Grandpa Jin, who had been frustrated by Yan Ping’s homework, changed his mind after observing Anji for two weeks. The child might prove to be someone capable of attaining sagehood in record time. Perhaps it was because she had been born with a core too powerful for her vessel. Perhaps it was because she already understood the meaning of death. Whichever the case, Anji was starting to understand the art of duality. After all, where there was light, there would be shadow. Life could not exist without death, and Anji was starting to understand the true meaning of harmonisation.
After several months of exploration, the season had changed from warm to cool again. It was nearing Anji’s birthday, and the sect was busy preparing for her seventh birthday. The cross-training between sects had been progressing smoothly. Anji continued to help her teacher as a teaching aide weekly while also dedicating time to her own studies. Due to some urgent matters outside, Mingshen had to leave the Sect a few days ago but promised to be back by New Year if Anji was not in isolation training.
Although the Mystical Qilin Sect had poor combat skills, the other sects specialising in martial arts made up for their weakness. During the first combined mock battle a month ago, Anji observed how formations and coordinated attack patterns were important as part of the strategy to counter sneaky warfare. The collaboration team had to go up against Yan Ping’s special flag formation, replicated using Pu Jianming’s previous research paper, which he submitted during his time as a senior researcher and archivist. Needless to say, nobody succeeded in breaking through the flag formation. The defeat was a hard reality check for martial artists who pride themselves on their individual skills. However, thanks to the experience, the hard-headed cultivators started cooperating with each other more, making teamwork more harmonious.
Speaking of harmony, Anji was beginning to understand what that referred to. In the Art of Dao, yin and yang were polarising forces that worked on the opposite side at all times. There was no way to combine them. However, without balance between the two opposing forces, there would only be chaos.
Embracing acceptance and employing gentle guidance, Anji finally found a method to ’refine’ the raging flow of energy coursing through her body. However, she still had no idea how to contain the flow of energy within her meridians. Despite the imperfect answer, Yan Ping praised Anji for her discovery and acknowledged that the child was now one step closer to finding her ’true path’.
In hindsight, Anji should have known what Grandpa Jin was referring to. The golden dragon had given her such a huge hint from the beginning to ’go with the flow’. However, Anji had no idea what that meant. Instead, she did everything else to attempt to control what was not meant to be controlled.
One particularly interesting martial art form that the Black Tortoise Sect specialised in gave Anji a huge hint. Unlike the more explosive martial art styles that focused on offensive moves, the Black Tortoise Sect excelled in defensive martial arts. The Gentle Fist Style was an almost impenetrable set of moves like a guarded fortress. It never attacks, only counterattacks. It was the perfect martial art for a pacifist. Like nature, it does not attack unprovoked.
In her free time during the morning, Anji would observe the disciples sent from the Black Tortoise Sect and learn their moves. In the afternoon, she would secretly practise their movements with a training puppet. Thanks to Yan Ping’s upgraded formula, wooden training puppets were now able to adapt according to the cultivation level of the mana they were provided. Hence, Anji’s current training partner was not as advanced as the ones before it.
"Hm?" the child blinked when she accidentally copied the same moves from her training puppet, landing in an awkward situation. "Oh, I was supposed to go with the left leg here. Sorry!"
Although training puppets did not have personalities, Anji could almost hear hers apologising in return. Then, from behind them, Anji heard someone chuckling.
"The trick to reflecting an attack is to first focus on the leg formation and swing in the opposite direction. Truthfully, left or right leg does not matter. However, by putting your weight forward on your right leg and countering with your right arm, your opponent could easily throw your balance off and push you down from the left side. Try blocking from your left shoulder in this position instead of changing where your leg already is," the voice suggested.
Implementing the new suggestion, Anji realised that blocking with her left shoulder instead of her outer right arm was indeed a better choice. Not only did it help to stabilise her footwork, but it also reduced her centre of gravity, making the defence less likely to be broken through.
"Thank you, Senior Shi, for helping me out," Anji turned around and bowed to the elite disciple from the Black Tortoise Sect.
Shi Ding first discovered how the young successor of the Mystical Qilin Sect was secretly trying to learn the Gentle Fist Style. As their sect leader was like a grandfather to the sickly child, he had received orders to be on friendly terms with her.
After gaining permission from Chen Zhong to teach Anji the basics of Gentle Fist from their sect, Shi Ding often dropped by in the afternoon to give Anji some pointers. The child was brighter than he thought, and while her moves were still clumsy, her brilliant mind quickly grasped the true beauty of their martial arts that some other cultivators mocked as weak.
"Each time we meet, you seem to have developed a deeper understanding of the Gentle Fist Art." Our Sect Leader expresses regret that you were chosen to be the successor of the Mystical Qilin Sect daily. Just out of formality, as I have to answer to our old master, are you keen on marrying into the Black Tortoise Sect?"
Laughing in response to something she had grown used to hearing, Anji shook her head and politely declined. It had become as casual as talking about the weather.
"My apologies," Anji giggled. "Please pass my word along to Grandpa Chen. However, Ci Wang will not be deciding on a cultivation partner until I have attained the Enlightened Core stage."
Sighing in fake disappointment, Shi Ding promised to pass on the devastating news to Chen Zhong and gave Anji a few pointers about improving the flow of her movements before leaving for the combined afternoon sparring session with the representatives from the White Tiger Sect.
Anji waved goodbye to him and looked at the wooden puppet.
"Let’s try that again, shall we?" she asked the inanimate object and imbued some of her energy in it for another round of practice, keeping in mind the new tips from Shi Ding. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet