of sword energy, just like an armory. With a clear mind and correct footwork, it's not hard to become a general master, let alone a sword god."

  "Is it really that simple?"

  "You practice your sword energy first."

  "How to practice?"

  Su Jingdao said: "Ordinary people take four or five years to cultivate their first strand of sword energy because they waste most of their efforts on meditation and physical training. In fact, every ordinary person has existing energy in their dantian that can be transformed into sword energy with just a slight change. People take the long way around because they are initially unfamiliar with their own bodies and must go through a prolonged period of tempering and training to make their inner and outer selves resonate. The first strand of sword energy they cultivate after such a long time is essentially no different from the dantian energy within themselves, and they have wasted a great deal of time."

  I scratched my head and said: "Since you know, why didn't you tell them? Or directly publish a book, wouldn't it sell even better than the Bible?"

  Su Jing shook his head and said, "Even if I told you, there wouldn't be many people who could understand it. Besides, even if they did understand, it would only save them four or five years of time. They still need to cultivate step by step, and if they think there's a shortcut, they might not work hard and end up harming themselves. It's better to let them progress slowly but surely. I've never taken on any disciples because I'm afraid of misleading them, and also because I'm afraid of running into an idiot who would drive me crazy... mainly because I'm afraid of being driven crazy."

  I'm speechless, I've seen arrogant ones before, but never one as arrogant as this. A 20-year-old little girl treats the heroes of the world like dirt and says it with such a carefree tone. In her eyes, these people aren't even qualified to be her enemies, let alone her disciples!

  "Cut the chatter, I'll start teaching you how to convert your Dan Tian Qi into Sword Qi. Remember, it may sound simple, but it's not easy to achieve, so don't take it lightly."

  I said: "Can't, who made us Chinese?"

  "Okay, now close your eyes and don't think of anything."

  I did as I was told and asked: "What's next?"

  "Relax."

  I slowed down my breathing: "Then what?"

  "Relax again."

  I continued to slow down my breathing, and after a while, Su Jing seemed still not satisfied, so I had to breathe as if I was about to pass out. After a while, I suddenly turned bright red and panted: "Why aren't you talking? Are you trying to suffocate me?"

  Su Jingdao said: "I let you relax but didn't make you catch your breath."

  I slumped myself in the chair and said after a while: "Now I'm relaxed."

  "Now focus your mind and look inward..."

  I suddenly opened my eyes: "Wait, wait, what's this 'inner vision'?"

  "Just... withdraw your gaze and look at your own dantian."

  "How can I see my own dantian if I'm not an X-ray?"

  "...it's just a feeling, a feeling that the breath around your dantian is moving, and there are always some breaths that you can feel."

  "Oh." I closed my eyes again and lay flat on the chair.

  "Can you feel it?"

  "Not yet..."

  "Relax, with an empty mind. If you don't feel it, don't rush, your breath will wander around. Put your attention on a point and wait for it to appear."

  My hands and feet began to slip under the chair, just as Su Jing said softly: "Don't be too intentional, still need to pay attention to relaxation, what you need to do is to bring your gaze back to examine your inner self, just like seeing another landscape..."

  ...and then I didn't hear anything else after that...

  After an unknown period of time, I suddenly felt a heavy push on my chest and hurriedly opened my eyes, dazedly asking: "Huh, what time is it?"

  "Right now, Su Jing's nose isn't a nose and his face isn't a face as he says: 'I'm telling you to introspect, not sleep!'"

  "I didn't sleep!"

  Duan Tianya said with a grin on one side: "Stop pretending, you're already snoring."

  I said with a smile: "I didn't sleep well last night."

  Su Jing's face turned pale with anger, and she suddenly pointed at Duan Tianya, saying: "You!"

  "Ah?" Duan Tianya exclaimed in surprise.

  "You come teach him."

  "You can't even do it, how can I?"

  Su Jingdao: "Have you ever had an apprentice?"

  "Duan Tianya said with some pride: 'My great disciple has already reached the level of a swordsman.'"

  Su Jingdao said: "That's good, you teach him, just like teaching an enlightened apprentice."

  Duan Tianya leaned over: "Then I'll give it a try?"

  Su Jing said to me, "Maybe I have asked too much of you, and the many unrelated things I've told you have disturbed your mind. It's also my fault for not having experience in teaching apprentices. Now let's try another way. You learn step by step, and maybe it will spark your feelings."

  I muttered: "Oh."

  "I'll leave for a while and won't disturb you." Su Jing went to one side.

  Duan Tianya sat down in the place where Su Jing had just been sitting, his eyes shining with excitement. "I never thought I'd have the chance to teach the Sword God a thing or two," he exclaimed. "I must have accumulated some good karma in my past life! Come on, let's get started." Duan Tianya pushed the chair forward and said, "However, if you want to learn from me, you'll have to start by squatting in a horse stance for at least half a year."

  I: “……”

  Duan Tianya hastily waved his hand and said, "I know there's no time left, so I'll assume you've already reached the level where you should be practicing meditation to cultivate your energy. Close your eyes, focus on your dantian, and then inject the excess energy inside your body into it..."

  "I'm out of breath!"

  Duan Tianya was taken aback and said, "It's impossible. Although you haven't studied hard or practiced diligently, you're still young and vigorous, so even if you haven't practiced before, you must have excess energy. As long as you learn this method and infuse a little into your dantian every day, one day your dantian will be full and the eight extraordinary meridians will all be connected. Then you'll be able to release the first strand of sword energy. However, for better results, from today on, you still need to squat in horse stance."

  Although I still don't understand, Su Jing wants me to be self-sufficient from the inside out, while Duan Tianya wants me to save and accumulate little by little. The boundaries are different, and it's clear which one is higher. It's like Su Jing directly threw a card at me and said that as long as I can come up with the password, I can spend freely; while Duan Tianya told me the password early on, but I have to deposit money bit by bit, and suddenly I lost interest.

  Duan Tianya was very enthusiastic, being able to teach the former Sword God for a while made him feel very accomplished. Seeing me dazed, he asked with concern: "How is it, have you learned?"

  "I pretended to be very interested and asked: 'Old Duan, you said it took you 7 months to go from an ordinary person to a sword boy?'"

  Duan Tianya said: "Yes, it's not me Duan boasting, 7 months in the mainland is already considered a rare occurrence."

  I smiled and said, "Haven't you suffered a lot?"

  Duan Tianya sighed and said: "Needless to say? Others practice for 5 years, I finished in 7 months, you say it's not hard?"

  I sympathized: "Actually, you don't have to suffer so much."

  "What did you say?"

  "Your method of injecting air into the dantian is wrong, there is already air in the human dantian, you'd better take it out instead of putting it in, 7 months of hard work are wasted, not to mention wasting a sword energy in the dantian."

  Duan Tianya's face changed greatly as he asked: "Who told you?"

  I rushed to Su Jingnuo's mouth, Duan Tiangong slapped his forehead in regret: "Unfortunately, I didn't have a good teacher at that time, and 7 months of hard work were wasted."

  I comforted him saying: "There's no need to be sad, after becoming a sword child, the levels that follow still have to be taken one step at a time. You've just wasted some time, that's all."

  "A little? That's 7 months! If I had spent those 7 months practicing, I might have already reached the middle stage of sword mastery." He said, no longer having the patience to teach me. Struggling to get up, he bowed to Su Jing and said, "I'm feeling depressed, not in the mood for teaching. Please forgive me, Sword God Su." After that, he ran off to the side to sulk by himself...

  Su Jian walked over and sat down again, staring at me with a smug expression: "You're quite good at thinking of ways to get out of things, but you haven't learned anything yet. First, you managed to scare the teacher away."

  "Hehe, who made him let me squat for half a year first? I think you're more reliable."

  "Alright, let's start again - close your eyes, relax..."

  This time the effect was even more obvious, and before she finished speaking, I fell asleep with a tilt of my head...

  Division line

  Lately, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I often dream of sleeping in class. I really miss those days when I never had insomnia!