I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

"It is fortunate for Senior Brother to meet such a beauty. Bao Sanniang is quite strong and of excellent character. When she fought me, even when she was at a disadvantage and her anger was overwhelming, she was able to restrain herself from using her true skills that could kill. Moreover, she has remained devoted to me for so many years, which is the most rare thing."

It's a pity your senior uncle is such a blockhead, it really infuriates me!

"I don't think Brother Guan is stupid at all. Maybe he has other considerations..."

Lin Yi stroked his newly grown beard, lost in thought...

Chapter 116 Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon

Lin Yi was quite confident in his ability to judge people, after all, he was a professional.

Guan Buping may look like a rough and rugged man, but he is actually quite shrewd. You could say he's not very smart, but he's definitely not stupid.

Although Bao Sanniang was a bit arrogant, she was exceptionally bold when expressing her feelings, without any concealment. Why couldn't Guan Buping be with her when he knew she liked him?

Either Guan Buping doesn't like her, or he has other reasons.

First, we can rule out the former. If Guan Buping didn't like Bao Sanniang, he would have said so directly, instead of provoking Bao Sanniang to even suspect his relationship with Qu Jing and affecting Qu Jing's reputation.

Then it can only be the latter.

The unspeakable predicament is still easy to understand. Bao Sanniang is the chief administrator of Xiangzhou, with formidable strength, while Guan Buping is only the chief constable of a prefecture, and his cultivation has reached its limit. The woman is strong and the man is weak, which may be difficult for some strong-willed men to accept.

After all, people in feudal society had their minds restricted to a certain extent and could not think as freely as modern people.

After much deliberation, Lin Yi solemnly said, "Master, I think it's better for us outsiders not to interfere too much in matters of the heart. Otherwise, it might backfire and be counterproductive. Besides, Steward Bao has some misunderstandings about you."

"That's true."

Qu Jing thought Lin Yi's words made sense, but she still couldn't help but sigh, "My senior brother is my last concern in this world, and I naturally hope that he can spend the rest of his life happily."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi immediately sensed something was amiss. Qu Jing's words seemed to hint at a desire to sever ties with the world.

She can't let go of Guan Buping, so she wants to see him happy, but then what?

It seems they're about to bravely face death.

Remembering that Qu Jing had said she had a blood feud, Lin Yi became even more certain of his guess.

But he couldn't ask directly. However, if he left it unattended, Qu Jing might one day feel that he had nothing left to teach her and then die alone.

After a moment's thought, Lin Yi feigned grievance and said, "Won't Master worry about me?"

Qu Jing was taken aback, not expecting Lin Yi to ask so directly, and felt a little embarrassed.

Emotionally speaking, she didn't have a deep attachment to Lin Yi, after all, they had only known each other for a short time, but it wouldn't be good to say it directly.

She may not have much social interaction, but her emotional intelligence is quite high. After the initial awkwardness, she immediately smiled and said, "Of course I'll worry, but you're so capable, I don't need to worry about you!"

"I get it, this is what they mean by 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'."

Qu Jing: "..."

That's a vivid description, but it feels a bit strange.

"Alright, let's not talk about your senior uncle's affairs for now. Now I will teach you the most important footwork technique of our sect."

Qu Jing decisively changed the subject, and then quickly drew a bagua on the ground.

"Our Heavenly Heart Sword Sect's core footwork was developed by our ancestor from the principles of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. It is called the Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon. Try grabbing me and see what happens."

As Qu Jing spoke, she began to move, preparing to demonstrate the profound mysteries of the Bagua Dragon to Lin Yi. Lin Yi nodded, staring intently at Qu Jing. He saw that she moved with incredible speed and grace, like a dragon emerging from the sea, rushing towards him.

Lin Yi had already slowed down the playback, and when Qu Jing rushed up to him, he quickly grabbed her with one hand.

However, Qu Jing, who was already moving slowly in his eyes, was as slippery as an eel, easily sliding past his hand and even trying to pat his back. Lin Yi quickly turned around and grabbed Qu Jing's hand again, but Qu Jing dodged and disappeared in an instant.

This footwork is truly amazing!

Lin Yi sensed that this wasn't a matter of speed, but rather a matter of metaphysics.

If you can't catch her, you can't catch her, even if she's right in front of you.

There might be a hidden meaning behind this.

Lin Yi recalled what Qu Jing had said before: the Bagua Dragon was derived from the principles of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. If that was the case, she might be following some kind of rule.

Lin Yi's mind raced, clearing his mind of all distractions, his eyes fixed solely on Qu Jing, whose feet seemed to be surrounded by a constantly shifting array of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.

Just as Qu Jing was about to step forward, Lin Yi suddenly closed his eyes, grabbed her hand at an angle, and held it.

Her hands were soft and cool, as if boneless.

Qu Jing stared at Lin Yi in utter bewilderment, and asked in shock, "How did you do that?"

Lin Yi replied, "Master, you said that the Eight Trigrams Dragon comes from the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. Based on the two times you failed, I deduced that each time you came out from the Xun position and then disappeared into the Ze position. So I pretended to make a move in the Xun position, but actually grabbed at the Ze position, and that's how I caught you."

Qu Jing was stunned. She used to think of herself as a genius, but now, compared to Lin Yi, what was she? So much so that she forgot that her hand was still being held by Lin Yi.

"Genius, you are a true genius. I'm afraid it won't be long before you graduate."

Thinking about this, Qu Jing felt a sense of loss.

According to the original plan, after Lin Yi had almost completed his apprenticeship, she would go to Dongting Jun to take revenge.

According to her plan, it would take at least half a year for her to pass on all her knowledge to Lin Yi, and that wouldn't be enough for him to fully understand it.

But that's good enough, just passing is fine. The master leads you in, but the rest is up to you.

In the next six months, she could also find some miraculous medicines for Guan Buping and help him solve some difficulties. The rest would depend on her newly accepted apprentice.

But to my surprise, in less than half a month, she had already taught all the material she had planned to teach for six months.

The Bagua Swimming Dragon's footwork is even more outrageous. This is the most difficult technique of the Heavenly Heart Sword Sect because it is a mysterious art that combines body techniques with the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. Just calculating the position requires a lot of mental energy.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yi deciphered her Bagua Youlong before he even learned it.

Won't this make Lin Yi think that this technique is nothing special?

For a moment, Qu Jing couldn't help but feel a little anxious and uncertain.

"I was just being opportunistic, Master, please don't praise me like that, or I'll become arrogant."

Lin Yi appeared shy on the surface, but was secretly very pleased with himself.

Is this even at the level of an elementary school student's calculation skills?

"I wasn't as good as you back then, but I was much more arrogant than you."

Overwhelmed by the experience, Qu Jing lost her composure and let go of the pretense of being an expert. Only then did she notice that her hand was still in Lin Yi's grasp. She pulled her hand away and said, "I will pass on the incantation and the secrets to you. Once you have mastered this footwork, you will be ready to graduate."

The meaning of "graduating from the apprenticeship" is that the apprenticeship period has been completed and the apprenticeship is officially completed. Theoretically speaking, at this point, it is not considered a violation of the rules of the sect to take on apprentices.

"The difference between Bagua Youlong and other footwork techniques is that other footwork techniques require calculating and determining the trigrams when determining the direction, and they only have footwork techniques, while Bagua Youlong takes yourself as the center and integrates the Five Elements Escape Techniques."

"I was careless just now, always using water escape techniques. I didn't expect you to figure out the pattern. If the five elements are reversed, it won't be so easy to break."

Qu Jing tried to salvage her footwork, and Lin Yi understood, saying that there is no unbreakable law in the world, only unfinished methods.

It's all my fault for being too clever and embarrassing my master. But, my master's hands are so smooth. Is that a characteristic of the water element?

Chapter 117 Guan Ge's Love Rival?

If Qu Jing knew the treacherous thoughts swirling in Lin Yi's mind, she would probably have punished him on the spot. After being astonished by Lin Yi's talent, she composed herself and began to teach him the incantation.

"The Four Symbols define the Eight Trigrams, Yin and Yang divide the Five Elements, wondrous arts open the Eight Gates, and one moves within the Dragon Formation..."

The Eight Trigrams Dragon is also a branch of Qimen Dunjia. All Qimen arts have their own merits, but they are all inseparable from the Eight Trigrams and Eight Gates, Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. This is the foundation of Qimen Dunjia. On this foundation, different schools have developed new applications, which are basically more powerful than the original Qimen Dunjia.

After all, things are always evolving, and older things are not necessarily more powerful, except, of course, living relics.

After Qu Jing finished teaching the formula, Lin Yi roughly understood that the Bagua Dragon was actually a math problem. Yin and Yang were the foundation of all changes. Since the Bagua Dragon used itself as the array eye, facing the sun was Yang and turning away from the sun was Yin.

Based on this, the positions of the four symbols will change as people move, and the directions of the eight trigrams, five elements, and eight gates will also change accordingly.

The computational workload is actually not large, but time is added to these variables.

The different seasons, solar terms, and even the twelve two-hour periods of a day all bring new variables.

The more factors you add, the more the calculations increase exponentially; this is what makes Qimen Dunjia so complex.

Of course, once you're proficient, the calculations will be much faster, and you'll be able to instantly step into any position you want—that's when you've mastered it.

Lin Yi never expected that he would have to learn math again after arriving in the world of cultivation. At first, he didn't think much of it, but as he listened, his head started to ache.

Seeing him frown, Qu Jing knew he was definitely stumped, and felt a little happy inside.

If Lin Yi always had a smooth journey, it would make her, his master, seem useless.

Thinking this to himself, he said gently, "I have already taught you all the incantations. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime."

"it is good."

Lin Yi agreed, knowing that Qu Jing was about to leave again, and quickly took out the fox fur coat he had asked the tailor to make from his cloud bag.

“Master, this is a coat made from the skin of the fox demon you killed last time. Now that the weather is getting colder, Master should pay special attention to keeping warm when traveling outside.”

Qu Jing was taken aback, not expecting Lin Yi to give her clothes. She subconsciously refused, saying, "Although my cultivation is shallow, I am no longer afraid of the cold or heat. You can keep this coat for yourself."

"Master, are you going to refuse your disciple's filial piety?"

Lin Yi's words left Qu Jing with no way to refuse, so she had no choice but to say helplessly, "Well... okay, I'll accept it then."

"Remember to wear something warm if it gets cold. I'm heading back now."

"Okay, okay, I got it."

Qu Jing watched Lin Yi leave, then opened the cloud bag and put the coat inside, feeling a pang of emotion.

When she took Lin Yi as her disciple, she was quite ambitious. First, she wanted to pass on all her knowledge so that the lineage would not be cut off. Second, she wanted to leave a spark so that if Lin Yi succeeded in his cultivation after she died, he might be able to help her take revenge. Third, she wanted to build a good relationship with Guan Buping. With Lin Yi's talent and temperament, he would definitely not forget Guan Buping, the person who introduced him, if he succeeded in his cultivation in the future.

She considered everything thoroughly, but she didn't truly treat Lin Yi as her disciple. Although she taught him everything she knew, as Lin Yi had said before, she, as his master, didn't really care about her only disciple. Lin Yi was so filial, which inevitably made her feel guilty.

"Be nicer to him from now on!"

Qu Jing muttered something to herself and was about to leave when she suddenly sensed something was amiss.

She belongs to the water element in the Five Elements theory, and is particularly sensitive to water and fire. Logically speaking, this island in the middle of the river is surrounded by water, so it should be rich in water vapor and lack fire element.

But she clearly sensed the increasingly intense power of the fire spirit. After carefully sensing it, she discovered that the fire spirit was emanating from beneath the Xiangjiang River.

Is there a fire underwater?

This unusual behavior aroused Qu Jing's suspicion. If things are abnormal, there must be something fishy going on. She should probably investigate. If there is a treasure, it will be her opportunity. If there is any trouble, she can eliminate it in advance.