Volcanic Age

Along with the winter, one year went by, and Zhou Xuchuan was now ten.

It had been a few months since he started climbing the cliff under the name of "improvement exercise."

“Well done.” Liu Zhengmu smiled, tearing up. “The past few months must have been challenging, but you persevered. Now, you no longer need to climb the cliff.”

Then he proceeded to wipe his eyes with his sleeves, proud of his disciple who had carried out his teachings to the end.

“No more cliffs… no more cliffs… no more cliffs… please, no more cliffs, please no more encouragement. Rocks are falling from the sky…” Zhou Xuchuan muttered in a daze.

His eyes looked like that of a dead fish. The so-called improvement exercise happened for months. Well, it was more akin to hellish training than a mere improvement exercise.

In comparison, the Wild Goose Hell was nothing. Despite pushing them to their limits, there wasn’t any threat to their lives. It just ended with pain.

The cliff climbing, however, was a different story. Even the slightest moment of relaxation was dangerous. Zhou Xuchuan had slipped off the cliff on numerous occasions because he misstepped or dozed off.

Above all, what he hated the most was that he couldn’t cry at his master and tell him to stop.

If he were to, for example, say that he couldn’t continue, Liu Zhengmu\'s thunderous voice echoed, “It’s okay, you can do it!”

The problem was that his voice was filled with passion and encouragement that gravel and rocks were shaken off the surface of the cliff.

Zhou Xuchuan didn’t even want to think about what happened during those times. The well-intended encouragement had nearly cost him his life on more than one occasion, so he ultimately decided to stop complaining.

Stop?

He wanted to hundreds if not thousands of times. However, when he barely managed to reach the top of the cliff, Liu Zhengmu rushed over in a flash and embraced him before speaking apologetically.

“I’m very sorry that I had to put you through this. But I cannot help it because this is for your sake. Resent me instead.”

He was the only person whom he could call family in both his previous life and current life. When such a person apologized several times with his face filled with guilt, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he wanted to quit.

I’d rather he beat me up with a club instead…

If that happened, he would’ve really snapped and rebelled or something. In this case… he couldn’t do anything.

Ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to stop the improvement exercise, including the dreaded rock climbing, and ended up completing it.

Although he had an easier time the more he repeated it, it just meant that he had become more proficient, and the danger still remained the same.

Whenever he slipped or rocks tumbled down, his life flashed before his eyes multiple times.

Fortunately, the effect of the training was just as good as it was dangerous. During the past few months, Zhou Xuchuan had grown a lot. He would be dragged by his master to climb up the cliff as soon as he started resting after morning training at the training district.

At first, it took the whole day to climb to the top, with numerous breaks in between due to how difficult it was. However, Zhou Xuchan soon came to regret taking those breaks.

He realized that the danger grew as night fell, and after that realization, he rarely took a break, no matter how difficult it was.

He only took minimal rest and focused on climbing up the cliff before evening.

After he finished climbing, he would return to his residence and massage his muscles. He would then replenish his empty dantian through qi circulation before falling asleep.

This kind of training method had significant benefits. The constant rock climbing increased his stamina and muscular strength. The climb taxed his body, especially his muscles, which were then healed by the internal energy he recovered through qi circulation he did before sleeping.

As a result of the repeated training every day, he grew rapidly. Zhou Xuchuan was only ten years old, but looked to be fourteen on the outside. Zhou Xuchuan was worried that he might not grow in height thanks to the excessive growth, but thankfully, he grew taller as well.

This was thanks to the internal energy from the Water Spiritual Fruit, as well as the vitality and recovery he had gained through the Plum Blossom Life Art.

***

The next day, the first thing he felt when he opened his eyes was relief. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about how he didn’t have to deal with the dangerous rock climbing anymore.

If someone questioned him about breaking his routine from the past few months, he might be tempted to slap them in the face.

Zhou Xuchuan trained the Plum Blossom Fist in the training district just as usual.

“Hm?”

The instructor, Tie Xiong, looked at Zhou Xuchuan.

He’s hitting a growth spurt, huh? He’s grown again.

The fact that a ten-year-old looked like a fourteen-year-old was unusual, but it wasn’t like it was unprecedented.

Unlike the outside world, meals were balanced and were eaten regularly, and most of their time was spent moving or training their bodies, so it would be more surprising if they didn’t experience such growth.

Zhou Xuchuan, huh. He is learning the Plum Blossom Fist pretty quickly. He’ll grow up pretty decent.

Tie Xiong smiled in satisfaction at the thought.

“Huu, I wonder what I’m going to be doing today.”

Zhou Xuchuan returned to his residence. He had already reached the final stage in the Plum Blossom Fist. It wasn’t that difficult in the first place, and he had mastered it in his previous life.

Originally, he would be going to the cliff at this hour, so it felt very awkward to stay in his residence like this. However, that awkwardness was pleasant.

About fifteen minutes later, the door opened, and Liu Zhengmu came in.

“Master.”

“You seem pleased.” Liu Zhengmu smiled softly.

Yes, I’m so happy that I’m not going to the cliff.

He almost blurted his thoughts out loud. He felt like Liu Zhengmu would say, "Do you hate being with your master that much?" and sulk.

“You feel the urge to move, don’t you?”

“No… I mean, yes. A little.”

He just wanted to lie down and not move a muscle, seriously.

“Haha, I knew you’d say that. Well, come outside for now.”

He followed Liu Zhengmu outside. The two of them went to a personal training ground nearby. Although it wasn’t that large, they were alone here.

Liu Zhengmu pointed at the wooden sword he had prepared beforehand.

“There, use that one for today. Starting today, I’ll teach you how to use the sword.”

Aah, it’s that time already.

Mount Hua was known for its swordplay. The martial arts of the sect only truly began once one held a sword. That was how important the sword was. It was a sentiment shared by the disciples, as well as the masters and instructors of the sect.

Before holding the sword, they focused on training the body and its resilience. In his previous life, Zhou Xuchuan was overjoyed when his master promised to teach him swordsmanship.

“Well then. I’ll now demonstrate the sword technique that you will be learning. This is the Plum Blossom Sword.”

Liu Zhengmu executed the basic sword art of Mount Hua, the Plum Blossom Sword Art. He purposely slowed down his movements so that the disciple could clearly engrave it into his eyes.

Hm.

Zhou Xuchuan sat down on the floor in a corner of the training ground and watched as his master displayed the art.

I know all of it already.

He was one of the Five High Elders before he had come back in time, and he had reached the Harmony Realm just before he died. In regards to sword arts, he had surpassed Liu Zhengmu in terms of skill.

The Plum Blossom Sword Art was so easy that there was no need to practice. He just needed to get used to executing them just like he did with the Plum Blossom Fists.

No, he didn’t even need that much time. The Plum Blossom Fist and the Plum Blossom Sword Art shared nearly identical foundations, and as long as one knew the foundations, they could easily perform the other. There was a reason why the Plum Blossom Fist was taught first.

However, this didn’t mean that he could simply tell his master that he knew the Plum Blossom Sword Art better than he did. In the end, he had no choice but to act like he was really interested.

Hm, he is a Peak Realm expert, huh…

After Third Class, Second Class, and First Class, a cultivator would reach the Peak Realm. Only then would a martial artist be considered an expert.

From what I remember, Master passed away just before reaching the Absolute Realm.

Recalling his previous life brought mixed emotions, especially when it involved his master, who had been a father figure to him.

Liu Zhengmu lay in bed, his eyes closed in discomfort. He didn’t want to picture his last moments even now.

In any case, Liu Zhengmu was at the top, even in the Peak Realm. He was one step away from the Absolute Realm, but he was ultimately unable to overcome that boundary.

...Huh?

As he followed the Plum Blossom Sword Art with his eyes, a thought suddenly dawned on him.

What master lacks is not internal qi, but enlightenment. If I can teach him that…

Martial artists, especially those who were unable to break through to the next realm, often sought advice from other cultivators. This was true for both novices and experts. Both of them listened to the words of experts more powerful than them. Most times, insights from those that had already broken through to the next realm would provide clues for those looking to advance.

Although it wasn\'t common in the real world, there were many people in seeking out experts for that very enlightenment.

Yes, that’s it!

He snapped back to reality.

If he is unable to break through to the next realm because of his lack of enlightenment, I can just help him.

It was fortunate that Liu Zhengmu was in the Peak Realm. If he happened to be in the Absolute Realm, struggling to reach the Harmony Realm, even Zhou Xuchuan wouldn’t be able to help him then.

The sturdiness of that barrier was one thing, but experts of the Harmony Realm each had their own unique ways and enlightenments that allowed them to reach that state.

I don’t need to teach him either. If I just check what he wants to know and give him a clue…

Martial arts was just like studying, and telling someone the answer was meaningless. Knowing the answer didn’t mean comprehension. Not only would it not resolve the problem, it might instead make the barrier sturdier.

Good, let’s try.

For some reason, it seemed like the role between master and disciple had been reversed, but he couldn’t care about something so trivial. His master was the one who saved him when he was a helpless orphan thrust into this world with no knowledge.

To Zhou Xuchuan, his master was the sky and the whole world. Even the Head of the Martial Alliance or the emperor wouldn’t begin to compare to him.

Even after he had come back in time, his respect and gratitude toward his master had remained unchanged, and he was willing to become a bloodthirsty devil if it was for his sake.

Master is definitely not someone who will stay in the Peak Realm.