Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. Main Peak Hall, in the Back Hall near the entrance to the Sword Peak.

"Zhang Mountain, how long have you been on the mountain? Has it been three months?"

Tian Zhuang, the leader of the group of handyman disciples working on the Back Hall's renovation, suddenly asked.

Xie Yuan, who was standing on a ladder, paused his work. After a moment of thought, he said,

"It's been almost two full months. What is it, Senior Brother Tian?"

"Two months… Zhang Mountain, close your eyes. Don't look back."

Tian Zhuang said gravely.

Xie Yuan gave him a strange look and said,

"Senior Brother Tian, don't be like this. We can talk things out. You're scaring me."

"Cut the crap. Do as I say. Close your eyes and focus on what you feel."

Tian Zhuang insisted.

Xie Yuan shook his head but did as he was told.

The mountain wind swept through the long corridor, blew in through the window, and brushed against Xie Yuan, making his skin feel as if it were being pricked by tiny needles.

[Black Celestial Book: (103/200)]

'It went up a little again.'

Xie Yuan opened his eyes, a hint of joy on his face.

Although he sometimes gained insights here, the progress was nothing compared to the speed he achieved when holding the Eight Trigrams Lotus and studying it closely. In all his time at the Back Hall, he had only earned about ten points, so every bit of progress was worth celebrating.

'But how could I ask for more when I can naturally advance the Black Celestial Book's progress just by doing menial chores? Slow is fine. It's a steady trickle.'

Seeing him open his eyes, Tian Zhuang stared at him and asked,

"Well, Junior Brother Zhang? Did you feel the Sword Qi from the Sword Peak?"

'Was it that sharp mountain wind?'

Having been here for a while, Xie Yuan already had a rough idea of what this meant, so he gave a wise answer:

"No…"

Tian Zhuang sighed.

"You didn't? I thought you'd be able to feel it."

"I've disappointed you, Senior Brother. Senior Brother Tian, did you have some sort of epiphany?"

Tian Zhuang rolled his eyes and grumbled,

"If I had that kind of skill, would I still be a handyman disciple? It's said that anyone in External Training who can sense Sword Qi without entering the Sword Peak has a shot at becoming a Grandmaster. I've been watching you practice your swordsmanship these past few days, Junior Brother Zhang. Your Cloud Mountain Sword Form is no longer clumsy. You've passed the introductory stage and reached the realm of 'practice makes perfect, executed with ease,' right?"

[Chopping Wood: (793/100,000)]

[Golden Bell Shield - 3rd Layer: (1,325/2,000)]

[Body-Nourishing Art - 4th Layer: (1,988/4,000)]

[Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist - Mastery: (711/2,000)]

[Moon-Cutting Axe - Minor Success: (1/3,000)]

[Celestial Concealment Skill - Minor Success: (689/5,000)]

[Black Celestial Book: (103/200)]

[Rushing Wolf Saber Skill - Perfected]

[Cloud Mountain Sword Form - Mastery: (61/700)]

Xie Yuan subconsciously glanced at his stats. Among the many rapidly progressing Cultivation Techniques, he saw the last and fastest-progressing entry, and he nodded slightly.

"You have a good eye, Senior Brother Tian. I was lucky enough to have a breakthrough recently."

'Tian Zhuang was probably talking about the 'Skilled' realm, but I've already reached Mastery. It's normal for a handyman disciple like him not to be able to tell the difference.'

Among all his Cultivation Techniques, the Cloud Mountain Sword Form was the one he could practice most casually and also the one he practiced most diligently, so it progressed the fastest.

Now that Xie Yuan had mastered the Cloud Mountain Sword Form, he could be said to have a decent understanding of the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

'From never having held a sword to now in just two months… not bad at all.'

Hearing his confirmation, Tian Zhuang let out a long sigh.

"That's why I asked. I've been on the mountain for over a year. It took me three months just to reach the introductory level of the Cloud Mountain Sword Form. It took another whole year to become skilled, and that's where I am now. Do you know what the deacon said about me?"

He didn't wait for Xie Yuan's reply, his voice growing a little louder,

"'Your talent is decent, on par with an Outer Sect disciple. Keep working hard, and you have a bright future.'"

"I was considered outstanding in all aspects among the handyman disciples of my year, which is why I get to lead you all in the Main Peak Hall. To be honest, I was feeling pretty smug about it before."

"But then you show up, and in less than two months, you're already on my level. Compared to you, I'm nothing! It's so demoralizing! It makes my pride feel like a frog in a well… I bet even some Outer Sect disciples aren't at your level."

"That's why I asked if you could sense the Sword Qi. With your talent, I have no idea why you're just a handyman. Of course, sensing Sword Qi might be a bit of an exaggeration; that's not something an ordinary disciple can do. But even Senior Brother Qin looked at you that way on the first day, which proves there's something strange about you."

To be fair, Tian Zhuang's talent would be considered quite good on the outside. Practicing the Cloud Mountain Sword Form off and on to reach the skilled realm already made him a Second Training Martial Artist. For Tian Zhuang to reach Second Training in just over a year showed he had a promising future. If he could advance another step under these cultivation conditions, becoming an official Outer Sect disciple shouldn't be difficult.

He was a top performer among the handyman disciples, but compared to Xie Yuan—even a Xie Yuan who was holding back—he was completely outclassed. After all, Xie Yuan's true talent was top-tier even within the entire Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. It was just that working together every day made it hard not to draw comparisons.

"Junior Brother Zhang, with your level of talent, you really didn't feel anything?"

Seeing the expectant look in Tian Zhuang's eyes, still hoping he had sensed the Sword Qi, Xie Yuan just shrugged and mimicked his tone:

"If I had that kind of skill, would I still be a handyman disciple?"

"You little…"

Tian Zhuang shook his head, his words trailing off as he saw several figures walk by. He quickly stood at attention, pulling Xie Yuan to the side to bow.

"Greetings, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters!"

A few of the white-robed disciples nodded slightly, while others didn't react at all, simply striding past them.

The Cloud Mountain Sword Sect had strict rules governing its disciples. Xie Yuan had never heard of a single incident of the older bullying the younger or the strong bullying the weak, which was no small feat in such a large sect.

However, while official disciples wouldn't bully the handymen, few were particularly polite to them either.

More often than not, they were simply ignored, not worth a second thought. After all, handyman disciples were still more handyman than disciple.

After the group had left, Tian Zhuang straightened up and sighed softly.

"You really have to trade these gray robes for white ones to make coming to Cloud Mountain worthwhile!"

Xie Yuan glanced at him and saw his tightly clenched fists. He resisted the urge to chime in with, "That position can be taken."

"You're right, Senior Brother Tian."

Tian Zhuang was in a talkative and excited mood today.

"Junior Brother Zhang, I hope it won't be long before we can both officially enter the Outer Sect!"

"What are you two idling about for? The day of the sword debate is getting closer! Get back to work! You weren't brought here to enjoy the breeze!"

A supervisor's shout came from a distance, and Tian Zhuang immediately sprang into action.

"Right away!"

Xie Yuan watched the energetic Tian Zhuang with a small smile, feeling a bit infected by his enthusiasm.

'I sincerely hope his ambition isn't ground down. It won't be easy, though… Reality has a way of bringing a heavy hammer down on every idealist when they least expect it, beating a vigorous young calf into a meek old ox, content to quietly plow the fields.'

'But if you break through, a whole new world awaits.'

Without his talent and opportunities, Xie Yuan would likely be far worse off than Tian Zhuang right now. At the very least, just entering the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect would have been a pipe dream.

But with his gifts, that "new world" wasn't on some unreachable peak. He didn't need to struggle to climb one mountain after another, uncertain of the path ahead.

For him, the fruit was right there on a flat road ahead, his for the taking as long as he kept moving forward.

Of course, he still had to break a little sweat.

Glancing at the numbers before him again, Xie Yuan buried his head in his work.

Some time passed. Xie Yuan continued his routine of working and cultivating. Both his overt swordsmanship and his actual overall strength steadily improved in the spiritual land of Cloud Mountain.

He was careful to show his progress in the Cloud Mountain Sword Form in measured increments. He was top-tier among the handyman disciples, but not so good as to overshadow the Outer Sect disciples. This way, he displayed enough potential without attracting too much attention—it was just right. Once this period of handyman work was over, Xie Yuan still felt that becoming an official disciple was the only long-term solution.

Some of the Outer Sect deacons had naturally taken notice of him. Although Cui Zhi wasn't on the mountain often, he had discussed him with his colleagues, and Xie Yuan's excellent performance had indeed left an impression on several deacons.

However, the day of the Sword Storage Pavilion's visit was drawing ever closer, and this matter occupied the minds of everyone in the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect. No matter how outstanding a handyman disciple was, he was still just a handyman disciple. His case would have to wait until after this major sect affair.

'I'm getting closer and closer to the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm. I wonder what the 'metamorphosis' actually entails.'

Xie Yuan finished a set of sword forms, brought his practice to a close, and let out a breath.

Although the Cloud Mountain Sword Form was not a high-level technique, it still had the effect of refining Blood Qi, which accelerated his realm advancement and the progress of his Golden Bell Shield. When the Golden Bell Shield broke through the 3rd Layer, that would be when he entered the next realm.

That day was not far off, and Xie Yuan was looking forward to it immensely.

'Metamorphosis… I bet my entire strength will rise to a whole new level. If it's not a change as drastic as going from an ordinary person to a First Training Martial Artist, it wouldn't be worthy of the name 'metamorphosis'.'

'Miss Mu said I just need to practice step-by-step. After all, my physical talent has been enhanced multiple times, and my Inner Power has been constantly nourishing it… I wonder how Miss Mu has been doing lately?'

He thought of that cool, quiet, peerless Grandmaster and reminisced about the days she had taught him martial arts by the waterfall and watched the moon with him. With a beautiful woman there to supervise, both his mood and his motivation were far greater than when he trained alone, and his progress was faster too. Most men, young or old, are like that. If a beauty is watching, they'll put on a bit of a show, puffing out their chests and sucking in their guts for hours on end.

If he had a beauty to train with, Xie Yuan figured his breakthrough would probably come a few days sooner.

He wondered how her investigation in Yanzhou was going. That was on the border of the Great Li, a chaotic place where good and evil mingled. The danger there was on a completely different level from Yunzhou.

Xie Yuan gazed at the moon, sending his worries across the distance, then buried his head in his training once more.

'Everyone has their own path to walk and their own things to do. It's best to be happy when together and focused when apart.'

Not two days later, while Xie Yuan was working in the Main Peak Hall, he suddenly heard someone call for him.

"Zhang Mountain, important guests have arrived. Go and help out."

Lately, everyone in the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect had been preoccupied with the matter of the Sword Storage Pavilion. Hearing this, Xie Yuan asked in surprise,

"Isn't the Sword Storage Pavilion's visit still some time away? Why are they here now?"

"It's not the Sword Storage Pavilion. These are unrelated guests who just arrived on the mountain. They need a few handyman disciples to help out!"

"I see. Where are these important guests from?"

Xie Yuan asked as he walked.

The supervisor was on good terms with Xie Yuan, so he gave him a tip.

"One is Xue Yanwen, the Heir of Prince Cloud Mountain. He's a nominal disciple of the Outer Sect, so he's practically one of us, which is fine. As for the other person who came with him…"

The supervisor's voice dropped to a whisper.

"She's said to be the only daughter of the late King of Pingxi."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!