The young woman went next with her introduction.
"I am Xu Lihua, a follower of the sword." She said she was a follower of the sword with such confidence that anyone ignorant of her status as a mere trainee would, without a doubt, think she was a revered swordmaster.
"Uh, my name is Jia Junjie, I think. Nice to meet you." This introduction was even worse than Xu Lihua's, and even a blind man could see that. Although there was no detail in any of their introductions, Junjie couldn't even say his name with confidence.
"..."
Xu Lihua broke the silence by asking,
"Your name is Jia Junjie? You think, or do you know?" He hadn't really thought about why he knew what his name was, so he tried his absolute hardest to explain it in a coherent way.
"Well, I woke up, having lost all my memories, and all I knew was that my name is Jia Junjie. I can't exactly recall why I know this, but it just comes to mind when I think of myself. Other than that, though, I know nothing about myself."
"Well, Jia Junjie, do you at least remember how old you are? Or do you truly not remember anything aside from your name?" Xingjuan asked him after a few moments of silence.
"...haha...ha...uhhh."
Jia Junjie was utterly pathetic. What kind of man didn't know his own origin, let alone make strange noises like that? He sounded like some kind of idiot that was dozing off with the fairies.
"I truly don't remember anything aside from my name, but taking an educated guess, I'd have to say I'd be about as old as your daughter." He wasn't confident, but this was the best guess he had at the moment.
"Well, if you are unsure, I could check." Xingjuan said without thinking about the potential misunderstandings that could create.
"Ah, I'm sorry, miss, but your daughter is sitting right there, and I don't really like older women." Junjie tried to be as polite as possible while still shooting down this middle-aged woman.
"What do you—Ah! That isn't at all what I meant; I just wanted to use my Divine Sense and check your bone marrow to tell how old you are!" Xingjuan vehemently tried to defend herself, but that left Junjie even more confused.
"What is Divine Sense?" This was a term he had never heard before, and if you could see inside someone else's body, it had to be quite mythical. The thought that it was a lie had crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it; why would someone lie about something so obscure?
"Divine Sense is a technique used to observe one's surroundings using spiritual energy, or Qi for short. When you reach a certain cultivation stage, you can comprehend the technique, but even if you started cultivating today, you'd be a long way off."
"Cultivating? How do you mean?" Junjie asked with curiosity.
"Well, cultivating, in its simplest terms, is when one draws the energy of their surroundings towards themself for their own benefits, such as an increased lifespan and boost in power."
"You mean I can just stand around and get stronger while doing nothing? That sounds terribly boring." He wasn't too fond of the idea of just sitting down and drawing energy to himself. If possible, he'd at least like to have something to do.
"Well, it sounds like nothing, but you do need to actively recite a Qi gathering technique inside your head to even draw energy, though once you've cultivated long enough, it will come as natural as breathing and become more of an automated process." Xingjuan informed him, slightly abating his worries of being bored. Although reciting a technique in your head doesn't sound very fun either.
"How about any other methods? If there is such a thing?" If he could do something while sitting down, it would incentivize him a bit more to cultivate.
"Yes, there is one other way, though practically no one uses it because you'll be exposed to unimaginable pain, and its effect on your lifespan, which is the sole goal of many cultivators, won't increase as much as cultivating your dantian." She seemed to have shivered at the thought of this other painful method.
"Oh, well, do tell." This method sounded more exciting than sitting down all day doing nothing.
"This method is called body refining. The goal of body refining is to make your body immune to all forms of damage and, in the process, train your physique to the pinnacle. You can do this at the same time as regular cultivation, but barely anyone does, as the more regular path also trains your body, just not to such an intense degree."
Junjie remained silent for a while before speaking once more.
"If one trains their physique to the peak in body refining and then embarks on the other pathway, would it further temper their body?" This was a valid question and not one he really expected to get an answer for because who would do such a thing as that? Probably no one.
"I can't say for certain, but I imagine they would only become stronger, as they can then keep reinforcing their strength with Qi, though their body probably wouldn't see any physical change. This is because the Path of the Divine tempers your body through Qi, and it only really improves the quality of your muscles, whilst body refiners see a more quantitative change. Such as they get more muscles while still growing stronger." She had almost run out of breath saying all of that, but it finally seemed like all of the questions were out of the way and they could all begin eating.
"Ah, thank you very much, Ms. Xu; I appreciate you helping me to understand everything."
"Forget about all of that; let's dig in!" Xingjuan said with high hopes for the meal she had just prepared.
While she was eating the food, which was delicious by the way, she began thinking to herself.
'How strange is it that all I did was cook some meat, and I ended up attracting such a strange, pitiful young man? I think the heavens have sent him my way, and it is my responsibility to get him back on his feet!'
Xu Lihua was having very different thoughts at the same time.
'Does he truly not know anything? What an idiot. Even if I woke up with amnesia tomorrow, I am certain I would remember something as fundamental as cultivation.'
This stubborn young woman's suspicions just wouldn't wane.
And finally, the star of the show.
'Path of the Divine,' huh? Sorry, but you just sound too boring. Maybe one day I'll get around to you, but for now, no way! Body refining sounds like the path I want to follow.'
It seems like Jia Junie's heart is set on body refining; although the path promised to be tumultuous and he knew there would be many challenges, he had the only thing he needed.
Determination.