Chapter 39: Tracer (Part 3)

Xu Qianyu took the sword book handed to her by Gao Fengxing.
At the beginning of each chapter, there was a simple introduction to the sword intent of that technique, followed by illustrations of many small figures holding swords, resembling a series of sequential pictures, breaking down the moves step by step.
“Do you understand? ” Gao Fengxing asked.

“It’s a drawing.”

“Mm.” He briefly explained the sword intent, noting that this sword technique was called “Shuofeng,” which harnesses the power of the northern wind from nature—simple and elegant, suitable for beginners in the Penglai sword practice. He added, “The drawings aren’t just for you to look at; you need to mentally interpret them, integrate them into yourself, and then put them into practice.”
After staring at the illustrations for a while, Xu Qianyu felt dizzy, as if the little figures were moving in front of her. Hearing Gao Fengxing mention mental interpretation made her recall the mental formula she had memorized perfectly.
“Shape it in your heart, then attain its form.”
The techniques weren’t many, and she memorized them one by one. Closing her eyes, darkness enveloped her, and a small figure holding a sword appeared, performing an entire set of sword techniques fluidly.

This reminded her of the golden veins in the small figure she visualized while practicing her inner strength only this figure was static, while the one in the sequential drawings was dancing with the sword.
As this thought crossed her mind, the small figure instantly became transparent. It was as if the figure practicing inner strength stood up, picked up a sword, and she could see the golden veins inside it flowing with spiritual energy. It quickly grew transparent long hair and a flowing skirt—transforming into her own likeness.

The small figure began to leap and dance with the sword, its clothing fluttering gracefully.
At this moment, her inner strength found its purpose; she controlled the flowing spiritual energy, allowing it to spill out along with each sword move, creating countless luminous glows.
Gao Fengxing noticed that she had her eyes closed and, after calling out for a while without a response, he put down the sword book and chose not to disturb her.
She was in a meditative state.
Her comprehension seemed quite rapid.
After a moment, Xu Qianyu opened her eyes, as if she had gained some insight.
“Have you learned it?” Gao Fengxing asked.
Xu Qianyu felt that her mind had grasped the concepts but she was uncertain about how to execute them, so she hesitantly nodded.
Gao Fengxing dragged a puppet to her front.
The puppet was about her height, made of iron-gray spirit stone, with humanoid limbs and joints but no facial features; its body was covered in runes, and it held a sword in its hand, resembling a wooden puppet from the mortal world.
Xu Qianyu drew her sword, and the puppet almost simultaneously drew its sword with a “whoosh,” startling her.

Then she raised her right hand, and the puppet raised its right hand; when she lowered her right hand, it lowered its hand as well, mirroring her movements.
It turned out that this puppet could replicate her actions.
This was quite clever.
Holding the sword book in her left hand, she broke down the sword moves with her right hand, keeping her eyes focused on the puppet. With each step, she compared her actions to the manual, allowing her to see if her movements were accurate.
After correcting herself several times, Xu Qianyu put down the sword book, her movements now deeply ingrained in her muscle memory. She stepped back a little from the puppet.
Suddenly, the girl and the puppet moved simultaneously, the sword techniques opening and closing in grand gestures, rising and falling, causing Xu Qianyu’s dress to sway. It was a dance of two flowers blooming symmetrically, spinning quickly in the wind.
As she finished her moves, it was as if the northern wind had swept across the ground, swift and decisive. The corners of her clothing were lifted by the residual sword wind before slowly falling back down.

Gao Fengxing watched with approval but still crossed his arms, his expression serious: “Just like that. Practice until you master it.”
Xu Qianyu repeated the sequence a second and third time.
After an unknown number of repetitions, her body remembered the sword moves well enough that she could practice the sword while letting her mind wander. The puppet, once her movements were corrected, continued to repeat the entire set of actions, seemingly without purpose.
It felt somewhat wasteful.
Then she recalled the scene of battling against someone earlier that day. She had lost because she was unable to react to the attacks. If only someone could practice with her, that would be great.
With this thought, as her sword move reached the halfway point, she suddenly changed her technique.
However, the puppet continued to mechanically perform the “Shuofeng” sword technique, its sword striking towards her.
Xu Qianyu quickly thought about how to counter it; as the sword approached her, she horizontally raised her own sword to block it.
Gao Fengxing heard a loud “bang” as Xu Qianyu was struck by the puppet’s sword wind and fell heavily to the ground.
“…”

What was going on now?
The puppet’s sword had both weight and lightness. Xu Qianyu, unaware of her limits and being quite audacious, had drawn the heaviest sword, which could knock her away to temper her temperament.
This time, she indeed fell hard.
He hesitated for a moment but chose to remain aloof, not going to help her up.
Xu Qianyu sat on the ground, stunned for a moment, but did not cry or make a fuss.
Even as she lay down, the puppet continued to repeat its sword dance.
Before it completed its next cycle, she watched it and quietly contemplated an alternative possibility.
As the sword came at her again, she leaped up and executed a hooking strike!
The puppet’s sword energy burst forth, lifting her, but it could not dislodge her. She managed to hook onto its sword.
She caught it!

But the next move came instantaneously and knocked her down again.
Gao Fengxing listened to Xu Qianyu repeatedly thud to the ground, worried that she was suffering some hardship.
She, however, didn’t lose her temper with the puppet. Knowing it wasn’t a real person, she found no point in getting angry.
It turned out she wasn’t just a clueless child; she was simply spoiled and stubborn.
After observing her for a while, Gao Fengxing understood what she was trying to accomplish.
She first wanted to practice the “Shuofeng” technique with the puppet, then gradually figure out ways to counter the “Shuofeng” moves, piecing together a complete set, aiming to defeat the puppet.
It was like a chess player playing against themselves.
However, this was her first time learning sword techniques, and simply imitating what was on the manual was already quite challenging; how could she dare to attempt to create her own sword techniques?
That was something only a very experienced swordsman could do.
Gao Fengxing glanced at another sword book he had prepared, titled “Chunmu.”
“Haruki” was the content of the second lesson, aimed at teaching disciples how to defeat the “Shuofeng” from the first lesson, transitioning from a single sword technique to actual combat against an opponent.
Currently, the whole manual hadn’t been taught, yet Xu Qianyu was stumbling and piecing it together on her own.

Gao Fengxing took out several new sword books.
She was comprehending too quickly for her own good.
Night fell.
Gao Fengxing hadn’t expected that she would practice endlessly like a martial arts fanatic: “Alright, that’s enough for now. Let’s head back.”
Xu Qianyu was also exhausted and stopped, preparing to return home.
However, she carefully secured her sword and walked over to pick up the puppet.
Gao Fengxing called out to her, eyes wide, “What are you doing?”
Xu Qianyu hugged the puppet, revealing her sweaty, pale face, blinking her eyes: “Can’t I borrow it to practice?”
“Borrow it?” Gao Fengxing chuckled, “Do you think this is your home? Put it down.”
Xu Qianyu glanced at the puppet, reluctant to let go: “Can’t I return it by noon tomorrow? I promise I’ll take good care of it.”
She had some pine oil for sword maintenance and could easily apply it to the puppet as well.
“Or how about renting it? I can pay with spirit stones.”
“No,” Gao Fengxing replied. “This puppet belongs to our Penglai sect; there’s no reason for you to take it home! If you want to practice, get up early tomorrow and come here for extra training.”
Xu Qianyu thought for a moment and candidly said, “I can’t wake up early.”
Gao Fengxing was left speechless, astonished that someone could be so brazen about their laziness.
He stopped Xu Qianyu’s nonsense: “Stop right there! I’ll go ask about it.”
With that, his figure disappeared.
At this hour, Shen Suwei was typically inside handling sect affairs. Upon hearing Gao Fengxing relay the situation, he didn’t even stop his writing.
The swordsmanship class was initially taught by him, but later, he became too busy managing affairs for the sect leader, so this class was handed over to the external disciple who excelled in swordsmanship, namely Gao Fengxing.
However, the practice puppet was proposed for addition by Shen Suwei, so he needed to consult her opinion.

Shen Suwei paused for a moment. He felt that the terms “borrow” and “rent” were unconventional and quite bold, as if he had heard them before, so he looked up at him for a moment and asked, “Who is it?”
Gao Fengxing was also troubled: “An external disciple, sigh, named Xu… Xu…” He couldn’t remember her name for a moment.
“Xu Qianyu,” Shen Suwei supplied.
In the next moment, he lowered his eyes and finished writing. He seemed to think of something and smiled ambiguously.
Gao Fengxing was surprised, as he had never seen Shen Suwei smile before.
He usually had no expression, but at that moment, the corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly, revealing a strange charm that flickered across his face like a precious jade coming to life.
But just for that moment, when he raised his head again, his expression returned to its usual coldness and tranquility. Gao Fengxing suspected that it was merely an illusion.
Shen Suwei looked at him with his dark eyes and said, “Not borrowing.”
Rules cannot be broken.

Moreover, training should be a steady process; it is essential to persist. If one practices too much at night, hastily seeking quick results, it easily disrupts their routine, damaging their body and achieving the opposite of what they desire.
“Not borrowing,” Gao Fengxing crossed his arms and reiterated.
Xu Qianyu was infuriated but had no choice but to place the puppet back in her arms. She inwardly complained about the inflexibility of this puppet’s master but felt helpless.
She truly couldn’t get up early; her schedule had always been this way since she was at home. Furthermore, she had to attend two classes on the Dream Shadow Cylinder at night, which was quite stressful. She thought she would practice again in the next swordsmanship class.
After Gao Fengxing left, Shen Suwei got up and picked a few books from the bookshelf.
So quickly, they were already using the battle puppet; why had he only reached the seventh level of Qi refinement until now?

Xu Qianyu’s speed of expanding her spirit pool was much slower than he had anticipated.
But he suddenly thought of the books he had borrowed last time; Xu Qianyu had not yet returned them. He didn’t know if she had read them or even remembered them.
Perhaps she hadn’t.
The girl was very active and easily distracted, with many new things to explore in the external sect. In this way, it was like letting a fish return to the sea.
With her internal cultivation technique being too weak and only focusing on physical training, her advancement speed would naturally be slow.
He quietly stacked those books on the corner of the table, carefully aligning them and placing a piece of paper in between

If she didn’t come, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to offer them.

Xu Qianyu practiced with the puppet, her sword moving like a rapid downpour, the clashing sounds echoing.
Recently, Shen Suwei had passed by the training ground and occasionally came in to watch.
Gao Fengxing stood with his arms crossed, noticing him from the corner of his eye but not making a sound, just smiling slightly. They were about the same age and had a tacit understanding; a glance exchanged counted as a greeting.
Seeing Shen Suwei standing aside, focused on watching Xu Qianyu practice her swordsmanship, Gao Fengxing stepped aside, inviting Shen Suwei to come forward.
The puppet in front of Xu Qianyu suddenly changed its moves, startling her into retreat.
But a sword emerged behind her, lightly resting against her back, blocking her escape and forcing her to confront it.
Xu Qianyu thought Gao Fengxing was up to his tricks again.
This “master” of hers had a strong aversion to her; whenever she had a bit of energy and arrogance left, he would use all sorts of methods to train her to exhaustion. She didn’t look back and focused on countering the moves.
The puppet’s attacks were perilous and unpredictable. At first, she passively defended for a while, but gradually began to see a pattern and gained the upper hand.
Shen Suwei lowered his eyes, observing her judgment and responses, which were already quite proficient. He silently formed a technique, and the puppet’s moves instantly changed again.
Xu Qianyu was bewildered by her master’s strange techniques. The puppet’s sword style transformed repeatedly, leaving her exhausted in her attempts to respond, drenched in sweat. But once she defeated it, she realized it was merely a recombination of the sword techniques she had learned, slightly altered, and she was amazed by its intricacy.

In this way, she was able to integrate and comprehend the techniques.
When her spiritual power was depleted and she was out of breath, the puppet gradually stopped and returned to its normal state.
It was a well-paced practice that felt quite comfortable.
“Is she still at the seventh level of Qi Refinement?” Shen Suwei quietly asked Gao Fengxing outside.
Gao Fengxing scoffed: “With such a small spirit pool, she can last only a little while. I don’t know where she learned her internal skills, but she definitely hasn’t practiced properly.”
Shen Suwei remained silent and praised his teaching. Gao Fengxing responded, “That’s also because she has some understanding. But her temperament… how can a good girl be raised like this?”
Shen Suwei refrained from commenting, pausing for a moment before saying, “She’s just starting out. She is too greedy; you should control the intensity and not be too harsh.”

Gao Fengxing showed respect: “Yes.”
Shen Suwei would leave after a brief stop. He moved silently, and Xu Qianyu was too focused to notice that someone had changed behind her.
Gao Fengxing didn’t tell her either. Every time she turned around, she could only see her master with a cold expression, arms crossed, his emerald-colored eyes glancing at her: “What are you looking at? Hurry and practice.”

Xu Qianyu was already arrogant; Shen Suwei’s guidance was precious, preventing her from getting too proud.
As the puppet’s moves became increasingly tricky, there were times Xu Qianyu couldn’t react in time, and when she was about to get hit, the person behind her would quickly tap her joints with the sword sheath. The precision was just right, providing a slight reminder without causing her pain.
This was not in line with her master’s typically rough nature.
Xu Qianyu could only attribute it to her master’s fluctuating moods: when he was happy, he would deliberately take care of her; when he was unhappy, he would let her be.

Until one day, while she was practicing her sword, she accidentally tripped over her feet and collided directly into the embrace of the person behind her. Her master didn’t scold her; he quickly grasped her shoulder with one hand to steady her, while the other tucked a loose strand of red silk behind her ear. Then he gently pushed her to continue facing her opponent.

That swift motion was smooth and did not touch her at all, carrying a familiar gentle breeze that starkly contrasted with Gao Fengxing’s fierce gaze, causing Xu Qianyu’s hair to stand on end. For a moment, she caught a familiar yet elusive scent of pine and snow.
Seeing Xu Qianyu’s back freeze as if sensing something, Shen Suwei also paused. Before she turned around, he spun and left.

Suddenly, the puppet launched an attack, and Xu Qianyu could only slash wildly. When she finally managed to turn back, she saw a familiar figure behind Gao Fengxing. That person’s clothes fluttered in the wind, exuding an elegant demeanor. It was indeed Shen Suwei.
“Senior Brother!” Xu Qianyu called out loudly.
The figure paused for a moment but did not turn back, disappearing in an instant.
Gao Fengxing’s eyes widened as he looked at the girl in front of him, then turned back to glance in the direction Shen Suwei had left: “What did you call him?”
Xu Qianyu was still pondering over it. It turned out that Shen Suwei had also been there a few times before. Since he was already here, why didn’t he say anything? She didn’t know how she had performed or whether she had embarrassed herself in front of her senior brother.
“You know he’s my master, right?” Gao Fengxing said. “How long have you been in the sect? You’re not even in the inner sect; calling him Senior Brother Shen at most is enough. You can’t just call him casually because he has a good temper.”

Xu Qianyu didn’t refute.
What her master said made sense; being so familiar was somewhat intimidating. Anyway, she would eventually enter the inner sect, and it wouldn’t be too late to call him that when she truly became his junior sister.

However, when she exited the training ground, she was startled.
Because Shen Suwei was standing next to the teleportation array, his dark eyes watching her approach, as if he had been waiting for her: “Is it over?”
Xu Qianyu hesitated and nodded.
Shen Suwei lowered his eyes, and Xu Qianyu followed his gaze, noticing a stack of books placed on the ground.

“Take them back to read.”
As she struggled to pick up the books, Shen Suwei looked ahead.
“Thank you, Master…” Xu Qianyu thought of her master’s words and hesitated for a moment.
But Shen Suwei turned his head to look at her intently: “Thank who?”
Xu Qianyu looked at him and said, “Thank you, Shen Xianjun?”
Shen Suwei replied, “You’re welcome.”
After saying that, he turned and disappeared.
He thought to himself that life in the outer sect was colorful. In just a couple of months, Xu Qianyu had gained quite a few mentors and teachings, and it seemed she had indeed grown unfamiliar with the proper etiquette.