Chương 70: Day 10 A teacher in name only

For seven days, Liang Yu focused on fixing anything in the Flame Martial Arts that may have gone wrong from the original. An Xueyun stopping by only twice receiving pointers for herself. Her payment was a few manuals that Old Xu gave her and a look over her room. She had quite a few different books then them both.

Impressing Old Xu when she instructed him on what Liang Yu taught her. This earned a few more techniques and books for them all. As well as the old man focusing on her training more to cover the gaps from the obvious emotional abuse that was present.

With Liang Yu and Ye Xinghe bringing it up at different intervals, the Old Man had no other choice but to take a further interest. Aware that both Ye Xinghe and Liang Yu burned some longevity to age themselves, he tried to reprimand them both neither took it to heart at all.

With the richer Qi, the Dantian Fusion Stage was fixed for An Xueyun. Making it easier for her to circulate through her passageways better. Time was about all she needed to make sure things were perfect for something they were planning.

It was on this day Old Xu found something to teach them further.

An Xueyun was wearing a standard female martial outfit. Sleeveless showing a good bit of her arms as well as a bit of her back and shoulders. Flower patterns are mostly on the right side.

Liang Yu, was wearing some stylish black robes with purple and white accents. Mostly for the bracers and sash. Runes on the braces and the sash to help in a tricky situation as well as boosting cultivation speed.

Ye Xinghe wearing some robes made himself from fabric given by the latter. A few runes were designed on them. The wristbands and the sash had small speed-enhancing as well as boosting cultivation speed.

"For the first three days I have instructed you to channel your Qi only, but for the last 4 days, you have all been practicing various techniques. Faster progress than the other students, so I must adjust accordingly. Today onwards I'll be teaching you martial arts more deeply. As well having you do mock fights." Old Xu said solemnly. Letting his words sink in for his disciples. His eyes stopped on An Xueyun first making his decision. "An Xueyun, you will go first."

"Yes." An Xueyun cupped her fists and saluted respectively. "I will defintely show good results."

"Hope so." Liang Yu yawned. "You have the lowest cultivation out of everyone here." She looked at Ye Xinghe who smiled. "He has made it to the 2nd Heavenly Layer already. Right on the forefront of the 3rd Heavenly Layer."

"Trying new methods helps." Ye Xinghe said as he closed his eyes and took a small breath. "Focus on the air around me and you will detect it." He released his cultivation a little outward. "Constantly just studying what others paved before you will not result in better oppturnties. That is what I believe at least."

"What!?" An Xueyun asked suprised. Old Xu kept better control of himself but was suprised as well. "You did it in a mere seven days?!" She gave a look towards Liang Yu who was not bothered in the least. "You are the same already to?" His made more sense with possible resources from the Dark Moon Family.

If she knew he reached the 2nd Layer and fixed the 2nd Layer of the Flame Martial Arts as well, she would most likely lose her mind. Only reason he didn't go to the 3rd Heavenly Layer yet was because of advancing his techniques further.

'We both have the strength and quantity of someone in the 5th Heavenly Layer, so it doesn't matter for what comes up soon. But more is always better.' Liang Yu focused back on the task at hand.

"How did you cultivate so fast?" Old Xu asked. Wanting to know if he had some outside help in some way. Both just responded using what was in the courtyards. A lot of techniques that others refused to use were used by them after all. Putting it off till later, he rather focuses on teaching for now. "Xinghe, since you have reached the 2nd Layer, come show your work as well."

'Did he really cultivate to the 2nd Layer so soon?' An Xueyun thought to herself. Her eyes wander over to Liang Yu who made direct contact with her own. Flustered she looked away back towards Ye Xinghe. 'How did he know just from the breath of Ye Xinghe? I can't get a good bead on it.'

"Do I have something on my face?" Ye Xinghe asked suprised at her flustered look.

"Oh, no no!" An Xueyun just wanted hide away at this point. 'I need to get stronger to!'

Training Field-

The four walked over to the area. Several wooden poles scattered about. Standing straight up over a stone surface. Old Xu started to instruct them on what to do. Which was unwarranted for Liang Yu after the past seven days really. As he started to talk, Liang Yu and Ye Xinghe had already gathered Qi into their fists.

'I was going to tell them to gather it into their hand but that is just as good. Such strong and precise control. At least the girl still listens.' Old Xu was actually impressed still. Making a mental note to pay a little more attention to them both. "Alright, do as I say. First Gather your qi from your Dantian and secondly, wrap it around your hand."

*Woom! Woom! Woom!* An Xueyun qi pulsed around her palm a little out of her control. Her concentration was a little off. Still bothered by what happened a few minutes ago. Sweat dripped down the side of her face as she prepared to strike.

"You should follow the instruction before you get in trouble." Ye Xinghe said. He continued to let small traces flow from his dantian into his fist. While also circulating his Flame Vortex Core to see what would change. 'A few palm moves and boxing moves will be the best for now. Once Frost Air becomes stronger, I can use the rest of my body when fighting easier.'

*Ching!* Ice crystals formed around his hand as star energy exuded outward. From the fingertip down to the elbow, a sheet of ice protected the surface. Cold flame gathered burning any debris that touched it.

"Once the Qi reaches its peak, in one move, strike with all your might." Old Xu said. Eyes moving to Ye Xinghe that did not move yet. Before he could say anything, energy fluctuations pulled his interest over to another. "Hmm!?"

*Bam!* An Xueyun punched first making a solid impact. The wooden pole had a pretty big dent in it. As well as several cracks from her losing control when attacking. The back half then blew out burning in flames.

"Ugh!" An Xueyun stepped back having lost control injuring herself slightly. "I will do better next time." Old Xu saw to her to see the extent of the damage.

*Fwish!* Liang Yu poke out with his finger instead of punching with all his might. His finger pierced a hole all the way through to the other side. Leaving slight scorched marks at the end. The hole is no bigger than the length of the finger used.

*Bzzt!* From the hole, lightning spread outward. Hairline fractures before it burst completely.

"Well, need to fine tune it." Liang Yu mumbled as he rubbed his finger. Despite his efforts, a tiny bit of the second qi linked in. "Yup defintely need to watch out for that." His control over lightning was much better than the previous.

"Splendid, you two damaged the wooden poles to such an extent. Nice display of Flame Martial Arts. An Xueyun.." He pulled away not finding any major damage. "Your mind must be calm when practicing. In battle, so much can happen that it is wise to develop a calm approach first." She gave a nod understanding her faults.

"Yes, Master!"

"As for you Liang Yu.." Old Xu was suprised that his fingertip was the only thing scorched from the energy he felt. The temperature around much higher than before left much to consider. "..acting on the side of caution is good, but do not become timid. The log should have exploded on contact if not for your firm hold on your qi control."

He did not comment on the Lightning. Hopefully, it would have just caused slight stun at first. Not what it did before exploding like that.

"I understand." Liang Yu nodded. Not to proud or humble. More than anything, he knew his body best. Cultivation be damned, the technique did what he needed it to do. "I need to strengthen my body more."

"As for you Ye Xinghe.." Old Xu turned to his third disciple. "..let's see if you are really in the 2nd Heavenly Layer."

"Teacher Xu, of course, I am!" Ye Xinghe answered quickly. "Unlike the others, I cannot really pay for the damage to the logs. This is why I didn't strike. If I break that expensive wooden pole, won't I have to pay for it?"

He knew the answer but he needed to make sure still. He was kind of broke.

"Why would they have you pay for it, after instructing you to attack it dumb dumb." Liang Yu sighed with practice ease. Reading about it and seeing it in person were two different matters. Then seeing it for another time was almost embarrassing. 'I need some surgery tools or my Astral Sense to develop more to check the damage of my finger. Or a technique that lets me see anyway.'

"No need to pay." Old Xu said. Seeing the happy expression on his face, the old man couldn't stop himself from speaking quickly. "No worries, do your best!"

"Pfft!" An Xueyun laughed. Forgetting herself for a moment, she became embarrassed when Old Xu and Ye Xinghe looked at her intently. "Excuse me!"

Taking a deep breath, Ye Xinghe prepared himself. With a quick exhale he struck out with a little bit of the energy currently gathered.

"Hah!" The force of his plam rampaged out almost uncontrolled. The log was broken from the midsection up. The force-carrying all the way to the wall. The remainder turning into ice then crumbling into nothing. 'That felt really good!'

*Bam!* The impact against the wall passed a second later. Lots of smoke in the area clearing away revealing a frozen palm print that expanded outward. It spread outward freezing the wall a few feet.

"I broke it!" Ye Xinghe looked at it with a smirk. "I broke the wall!"

Liang Yu paid it no mind at all. Master Xu walked over to calm him down. His thought mixed with awe and apprehension. Especially since the power was defintely in the 2nd Heavenly Layer if not the 3rd.

"Hmm?" An Xueyun was bothered by Liang Yu. His unimpressed look just felt wrong to her. Walking over, she confronted him. "Liang Yu, it seems that Ye Xinghe's strength has exceeded our own."

"Exceeded our own? Not likely." Liang Yu shook his head obviously not agreeing with the girl who already started to fall in a state of infatuation with the main character halo that existed around Ye Xinghe. Which was odd considering the situation overall for the Dimension this time. "You are looking at what happened on the surface, not the after-effects."

"Is it not obvious from the surroundings this is true?" An Xueyun pointed at the logs one by one. "Next to his, I did the most damage the quickest."

"That is nice. But I was not looking for damage." Liang Yu shrugged which infuriated her even more. He marveled at the fact she was nothing like her manga or other counterparts in person. "I want to test my control, which I failed at a little bit. Old Xu wanted to teach us a little yes, but I did not do anything advance off the bat to keep from causing any issues."

Liang Yu circulated a little Qi into his palm with out moving any of his second qi. Moving up to a log, he gave it a straight jab to the center. Keeping his control exactly as he needed.

*Pat!* The palm strike went completely through the log leaving a scorch mark around the surroundings. A faint handprint appeared on the wall scorching it some. Heat explosion from the concentration of qi.

An Xueyun face was in a scowl. She could tell Liang Yu barely exerted himself. Which was worse, his mind was calm when he did it. Reminding her she had a ways to go still. It was more jealousy on her part since she wanted to prove she was not weak.

"Must not only look at the surface but also look at what else is going on brat." Liang Yu walked away holding his hand up. With a clutch of his fist, the log he hit burst into purple flames. "He cultivated recently yes, but that does not change the fact he has no control. Rampant Qi will allow for more damage."

Ye Xinghe rolled his eyes towards his counterpart.

"Ye Xinghe, An Xueyun, and Liang Yu, your power is growing fast, I'm afraid of the trouble you will get into if you proceed this way."

"Teach An Xueyun more, she needs it." Both of them said together. The girl was slightly embarrassed they both spoke up for her.

"It is obvious you who needs it. Plus just exchanging with each other will help." Ye Xinghe stated. "With his hot flames and my star energy using some Ice, I can have steady growth all the same while practicing.

"Then I will guide her personally a little more." Old Xu did not think anything of it much. With the fact his disciples showed rivalry but also a healthy cooperation, he didn't push the matter. 'I will make sure to find some techniques to support them better.'

An Xueyun sat down to receive instruction. The two sitting down to join as well but mostly reflecting on the changes.