For this period of confinement, Zhao Chun not only brought the newly acquired short sword and flying dagger, but also the Heart-Clarifying Powder and Qi-Increasing Powder she had received before. The former, when diluted with water, became the Mind-Clearing Dew that Cao Wenguan had bestowed upon the crowd back in the State of Chu.
Cultivators often used it to aid in the cultivation of magical arts, allowing one's mind to be free of distractions and their thoughts to be quick and agile. The latter, as its name implied, was for increasing the spiritual qi within the body and assisting in cultivation.
However, its medicinal properties were quite potent, and allowing them to accumulate in the body was actually harmful. After a cultivator took one dose, they had to wait three days for the medicinal properties to dissipate before taking it again.
Zhao Chun had no use for the Heart-Clarifying Powder before, but now that she had magical arts, it could finally be put to use. As for the Qi-Increasing Powder, Zhao Chun had four doses left. She still did not know if she could receive her monthly stipend during her confinement, so she had to use it sparingly.
The Single-Line Flying Dagger was relatively simple. Zhao Chun could get the hang of it after practicing it twice. Although she could not reach the level described as "the dagger strikes like a passing line, and once the line passes, the throat is sealed," it could still serve to distract an enemy.
However, there was one thing that frustrated her. Zhao Chun had thought she had found a bargain with the Swift-Walk Sword Technique, but she had not expected the reason it was rated as low-grade was because the sword technique itself was flawed.
It had been forcefully converted from a movement technique, and the coordination between the sword and the steps was still rather stiff. She was unwilling to give up on it just like that. Even a perfect sword technique would change when put into practice due to individual differences.
Since the Swift-Walk Sword Technique's origin was a movement technique, she would start with the movement technique and then gradually integrate the swordsmanship to see what the effect would be.
In an extremely quiet environment, a person would feel as if time was being stretched out infinitely, but after Zhao Chun immersed herself in cultivation, she felt that time was becoming more and more insufficient. Her guess was correct. Ever since she entered the quiet room, her share of resources had never reached her hands.
It was likely that seeing she had not gone to collect them, they were logically deducted. What was surprising was that after she stopped taking the Qi-Increasing Powder, the progress of her cultivation base actually accelerated. Her Metal and Fire Spiritual Roots had a very strong rejection of the medicinal properties.
Zhao Chun had not known this before. Only after the medicinal properties of the last dose of Qi-Increasing Powder had dissipated did she discover that her spiritual roots had shed their previous sluggishness and become full of vitality.
With two days left until the end of her confinement, she not only rapidly stepped into the second level of Qi Refinement, but also opened the Three Yin Meridians of the Hand in one go, a full three meridians. At the same time, her practice of the Swift-Walk Sword Technique was also gradually improving.
Although the swordsmanship part still felt separate, Zhao Chun was already proficient in the movement technique, about thirty percent faster than before. In just three short months, her progress was so great. She was like a pearl covered in dust, now beginning to reveal its own brilliance.
On the day she returned to the Daylily Garden, the others in the courtyard specially took leave to celebrate for her. It had only been a little over four months since she joined the sect, and Zhao Chun had already caught up to Hu Wanzhi and Cui Lan'e, leaving them both surprised and delighted.
They laughed and said, “I reckon it won't be long before we see you become an official disciple. When that time comes, we'll hold a feast and invite all your friends from your hometown!” Zhao Chun thought to herself that among her fellow townsmen, she was only familiar with Zhou Pianran.
She did not have much contact with the former Xie Baoguang anymore, not to mention those other three who were determined to draw a clear line with her side. Regardless of her inner thoughts, she said on the surface, “I'll have to trouble you Senior Sisters then.”
Returning to the Study Hall, Zhao Chun's seat was now in the middle-front section. In the Thirty-ninth Courtyard, disciples who promoted this quickly could be counted on one hand. She was also so young; one could say her future was exceptionally bright.
Naturally, no one came looking for trouble with her anymore. When some came to befriend her, Zhao Chun would politely exchange a few words but did not make friends easily. On the way back, a tall, thin figure blocked her path.
Zhao Chun looked up and saw that it was actually Peng Zheng! Liu and Zhang were nowhere to be seen by his side; he stood alone on the road.
“Why are you here alone? Where are they?”
Hearing Zhao Chun's question, Peng Zheng's expression became even more embarrassed. He stammered, “They... they went to Senior Brother He's side...” Zhao Chun did not know this Senior Brother He he spoke of, nor what kind of person he was.
However, to make those two give up on Peng Zheng, this potential stock with a three-element spirit root, and switch to his side, he must be a senior with a decent cultivation base and talent. As for Peng Zheng, he had been complacent before. Thinking his talent was decent, he had slacked off in his cultivation.
He had not expected that after three months, there were four-spiritual root disciples who had broken through to the first level of Qi Refinement, yet he still had not managed to guide qi into his body. When Liu and Zhang saw this, they felt they had bet on the wrong horse. Disregarding all past friendship, they directly left him.
Fortunately, after this incident, Peng Zheng's temperament matured somewhat. He learned from the painful experience and successfully broke through to the first level of Qi Refinement a month ago. Zhao Chun was not interested in the story of these three's grievances, so she asked bluntly, “You stopped me, is there something you need?”
Peng Zheng said in a fluster, “I... I came to apologize... I've offended you much in the past, and I hope you can forgive me.”
“How have you all offended me?”
Zhao Chun's attitude was cold. She added, “The one you offended was Xie Baoguang. Instead of apologizing to him, you've come to apologize to me.”
Peng Zheng said anxiously, “How can that be the same!” In his eyes, Zhao Chun was the rising star of the Thirty-ninth Courtyard, while Xie Baoguang had yet to even guide qi. He was absolutely unwilling to lower himself before the latter.
“It is indeed different. His temper is impatient, while you are quite able to bow and scrape,” Zhao Chun said.
Having his façade torn down and being scolded, Peng Zheng was not thick-skinned enough to stay. He threw out a, “Just say you don't accept it, what's the point of insulting someone for no reason!”, then furiously flicked his sleeves and left. Zhao Chun was speechless.
When she returned to the courtyard and told Zhou Pianran, they once again looked at each other without words. Two months passed peacefully like this. Zhao Chun finally found the trick to integrating the swordsmanship and the movement technique.
The Swift-Walk Sword Technique's stiffness came from the fact that the swordsmanship tended towards being fierce and powerful, while the movement technique was gentle and soft. The two were polar opposites, which was why the conversion was awkward. It was also a coincidence that it landed in Zhao Chun's hands.
She followed a lighter, more agile style, and by a stroke of luck, she neutralized the fierceness of the original sword technique, allowing the sword and steps to gradually complement each other. However, Zhao Chun could not just ignore her own weaknesses. There were many magical arts in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion that enhanced strength.
She had been secretly coveting them, but she never had the ability to purchase them. She was truly too poor! She had missed out on three months of resources, a full sixty essence stones, which was equivalent to half a low-grade magical art.
Zhao Chun did not have time like Zhou Pianran to find an errand to earn essence stones. The Tiger Strength Technique she had her eye on needed to be paired with the Snake-Form Step and cost a whole eight hundred. Just relying on her fixed monthly quota of twenty to save up, who knows how long it would take.
Even if she did not use the Qi-Increasing Powder and sold it to others instead, she would only save an extra ten stones per month. At the fastest, it would still take more than two years, and that was not even considering other expenses. Zhao Chun did the math and got a headache from worrying.
She now truly understood the principle that even a hero can be stumped by a single coin. Just as the path ahead seemed blocked, a new opportunity appeared. Before Zhao Chun could even ask her senior sisters about ways to make money, someone took the initiative to come find her...
(End of this chapter)