Spirit Cultivation

"Another one!"

Xuefeng cried out happily after smashing one more Disk into grits and prepared for another attack. After getting the gist of it, Xuefeng could freely control all three swords of his, slashing left and right as he defended himself. They were no longer moving around clumsily but rather acting like the extension of his arms even though he wasn't the one holding them. 

Seeing Xuefeng so eager to train, Nuwa smiled and decided it was finally time to increase the intensity of her training, "Well done. I guess we are done with our warm-up. Shall we start with the main training?" She already prepared something special for him which would force him to push himself further. 

Xuefeng was getting excited with his progress but hearing her words, the spark that lit up his enthusiasm disappeared in a flash. "Huh? That was only a warm-up...?" He asked confused as he impaled his three swords into the ground, suddenly feeling weak from utilizing his Spirit for so long even though he was super energetic just a moment ago.

Instead of replying, Nuwa grinned and suddenly tens of Earth Qi disks started forming all around her, shocking Xuefeng as he knew what would she use those disks for. "I told you we won't stop training until you can control all ten swords. You can already control three really well so you should handle some more. It will be getting dark soon so we have to increase the pace." She said as she looked at the sun that was slowly hiding behind the walls of the courtyard. 

Xuefeng wasn't someone who would easily give up so he pulled himself together and stood firmly on the ground, crying out as all ten training sword suddenly flew into the air, surrounding him, "Fine! Bring it on! If you can do it, so can I!" 

As he looked back at his life this world, so far he didn't actually train hard yet with everything being really relatively easy to grasp. This time he wasn't using anyone's help to study his bloodline's ability and he wanted to finally master something on his own. 

All ten training swords were kind of wobbly hovering around him, looking as if one single blow of the wind would crush his formation but Xuefeng didn't give up, splitting his mind into ten parts as he tried to keep them up in the air. Although each individual sword was weak, he believed he would master the control over them soon enough. 

Although he was good at multitasking, it was still had to do more than ten things at the same time. He had to move each sword separately while also making sure they were flying in the direction he wanted. 

Fortunately, Nuwa was patient enough to wait for him to stabilize before she would attack. At first, she thought he would add one sword each time she increases the difficulty so she was pleasantly surprised when he jumped into deep water right away. 

With enough time, Xuefeng even closed his eyes to aid in keeping his focus in check and adjusted each sword, making them hover firmly in front of him in the orderly fashion. They acted like a shield for him and he was very satisfied with himself when he saw them keep that position even when he opened his eyes. 

Grinning at Nuwa, he bowed as if he was showing off his control and called out with confidence, "Thanks for waiting. I am ready now. Show me what you got!" As long as he keeps his focus, he was sure he could somehow manage his defence. 

"Haha," Nuwa laughed when she heard him, feeling bad to actually crush his confidence but she believed it was best for learning. She did not say anything else and simply launched the promised attack. 

Flicking her finger left and right, she sent ten disks in quick succession. As they were not too far from each other, Xuefeng didn't have a lot of time for a reaction but that didn't discourage him. There were ten disks and he had ten swords. How hard would it be to aim one sword at one target?

Well, the answer seems to be easy but in this case, it was the opposite. It was god damn hard! His swords were placed in a formation around him but he didn't take Nuwa's skills into consideration while calculating his chances which brought his doom. 

Although he planned to use his skill in the manipulation of three swords to destroy the disks three at a time, Nuwa attacked him on two fronts. One team of five swords back from behind while the other from the side. When one sword was busy, another disk would bypass it, heading straight towards Xuefeng's body. 

Xuefeng had to forcefully use other swords to smash it but that action made him completely lose control on another front. Although he destroyed four from the side and another one at the back, the other five still hit him, blasting him a few meters away. For some reason, the disks were much heavier than before, causing him to flinch from pain. 

Seeing all swords fall to the ground, as he laid on the ground, Nuwa taught him, "If you won't defend properly, the hits will only hurt more. Your defence is good but unless you are capable of controlling all of them together, you won't be able to fully block every attack. First, you have to focus on increasing the number of swords you can control before strengthening power behind each of them." 

Xuefeng sat up and let a deep breath as he said, "Sigh, I know, but the moment I use more than three swords, I lose control over all of them. When you attack from two sides at the same time how am I supposed to defend?" 

Nuwa had a quick response for that which made Xuefeng stop complaining, "Who told you to use all swords at the same time?" Hearing him not responding as if he was thinking how to solve the situation, she lifted him up from the distance and explained, "Although it will definitely be harder to take control over all then with your method, I was glad you picked it as that will definitely speed up the process. Just continue to push against the limits and your mind will adapt." 

"Alright, I will try harder." Xuefeng nodded, easily regaining the will to fight as he knew from the beginning that it wouldn't be that easy. Just a moment ago, he recalled how a thousand blades could control a thousand daggers as if it was nothing which gave him the confidence that it was definitely possible. 

Just as he lifted all swords up again in the air, Ling asked him warmly, 'Xuefeng, do you need help? I can lessen the burden from you—' Unfortunately, Xuefeng already knew he wanted to do everything by himself and rejected her offer, cutting her off, 'No sweetie. I will do everything myself. You also don't need to ease my pain when I get hit. I know you have been helping me from the shadows but this time I want to feel everything. The pain motivates me to try harder.' 

'Alright, but I will still nourish your Spirit. You would get seriously hurt if continued training for such a long time.' Ling agreed with compromise, realising that she couldn't help him with everything else he would feel useless. Having his own strength that he earned by himself would do him well. 

Seeing that Xuefeng was ready, Nuwa didn't waste any more time, continuing their training. 

...….

"Ughh…" Xuefeng grunted after getting hit for the hundredth time, but he didn't let himself fall on the ground, keeping his balance before crying out determined, "Again!" He didn't want to stop training until he finally masters this, his swords forming into a defensive formation. 

It was already evening but even after all this time, Xuefeng was not able to master his defence. He did improve though, managing to control up to five swords at the same time but that still didn't guarantee him success, his body suffering from heavy strikes each assault. Because he stopped Ling from helping him, his body had many cuts and bruises but that didn't convince him to conclude their training.

He wasn't worried about his injuries, everyone else was, especially Yiren who could feel each hit he received. Although it felt as if she was stabbed by a needle, she knew that she only bore a small part of his pains. She didn't want to imagine what he had to feel. 

"Mom, can you let him off for today? He already improved a lot. We can continue tomorrow. We are not in a hurry." Yiren begged her mother to stop and honestly, Nuwa also wanted that but it didn't matter when Xuefeng liked to continue. 

All other girls nodded their heads in agreement, wanting Xuefeng to stop and Nuwa tried once again, not finding pleasure in hitting him when he was already beaten up, "Xuefeng, we will continue tomorrow. At this rate, it should still take you some time to control all ten swords. What's more, we still need to practise attacking aside from defending. That will add up other long hours of training. None of us wants to see you get hurt. Can't you regenerate your body already?"

Xuefeng looked down at his bruises before glancing at his wives worried expressions and decided to compromise, agreeing to their last plea. Naturally, Ling was already waiting for that, healing him before he even asked for it. 

Just then, right when his body recovered, Xuefeng analyzed the rest of Nuwa's words and suddenly paused, thinking, 'Wait… Did she say practise attack?' For some reason, he felt dumb for not realising the idea that popped up in his mind just now. 

Why would he wait for the attacker to strike when he can divide his swords and do both, defence and attack at the same time. He grinned when he realised this and called out to Nuwa, already having a plan in his mind, "Please, attack me one more time and we will stop right after that. Okay?"