"Xu Yan felt a surge of energy, murmuring, "No women in mind, practicing like having divine help?"
"Master, I think I've got it, thank you for your teaching!"
He respectfully bowed.
"Master, I'm going to practice now!"
"Hmm, go ahead."
Li Xuan nodded, his eyes full of doubts, "My foolish disciple, he can't really be so focused on training that he forgets about women, can he? What a mistake, I shouldn't have spoken so casually!"
Xu Yan arrived at the practice spot, assumed the horse stance, his gaze unwavering.
"Master is right. Only through setbacks can one find courage!"
"No women in mind, practicing like having divine help... I understand Master's profound meaning. Women represent worldly thoughts for men of my age. Women are the greatest distraction!"
"As long as I overcome this greatest distraction, my mind will be clear, my perception naturally improved, and my training speed will definitely increase!"
He circulated his blood and Qi, beginning bone refinement.
Suddenly, Xu Yan had a flash of insight, "Master said, no women in mind, practicing like having divine help, is this a reminder that my method of bone refinement is slow because I haven't fully grasped its essence?"
"To re-ponder and understand, to let go of worldly thoughts and maintain a pure mind, to deeply perceive the transformation of my blood and Qi, to find the essence of bone refinement… this must be the profound intention of the Master!"
At that moment, Xu Yan underwent a mental refinement, the more he contemplated, the more he felt his Master's every word and action were profound.
"Master guides at the entrance, cultivates at one's discretion. As a hidden expert, the methods he teaches are unconventional and he emphasizes understanding... constantly reminding me to comprehend more!"
Realizing this, Xu Yan began to deeply perceive his blood and Qi and the transformation of his bones, gradually falling into a state of forgetting himself and everything else.
"Something isn't quite right here... the circulation of blood and Qi is slow, not penetrating enough, not forging enough... I should adjust it."
"The speed of bone refinement has increased... indeed, Master is reminding me that I haven't grasped the essence of bone refinement!"
"I've comprehended it! This is the real method of bone refinement!"
At one point, Xu Yan felt his blood and Qi circulating more smoothly, the speed of his bone refinement greatly increased, and his blood and Qi also strengthened with the bone refinement.
"No women in mind, practicing like having divine help, Master didn't deceive me!"
Xu Yan was extremely excited.
"At this rate, I should be able to refine iron bones in five or six days!"
"Golden bones shouldn't be a problem, I'm sure I can match the legendary talents of the past!"
Xu Yan immersed himself in his training, forgetting himself and the world, unaware of the passage of time.
Evening came.
The village began to grow dark.
Li Xuan looked at Xu Yan, who was still practicing, his eyes flashing with doubt, how did the boy forget about time?
And has he been maintaining the horse stance this whole time?
Didn't he rest at all in between?
"Impossible! Even if he is used to practicing the horse stance every day, it's impossible for him not to be tired from this long state, isn't it?"
"Maybe he rested when I wasn't paying attention."
Li Xuan was about to ask Xu Yan to stop practicing and prepare dinner.
However, he changed his mind, "My foolish disciple, he was jilted, he's probably venting his grief through practicing. I won't disturb him, I'll cook dinner by myself tonight."
With a sigh, Li Xuan went off to prepare his own dinner.
…
Half a month later.
Ever since Xu Yan had returned, the past half month had been leisurely for Li Xuan. Xu Yan had taken care of all the miscellaneous chores, Li Xuan didn't need to worry about a thing.
The chickens they raised were getting fatter, and the chicks had grown significantly.
They even started raising some wild rabbits.
Li Xuan sighed internally, although the cultivation was fake, Xu Yan had indeed acquired many life skills.
In these half a month, Xu Yan had become even more diligent in his cultivation.
Such perseverance, Li Xuan could not help but admire. He didn't have the heart to discourage Xu Yan, so he could only occasionally offer a few words of motivation!
Little did he know, Xu Yan had already entered the stage of Copper Bone cultivation.
As for Xu Yan, these half a month of cultivation were like having divine assistance. Each time he perceived the methodology of bone tempering, refining speed increased even further.
Every piece of encouragement from Li Xuan, he contemplated again and again. After deducing the teachings and self-supplementing, he was enlightened!
The method of circulatory refinement was adjusted slightly once again, the refining speed of the bones had once again elevated.
At every such instance, he was overwhelmed with excitement. The image of his master in his heart was no longer just a simple secluded expert.
"Master is truly unfathomable!"
"Upon reaching the master's level, he has transcended traditional and normal teaching methods. Instead, he is enhancing my perception at every moment!"
"Allowing me to constantly perceive the essence of cultivation, to understand the 'intention' within it!"
"Farming, cooking, raising chickens, and rabbits... seemingly ordinary chores can relax my mind after cultivation and return me to the state of a normal person, instead of holding myself as a practitioner of Martial Arts all the time."
"No wonder the master appears to be just an ordinary person. This is what the master means by returning to simplicity and the natural way of things…"
"Master's realm is too high!"
Xu Yan marveled in his heart, wondering when he could reach the realm of his master.
"I have already tempered my bones to copper. I am one step closer to Gold Bone. In another half of a month, should I be able to touch upon Gold Bone?"
"According to the master, the leap from Copper Bone to Gold Bone is a huge transition and transformation, which won't be so easy to temper."
"When I complete the tempering of Copper Bone, I will go home once again. Check, if I can buy precious medicinal herbs like the Nine Leaf Primordial Herb!"
Xu Yan decided to, after tempering his bones to copper, make a trip home to see if he could find a precious medicinal like the Nine Leaf Primordial Herb to increase his chances of tempering Gold Bone.
After ten days.
Xu Yan had perfected Copper Bone.
At this moment, during his cultivation, he had experienced a bottleneck as if his bone refinement had reached its limit.
He knew he had encountered the Gold Bone bottleneck. At this stage, it depends on talent, determination and persistence.
The most important thing was comprehension!
"With the aid of precious medicine, the probability of breakthrough will be higher."
Xu Yan prepared for another trip home in search for a medicinal herb to aid his cultivation.
Li Xuan, standing at the doorway, watched Xu Yan practicing in the distance, and fell into deep thought.
For some reason, he felt Xu Yan had changed as if he had become more... masculine?
"Did my dumb disciple actually cultivate something?"
"No! It's absolutely impossible. I made this up. Even if there are real Martial Arts involving qi and blood in this world, how could anyone cultivate using the method that I made up?"
"It must be because of the long-term horse stance that he looks more firm and powerful!"
Xu Yan has been practicing the horse stance for a long while now, it's time to change his posture.
Sticking with one horse stance is too monotonous.
While contemplating what new horse stance to teach Xu Yan, images of martial arts videos and illustrations from his previous life came to mind.
"It doesn't need to be the same. I can adjust the stance a bit and teach my dumb disciple!"
"It's all made up anyway, nothing real can be cultivated. I just need to continue giving my disciple the faith persevere. There is still plenty of time before the end of the year."
"Being able to peacefully part ways using the excuse of the master and disciple not having a fate together is the best outcome."
Such thoughts filled Li Xuan's mind and he waved Xu Yan over to him.