After martial training was sword training.
All the disciples gathered in an open courtyard with practice swords, overseen by He Yongliang. They were split into groups based on experience and level. Of course, Qiu Yunru was shunted it at the very bottom with Pan Fa. Lei Ruolan somehow made it to the second level--what was this?! How had she learned sword work?
Qiu Yunru couldn't wonder for long, however. A grumpy shixiong who had been stuck at level one for far too long instructed the small group to practice basic sword forms over and over. By the time an hour had passed, Qiu Yunru's arms were heavy like lead.
He was just about to humble himself and ask this grumpy shixiong for a break, when another blue quest marker appeared:
REQUIRED LEVEL: Complete all sword forms without a break! Failure will result in the subtraction of 100 Martial Talent Points. Good luck! :>
Qiu Yunru spat up a bit of blood in the back of his throat, and swallowed it down. The game menu had even added a little face at the end to mock him! It knew exactly what it was doing! What kind of sadistic AI was running this thing?!
But the idea of losing one hundred Martial Points was so unbearable that Qiu Yunru forced himself to lift his lead-heavy arms and continue slashing. After some more excruciating time had passed, that grumpy shixiong called out:
"Break time! Everyone, water! Ten minutes!"
Qiu Yunru wept internally with relief. But as he lowered his sword, that fucking blue quest marker flashed again!
DANGER: REQUIRED LEVEL Quest failure imminent. Please do not take a break!
What kind of health advice was this game menu promoting? Unhealthy! Breaks are important for one's mind and body! What a shit system! But in the end, what the hell could he do? Qiu Yunru mourned his own muscles and face as he continued those basic forms, over and over, even as other disciples stared and whispered.
Pan Fa stood to the side and watched in awe. Qiu-shixiong--he was truly more dedicated than anyone in the world! Everyone else couldn't help but think the same. Some disciples were beginning to hold a reverent fear of Qiu Yunru. This kid, who had just joined, had now defeated a demonic beast with high-level alchemical knowledge, read books into the night at the speed of light, and trained so hard that he refused to take a break. This was the kind of behavior of legendary heroes!
Eventually, everyone rejoined to continue basic forms. Invigorated by seeing such an inspiring sight, everyone worked even harder than before, their eyes shining with motivation. Meanwhile, Qiu Yunru wept tears of blood. He couldn't even feel the wooden sword in his hands any more! When sword training was finally complete, he again crawled out to the Bamboo Forest and collapsed on the ground.
Congratulations! REQUIRED LEVEL Quest complete! +10 Martial Talent Points!
...
By the time he was done beating the game menu up, it was glitching uncontrollably. (Congratulations! :> Congratulations! :> Congratulations! :>).
Lastly came cultivation practices. Disciples were split into two groups: those who were at Foundation Establishment, and those who were still in the process of Qi Condensation.
There was a relatively even split, and for once, Qiu Yunru was relieved to see that no one, not even Lei Ruolan, was at an extremely high level here. It made sense; if any of the disciples had formed Golden Cores, they likely would be out in the world helping the common folk rather than training laps here. Qiu Yunru was also endlessly relived to find that He Yongliang's method of cultivation training mostly involved meditation. Now this was something he could do without melting into a puddle on the ground.
As He Yongliang's elegant voice filled the courtyard with instruction, each student sat and meditated, concentrating and moving qi. For once, there was no notification from the game menu.
Finally letting him take things at a reasonable pace, huh?!
At the end of the day, Qiu Yunru's Stats menu looked like this: 7 Cultivation, 22 Martial Talent, and 80 Reputation. As he lay in the grass with everyone else who was resting after a long day of training, he felt a little satisfied. At the very least, every time he worked himself down to the marrow because of these REQUIRED LEVELs, the addition of Martial Talent Points gave him a little relief from the pain. If he kept going at this rate...
He could truly achieve his peaceful life in no time!
He would have a strong body that didn't wilt with migraines at the slightest pressure change, he would be able to defend himself from all manner of beasts and bosses, and he could rest and explore the world at his own true leisure with practical invincibility.
Pan Fa poked him, shaking him out of his comfortable thoughts.
"Qiu-shixiong! What are you thinking about? You look so happy!" Pan Fa hopped around him excitedly. "Is it because training went well? Qiu-shixiong was so cool! Qiu-shixiong ran at the front of the group all day and didn't even take a break for water! I want to be like Qiu-shixiong!"
Qiu Yunru sighed, feeling a little awkward. He coughed into his hand. "...It really wasn't as big a deal as it seemed." What he meant by this, was that he hadn't been noble or determined--he had been forced into doing all that! But to Pan Fa, it sounded like this:
"Oh, it's nothing. I can do much better than that. Of course, I was holding back. I really am just that great."
Pan Fa's eyes widened with admiration, and he dropped down next to Qiu Yunru in the grass, also looking up at the sky. "Will looking at the clouds help me become smart like Qiu-shixiong?"
"What? No, I'm just tired."
"Qiu-shixiong is so humble!"
"No, I'm really just tired."