Chapter 178: Taming Bai Chi
Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Taming Bai Chi
After learning of the plans of True Monarch Minmian and his group, Zhu Ge began to have designs on Nanyue Mianhuang.
That was territory, after all!
Vast expanses of territory!
Who wouldn’t be interested in conquering new lands?
And so, Zhu Ge swiftly returned to the Six Paths Palace.
All was well at the Six Paths Palace, its construction proceeding steadily.
With this group of First and Second Realm Demon Beasts around, the Six Paths Palace was quite safe.
Of course, the true source of its safety was the existence of the Fungus God Destruction Array.
’Tomorrow will be a good chance to teach the first generation of disciples.’
...
Bai Chi had never imagined that one day, she would stand before Zhu Ge as his disciple.
As a notorious assassin, no Martial Arts Hall would ever take her in—unless it was for some other, sordid purpose.
And yet, Zhu Ge had been willing to take her in.
Not for her looks or her talent, but because she was a person who knew how to persevere.
In fact, he had only gauged her talent after she had already joined.
Therefore, Bai Chi was both incredibly excited for her journey on the Martial Dao and terribly apprehensive.
She was terrified that this was all just a dream.
At that moment, outside the Six Paths Palace, before a mulberry grove...
The morning mist had yet to disperse, and dewdrops clung to the mulberry leaves.
Bai Chi sat cross-legged on a slab of bluestone, her hands resting neatly on her knees, her back ramrod straight.
She wore plain white clothes, her long hair held up by a simple wooden hairpin, revealing a fair neck and ears.
Having cleaned herself up, she no longer had the slovenly look of the Earth Hook Hand from before. Instead, she appeared quite delicate and pretty.
"What are you thinking about?"
Zhu Ge’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
Bai Chi instinctively shot to her feet, her body dropping into a low crouch like a startled cat with its fur on end.
Then she saw that Zhu Ge was standing in front of her, having appeared at some unknown moment. He held two things in his hands—an incense stick and a teacup.
Bai Chi answered, "I was wondering what you were going to teach me today."
Her eyes were filled with wariness and astonishment.
She hadn’t even noticed how Zhu Ge had appeared behind her!
"I’m going to teach you a Martial Dao suited to you."
Zhu Ge sat down cross-legged across from her, placing the incense stick and teacup between them.
"Tea Swordsmanship, and Incense Lighting."
"For you, the first principle of the Martial Dao..."
Zhu Ge raised a single finger. "...begins with the word ’control.’"
"You were once an assassin, so you should play to your strengths. Control your body, control your Blood Qi, control your breathing, control your heartbeat."
"Only when you can control every single thing happening to your body do you earn the right to control the enemy you intend to assassinate."
Bai Chi listened intently, her eyes unblinking.
"I will teach you two Martial Arts today." Zhu Ge picked up the incense stick. "The first is the Incense Lighting Body Technique."
He wedged the incense stick into a crack in the stone slab so it stood upright. Then, he took a fire starter from his sleeve, blew on it until it glowed, and lit the tip of the incense.
A wisp of smoke curled lazily into the air.
"The Incense Lighting Body Technique, as its name suggests, is guided by the lit incense," Zhu Ge said, pointing at the wisp of smoke.
"The core of this Body Technique lies not in ’motion,’ but in ’stillness.’ You must learn to accumulate power in absolute stillness and then shift your position in an explosive instant."
Bai Chi asked, "Why use an incense stick?"
"Because of the smoke," Zhu Ge said.
"Smoke is one of the most difficult things in the world to grasp. The wind can’t truly disperse it, a hand can’t catch it. It seems weak and formless, yet in truth, it can be anywhere and everywhere."
"When you’ve mastered the Incense Lighting Body Technique, your movements will become like this wisp of smoke. Your opponent will see you plain as day, yet they won’t be able to catch you; they’ll lock onto you, yet they won’t be able to land a hit."
Bai Chi only half-understood.
Zhu Ge stood up. "Watch closely."
The moment the words left his lips, his figure suddenly blurred.
He didn’t disappear or teleport. Instead, like that wisp of smoke, his form seemed to scatter, flow, and reassemble in the air.
Bai Chi’s eyes widened.
She could see Zhu Ge’s body, still standing in the same spot, yet her senses told her that no one was there.
The sensation was bizarre. Her sight and her senses were at war. Her eyes said, ’He’s there,’ while her senses insisted, ’There’s nothing there.’
Then, Zhu Ge moved.
His body scattered like smoke on the wind, only to re-form three paces away.
There was no trajectory of movement, no fluctuation of Spiritual Power. It was as if he had been in that spot from the very beginning.
Bai Chi gasped.
"Did you see that clearly?" Zhu Ge’s voice drifted from his new position.
"I saw it clearly," Bai Chi said honestly, "but I don’t understand it at all."
Zhu Ge smiled. "It would be strange if you did. I practiced this Body Technique for three years before I barely managed to grasp the basics. For your first day, just being able to see the general idea is impressive enough."
Zhu Ge could lie with a perfectly straight face.
It couldn’t be helped.
This Bai Chi was just too talented.
The more talented someone is, the more likely they are to become arrogant and complacent.
So, it was best to set a lofty goal for her, to make her settle down and patiently hone her skills.
From last night’s battle, Zhu Ge had come to understand why assassins were so infamous.
But it also proved just how formidable assassins could be in a fight.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have provoked three of yesterday’s prodigies into attacking him all at once.
That was why he had come out specifically this morning to train and instruct Bai Chi.
"Training the Incense Lighting Body Technique is divided into three stages. Stage one: Light the Incense!"
"You must first learn to light the incense stick and move without affecting it, keeping the ember alive and the trail of smoke unbroken."
Zhu Ge explained the Martial Art, sharing his own insights.
For someone like Zhu Ge, who had already practiced martial arts, learning "Incense Lighting" was not difficult.
But for an ordinary person, especially one who had never encountered Martial Arts before, it was still somewhat difficult.
"Stage two: Observe the Smoke. You must learn to observe the flow of the smoke to understand the direction of the wind, the movement of qi, and the veins of spiritual energy."
"This stage trains ’Knowledge’—knowing when to move and when to be still."
"Stage three: Become the Smoke. Transform yourself into the smoke, letting your body drift with it, your will move with it."
"This stage trains ’Unity’—the union of person and smoke. At that point, the Body Technique is perfected."
Zhu Ge explained in detail.
Bai Chi stood there in a daze, but in truth, she was carefully committing every word Zhu Ge said to memory.
"You can start with the first stage." Zhu Ge handed her the fire starter. "But there’s a second Martial Art. I’ll teach it to you as well, and you must practice it diligently."
Bai Chi accepted it.
Zhu Ge then took the teacup and slid it in front of her.
The teacup was half-filled with crystal-clear water.
"The second discipline is Tea Swordsmanship."
Bai Chi looked at the half-full cup, confused. "Tea... Swordsmanship?"
"That’s right." Zhu Ge picked up the teacup. "The core of this Swordsmanship lies not in the sword, but in the tea."
"You must first learn to brew tea, then to appreciate tea, and only finally, to wield tea."
He stood up, took a small teapot from his sleeve, and poured hot water from it into the cup.
The stream was as fine as a thread, landing precisely in the cup without a single drop splashing out.
Then he offered the teacup to Bai Chi. "Taste it."
Bai Chi took the cup and took a small sip.
It was ordinary tea, a little bitter and astringent.
"The flavor of the tea depends on the person brewing it," Zhu Ge said. "Water temperature, water volume, the amount of tea leaves, steeping time—every single detail affects the final taste."
"Tea Swordsmanship is the same. Your Blood Qi is the water, your body is the teacup, and your opponent is the tea leaves."
"You must learn to control every detail to brew that perfect cup of tea in the midst of battle."
Bai Chi nodded, only half-understanding.
Zhu Ge smiled.
"These are just my own insights. Ultimately, Tea Swordsmanship isn’t merely about pouring and brewing; the chaotic dance of the unfurling tea leaves is also part of the Swordsmanship."
"If you can master these two Martial Arts, becoming a Mountain Shattering Realm Martial Artist will be no problem at all."
"Of course, you’ll have to persevere and work hard."