บท 4: Training And Suffering

After sleeping for ten hours, Xu Fei woke up early with a faint smile.

She has never had such a relaxing sleep before in her life. This simple bed that she slept on feels way more comfortable than she could ever imagine. That night, she had only laid on it for a couple of minutes before sleeping like a log.

She then stretched like a cat and then leaped out of bed. It was time to change into much more comfortable clothes!

Since the very beginning of her adventure in this world, the only thing she has worn is this gray cloth that she received from Song Qiang, it was very uncomfortable to wear. It was itchy, tight, and very exposing. You could even see her ass if you crouch down low enough, and this fact made her feel quite embarrassed.

She immediately stripped and took a look at her inventory.

[------------Inventory------------]

Disciple Garb 1x

Disciple Badge 1x

Extreme Yin Elixir 1x

Crimson Flame Flower 7x

Nine-Colored Lotus 6x

Lunar Dew 2x

Blade-shaped Thorn 12x

Nine-Colored Lotus seed 1x

Qi-Infused Berry 14x

Sunlight Yellow Fruit 2x

Dark Fruit 2x

[----------------------------------]

Although she knew that she took a lot of herbs while being chased by beasts, she still drooled seeing all the mystical herbs that were shown on the screen. But, she must hold back!

Right now, she doesn't know what these herbs do, so she wouldn't dare to eat them. If it turns out that these herbs contain poison and she ate them carelessly, then she would've died a very anticlimactic death.

She will try to eat them when she's more knowledgeable.

She then grabbed the Disciple Garb from her inventory and put them on. It looks quite plain and simple, with light blue being the dominant color. But in the end, she was quite pleased with it.

She then went out of the humble house to meet her master at the location that she told her last night.

The island was very large, with a diameter of around dozens of kilometers. She walked along a pathway surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers that extend for a couple of kilometers. She also saw a large river by the side and crossed a bridge, before arriving at the place her master told her about.

It was an open field that was shaped like an oval with short grass and flowers covering it. A flowing river surrounds the entire field, making it look tranquil and peaceful. No birds or other animals could be heard, only the rustling of the trees and the flow of the river.

Her master was sitting cross-legged in the center of the field. Her face was calm and tranquil, complementing the surrounding atmosphere. When Xu Fei arrived, she opens her eyes and said with a smile,

"There you are, it took you quite a while to arrive. Come sit here in front of me."

Xu Fei nodded quickly and ran toward her master, before sitting in front of her. Her master was very pleasant to her, unlike other elders at the gathering or the people that she met in her previous life.

"Fufu, look at how lively you are. Now, we haven't introduced ourselves properly, have we? My name is Su Lan and as you know, I am the grand elder of the Flowing Sword Sect."

Then, she gestured to indicate that it was Xu Fei's turn. She then puffed her chest and spoke confidently,

"Yes master, my name is Xu F-"

All of a sudden, she froze as a realization has come to her mind. Xu Fei is a boy's name!

'Oh crap, what should I do? Should I abandon my name and get a new one? Well, I guess there's no other choice...' she thought to herself.

After a short while, she continued,

"My name is Xu Meihua..." she said quite awkwardly.

Using a new name feels quite strange for her, it makes her skin crawl. In the future, she will never change her name ever again. Well, unless the situation calls for it of course...

Su Lan realized her strange behavior but decides to not question it. Her disciple probably has some personal reasons to hide her true name away and she doesn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Is that so..."

All of a sudden, a notification popped up.

[ Player name has been changed to Xu Meihua! ]

'Oh! My player name has finally changed!'

Since the very beginning, she has been messing with the system panel to find a way to change her name. She has never thought it would change the moment she introduces herself to others with a new name.

Even though Xu Meihua was different than her original name, it was way better than Oomfie37, which is a crappy nickname that she came up with in ten seconds. It doesn't affect her daily life in the slightest but still, being called by the system with such a terrible name feels insulting. Without any other thought, she snapped back to reality.

Su Lan then got up and explained to her slowly,

"Today, you will be training your body," she said plainly.

Xu Meihua was somewhat confused. Weren't cultivators meant to cultivate? Since you can gain a tremendous amount of strength by cultivating, why would she waste time by training her body?

Su Lan saw that Xu Meihua was somewhat confused and continued to explain,

"Although training your body may seem very insignificant compared to cultivating, it is a very crucial factor to increase your potential as a cultivator, and it could even save your life."

She then pointed to Xu Meihua's torso which looks extremely delicate with no trace of muscle. All the wounds that she received from the forest have long been healed from her sleep. Now, she looks like a maiden that has never left her house her whole life.

"Your body is like a foundation, a cauldron that is meant to contain your energy. If this cauldron is as fragile as paper just like your current body, the energy within will be too heavy to contain and the cauldron will shatter eventually. The same will happen to your body too if you cultivate carelessly, soaring through realm by realm in a single day. It will break and you will probably die. In fact, this is the cause of death of most cultivators with Holy Physique."

'Wtf, so speedrunning through cultivation realms could get you killed!?'

Xu Meihua then recalled many scenes from cultivation novels from her previous life where the protagonist would immediately easily skip many realms in a night due to their sheer genius and overpowered technique. Each one of them simply brushes it off as their power increased significantly.

But to think that all of that was a lie! That would've gotten her killed, especially when she have a Holy Physique that boosted her cultivation speed by a large margin.

'Okay! Ain't no way I'm trusting any knowledge regarding cultivation from my previous life!' she quietly made a mental note on her mind.

Su Lan then chuckled a little when she saw Xu Meihua got a little frightened. She immediately continued,

"That's why we should not rush things. Remember this, the key to cultivation is to maintain the balance between the body, dantian, and mind. If one is slightly higher than the rest, try your best to improve the others too. Even if you are slower than the others, even if you are weaker than the others, you still have plenty of lifespan, don't you? You will outlive them, you will soar above them someday in the future and shine brightly like no other could."

"Now, let's try not to get too distracted, should we? We should start the training now... Get up."

Xu Meihua got up as ordered.

"You will start running around the island for a couple of laps, this should be easy, right?"

Xu Meihua perked up at this, isn't this just too easy? Back in the forest, she had run away from beasts for hours and hours, so this should be easy, right?

WHOOOSH!

Without further ado, Su Lan dashed across the bridge and shouted,

"Come on, follow me! If you manage to complete ten laps around the island then you can eat some delicious food after that!"

"FOOD!?"

Xu Meihua jolted and immediately ran behind her master desperately. She had not eaten any food for the past few days and her stomach has been churning nonstop. She must obtain some food!

However, the road was not as easy as she thought it was. Throughout the laps, she encountered many tall cliffs that she had to cross. Unlike running on a flat surface, climbing cliffs are extremely painful and tiring. Her clothes were drenched in sweat and her legs were screaming in pain.

Not only that, but she also had to cross some rivers that were wide with an extremely powerful stream. Sometimes she was even carried away by the streams and almost crashed into boulders, but she was saved by her master each time.

After finishing five laps and arriving back at the open field, she fell on her ass immediately. She was very exhausted, her clothes were drenched after crossing the rivers, she was covered in bruises after climbing cliffs, and she could hardly move a single muscle on her body.

But Su Lan was still energetic as if these hurdles didn't affect her in the slightest. Xu Meihua saw her still running for more laps and plead,

"M-Master... Please, no more... no more training..." Her voice was sore as she spoke.

Su Lan stopped for a moment and turned to Xu Meihua with a frown.

"I'm sorry, but you have to persevere through this. I only have two months to train you, so you will have to undergo intensive training to catch up to your peers..." Su Lan explained slowly.

Xu Meihua's face immediately went pale as she was filled with despair.

'Just kill me...'

Su Lan then dragged her as they set off for a 'few' more laps. Circling the island again, climbing the cliffs again, crossing the harsh rivers again, again, and again...

Throughout the course, Xu Meihua occasionally screamed 'No more' or 'Just kill me' but Su Lan paid no mind and forced her to continue running. Although Xu Meihua kept on screaming slurs and suicidal words, she still persevered till the end, which surprised Su Lan.

If other disciples were put in her situation, then they would've passed out long ago either out of exhaustion or mind break. But being able to continue for this long proved that she has a very strong willpower that is incomparable to her peers.

Subconsciously, Su Lan's lips curled to show a faint smile.

After ten laps, they then arrived back at the modest house. Xu Meihua's eyes are lifeless and her soul has left her body long ago. Her body has been pushed past the limits and the word exhausted is not enough to describe what she has been feeling.

After entering her bedroom, her body went limp as she fell on her bed face first. She cannot move a single muscle and her body shut down instantly as she fell asleep.

"You have worked hard..." Su Lan said with a smile as she caressed Xu Meihua's sleeping face.

She has truly underestimated her.

"Sigh. At first, I blame the heavens for granting such a precious physique to a random girl, but after this, I changed my mind. She has a mind that is not inferior to her physique..."

She then got up and left the room as she took one last look at Xu Meihua.

The moonlight shines across the windows, highlighting her cute sleeping face. The gentle wind from the opened window caressed her hair like a fine breeze. The scene here looks just as beautiful as a painting.

Just looking at her reminds Su Lan of her late daughter that died many years ago. A sense of protectiveness overcame her mind as she suddenly felt a sense of duty towards her.

"But, I can't be too protective towards her. Just like the sect leader said, she is going to be the key figure that will defeat 'him' and bring our sect back to its former glory in the future. For that, she must be tempered and nourished as well as possible."

"I will make sure to do everything in my power to train her as best as I can. For the sake of the Flowing Sword sect and myself..." Su Lan swore in her heart.

With that, she disappeared with the wind.

And so, time passed quietly...

Every morning when Xu Meihua woke up, she would be dragged by Su Lan to the training area as she screamed along the way. In the morning, they would run laps around the island. At noon, they would squat for hours until the sun sets down into the west. At night, they would eat as much as they could and talk with each other before sleeping.

With each day, Xu Meihua slowly improved along the way.

On day ten, she could barely cross the river without being carried by the powerful streams and climb the cliffs without slipping. On day twenty, she could somewhat cross the river and cliffs with some difficulty. And now on day thirty, she could easily cross all the obstacles without breaking much sweat.

Due to her Longevity Holy Body, she cannot grow any muscles, so her appearance has never changed. But, the strength she could exert is now many times stronger than before and her body feels lighter than a feather.

Not only that, but she also got to know her master better.

Xu Meihua has learned that although her master has a gentle demeanor, she is more serious than the fifth elder back from the gathering. The playful attitude she displayed on their first meeting was just an act to get things by. At the same time, Su Lan got to know her disciple's personality and has grown more fond of her as time went by.

Now after a month of training, they stood in the same open field as they always did.

Su Lan glanced at her disciple with a smile, she is very satisfied with her achievements. Xu Meihua's posture is now as sharp as a sword. Although she has the same playful but timid personality as before, her gaze is now quite sharp as she could sense the slightest movement of her surroundings.

"Meihua, you're doing great... way greater than I would have ever expected!" Su Lan exclaimed with a wide smile.

"Yes, master..."

Xu Meihua looked down, her face red in embarrassment. It feels really good to be praised by a motherlike figure such as her master...

'Oh crap, I think I'm starting to develop a praise kink.' she thought.

'But before anything else... status.'

[--------------Status-------------]

Title: Transmigrator

Cultivation: -

Stat Points: 24

Skill points: 8

Strength: 9

Agility: 17

Stamina: 14

Intelligence: 5

Charm: 30

Qi: -

Skills: -

[----------------------------------]

'Nice... my stats have gone up quite a lot after this hellish training.' she thought with a smile.

Throughout her training, she noticed that her stats raises not only when she levels up, but also whenever she did some training.

Training would occasionally raise them by 0.2 points after some time, but after a month, it has piled up into a good number. No wonder she became many times stronger than before.

Then Su Lan coughed for a moment as Xu Meihua's thoughts were cut,

"Anyway, you have completed your first month of training with me, and your body is now well-trained and very suitable for cultivation. The next thing you will learn will be techniques and basic combat!" Su Lan said cheerfully.

She then took ten manuals out of thin air and showed them to Xu Meihua. Each of them was a basic technique of many different kinds of weapons. There was The Equilibrium Sword Technique, The Equilibrium Spear Technique, and other weapon manuals with the name 'Equilibrium'.

"These are the most basic technique of all weapons that are available in our sect. Although they are weak at first, they were the foundation and roots to connect other techniques of the very same weapons. For example, if you mastered The Equilibrium Sword Technique, then you will have a much easier time learning other sword arts." Su Lan explained carefully.

Xu Meihua nodded along the way. She could somewhat understand where her master was coming from and moreover, she trusts her fully. If her master's suggestion of training her body has worked wonders for her, then her suggestion right now will definitely benefit her the most!

"Now, which kind of weapon do you want to train in?" Su Lan asked curiously.

Although Su Lan has cultivated the sword throughout her life, she is still quite knowledgeable in other weapons as well. She would definitely be able to train Meihua if she were to choose other weapons.

Xu Meihua's eyes shined as she quickly took a look at the manuals.

"Now, which technique should I choose?"