Chapter 164 (Patreon)

“Do you understand? You’re not letting qi run through you uncontrolled. Not even the slightest bit can be uncontrolled. If you follow the Shu Sword Art carefully and are deliberate with each move, your qi should run pretty naturally through your body. But that is still not full control. Your qi is like a river; of course it’s most important that the river runs where it’s supposed to, but you also have to be careful of splashes on the curves along the way. Qi tempers the body, but only when done correctly, otherwise it will only injure you. Make sure you take things slow, and are in full control over each movement. If you are reckless, and unlucky enough, you could even be crippled. It’s no joke.”Tianzheng looked out over the group of 40-something new students, pleased with the seriousness on their faces.

He had taken care of another group just a week ago, and they were a lot more casual. 

‘I guess I’ve gotten the hang of it.’

“Alright. That’s it for now. If you feel like you’re ready to start, you may do so; just make sure not to overdo it. Body cultivation is taxing, and must be done step by step. If you have any questions, you can ask the teachers over in the Spar Pit. There’s always at least one teacher present there at all times. Otherwise, I’ll be here an hour earlier tomorrow, ready to answer any questions that might have cropped up before heading into the next lesson.”With that, Tianzheng concluded his lesson and headed back to the Pagoda. Most of the students behind him went back to their living quarters, with only a few sticking around to begin practicing the Shu Sword Art straight away.

‘Hopefully, the old group has taken my words to heart and will take care of the newcomers.’

There was quite a frequent rotation of students. The outer Hall was working at full capacity, but there were constantly students dropping out, some only having stayed for a month, some for several years. Their family didn’t want to keep empty slots for no reason, so as soon as 40 students had left, they opened up for new students to enter, which usually happened every other week or so.

“Did everything go well?” Tianren asked as Tianzheng stepped into the lounge inside the Pagoda. 

“I think so. It’s not very difficult to explain the basics to a group of beginners,” Tianzheng answered. He saw that some pastries had been placed on a table, and walked over to take one.

‘Tasty as always.’ Tianzheng thought as he bit into it. 

Tianan’s wife, Chu Jing, came from a family of bakers, and even opened up a few bakeries of her own back in the Yan Kingdom. 

It hadn’t really been brought up again after they arrived in Jingli Immortal City. It just wasn’t viable as a source of income anymore. So now, she just baked for the fun of it, and would send along some bread and pastries with the people heading to the Sword Hall each morning.

“Are you heading home? Or are you staying here tonight?” Tianzheng asked his brother.

“I’m definitely going back,” Tianren said, stretching and yawning. “It’s been so much work lately; I need some rest. Besides, the kids might be coming back. Tianxu will come over and look after things later. He will probably stay here for a while; Tianhu and Xiaoshi can handle the inner Hall on their own until everyone gets back.”

“That’s good,” Tianzheng said, nodding.

‘It really has been a lot.’

Tianzheng was usually never in charge of handling new students; that was left to Xinzhang and Xinxu. But right now, they had gone to the outskirts of the Heaven-Reaching Forest to temper themselves along with several of their cousins, including Tianzheng’s son Xingu.

So there was a temporary lack of manpower, and those who stayed behind had to take on twice as much work as usual.

“Anyway, let me know when we are leaving. I’ll be on the ground floor, getting some practice in until it’s time,” Tianzheng said, heading back downstairs again.

Their family had quite a few flying ships now, but there was always one stationed at the Estate, one stationed in the inner Hall, and one stationed in the outer Hall. Just in case one would be needed.

Most days, there were a few scheduled departures, which anyone from the Shu Family could take to go home.

About an hour passed before Tianren came down to call on him.

‘Already? Guess I’ll have to do the rest of my routine back at the Estate.’

The flying ship was stationed on the dock a couple of floors up on the Pagoda, and Tianzheng saw his brother Tianan already onboard. But the one flying the ship brought a smile to Tianzheng’s face.

“Xinxiang, I didn’t know you were the one coming today,” Tianzheng said as he stepped onto the flying ship.

“Dad,” Xinxiang greeted him with a small wave. “Everyone just got back from the excursion. Aunt Tianyi wanted to hear all the details, so she asked me to come instead.”“They’re back?” Tianzheng asked, his question echoed by both Tianren and Tianan.

“Just now,” Xinxiang said, nodding.

“Is everyone safe? Did you see your brother?” Tianzheng asked.

“Everyone seemed happy, so I would assume so,” Xinxiang said with a shrug. “I talked with Xingu for a bit, and he didn’t mention anything going wrong.”“That’s a relief,” Tianzheng said. 

Tianzheng didn’t really have anything to worry about, both his father and Xiaorong had gone along to ensure everyone’s safety, and this was the second time they had done so in the last year. But it was still hard to relax completely, considering the place they were going to was filled with fierce beasts.

“Let’s hurry back. That kid Xinluo bragged that he would bring back three bodies; I want to see if he’s just all talk or not,” Tianan said.

Xinxiang nodded, looked down at the formation plate, and slowly controlled the flying ship to lift into the air.

It had been pretty busy for Tianzheng’s Dad and Tianyi when they first opened the Hall, as they were the only ones with spiritual cultivation, and the flying ship could only be controlled with spiritual qi.

Fortunately, the main power source was spirit stones, and you didn’t need to have a very high cultivation. So pretty soon, his daughter Xinxiang had been able to start helping. She had trash-grade spirit roots, and now, at 21 years old, she was at the 3rd stage of Qi Refining.

Controlling the flying ship was mainly her and Tianyi’s responsibilities these days, but the Ji generation was growing up, with many of them already capable of controlling the ship as well. They were just a bit young for the responsibility, and it wasn’t like the task was very time-consuming, so neither Xinxiang nor Tianyi was in a hurry to find replacements.

“Xinlu! Xinshi! I hope you brought back some good meat,” Tianan called out as soon as they arrived, jumping off the flying ship and running toward his children.

Tianzheng went over to his own son, Xingu. He was standing next to his mother, talking animatedly about something.

“How did it go?” Tianzheng asked, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder. 

“It went well,” Xingu said with a grin. “We didn’t run into that many beasts this time either, though. We had to really look for them.”“Maybe that’s because your grandfather got in their way before they got to you,” Tianzheng said.

“I don’t think so,” Xingu said. “Grandpa told us that there just seems to be fewer beasts around lately. Probably something to do with the Winged Tiger Clan and all that. We humans aren’t the only ones who are worried.”“Is there any news?” Tianzheng asked. He didn’t know anything besides that the Sword Sect Master was missing. Despite eight years having passed, it was constantly a topic for conversation.

“Not that I know,” Xingu said, shaking his head. “I tried writing a letter to Xinmo to ask what he knew about it, but his response was all just circling around it.”‘He writes letters to Xinmo?’

As far as Tianzheng knew, his son had never been close to Xinmo; he had just been a small child when Xinmo joined the Sword Sect.

But then again, Xinmo had visited them a few times, always the center of everyone’s attention along with his sisters. It wasn’t strange for Xingu to try to get closer to him. 

“Anyway, how does it feel? Do you feel like you’ve been tempered this time too?” Tianzheng asked.

“I don’t know,” Xingu said with a small frown. “I was used to it this time around, and felt that everything was under my control, so I don’t feel like I gained as much. I asked Grandpa to let me fight a stronger beast, but he said I wasn’t ready yet.”“Then you should listen to him,” His wife said from the side. 

“Yes,” Tianzheng agreed, “Keep practicing and grow a little stronger. Perhaps he will let you fight something a bit more challenging next time.”“What about you two?” Xingu asked, looking at Tianzheng and Xiang. “Why don’t you come along next time?”Tianzheng looked at his wife, then at his son again. “Maybe. We’ll see.”Tianzheng was a bit hesitant. He was a Master now, and he hadn’t really made much progress for many years. The peak was still a long way off, and he was getting old. He doubted he could ever make it to the Foundation stage.

But it was hard not to hope for it. He had seen his brother and sister succeed in it, after all.

“Alright! We will eat meat tonight! Everyone who is free, come and help prepare in the Main Mansion,” Tianan called out, waving the crowd of people toward the center of the Estate.

‘I guess I’ll talk to Dad about it later, and see what he thinks.’