It was still before dawn when Qu Weichen arrived at the training ground, and the four little elf girls were already there.
Three of the elves looked extremely reluctant, yawning nonstop, their eyes barely open.
With so few people around in the dim light, they’d dropped all their disguises.
Qu Weichen could tell the three of them really wanted to beat up Tu Weierxi, but they were too sleepy to have the energy.
“Our elven race takes a long time to grow from childhood to adulthood.
We need more time to mature.” Orona couldn’t help yawning again as she spoke.
“I just want to get enough sleep.”
“Uweinuo Academy only lasts five years.
After five years, we’ll have to return to the elves, so it’s just five years.” Tu Weierxi tried to comfort them.
“Besides, you all agreed to this yesterday.”
“…But I’ve never gotten up this early before.” Gexifei looked dazed, letting out a deep sigh.
Then she waved her hand, and the light element responded.
In the next instant, a blinding flash exploded in front of them, making her eyes water, but at least she was awake now.
“Let’s be clear, we’re not in the martial arts class.
We’re not running that long.”
All four elves tried hard to wake up, then followed Qu Weichen to stretch and warm up.
But by the third lap, the three elves besides Tu Weierxi were already breathing unevenly.
By the fifth lap, even Tu Weierxi was struggling to keep up with Qu Weichen’s pace.
Qu Weichen kept a steady speed.
It was normal for the elves to fall behind—she figured Tu Weierxi was just acting on a whim, and it was already impressive that they’d come to train with her at all.
There was no need to push them too hard.
But by the tenth lap, the elves were already two or three laps behind, looking exhausted, but they kept jogging, not giving up or stopping.
[It’s not just about competing with you, they’re probably competing with each other too.] Number Nine watched for a while, still finding it amusing.
“Ten laps is enough for you.
I built up to this step by step too.” Qu Weichen couldn’t help but try to comfort them.
“We… we know our limits…” Tu Weierxi could barely speak, but still managed a reply.
She glanced at her friends.
“I want to awaken… as a martial artist.
Why are you… joining in… for fun?” When you’re out of stamina, running is all about willpower.
It reminded Tu Weierxi of the body-tempering process during martial artist awakening.
She’d never experienced it herself, but she’d heard it was extremely tough.
Now that she had a chance to train, and with Qu Weichen sticking it out, there was no way she’d quit after just a little while.
But Orona and Gexifei had no energy to answer her—they could barely breathe, let alone talk.
An Xiaonan did respond, but only with an eye roll.
When Qu Weichen finished her twenty laps and rested at the side, the elves finally finished their ten laps one after another.
She quickly went over and helped the elves, who were about to collapse, back to their feet, forcing them to walk slowly for a bit longer.
Only after their breathing steadied did she let them lie down and rest.
“Alright, you’ve experienced it now.
That’s enough, right?” Qu Weichen did a set of punches in the field, feeling the “qi” inside her body was full, then took a clean towel from her spatial ring to wipe off.
“Tonight, I’ll teach you magic.” Tu Weierxi was very determined.
Qu Weichen: “……”
“Even if you’re not interested in magic, learning some basic spells is good for you.
Practicing magic also trains your mental strength, which helps martial artists too.” Tu Weierxi said seriously.
“Besides, you’re obviously interested in magic.”
“Fine, I’ll study magic with you for a month.
If I can’t cast a single spell after a month, let’s drop it, okay?” Qu Weichen sighed, thinking how kids’ good intentions could be so simple and stubborn.
Let Tu Weierxi have her fun.
After a month of blowing herself up, she’d have to give up.
“Deal!” Tu Weierxi’s eyes lit up and she agreed immediately.
After that, Qu Weichen had company for her morning and evening training.
She found that Tu Weierxi’s physical fitness and combat reflexes were much better than the three elves from the magic class—no wonder she’d joined the martial artist class.
At the end of the month, the academy gave them a three-day break.
Qu Weichen planned to return to the Prison Sanctuary for a visit.
Constance needed to check her cultivation and academic progress.
“You’re back? Come in and do this test.” A month had passed, but the tall giantess hadn’t changed at all.
As soon as Qu Weichen stepped into the yard, she saw Constance had been waiting for her.
“Okay.” Qu Weichen followed her inside, took out a pen, and glanced over the test paper.
It was all basic questions—about mages, martial artists, history, the Abyss, and so on.
It looked like a mix of all the subjects she’d studied.
They were all basic questions, just to see if she’d been paying attention in class.
Qu Weichen answered the test carefully, finishing in just forty minutes.
“Not bad.
Go change into your training clothes.” Constance skimmed the test and didn’t spot any mistakes.
She grinned, patted Qu Weichen on the shoulder, and led her to the training ground.
“Is your qi circulation stable?”
“Very stable,” Qu Weichen replied.
“I can cultivate while listening to lectures and taking notes now.”
“Good.
Come on, hit me a few times.” Constance flexed her wrists and told Qu Weichen to attack.
“Don’t hold back.”
Qu Weichen warmed up, got into position, and sent her “qi” out with her punches.
In a flash, she threw three punches, the wind whistling as all three landed squarely in Constance’s palm.
After those three punches, Qu Weichen’s expression didn’t change, but she was still a bit amazed inside: her fists hit Constance’s palm, and it felt even harder than the alloy in the academy’s training hall.
Constance didn’t even budge…
“Not bad, you’ve got the hang of it.” Constance smiled in satisfaction, then pointed at the weapon rack.
“Pick a weapon to learn.
Next, you’ll practice channeling qi into your weapon, keeping it connected to your body.”
“Since you’re controlling qi, you need to let it flow through your whole body.
Right now, you’re only using your arms—your legs need training too.” Constance paused, then asked, “How’s your stance training going?”
“I practice every day,” Qu Weichen replied, looking at the rack full of weapons, not sure which one to pick.
“We giants like broadswords, greatswords, warhammers, battleaxes, since we’re naturally strong.” Seeing Qu Weichen hesitate, Constance said, “But other weapons have their own advantages.
If you really can’t decide, start with daggers.
They’re small, easier to channel qi through, and you can always learn other weapons later.”
“When you reach Martial Artist Level Three, you’ll be able to send qi outside your body.
It’s not super powerful, but you can infuse it into hidden weapons for ranged attacks.”
Qu Weichen examined the small dagger.
It was compact, but felt solid in her hand.
She thought if she could flip and use it freely, it wouldn’t be bad.
Something this small could go straight into her storage slot, ready to appear at a thought.
The big, sweeping weapons Constance liked weren’t really suitable for her right now.
[You’re a necromancer, after all.
You could learn staff techniques too—when you get a magic staff, you could use it that way.] Number Nine looked at the wooden staff on the rack and suggested.
Qu Weichen ignored the mechanical voice in her head and gripped the dagger tighter.
“I’ll learn this one.”
“Then take two, practice dual daggers.
Remember to bring them back to the academy too.” Constance grabbed another dagger from the rack and tossed it to Qu Weichen, then picked one up for herself, spinning it casually in her hand.
“There aren’t that many ways to use daggers—stab, thrust, flick, slash, rip, parry, gouge, cut, drag.
Just practice the basics a lot.
When fighting with daggers, agility is key.”
“In a head-on fight, if you miss, retreat, then strike again, then retreat—stay agile.
Treat the daggers as extensions of your hands.
Since they’re short, you have to fight up close, so your movement skills matter even more.
Before Level Three, you can’t use them for ranged attacks.” Constance smiled.
“But for sneak attacks, one strike is all it takes.
It’s good for you to practice this—it’ll help your movement skills and get your lower body qi circulation going faster.”
“Got it.” Qu Weichen got into a stance with the two daggers, though she still felt a bit awkward.
Constance corrected her posture, then started teaching her the different attack moves one by one.
“Be nimble, and perceptive.
Calm your mind.” Constance paused, then added, “The martial artist’s path is all about ‘qi,’ and qi is ever-changing.
Blend it into every move, and it’ll follow your will.”
[Yeah, you can’t be too rigid.] Number Nine agreed, but after thinking for a moment, added, [But you’re only Level One, you don’t have much feel for qi yet.
It’s hard to get creative, so just focus on the basics for now.
Just listen to this stuff.] [By the time you’re Level Three, who knows what level you’ll be as a necromancer? No worries about that.] But thinking of this, Number Nine got frustrated seeing Qu Weichen’s skill points hadn’t increased at all.
It’d been ages, and the number hadn’t changed! Stuck in the academy training all the time, there was no way to trigger achievements… Maybe getting a perfect score on finals would unlock one, but that’d only be one.
[Ask her if there are any chances to go out for training.
If not necromancy, you could at least hunt some magical beasts.] Qu Weichen didn’t want to listen to Number Nine’s rambling, but the last suggestion was actually good—she didn’t want to just train in seclusion either.
“Captain, is there any chance I could go out for some real training? Even just hunting magical beasts—I want to try some real combat.”
“Real combat? Didn’t you just fight He Muman?” Constance hadn’t expected Qu Weichen to be so eager.
She thought, what’s the rush? You’re only Level One, just a fourteen-year-old beginner, and you already want to fight magical beasts? This isn’t child’s play.
“She’s a mage, and she didn’t know me at the time—I ambushed her.” Qu Weichen didn’t say “I have zero combat experience,” but after a pause, she continued, “There used to be people at the academy always picking fights with me, and I thought I’d challenge them to duels once I got the basics down, but lately they’ve all come to their senses and stopped bothering me.”
“I’ll ask the temple master about it.” Constance lost interest as soon as she thought of those idiots, but since Qu Weichen wanted real combat, she’d try to arrange it.
Kids who’ve fought for real are always different from those raised in the academy.
She looked at Qu Weichen.
“The temple master sent you to the academy so you could train and grow at your own pace.”
“I know, I just want to give it a try.”
