Sometime later, Tianhui followed Xuanqing, who was leading the way, and arrived at Taolinping, the training grounds where the second-generation disciples trained.
—Hahp! Hahp!
Perhaps because it was still midday.
Along with the spirited kihap sounds coming from the grand training grounds, the scent of sweat mixed with the wind and spread around.
"Hmm. They are doing well."
Xuanqing, who was looking at the second-generation disciples with proud eyes, looked at Tianhui and asked.
"What do you think?"
"Are these all the second-generation disciples?"
Tianhui's expression stiffened for the first time.
It was understandable, since the number of people at Taolinping was, at best, a hundred?
No, it seemed even fewer than that.
"That is not the case."
Xuanqing shook his head from side to side.
As expected.
Tianhui smiled and asked Xuanqing.
"Where are the other second-generation disciples?"
"The six who became Plum Blossom Swordsmen are separately receiving training from the Martial Training Pavilion Master at Shamengping."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
Tianhui nodded.
If it was the Martial Training Pavilion Master, they were reliable.
Tianhui waited for the following words.
But no matter how long he waited, no further words came.
"That's not all, is it?"
"This is all."
"This few?"
Xuanqing was slightly flustered.
"These are the personnel left after the vast majority of the second-generation disciples descended the mountain."
Tianhui's face hardened slightly.
Even if the Huashan Sect was close to ruin, it was still one of the Nine Great Sects and One Clan.
Less than a hundred people?
Tianhui clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"How many kids here have received a Daoist title?"
Xuanqing slightly turned his head away.
"……None."
"That's the worst."
The words slipped out naturally.
What was important when grasping the power of a murim faction?
It was precisely the number of personnel.
Usually, a sect needed at least two hundred members to be treated as a major sect.
'Yet barely around a hundred.'
The number of personnel was seriously low.
'Too few, way too few. Like this, it's almost no different from a small-to-medium sect.'
Tianhui's brow furrowed.
He had thought it was because the Huashan Sect suffered a blow close to annihilation.
But he didn't know it was to this extent.
'Still, since they've been learning martial arts for quite a while, they should have some skill, right?'
He scanned the second-generation disciples in detail.
'All Plum Blossom Qi Art.'
As expected, their mental arts were all the same, but instead, the other aspects were divided into several branches.
'As expected, most of them are sword arts.'
And although fist and palm techniques were visible here and there, they were extremely few.
'Let's see. The sword arts are centered around the Sanxian Sword and the Liuhe Sword Art, with male disciples using the Xuantian Sword and female disciples using the Shunv Sword...'
As he kept watching, his face turned expressionless.
'Sloppy.'
Feeling the seriousness, Tianhui immediately looked at the disciples practicing fist arts instead of sword arts.
They were executing the Xinyi Liuhe Fist with upright postures.
'Should I properly check?'
Just then, Xuanqing spoke to him.
"Is something wrong?"
"I need to check their skill level first before I can help with their training."
Xuanqing gave a wrinkled smile.
"If it's that, don't worry."
Soon, he lightly kicked the ground.
Xuanqing, softly shrinking a distance of three zhang in an instant as if floating on clouds in the sky, arrived at the head seat of Taolinping.
Xianyun Xiugufeng!
At the appearance of this footwork technique, which was said to be extremely rare for anyone in the Huashan Sect to master, the second-generation disciples were about to look at Xuanqing in a daze.
"Everyone, stop training for a moment."
Xuanqing's voice flowed gently.
However, as if everyone heard those words, they stopped their training and stood still.
At that time, Xuanqing winked at Tianhui.
Was he telling him to come over?
Tianhui immediately unfolded Anxiangpiao.
As Tianhui, who had melted into the scenery, instantly appeared beside Xuanqing, the second-generation disciples began to buzz.
"Martial Uncle Tianhui?"
As the murmuring grew louder.
"Quiet down."
A low voice imbued with internal energy pressed down.
"Today, specially, Tianhui will help with your training."
The second-generation disciples were bewildered when they suddenly heard Tianhui would teach them.
However, anticipation soon enveloped them.
The previous Five Peaks Meeting.
The outstanding skill Tianhui displayed at that time became the catalyst for the Huashan Sect's resurgence.
'How will he teach us?'
'We might even get to see the Plum Blossom Sword he showcased at the Five Peaks Meeting again!'
'Kyaa! It's Martial Uncle Tianhui.'
Seeing everyone focusing with sparkling eyes, Tianhui stepped forward.
"May I do it my way?"
Xuanqing nodded.
"Do as you please."
Tianhui jumped straight down from the head seat.
Contrary to his considerable size, Tianhui landed on the training grounds as lightly as a feather and spoke to the second-generation disciples.
"Then, everyone come at me."
Everyone was flustered for a moment.
"Pardon?"
"Don't you know sparring?"
While most of them were standing with blank expressions at the sudden words.
"May I go first?"
One of the second-generation disciples raised his hand and came forward.
It was none other than the registered disciple Zhang Yiwu.
"It doesn't matter."
"I am the second-generation disciple Zhang Yiwu."
Zhang Yiwu, carefully gripping his White Lotus Sword, stared at Tianhui and finished his preparations perfectly.
"Then, here I come."
Along with his words, Zhang Yiwu charged.
Swish—
With a dull sound, Zhang Yiwu flew into the sky and soon fell powerlessly.
Thud!
While the second-generation disciples were staring at Zhang Yiwu, who was laid out on the floor spread-eagled with the whites of his eyes showing, with dazed eyes.
"I originally intended to check them one by one."
A chilling voice struck their ears.
"But there's no need for that."
At that moment, Tianhui's figure vanished instantly like a candle blowing out.
"Keugh!"
"Aaaagh!"
And a moment later, screams echoed everywhere.
"Tsk."
One gak later, Tianhui clicked his tongue as he looked at the second-generation disciples, all of whom had fainted.
Even saying they were seriously lacking was an understatement.
The internal energy they had accumulated was disastrous, and the martial arts they displayed were hard to watch.
"Fortunately, you held back in your strikes."
Xuanqing approached carefully.
In less than one gak, Tianhui had struck down nearly a hundred second-generation disciples in a single breath with just a single strike each.
"How was it?"
"Are these really the second-generation disciples?"
Tianhui's brow furrowed.
"No matter how I look at them, let alone peak experts, they seem to have just barely scraped past first-rate."
"Haha."
Xuanqing held a bitter smile.
He had felt the same emotion when he first took charge of the second-generation disciples.
The second-generation disciples of the past were, at the very least, peak to transcendent peak experts.
Yet the current second-generation disciples were comparable to the third-generation disciples of the past.
'Perhaps it's only natural. Since Xuan Dao, who should have been teaching them, and I, instead of teaching, went into seclusion...'
Guilt pricked his chest.
The Daoists of the current generation were only nine, including himself.
It was because most of them had descended the mountain or left when the Huashan Sect fell into ruin.
The number of disciples was almost a hundred.
However, the masters in the Huashan Sect were limited, so it was insufficient to teach the second-generation disciples one by one in detail.
"That is why your help is needed."
Xuanqing held expectations.
Chijian and Xuelan, who had learned from Tianhui, were outstanding among the Plum Blossom Swordsmen staying at the Huashan Sect.
Both in skill and mindset.
That was not all.
Since the Martial Training Pavilion Master had also said that he was making the first-generation disciples grow rapidly through Tianhui's training method.
"First of all, let's stop them from learning other martial arts like sword arts or fist arts."
Tianhui said sharply.
The Plum Blossom Swordsmen, including Chijian and Xuelan, at least had some foundation laid out, so Tianhui's training was suitable for them.
Such as tempering movement techniques or physical reinforcement.
But these people right now.
'If they try to unfold martial arts, they'll exhaust their energy and collapse in less than one gak.'
He immediately spat out his thoughts.
"Because they learned martial arts without even the basics, they have too many unnecessary movements. On top of that, their internal energy and stamina seem lacking. They can learn martial arts later."
Xuanqing nodded.
He also felt that.
"For now, let's change their training to focus mainly on horse stance and energy circulation, and once they build up a certain amount of internal energy and stamina, I think it would be good to teach them martial arts that suit each of them."
"Horse stance and energy circulation..."
Hearing Tianhui's method that followed immediately, Xuanqing stroked his beard with a hmm.
"I understand telling them to do horse stance. It's excellent for building stamina and growing muscle. However, they are already doing energy circulation twice a day for about one shichen. I don't think there's a need to increase it."
"Just that much?"
Only two times a day for one shichen?
It was far from enough.
"To properly build skill, they need to reduce their sleep and do horse stance, and when they get tired, do energy circulation, and when they come to their senses again, repeat the horse stance. Only then will their skill increase."
"Without resting?"
"Of course."
Unlike his calm voice, the viciously harsh training content made Xuanqing recoil in shock.
"To become strong, even if they put their lives on the line right now, it's not enough, so naturally they must endure at least that much, right?"
Tianhui glared at the second-generation disciples who still hadn't come to their senses.
The path to becoming an expert was simple.
Diligently and 'properly' learning martial arts manuals.
And having heavenly fortune follow.
Fortunately, heavenly fortune existed.
'Because I am here.'
Someone who has not only reached high martial realms but also comprehended all the martial arts in the world is helping them?
It was a fortune stronger than any other.
However, there was one problem.
Diligently. That was the biggest problem.
'I can teach them how to learn properly, but the rest is their own will.'
Tianhui looked at the still-unconscious second-generation disciples and emitted a cold gaze.
"In the case of internal energy mental arts, if there are spiritual medicines, the time can be shortened, but..."
Tianhui casually added.
"There isn't enough to distribute to all the second-generation disciples, is there? So instead, they have to grind time."
"...That is true."
Xuanqing's voice became solemn.
Making spiritual medicines was not an easy task.
Furthermore, in the case of the Zisuo Dan, which rivaled Wudang's Taiqing Dan, the Huashan Sect barely made one every hundred years, if that.
In the past, they naturally owned a lot of spiritual medicines, but now there were only ten Meihua Dans left for emergencies.
Xuanjiang and the forty Plum Blossom Swordsmen who followed him.
They had already used them all up on them, who were supposed to shoulder the future of the Huashan Sect.
"However, internal energy is not everything. It seems it would be much better to learn other martial arts along with energy circulation."
Xuanqing carefully offered his opinion after some thought.
Internal energy was important, but quickly learning the martial arts that matched it was also important.
"Of course, internal energy is not everything."
"Then..."
When Xuanqing was about to say something.
"But it's important at the beginning. Internal energy mental arts must be backed up to unfold the martial arts that match it, right?"
Tianhui expounded on his theory, which had been accumulated through long experience.
The foundation of martial arts was the internal energy mental art.
Movement techniques, sword arts, and other martial arts all required internal energy to back them up.
'Well, there are exceptions, but they've been lost now, so probably no one knows about them.'
Tianhui swallowed the rest of his words and spoke.
"On top of that, the internal energy of the Plum Blossom Qi Art is outstanding, so once they accumulate it, learning other martial arts will be easy."
"The Plum Blossom Qi Art is certainly excellent."
A smile bloomed on Xuanqing's face.
Although it was the Huashan Sect's basic mental art, he also knew very well the efficacy of the Plum Blossom Qi Art.
"Then, let's do that."
"After they reach a certain level, I think it would be good to have them learn martial arts that suit their respective talents and aptitudes."
"Talents and aptitudes?"
Xuanqing's eyes widened.
Finding out talents and aptitudes usually required several rounds of trial and error.
But seeing Tianhui's attitude as he spoke, it seemed like he could figure it out.
"Can you figure that out?"
"To some extent."
It was hard to believe, but Xuanqing, who had already experienced Tianhui, let out an exclamation of admiration.
"Amazing."
"Once they reach a certain level of skill, I'll proceed like that."
"Understood."
Seeing Xuanqing speak with a smile, Tianhui recalled the second-generation disciples who were still sprawled out.
'Though I don't know when that will be.'
As fitting of a Daoist mental art, the Plum Blossom Qi Art had a low possibility of facing Qi Deviation.
Instead, accumulating internal energy was difficult.
'It would be nice if we had some spiritual medicines...'
Recalling the easiest method, Tianhui scratched his head.
The price of spiritual medicines was a problem, but an even bigger problem was how rare they were.
Obtaining an amount for nearly a hundred second-generation disciples to consume was as hard as plucking a star from the sky.
"Should I just try making them myself?"