Chapter 13 - Training
In the Sky Precepts sect, Head elder Han was cultivating in his residence in silence when his communication jade hummed. He opened his eyes and touched the jade to know what message he received. The message was from the head disciple of Star catching peak.
’Hmm, more spatial disturbances were detected in the Northern lands and they appear every day. This is more common than I thought. Even though spatial disturbances also occur naturally, they don’t occur this often. We need to be faster in the investigation, we don’t know how bad this could get.’
Done with his thoughts, Head elder Han stood up and walked out of his residence. Looking up in the sky, he took a step and disappeared from sight. A minute later he appeared in front of the Mission pavilion.
There were hundreds of disciples moving in and out of the Mission’s pavilion. As soon as the disciples saw Head elder Han, they all cupped their hands in salute.
"Greetings to the Head elder"
"This disciple greets Head elder"The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.
"May the Head elder’s cultivation be unobstructed and smooth."
All the disciples erupted in praises and greetings trying to bootlick the Head elder and gain his favor. The Head elder was used to such occurrences for decades now. In fact, the same thing would occur if any other high ranking elder would appear in public.
Elder Han paid no attention to the disciples and walked into the Missions pavilion. Once inside, he made his way towards the location of the elder at the pavilion. He reached a hall, the door of which was already opened, and a young man looking to be in his late twenties was standing. He was similarly dressed in a black robe but had the symbols for ’Missions Pavilion’ on the left side of his chest.
The young man had a gentle smile on his face as he cupped his hands in greetings.
"What brings you here, Head elder Han?"
"How’s the process for the mission to the northern lands going?" Elder Han said with a straight face.
’I should do physical training and then try reciting the calming heart sutra and see if that’s any better. Even though I don’t have any physical training manual, just normal exercises should work too.’
The body tempering realm was considered to be the easiest realm in cultivation; not only because it was the first realm, but because it required little to no resources to progress. In fact, even a common peasant would reach the fourth stage of the body tempering realm by the age of 30 just by doing manual labour.
Even if one did not have a training manual, the person could just exercise and train themself normally and they would reach higher stages. Though this was only until the 7th stage of the body tempering realm. Progressing any further, without a proper training manual, was not impossible but was exponentially more difficult.
Having planned his next approach, Lin Mu waited for the rice to cook. As soon as the rice was cooked he ate it all, along with the 4 eggs he had boiled. With his stomach now filled and hunger sated, Lin Mu walked out to train.
He first decided to do a run and then try other exercises. Lin Mu ran a lap all the way to the apple tree, at the end of which he was gasping for his breath. He rested for a few minutes and then started to do push-ups. He did as many push-ups as he could until his arms felt sore and he could no more. Resting for a few more minutes he stood in a horse stance and practiced his punches. He performed rhythmic punches until his legs felt like jelly and he collapsed.
This was the most intense physical training Lin Mu had ever done. Fuelled with the desire to become a Qi cultivator, Lin Mu had solidified his resolve and had decided to push his body to its limits.
Lin Mu forced himself to sit cross-legged and chanted the calming heart sutra. The experience that he had this time differed completely from before. The calming waves were the same, but he still felt the aching of his muscles. In the pain of his muscles, he felt faint waves of energy flowing. As he kept on chanting the calming heart sutra, his mind was stilled and he was able to focus on the faint waves of energy.
The more he focused, the more they intensified; until they reached a crescendo and dispersed all over his body! He felt his fatigue reducing and the waves of energy disappearing. A glint appeared in Lin Mu’s eyes.
"Hahaha, this is indeed the right method to practice the calming heart sutra." Lin Mu shouted out loud.
’If the calming heart sutra has such a profound effect even without a proper training manual, I can only imagine what kind of effect it would have with one.’
Lin Mu decided to wash up before going back to sleep in the hunting shack, as he was covered in sweat from all the training he did. Lin Mu removed his clothes and jumped into the stream nearby. The water was chilly and helped reduce the soreness of his muscles. Lin Mu also washed his clothes and wrung them out to remove as much water from them that he could.
’I need to buy another set of clothes on my next trip to the town, I can’t just make do with only one set.’
Adding a new task to his mental note, Lin Mu wore the slightly wet clothes and walked back to the hunting shack. By the time he reached the shack, his clothes were completely dry. Having had a successful day, Lin Mu was satisfied with himself and slipped into a deep sleep.
Same as before, he found himself in the dark place. Now used to the phenomenon, Lin Mu just spent his time in planning for the future until he woke up from sleep.