A few days had passed in tranquility.
Wu Huang was lying back, calmly reading his book with a faint trace of laziness on his face. Just as he was about to lose himself in his reading, a sudden knock on the door pulled him out of his lethargy.
"Hong Jiu'er should have arrived by now..." he murmured in a low voice as he stood up.
He stretched a bit and adjusted his servant's robe before opening the door. Upon doing so, just as he expected, the little girl with red hair and eyes of the same color stood on the other side.
"You may come in," he said bluntly, stepping aside to let her enter.
Hong Jiu'er walked in with light steps, observing the interior with curiosity before turning toward him.
"What are we going to do today?" she asked, with a gleam of expectation in her gaze.
Wu Huang remained pensive for a moment. He had already helped her lay her foundation in Qi Refining, so it wasn't necessary to repeat it so soon. He could try to help her advance to the second stage... but there was no rush, and forcing that progress without a solid foundation would not be the most appropriate approach.
He thought of the Heavenly Book. He had already sketched a general structure for her training, although many things could be changed or brought forward depending on her progress.
"There aren't many options either..." he murmured. In reality, only one clear alternative remained, which immediately appeared in his mind.
Without saying anything else, Wu Huang took a pair of wooden swords out of the storage ring that Supreme Elder Shen Tianzhu had given him and handed one to Hong Jiu'er. She held it with both hands, looking at it with evident confusion.
"What is this?" she asked, furrowing her brow slightly.
"Do you not know what a sword is?" he asked, a bit surprised.
Hong Jiu'er immediately shook her head while observing the wooden weapon.
"Is it like a machete? But the shape is different."
"Naturally, most bladed weapons share similar characteristics, though a machete is more of an agricultural tool than a combat weapon," he explained. "This sword, on the other hand, is made for battle and represents our Heavenly Sword Sect."
Hong Jiu'er nodded, only partially understanding.
"And what will we do with this?"
"We are going to train in sword techniques," he explained calmly, as he began to leave the room.
Hong Jiu'er followed him closely.
"As a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, you must at least know the basics of the art of the sword," he added without looking back.
He led her to a small open courtyard located outside the servants' residence. The ground was made of hard-packed earth, marked by ancient training footprints, and the air carried a slight scent of dust and dry wood. There, finally, he stopped.
"First, I will teach you the basics: the posture, how to move the weapon, the footwork, and the weight distribution. Once you master all of that, I will teach you the basic sword technique," he explained. "First, imitate this stance," Wu Huang said as he adopted a basic martial posture.
He held the sword diagonally in front of his body, with the tip slightly raised. His legs were bent naturally, neither too rigid nor too relaxed, allowing him to move fluidly in any direction and maintain an unbreakable balance. His body seemed at rest, yet ready to react in any given millisecond.
Hong Jiu'er watched him attentively before trying to imitate him as best as she could. Her movements were clumsy, but her expression showed clear determination. Wu Huang examined her with a quick glance.
"The posture is a bit incorrect. Your arms are too loose and the grip is very weak," he explained calmly. He took a step closer and pointed slightly at her position without touching her. "If you hold the sword like that, you will lose control at the moment of impact... and you will also leave yourself exposed."
Thanks to the knowledge accumulated in the Heavenly Book, Wu Huang could identify the flaws in Hong Jiu'er's posture with almost absolute clarity, as if he were observing everything through a perfectly clean glass. He corrected the errors one by one, guiding her patiently. However, every time he fixed a flaw, new ones arose: a misplaced foot, an unstable center of gravity, or the torso leaning slightly off-course.
The process took more time than it appeared at first glance. Hong Jiu'er clenched her teeth, adjusting her posture over and over again without complaining. Little by little, her movements became firmer and more precise. Finally, Wu Huang nodded slightly.
"Good... that posture is correct."
He paused briefly, observing her for another instant to ensure there were no obvious mistakes.
"Now, swing the sword in a diagonal arc."
Hong Jiu'er did not move immediately and only asked, "What is diagonal?"
Wu Huang sighed softly. Without saying much, he raised his sword and executed a diagonal cut with complete naturalness, clean and precise.
"Just do this."
She nodded and tried it. The movement was slow, clumsy, and careless. The trajectory was irregular, the balance unstable, and the force poorly distributed. Wu Huang immediately detected every error, both the large and the more subtle ones, and began to correct them one by one.
"Don't just use your arms... move your waist as well."
"The back foot is poorly positioned."
"Don't lose your center of gravity."
Hong Jiu'er repeated the movement several times. Each attempt was slightly better than the last. Although it was still far from being correct, it was beginning to take shape. Finally, Wu Huang nodded with some approval.
"For now, that will be enough."
He stood in front of her, adopting a relaxed yet firm posture.
"Now, attack me."
"Attack you?" she asked, surprised.
"There is no better practice than real combat. Just do it, you won't cause me any harm," he replied reassuringly.
Hong Jiu'er hesitated for an instant but finally nodded. She gripped the sword with both hands and launched a cut toward him. The instant the sword came down, Wu Huang reacted. His sword moved swiftly, intercepting hers. With an agile twist, like a serpent sliding between branches, he deflected the attack and entangled both weapons. In the same movement, he applied a light pressure and a change of angle...
Hong Jiu'er's sword went flying from her hands. Before she could even react, Wu Huang's sword was already in front of her face, stopping just a few centimeters away. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Hong Jiu'er stared at her empty hands, unable to comprehend what had happened. Looking up and seeing the blade so close to her face, she was startled and fell backward, sitting on the ground.
Wu Huang let out a light laugh.
"This is the basic disarming technique," he explained calmly. He lowered the sword and returned it to her, extending it toward her. "It's something you will see frequently. You will have to learn it in due time, but don't worry... I will teach you step by step."
Then, effortlessly, he offered her a hand and helped her up.
"How light..." he murmured under his breath, without thinking much about it.
Hong Jiu'er blushed instantly upon hearing that. Wu Huang blinked, realizing what he had just said.
"Ah... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Don't worry about it," he added quickly. "Let's continue."
She nodded, still somewhat embarrassed, and resumed her posture. With a faint blush lingering on her face, both of them continued practicing.