In the blink of an eye, several more months passed.
Jingliu had grown much taller; in another two years when she turned 18, she would likely reach around 168 centimeters.
The remaining childishness on her face also gradually faded away through several battles.
During this time, Qi Zhimu significantly increased her daily training targets.
A weight limit of 400 catties, and sprinting 400 li at a speed of no less than 200 li per hour.
These were figures once unthinkable, but as Jingliu grew and her body developed further, they became achievable goals.
Swinging the sword ten thousand times.
Attack precision training required seven strikes in two seconds, with five strikes accurately hitting vital points.
Body flexibility training had concluded, now only requiring periodic consolidation.
After completing the above items, she had to choose one specialized training from high/low temperature resistance, lightning resistance, and others.
There was always one that pushed her to her limit, causing her to lose consciousness.
She currently couldn't even pass the medium indicators for high-temperature training, let alone cold resistance and lightning resistance.
Not high: 600°C.
The highest indicator was 910°C.
It sounded exaggerated, but for the Xianzhou people who received the blessing of abundance, even ordinary people could withstand two hundred degrees of high temperature for a short time.
Yaoshi's grace was too widespread; different Abominations devoured each other and plundered blessings, breeding many monsters with bizarre abilities.
In the Xianzhou's List of Major Abomination Enemies, there was a species capable of releasing high-temperature fire attacks, with extreme temperatures reaching a thousand degrees.
Every training item of the Cloud Knights was never without purpose; they were designed to possess the ability to contend with various powerful enemies.
Why was the probability of retired Cloud Knights falling into the Mara-Struck state several times higher than that of ordinary people?
Wasn't it precisely because the enemies were too ferocious that the Cloud Knights were always walking on the edge of life and death?
Jingliu, now taking supplementary medicine to protect her internal organs, could only last less than half a shichen in a high-temperature environment close to 600°C.
Besides the above, two training items remained that had not yet begun.
One was strike resistance.
Qi Zhimu had evaluated Jingliu's current physical condition in detail and decided to postpone this training.
It wouldn't be too late to wait a few more years.
In the Qi Family's tradition of special training for descendants for over two thousand years, strike endurance training only began at age 16.
It was true that Jingliu was nearly 16, but she had started too late.
Descendants of the Qi Family began special training at age 6, and five years later, regardless of the results, they had to step onto the battlefield to temper themselves in actual combat.
Only after accumulating enough injuries and becoming accustomed to that feeling over many years could strike resistance special training be carried out.
In other words, it required ten years.
Jingliu was only 13 when she became his disciple, and now she was only 16, having only experienced a few small-scale battles.
Let alone troublesome Abominations like the Borisin or Wing-Makers, she hadn't even clashed with the Artifact Beasts or Beastships they enslaved, let alone being seriously injured.
One cannot pull up seedlings to help them grow.
Practicing martial arts is like building a tower; the foundation is most important.
If the foundation is poor, the height of the floors will be quite limited.
Skyscrapers are never built overnight; they must withstand long-term wind and rain to stand tall, and they must have a solid foundation capable of supporting their weight to rise from the ground.
Only after becoming a master himself did Qi Zhimu realize how much heart and soul his parents had put into their children back then.
Since strike resistance was skipped for now, he could only arrange the remaining second training item: agility.
The enemies Jingliu had seen on her expeditions so far weren't fast, so dodging their attacks wasn't difficult, and the speed formed through long-distance running training was sufficient.
But those powerful Abominations of Abundance were different.
Not to mention the Wing-Makers, who were skilled at flying and had a maximum flight speed of nearly 800 li per hour.
Just speaking of the Borisin, who were the most numerous and the greatest threat to the Xianzhou for many years—if agility was insufficient, one would surely suffer when facing these Abominations.
When the Borisin entered a state called lunar madness, according to existing Xianzhou records, the maximum running speed of a Wolf Soldier could reach 300 li per hour.
A powerful Borisin Nest Father could reach around 500 li, and a Borisin war leader was not inferior to the Wing-Makers.
Not to mention that in the state of lunar madness, the Borisin's healing ability and attack power would be significantly enhanced.
This was the main reason why the Cloud Knights emphasized coordinated combat; without two or three people working together against the enemy, the Borisin were truly difficult to kill.
When the attack coverage area is insufficient and one cannot suppress ten with one's strength, speed and footwork become the key factors determining life and death in war.
Cloud Knights might not excel at aggressive attacks; a lack of attack power can be compensated for by comrades.
But if speed is insufficient and one cannot react to and dodge fatal attacks, not many people can help you.
With his mind made up, Qi Zhimu looked up toward the exit of the women's high-temperature training room.
Sleeping Snow walked out carrying the unconscious Jingliu.
"In today's high-temperature training, she lasted for 52 minutes."
"Thank you for looking after her." Qi Zhimu took his disciple from Sleeping Snow's arms.
An improvement of 2 minutes compared to three days ago—not bad. He believed it wouldn't take many days for her to reach half a shichen.
There were different standards for duration at different temperature levels; the low indicator was 400°C for six shichen.
The medium indicator was two shichen, and the high indicator was half a shichen.
She still had a long way to go.
Even though she was currently wrapped in a standard-issue robe that could absorb heat and help lower body temperature, Jingliu's surface temperature was no lower than two hundred degrees.
But for Qi Zhimu, holding her caused no discomfort.
Possessing the Pure Yang Body, he could move freely in high temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius without being affected.
"It's my duty. I'll continue my training now. I'll have to trouble Lord Zhimu with my younger sister's treatment tonight."
Sleeping Snow bowed slightly, turned, and returned to the training room.
Qi Zhimu nodded slightly, carried Jingliu out of the training area, and boarded a starship to fly back home.
With Sleeping Snow away, Clear Cold was responsible for looking after Jingliu's medicinal bath.
Everything should have gone as smoothly as usual, but unexpectedly, a small accident occurred this time.
The basin of emerald-green medicinal liquid used for body tempering did not gradually become clear as it had in the past.
Clear Cold cast a puzzled look.
Qi Zhimu was also baffled and pulled over Jingliu's wrist to check her pulse.
Whether it was the left or right hand, the conclusion was two words: stable.
"Strange."
Qi Zhimu brought up the relevant interface on his jade message and carefully reviewed the records of each medicine preparation.
Everything had been done strictly according to the requirements; there were no mistakes.
"Could it be that Jingliu didn't train to her limit today?" Clear Cold offered a guess.
"No." Qi Zhimu shook his head.
After a moment of contemplation, he pulled out a few more silver needles and inserted them into acupoints that helped clear the meridians, but the medicinal liquid still didn't change.
Looking at Jingliu's relaxed sleeping face, his brow gradually furrowed.
"Help her up. I need to confirm the current state of her elixir organ."
Clear Cold helped the young girl up as requested.
Jingliu's once thin figure had now quietly filled out, beginning to show its contours.
Qi Zhimu's attention was not on this; after the silver needles were placed in the unique acupoints near Jingliu's elixir organ, he immersed her body in the medicinal liquid and checked her pulse again to feel for changes.
After a moment, he let go of her hand.
"How is it?" Clear Cold asked with concern.
Lord Zhimu rarely frowned in the past, so she couldn't help but worry that something major was wrong with Jingliu's body.
"From now on, she no longer needs to perform medicinal bath body tempering."