Battered and Bruised

The truth was exactly as Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi had imagined.

In Lu Zhiying's head, the earlier scenes of her two senior disciples challenging the Hundred Puppets Array continued to replay themselves.

Every step.

Every turn.

Every little nuance.

All of them were being imprinted in her head right now, which she then translated into her own movements in reality.

While she had access to neither world origin energy nor essence energy, the fact was that she was also facing a lower difficulty level.

By combining everything in her arsenal, Lu Zhiying was slowly getting increasingly used to dealing with the erratic movements of the wooden puppets.

That was not to say that she was having an easy time, but she was definitely doing better than anyone had ever expected!

[Xuanwu Movement Art – Snapping Burst]

Lu Zhiying's body shot forward in an instant, getting out of the way of two puppets that were closing in from behind her.

This move surprised the three-member audience once again.

"Has Senior Martial Sister Lu really not entered the Foundation Building realm? Is it even possible to do that before forming your spiritual meridians?" Tian Luoyang asked from within the hut.

Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi looked over at Tian Luoyang, then at each other.

They could tell from each other's faces – neither of them thought that was possible either.

In fact, had they not been the ones to bring Lu Zhiying around since the day she joined, they might have suspected that she was hiding her true cultivation level too!

While both the manuals of the Xuanwu Movement Art and the Xuanwu Fist Art were handed to new disciples, the former was unlike the latter which had stances that one could practise even without the use of world origin energy or essence energy.

Usually, one would only start practising the Xuanwu Movement Art after forming their spiritual meridians, thereby entering the Foundation Building realm.

Only by doing so would one be able to tap on world origin energy, using it as fuel to execute the various moves.

They had never seen anyone successfully execute any moves from the Xuanwu Movement Art before that stage.

At least, not until today.

Of course, Lu Zhiying's execution of the Snapping Burst lacked the explosive power that came along with the incorporation of world origin energy or essence energy.

However, it was no doubt still a simplified version of it, one that relied purely on an extreme level of physical control.

Zhao Yunxiao was certain that this version was not included in the manual, which meant that Lu Zhiying probably came up with it herself.

How long had she entered the sect for?

Five days?

To be able to modify a long established technique just like that...

Some people were just born different indeed.

Just like that, Lu Zhiying continued to weave in and out of the net of puppets, utilising every move in her arsenal to create the smallest of openings even when the situation looked dire.

Unfortunately, even that was not enough.

One's stamina was limited, especially when forced to continuously operate at top condition.

As time passed, Lu Zhiying continued to get pressed harder and harder, eventually leading to a slip up.

"Ouch!" Lu Zhiying cried out as she was struck by the leg of a giant spider puppet and tumbled to the side.

"Junior Martial Sister Lu!" Gu Qiansi called out in shock, but quickly realised that something was amiss.

After getting struck, Lu Zhiying did not lose her composure.

Instead, the excited grin on her face only grew even wider than before.

"Hahaha! This is fun!" Lu Zhiying exclaimed as she jumped right back into the fray.

Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi widened their eyes in shock.

Unlike them who had carefully looked for safer spots in the array in order to last as long as possible, Lu Zhiying actually chose to enter the densest part of the array!

But with her stamina already largely depleted, it did not take long before Lu Zhiying slipped up once again.

Even so, she quickly got up every time she was knocked over, and did not hesitate to dive right back into the thick of things.

Bang-!

"Hahaha damn it! This hurts!"

Bang-!

"Ah, I almost dodged that!"

Bang-!

"Okay, so that doesn't work. Hahaha!"

Despite her repeated failures, Lu Zhiying's spirit was definitely flying high.

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

Gu Qiansi: "..."

Watching Lu Zhiying who continued laughing even as she got messed up by the puppets, they could not help but wonder if she was all right... in both aspects.

Before long, Lu Zhiying's entire body had ended up bruised and battered, her hair and robes dishevelled.

"Shouldn't Junior Martial Sister Lu be stopping the array by now?" Gu Qiansi asked hesitantly.

"I don't know about her, but I definitely would have stopped the array long ago," Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his temples.

Is this junior martial sister of his a masochist or something?

"...Stop the array, Junior Martial Brother Tian," Gu Qiansi finally called out.

"Okay!" Tian Luoyang acted immediately.

In fact, he had wanted to stop the array long ago.

Even though the duty disciple was supposed to listen to the requests of the disciple challenging the array when it came to activating or stopping the array, they also had the authority to act on their own accord and stop the array if they found the situation getting too dangerous.

It was only because Lu Zhiying seemed to be enjoying herself so much that he was confused as to whether he should actually do so.

With a low rumble, the emblem of light on the ground dissipated and the puppets stopped moving.

"Eh?" Lu Zhiying looked towards Tian Luoyang in disappointment.

Caught by surprise by the gaze that seemed to resemble a form of silent reprimand, Tian Luoyang immediately looked towards Gu Qiansi for help.

"That's enough for today, Junior Martial Sister Lu," Gu Qiansi answered on his behalf. "Come, let me take a look at your injuries."

"But I can still keep going!" Lu Zhiying protested.

"What do you mean you can? Just look at yourself right now," Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. "Anymore and we might have to carry you out of here when the adrenaline wears off!"

"Bleah!" Lu Zhiying stuck her tongue out in protest.

However, she did not argue further.

Although she had been enjoying herself, Lu Zhiying was well aware that her injuries were starting to pile up.

"When can we come back again then?" Lu Zhiying asked after leaving the array.

"Don't worry, all disciples have a free attempt every month," Gu Qiansi patted her head in a consoling manner. "We can always come back and try again next month."

"One month..." Lu Zhiying pouted a little.

"This means that you only have one month to prepare. When the time comes, we will be checking how much you have improved," Zhao Yunxiao added. "If it's the same as what you did just now, then you are in trouble!"

"Oh? Heh, sure!" Lu Zhiying smirked. "I will definitely show you how much more I can achieve in a month's time!"

"We shall see when the time comes," Zhao Yunxiao waved her off nonchalantly.

Gu Qiansi looked at Zhao Yunxiao in surprise, while the latter just shrugged.

It seemed like he was slowly getting the hang of how to deal with Lu Zhiying.

"Where are we going next?" Lu Zhiying asked energetically after they bade farewell to Tian Luoyang.

"Actually, do you want to return to your residence to rest for now?" Zhao Yunxiao asked. "After all, I will just be going to check on my garden plot. You have already seen how Gu Qiansi works at hers and mine is not much different, so you won't be missing much."

"No, I want to go as well!" Lu Zhiying shook her head profusely. "This is what I have wanted to see today!"

Zhao Yunxiao sighed helplessly at her energy level, "All right then. Let us just patch you up a little before going."

Both Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi had stopped the array promptly after they failed to keep up with the puppets, so they looked perfectly fine after just tidying up their clothes a little.

However, that was not the case for Lu Zhiying at all.

While the numerous injuries on her body were at least hidden under her clothes, those on her face were not.

As time passed, dark bruises were starting to appear on her beautiful face, just like dark clouds blotting out the dazzling sun.

One who was not familiar with her would probably be hard pressed to recognise her by now.

Lu Zhiying naturally did not reject medical help, and allowed Zhao Yunxiao to apply some basic first aid on her.

Still, Zhao Yunxiao could only help with the injuries on her face and limbs.

As for the injuries on her body, Gu Qiansi would have to either tend to those in private later or bring her to a female physician.

After they were done, Lu Zhiying followed them with a face painted in various colours, mainly due to the herbs and elixirs that had been applied.

Bandages were also used to keep those herbs in place, as well as to cover the many cuts that she had suffered on her limbs.

"Are you coming along too, Senior Martial Sister Gu?" Lu Zhiying asked.

"Mm," Gu Qiansi nodded. "I will just go take a look before heading back to my garden plot."

"See? Senior Martial Sister Gu is always thinking about tending to her herb garden while you hardly do so," Lu Zhiying turned towards Zhao Yunxiao. "That's why I've always wanted to see the difference between the two."

"It is all about working smart," Zhao Yunxiao answered proudly.

"I think you mean that it is about dedication to your work," Gu Qiansi corrected.

"Well, my herbs are still doing well. That's proof enough that my methods work!" Zhao Yunxiao argued. "Unlike someone whose garden plot got wrecked a few days ago..."

"How does that count?" Gu Qiansi retorted. "That's something completely uncontrollable!"

Zhao Yunxiao merely shrugged in response.

***

Gu Qiansi's garden plot was located near the borders of the Outer Grounds, and Zhao Yunxiao's was not located anywhere that was considerably more accessible either.

It was a long walk there, and the duo took this opportunity to educate Lu Zhiying on many of the sect's rules – be it written or unwritten.

The incident with Elder Mo back then during the monthly cultivation lecture had given them quite the scare, and they would certainly prefer that such a thing did not happen again.

Lu Zhiying continued to nod in understanding without questioning a single thing they said, but this only caused Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi to feel more uneasy.

"Are you sure you understand?" Zhao Yunxiao asked sceptically.

"I do! You need to start trusting me more, Senior Martial Brother Zhao!" Lu Zhiying naturally sensed the distrust coming from her senior, especially since the latter did nothing to hide it whatsoever.

"All right, I will take your word for it then," Zhao Yunxiao was still a little doubtful, but they had already done all he could.

There was nothing more they could do other than to believe her.

If she really did not want to follow the rules, it would not make any difference even if they repeated them another hundred times.

"Oh? Isn't that Murou?" Gu Qiansi suddenly pointed over at a group of disciples in the distance, causing both of them to look over as well.

Where Gu Qiansi was pointing, there was a group of five disciples – three females and two males.

The first thing that stood out about them was the fact that these disciples were dressed in attires that screamed the word luxury.

The female disciples wore beautiful long silk dresses that were adorned with jewels and pearls. Their wrists and necks were decorated with exquisite accessories of gold and jade, while earrings of crystal and silver sparkled under the sunlight to complement their neatly combed hair.

The male disciples were dressed in a relatively simpler fashion, but the quality of their attires certainly did not look inferior in comparison. The hems of their scholarly robes were completed with golden threads, though even that was slightly overshadowed by their jade bangles and rings.

Despite travelling on the dirt road, it was amazing how not one bit of dust or dirt got onto their clothes. In fact, even their shoes had somehow remained perfectly clean.

Not only that, but just by casually walking along, the group naturally emanated an aura of pride and confidence that was hardly present in the other disciples whom they had seen in the past few days.

"It really is Murou!" Gu Qiansi exclaimed excitedly after taking a second look.

"Wait, Gu Qians-!" Zhao Yunxiao wanted to stop her, but he was too late.

"Murou! How have you been?" Gu Qiansi shouted as she waved towards the group.

Her actions naturally caught the attention of the group.

However, instead of waving back to her in response, the members of the group looked over and immediately frowned.