Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue nodded, agreeing that Xu Yang's martial soul was indeed a variant. The two continued their conversation, with Qian Renxue doing most of the talking and Xu Yang listening, occasionally responding.
Ning Fengzhi observed their harmonious interaction and smiled.
The class for Qian Renxue lasted only until noon and soon came to an end.
"Senior brother, if you have time, come to Heaven Dou City to visit me. I will definitely treat you well!" At the palace entrance, Qian Renxue said enthusiastically while holding Xu Yang's hand.
"Sure, junior brother. Don't worry; I will come to Heaven Dou City to hang out with you when I have time!" Xu Yang replied with a big smile as he held her hand.
"Then it's settled!"
After saying this, Qian Renxue pulled her hand away from Xu Yang's grasp, seriously doubting whether he was a fool and completely unaware that Xu Yang had already discovered her identity.
After Xu Yang and Ning Fengzhi left, Qian Renxue turned back to her Honghe Palace. As she just started impersonating Xue Qinghe, there were many matters to handle, primarily ensuring that Emperor Xue Ye and others did not notice any flaws. Additionally, she needed to find a way to eliminate Xue Qinghe's two brothers who posed a threat to her.
...
On the other side, after returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Xu Yang resumed his disciplined routine.
Every day was filled with training—mainly focused on cultivation—rarely leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Occasionally, he would attend classes with Ning Fengzhi alongside Qian Renxue, which improved their relationship significantly, though they still weren't close enough to share their hearts.
Due to the resonance of martial souls with Qian Renxue, Xu Yang felt an urgency that pushed him to train harder.
As the number of sunflowers he planted increased, his cultivation environment improved significantly. This enhancement visibly accelerated his training speed by about five percent. Don't underestimate this five percent; it was the capital that allowed Xu Yang to distance himself from others.
He had also nearly mastered the basics of swordsmanship and began practical training with Ning Haiyan.
That evening, after finishing his physical training, Xu Yang used a few "Morning Lights" on himself to recover from any potential injuries before heading to the training ground.
Ning Haiyan was already waiting there. Upon seeing Xu Yang arrive, he tossed a wooden sword toward him.
"Young master, are you really sure you want to engage in practical combat?!"
As Xu Yang caught the wooden sword, Ning Haiyan's voice rang in his ears. He smiled and replied earnestly, "Of course! Only through practical combat can one cultivate real strength. I don't want to have skills without combat power in the future!"
"Are you ready to take some hits?!"
"Huh?!"
Xu Yang was somewhat confused; before he could react, a wooden sword had already struck his shoulder. Instantly, he felt a tingling sensation throughout his right arm as the wooden sword fell from his hand with a loud thud.
"The first point of practical combat is that if you want to fight, you must first learn how to take hits. Get familiar with various attacks so that you can remain calm in any situation and know how to respond by applying what you've learned in practice!"
Xu Yang looked at Ning Haiyan, who wore a smile on his face, seriously suspecting that he was doing this on purpose.
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Xu Yang channeled his soul power into his right arm to dispel the tingling sensation and then picked up the sword from the ground again. He shouted, "Come again!"
Saying this, he charged forward with the sword raised.
He didn't argue or make excuses about not being prepared.
In two lifetimes as a person, he only remembered getting into fights a few times during school as a child; other than that, he had never really fought anyone. In this life, he had only consciously trained and learned theoretical knowledge without ever engaging in actual combat.
Although he had been practicing sword techniques and archery during these days, it was merely practice without applying those techniques in real combat scenarios.
"Bang!"
"Again!"
"Bang!"
"Again!"
"Bang!"
"Again!"
...
Even though Ning Haiyan controlled his soul power to match Xu Yang's level, Xu Yang still found himself mostly on the receiving end of blows. His sword techniques were essentially wild swings without applying what he had learned over this period into combat.
This kind of response had no effect on Ning Haiyan—it was like children playing house; it could be easily broken through.
Ning Haiyan's strikes were too fast, too heavy, and too fierce.
Decades of combat experience not only enhanced Ning Haiyan's fighting skills but also honed his swordsmanship to an alarming degree—these were all areas where Xu Yang needed to learn from him.
After two hours of relentless training filled with Xu Yang's cries of distress—until he barely managed to learn how to apply some sword techniques—he lay on the ground with bruises all over before Ning Haiyan finally stopped and sat down next to him.
"How do you feel now, young master?!"
"Practical combat is just that—pure practice isn't enough; I have too many issues!"
Recalling the earlier battle in his mind, he realized that although he could see Ning Haiyan's sword trajectory each time and had thoughts on how to respond mentally, his hands simply couldn't keep up.
A classic case of: Brain: I got this! Hand: No way!
"In fact, young master—you might be overly focused on my reminders and the length of my wooden sword. The theory that 'a longer weapon is stronger' is useful in military settings because most soldiers are ordinary people without soul power; thus using guns or long weapons gives them an advantage. However, this theory is reversed for soul masters. Soul power allows for ranged attacks; thus any slight advantage in attack distance due to long weapons becomes insignificant instantly. Instead, having a weapon that's too long makes it difficult to change tactics and gives opponents opportunities," Ning Haiyan pointed out Xu Yang's biggest problem.
Ning Haiyan stood nearly two meters tall with long arms; combined with the larger wooden sword he wielded compared to Xu Yang's smaller one—his attack range far exceeded Xu Yang's. This was also why Xu Yang had been fixated on watching Ning Haiyan's hands and sword during their battles.
"I understand! I should focus not on the weapon's length but rather on controlling our distance—keeping it at a position advantageous for me! For example—during our fight earlier if I had engaged you closely—I wouldn't have allowed you free rein for wide attacks while also maximizing my strengths!" After some contemplation, Xu Yang grasped Ning Haiyan's point.
"Exactly!" Ning Haiyan expressed satisfaction with his response.
"Well then Uncle Ning—let's continue tomorrow!"
Glancing at the sky outside, Xu Yang used a few more "Morning Lights" on himself to heal any injuries sustained before bidding farewell to Ning Haiyan and dragging his exhausted body back to his room.
...
Time flew by again for eight months. Finally, Xu Yang's soul power reached level twenty; his swordsmanship also advanced significantly. According to Ning Haiyan's assessment—he now possessed combat strength comparable among soul masters!
During this period—he also took on another task: babysitting!
Yes—that's right—babysitting!
Whenever Ning Fengzhi and his wife were busy along with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo—Ning Rongrong would be entrusted into Xu Yang's care—which left him quite helpless.
(End of Chapter)