Yan Zhengming slowly and methodically wiped his wooden sword with a piece of silk and watched his fellow apprentices practicing sword skills for a while.

The swords of the junior brothers were a complete joke, except for Li Yun who looked somewhat human. The other two little things were basically two big monkeys holding sticks, juggling with wooden swords, and the master was still correcting their sword-holding gestures.

The master said to this after a while: "Although the wooden sword is merciful, the real sword is blind. When dealing with swords, you must be extremely careful - Cheng Qian, don't put your fingers on the blade. Can't you feel that your ten fingers are connected to your heart?"

After a while, he said to the other one, "There is a heavy sword in the East Sea that weighs 300 kilograms. Just now, you held it with both hands. Xiao Yuan, I think you are not practicing swordplay, but forging iron."

Sometimes he would tie his arms and run around to put out the fire that Li Yun had started: "Don't make trouble, don't make trouble, oh, be careful not to poke your eyes!"

...To say that they are "unsightly" is actually giving these little brats a compliment.

Young Master Yan's gaze swept around and finally landed on Cheng Qian, looking at the child a few more times.

He was fully aware that he was a playboy, but he thought that his playboyism did not hurt anyone, so he felt at ease and never repented, and became more and more outrageous as time went by and his mood changed.

At the same time, Master Yan also admitted that he was a little superficial - he was very self-aware and knew that he had basically nothing in terms of "knowledge" or "character". Since he himself did not have these two things, it would not be convenient for him to demand too much from others. Therefore, Yan Zhengming's likes and dislikes for a person naturally only depended on "looking at the face".

According to this standard, people like Han Yuan were considered unforgivable criminals in his eyes.

"Judging people by their appearance" is Yan Zhengming's ironclad principle in dealing with people. He is only willing to make exceptions for two people: one is his master, and the other is Li Yun.

Even though the master looked like a sinner, Young Master Yan had practiced with him for eight years and was almost spoiled by him. They were emotionally close, so he was willing to forgive this.

And Li Yun... Even though Li Yun looked like a decent person, Yan Zhengming still decided to be irreconcilable with him. That guy was really a piece of shit.

As for Cheng Qian, Yan Zhengming actually liked him very much, otherwise he would not have given him candy as soon as they met - unfortunately his third junior fellow apprentice did not appreciate it.

Of course, this pleasing thing is very limited. After all, Cheng Qian is still young, and it is unknown whether he will be handsome or disabled in the future. It is not enough for Master Yan to be interested in staring at a little kid waving a wooden stick.

The fellow apprentices raised by the master were running around in the yard, while Yan Zhengming was standing aside with his wooden sword in his hand, distracted, thinking about his own slow progress.

Yan Zhengming had been practicing sword skills with his master for nearly eight years, and he had only barely mastered the third move of the Fuyao wooden sword.

Although the opening moves were transformed by the master into the Five Animal Exercises for middle-aged and elderly people, the sword technique itself was not ridiculous.

Yan Zhengming is not the ignorant little beggar Han Yuan. Before he joined the Fuyao Sect, his family hired the best swordsmanship master for him. Even though he was not very skilled, he was not blind.

There are five styles of the Fuyao Wooden Sword, namely "A Bright Future", "Seeking Truth", "Going against one's will", "Rise and Fall", and "Return to Basics". Each style has twenty-five moves and countless variations. As he has grown older in recent years, Yan Zhengming sometimes has the illusion that this set of swordsmanship encompasses everything in the world. If he stops to think carefully about each point, countless possibilities can be derived.

But his master never taught him these things. Mu Chun could only demonstrate the basic moves shakily, and he had to figure out the rest on his own.

Yan Zhengming wanted to ask him several times why he was unwilling to explain those exquisite sword moves in detail, but without exception, the old weasel played crazy and stupid to get away with it.

Yan Zhengming thought for a while, stood up, and tried to perform the third move "Things Go Against One's Wishes".

It's not very glorious to say, even though he pursues neither literary nor martial arts success and is a lazy person, he is still somewhat embarrassed that he has been stuck on this move for two years.

I don't know who came up with the name of this move "Things go against one's wishes", but it is really apt. No matter how many times he corrected himself, he just didn't know where he was stuck. That awkward feeling lingered in every move.

Yan Zhengming stopped practicing halfway and stared at his wooden sword with a frown.

The Taoist boys and maids who were on high alert on the side rushed forward, some fanning themselves, some wiping their sweat.

Unfortunately, the flattery backfired this time. The young master had reached a bottleneck in his sword practice and was already restless and irritable. After being disrupted by this group of idiots, he could no longer grasp the vague inspiration in his heart.

He suddenly waved his hand and shouted angrily: "Go away, don't get in the way! From now on, you are not allowed to come over when I practice sword skills!"

The maid Xiao Yuer asked timidly, "Master, is this a new rule?"

Where did this come from? It was because Master Yan had nothing to do, so he made up a lot of "rules" out of nothing - such as clothes and shoes must be the same color, when to come up to comb his hair, how many times a day to wipe the desk in the study, not to speak before drinking a cup of cold tea in the morning... and so on, all of which were created by him.

Anyone with a weak brain probably wouldn’t be able to remember it. Even the old emperor might not have as many problems as he does.

Young Master Yan's expression hadn't recovered yet, but as soon as his upper lip touched his lower lip, a new rule was announced: "From now on, when I practice swordplay, you are not allowed to come around without my permission. It's embarrassing."

Cheng Qian, who unfortunately heard these words, was taken aback. He did not expect that his senior brother actually knew what "embarrassing oneself" meant.

Mu Chun, who was leading Cheng Qian, coughed dryly and called out, "Disciple."

When Yan Zhengming turned around, his eyes fell on Cheng Qian. The child didn't even look at him, and looked like a child who had never seen the world. He lowered his head "shyly" and followed his master closely.

...where no one could see, he "shyly" ridiculed the many strange phenomena in the sect.

Mu Chun pointed at Cheng Qian and said, "Your Second Junior Brother can't take care of it by himself, so you can give Third Junior Brother some pointers later."

Li Yun was not only unable to take care of everything, he was almost taking Han Yuan to the roof and tearing off the tiles.

Yan Zhengming had not yet mastered his own sword moves and was in no mood to instruct others. He frowned when he heard this and vented his impatient resentment at his master in a proud and arrogant manner.

Little did he know that the person who was more resentful than him was Cheng Qian. He didn't understand why the master was unwilling to guide him personally. What could the eldest brother do?

Can you teach him how to look in the mirror to make his nose look higher?

However, Yan Zhengming did not refute his master in front of his junior fellow apprentice. He suppressed the objection that was about to come out and asked patiently, "Master, there seems to be something wrong with my 'Things Go Against My Wishes' move."

Master Mu Chun asked with a pleasant expression, "What's wrong?"

Nothing was right, his whole body was not smooth. While practicing this move, Yan Zhengming felt as if a river was flowing backwards. It was extremely strenuous.

But although he understood it in his heart, he couldn't express the mysterious feeling in words. Thousands of words flowed under his tongue, and he didn't know where to start. Finally, Yan Zhengming blurted out as if he was possessed by something: "It seems... not very good-looking."

Cheng Qian, who was watching coldly, confirmed once again that this senior brother was just a big idiot wearing gold and silver.

The master performed Tai Chi with a smile on his face and said, "Haste makes waste. You can wait a little longer for this move."

Master Mu Chun is always like this. This crappy master never gives a direct answer to any question his disciples ask. He always talks about something boring and profound.

Although Yan Zhengming had long been accustomed to this, he still couldn't help but ask in a coquettish tone: "Wait until when?"

Master Mu Chun said gently, "Wait until you grow a few inches taller."

Yan Zhengming: “…”

As lazy as he is, there are always a few days in a month when he wants to betray his teacher and ancestors.

After saying this, Mu Chun openly handed Cheng Qian to the "treasure of the sect" and leisurely returned to the pavilion to drink tea.

The Fuyao sect has implemented the ancient tradition of "the master leads the way, but the practice is up to the individual". Their humble master has never shown any real skills or knowledge. He always just uses shelf goods to give them a big framework, and he doesn't care what is filled in the framework.

Yan Zhengming glanced at his third junior brother with a distracted look. There was nothing to say to this little guy, so he found a place to sit down in a huff, leaning against the stone table at the side in a rude manner. A Taoist boy came up, took his wooden sword with both hands, and carefully wiped it with a white silk.

Even the Taoist boy may have never washed his own face with such gentleness and care.

Afterwards, Young Master Yan, who had originally sat down, suddenly stood up as if he had resurrected from the dead.

He just frowned his long eyebrows and gave a displeased glance to Xiao Yu'er beside him, but he refused to say anything to remind her. The little girl turned pale under his gaze and was so at a loss that she almost cried.

Finally, Xue Qing, who was waiting for Cheng Qian nearby, couldn't bear it anymore and whispered, "It's cold on the stone."

Xiao Yuer then remembered that she had just let their young master sit directly on the stone bench, leaving him out in the cold!

She immediately acted as if she deserved to die, walked forward crying, and moved as fast as lightning, laying three layers of cushions under the young master.

Yan Zhengming then glared at her, and the boss condescended to sit down unsatisfied, and raised his chin weakly to Cheng Qian: "You practice, I'll watch, if you don't understand anything, come and ask."

Cheng Qian simply treated his senior brother as a piece of foul air that was an eyesore and did not even say a word to him. He was determined not to pay any attention to him and devoted himself to his wooden sword.

Cheng Qian had been eavesdropping by climbing on trees since he was a child. At that time, he had no books or notebooks, let alone asking questions, so he developed the unique skill of having a photographic memory.

The master's demonstration was so quiet and gentle. When Cheng Qian recalled it briefly, all of Master Mu Chun's gestures appeared in his mind.

He relied entirely on his memory, carefully imitating his master's shaky movements, comparing his own movements with his memory at all times, so that he could correct himself before the dog behind him licked the door curtain and opened his mouth to correct himself.

Such imitation skills would make monkeys feel ashamed. Yan Zhengming was a little careless at first, but over time, his eyes slowly focused on Cheng Qian - the little guy actually took the initiative to practice several moves of the first style according to the master's formula.

He practiced the separated moves repeatedly several times in the slow manner of his master. After he became familiar with them, his eyes suddenly became sharp. At that moment, Yan Zhengming involuntarily put down his hand that was reaching for the tea bowl - he found that the spirit hidden in the tip of the sword was extremely familiar. This kid was imitating Li Yun!

After all, Cheng Qian was just an imitator. Moreover, he was young and lacked strength, so he was far from having the desperate youthful vigor of Li Yun. However, once that spirit was added, the wooden sword in his hand suddenly changed - as if it was originally a piece of paper spread on the ground, but now it was gradually puffing up and taking a three-dimensional shape!

The shape is still vague, because Cheng Qian's sword is not only comparable to Li Yun's, but even the accuracy of the basic moves is still debatable.

Yan Zhengming felt something at that moment, and he felt that he saw clearly the sword intent of the Fuyao wooden sword.

Sword intent is not like a peach on a tree or a fish in the water. Without decades of practice and the state of unity between man and sword, it is impossible to condense sword intent - as for Cheng Qian, it is certainly impossible for that kid to demonstrate any "sword intent". It is already very good that he can hold the sword steadily without smashing his own feet.

However, the "robust career" move cleverly fits the mood of a young man who has just entered the immortal world. Yan Zhengming recalled the feeling he had when he saw the mountain full of talismans. The feeling was fresh, curious, and full of irresistible imagination about the future...

Perhaps it cannot be said to be "sword intention", but the Fuyao wooden sword itself secretly matches the state of mind of the person holding the sword, and it is the sword technique itself that guides the person holding the sword.

Yan Zhengming stood up suddenly. He watched Cheng Qian's sword and by chance he came across something that had previously puzzled him - the invisible and intangible changes in swordsmanship, and why his master never explained it - because this swordsmanship itself is alive.

Why did Yan Zhengming feel that he was unable to cope with the task from the second step, “seeking up and down”, and why it became even more difficult to continue with the third step, “things going against one’s wishes”? This was because he neither knew the feeling of seeking up and down, nor understood what it meant for things to go against one’s wishes.

The wooden sword could no longer guide him.