"Sorry, I shouldn't have doubted your strength." (Even though it's just a whiteboard dull sword...)
"Hehe."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have thought about using you to draw the lottery." (I'll definitely find an opportunity to trick him into helping me draw next time.)
"Humph."
"Sorry, I also shouldn't have thought about selling you to Boss Qian, the richest man in Cyan Cloud." (With such looks, you probably wouldn't sell anyway.)
"Oh."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have thought about getting rich and replacing you with a top-grade blade." (Even if I got rich, I should still be frugal with money.)
"Hmm."
"I promise I won't think about such things anymore in the future." (Ah, let's quickly gloss over this; I'm already hungry.)
"Oh?" The Sword Spirit spoke in a tone of contempt as if talking to an idiot, "Have you forgotten the basic function of the master-servant contract again?"
"..." (...)
At this moment, the girl's thoughts completely mirrored her reaction, utterly dumbfounded.
Following this was a torrent of apologies like a tsunami: "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I really didn't do it on purpose, it's just, it's just that I really can't control myself! Especially when I think about having only vegetables and carrots for dinner, it's like I'm possessed by a heart demon, those are not my true thoughts, please don't take them seriously!"
Wang Jiu sneered, "I remember you praised vegetables and carrots yesterday."
"That, that was just a moment of confusion..." The more the girl spoke, the more embarrassed she became, and eventually, she resigned herself, "Do you really think I like carrots that much!? Don't I like to eat meat too!? I like it too! Tender and juicy lamb, fatty and sweet pork belly... But I have no money! After deducting cultivation expenses, I even have to buy discounted items for cabbage and carrots! Gourmet food is just too extravagant for me!"
This speech was truly from the heart, and seeing the girl on the verge of collapsing, the Sword Spirit forgot about the earlier unpleasantness and asked curiously, "Aren't you the daughter of Patriarch Li Fengyun? How are you living in such poverty and destitution? Is the Li Family in such bad shape now?"
Li Qingming explained helplessly, "The Li Family is doing well. In Xiangzhou, there's a sect with Three Academies and Seven Great Noble Families, and the Li Family is one of them. Although we've been somewhat declining over the past century, we're still a prominent family in Cyan Cloud City. I'm a special case; my relationship with Li Fengyun and Lu Xin isn't good, so I have to speak through strength, but I... In the family assessments of the past two years, I couldn't even get a Class B, so my living standards and allowance were lowered repeatedly, leaving me with only vegetables and carrots."
"Hmm, although I don't know much about human affairs, generally speaking, a cultivator born into a noble family with a top bloodline wouldn't fall into such a miserable state... Are you sure you're not an idiot?"
"You're the idiot! Anyway, in half a month, there's another Outer Sect examination. If I can't master the Thirty-Six Paths of the Wind-Chasing Sword, I won't pass the final assessment of the Outer Sect, and if I'm expelled from the Outer Sect, the monthly stipend won't even be enough to feed myself."
"What, not even enough for food?" After a long silence, Wang Jiu said, "By the way, about that Boss Qian, the richest man in Cyan Cloud, you mentioned before, what's the deal with him? Introduce him to me?"
"...You're not planning to abandon me, are you?"
"After all, in your eyes, I'm just an unconventional whiteboard dull sword, at most lucky enough to be used for making a fortune..."
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have thought of you that way, Sword Spirit senior, please forgive me!"
——
It took Li Qingming a lot of effort to finally get the Sword Spirit to forgive her rudeness.
"Senior, about the Immovable Tyrant Body you mentioned before..."
"That? It's simple, every day use a sharp blade to bleed a liter, then use a hammer to strike your limbs and body, breaking tendons and bones, stimulating the bloodline with severe injuries, and in about a month, you can get started."
Li Qingming listened with a cold sweat all over, "Is there a gentler method? I have to participate in the monthly assessment at the end of the month, and if I'm covered in wounds, I fear..."
"A gentler method? But your ancestor Shen Kaishan tempered himself this way. When he was desperate, he even asked me to cut him with a sword. If it weren't for Yuming being around, he might have been reduced to ashes on the spot..." Wang Jiu reminisced about Shen Kaishan's reckless and impulsive image of the past and added, "Speaking of which, before the final battle, he created a set of entry-level training routines for his descendants, which should suit a little girl like you who can't endure hardship."
Li Qingming barely held back from reacting to the evaluation of being a little girl who can't endure hardship and said, "That's what I want to learn."
Wang Jiu said, "Open your mind, and I'll demonstrate it to you."
"Huh?"
Before Li Qingming could react, Wang Jiu projected the true form of the Sword Spirit into Li Qingming's mind through the master-servant contract channel.
As expected, Li Qingming's mind contained only her own essence and nothing else, but it was just right for him to use it to demonstrate the Immovable Tyrant Body...
Just as he thought of this, Wang Jiu suddenly noticed that Li Qingming was staring straight at him, her cheeks flushed, her breath held, and her heart pounding rapidly.
"What tricks are you up to?"
"..."
It seemed Li Qingming didn't hear, so Wang Jiu moved a few steps closer until he could see his own reflection in her eyes: tall and slender, handsome yet not lacking in heroic spirit, with a face like jade, sword-like eyebrows, shining eyes, and a clear and profound gaze that draws one in involuntarily...
The question is, what's so interesting about that?!
And it was only at this moment that Li Qingming suddenly awoke, quickly taking two steps back, asking softly, "This, this is our ancestor?"
"No, it's me."
"Ah?!" Li Qingming was utterly terrified, "This is you?! No way, how could you look so handsome?!"
Wang Jiu immediately widened his eyes, asking curiously, "It's not like this is our first meeting. What's with the big fuss? Haven't you already marveled at my impeccable Pure White Sword Body and been deeply enchanted by it?"
"Absolutely not! And I'm talking about how you look now..."
Wang Jiu retorted angrily, "Are you seriously stupid or something? Compared to the impeccable Pure White Sword Body, the human form is hideously ugly, like a twisted kitchen knife! It's like ignoring braised pork to eat carrots!"
"Enough about carrots! Fine, it's my mistake. May I ask if you could demonstrate the Immovable Tyrant Body for me?!"
"...Alright, just follow these movements and practice for a while. With your foundation, you should be able to grasp it in about three to five days."
With that, Wang Jiu recalled Shen Kaishan's movements: back and waist tensed like a bow, right arm raised, left hand reaching out. Then, with the waist as the axis, the body twisted at an exaggerated angle like a puppet, the left foot's toes gripped the ground tightly like a hook. Using the ankle as an axis, the body suddenly leaned forward, spinning like a windmill, with the raised right hand striking down heavily...
Li Qingming watched only two or three moves before feeling a chill run down her spine: "Is, is this really something a person can do?"
"Of course, it's very simple."
"Very, very simple? Even when I was training in body refining in the Li Family's Inner Sect, I'm afraid even the Instructor teaching Snake Fist and Jujitsu couldn't do these moves without tearing ligaments and breaking bones!"
Wang Jiu thought for a moment: "That's why he's just an instructor, and you are the mount of the Celestial Divine Sword."
"Hey!"
Seeing the girl becoming more and more hesitant, Wang Jiu said, "Of course, if you're afraid of pain and don't dare try, then forget it."
Li Qingming instantly straightened her neck: "Who's afraid of pain? Watch and see, I'll do it just like you did!"
With that, the girl recalled the first move Wang Jiu had just demonstrated: right hand raised, left hand lowered, waist and back bent like a bow, then twisting sharply with the hips as the axis.
"Ahhhhh!"
Li Qingming, heavily injured.
——
Meanwhile, Li Li, Li Peng, and Li Yuan—these three brothers nicknamed "shrimp balls"—were retching and supporting each other as they returned to the Li Family Mansion.
As the elite servants of the Li Family Mansion, such a miserable sight was rare. They were ashamed to show themselves, sneaking quietly through the back door to the servants' quarters. As they entered, they saw Li Ping lying on the stone-paved ground, gasping like a stray dog.
Even a master who has just stepped into the Wind-Rising Realm, breaking the limits of the human body to enter the path of Immortal Techniques, would be exhausted after running three laps around the Cyan Cloud City carrying hundreds of pounds for an hour.
Hearing the footsteps of his three comrades, Li Ping spoke without raising his head.
"You three are back, huh? How did it go?"
The trio exchanged looks, not knowing how to respond.
"You didn't offend Miss Qingming, did you? Of course, you can't be too lenient either, or Madam will scold us. Miss Qingming is stubborn, and we as servants sometimes have to step in as the villains. But make sure you grasp the nuances well. We have to serve both Miss Qingming and Young Master Wushuang properly. I just don't trust you three; you might not handle things appropriately, speaking too bluntly, or doing things too excessively. With all these mundane affairs tying me down here, I just can't spare the time."
Li Ping rambled on while already showing signs of suffocation as he struggled to catch his breath, with his face turning red and purple. Li Li and Li Yuan hurried to pat his back, helping him breathe more smoothly after quite an ordeal.
Li Ping groaned as he sat up, squinting his eyes: "So, Miss Qingming should have been brought back, right? She's at the outer sect courtyard now, isn't she? In a moment, after I catch my breath, we'll go and apologize together. But of course, we can't be too lenient, or Madam..."
Before he could finish, signs of suffocation appeared again, and Li Peng couldn't hold it any longer, blurting out naively, "Brother Ping, Miss didn't come."
"We as servants...what!? Miss Qingming didn't come!?" Li Ping leaped up, shocked, "What happened? Judging by your miserable faces, did you actually brawl with Miss Qingming? What about the Spirit Talisman? You didn't use it?"
Li Li looked helpless: "Brother Ping, that talisman seems faulty. Miss Qingming broke free in an instant and acted as if nothing happened!"
"What!?" Li Ping's voice raised an octave, "That Spirit Talisman was given by Madam, how could there be a problem? And even without the talisman, you three still can't bring back a girl who hasn't even mastered the Windchasing Sword?"
Li Li was deeply ashamed: "Brother Ping, we failed to even keep one encounter with Miss Qingming before she broke through our Protective External Skills, scattering our Qi Blood, causing spasms in our internal organs."
Before the words finished, Li Yuan, standing next to them, couldn't hold it any longer, striding over to a small shrub to vomit incessantly.
Li Ping was dumbstruck: "You three, couldn't even hold one exchange? Looks like I'm not the only one who needs to run laps! What have you all been training recently?!"
"Brother Ping, you really can't blame us, Miss Qingming's swordsmanship is too strange. It looks crooked and doesn't form a sword stance, and the sword was even a blunt one, not sharp at all, but when it hit us, it instantly dispersed our Protective Qi Blood Hard Skills. It's truly baffling."
As Li Yuan finished retching, he wiped his mouth and added, "Brother Ping, based on my reasoning and calculation, Miss Qingming might have mastered the legendary Dugu Nine Swords, which includes the Qi-Breaking Technique..."
"If she could really master the Dugu Nine Swords, she'd have already begun Controlling Qi into Wind! No, something is definitely off here. Let's take a good breath before assessing the situation thoroughly."