Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

That night, Xie Buruo caught a poisonous scorpion and took it home to practice his martial arts using its venom.

Unfortunately, after only half a day, the scorpion could not withstand the torment and died.

For the next two days, he wandered around the vicinity of Tallinn, turning over stones and digging through grass, catching centipedes and poisonous scorpions.

Following the instructions on the cloth, and without fear of being bitten, he quickly became quite skilled at catching insects.

Unfortunately, the quality of poisonous insects at Shaolin Temple is generally poor.

Each time he was bitten and poisoned, he would use the methods of Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) to visualize and circulate his internal energy. In just five or six times, he could neutralize the poison.

As his internal energy circulated, he felt that his internal strength had improved somewhat.

Human desires are insatiable.

Ordinary poisonous insects could no longer satisfy Xie Buruo's appetite.

He is now focused on finding a better mutant.

Xie had already become familiar with the monks in the temple. These monks were also annoyed by poisonous snakes and insects and wished someone could help them get rid of them.

He was informed of all the places where poisonous insects roamed.

The sun was at its zenith at noon.

Xie Bu Ruo was hiding in the grass in the tower, catching snakes and insects.

At this moment, a monk walked quickly over; he was a grand-disciple of Xuancheng.

Upon seeing Xie Buruo, he said, "Young Master Xie, my master requests your presence."

Xie Buruo understood in his heart that it must be because of his sword technique.

He threw the centipede he had just caught into the earthenware pot and excitedly followed the monk.

With a snap.

A bound book was placed heavily on the table.

Xuan Cheng touched his bald head and smiled smugly.

"I'm getting old, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I spent several days thinking about this sword technique before I could remember it all, and I've already drawn up the moves in diagrams. Take a look!"

Xie Buruo was overjoyed. After thanking him, he eagerly turned the pages of the book.

But when he looked at the pages of the book, he was immediately stunned.

On the paper were simple stick figures, each holding a long sword and striking various poses.

Xie Buruo had seen many sword manuals in the Langhuan Jade Cave, but he had never seen one so carelessly written.

It's one thing to be poorly drawn.

He flipped to the homepage, where the starting stance was "The Immortal Points the Way," and all thirteen variations in the diagram were present.

However, if he hadn't learned this move, just looking at the sword manual, he would never have been able to figure out how to perform those thirteen variations.

Xuan Cheng thought the other party was overjoyed and stunned, so he laughed.

"Young man, my sword manual is indeed drawn in a simple and easy-to-understand way, but you don't need to be so happy about it, do you?"

Where is it simple and easy to understand?

Xie Bu Ruo flipped to the later illustrations, looked at the hopping stick figures, and blurted out, "I clearly can't understand this!"

"Don't understand? How can you not understand? Let me see it!"

Xuan Cheng beckoned Xie Bu Ruo to come closer and asked him to point out the parts of the sword manual he didn't understand.

Xie Bu Ruo pointed to one of the diagrams in the book.

The picture shows five swords drawn in front of the little figure, each pointing in a different direction.

Xie Ruo asked, "What does this mean?"

Xuan Cheng's eyes widened: "You can't even understand something this simple?"

He was about to explain, but then he thought that simply speaking might not be enough for the other party to understand, so he said to Xie Buruo, "Give me the sword!"

Xuan Cheng took the longsword and thrust it in the first direction.

He then flicked his wrist and struck five times with his sword, splitting the sword into five sword strikes that attacked five directions simultaneously.

After Xuan Cheng finished using the move, he sheathed his sword and said, "This move must be used quickly. It must be executed swiftly and in one smooth motion to unleash its full power."

Xie Bu Ruo saw this and repeatedly praised it as wonderful.

Xuan Cheng drew this sword manual not to make things difficult for Xie Buruo.

Because of his extraordinary talent, what seemed like complicated and difficult sword moves to others was simple and ordinary to him.

Many profound principles of martial arts are self-evident to him; he simply considers them principles that everyone should understand and disdains to explain them in detail.

Although he possessed profound knowledge of martial arts, none of his disciples were outstanding.

Firstly, because ordinary disciples couldn't keep up with his train of thought.

Secondly, he was impatient and only talked about the core principles when teaching his skills, without bothering to explain the intricacies and tricks in detail.

The disciples were of average intelligence and could not comprehend it, and they were afraid of being scolded by their master if they asked.

Ultimately, none of his martial arts skills were passed down to him.

This is also a great regret in Xuan Cheng's heart.

Xuan Cheng sighed and said, "If you're going to help someone out, then help them to the end. Since you can't understand this sword manual by yourself, then come to me every day to learn swordsmanship."

Such a good thing, how could Xie Buruo refuse?

There is a huge difference between self-study and having guidance from a renowned teacher.

He immediately thanked him profusely.

Xuan Cheng said, "However, I must say a few unpleasant things first! I am an impatient man. Although you have been kind to me, when it comes to learning martial arts and swordsmanship, I will not be polite to you."

Xie Bu Ruo often got harshly criticized by Wang Yuyan when he asked her for advice, and he was already used to it.

Getting criticized?

This is something I'm good at!

He readily agreed, not caring at all.

Xuan Cheng nodded and said, "Hmm, you have a strong desire to learn, I hope it's not just talk."

An old man and a young boy were in the meditation room, dissecting the essence of swordsmanship.

Xuan Cheng was exceptionally talented. After seeing the full extent of the sword technique, he had already grasped seventy to eighty percent of its essence.

Later, the Sweeping Monk personally explained the essence of the sword, and he had no more doubts.

As he instructed Xie Buruo on swordsmanship, it was as if he had practiced it since childhood, demonstrating unparalleled skill.

The two of them, one teaching and the other learning, unknowingly spent several hours together.

"I'll teach you three moves first."

"After you've mastered the basics, I'll teach you three more moves."

Xuan Cheng sat down in the chair, panting, took a towel to wipe the sweat from his face, and then took the teapot Xie Buruo handed him and gulped down the water.

"You're not very talented, kid. It took you so much effort to learn just three sword moves."

"However, his perseverance is truly commendable."

"If it were my disciples, after being scolded a few times, they wouldn't dare to say another word, let alone ask any more questions about sword techniques."

"You shameless brat, you keep asking questions until you understand."

"That's exactly what I like to hear!"

Xie Bu Ruo took the teapot from Xuan Cheng's hand and, seizing the opportunity, wanted to ask about the secret to the next move.

Xuan Cheng rolled his eyes at him: "I'm too weak to do that, and you can't even understand the sword manual yourself. Let's talk about it tomorrow!"

Seeing Xie Buruo studying the sword manual, Xuan Cheng recalled the scenes of himself teaching his disciples martial arts on behalf of his master, and his heart softened.

"This sword should be thrust out from the lower abdomen!"

Xie Buruo was overjoyed upon hearing this and mentally calculated the location of the Small Animal position.

After calculating for a long time, he thrust out a sword at an angle.

Xuan Cheng said, "It's off-center."

Xie made a slight adjustment, and then he stabbed the right spot.

Xuan Cheng said unhappily, "I already told you it's a lowly beast level, why is your sword strike so slow?"

Xie Buruo replied, "I need to calculate the location of the Small Animal position first."

Xuan Cheng was taken aback: "Calculate it now?"

He recalled that when he taught Xie Bu Ruo a new move, Xie Bu Ruo always made a mistake in the initial direction of his sword strike, and his reaction was quite slow, as if his computer had crashed.

Xie Buruo nodded, looking rather ashamed, and said, "I'm not very familiar with the divination positions yet."

"Not familiar?" Xuan Cheng remained silent for a moment.

His mind raced, and he inquired about Xie Buruo's experience learning swordsmanship.

Although Xie Buruo had mentioned it before, the process was very brief.

At this moment, Xuan Cheng was eager to find out the truth and asked very detailed questions.

After asking the question, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"So, you've only studied the I Ching for a few months in total?"

Xie Buruo said, "Yes, I just don't understand those gossip relationships."

Xuan Cheng seemed to be deep in thought, then waved his hand: "I'm a little tired today, come find me again tomorrow to learn swordsmanship."

After Xie Buruo left, Xuan Cheng fell into deep thought.

He even has to calculate the positions of the sixty-four hexagrams on the spot?

How dare you learn this sword technique?

It is said that it was taught by a woman according to a manual. They were both brave enough to teach and brave enough to learn!

In Xuan Cheng's eyes, this set of sword techniques from the Free and Unfettered School was nothing special.

That's only because he possesses many Shaolin skills, some of which surpass this sword technique in both difficulty and power.

He was naturally arrogant and didn't take this sword technique seriously.

However, Xie Buruo is a different story.

He himself had a shallow foundation and mediocre swordsmanship. He had only studied the Book of Changes haphazardly for a few months, yet he dared to delve into the profound swordsmanship of the Free and Unfettered Sect.

Xuan Cheng knew that if he told Tianshan Tonglao about this, she would laugh at him and think he was talking nonsense.

"He doesn't even know much about the I Ching, yet he managed to learn a few moves in such a short time."

"He just learned three more moves!"

"That kid's got some serious talent!"

Xuan Cheng's heart skipped a beat.

He had previously thought Xie was of average talent, but now he suddenly realized the truth.

It's only natural that the opponent is not even familiar with the I Ching, so learning this sword technique will be very slow.

If Xie Bu Ruo could truly learn it in one go, that would be a miracle.

Xuan Cheng became increasingly suspicious: "If I teach him the swordsmanship of the Free and Unfettered Sect, wouldn't that be helping the Free and Unfettered Sect cultivate talent?"

When he was a child and his martial arts skills were not yet fully developed, he was often bullied by the Heavenly Mountain Child Granny, so he didn't have a good impression of the Free and Unfettered Sect.

Now, the thought that he was actually helping the Free and Unfettered Sect cultivate talent filled him with a sudden, intense hatred.

"No, no!"

"How could such a talent be sent to the Free and Unfettered Sect?"

"Since he has come to Shaolin, he has a connection with our Shaolin!"

"It rightfully belongs to Shaolin!"

He wanted to accept Xie's thanks and perhaps even become a disciple, but he was too proud to ask first.

Moreover, Xie was not as good as his original teacher, so it would be unreasonable to ask him to change his lineage.

Ideally, the other party should bring it up themselves; that would be best.

"How can I get him to say that?"

"This kid is quite obsessed with the swordsmanship of the Free and Unfettered Sect."

"Yes, that's where I'll start."

"Teach him a few moves of the Xiaoyao School swordsmanship while also teaching him the Shaolin secret technique to counter these moves."

"In this way, he will naturally see that my Shaolin Sect is far superior to the Xiaoyao Sect, so wouldn't he admire it and come to submit with courtesy?"

"As expected of this old monk, this plan is brilliant!"

"However, young man, your foundation is not strong enough. These Shaolin techniques must be taught according to your ability. Otherwise, things could turn out like what happened to this old monk."

"Hmm, let's go ask the old man who sweeps the floor again. He knows a lot, maybe he has some ideas."