Technique Transfer

Early the next morning, Luo Yue woke up and saw that Zhang Xuan was still asleep. She then saw how peaceful his face was while he slept, she moved in a little closer and was now directly over his face. She stared for a moment and noticed that Zhang Xuan's eyes started to twitch as he was starting to wake up.

Luo Yue did not think to move and kept staring at him. Zhang Xuan's eyes were opening slowly at this moment. He saw a blurry figure in front of his face and he could feel a soft breeze on his forehead as Luo Yue was breathing calmly.

Zhang Xuan's eyes focused and he noticed a beautiful face in front of him, he naturally knew that it was Luo Yue.

"Hmm? Luo Yue, what's wrong?" Zhang Xuan said with his cheeks a little flustered

"Hmm? Ah! So sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Luo Yue apologized

"Don't worry, you didn't wake me, I usually wake up at this time." Zhang Xuan replied

"Why were you staring at me while I was sleeping?" Zhang Xuan asked curiously

When Luo Yue heard Zhang Xuan's question, her cheeks started to become pinker than before.

"I saw how peaceful you were and wanted to have a closer look." Luo Yue blushed while replying

Zhang Xuan was surprised and did not know what to say to Luo Yue. A moment of silence later, a thought popped into his head.

"Hey, Luo Yue, we still haven't talked about your recent growth, you're 18 now…" Zhang Xuan said

"En." Luo Yue nodded

"Do you know about what your body's been through?" Zhang Xuan asked embarrassedly

Luo Yue's cheeks became red as she blushed with embarrassment.

"Yes… I know about it… When I became like this, I seemed to have gotten knowledge about my changes…" Luo Yue answered shyly

"I…I see… Erm… Do you want to go eat something?" Zhang Xuan asked while looking at the door

"Yes, I think we should…" Luo Yue said

The two of them stood up and tidied up the room before going to the kitchen.

"You do know that I don't understand you right?" Xu Fu could be heard

*Squeak Squeak*

"I don't know what you're saying." Xu Fu bellowed

*SQUEAK… SQUEAK*

"You know what, I'm done talking to you." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue stepped into the kitchen and saw Xu Fu and the squirrel from last night sitting at the table.

"Good morning, teacher." Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue greeted

"Ah. Good morning you two, how did you sleep?" Xu Fu asked

"Good, thank you, teacher." The duo said simultaneously

"Good, good. Come, have a seat. I prepared some breakfast for you." Xu Fu said

*Squeak*

"Huh? You're starting again? What do you want!?" Xu Fu asked the squirrel

*Squeak…*

The squirrel jumped on the table and pointed to a plate with food in it.

"Ah… Why didn't you say so earlier!?" Xu Fu asked, he was frustrated

*SQUEAK!* (I Did)

Xu Fu seemed to understand the squirrel this time.

"When I asked you earlier, you ran away…" Xu Fu mumbled

"Eh… Thanks for the food." Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue said

He and Luo Yue then ate everything within a few minutes.

"I need to speak to you both about something." Xu Fu said seriously

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue looked at Xu Fu with attention.

"I won't be able to teach you two for long, I will be leaving here soon." Xu Fu said solemnly

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue frowned slightly as they have built a strong bond with Xu Fu, it was hard for them to imagine him leaving.

"I know what you are feeling but I have only told you a little bit about myself." Xu Fu said

"Is there something else that you want to tell us, teacher?" Luo Yue asked

"Yes, as you know, I am a wandering swordsman but the other truth is that my Master had many enemies and they are still after his sword technique, they only know about my existence at the moment which is why I want to leave before they catch up with me and find you two. I do not wish for you to get harmed because of me." Xu Fu explained

"This is why I will transfer the technique to you and train you for a few more days, I will pass what knowledge I have about swordsmanship to you and leave. One day when you are strong enough to handle these enemies of mine, we will meet again." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue felt an ache in their hearts.

"Come on, don't feel so down, it's only temporary." Xu Fu consoled

"Let's go to the courtyard." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue regained their composure and followed behind Xu Fu. They were now standing in the courtyard.

"Please take a seat." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue then sat down on the ground with their legs crossed.

"I will now transfer the technique to you among a few others that I have learned, you will need to practice them on your own. You will need to gain experience and proficiency on your own." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue nodded.

"Close your eyes." Xu Fu said

The duo did as they were told. Xu Fu stretched out his hands with only two fingers pointed out and the rest curled in. He then touched Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue's glabellas. They felt some kind of warmth channeling into their heads and started seeing images and words appearing in their mind, they were techniques with demonstrations that were done by their teacher.

A few minutes passed and the duo opened their eyes, they saw Xu Fu with sweat running down his forehead, Xu Fu then knelt on the ground and panted for breath.

"Teacher!?" Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue said concernedly

"D… Don't worry… 'Pant' I'm fine… 'Pant' just… a little… tired." Xu Fu said while panting

A few minutes went by.

"Phew… That used to be so much easier when I was in my prime." Xu Fu said

"Okay. I will demonstrate a few moves for you, you can compare them to your own as you become more efficient in using 'Torrential Flowing Dragon Strikes' ." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue nodded as they focused on Xu Fu.

"Okay, here I go." Xu Fu said

He then stood up and started demonstrating 'Torrential Flowing Dragon Strikes'. Half an incense stick of time passed before he stopped.

"Phew, there you go. Now it's your turn. Zhang Xuan you are up first." Xu Fu said

"En." Zhang Xuan nodded

Zhang Xuan stood up and gripped his sword. He then started to strike with his sword according to what he learned from Xu Fu. A few minutes went by before Zhang Xuan got tired. Xu Fu seemed impressed.

"Well done! You may rest now, you did well for your first time but you need to focus on your stance more, it is way too easy to sweep you off your feet." Xu Fu said

"En." Zhang Xuan nodded

"Luo Yue, it is your turn." Xu Fu said

Luo Yue nodded and stood up, she gripped her sword and got ready. A few minutes passed before she started to pant, she was exhausted.

"Not too bad. You need to focus on the way you grip your sword, it is too loose and much of the strength that should be displayed is lost, the sword strikes become sloppy because of your grip as well. You need to focus on your stance as your muscles are too tense which causes your movement to become sluggish." Xu Fu said

"En." Luo Yue nodded

"You both did well, we will take a 5-minute break before continuing." Xu Fu said

Time passed as the trio trained and took breaks with every incense stick of time that passed. The sun was now above their heads as it was noon.

"Phew. Okay, I think we should rest for the rest of the day, you both did excellently!" Xu Fu said as he praised

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue smiled at Xu Fu.

"Okay, I'll be out for a bit, I should be back in a few hours." Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue sent him off.

Once Xu Fu left, Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue collapsed onto the ground, they were resting against each other's backs.

"That was so tiring." Luo Yue said

"Yes, it was. Now we know why teacher said that we need an excellent physique to be a swordsman." Zhang Xuan said

"Yeah, we need to work on that, we barely held out for 10 minutes whenever we trained." Luo Yue said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue turned around so that they can look at each other.

"Do you know how we can train our bodies?" Luo Yue asked

"Yes, you can find a body cultivation technique. I already have one for myself but we need to find you one." Zhang Xuan said

"Do you think we can find one at the treasure pavilion?" Luo Yue asked

"We should be able to, we can always go and check." Zhang Xuan answered

"Do you want to go tomorrow?" Luo Yue asked

"Sure, we can finish training tomorrow and go to the city." Zhang Xuan replied

"Okay." Luo Yue said

The duo sat there for an incense stick of time.

"Let's go get something to eat." Zhang Xuan suggested

Luo Yue nodded. She and Zhang Xuan then walked to the cottage and went to the kitchen.

*Squeak…*

The squirrel opened its eyes as it lay in the window and stared at Zhang Xuan as he was making something to eat with Luo Yue.

"Hmm? Why is it staring at me…" Zhang Xuan asked

"Maybe it's hungry as well." Luo Yue said

"Maybe. Let's give it something to eat." Zhang Xuan said

"En." Luo Yue nodded

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue finished preparing some food and walked toward the dining table. The squirrel was already sitting on it, reaching out its tiny hands toward Zhang Xuan's.

"Eh… Here you go…" Zhang Xuan said while handing the squirrel some food

It took it and gave Zhang Xuan a slight bow with its head before running toward the window and jumping through it. This scene shocked both him and Luo Yue.

"Well, I guess we're free of that rodent stench from now on." Zhang Xuan commented

Luo Yue could not help but chuckle.

"hehe. I guess we are. Come on let's eat." Luo Yue said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue finished eating after a few minutes and cleaned up the kitchen. They then went to their room and sat in a meditative position before cultivating.

Time went by and it was now evening, it was raining outside with occasional sounds of thunder.

*Crack* *Pop*

Zhang Xuan opened his eyes, he has now reached Qi Transformation Realm tier 1.

*Crack* *Pop*

Not long after Zhang Xuan, Luo Yue also opened her eyes.

"Amazing! You've reached Qi Refinement Realm tier 8!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed

Luo Yue blushed.

"En." Luo Yue nodded shyly with a smile

*Creak* *Pit Pat*

The cottage's front door opened and Xu Fu seemed to have returned.

"Teacher's back. Let's go greet him." Luo Yue said excitedly

"En." Zhang Xuan nodded

The duo got up and walked toward the cottage entrance, there they saw Xu Fu. He looked like a drowned rat.

"Welcome back teacher." Luo Yue and Zhang Xuan greeted

Xu Fu looked up with an expressionless face, his lips puckered together.

"PFHahaha"

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue could not contain their laughter.

Xu Fu continued staring at them. The duo stopped laughing after a while.

"Why are you so gloomy?" Zhang Xuan asked

Xu Fu stared at him.

"I made a bet with someone that it wouldn't rain but then it started raining… I lost 5 gold coins…" Xu Fu pouted

…

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue were silent and stared at Xu Fu.

"There were no clouds in the sky at that time…" Xu Fu said

Zhang Xuan and Luo Yue kept staring at him.

"Fine… There were… Stop judging me…" Xu Fu said as if he was pressured to speak

"No one said anything…" Zhang Xuan said with a blank stare

Xu Fu was at a loss for words.

"I'm going to my room…" Xu Fu said

The duo nodded.

"That was funny." Luo Yue said with a smirk

"En." Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile

The duo giggled for a moment before they went back to their room.