Chapter 53: The Spirit Wind Flows Gracefully, Yet the Heart’s Desire Remains Unfulfilled
Journeying southward, a sixty-li trek is quite a distance for an ordinary person. Traveling entirely on foot, even with time factored in for rests, could easily take up to two days. In the past, Lu Xiao might have required just as much time. But now, he had already achieved mastery in the Stone-Moving Realm of martial arts. Tempered by the True Qi Mental Art and the Dragon Blood Body-Bathing Technique, his physical vessel was no longer that of a normal person. He could truly bear the title of a martial artist. Walking fifty li would not leave him overly fatigued.
Along the way, as he passed a courier station, someone hailed Lu Xiao, suggesting he rent a carriage for the journey. Lu Xiao smiled and declined, continuing on his way. As the path grew less populated, Lu Xiao simply activated the Spirit Wind Pace. Recently, he had devoted far too little time to the Spirit Wind Pace. Movement techniques offered limited direct improvement to one's base martial realm, so previously, his energy and stamina had naturally not been inclined toward them. However, after his conversation with Xue Shiwei today, Lu Xiao had a clear understanding of the Martial Manor's trials. The initial breakthrough trials might not demand much in terms of footwork. Yet the subsequent selection trials would undoubtedly involve direct combat between martial artists. The moment real combat was involved, the importance of movement techniques would instantly come to light. Moreover, during this expedition of his, footwork would prove its critical value. If he encountered danger, he would need agile movement techniques and forms to carry him away and save his life. Taking advantage of the travel time to bring out the Spirit Wind Pace and practice it further was precisely what he needed.
Once he employed the Spirit Wind Pace, Lu Xiao no longer stuck to the paved roads. Leaning on the footwork, he sprinted and leaped directly across various terrains. As his figure flashed and flickered, it felt as though a gentle spiritual wind were genuinely supporting him from his side. This was the profound marvel of the Spirit Wind Pace technique. It lightened the practitioner's form, making every turn, leap, and shift agile and effortless. Once mastered at the entry level, it even allowed one to borrow strength from the wind. Footwork forms were generally somewhat difficult to learn, and mastering them skillfully required a significant expenditure of mental effort. Long before he stepped onto the path of cultivation, he had heard this from his elder brother. Whether practicing martial arts or literary arts, movement forms were essential disciplines. Compared to pure martial cultivation, Lu Xiao had actually heard much more from Lu Zheng regarding matters of footwork.
Lu Xiao leaped among the mountains, continuously familiarizing himself with the movements. Any technique that could be bought casually outside was either mediocre in power, or else it belonged to Dragon King Mountain techniques like the Dragon Blood Body-Bathing Technique. Ordinary people simply had no way to cultivate them, as they required specific physiques or methods—meaning such techniques were easily acquired, but the conditions were harsh and could even cause a backlash that harmed the body. The Spirit Wind Pace had originally been a very ordinary technique. The most obvious improvement brought by its original version after cultivation was simply that walking felt somewhat easier and faster. However, once the Spirit Wind Pace was refined to the third tier, the strength of the technique was no longer comparable to ordinary movement arts. The footwork techniques of many major sects and great powers were barely superior to a third-tier refined Spirit Wind Pace.
It was simply difficult for Lu Xiao to clearly evaluate his own strength. He had witnessed far too few martial techniques from others. Having seen so little, it was hard to compare them with his own strength or arrive at a definitive conclusion. For now, there was no need for him to dwell on it; he only needed to cultivate and improve with a steady mind.
Moving forward, he even skirted around a patch of rainy territory. Sometimes the heavens rained over just one localized circle, which could be easily avoided with a slight detour. When he set out, it had been roughly the end of the Hour of Wei. Two hours later, the sky began to darken. In truth, he had been moving very swiftly; within those two hours, he had already covered fifty li. This distance was not along smoothly paved main roads. If he had taken the main roads—the kind where carriages could travel—winding back and forth would have made it at least a hundred li. By taking mountain paths, Lu Xiao had chosen a shortcut that was much closer. However, the paths were quite rugged, and the difficulty of traveling them naturally differed. He had to constantly go uphill and downhill while navigating rather perilous tracks. It was entirely thanks to the Spirit Wind Pace that Lu Xiao had managed to cover fifty li in two hours.
With ten li remaining and night falling fast, Lu Xiao searched for a reasonably decent spot along a hillside and set up a simple dwelling. The money he carried was not abundant, and staying at inns was simply beyond his means. Arriving at Flowing Slope in the middle of the night and resting by the roadside might draw the questioning gazes of night watchmen or local guards. It was far better to stay out here in the open, where he could be more at ease. For a fleeting moment, Lu Xiao felt as though something in his mind had shifted. Having stayed within Yonglin City for so long without being permitted to leave, the sight of a city now made him instinctively reluctant to approach it, preferring instead to dwell in the desolate wilderness.
Taking out his firewood chopper, he quickly set to work building the shelter. This chopper of his was truly sharp when it came to felling trees. Having refined it to the third tier made it both exceptionally useful and razor-sharp, allowing him to accomplish twice the work with half the effort. Soon, he had shaved down wooden planks and constructed a space just large enough to fit himself. Once the assembly was complete, he employed the refinement technique once more to further enhance the shelter he had built. A small cabin that blocked the wind and retained warmth was thus completed.
As darkness fell, Lu Xiao crawled right inside and lay down. In his mind, he reviewed his practice of the Spirit Wind Pace along the way. Training in movement techniques required a wide, open space. Trapped within the Marquis's estate, the Spirit Wind Pace could never be practiced to its fullest extent. Having practiced it for merely two hours today, the improvement in the Spirit Wind Pace was already substantial.
Lu Xiao recalled the core essence of the Spirit Wind Pace in his mind:
*Steps rise like a light swan's feather, falling without a sound. Form and shadow drift, difficult to fathom.*
*In motion, borrow the wind's power; in speed, rush like lightning...*
Once refined to the third tier, the core of the Spirit Wind Pace had become exceedingly prominent. Borrowing the power of the wind was the very heart of this movement technique. The original version of the Spirit Wind Pace had wordy phrasing, remaining vague and imprecise about how to harness the wind for oneself. But today, when Lu Xiao executed those movement forms, the sensation had been exceptionally clear. As he bounded forward, a spiritual wind seemed to push him onward from all around. It was as if a wind deity were assisting him, vastly accelerating the speed of his physical form.
Lost in thought, Lu Xiao suddenly caught onto a flash of inspiration. He pushed open the door of the small cabin and stepped swiftly outside. Formulating his hands into fists, he began to practice the True Qi Mental Art. The Qi-infused fists churned through the night, the sound of breaking wind echoing out across the mountain forest.
After refinement, the depth of the True Qi Mental Art had improved considerably. Yet its inherent nature could not be altered arbitrarily. The defining trait of the Qi fists was absolute ferocity and formidable might, capable of shattering all techniques. It broke through everything with overwhelming momentum, and once a fist stance was unleashed, it was difficult to retract. Yet once such a ferocious fist momentum was unleashed, let alone recalling it, even attempting to change its direction was exceedingly difficult. All the force within his body was spent entirely on the fist momentum. How could he possibly spare any remaining strength to make other adjustments? If an opponent managed to dodge a single strike, the danger brought by such ferocious fist momentum was terrifying.
Yet at this very moment, as his fist momentum struck outward, several gentle gusts of spiritual wind were actively propelling his body.