Chapter 27: Learning, Xianxia Edition

For the nth time, Kiana arrived while Shi Tian was in the middle of his cultivating session. She saw something different this time, though.

“Ow!”

She thought something had gone in her eyes. She rubbed it off and found nothing.

“Ow!”

It happened again when she intently stared at Shi Tian. Staring at him would cause a slightly painful sensation. His literal aura is so sharp it can affect things.

Simultaneously, Kiana sensed the transparent blue gases gathering inside the room. Shi Tian was like a black hole, devouring everything in one go.

At this moment, it struck Kiana.

‘We haven’t fought for a while.’

She does not have a clear grasp of his current capabilities. The last time they competed, Kiana was slightly ahead of him. 

Admittedly, she was surprised at his progress. From a normal boy to someone experienced in fighting, he speed ran everything in two and a half months.

Even if his decision-making is below hers, it is supplemented by his strong physical body. His error tolerance is high enough for him to learn in every fight.

Kiana decided to wait for him before eating, something she will regret.

Half an hour soon passed. Kiana put down her phone and glanced at him.

“It’s not over yet…”

In the end, she finished eating her lunch without Shi Tian. Sleepiness struck her.

Two hours.

Three hours. 

Four hours…

“Hm..?”

Kiana woke up from her two hour nap. She looked at Shi Tian sitting on the couch.

“6:55 PM…Dinner already?”

She stood up from the bed and viewed his chest. Seeing it go up and down is enough to reassure her.

It took her forty minutes to return with the food. Shi Tian is still in his cultivation session. It continued until she felt sleepy again.

*****

“Fu…”

My cold exhale created a white fog. The hotel room’s air-conditioning unit must have been running for quite a while. My absorption of spiritual qi from the outside is halted. The trance-like state disappeared. I regained the clarity of my mind.

I looked around and saw the dim room. Only the lights in the ‘kitchen’ are turned on.

Rumble-!

My stomach roared in protest. I blinked my eyes and looked at the clock.

5:30 AM.

“Wait a second.”

I went into this sudden enlightenment in… 1:00 PM. 

“Hiss…”

Sixteen hours of pure cultivation. I feel very clear-headed. Did I unknowingly cultivate while sleeping?!

“What the fuck…”

I used my spiritual qi to scan my current state. It acted as my hands to see the imperceptible meridians and dantian.

“No, what the hell…”

My second dantian expanded by fifty percent or more. The tremendous spiritual qi inside my body allows me to cast spells at least twice than before. Not much has improved in my physical body.

Sword Heart.

I remembered what happened. I awakened the starting point of a sword cultivator—Sword Heart.

In terms of cultivating, the main focus is Body, Qi, and Mind cultivation. They correspond to the attributes. Sword cultivation, alchemy, talisman-making, and the likes are the ‘Jobs/Occupations’ that give a bunch of skills.

Sword Cultivation, as it says, is all about the sword. It is a discipline focused on sharpening oneself in relation to swords.

Sword Heart is the first of the ten levels of sword cultivation. It allows a practitioner to harness ‘Sword Qi’, turning their body as tough and sharp as a sword. It can also be used to ‘nurture’ a sword, increasing its sharpness and the likes.

Without that, one could not be called a sword cultivator.

The problem with that lies in the difficulty. Sword Heart is difficult to awaken in the Qi Refining realm. Even if I knew the requirements of its awakening (clarity of mind, facing one’s doubts, etc), it still took a lot of time.

I can guess that people should have started learning this in the Foundation Establishment realm.

“Remain steadfast, be true to oneself, and form your own sword intent. Foundation Establishment cultivators can use their ‘Spiritual Consciousness’ to spot their inner doubts…”

I realized by now. The state I went to yesterday is special. It is a one-time thing. I still need to find ways to cultivate while sleeping.

I relished in my serendipitous reward. With a thought, a vague silver light coated my right hand. Its sharpness can potentially harm someone just by looking at it.

“Huff…”

I ‘retracted’ the sword’s aura. I looked at my hand that turned normal again. Like a sword sheath, I can hide the sword’s momentum. It is a mandatory trait of sword cultivators.

Just then, my mind recalled something.

“Sword techniques!”

I can finally practice them! The fifty-three sword techniques I received the past two months..!

The reason why I can’t practice them is the Sword Heart. Without it, you can’t learn any techniques!

I browsed in my mind. A feeling surged from my heart.

As long as I try, I can use these techniques with my real body. Even the speed of practically learning them is cut short.

“Learning by application…”

The sword technique I created and remembered with photographic memory is fifty-three. One is enough for a cultivator to spend a long time. It is equivalent to me fully remembering fifty-three top-notch techniques. Although I did not practice them personally, the way to practice them is inside my head.

It’s similar to mathematics. You can solve algebra. The stronger your knowledge in basic operations and commutative laws, the more efficiently you solve an algebraic equation. These techniques act as the basic operations (i.e., foundation) while the technique I actually practice is algebra. 

Meaning, these techniques will help me even if I do not actually practice them.

As for that tongue-tied feeling…

“It’s the Dao Rhyme.”

Each technique I received went from Qi Refining straight to the fabled Immortal realm—it is an entire cheat sheet.

However, as the realms progressed, the number of foreign terminologies and poetic phrases increased. If I am reading a technical book in Qi Refining, then I am reading Shakespear's readings in the higher realms. Worse, it is also technical.

The difficulty increases as the realm progresses. I have to cross-reference numerous times.

This brings the need to plan my daily golden orb visits.

Before, I learned techniques however I wanted. If I feel like knowing more about alchemy, I will create a technique about alchemy. The same goes for talisman-making, sword cultivation, qi cultivation, and so on.

The more books I can cross-reference, the faster I understand things. If I can have a hundred books related to qi cultivation, I should be able to understand [Xiutian Jue] faster.

In short, additional techniques equate to nutrients to further my understanding and application to my main techniques.

“Huff…”

I stood up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. On the way, I opened my phone and saw Kiana’s messages.

[I placed your lunch and dinner inside the fridge.]

“She’s thoughtful…”

The Tuna is undoubtedly the best.