"Come in."
Instructor Wu's loud voice boomed from behind the door after He Bing knocked on the door.
Lu Heng and He Bing walked in and found Instructor Wu sitting on a futon with his eyes closed. It seemed that he was practicing the Qi Induces Internal Strength cultivation technique.
The two of them waited quietly for Instructor Wu to finish his practice.
A moment later, Instructor Wu opened his eyes and looked at Lu Heng before asking, "What's wrong? Did you run into a problem?"
Lu Heng had only been practicing the saber technique for two days. He had to have run into a problem if he had come to seek him out in such a hurry.
Besides, He Bing was also here, standing right next to Lu Heng.
His presence here meant that the problem was something that He Bing was unable to resolve.
As soon as Instructor Wu finished speaking, He Bing immediately revealed a mysterious smile and said, "Instructor, you guessed incorrectly."
"Then why are you both here?" Instructor Wu asked in confusion.
If He Bing had come to find him alone, it would most likely have been related to the cultivation of the Qi Induces Internal Strength technique. However, he could not think of a reason why both his students would seek him out together.
"It's a big surprise!"
He Bing smiled and pushed Lu Heng to the front and said, "Instructor, Lu Heng has almost completely mastered the army-breaking saber technique in just one day."
Hearing that, Instructor Wu slowly stood up from the futon and said to Lu Heng, "Let me see you perform it once."
Lu Heng immediately took a few steps back and began to showcase the saber technique moveset.
The instructor's office was not small. There was enough space inside for a few people to practice their martial arts, which made it convenient for the instructor to conduct one-on-one or small group tutoring sessions.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh
Lu Heng wielded the saber in his hand vigorously and quickly displayed each move of the army-breaking saber technique from beginning to end.
As Instructor Wu watched, the smile on his face became more and more radiant.
However, he also had some doubts in his heart. How could Lu Heng's training have progressed so rapidly?
Could it be that Lu Heng had actually practiced martial arts in school?
If he had not, then with the talent that Lu Heng was displaying now, he should not have been buried in the civil class in the first place.
It seemed that there was something wrong with this whole situation.
Of course, this doubt only briefly flashed through Instructor Wu's mind.
After all, he did not need to worry about whether Lu Heng had previously practiced martial arts or whether Lu Heng's talent was overlooked.
When the dojo assigned Lu Heng to him, it was clearly written on the file that Lu Heng had never practiced martial arts and was a complete rookie.
Therefore, no matter what results Lu Heng obtained after this, it would ultimately be credited to him.
Since that was the case, what was the point of dwelling on such things?
Instructor Wu secretly made up his mind. In the future, he would try his best to pretend to be ignorant about Lu Heng's matters. If others did not ask, he would never say anything.
"Not bad, Lu Heng. Your comprehension ability is really amazing. You've improved so quickly." Instructor Wu spoke words of praise.
Hearing this, He Bing hurried over to Instructor Wu's side and said, "Instructor, I must congratulate you this time. You've successfully taught such an excellent student."
Instructor Wu smiled, but did not say anything. He was neither modest nor boastful about this matter.
After all, He Bing and Lu Heng were both his students. He did not need to put up a front with them.
Seeing that Instructor Wu had stayed silent, He Bing continued flattering him, "Instructor, Lu Heng's performance is so outstanding. The next time the dojo's intermediate-grade instructor evaluation comes around, there will definitely be a spot reserved for you."
Hearing this, Instructor Wu slowly turned his head to look at He Bing and said, "Tell me, what are you planning to do this time?"
He Bing had brought Lu Heng over to congratulate him so enthusiastically, so he had to have some kind of request to make.
It probably had something to do with the cultivation of the Qi Induces Internal Strength technique again.
Actually, before Instructor Wu handed Lu Heng over to He Bing, there was some hesitation on his part. He had been afraid that He Bing would use this as a condition.
On the other side, He Bing noticed that Instructor Wu had guessed his intentions, so he stopped beating around the bush. He went straight to the point, "Instructor, now that you have taught Lu Heng so well, if you can teach me how to reach the Qi Gathering stage, then you'll be able to secure your spot in the next intermediate-grade instructor evaluation easily."
Instructor Wu smiled faintly and said, "It seems that you have done a lot of thinking on my behalf."
"It's a win-win situation." He Bing said with a smile.
Instructor Wu sighed and said, "Forget it. If I don't teach you now, you'll probably stand outside my door every day."
Hearing that, He Bing immediately asked with a smile, "Instructor, when do we start?"
Instructor Wu thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow. We'll start with the simplest muscle tempering. If we're careful, there won't be any problems. When you've mastered that, we'll proceed to the next step."
Hearing this, He Bing hurriedly took a step back and cupped his fists while bowing, mimicking the posture of the martial artists of yore. "Thank you, Master!"
"Okay, okay, there's no need to be so polite."
Instructor Wu waved his hand and then looked at Lu Heng again, wondering whether he should give this kid a good beating to prevent him from becoming arrogant.
Seeing this, He Bing immediately put a hand behind his back, giving Lu Heng a thumbs up sign.
His meaning was obvious. 'This time, it was all thanks to you.'
While he was making this gesture, Instructor Wu said, "Lu Heng, your saber technique is at best beginner-level, and can't be used properly in actual combat yet. You still need to practice diligently."
Lu Heng immediately replied, "Instructor, I will work hard on my training."
"Okay."
Seeing that Lu Heng had agreed so sincerely, Instructor Wu left the matter there for now.
"If you encounter any problems in your training, you should come to me immediately," Instructor Wu added.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Heng immediately said, "Instructor, I have a problem right now."
"What problem?"
"I need a sharp saber."
Instructor Wu smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send in a request later and get the dojo to change your practice saber to a sharp one."
Now that Lu Heng had already mastered the basics of the army-breaking saber technique, it was time for him to practice with a sharp saber. This would help him to improve faster.
After all, a sharp saber and a blunt saber would have completely different psychological effects on their user.
A blunt saber was just that; no matter how haphazardly it was wielded, it would never injure its user. Even if there was an accident, the user would get away with some minor bruises at worst. However, a sharp saber had to be wielded with extreme caution.
As such, the user's attention would be more focused, and their speed of improvement would naturally be faster.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go and practice first," Instructor Wu ordered them to leave.
When Lu Heng heard this, he quickly replied, "Instructor, I have another request."
"What other request?" Instructor Wu was puzzled.
"Instructor, I hope that the dojo will allow me to bring the saber with me out of the dojo so that I can practice my saber technique while I'm working." Lu Heng said.
He should definitely jump on this chance and make the request while the instructor was happy. Otherwise, he would probably have to wait some time before another opportunity to bring up this request appeared.
Instructor Wu hesitated. After all, an instructor would need to vouch for the student who wanted to take the saber out of the dojo. If something happened, he would be held responsible for it.
Noticing Instructor Wu's hesitation, He Bing tried to persuade him, "Instructor, if you let Lu Heng carry the saber around with him, he'll be able to practice his saber technique whenever he is free, and his progress will naturally be much faster."
"Besides, you already know that Lu Heng works on a farm. If he is unlucky, he might run into monsters."
"If he has a saber with him, he'll at least be able to defend himself and hopefully escape."
He Bing was subtly hinting to Instructor Wu that, if Lu Heng died, he would lose an excellent disciple.