Chapter 13: Teaching My Beautiful Disciple (4)

Since I had decided to guide her personally through the Body Strengthening Realm, there was no reason to waste any time. The sun was already dipping toward the horizon, painting the clouds around our peak in shades of crimson and gold, and the evening breeze was perfect for physical training.

"The first step of the immortal path begins with tempering the mortal vessel," I said, stepping into the open center of the paved courtyard. "Before you can absorb spiritual qi without bursting your channels, your flesh, blood, and bones must be hammered like iron. To do that, our peak utilizes a specialized movement technique passed down from my own master."

Shen Qingxue stood by the edge of the terrace, her dark eyes tracking every shift in my posture with absolute focus.

"This technique contains a total of eighteen moves," I explained, loosening my shoulders and letting my arms hang naturally at my sides. "When executed properly in a single, unbroken sequence, it exerts immense pressure on every muscle group, stretches the deepest tendons, and forcibly purges the stubborn impurities lingering inside your bone marrow. Watch closely."

I dropped low, planting my feet firmly on the stone floor, and began the sequence.

I didn’t use my Late-Stage Golden Core spiritual energy to cheat. Instead, I relied purely on physical leverage, moving with slow, deliberate precision so she could see every minute shift in my balance, every flex of my spine, and the exact angle of every strike and pivot. My sleeves whipped through the air with a dull, rhythmic hum, the eighteen forms flowing seamlessly into one another like an unbroken mountain stream.

To make sure she burned every transition into her mind, I went through the entire routine three times without pause. By the third round, my movements were razor-sharp, demonstrating how each breath aligned with the contraction and release of the muscles.

Exhaling a long, steady breath, I straightened up and looked toward Qingxue. "Alright. Show me what you picked up."

Qingxue gave a firm, determined nod. "Yes, Master."

She walked to the center of the courtyard, stepped into an imitation of my opening stance, and took a deep, steadying breath. At first, her movements were stiff and awkward, her limbs hesitating as her mortal body struggled to translate what she had seen into physical action.

Still, her Asura Dao Heart was nothing short of miraculous. Rather than panicking or growing frustrated, she closed her eyes for a brief heartbeat, steadied her pulse, and forced her body to submit to her will.

With gritted teeth, she executed the first form, a deep, sinking horse stance accompanied by an upward palm thrust that strained the lower back. Immediately following it, she pivoted on her heel, twisting her torso into the second form, an angled elbow drive that pulled violently at the ribcage and spine.

Crack.

The moment the second move concluded, her breath broke into ragged gasps. Her knees buckled slightly, a heavy sheen of sweat breaking out across her forehead, her arms trembling from the sheer, crushing pressure the posture placed on unconditioned mortal muscles.

Standing by the pavilion pillar, I was utterly speechless.

She actually completed two full moves on her very first try?!

I stared at her in mild disbelief. When my old master had forced me to practice this cursed set decades ago, I couldn’t even hold the opening stance for ten breaths without collapsing face-first into the dirt, let alone linking two distinct forms together. Her raw talent, awareness, and sheer threshold for physical strain were downright terrifying.

The girl really was an uncut protagonist-tier diamond.

However, when she tried to force her trembling body into the third form, a sweeping low kick paired with a high outward block, her balance completely fell apart. Her hips were misaligned, her left foot was turned at an unnatural angle, and her center of gravity was tipping dangerously backward.

"Stop. Don’t force it, or you’ll tear a ligament," I said, stepping forward.

I closed the distance between us, stepping right into her personal space. Reaching out with both hands, I caught her narrow waist, firmly adjusting the tilt of her hips to correct her center of gravity.

Her waist was absurdly slender, yielding and soft beneath the plain disciple robes, with the smooth, firm muscle tone of a girl who had survived on raw grit. Taking advantage of the position, my palms naturally settled against the supple curve of her hips, gently guiding her weight downward into the stone.

"Keep your core locked," I murmured, stepping closer until my chest was nearly brushing her back. My hands moved up, one palm pressing flat against the small of her back to straighten her spine, while my other hand slid along the smooth, cool skin of her forearm to pull her elbow into proper alignment.

The fragrant, clean scent of the spirit spring from her recent bath filled my nose, making the whole teaching process remarkably pleasant.

Shen Qingxue stiffened for a fraction of a second when my hands first made contact with her skin. A faint, rosy blush crawled from her porcelain neck up to the tips of her ears, her breath hitching slightly under the sudden intimacy. Yet, she didn’t pull away, nor did she flinch. Instead, she bit her lip, forced her racing heart to calm down, and focused entirely on the adjustments I was making to her posture.

Seeing her trying so hard to remain composed while blushing like an overripe peach, I couldn’t resist a faint, teasing smirk.

"Tell me, Qingxue," I whispered softly near her ear, my fingers giving her slender waist a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "Does your Master touching you like this make you feel uncomfortable? If it bothers you, I can use a wooden stick to correct your forms instead."

Qingxue turned her head slightly, meeting my gaze. The blush on her cheeks was still burning bright, but a faint, remarkably sweet smile curved the corners of her lips.

"Master has already asked for me, and I have already accepted you as my husband," she replied softly, her voice carrying a quiet, unwavering warmth. "Everything I have belongs to you. Why would I ever have a problem with my husband touching me?"