Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 28.1

Shen Lezhi now knew the method of Water Control. The subsequent practice was merely a matter of becoming more proficient and achieving more precise control of spiritual power.

However, for the time being, she was unable to control spiritual energy of other attributes like Wang Xi could. The Water Spirit was innately compatible with her, allowing her to infiltrate and control it, but other spiritual energies were not so close.

She had this conjecture, so she deliberately tried to control the Fire Spirit in the herbal peak’s rock cave. The Fire Spirit, which usually just ignored her, displayed strong rejection in that moment.

It became even more violently agitated than usual, emitting a higher temperature.

Shen Lezhi only tried briefly, confirmed her conjecture, and then no longer offended the Fire Spirit.

After all, she was not Wang Xi, whose spiritual power was so overbearing that she could easily control spiritual energy of other attributes.

Afterward, Shen Lezhi went to Exquisite Peak every day to practice the Art of Water Control. However, she was very careful not to completely deplete her spiritual power, afraid Wang Xi would detect the presence of the Wood Spiritual Root in her body.

With increasingly fine control and day-after-day practice, Shen Lezhi did not feel bored. Instead, she was delighted with every bit of progress.

She also practiced her sword beneath the waterfall. Only then did Shen Lezhi realize that her unintentional transformation of the sword body into flowing water was actually an instinctive way of controlling the Water Spirit—something only a Water Spiritual Root cultivator could achieve.

However, a sword that doesn’t injure anyone—she’s probably the only one who uses it that way.

When Shen Lezhi tried to control the Water Spirit during her sword moves, her sword gained more variations. It truly became like flowing water, partly real and partly illusion, impossible to capture.

Shen Lezhi demonstrated her Water Spirit-controlled sword moves in front of Wang Xi, who still offered the four-character evaluation.

“A cheap trick.”

Her words made Shen Lezhi a little disappointed.

However, since this was something Shen Lezhi researched herself, she didn’t care about others’ praise.

The satisfaction of success was enough to make her happy and joyful.

Wang Xi shifted her gaze. Her “cheap trick” comment was not intended to criticize Shen Lezhi’s method as wrong. On the contrary, she acknowledged that only a clever person could find shortcuts.

But… Wang Xi flicked her fingers, pushing the surrounding Water Spirits away.

It was truly annoying.

Shen Lezhi’s progress was remarkable; even Wang Xi had to admit her talent for comprehension.

If cultivating spiritual power was a pure spiritual root talent, determining a person’s future from birth and clearly categorizing their talent, then comprehension was an extremely elusive thing.

Some people spend their entire lives failing to see through a path, while others grasp it with a single hint.

Shen Lezhi belonged to the latter. The methods Wang Xi taught her were very simple, which was how Wang Xi herself had learned.

The immense spiritual power of the Exquisite Heart (Linglong Xin) meant that Wang Xi never struggled to learn anything. Among her peers, Wang Xi didn’t need to use dazzling sword moves; the pressure from her high-level spiritual power alone was enough to make opponents timid.

Sword moves that changed form, spiritual power that penetrated like a needle—Wang Xi had no need to learn these things at Shen Lezhi’s age.

She watched as Shen Lezhi could control an increasing number of Water Spirits, but this was not due to an advancement in Shen Lezhi’s cultivation. It was because the amount of spiritual power Shen Lezhi needed to control each Water Spirit became more precise and thus decreased.

What Shen Lezhi was doing now was what other cultivators were unwilling to do.

With only a Foundation Establishment cultivation, instead of working hard to break through and increase the upper limit of spiritual power storage in her body, she was stubbornly, even obsessively, trying to achieve extremely fine control.

Shen Lezhi probably enjoyed it immensely.

Shen Lezhi was exactly as Wang Xi thought. After she was able to control the majority of the Water Spirits, she realized her spiritual power was insufficient to support any more. A radius of ten feet was the limit of her Foundation Establishment cultivation.

This was the conclusion she reached after three days of testing.

However, she did not stop there. She had only achieved control, but not stability.

The controlled Water Spirits were, to some extent, in a state of self-activity. Shen Lezhi needed them to become completely calm, entirely for her own use.

After practicing for three more days, Shen Lezhi suddenly raised her sword and stood beneath the waterfall.

“Master, your disciple requests guidance,” she said clearly to Wang Xi high above.

Having said that, she lowered her gaze, held the small wooden sword in front of her body, and the Water Spirits around her began to vibrate rhythmically. Water-like ripples slowly seemed to be imprinted on the sword body.

The small wooden sword looked as if it had been placed underwater. Viewed through the water surface, it appeared curved and winding, making it difficult for the naked eye to capture the sword’s original shape.

Shen Lezhi did not check if Wang Xi had opened her eyes to look at her. She swung her sword, but it was no longer as sharp or cold as before.

Her sword was now slow and gentle, like water flowing in the air. She merely carved a minimally slight divide in the waterfall before her, splitting the water flow into two sections.

However, the divided water flow did not completely evaporate as in Wang Xi’s demonstration. They maintained a state of separation, one section suspended in the air above, and one suspended below.

The sunlight overhead shone upon the water surface, creating shimmering reflections, but the waterfall water seemed to be frozen. If the upstream water source were not continuously flowing, this strange scene would make one doubt if the water was real.

Shen Lezhi held the small wooden sword and looked toward Wang Xi, a small hint of pride on her slightly raised face.

She met Wang Xi’s gaze. Although the Master said nothing, Shen Lezhi felt that Wang Xi wanted to say those four words again: “A cheap trick.”

Shen Lezhi let out a soft huff, unwilling to listen to Wang Xi’s unspoken words.

She put away her small wooden sword and withdrew her control over the waterfall. The severed water flow finally began to run again.

Disregarding the gap in cultivation and spiritual power, Shen Lezhi’s method would have kept the waterfall divided for longer than Wang Xi’s.

Wang Xi pinched her fingertips, watching Shen Lezhi’s face, which seemed to be waiting for praise, and ultimately made no sound.

She merely leaped down from the height, stood in front of Shen Lezhi, and, in the girl’s smiling eyes, drew the White Jade Azure Dragon Sword. Her aura abruptly soared, and she spoke chillingly: “I will teach you the next moves of the Jade Profound Sword Technique.”

But she did not intend to demonstrate. The intimidating sword tip pointed at Shen Lezhi, and her deep tone carried an oppressive pressure.

Shen Lezhi only heard her voice, cold as ice, uttering two short, forceful words: “Draw your sword.”

“…” Shen Lezhi decided to weakly retreat three steps.

It doesn’t feel like you’re here to teach me, Master; it feels like you’re here to kill me.

Shen Lezhi muttered in her heart, but the situation did not permit hesitation. Wang Xi’s sharp long sword struck. Shen Lezhi held her breath in her chest, and the small wooden sword instantly transformed into flowing water, trailing a long water ripple in the air.

Where the wooden sword swung, a large amount of water vapor remained. Under the sunlight overhead, the reflected shimmering water light actually flashed past Wang Xi’s eyes.

However, cultivators above the Golden Core stage no longer rely solely on their eyes to perceive things. Although blinded by the dazzling light, Wang Xi did not pause her action for a second.

The intimidating aura of the White Jade Azure Dragon Sword was no less than that of Wang Xi herself. Shen Lezhi’s small wooden sword, altered by the Water Spirit, collided with Wang Xi’s sword.

The moment they met, the clear cry of an Azure Dragon seemed to emanate from the sword. Then, extremely overbearing spiritual power violently shook off the spiritual energy Shen Lezhi had infiltrated into the sword body.

With just one touch, Shen Lezhi’s illusory small wooden sword fully revealed its original form. She herself was even knocked back several steps.

“This is the seventh form of the Jade Profound Sword Technique, Colorless to the Eye (Baiwurense).” Wang Xi’s sword tip was still aimed at Shen Lezhi, but she did not continue her attack, only staring coldly at Shen Lezhi.

Shen Lezhi lowered her head, a hint of frustration rising in her heart. She didn’t dare to meet Wang Xi’s gaze; the Master’s eyes seemed to be saying, “You are so vulnerable.”

Her previous smugness felt like a joke. She couldn’t even withstand one strike from Wang Xi when the Master restrained her power. The Water Spirits she had carefully controlled and the variations she had conceived were so easily neutralized in front of Wang Xi.

Shen Lezhi knew this was Wang Xi’s way of reminding her that no matter what strange variations or peculiar techniques she employed, if her spiritual power was dispelled, all her variations would be useless.

This was the fatal flaw in all of Shen Lezhi’s current sword moves.

Because her sword does not injure people, her sword lacks the ability to kill with a single blow. Her sword intent contains no killing aura and cannot make anyone fear her.

Once her opponent knows that her sword moves cannot injure them, she will fall into a perpetual disadvantage.

Shen Lezhi stopped breathing on the ground, head lowered, without saying a word.

After a long while, Wang Xi stopped teaching her and simply told her to descend the mountain and leave.

Shen Lezhi pursed her lips without refuting, clutched her small wooden sword tightly, turned, and walked down the mountain.

If it were anyone else, they might become discouraged or doubt themselves, but Shen Lezhi was a stubborn person. As she walked down the mountain and back to her small house, what she was thinking about was not her miserable state after being defeated by Wang Xi.

She was thinking about how Wang Xi defeated her, what method she used to dispel all her spiritual energy in a single instant.

Shen Lezhi knew that with Wang Xi’s strength, she could kill her with a flick of a finger, but Wang Xi did not act as forcefully as before, strong-arming her to the point where she couldn’t even move.

After all, Shen Lezhi had long experienced that terrifying spiritual power suppression.

Wang Xi said she was “teaching her,” and she truly was.

Shen Lezhi had figured out the Master’s teaching style. Reminding her in such a direct and overwhelming manner must also be to make her find a way to defend herself.

However, Shen Lezhi had been thinking all the way and had not yet figured anything out. After seeing the Crying Soul Strand in the courtyard, she began channeling Wood Spirit into it.

“Master, were you bullied by that person again?” As soon as Shen Lezhi stepped into the courtyard, the Crying Soul Strand’s voice came through.

During this time, Shen Lezhi treated the Crying Soul Strand daily, and its growth was very rapid. Now, its tiny bud had grown into a tender green leaf, with a flower bud emerging at the top.

The Crying Soul Strand could sense Shen Lezhi’s aura. It was close to Shen Lezhi and had absorbed her spiritual power, making it easy to detect the change in Shen Lezhi’s spiritual energy due to her mood.

Shen Lezhi put away the small wooden sword, turned back to pick up the Crying Soul Strand, and said dismissively: “You shut up, little crybaby.”

The little crybaby was good in every way, except for its mouth.

Who did it learn to be so manipulative from? Did its former Auntie Flower teach it all this?

Shen Lezhi was speechless in her mind.

“Master, I feel like I’m about to bloom,” the Crying Soul Strand would never shut up, but it stopped teasing Shen Lezhi.

“Bloom?” Shen Lezhi paused.

The Spiritual Plant Cultivation Manual recorded that after the Crying Soul Strand blooms, its crying sound would possess strong lethality. Shen Lezhi had also seen the vines it used when it forced its own growth previously.

“I understand,” Shen Lezhi did not wait for the Crying Soul Strand to confirm and added a sentence first.

Today, she had to support the Crying Soul Strand until the very end of its blooming.

As usual, she forced out the Wood Spiritual Root. Since she was able to control the Water Spirit well, Shen Lezhi used the same method to control the Wood Spirit, and in her opinion, the Wood Spirit seemed even closer to her.

She felt as if she didn’t need to deliberately control it. Just a little allure with her own spiritual power, and the Wood Spirits would rush toward her, eager to be commanded.

This was also the reason why the Crying Soul Strand had grown so rapidly during this time.

Shen Lezhi’s spiritual power gradually seeped into the Crying Soul Strand’s stalk. Shen Lezhi watched the flower bud sway, as if desperately trying to bloom.

Shen Lezhi’s spiritual power flowed continuously. She was already dizzy, and normally, she would stop in this situation, but today, she couldn’t.

Her eyes were fixed on the Crying Soul Strand, milking her meridians dry. The nauseating feeling of depletion surged in like a tsunami. Shen Lezhi felt like this was the feeling of being car-sick while drunk. Her stomach, throat, and head were all uncomfortably overwhelming.

She felt like throwing up.

But what she threw up was blood.

She had pushed herself to the point where her meridians were beginning to tear.

“Master, stop quickly,” the Crying Soul Strand urgently told her to stop.

Shen Lezhi was severely dizzy, but she still heard the Crying Soul Strand’s voice clearly and managed to shake her head: “It’s alright, little crybaby. Take your time.”

Shen Lezhi originally wanted to force a smile to comfort the Crying Soul Strand, but her numb face couldn’t manage one.

The Crying Soul Strand was extremely anxious, calling out to Shen Lezhi while desperately trying to bloom.

It knew Shen Lezhi was very stubborn. It had seen her push herself like this many times. Shen Lezhi wouldn’t give up until she reached her limit. The Crying Soul Strand had no choice but to try its best to bloom faster, and faster.

Perhaps the potential in an emergency was not exclusive to humans. The more anxious and focused the Crying Soul Strand became.

Finally, under the nourishment of Shen Lezhi’s spiritual power, it bloomed.

It was immensely surprised and excited, shaking its flower branch madly and shouting to Shen Lezhi. Shen Lezhi finally withdrew her spiritual power and began to absorb the spiritual stones she had prepared earlier.

She was exhausted and had no extra strength to respond to the Crying Soul Strand’s shouts. She closed her eyes and entered meditative repose to regulate her energy.

However, in the last instant, she clearly saw the Crying Soul Strand’s blooming form and slightly doubted her eyes.

A green flower.

So ugly.

When Shen Lezhi recovered, night had already fallen. Looking up, the sky was full of bright stars. The scattered starlight was illusory and dreamlike.

“Master! I’ve bloomed!” The Crying Soul Strand immediately noticed Shen Lezhi’s awakening and excitedly shook itself.

Shen Lezhi stared at it, not saying a word.

So it’s true. Such an ugly green flower…

Perhaps sensing Shen Lezhi’s distaste, the Crying Soul Strand’s excited mood immediately stalled, and it burst into tears with a “Waaah!”