Chapter 20: What

Ji Jiuxuan felt a bit helpless, but since she had promised to be available whenever called, she decided to accept it. Whether she was summoned or not was her own concern.

With that thought, she walked toward the place she had agreed to meet her master. It was a courtyard behind the Academy of Learning, emanating an air of refined elegance.

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, Ji Jiuxuan noticed a distinct difference. From outside, it appeared ordinary, its architecture simply grand, but inside, it was a world apart. As soon as she entered, abundant spiritual energy swept toward her. Standing in the center, she found the spiritual energy within her body circulating faster, gathering more swiftly.

Though she knew little about formations, her senses were keen—there was something special about the array here.

“Come in,” Zhou Guangsheng’s voice sounded, and the door opened in response.

Ji Jiuxuan obediently entered the house. Seeing the towering bookshelves arranged around the living room, she was astonished. Apart from places like the Repository Pavilion, such a sight was impossible elsewhere. In the cultivation world, most people had spatial rings, and yet, she couldn’t quite understand—these books seemed different from ordinary ones, each glowing with a unique radiance.

Fortunately, there were windows all around, providing excellent lighting.

She bowed before Zhou Guangsheng at his desk. “Master.”

“Hmm, you’re here. Sit,” Zhou Guangsheng said, raising his hand so the books on the desk flew to the bookshelves, joining the sea of books.

Ji Jiuxuan sat opposite him, quietly waiting.

“You were born with the Sword Body. Your main path will naturally be sword cultivation. Have you thought about learning anything else?” Zhou Guangsheng looked at Ji Jiuxuan seriously.

Her grandfather had already asked her this before she came, but facing her master now, knowing she could fool the system and change its constraints, her answer was different.

“Master, may I learn one subject or several?”

Earlier, she had sent a communication token to ask her grandfather. He never expected Zhou Guangsheng would accept her as a disciple; his plan was to help her find an alchemy master.

But when Zhou Guangsheng offered to take her as his pupil, he immediately agreed, for Zhou Guangsheng was a treasure trove in human form—there seemed to be nothing in the world he could not do, nothing he did not know.

Qi Shuoyuan’s exact words were: “Ah Jiu, whatever you want to learn, tell your master. He can teach anything.”

Everything? Could there truly be such an omnipotent person in this world?

“You may learn as many as you wish, so long as you can manage,” Zhou Guangsheng replied gently, though Ji Jiuxuan sensed a certain severity. “Once you choose, you must see it through to the end. Learn well.”

Ji Jiuxuan understood the principle of not biting off more than one can chew. “Master, there are many things I want to learn—alchemy, artifact forging, formations, talismans. I want to learn them all, but I fear I won’t be able to master them right away. Which do you think I should start with?”

Zhou Guangsheng smiled; this little girl was truly clever. “Each requires long practice. Alchemy and artifact forging will help you control the fire element. Start with those two.”

With that, two books flew from the shelves to the table. One was “The Classic of All Things,” the other “A Thousand Hammerings.” Zhou Guangsheng handed them to Ji Jiuxuan. “These are the foundations for those two disciplines. Take them home and study thoroughly before returning.”

“Thank you, Master!” Ji Jiuxuan stored the books in her spatial ring.

“In the future, you may come to my courtyard to practice swordsmanship. There are special formations here that are especially effective.”

Hearing this, Ji Jiuxuan happily stood up. “Master, I’ll go practice swordsmanship now. I haven’t practiced today’s sword forms yet!”

“Very well.” Zhou Guangsheng smiled and led her to the backyard, where there was a training ground—empty, but the engraved array patterns around it made Ji Jiuxuan realize it was extraordinary.

“You haven’t cultivated yet today?” He’d heard about the morning’s events, and since she had come to the Academy in the afternoon, she must not have practiced yet.

“Yes.” Ji Jiuxuan felt helpless. Such a fine morning, yet she’d been restricted—truly unfortunate.

“Then cultivate as you usually do.” Zhou Guangsheng signaled for Ji Jiuxuan to step onto the platform.

Having spent over an hour on basic lessons at the Academy, she now had three hours left for training.

She set aside running for now, continuing with fist and sword forms.

Standing on the platform, she took a deep breath, calmed her mind, and immersed herself in the array.

The formation around her lit up. Ji Jiuxuan focused wholly on her practice, unaware that the fire element in the spiritual energy was gathering ever more densely, and her absorption of spiritual power was accelerating.

The purpose of fist forms was to temper the body. This time, she felt each movement subjected her to intense pressure.

Exhausting, yet solid—the spiritual energy entering her body split, nourishing every part under the aid of gravity.

Afraid of exceeding the time again, she practiced ten sets without stopping, and by the end, she was drenched as if pulled from water.

Casting a cleansing spell on herself, she sat heavily on the ground, too tired to move.

“Now activate your cultivation method, enter the training state,” Zhou Guangsheng spoke at this moment.

Ji Jiuxuan was bewildered, but obediently sat cross-legged. In her mind, she said to the system, “I’m in recovery now, not cultivation.”

The system seemed to freeze for a moment, feeling her words were right, yet something seemed off. In the end, the sense of correctness outweighed the doubt, and it determined, “Yes, host, recovery time doesn’t count as cultivation time.”

Ji Jiuxuan secretly rejoiced—she’d found a loophole after all.

Sometimes, the system felt clever, other times less so.

Calming herself, Ji Jiuxuan entered cultivation.

Since she first drew spiritual energy into her body, she had rarely entered true meditation. Usually, her cultivation technique ran naturally, absorbing spiritual energy on its own.

Ji Jiuxuan carefully observed the difference between meditative cultivation and natural operation, finding the only distinction was speed.

Additionally, in deep meditation, she gained some control over the spiritual energy.

Zhou Guangsheng stood nearby, reciting a formula. Ji Jiuxuan listened twice and memorized it. At that moment, she felt the spiritual energy begin to strengthen her muscles, bones, and flesh.

This result was truly delightful.

Usually, spiritual energy gathered in the dantian; muscles and bones were tempered only in the early stages.

Her master’s formula was incredibly effective.

Ji Jiuxuan opened her eyes, bright and clear, looking at Zhou Guangsheng. “Thank you, Master.”

“Hmm. Are you still tired?” Zhou Guangsheng smiled at her. This disciple’s aptitude surpassed her parents, and her understanding was remarkable.

“Not anymore.”

“Then continue,” Zhou Guangsheng said, and directly took out a chair and a book from his spatial ring, sitting not far from the training platform to watch.