Volcanic Age

Around a month passed.

The winter plum flowers had yet to fall.

The outside world was still covered with snow, ice-cold winds whistling through the trees. The fourth-generation members of the sect were busy sweeping the sect.

“Phew…”

Zhou Xuchuan opened his eyes.

I finally made it all mine.

One month ago, Zhou Xuchuan consumed the Water Spiritual Fruit. However, the energy contained within was much larger than he had expected. With his current body of a child and his level of cultivation, he could not absorb all of it in one go. As such, he had spent a month slowly digesting all of the energy so that it didn't leave any side effects on his body. The total amount he had managed to absorb was equal to what he would have gotten in thirty years of cultivation.

Thirty whole years! He had accumulated so much qi in just one month!

He originally had two and a half years’ worth of internal qi, and combined with half a year’s worth of energy he had accumulated through Plum Blossom Life Art during the past month, his internal qi amounted to thirty-three years’ worth.

The qi contained by the Water Spiritual Tree was considerable. He could’ve accumulated double the amount he had gained if he was lucky. Unfortunately, his body was unable to contain all of it.

Keep pouring water into a cup, and the cup would eventually overflow.

The same principle applied to the dantian. Zhou Xuchuan’s dantian was too small to absorb all of the energy from the Water Spiritual Fruit, and consequently unable to make all of the sixty years’ worth of energy his.

But it’s not that I wasted it, so let’s leave it at that.

The remaining half was invested into his blood vessels and qi meridians. He widened the passages and strengthened them so that they could withstand the increased flow of energy. Forcefully widening those vessels when they were supposed to grow naturally brought about extreme pain.

Thankfully, he didn’t suffer from any internal injuries thanks to his internal qi, as well as the healing properties of the water and wood qi. The experience was painful but not damaging.

“Phew, I finally reached the final stage of the Plum Blossom Cultivation Art.”

The reason he had been forced to stop at the tenth stage before was his lack of internal energy. With that insufficiency now compensated for, his cultivation realm naturally advanced.

“You have finally made all the energy within the spiritual medicine yours. Every day must have been painful. Well done,” complimented Liu Zhengmu, who was standing guard for him.

During the past month, Zhou Xuchuan had observed his master’s health carefully. Fortunately, he hadn’t spotted any signs of illness, such as coughing, ever since Liu Zhengmu had consumed the spiritual medicine. However, as it had only been a month, Zhou Xuchan couldn't completely dismiss his concerns and continued to observe carefully.

“Hm, thirty-three years…” Liu Zhengmu exclaimed after examining his disciple. “Spiritual medicines sure are amazing.”

It was definitely not normal to possess so much internal qi at the age of nine, even for a large sect like Mount Hua. In the case of large families, they could splurge on spiritual medicines for one person if there was only a single heir. However, aside from such rare circumstances, spiritual medicines weren’t handed out readily.

Therefore, even if someone was given spiritual medicines, that would only happen once they were evaluated based on their talent, as well as their character, after they had become adults.

“Good. I think it’s time for you to begin the improvement exercises. From today, you’ll start training with your master.”

“Improvement exercises…?” Zhou Xuchuan tilted his head when he heard the unfamiliar term.

He wasn’t sure if he couldn’t remember it, or if this was the first time he was hearing it, but he had no recollection of it from his past life.

Seeing his confusion, Liu Zhengmu smiled softly and explained, “It’s an exercise method I came up with in order to do something about my weak constitution. The name is something I came up with at random, and you may think of it as a training method for the body.”

In the past, Liu Zhengmu had tried very hard in order to improve his physique that was weaker than those of his peers. His efforts continued well after he failed to make it into the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

As such, he delved into a variety of methods and one of them was his improvement exercise, which he developed by himself.

But in my previous life, he didn’t teach me anything like that…

Zhou Xuchuan’s question was resolved by Liu Zhengmu.

“Currently, thirty-three years' worth of cultivation lies dormant within you. It’s truly an incredible amount.”

Liu Zhengmu was unaware of the Plum Blossom Life Art. He thought that thirty-two years’ worth of internal qi out of the thirty-three was gained from consuming the spiritual medicine.

“However, that cannot purely be considered a good thing.”

Huh, what does that mean?

Zhou Xuchuan was confused by Liu Zhengmu’s words. He may have obtained a lot of additional internal qi, but he put in a lot of effort in order to absorb the energy properly and use it efficiently throughout his body. He naturally used all the knowledge he had gained in his previous life, so now that he was told that ‘it wasn’t necessarily good,’ he couldn’t help but tilt his head.

While he felt extremely apologetic for thinking this, he knew way more than his master if they were to compare their knowledge regarding martial arts.

“In the martial world, there’s a saying that goes, ‘Healthy qi resides in a healthy body.’”

This was referring to the harmony between the body and the internal qi.

“Balance is very important. The human body is much more delicate than people make it out to be, and it’s prone to breaking down if the balance isn’t maintained. This is the current state of your body.”

I get it now!

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Zhou Xuchuan nodded in understanding. It wasn’t like he had just realized something new; he had a very good idea about how things worked. It was just that he now understood what his master was getting at.

Geez, I can’t exactly tell him that I know all this.

There was no way he was unaware of something so important. Rather, he was planning to slowly take his time training his body.

Hm, I see now. It’s not that I don’t remember. It just never happened.

In his previous life, forget balance, he was barely keeping up with his master’s teachings. There was no way Liu Zhengmu would teach his pupil this independently developed physical training method when the latter was in such a state.

“I’m looking forward to that.”

Zhou Xuchuan pretended to be excited about learning something new, but there was another reason for his joy. This would be a memory he hadn’t gotten to make with his master in his previous life.

Tsk, but is exercise going to be enough? I might have to train on my own in secret later…

The exercise method was devised for someone with a weak constitution. He had doubts about how helpful it would be to him.

It won’t be anything much, will it?

Zhou Xuchuan smiled foolishly as he looked at Liu Zhengmu.

***

Three days had passed since Zhou Xuchuan began the improvement exercise.

Humans always have regrets, regardless of age or gender.

The same was true for Zhou Xuchuan.

He cursed at his own self for rejoicing like a fool three days ago. He inwardly howled, chastising himself for underestimating the exercise.

Gaaaaaaaaaagh!

He felt terrible pain all over his body. This kind of pain was something he had rarely experienced even in his previous life. No, this was certainly the most excruciating pain he had felt across both lives.

Something’s wrong here, he thought as he felt pain from his arm…and every other part of his body.

His bones creaked, as if they were about to snap, and his muscles felt like they would tear at any moment.

He had lost a few fingernails, and his hands were filled with blisters. The pain that stemmed from them was intolerable.

Three days ago, he started the improvement exercise.

At first, they started with regular workouts. He stretched and exercised just as Liu Zhengmu instructed him. At this point, it was nothing more than normal exercise.

After that, he was told to repeatedly run one zhang back and forth using a lightness art.

When he did as he was told, he used up his internal energy in no time.

Liu Zhengmu praised him, then led him by the hand to a new location. It was the bottom of a cliff.

“Now, you just have to climb this.”

“...What?” Zhou Xuchuan momentarily doubted what he had heard.

Mount Hua was the Western Mountain of the Five Famed Mountains of the Central Plains, and was widely praised for being a spiritual mountain. Its appearance was also rather incredible, making the onlookers dazed with its beauty.

However, a beautiful rose has its thorns.

This famous spiritual mountain was also notorious for being hard to climb, and not many people aside from cultivators tried to climb it.

The Lotus Peak, where the sect was located, had paved paths leading to it, so it was easier to climb. However, the same wasn’t true for the other regions. Any cultivator below Second Class would find it challenging.

Now, Zhou Xuchuan found himself climbing a cliff so tall that he couldn’t see the top of it, and so wide that he couldn’t see any of the terrain around it.

“Put a little more effort in. You’re like this because this is your first time. It’s not that hard!”

He could hear his master’s voice above him.

This is not that hard?

Zhou Xuchuan gulped and shivered as he stayed glued to the wall.

All ten of his fingers had cuts from the rocks of the cliff. Some of the wounds had traces of solidified blood, and the number of cuts increased whenever he moved his hands.

These wounds weren’t the problem, however; it was the pain from all the muscles in his body that was tormenting him to no end. His whole body was tense.

He couldn’t relax either as he might fall off the cliff if he were to do so, and he would not get off intact if that were to happen.

He was exhausted, aching, and had injuries all over his hands. The training was just that tough. No, in the first place, pushing a nine-year-old boy like this was strange. Sure, he might have more internal energy than others, but climbing up a cliff? Something was definitely wrong here.

I was totally off the mark!

Zhou Xuchuan deeply regretted underestimating this so-called "improvement exercise."

As it was an exercise for someone with a weak constitution to improve their health, he thought that it would be akin to stretching.

However, his thought process was wrong.

The Gentle Smiling Swordsman, Liu Zhengmu—he had underestimated what kind of man his master was.

Liu Zhengmu was someone who became a candidate for the ranks of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen despite his weak constitution, which put him at a severe advantage. It wasn’t something that mere talent could fill up.

He had definitely put in several times more effort than others. It had been impossible for him to fix his condition, after all, which meant he had to put in extra effort in order to bridge that gap.

Although he eventually had to give up joining the Plum Blossom Swordsmen due to his constitution, his efforts and skill weren’t lost.

In truth, the assessment of Liu Zhengmu within Mount Hua was considerably good, and many people felt regretful because of it.

In any case, would such a person have used lenient methods to make up for the deficiencies of his constitution? Naturally, no.

“Urrrrgh!”

He started climbing with all his might again. His whole body was screaming at him to stop, but he persisted.

This is ridiculously difficult…!

He gained newfound respect toward his master.

Climbing up the cliff without the use of internal qi. This was definitely effective.

Cultivators often subconsciously used their internal qi to lessen the burden and pain on their body. This was because internal qi protected the functions of the body. However, this led to the training being less effective.

The human body became stronger after being broken, torn, and injured. It was just like iron. The more it was struck, the farther the endurance would evolve. According to this theory, climbing up the cliff like this was the most optimal way to train.

Zhou Xuchuan had consumed all of his internal qi, and he could risk dying if he relaxed just a little, so he had to be tense constantly. Naturally, this taxed the muscles, and consequently trained them. Having to use his strength continuously also aided in the training. In a way, this kind of training was perfect.

However, there were three downsides.

“Master, I’m really going to die at this rate.”

First, he only had one life.

“I’m only nine years old this year. My body needs to grow, and honestly, I think this is too much.”

Second, his body was still that of a child. If he overexerted it, there might be problems with his growth in the future.

“Ooh! That’s a great point you’re bringing up. It’s okay. Your body contains more internal qi than you realize, so that problem will be resolved when you circulate your qi later. Internal qi is also life itself after all.”

Did he find out…?

Zhou Xuchuan knew that much. Of course he did. In fact, in this regard, he was much better off than Liu Zhengmu thought he was.

The recovery rate and growth stimulation that came from the vitality of the Plum Blossom Life Art were near the level of perfection.

As for the third and last point…

“Master, please help me out just this once. I really can’t hold on anymore. I’m going to cry.”

The “exercise” was terribly difficult. The pain made even someone like Zhou Xuchuan, who had experienced a whole life, want to give up. Leaving aside the second point, this point was just as important as the first one.

If he relaxed and gave up, he would die. The mental pressure from that point combined with the physical pain was exhausting both mentally and physically.

Undergoing this exercise quietly was far from normal.

Goddammit.

He felt like he was going to cry.

Zhou Xuchuan had never been the kind of person to be associated with ideas like “effort” and “desperation” in the first place. He had just been lucky enough to survive, and fortunate enough to enter the ranks of high elders.

That personality had not changed since he regressed. In the first place, the plans he made after his regression were the crystallization of not wanting to put in the effort, and so was the case for cultivating the Plum Blossom Life Art.

It was all because it would allow him to achieve more results for less effort than what other people put in.

In the case of the Water Spiritual Fruit, he was only desperate to get it because it was the only method to save his master’s life.

Though he admired heroes, he was far from being one.

“Yes, I imagine it is very hard…” Liu Zhengmu wore a sad look as he looked down at his disciple. His eyes teared up and his gaze wavered.

“Master…!” Zhou Xuchuan smiled brightly after seeing Liu Zhengmu’s face.

“But the pain is momentary. It will soon pass.”

“What?”

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“I too asked myself the same question several times while climbing the same cliff you are on right now. And I managed to do it by clenching my teeth and climbing. I’m sure you’ll be able to succeed as well.”

Liu Zhengmu smiled as he always did, clenching his hand as though to encourage Zhou Xuchuan to do his best.

“Ah…”

Zhou Xuchuan felt a wave of despair wash over him upon seeing that smile.

Master, you were that kind of person?

In the world of cultivators, there was a phrase that went like this: Even if you can do it yourself, do not tell others that they can do the same thing. Cultivators or not, people have their own different limits.

I did it, so you can do it too—it was one of the misguided teachings in the world.

Of course, considering the environment alone, Zhou Xuchuan was much better off than Liu Zhengmu. Back then, Liu Zhengmu didn’t possess cultivation that superseded his peers, nor were his body and mind far more developed than his peers like Zhou Xuchuan’s were.

His willpower was the only thing he had. At that time, he started climbing the cliff by himself without anyone’s help, even though his master did not tell him to do so.

Thinking of such an idea and putting it into practice wasn’t something that anyone could do. Even now, Zhou Xuchuan couldn’t help but find it amazing. Even Zhou Xuchuan of the previous life would not be able to go so far, much less the one in this life.

When it came to effort, Liu Zhengmu was second to none in the entire sect, a stark contrast to Zhou Xuchuan.

“I can’t do this.”

“That’s okay! I will be here with you throughout the night, and even until dawn! If you’re hungry, we’ll just eat grain pills together!” Liu Zhengmu shouted in an attempt to cheer Zhou Xuchuan up.

Boom-

The word “together” echoed like thunder in Zhou Xuchuan’s ears, making him panic.

His master’s words of encouragement echoed, causing gravel to fall from above him.

I really don’t want to think like this, but…

Zhou Xuchuan wore a tearful expression.

My master is terrible at teaching!

Liu Zhengmu was an upright person. He was truly a straightforward person. Put it in another way, he didn’t know how to take shortcuts, and was very stubborn. In other words, he was the type of person filled with the mindset of “effort and willpower will eventually lead you to success!”

Ah, Master is such a humane person!

He was bestowed with the talent and willpower, but at the same time, a weak constitution.

He was bestowed with a splendid personality and nature, as well as stubbornness.

“I am truly sorry. I also do not wish to cause you such pain. However, if I let you be, you’ll become lazy relying on that massive internal qi of yours…”

Liu Zhengmu truly suffered along with his only disciple as he watched the boy climb up the cliff. He was usually an affectionate man and couldn’t be harsh on others, so he wanted to go help his disciple immediately.

“That’s totally fine with me, Master. If I think about it, it’s okay even if I become a little lazy. I’m already ahead, aren’t I?” Zhou Xuchuan said nervously.

“No, I cannot let such a thing happen for the sake of your future. Please forgive your master. No, resent me all you want.”

“No, Master. I’m truly okay. I was wrong. I won’t be lazy, so I hope you can look for another way with me. Master, help me out just this once.”

Zhou Xuchuan was slowly losing grip in his hands. He had rested for too long. He had to start climbing again, but he really didn’t want to do so.

This is a flaw I didn’t know my master had before I regressed. It’s a punishment for my rudeness!

He truly hadn’t thought that Liu Zhengmu had such a side to him.

Well, it wasn’t surprising. In his previous life, Zhou Xuchuan had his hands full just following the normal training schedule given to him by his master, while Liu Zhengmu was suffering from his condition.

Thanks to that, there hadn’t been an opportunity for Liu Zhengmu to teach Zhou Xuchuan properly like this.

“I’m really, really tired. I’ll die at this rate.”

Zhou Xuchuan’s voice became desperate.

“It’s fine if you hate me for not being able to help you. So let us do our best together. I believe in you.”

Liu Zhengmu smiled with a teary face. His smile was like that of the Heavenly Lord Tianzun. The fog around them disappeared, the clouds receded, and the smile shone down like a ray of bright light within the darkness.

Seeing that smile, Zhou Xuchuan also smiled and thought to himself, Goddammit… I’m screwed…