I began to understand the myriad things by chopping wood

Chapter 193: Great Progress
The outer courtyard halfway up the mountain of the Yunshan Sword Sect was covered in silver overnight.

"Snowing!"

The disciples who got up early in the morning to practice sword skills shouted here and there.

The outer gate had turned into a world of snow. The roof tiles, tree branches, and streams were all covered with snow. The outer disciples in white clothes practiced swordplay on the snowy grass and by the stream, as if blending into the world. The middle of the mountain had turned into a classical painting with only a few sword shadows flickering in it.

Xie Yuan stood in the yard, stretched out his hand to catch a snowflake as big as a goose feather, and sighed:

"It's winter already?"

It felt like autumn had just begun, and the Cangjian Pavilion mountain challenge had not been over for long. I seemed to have just entered the state of cultivation, and the first snow began to fall.

There is no time in the mountains.

Although Yunshan is a high mountain, the climate is pleasant under the spiritual energy and it does not snow very often.

It's already winter, and counting the time, it's almost the end of the year.

"It's winter again..."

Xie Yuan was stunned for a moment. It turned out that a whole year had passed.

Around the same time last year, I “woke up”, chopped the first piece of firewood, and then saw a different world.

He missed the Xie family courtyard in Xiaoshi Village. Although he had not lived there for a long time in the past year, even longer than he had lived in Yunshan, the memories were always different.

"Do you want to go back for the New Year?"

This thought flashed through his mind, and Xie Yuan sighed. Who could he go back to celebrate the New Year with?
There are only Brother Shitou and Sister Lanhua, but they should move out of Xiaoshi Village and into the town or city with the silver notes I gave them, right?

Moreover, Xie Yuan had not forgotten that he was a wanted criminal. Whenever he went down to Yunshan to shop, he would see the lifelike wanted poster still posted in the restaurant in Yunshan Town.

Many wanted criminals who could not be caught were arrested at the end of the year because they could not resist homesickness, which added a lot of performance to the officials during the New Year. I don't know if Su Xing would do such an inefficient thing, but Xie Yuan was just thinking about it after all, and he couldn't go back.

A year has passed since I woke up from my time travel and embarked on the path of spiritual practice.

This time last year, you were still practicing Iron Armor Long Fist or something like that, right? This boxing technique now seems to be just a few moves, in fact, it can't even be considered a technique, but it is also my first set of fighting techniques.

At that time, I had just activated the golden finger and started the road of martial arts training, so the panel was still a little shabby.

And now...

[Chopping wood: (4265/100000)]

[Golden Bell Cover·Fourth Level: (1086/5000)]

[Health-preserving Skills·Fourth Level: (3171/4000)]

[Bagua Mountain Shaking Fist·Minor Achievement: (39/3000)]

[Moon-Slashing Axe: Minor Skill: (427/3000)]

[Heavenly Hidden Technique·Minor Achievement: (2128/5000)]

[Black Book: (97/500)]

[Cloud Dragon Step·Proficiency: (146/1000)]

【Running Wolf Sword Technique·Perfection】

【Yunshan Sword Style·Perfection】

[Cloud Dragon Nine Styles·Proficiency: (15/1000)]

[Yunshan Sword Qi Jue·Third Level: (87/1000)]

Looking at this luxurious display of martial arts, feeling the boiling blood and the strong internal energy of the health-preserving exercises and the Yunshan Sword Qi Jue that coexisted peacefully and complemented each other, Xie Yuan felt that the world was vast.

The four methods of training and killing are all high-level methods. Xie Yuan feels that his panel is shining with luxury.

During the past two months in the outer sect, whether he was practicing the Golden Bell Cover alone in his room or practicing sword skills with everyone else, his blood and energy were constantly increasing, and he had already made 20% progress to the fourth level of the Golden Bell Cover.

According to the levels of the Golden Bell Cover, the fourth level is the first transformation of Qi and blood, the fifth and sixth levels are the second and third transformations respectively, and then it ends.

His progress in the first transformation of Qi and blood has increased by more than 20% in two months. Within a year, he should be able to break through to the second transformation of Qi and blood.

This speed was almost unthinkable for other disciples; but Xie Yuan himself felt it was too slow. After all, compared with the vigorous progress in external training, the current speed had dropped sharply.

However, cultivation is like this. Mu Chaoyun once told him:
“There are four levels of external training, each level is a level;

"Qi and blood change three times, each change is a new mountain."

The further you progress in your practice, the harder it becomes. The gap between levels and mountains is self-evident.

The four levels of external training are just the foundation of the entire cultivation path. When you reach the Qi and Blood Transformation Stage, the gap between each stage becomes larger. The gap between the second Qi and Blood Transformation and the first Qi and Blood Transformation can be even greater than the gap between the first Qi and Blood Transformation and external training.

This is the difference between transforming twice and transforming once, which cannot be fully reflected by the numbers on the panel alone.

Moreover, not every warrior can reach that limit, even the masters who have entered the first stage of Qi and blood transformation.

How many warriors have been practicing with great momentum, but after entering the transformation stage, they found that their potential has been exhausted and they can no longer break through the limits and transform again.

Many people are successful and have made rapid progress, just like other geniuses. However, one day, they get stuck at a level or a mountain, unable to make any progress in their entire lives. They realize that their road has come to an end, and can only watch others continue to climb. There are even people who were far behind them, but now they show their backs to them.

Cultivation is sometimes a cruel gamble. You want to win the final victory with the ambition of a genius, but you don’t know where you will suffer a great defeat.
But practice will eventually pay off. Even if you stop, as long as you don’t give up on yourself, your principal will not be recovered.

But Xie Yuan doesn't have to worry about this, he even thinks it's too slow.

"When will the breakthrough happen? The sword light is really cool."

Xie Yuan touched his chin, recalling Ning Zi's long rainbow strike that penetrated the entire arena. Both in power and appearance, it was the posture of a sword immortal.

His fundamental martial arts training methods naturally improved greatly, and the same was true for his training methods.

While the Health-preserving Technique was progressing steadily, Xie Yuan also did not neglect the Yunshan Sword Qi Technique. However, although he rediscovered the magic of the Health-preserving Technique, he did not convert it into the Sword Qi Technique on a large scale - the Health-preserving Technique was about to break through the fifth level, and his strength would rise to a higher level by then. Naturally, he wanted to break through first, and then talk about the conversion, which would naturally have a better effect.

But he did not give up the Sword Qi Jue and focus on the Health-preserving Skill. After all, the Sword Qi Jue was quite powerful. When combined with the sword technique, his strength increased greatly. Now he used the Sword Qi Jue to drive the sword technique, which was even more powerful than the Health-preserving Skill.

Secondly, he still had to test his progress in the outer sect. He was now maintaining an upper-middle level so as not to attract attention if he was too slow.

Both the training and cultivation methods have made great progress, but the fighting method is not far behind.

Although fists are used less frequently, they are attached to the body, while swords, knives, and axes are not. Knives, spears, swords, and halberds may slip out of the hand, but fists will not... well, generally not, especially when there is a golden bell to protect the body.

The Bagua Mountain-Shaking Fist, which originated from the mysterious Taoist priest, was extremely powerful, profound, and had great potential. Xie Yuan did not abandon it, and even practiced it hard to make the picture panel look beautiful - he broke through to the minor success level, and it looked much more unified.

With just a pair of iron fists, Xie Yuan's strength should not be underestimated. The power of his fists is not inferior to that of other people's swords.

As for the Moon-Slashing Axe, Kong Lu practiced it a few times at the foot of the mountain, showing that he had not forgotten his old skills, nor the big axe that Situ Qin had given him.
However, what he practiced most diligently was the Nine Styles of Cloud Dragon, but in the past two months he had only just reached the level of proficiency.

The Nine Styles of Cloud Dragon is the most powerful of all his martial arts. In terms of lethality, it is only second to Sweeping Thousands of Troops, but it is even more unpredictable and suitable for use in combat.

But the difficulty of such top-notch swordsmanship is self-evident.

Although the progress figures are not high, if you want to make a little progress, you will have to spend ten points of hard work compared to other methods.

Xie Yuan has been dealing with this golden finger for a year and has figured out many of the rules.

For the same level of proficiency, for example, the "proficient" level, if one number is larger and the other is smaller, then the larger number is most likely a more advanced technique; but if they are the same numbers, it does not mean that the difficulty is the same.

The proficiency of the Nine Styles of Cloud Dragon is 1000. If I remember correctly, it is the same for the Moon-Chopping Axe and the Eight Diagrams Mountain-Shaking Fist, but the difficulty is incomparable. The two combined are not as good as the Nine Styles of Cloud Dragon.

But once he had mastered the Nine Styles of Cloud Dragon, the power was even more astonishing. With just this sword technique, not many people at the same level could stop him.

Plus the Cloud Dragon Step. The Cloud Dragon Step is extremely fast and difficult, but Xie Yuan has also mastered it. His speed has more than doubled compared to before.
After two months of training in the outer sect, Xie Yuan stabilized in the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm and was no longer considered a weakling.

As for the other items, he would go to the crevice of the rock whenever he had time to study the Black Heavenly Book, and his progress had steadily increased, which made him look forward to the next comprehension; the Heavenly Hiding Technique was used all the time, and he was making progress all the time, and the effect was obvious;

As for chopping wood… Even though Xie Yuan had entered the outer sect and didn’t know when he would reach the end of his progress, he still hadn’t given up. As the saying goes, water drips through a stone, as long as he persists, there will be a day of breakthrough, so he often returned to the woodshed to help.

The servants in the firewood room were surprised to see him coming back, but they could only let him do what he wanted. Xie Yuan said that he could not forget his old job and would come back home often. What could the servants do to the formal disciples? And they found out that he was just a woodcutter, which actually helped them to lighten their burden. After a while, they got used to it. Now Xie Yuan often went to the firewood room to share the hard work of the servants, which made up for the extra work he brought with him.

After carefully browsing the panel, Xie Yuan nodded slightly at the intuitive data and made some judgment on his own strength and progress.

This is also one of the benefits of the golden finger. It can summarize the plan, find out the shortcomings and fill the gaps, and take targeted actions.

Compared to a year ago, the skill bar that was many times more luxurious was right in front of him. The four skills of cultivation and killing had all advanced to many levels. Xie Yuan thought to himself:

“Hopefully, by this time next year, we’ll see even greater progress.”

After looking at himself, Xie Yuan's eyes moved to Lin Cheng who was practicing sword in the yard. He didn't know when he got up from bed, and the snow in the yard was cleared by the strong wind brought by his sword practice.

Two months passed, and Xie Yuan tirelessly "asked for advice" from Lin Cheng. Thanks to his increasingly sophisticated acting skills, Lin Cheng was unable to discover any flaws. Lin Cheng even thought that he and Xie Yuan were helping each other and making progress together - and the progress was huge.

Lin Cheng's swordsmanship became more and more sophisticated, and he had already reached the realm of "mastery", which is the third level of practice.

Lin Cheng has been in the outer sect for less than a year, and his progress is not slow, especially considering his talent.

The teacher was very impressed with him and often praised his perseverance, which finally bore fruit.

Of course, this fruit was purely watered and ripened by Xie Yuan. Occasionally when he went down the mountain to practice swordplay, Xie Yuan would touch the precious sword and sigh:
"Mr. Lin, it's not easy to take your knife."

Free is the most expensive, that's how it always is.

However, Xie Yuan was also touched by the heroic spirit of Mr. Lin, who did not know how to fight, and it aroused his martial arts spirit.

If it were someone else who is thick-skinned, accepting your knife doesn’t mean they have a connection with you, so why would they help your orphans?

As for Xie Yuan himself, he finally got rid of Song Qingping, and Yunshan returned to peace without any grandmasters wandering around. As a result, he and Lin Cheng "happened" to have broken through to the mastery of the Yunshan sword style recently, and entered the level of a three-level martial artist.

This progress since the chores courtyard naturally surprised the other outer disciples and won great praise from the instructor. In the two months from autumn to winter, Xie Yuan gained a lot, and many things happened outside.

The result of the Yunshan Sword Contest during the Autumnal Equinox spread quickly, and the entire Dali and even the Western Regions knew about it, and the subsequent impact soon came -

Chunyu Tower announced the latest Flying Dragon List and Hidden Dragon List. Cangjian Pavilion Master Wei Dong ranked fifth, and Yunshan Sword Sect Master Li Xingtuo rose from ninth to sixth.

A very subtle ranking.

Although Li Xingtuo was still one position below Wei Dong, everyone understood at a glance that this meant the two were at exactly the same level.

Moreover, the scene at that time has been reported, and many people have made a lot of assumptions. The two may not have tried their best and stopped at the right time. If they really tried their best, the ranking may change again.

One of the big changes in the top ten of the Flying Dragon List is that on the Hidden Dragon List, Qin Zhenyang jumped from the 26th place to the 9th place. As He Jin said, he has a place in the top ten.

The rankings of both the sect leader and the disciples rose greatly, and they were ranked in the top ten of their respective lists. This grand occasion, combined with the high-profile challenge from the Cangjian Pavilion and the low-key retreat, caused an uproar. The name of the Yunshan Sword Sect became famous in the martial arts world, and its reputation soared. In the past two months, there has been an endless stream of people challenging and discussing the Dao with their disciples. Not only have the housing prices in Yunshan Town risen again, but the Mid-mountain Guesthouse is almost full - fortunately Xie Yuan is no longer in charge of that place, otherwise he would have no time to practice martial arts again.

The influence of the Sword Sect in the Dali martial world has also grown. Many grand events in the Jiangnan area would not have originally invited the Yunshan Sword Sect, which is far away in the northwest. However, in recent days, many invitations have come, such as the Qianlong Meeting, the Small Qianlong Meeting, etc., all of which were sent to Qin Zhenyang, Ning Zi and even Wei Dong, who became famous for the sword debates of the two sects.

Jiangnan has always been a prosperous land with a thriving population and flourishing martial arts. Becoming famous in a martial arts competition here has many practical benefits besides fame.

In addition to the Yunshan Sword Sect's far-reaching reputation, there was another major event that took place in Yanzhou, not far from Yunzhou.

The Golden Dragon Trading Company, which dominated the border and traded in both regions, was destroyed overnight. The head owner, Wang Jinlong, who was at the level of a grandmaster, was killed by an unknown powerful man at the trading company's headquarters.

There are rumors that the Golden Dragon Trading Company was destroyed by the surviving master of the Mu family, and the reason is unknown.

This matter was widely spread. The Jinlong Trading Company was not a small force. Including Deng Wan, there were two masters in charge. However, since the death of Deng Wan, the company went from bad to worse, and was finally destroyed by someone.

The most likely murderer seems to be the Mu family master who had previously killed Deng Wan.

This brought up the topic of the previous pursuit in the chaos of Yunzhao, which involved several masters and a "murderer". However, the murderer had disappeared for a long time, and no one knew whether he was dead or not.

Xie Yuan heard this news from other outer sect disciples, who were discussing his name and whether he was dead or not.

"Cough cough."

Xie Yuan coughed twice.

The outer disciple who was speaking paused, turned around and glanced at Zhang Shan, ignored him, and went back to continue speaking excitedly:

"...I think Xie Yuan must have died somewhere. Otherwise, with the arrogance of this murderer, he would definitely do something big!"

"..."

Xie Yuan walked away silently.

These outer disciples are no better than servants in terms of their gossiping nature. Why don't they just go sweep the floor and chop wood?

After hearing the news of the demise of the Golden Dragon Company, Xie Yuan thought silently:

"Was it Miss Mu who did it? I don't know if she found any clues. Wang Jinlong is a veteran master. I hope she is not injured..."

Mu Chaoyun was far away in Yanzhou or somewhere further away. Xie Yuan didn't know her and couldn't see her. He only occasionally missed the moon at that time by the waterfall cliff.

A few days after the snow, Xie Yuan summed up his gains during this period, reflected on his experience, and then continued to practice as usual.

I thought it would be like this until the new year, but during morning exercise that day, the teacher brought me a piece of news.

"Lin Zhen, Pei Yu, your cultivation has been successful. You have advanced to the fourth level in less than a year. The teachers of the outer sect think that it is time for you two to go down the mountain for the trial."

Instructor Sun said with a smile.

All the disciples turned their eyes to the two people in front of them, with envy on their faces.

He reached the fourth level of training within a year. This talent ranks among the top among this year's disciples.

As for the opportunity of trial, it makes the disciples even more jealous.

Although every outer sect disciple has to go down the mountain for the first trial, if you don’t get the approval of the teacher, you will not be allowed to go down the mountain. If you don’t get it, you will never go down the mountain. It is possible that you will stay in the outer sect for several years or even more than ten years.

The fact that Lin Zhen and the other two were able to pass the trial in less than a year showed that their teachers admired them very much.

In addition to the purpose of training disciples, the trial also has an unspoken purpose, which is to re-evaluate the disciples' qualifications and is an opportunity for the disciples.

As for where to go after the evaluation?

It’s the inner door of course.

In the past, many outer sect disciples performed well in the initial trials, and after returning, they directly transferred to the inner sect to practice!
The resources of the inner sect were far better than those of the outer sect. Not only could they learn higher-level techniques and be taught by stronger teachers, but they could also live in a place with more abundant spiritual energy.

However, the inner gate has always been a place for disciples who have reached the Qi and Blood Transformation stage to practice. Only the few outer disciples who have shown amazing talent as soon as they enter the gate can enter the inner gate directly.

Lin Zhen and the other two have obviously reached a certain stage. The teachers think that they should let them go down the mountain to gain some experience. If they perform well, they can be transferred to the inner gate ahead of time.

If one can enter the inner gate one step earlier, especially if one can enter while still practicing outside, then the foundation will be much ahead of the peers. As the saying goes, one step faster means every step faster. These two people are naturally gifted and practice fast. After entering the inner gate, if they meet again in the future, I am afraid that the former classmates will be in a completely different realm.

All the disciples were envious and admired them, and their eyes seemed to be fixed on Lin Zhen and Pei Yu.

Instructor Sun glanced around, taking in the expressions of his disciples, and then laughed:
"But this time we have decided to make an exception and give two more places, so a total of four people will go down the mountain for the trial."

When the disciples heard this, they were stunned. All of them had joined this year, and with only these two people in the fourth training, who else could go?
An exception? Was his talent finally recognized? Was his day of success coming?

Many disciples' eyes suddenly brightened, and they looked up at Instructor Sun, waiting for him to call their names.

Instructor Sun smiled and looked at the two people beside him:
"Lin Cheng, Zhang Shan, although you have just broken through the third level of practice, your hard work and perseverance have been noticed by our teachers.

"Our Sword Sect values ​​character first, followed by talent. In terms of hard work and perseverance, you two are the best of this group, so we allow you to go down the mountain for the trial together. Haha, your hard work has paid off, and your level of the third training has just reached the minimum standard. Get ready, the four of you go together."

When the disciples heard this, their eyes turned again and focused on Xie Yuan and Lin Cheng.

Xie Yuan and Lin Chengdu were caught off guard and were stunned for a moment until they were stared at by everyone.

Seeing Lin Cheng clenching his fists, excited and determined, and Zhang Shan looking naive and unresponsive, everyone had mixed expressions.

A madman and a fool practice like crazy every day, how did they get this opportunity?

"Going down the mountain for a trial? Let the rookie bleed... Or just go for a walk. I haven't killed bandits in a long time. I might as well kill two lucky ones to deal with it."

Xie Yuan didn't think much about it.

Instructor Sun looked at the four people and said encouragingly:

"Work hard! If you perform well in this trial, maybe the inner sect will come to take you away early, which will be beneficial to your own cultivation and development.

"Even if the performance is extremely outstanding, there have been disciples who have been given the opportunity to gain enlightenment at the Sword Peak!"

Go up to Jianfeng?
After hearing this, Xie Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded heavily along with the other three.

"I haven't killed bandits in a long time. I need to find some lucky bosses... Well, there are a few people posted next to my bounty in the restaurant. They are so high-ranking that I don't like them..."

In the Western Desert, outside Hulukou, on the edge of an oasis city.

A familiar scene happened again.

Lu Lao San stood near Oasis City and said, "Pooh!"
"Su Xing, are you done yet? I finally got through after a few months, and I ran into you again! You have nothing to do, right?"

"Why did you and Deng Wan chase those two people in the first place? Did you enter the customs to find them? Where are those two people now?"

Seeing that he couldn't catch him, Su Xing's face darkened and he asked repeatedly.

When Lu Lao San heard this, he was immediately upset and angry, and he said angrily:

"I see. You can't find them so you come to me, right? Picking persimmons... Ugh!
"The Golden Dragon Company was just destroyed. It must have been done by that Mu. Go and investigate! Why are you staring at me? Oh, it looks like you lost me again? Haha, how come you are a master detective in Chunyu Tower and can't solve a case in several months? You're useless!

"Don't even think about it! I'm not your son, no, and you're not my father... Bah, no, why should I tell you? Get lost! Don't come to the Western Desert!"

He cursed loudly, turned around and went into the Oasis City, disappearing into the mixed crowd.

Su Xing stood on the sand dune, quietly looking down at the gate of Oasis City, looking at the camel caravans coming in and out and the Western Regions people covered with turbans, muttering in a low voice:
"Lu Lao San, Xi Mo, Jin Long Trading Company, Mu Family..."

This Oasis City is not Lu Laosan’s territory, but he also has a stronghold in the city.

He hid in the inconspicuous house, revealed his figure, looked at the wounds on his body, and his eyes showed anger.

But then he frowned and thought to himself:

"I didn't find anything this time. The time for the place to open is almost up, and I can't delay any longer. Who would have thought that I would run into this unlucky star when I came back...

"Well, that accidental break-in many years ago allowed me to become a master. I must not miss this opening. This is my chance and luck!
"But according to what's written, the noise this time will be even louder. And Su Xing, the official's dog, is waiting outside. We have to find a way to get him out, and we also have to be careful about other people coming to join in the fun..."

Lu Lao San thought about it, narrowed his eyes, and snorted coldly:
"I can use this as an excuse to hunt down the Dali official dogs, and mobilize all my men! I was afraid of you when we entered the pass, but now when we get to the Western Desert, I have thousands of horse bandits under my command, so why would I be afraid of you, a man in official uniform?

"Before the end of the year, no one is allowed to approach that place, or I will kill you without mercy, I say!"

He slammed the table with force, his eyes burning with wildfire.

This time, he must have the strength of a Grandmaster on the Flying Dragon Ranking. Su Xing, Li Tai, Mu Chaoyun, Xie Yuan...

They are all stepping stones on his road!

　Sorry for being a little late today. There will be another update in the evening, but it will be later.

　　Recently, I have been doing 10,000 a day, which is still a bit difficult. After all, before this month, I was only doing 4,000 a day. I always did 4,000 on the day my books were put on the shelves, and my previous books also did 4,000 a day...

　　But I also want to challenge myself. I started this month by trying 6,000. I thought it was okay, so I tried 10,000 a day. I have persisted for a week. I will try again. When I can’t do it anymore, I will go back to 6,000. If it still doesn’t work, I will go back to 4,000:p
　　The number of chapters per day is not fixed, sometimes three, sometimes two, but the total number of words will be guaranteed. Maybe in the future, one chapter will be 10,000 words. This depends on the plot, the feeling of writing, and the author's mood:/
　　If I can't update, I will ask for leave. If I don't ask for leave, it will probably be late. I am a part-time author, please bear with me. Please support me. Your support is my motivation to update! Without further ado, I will try to code more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)