Five days later.
A soft thud sounded from Liu Yilin's body, audible only to herself. A white vortex of energy appeared at her dantian, and she had finally succeeded in reaching the first level of the Star Guidance Art.
Worried that prolonged cultivation might exhaust her, Ning Beichen gave her three days off and took her to explore the desert. A few more days passed. Ning Beichen checked Liu Yilin's cultivation and said, "Your cultivation is close to the second level, meaning you have some self-preservation ability. Now I can teach you some hand-to-hand combat. What do you want to learn?"
"I don't want to learn saber or sword techniques. As a girl, I can't carry a saber or sword around all day. Not to mention the odd looks I'd get, but in the ancient Eastern kingdom, carrying such things would likely attract trouble from the authorities first." Liu Yilin thought for a moment and said.
"That's true. After all, it's not ancient times anymore, and carrying such things is tantamount to announcing that you know martial arts, which is even more problematic."
"How about this? You learn a set of fist techniques and a set of movement techniques. Martial arts are all interconnected; once you master fist techniques, other things will be much easier to grasp. Even if you don't, you'll still be better off than most." Ning Beichen mused.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Liu Yilin nodded. It was indeed ungraceful for a girl to wield a saber or sword.
"Alright, I'll make the decision for you. I'll teach you the Small Collapse Fist first. It has no superfluous moves, only a way of generating power. Once you learn it, your punch becomes an attack, and you don't need to worry about specific forms."
"Then I'll teach you a set of movement techniques and a set of grappling techniques. With these three, most ordinary troublemakers won't be your match. If you encounter a true master, even if you know more formidable martial arts, you won't be able to utilize them without corresponding cultivation." Ning Beichen explained.
Liu Yilin nodded, but she had some doubts about the power of Ning Beichen's Small Collapse Fist. To allay her concerns, Ning Beichen decided to demonstrate.
"Bang!" Ning Beichen threw a punch. A poplar tree growing in the desert made a loud crack and split in two, its trunk as thick as a bowl. Liu Yilin's eyes lit up.
However, Ning Beichen didn't tell her that at her current cultivation level, it was impossible for her to break a poplar tree. But once her cultivation strengthened, breaking a poplar tree with the Small Collapse Fist would be child's play.
"That's amazing! I want to learn that." Liu Yilin, unaware of the subtleties, was already awestruck by the power of the Small Collapse Fist after seeing Ning Beichen break a tree with a single punch.
"Good, I'll teach you the Small Collapse Fist now." Ning Beichen chuckled, not intending to reveal the hidden details, letting her discover them herself over time.
The Small Collapse Fist was not complicated; it was merely a method of utilizing internal energy. In less than a day, Liu Yilin had mastered it to a respectable level. She then emulated Ning Beichen, unleashing her internal energy and delivering a Small Collapse Fist at a poplar tree.
With a "bang," the poplar tree only swayed a few times; it didn't split in two as she had expected. Furthermore, the recoil sent a sharp pain through her fist.
"Beichen, why can't I break it?" Liu Yilin asked, somewhat indignantly.
"It's not that easy. You're only at the first level of the Star Guidance Art. When you reach the third level, you'll be able to do it." Ning Beichen said with a hidden smile.
"But you said it was easy before! You said I could break it once I learned the Small Collapse Fist!" Liu Yilin sounded displeased.
"No matter how easy it seems, it still requires cultivation. If everyone became a master after learning one technique, wouldn't the world be in chaos?" Ning Beichen replied.
"That's true. I'll go back to practicing then." Liu Yilin nodded. Unlike other girls, once she decided to do something, she would put her all into it and see it through.
After Liu Yilin went to practice, Ning Beichen looked at the fist marks on the poplar tree. His smiling face twitched, and his previous amusement vanished, replaced by a tinge of envy. Liu Yilin's rapid mastery of the Star Guidance Art had already astonished him, and now he realized he had underestimated her potential.
"Could this be... the old man's intention?"
"But that doesn't make sense. If the old man saw her potential and wanted to train her, he could have simply taken her as a disciple. Why would he burden me with protecting her?"
"Does the old man have another agenda?" Ning Beichen pondered for a long time, but couldn't come to any conclusions. He wanted to ask his master, but his master had vanished without a trace, and there was no telling when he would return.
"Forget it. Since Master left a letter and didn't forbid me from teaching her martial arts, I'll just proceed as is for now." His master had always been enigmatic; no one knew his true motives. When he took Ning Beichen as a disciple, he was already a grandmaster. How could Ning Beichen possibly fathom his master's thoughts?
Since he couldn't figure it out, Ning Beichen decided to stop thinking about it.
The third day. Ning Beichen began teaching Liu Yilin movement techniques, a highly advanced art that, once mastered, could allow her to evade most attacks without encountering a superior opponent. Liu Yilin's speed in practicing the movement techniques once again filled Ning Beichen with envy. Watching Liu Yilin move like a nimble fish in the desert, Ning Beichen felt a surge of envious jealousy.
"Damn it!"
"Liu Yilin has only been practicing for a day, and she's progressed as if she'd trained for a year! Does she not let anyone else live?"
"Ning Beichen even felt that if their roles were reversed, Liu Yilin might have already become a grandmaster."
"Alas! One truly cannot compare people; comparing oneself to others can be fatal!"
"Is high intelligence truly this monstrous?"
After Ning Beichen's lament, Liu Yilin finished her practice.
"Beichen, how was my movement technique practice?" Liu Yilin was unaware of her talent causing Ning Beichen such envy and jealousy, assuming it was normal.
"It'sā¦ alright. Some parts are still not smooth enough and require more practice." Ning Beichen said, his face twitching.
"Okay, I'll definitely work hard! Once I learn martial arts, you won't have to fight alone anymore. And that incident from the other day won't happen again." Liu Yilin declared, clenching her fist. She was motivated by the incident with Ryan, especially Feng Wu's near-fatal injury while protecting her, which made her feel guilty and useless.
Half a month flew by. A stream of starlight, like a cascading galaxy, poured onto Liu Yilin. Shortly after, a silver luminescence enveloped her. Under Ning Beichen's envious gaze, Liu Yilin opened her eyes, filled with excitement.