Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 413 Entering the Profession Through Head Training
Amidst the soft, quiet sounds of children reading aloud, Jiang Shu arrived carrying a radish.

Everyone else looked up at him.

The earliest refugees were those brought up the mountain by Pei Xia when Jiang Shu went to distribute porridge. The boatmen who came later were also selected by him and Ma Shilin.

So even though Elder Jiang has not been on the mountain for some time, he still has some reputation.

When he came over, everyone looked at him with a blank and confused expression.

Jiang Shu wasn't really comfortable with this kind of gaze. When he was a ship captain, Ma Shilin was in charge of many things, and he only assisted.

He seemed somewhat intimidated when asked to stand in front of others and give instructions.

Fortunately, the White Ghosts are crossing the border now, and no matter how much Jiang Shu hesitates, he can't avoid it. He finally convinced himself to be more decisive.

"I am here on my master's orders to teach everyone how to cultivate," he said briefly.

The disciples' gazes immediately turned intense.

Pei Xia had mentioned taking them on a cultivation journey earlier, but at that time, "cultivation" meant a higher status, greater power, and a better life to them.

That remains true now, but beyond that, in this silent darkness, it has been given another layer of meaning: the ability to protect one's home.

After Bai Gui, without Li Qing's protection, other challenges will only emerge one after another.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Jiang Shu looked around.

There's also a concept of "talent" in head-refining techniques; simply put, everyone's efficiency in converting dietary supplements varies.

Those who eat until they're stuffed but don't feel their bodies getting stronger—that's a no-go.

However, this limitation can be overcome with adequate dietary supplements.

As soon as Jiang Shu finished speaking, more than a dozen young people raised their hands.

Jiang Shu looked at the six jade ginseng roots in his arms: "Uh, let's pick three first. No rush, there's a chance for everyone."

He chose three that were close together.

Amidst the envious gazes of others, the three knelt on the ground, took a few steps forward, and without saying a word, kowtowed to Jiang Shu: "Thank you, Master!"

Jiang Shu quickly shook his head: "No, no, I'm just teaching you cultivation. Whether you can actually enter the field is another matter. Besides, I haven't graduated myself, so I can't take on any disciples."

Leaving aside the issue of misleading students, traditionally speaking, once a disciple enters the master's household, they become part of the master's family. If a master takes on disciples before the disciple has graduated, it is considered "starting a new school," which is a great disrespect.

Even Pei Xia, back then, only took Lu Li under his wing after Qingxianzi recognized her as a master.

“Sit cross-legged,” Jiang Shu said, sitting down opposite the three of them. He then picked up a radish from his pocket and gave one to each of them. “Go ahead and eat.”

Ginseng, jade ginseng, such a big one!

Jiang Shu watched the three of them eat, and one of them frowned first, his movements slowing down as he put the food in his mouth.

Jiang Shu immediately asked him, "What's wrong?"

The young man thought Elder Jiang was scolding him for eating too slowly, so he quickly took a few more bites and mumbled, "It's nothing, it's nothing..."

However, Jiang Shu reached out and pressed down on his wrist: "It's okay, just tell me how you feel."

The other person hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly, "I think I'm full."

The young and strong man had been working on the mountain for a long time, so he had a big appetite.

The jade sea cucumber was as big as a thick radish, and there was no such thing as filling one's stomach after only eating a third of it.

A hint of joy flashed in Jiang Shu's eyes: "You have talent."

Therefore, this is the advantage of good dietary supplements.

When training your head, especially when trying to enter the field, you need to make your body feel "full" and "sufficient" first. Then, the excess energy entering your stomach will naturally try to be directed towards strengthening your body.

Ordinary meals, such as rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and cured meat, have nutritional benefits, but the proportion is insufficient. So even if you eat until you're full, it's only enough for your body's own consumption. But with jade ginseng, like this young man, he only ate a third of it, and his body already felt it was enough, even though his stomach could definitely hold more.

“Keep eating,” Jiang Shu nodded, reminding him, “Try to tighten your abdomen while you eat.”

Qin Zhou was unable to retain substantial spiritual power in his body, so he naturally couldn't feel this special power when he started practicing head refining. According to his previous experience at Tianbao Mountain—which was actually an unwritten method of head refining for Qin Zhou—as long as the body was already satisfied, he would keep trying to exert force on a certain part of the body to create "demand," and the excess power would move towards that part.

The abdomen is the best choice because it is close to the stomach.

The young man naturally listened to Jiang Shu, gnawing on the radish while trying to tighten his abdomen.

He tried repeatedly until he had eaten the entire jade ginseng.

Jiang Shu lifted the shirt covering his abdomen and pressed on the other man's lower abdomen.

It has not yet been formed into copper.

However, there are already obvious signs of hardening, and the area is not small.

He handed him another radish: "Continue."

This time, after eating half of the radish, the young disciple's expression changed. He looked at Jiang Shu and said, "It seems like I can't keep my guard up anymore."

Jiang Shu smiled, flicked his finger and tapped on his stomach, making a crisp "clang" sound.

"You've succeeded."

The young man was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed: "I've succeeded? I'm a cultivator now? I'm... Copper Skin?"

Jiang Shu quickly waved his hand at him, signaling him to calm down, and smiled and said, "Not yet, but with a piece of copper skin, the speed of forging your physique from your abdomen outward will be much faster. When your entire body's skin can be freely turned into copper, you will be a low-grade copper skin."

The young man looked excited and ate the jade ginseng with even greater effort.

The nutritional benefits of the two jade ginseng roots were not completely depleted by the copper sheet in his abdomen; their volatile energy was helping to strengthen his chest and back.

Jiang Shu then looked at the two people next to him, and it was clear that their talents were much inferior.

After both jade ginseng roots were swallowed, the abdomen had not yet been strengthened into copper skin.

However, after checking, Jiang Shu found that although one of them was not fast, as the effects of the subsequent dietary supplements wore off, completing the copper skin on his abdomen should not be a problem.

The other one probably won't be able to complete it for the time being. Judging from his progress, even if he were given another jade ginseng, he would definitely not be able to consume it himself, rather than having enough potency to convert it into copper skin.

But he himself didn't realize it; he only knew that an opportunity to become a practitioner was presented to him and was about to slip away.

He dared not ask for it, so he could only look up at Jiang Shu with wide eyes, hoping that he would give him another jade ginseng.

Only when Jiang Shu shook his head at him did he bite his lip and lower his head in dejection.

"It's alright, there will be other opportunities in the future," Jiang Shu comforted him.

This is the difference in talent.

In fact, even the first young man to complete the copper skin enhancement was only of average talent. In an ordinary sect, he would have to be fed and nourished for several years to slowly accumulate the cultivation level of a low-grade copper skin. He was just an ordinary person with some cultivation aptitude.

Judging from his age, let alone compared to Jiang Shu, even Guo Gai from the mountain was far more talented than him.

However, Pei Xia fed him with jade ginseng, so the process of learning the basics was naturally smooth and fluid.

As for the last one who can't get into the industry no matter how hard he tries... it's okay. When the opportunity comes in the future, when the sect still has nourishing elixirs, that stuff will be hard to fill your stomach.

"You all should digest and utilize the nourishing food properly. I'll go report to Master first," Jiang Shu said, turning to find Pei Xia in another corner of the dungeon.

Pei Xia listened silently, and after a moment of thought, he took out a small bottle from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu was taken aback: "What is this?"

"Nourishing Spirit Pill".

(End of this chapter)