After realizing that even beating Jian Xingzhi like a ball into the ground still made him this happy, Qin Wanwan suddenly lost interest in this activity. She lay on the ground as all the exhaustion suppressed by anger instantly surged up. She didn’t move, wanting only to lie here and be buried on the spot.
Jian Xingzhi dug himself out of the earth, broke free of the ropes, and came before her, poking her with his sword: “Get up. I smell moisture in the wind. There should be an oasis nearby. Let’s go rest there—I’ll catch fish for you.”
Qin Wanwan lay motionless. Jian Xingzhi crouched down, continuing to poke her with his sword: “Don’t just lie there. It’s only two hundred li—you’re too delicate.”
Qin Wanwan didn’t speak. She had no energy to respond to Jian Xingzhi. He thought for a moment, then flipped her over from the yellow sand. He’d intended to scold her, but saw that Qin Wanwan’s fair, clean little face was covered in sand, her gaze vacant and lifeless, as if she truly couldn’t go on.
Jian Xingzhi felt suddenly nervous, afraid he’d accidentally killed her. He quickly checked her pulse and, discovering she was merely exhausted, relaxed and sighed.
“Too weak.”
As he spoke, he hoisted Qin Wanwan up, carrying her on his back as he headed toward the oasis.
Being carried by him, Qin Wanwan’s mind was blank. By the time Jian Xingzhi brought her to the oasis, made the bed, started the fire, cleaned and roasted the fish, and handed it to her, Qin Wanwan finally slowly regained consciousness. She lowered her head and mechanically ate the fish. While eating, Jian Xingzhi asked her: “Do you have a connection with Nanfeng now?”
Hearing his words, Qin Wanwan took a moment to realize what he was talking about, then numbly nodded.
That ‘Baisui You’ had directly opened a teleportation array from the Sword Tomb to this desert. When they fell through the array, Nanfeng hadn’t followed, but she had a connection with Nanfeng and knew he wasn’t in any serious trouble, so she wasn’t worried.
“He’s still at the Heavenly Sword Sect.” Qin Wanwan added one more sentence, then lowered her head to eat fish.
Hearing Nanfeng’s location, Jian Xingzhi wasn’t surprised.
“Since we left suddenly, Xie Gutang should take good care of him.”
“Mm.”
Qin Wanwan had no energy to speak. Seeing her exhaustion, Jian Xingzhi didn’t bother her and checked today’s points and Qin Wanwan’s martial proficiency in his mental system. Seeing that today’s martial proficiency had only increased by 2,000, he frowned.
“We still need to train tonight.”
He immediately made the decision.
Hearing this, Qin Wanwan’s movements froze. She listened as Jian Xingzhi seriously analyzed: “We need to train your basic martial proficiency to one hundred thousand points within a month. You previously only had thirty thousand points—seventy thousand in one month means you need to increase by at least 2,334 points daily. But I hope you can work harder—complete at least 3,000 points per day. That way you’ll grow faster. Today was only 2,000, so we still need to work hard tonight.”
“Train…” Qin Wanwan’s eyes went blank. She raised her head, her gaze completely unfocused: “Can’t train anymore…”
“Don’t worry,” seeing her condition, Jian Xingzhi thought she was concerned about exhaustion and quickly comforted her. “In a bit, I’ll teach you two sets of techniques. One is a body tempering technique that converts spiritual power into stamina. It guarantees you’ll only feel tired but won’t collapse. As long as your will is firm and you’re strong, you can keep practicing.”
Hearing about such a technique, Qin Wanwan’s eyes widened in horror.
How could such a perverted technique exist?
Only tired but won’t collapse—didn’t that mean she wouldn’t even have the excuse of fainting to rest?!
“There’s another technique called ‘Spring Rebirth,'” Jian Xingzhi introduced to her. “It specializes in repairing internal organs and broken bones. Unless magic or poison is involved, ordinary injuries are no problem under this technique. When you circulate it, broken bones can regenerate and damaged organs can heal quickly.”
“That… I heard that cells or life or division something has an upper limit, and too much repair can cause cancer…” Qin Wanwan held her fish, her mind foggy, but still tried to use science to dissuade Jian Xingzhi from his crazy ideas. “Constantly damaging them isn’t good…”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Jian Xingzhi’s words made Qin Wanwan despair. “I’ve been learning this technique since childhood and using it until now. I’ve fought countless battles, big and small, and there’s been no problem at all.”
“You’re already like this,” Qin Wanwan looked up at him, restraining her fierce expression, “and you still call that no problem?”
Your brain must be broken from training, right?
“No problem at all!”
Jian Xingzhi gestured: “Look at me—isn’t my physical condition especially good? Let me analyze for you. Your biggest problems right now are: your character isn’t strong enough, your body is too weak, your willpower is too feeble, you have no fighting spirit. You need to pull yourself together, be like your master. Understand?”
Qin Wanwan stared at him blankly. She felt like he was chattering nonsense—she couldn’t understand a single word. She only negotiated with him: “Let me sleep first. Tomorrow I’ll earn 2,700 martial proficiency points to make up for it, okay?”
“Are you a bit sleepy?” Jian Xingzhi looked at her condition and asked considerately.
Qin Wanwan quickly nodded: “I’m super sleepy.”
“Then let’s practice ‘Spring Rebirth’ first.” Jian Xingzhi immediately decided. Before Qin Wanwan could refuse, he slapped his palm onto her chest.
Qin Wanwan froze. She lowered her head, looking at Jian Xingzhi’s hand on her chest, his expression unchanged. After a moment, she felt sharp pain transmit from her chest cavity. She instantly became alert and screamed: “Ahhhhh!!”
“I just shattered two of your ribs,” Jian Xingzhi quickly grabbed her hand, pressing their palms together. “Quickly follow my spiritual power’s circulation. Listen to me recite the formula—learn fast, stop the pain fast.”
With that, Jian Xingzhi immediately began reciting the ‘Spring Rebirth’ technique. In agony, Qin Wanwan didn’t dare be careless. Breaking out in cold sweat, she memorized this technique word by word and followed Jian Xingzhi in circulating her spiritual power.
In no time, she felt the pain subside as the bones in her chest cavity began healing.
She emerged from the severe pain, covered in cold sweat, raising her eyes to look at Jian Xingzhi, fury filling her gaze.
“Why are you torturing me like this?!”
“Our entire sect went through this.”
Jian Xingzhi spoke matter-of-factly: “Since you’ve entered the Supreme Extreme Sect, you absolutely cannot be delicate. Learning to take a beating is essential. Otherwise, in future battles with others, if you can’t endure pain, you’ll lose from the start.”
“Get lost!” Qin Wanwan was driven mad by the recent pain. She raised her hand and pointed into the distance. “I’m quitting your sect. Don’t teach me anymore. Starting today, we’re cutting ties. Get lost!”
“I know the cultivation process is painful. It’s natural you’re not used to it.” Jian Xingzhi’s expression remained calm. “But since you’ve acknowledged me as master, you can’t give up halfway. Still sleepy now?”
“How could you bring yourself to do this…” Seeing his determination, Qin Wanwan nearly cried. She raised her hand and pointed at her own chest, emphasizing: “This is a chest! Such a big chest! Don’t you feel I’m a person? Don’t you feel I’m delicate? You put your hand on my chest just to shatter my ribs?!”
“If I cared about your chest or not,” Jian Xingzhi’s face was cold, “I wouldn’t be fit to be your master. Come on, will you learn from me,” Jian Xingzhi raised his hand, his palm hovering half an inch from her chest, “or break them again?”
Qin Wanwan didn’t speak. Her chest heaved violently.
Jian Xingzhi looked at her, his gaze calm and focused, as if she weren’t a person before him but just a training dummy.
Looking at this person’s resolute eyes, in that moment, Qin Wanwan suddenly felt this person had changed her worldview.
His persistence, his determination, his uniquely simple nature.
All left her with only one thought—
She would beat his dog head to pulp!!
Forget subtlety, forget tactics.
Only violence could counter violence. Only magic could defeat magic.
She didn’t want any apology now.
She just wanted to trample this person underfoot, crush his bones inch by inch, and repay everything he’d done to her tenfold, a hundredfold!
“I’ll learn.”
She ground her teeth: “I’ll definitely learn well.”
“Good,” Jian Xingzhi smiled. “I’ll wait for you to complete your training. Then our master-disciple duo will return to the immortal realm together and attack Jishan!”
“Good,” Qin Wanwan nodded. “I’ll definitely wait for you at Jishan. Master, let’s begin!”
With that, Qin Wanwan took the initiative, raising her hand to press her palm against Jian Xingzhi’s, following his spiritual power’s circulation.
Jian Xingzhi was very satisfied with Qin Wanwan’s proactive attitude.
When Qin Wanwan seriously learned something, she had exceptional talent. In less than an hour, she’d roughly learned how to circulate both techniques. Without resting, she hit the road directly, fighting with Jian Xingzhi while heading toward Ghost City.
The two fought day and night without rest.
Qin Wanwan’s body tempering technique wasn’t yet fully mastered. Sometimes she exceeded her limits and fainted directly. Jian Xingzhi would carry her on his back. Qin Wanwan would often wake to find herself on Jian Xingzhi’s back, and would basically chop at him without hesitation or raise her hands to strangle his neck, trying to kill him.
Jian Xingzhi would immediately fight back and continue sparring with her.
Soon Qin Wanwan discovered that Jian Xingzhi had some limitations when facing her.
For instance, he couldn’t use magic against her. She guessed this might be the system preventing him from killing her with magic, so she unscrupulously used magic to chase and beat him.
The two chased each other back and forth. In less than half a month, Qin Wanwan broke Jian Xingzhi’s ribs for the first time.
Though it was due to magical suppression, for Qin Wanwan, it was already tremendous encouragement.
While she fought Jian Xingzhi in the desert with rage in her heart, far away at the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xie Gutang knelt before the Sect Leader Qingxuzi, head lowered, saying nothing.
“You want to go personally?” Qingxuzi frowned. “But you’re this generation’s only inheritor of the Inquiring Heart Sword. If something happens to you, what about the Death and Life Realm?”
“The Exquisite Jade is of utmost importance. It was taken from my hands—I’ve failed the sect and must retrieve it.”
Xie Gutang spoke earnestly. Qingxuzi sighed: “Sending someone else isn’t impossible. Gutang, why must you go?”
Xie Gutang remained silent. After a long while, he spoke softly: “Miss Qin sacrificed herself to help me in my time of crisis. I also promised Senior Long I would look after her properly, yet for the Exquisite Jade, I placed Miss Qin in danger. I owe her this debt. Now she carries the dragon pill and is coveted by thieves.” Xie Gutang raised his head to look at Qingxuzi. “This time, I want to protect her.”
—
**Author’s Note:**
**Mini Theater**
Qin Wanwan: “I never thought that one day I would become like this…”
Jian Xingzhi frantically kicking Qin Wanwan: “Let go, let go of my hair!!”
**Mini Theater**
Xie Gutang: I’m on my way to protect Miss Qin
Jian Xingzhi: I’m fighting with her like wild chickens pecking at each other
Xie Gutang: I’ll protect Miss Qin well
Jian Xingzhi: I’ll teach her to protect me well and help me beat my enemies!
Xie Gutang: I won’t let anyone harm Miss Qin
Jian Xingzhi: I shattered two of her ribs with one palm and taught her an entire technique in fifteen minutes.
Xie Gutang: I’m what a romance plotline should look like, but I’m not the romance plotline.
Jian Xingzhi: I… probably accumulated more virtue.
PS: Let me brainstorm the Ghost City arc—today I wanted to do a transition chapter.