Chương 10: Sword Immortal, Spiritual Master

Cang Lian calmed down and, following Huang Lao's instructions, readjusted his stance, feeling the power rising from the soles of his feet.

All morning, Cang Lian struggled repeatedly with these two basic movements.

He was like a baby learning to walk, falling down again and again, getting up again and again.

Sweat stung his eyes, but he just blinked and continued practicing.

This kind of practice isn't about actually punching and generating power, so it doesn't require much physical exertion, but it's very boring.

Old Huang watched from the sidelines with great patience, constantly offering guidance.

"Open your shoulders!" he shouted in a low voice, demonstrating himself.

He stretched out his arms slowly, yet those around him could clearly see his shoulder blades moving like live fish under his skin.

"Rotate your hips!" His waist and hips were like a millstone, driving his upper body, and the trajectory of the power transmission was clearly visible.

Canglian followed Huang Lao in practicing.

His movements seemed somewhat clumsy, and there was a sense of sluggishness in his power at key points such as his shoulders and hips.

But he didn't get discouraged; he just kept trying, adjusting, and trying again.

Old Huang watched from the side, initially offering constant guidance, but later nodding frequently.

He had never seen such a temperamental young man, practicing so monotonously for hours on end without a break. Any other rich kid would probably have complained endlessly by now.

But Canglian, like a tireless ox, kept his head down and repeated the same thing over and over again.

All of this was observed by Gu Guolong, who was not far away.

In the record he was about to tell the First Madam, Cang Lian's performance was described as follows: he had decent talent, but he practiced extremely hard, repeating each movement hundreds of times.

Cang Lian practiced again and again, from morning until evening.

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the garden in a golden hue.

During one of his "Lazy Dragon Turns Over," Cang Lian's body finally emitted a soft "click," as if he had finally pushed open a crack in the rusty door.

For the first time, the power flowed smoothly from his waist and back, over his shoulders, and down to his fingertips.

"It's done!" He let out a long sigh of relief, a hint of satisfaction on his face after being "exhausted," and gave the dumbfounded Old Huang a bright smile.

[Shoulder opening: 1/100 (beginner)] He continued to try.

Once, twice, ten times... Sweat quickly soaked his clothes, and his shoulders burned with a burning pain, but he didn't care.

Like a most persistent craftsman, he painstakingly knocked on that rusty "door".

[Shoulder opening: 3/100 (beginner)] The benefits of the control panel are now clear: it provides feedback and displays your proficiency level as long as you practice correctly.

This allows him to find the most effective practice method as quickly as possible.

Cang Lian calmed down and, following Huang Lao's instructions, readjusted his stance, feeling the power rising from the soles of his feet.

He tried rotating his hips again, and this time, he could feel the power starting from the soles of his feet and traveling upwards.

Hip rotation: 1/100 (Beginner)

"You've mastered both shoulder opening and hip rotation, young master! You're a genius! How long has it been?" Old Huang exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration.

"It's all luck!" Cang Lian smiled.

"How can you say it's luck? This is all thanks to your exceptional talent and diligent cultivation, young master!" said Old Huang.

"Exceptional talent?" Cang Lian smiled.

However, this time, he deliberately concealed his true abilities.

With his comprehension and the aid of the control panel, he could have found the knack for all the movements within an hour.

But he knew that the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind.

To lull the Cang family into a false sense of security, he spent a whole day this time.

From stumbling and fumbling in the morning to gradually getting into the swing of things in the afternoon, until the moon rose above the willows and the sky gradually darkened, he finally "had an epiphany" and completely mastered the basic movements.

"Ten hours to learn the basics of shoulder opening and hip rotation. His talent is decent, but that's about it!" Gu Guolong saw all of this.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Cang Lian patted his clothes, let out a long sigh, and his face showed just the right amount of fatigue and satisfaction: "Let's stop here for today. Thank you for your hard work, Elder Huang!"

"It's no trouble at all! It's my honor to teach a genius like you, young master!" Old Huang smiled broadly, his eyes full of admiration.

Cang Lian nodded, then casually asked, as if he had just remembered something, "By the way, Elder Huang, I've heard that besides martial arts, there's another kind of cultivation called 'Sorcerer'? What's that all about?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Huang's expression turned slightly serious, and he lowered his voice: "Young Master, you are unaware of this. Sorcerers and martial arts are two paths that have been passed down since ancient times. One cultivates the spirit, and the other strengthens the body. Generally speaking, the imperial army relies on solid martial arts to charge into battle; while sorcerers mostly hide in Jianghu sects, appearing and disappearing like dragons."

"Is that so? Everyone says that sorcerers are mysterious and unpredictable. How do they usually cultivate?" Cang Lian asked, his eyes revealing the curiosity of a young man.

"The cultivation of sorcerers is completely different from that of us martial artists." Old Huang held up two fingers.

"Martial artists cultivate 'qi and blood,' 'tendons and bones,' and this physical body. We integrate our spirit into our qi and blood, achieving a unity of spirit and flesh, pursuing ultimate reaction and speed, so fast that it is imperceptible to the naked eye, able to dodge bullets instinctively. But sorcerers cultivate 'spirit,' their 'sea of consciousness.' Their methods are mostly 'visualization,' 'sitting in oblivion,' and 'contemplation,' strengthening their spiritual power through meditation."

Old Huang paused for a moment, then said, "In fact, in the eyes of many martial arts masters, sorcerers are mostly ethereal and unreliable, not worthy of being discussed in public."

"Oh? Why is that?" Cang Lian was quite surprised.

"Aren't sorcerers rumored to be able to cast many magical spells?"

"Young Master, you are unaware of this!" Old Master Huang said solemnly, "The spiritual cultivation of a sorcerer is as difficult as ascending to heaven! Visualization and meditation are extremely profound; without decades of painstaking practice, one's spiritual strength will hardly increase even a fraction. Moreover, the rarest natural treasures that nourish the spirit are a hundred times rarer than the secret medicines that enhance qi and blood!"

"In contrast, martial arts, with every punch and kick, every breath, represents real, tangible progress. Martial arts are not only invincible in close combat, but also formidable in ranged attacks. Drawing a strong bow, throwing darts, and the 'qi' cultivated by martial arts masters can injure people from a distance—which of these is far more real than the ethereal spells of sorcerers?"

"Warlocks... are they really that pathetic?" Cang Lian frowned, seemingly somewhat disappointed.

"That can't be called terrible either." Old Huang changed the subject, a hint of longing and awe in his eyes.

"Legend has it that those truly unparalleled sorcerers are extremely terrifying! They can use their divine sense as a guide to hypnotize an army in an instant, putting them into a deep sleep; they can ride flying swords to take a person's head from a thousand miles away—those are the legendary 'Sword Immortals'!"

"It is said that there was once a great swordsman who shot down a Westerner's warplane with a single sword strike! However... these are just legends. I only heard them from the storyteller in the tavern. Don't take them seriously."

He seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, right, there's research on this in the West too. They don't call them sorcerers, they call them 'spiritual masters.' Their cultivation methods in the early days included meditation similar to our visualization and sitting in oblivion, but now, they rely more on drugs and sophisticated mechanical equipment. They call that 'brain development,' using electromagnetic stimulation, gene-enhancing drugs, and the like to forcibly boost mental power."

"Is that so?" Cang Lian's heart skipped a beat as he grasped the key point.

"So, a sorcerer's natural cultivation is very slow, but with the aid of secret medicines or special equipment, they can make rapid progress?"

"That's exactly right!" Old Huang nodded.

"That's why it's much harder to cultivate as a sorcerer than as a martial artist! In all my years of life, traveling all over the country, I've never actually seen a real sorcerer. They're all legendary figures."

"I understand!" Cang Lian nodded.

Cultivation is slow in nature, but isn't the moonlight from the Heaven and Earth Pearl the most top-grade, inexhaustible "secret medicine"?

The development of equipment by Westerners is also a scientific method of cultivation, which is probably no less effective than secret medicine!