Bao Gu scrambled up from the ground and quickly took out a gourd of Sixth-Order Monkey Wine to offer, saying, “Little Martial Aunt, I’m clumsy and I was wrong. Have a sip of wine to calm your anger!”
Zi Yunshu glared at Bao Gu, huffing and lecturing, “Not focusing on your training, and you think you can bribe me? Don’t you know I’m known for my integrity?”
With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a gust of wind that brought the Sixth-Order Monkey Wine into her hand. Sitting on a branch where the snow had just melted, she took a big gulp and said, “I’ll take the wine! What are you standing around for? Get back to training!”
Bao Gu let out an “Oh” and, scratching her head, asked, “Little Martial Aunt, is there any trick to flying on a sword?”
“A trick? Sure, fall more! The more you fall, the better you’ll get at it!” Zi Yunshu said, half-closing her eyes to enjoy her drink, her anger dissipating along with the fire that couldn’t be quenched by hibernation.
Bao Gu summoned her flying sword, positioning it three inches above the ground, and slowly started to fly forward. She first made sure she was stable before gradually picking up speed.
Zi Yunshu glanced at Bao Gu and commented, “Too slow!” With a flick of her hand, an ice spike shot towards Bao Gu’s bottom, warning, “Watch your back!”
Seeing this, Bao Gu hurriedly sped up her flying sword, but she was still too slow and got hit by the ice spike. The ice melted on her bottom, leaving a cold, numb, and sore sensation. It was as uncomfortable as it gets!
“You’re not fast enough!” Zi Yunshu shot another ice spike.
Not daring to take another hit, Bao Gu rushed forward at her fastest speed, only to find her vision blur as the flying sword shot out from under her, and she fell to the ground again. She rolled on the ground in pain and protested, “Little Martial Aunt, progress should be gradual! How can one become fat in one gulp? I want to fly fast too, but I fall every time I try. What can I do? I wish the flying sword could catch me, but I fall before I even realize it.”
“Didn’t I tell you to treat the flying sword as part of your body, to merge with it?” Zi Yunshu said.
Bao Gu huffed as she got up. If it weren’t for the Nascent Soul protective treasures she wore, that fall could have killed her. She summoned her flying sword again and stepped on it, declaring, “I’ll practice on my own, and you’re not allowed to sneak attack me!” As soon as she finished speaking, a dozen ice spikes appeared in front of her, freezing her in shock.
Zi Yunshu hesitated for a moment, then withdrew the ice spikes, saying, “Then practice on your own for a while.” She then closed her eyes to nap, holding onto the Monkey Wine.
Bao Gu practiced flying close to the ground, gradually increasing her speed from slow to fast, but she would still slide off or fall from the flying sword. She realized that once her speed reached a certain level, she would face significant wind resistance. The flying sword carried her forward, but the wind pushed her back, eventually causing her to fall. She tried crouching or bending down, which reduced the wind resistance and allowed her to speed up a bit, but if she went any faster, she would still fall.
Bao Gu flew to Zi Yunshu and reported, “Little Martial Aunt! I can’t fly fast because of the wind resistance.”
Zi Yunshu had been watching Bao Gu’s training and sighed, jumping down from the tree. She summoned her own flying sword, stood on it, and infused it with her Qi, instructing, “Watch how I do it! Infuse your Qi into the flying sword to activate its flight defense shield! Don’t think the sky is empty; it’s filled with things your eyes and senses can’t detect, including wind. The faster you go, the greater the resistance. To not be thrown off the flying sword, you must become one with it! Merge yourself, the sword under your feet, and the defense shield into one!”
Bao Gu tried infusing her Qi into the flying sword, but no defense shield formed, only a glow. She asked, “Little Martial Aunt, how do I activate the flying sword’s defense shield?”
Zi Yunshu replied, “Use your spiritual sense to probe inside the flying sword. There’s a Five Elements Gathering Array inside. Infuse your Qi into it to activate it. Once activated, the array will autonomously absorb the spiritual energy from the world to maintain the energy needed for flight.”
Bao Gu carefully searched the interior of the flying sword with her spiritual sense and finally found a transparent Five Elements Array almost the same color as the flying sword in its center. She infused her Qi into it, feeling a surge of power from the flying sword. A transparent shield, like an air bubble with the flying sword at its center, formed around her.
Zi Yunshu added, “In combat, it’s impossible for the flying sword to remain perfectly parallel to the ground. You must control it to constantly change positions and angles to dodge and attack enemies. In battle, you can’t spare any attention to control the flying sword, so you must use it to replace your legs for movement. The flying sword must stick firmly under your feet, as freely as using your legs. In combat, a tiny flaw can be fatal, like the situation you just experienced with the flying sword slipping from under your feet, which could cost you your life thousands of times over!”
Bao Gu nodded and said, “But I find that when I control the flying sword, it sometimes goes out of control if I get distracted. Is there a way to stick the flying sword to my feet?”
Zi Yunshu replied, “No. You can only practice and fall more to quickly familiarize and master the flying sword under your feet.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “If the flying sword flies away from you, you must recall it immediately. Also, if an enemy gets close for hand-to-hand combat, your legs can’t just stay on the flying sword; you need to use it as a pivot point, combining techniques like the Wind Riding Technique and Light Body Technique to move around the flying sword. Otherwise, you’ll lose your footing in the air and become a stationary target for attacks, or you’ll fall to your death.”
Bao Gu grimaced and said, “I don’t know the Wind Riding Technique or Light Body Technique.”
Zi Yunshu stared blankly at Bao Gu and asked, “How did your senior sister teach you to cultivate?” She realized that even if Bao Gu was equipped with top-grade protective treasures, she would at best be a sturdy punching bag. Rubbing her forehead and patiently saying, “Alright, I’ll teach you one by one. You may not know other things, but you must learn these techniques for escaping, protecting yourself, and breaking free from enemies during combat.” She called Bao Gu over, passed on the techniques to her, and had Bao Gu memorize them and comprehend them for a while before teaching her the movements.
Yu Mi finished cooking and called Zi Yunshu and Bao Gu back to the house for a meal.
After sitting down, Zi Yunshu looked at Yu Mi and said, “You’ve been idle all this time and haven’t taught her any self-defense skills? What kind of senior sister are you?”
Yu Mi served Zi Yunshu some dishes and replied, “You know what I’m capable of. How could I teach a good disciple? Little Martial Aunt, a blank slate is easier to work with. If I teach her poorly, it’ll be harder for you to correct later.”
Zi Yunshu scolded Yu Mi, “Just like your master!”
Bao Gu kept quiet, focusing on picking up dishes and eating. Her senior sister’s cooking was the best she had ever had in her life.
Yu Mi looked at Bao Gu and said, “Bao Gu, eat less, or it’ll be embarrassing if you throw up later!”
Bao Gu swallowed her food and replied, “I’m not a baby; I won’t overeat and throw up.”
Yu Mi smiled silently at Zi Yunshu.
Zi Yunshu turned to Bao Gu and said, “Eat until you’re seventy percent full! Otherwise, if you eat too much and can’t run later, it’ll be embarrassing if everything in your stomach comes back up.”
Realizing the situation was not good, Bao Gu quickly finished a few more bites and rushed out to practice.
Zi Yunshu called Yu Mi over and said, “Bao Gu is gone, let’s eat!” The two of them drank the Monkey Wine Bao Gu had offered and finished the table of dishes without leaving a drop. She told Yu Mi, “Call me in an hour!”
Yu Mi informed Bao Gu, “Take advantage of Little Martial Aunt’s nap to practice hard and memorize everything Little Martial Aunt taught you. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a crying session when Little Martial Aunt wakes up.”
Bao Gu asked, “What will happen when Little Martial Aunt wakes up?”
Yu Mi replied, “Little Martial Aunt likes to teach through real combat, which means she’ll beat you up mercilessly. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared the healing medicine for you. It’s better to get hurt by your own people than to lose your life to outsiders.”
Bao Gu shivered in fear and hurriedly focused on practicing.
Yu Mi woke Zi Yunshu up on time.
After getting up, Zi Yunshu took Bao Gu to the forest opposite and said kindly, “I’ll feed you moves now. You can dodge or counterattack. It’s okay if you can’t dodge; just practice more. Are you ready?”
Bao Gu responded, “Hmm!”
“Alright, let’s start!” As soon as Zi Yunshu finished speaking, she attacked Bao Gu with her palm.
Bao Gu had already turned and dashed away on her flying sword the moment Zi Yunshu said “start.”
Zi Yunshu stepped on her flying sword and caught up instantly, enveloping Bao Gu in a barrage of ice spikes, ice swords, fist shadows, and blade lights, kicking her from the air to the ground in an instant. Bao Gu was in so much pain that she couldn’t get up for a long time.
Zi Yunshu said, “When you’re running for your life, don’t just focus on escaping. Be prepared for your pursuer to catch up and attack you. Even when fleeing, you must be ready to counterattack or dodge at any moment!” She pulled Bao Gu up and said, “Let’s go again!”
For the next few days, Zi Yunshu relentlessly pursued and attacked Bao Gu, day and night without rest.
When Bao Gu was exhausted, Zi Yunshu only allowed her to take a few sips of Monkey Wine to catch her breath.
Bao Gu asked, “Little Martial Aunt, can we take a break?”
Zi Yunshu asked, “Would your enemies give you a break when they’re chasing you?” And then she continued the relentless pursuit and attack. She was very precise with her strikes, not killing or crippling Bao Gu, but definitely making her suffer unbearably and forcing her to rack her brains to cope.
Bao Gu had no chance to surrender.
Zi Yunshu’s attacks were sheer torture.
Every hit Bao Gu took was excruciatingly painful, and her screams echoed through the forest.
To avoid Zi Yunshu’s attacks, she not only pushed her newly learned sword flying technique to the limit but also utilized all the escape techniques Zi Yunshu had taught her to the fullest. Still, she couldn’t escape Zi Yunshu’s assaults and had to learn to flee while counterattacking. Her cultivation was weak, and the Qi in her dantian was limited, often depleting the Qi in her dantian and then getting beaten up again.
