He was far more rigorous with himself than he was with others.
"It's fine." Qi Zhimu had noticed Jingliu watching from the sidelines long ago, but he didn't avoid her.
It was good for her to be mentally prepared; after all... she would have to face it sooner or later.
"Master... is this the physical tempering program?"
"Yes."
"But why use this method? Aside from ending up heavily injured, what benefit is there to be gained?"
Jingliu asked, her confusion evident, as her gaze fell upon Qi Zhimu's unnatural gait.
He was clearly limping.
This showed just how terrifying the force of the beating he had endured for half an hour truly was.
Before Qi Zhimu could answer, Jingliu stepped forward with a face full of worry.
"Let me help apply medicine for you, Master."
"No need. It will be fine in a moment."
Qi Zhimu waved his hand, patiently explaining the reason to his disciple.
"The Academy's biology classes taught that Xianzhou people are essentially humans who have received the blessing of abundance and walk upon the Path of Abundance."
"Our bodies' natural healing capacity is inherently stronger than that of Short-Lived Species, and far ahead of many races that do not possess the blessing of abundance."
"As the intensity of your training has gradually increased these past few days, your body has been constantly adapting. You should be able to notice the changes in yourself."
"In essence, whether it's swinging a sword or long-distance running, it all falls under physical tempering."
Hearing her master say this, Jingliu calmed down and thought carefully, suddenly realizing the logic behind it.
Indeed.
Long-distance running greatly improved her endurance, teaching her how to distribute her physical strength more rationally.
As for swinging the sword, its most important role was actually to stabilize her lower body, and secondly, to maintain balance in her limbs when exhausted.
These two basic training exercises, performed under rigorous conditions, laid a solid foundation for her subsequent attack precision training.
If not for that, there was no way she could have met the targets set by her master on her first attempt at a new program.
Her changes over the past few days were simply too obvious.
It was just that every day she woke up only to begin suffering until she fainted, and then continued upon waking; she simply had no energy left to think.
Now, everything was clear.
So, Master uses this high-intensity striking to temper his body and doesn't treat the injuries afterward... could it be for... Qi Zhimu reached out and pressed down on a protruding broken bone in his chest, resetting it, and said expressionlessly:
"Through systematic and regular training, you can clearly feel improvements in all aspects of your body—faster speed, increased strength, stronger endurance, and so on..."
"From a biological perspective, this is a potential possessed by most organic life."
"After the body is injured, as long as healing conditions are met, the wound will recover over time. This is also a characteristic of organic life, rather than the replacement or iteration of parts in inorganic matter."
"In other words, strength, speed, and endurance can be enhanced through training, and healing ability... can be as well."
Having said this, Qi Zhimu used the back of his fist to strike his spine, resetting the vertebrae.
"As long as your physical energy consumption can keep up, improving healing ability isn't difficult; the only difficulty lies in perseverance."
Most Short-Lived Species outside of the Xianzhou do not know just how strong the healing ability of the Xianzhou people is.
Broken arms or legs are merely minor issues; even lost limbs can grow back.
Even if the head and body are separated, as long as the elixir organ is not shattered and the head is sewn back onto the neck before the brain is severely damaged, one can still survive.
Because of this, very few people have ever thought about further strengthening this talent, or rather, they haven't even considered this direction.
The training plans formulated for the Cloud Knights of Azure City back then also did not include healing ability training.
Firstly, for a Xianzhou that hunts the Abominations of Abundance, this involves certain sensitive taboos.
But now?
Some regulations exist, but when they need to be broken, they must be broken.
To obtain the necessary power, he was willing to pay many prices.
Secondly, he possessed a Pure Yang Body and could endure it.
For anyone else, if they could not withstand the dual torture of body and spirit, leading to a loss of mental control and falling into mara affliction, the loss would outweigh the gain.
"...To have the strength to slaughter those Abominations of Abundance, are these the prices that must be paid?"
"Correct."
Qi Zhimu nodded, pushing the last broken bone back into place.
The piercing pain coming from within his body was not even a fraction of the pain of losing everything he had.
"Jingliu, remember this: we are humans, gifted in wisdom but not in strength. To contend with powerful enemies, no matter how much power you obtain, it will never feel like enough."
"Before the Era of the Three Sufferings of the Xianzhou, our ancestors once mastered an ability called The Self-Actualization Aspect, which could greatly strengthen oneself through special means."
"That was one of the shortcuts for Xianzhou people to gain power, but it was also the beginning of the extinction of humanity, meaning we would be little different from the Abominations of Abundance we hunt."
"This divine ability involved too much and caused many calamities. After the Ten Lords Tribunal was established, The Self-Actualization Aspect was completely banned."
"Our home fell and our loved ones perished; the fundamental reason was that we were not strong enough and failed to protect all that we cherished."
Although Jingliu was young, she understood and nodded silently.
"...I understand, Master."
She did not overlook the faint trace of helplessness in her master's words, for they endured the same pain.
The pain named 'loss'.
She took out armguards and leg guards from her spatial jade token and put them on skillfully.
If even a powerhouse like her master was like this, how could she dare to be slack?
"Wait."
Seeing Jingliu's actions, Qi Zhimu suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from continuing to dress.
"What's wrong?"
"You don't need to train today."
"It's fine, I want to become stronger faster."
"Sometimes it's not a matter of wanting to be fast; you are still young, and certain things experienced for the first time cannot be ignored."
"Hm?" Jingliu tilted her small head slightly, not quite understanding the meaning of Qi Zhimu's words.
Until the next second... she looked down and saw a small patch of deep red spreading on her gym shorts.
"..."
Instantly, a faint blush colored Jingliu's cheeks.
She had excellent grades at the Academy, so she naturally knew what this meant.
Xianzhou medicine can allow women to ignore the effects of their menstrual period, but since it never ceases throughout their lives, every Xianzhou woman takes special medication.
For female Cloud Knights, this special medication is even more indispensable.
Only the first time is an exception, which cannot be stopped by medication.
But how did Master know she was having her first... Oh, he said he knew a bit about medicine.
Perhaps he had already noticed when he examined her body a few days ago... right?
Then, was the truth behind yesterday's condition—that she could rest for a day upon completion—that even if she had failed, Master would have let her rest today anyway?
So, he deliberately gave a target that could be completed on the first training session?
Thinking of this possibility, the faint resentment in Jingliu's heart toward Qi Zhimu's strictness vanished completely.
Master still left her some leeway, even if that leeway was very minimal... "The items are in your bedside drawer."
"Thank you for your concern, Master...!"
Jingliu looked slightly embarrassed and jogged back to the house.
This matter was just a minor episode to Qi Zhimu. Feeling the initial healing of his internal injuries, he walked toward the aurumaton once more.
From within the Martial Arts Field, the sounds of fists hitting flesh and bones shattering rang out once again.