I Live Forever With My Proficiency

Chapter 7: It's Reasonable for a Sword Cultivator to Carry Multiple Swords

The next day, before dawn.

Inside the house.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~"

Micro-Wind Nine Swords, First Form: Gentle Breeze Rises. Second Form: Gentle Wind Blows. Third Form: Soft Wind and Light Rain. Fourth Form: Windless Stripe. Fifth Form: Clear Wind and Bright Moon. Sixth Form: Empty Cave, No Wind. Seventh Form:

Chen Ping sheathed his long sword and let out a breath.

I still can't grasp the seventh form.

Clearly, once I've grasped the other techniques, everything goes smoothly. Why is it different with the Micro-Wind Nine Swords?

Where did I go wrong?

It seems like I need to consult someone more knowledgeable.

Chen Ping stopped practicing his sword and sat down to complete a round of meditation. After half an incense stick's worth of time, he pressed his hands down and exhaled lightly.

He looked outside and saw the first ray of sunlight just rising.

"Very well, you all can continue sleeping. I'll silently surpass you all without dazzling anyone," Chen Ping chuckled.

"If those high and mighty, resource-rich elites were to find out about my cultivation method, would they mock me as a small-town cultivator?" Chen Ping complained inwardly.

"To struggle and still be mocked, that's really annoying."

Chen Ping didn't think about these trivial matters anymore. He freshened up and had a refined breakfast before preparing to go out to learn how to make talisman skins.

This was his first time going out alone since arriving in the Independent Cultivator District.

He had to be careful and cautious.

The Independent Cultivator District was a mix of good and bad people, and the hearts of men were the most treacherous.

He hid a short sword in each of his pant legs, ensuring that even when bending over, he could quickly obtain a weapon. ...It could save his life in critical moments.

He also hid a short sword in his sleeve, just in case. ...It could save his life in critical moments.

The long sword was at his waist, this couldn't be missing. ...It could save his life in critical moments.

As everyone knew, it was reasonable for a sword cultivator to carry multiple swords.

Naturally, he had to carry those talismans with him. Hmm... It could save his life in critical moments.

After Chen Ping made all these preparations and double-checked everything, he finally left the house.

In the courtyard, he glanced at the closed door of his neighbor, Yu Qingyi.

Chen Ping felt somewhat regretful.

He had prepared some gifts a few days ago and planned to visit this respected senior, Yu Qingyi.

But he wasn't home.

Not only that, Chen Ping hadn't seen Yu Qingyi for some time.

Because of this, Chen Ping even went to the rental management office to inquire.

Isn't this ridiculous?

I chose a school district and specifically bought a house in that district, but you're telling me that the elementary school has closed and is no longer accepting students?

This...

I can tolerate my aunt, but I can't tolerate my uncle!

The person in charge said that Yu Qingyi was still paying rent and hadn't moved out, but he had been away recently, seemingly going to the Azure Cloud Sect.

It would probably be some time before he returned.

This made Chen Ping breathe a sigh of relief.

The school hadn't closed, it was just undergoing renovations.

In this way, Chen Ping also spent a long time persuading the person in charge. In the end, the person reluctantly promised to return a Low Grade Spirit Stone to Chen Ping after the one-year lease was up, and that settled the matter.

After Chen Ping left, he followed the address He Xianxiang had given him and made several turns before finding the residence of the master leatherworker, Qi Jianglun.

He knocked on the door, and a very young Fellow Daoist opened it.

Chen Ping briefly thought he had come to the wrong place.

"May I ask if this is Master Qi Jianglun's house?" Chen Ping asked politely.

The young Fellow Daoist yawned.

"Are you here to learn how to make talisman skins from my master?"

Fine.

It seemed like he had done a lot of business and was very familiar with it.

"That's right."

"Do you understand the rules?" The young Fellow Daoist yawned repeatedly, with obvious dark circles under his eyes.

Chen Ping honestly replied, "I've heard something, but I don't know much about it. I hope Fellow Daoist can help me understand."

The young man wasn't surprised and explained the relevant rules as a matter of routine.

Forty Low Grade Spirit Stones for one teaching opportunity, lasting three days. Whether or not you learn anything, the contract between both parties will be terminated on time.

No further guidance will be provided, but if there's anything you still don't understand, you can come back to learn again.

Of course, the tuition fee cannot be reduced.

This was very much like Qi Jianglun.

He was unique in Cloud Link City.

Chen Ping had heard about this from Senior He Xianxiang before. In Cloud Link City, there were other masters who taught talisman skinning, but most of them would choose their students and wouldn't teach you if you didn't pass their assessment.

Moreover, their tuition fees were much higher than forty spirit stones.

Only Qi Jianglun was cheap and accepted anyone who paid.

What Chen Ping needed was affordability. For him, the most important thing was to get started. Once he got started, everything else was not important.

"Alright, no problem. Can we start today?" Chen Ping gritted his teeth and asked.

"After paying this tuition fee, I only have 13 spirit stones left that I can use."

"It's easy to spend money, but hard to earn it!"

Fellow Daoist, holding a small bag of spirit stones, glanced at Chen Ping and leisurely said, "Follow me inside."

Chen Ping followed the young Fellow Daoist, turned onto a small path, and walked through the residential area before entering the backyard.

Suddenly, he was taken aback.

There were actually several people sitting in the yard, all apprentices waiting for the class to begin.

When they saw Chen Ping enter, their eyes all turned towards him.

Chen Ping:

Is this the usual way of the academy?

Alright.

This is quite like Qijianglun.

Chen Ping didn't say much. Here, the rules of Qijianglun were the rules.

Under the guidance of the young Fellow Daoist, he took a seat.

After Chen Ping sat down, he glanced around and unexpectedly saw a familiar figure sitting in the front row.

At this moment, the person turned around and, upon seeing Chen Ping looking over, quietly greeted him, "Fellow Daoist Chen, are you also here to learn talisman making?"

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, yes, yes, what a coincidence." Chen Ping repeatedly saluted.

This person was named Zhang Zheng, a middle-aged Fellow Daoist in his forties. He lived a few houses away from Chen Ping, and they would greet each other occasionally, although they were not very familiar with each other.

They exchanged nods and didn't say much after greeting each other. This was because the young Fellow Daoist appeared again and began distributing books and a set of tools for making talisman skins to everyone. The young Fellow Daoist told everyone that this set of tools was of excellent quality and certified by Master Qi, urging everyone to cherish them.

Afterwards, the rules for today's class were explained.

First, Qijianglun would explain the essence of making talisman skins, and then everyone would practice one by one under Qijianglun's personal guidance.

After the rules were explained, Qijianglun still hadn't arrived.

Chen Ping silently surveyed Qijianglun's home.

It was quite spacious, with a large yard.

However, the decoration was not luxurious, and it even seemed a bit shabby.

It didn't quite match Qijianglun's identity.

This surprised Chen Ping.

According to Qijianglun's way of accepting apprentices, he couldn't be short of money, and he should even be quite wealthy.

But this was someone else's business, and Chen Ping had no intention of getting involved or being interested.

After a moment.

Qijianglun appeared and, after a brief introduction, began the formal class.

While listening to Qijianglun explain the essence, Chen Ping opened the book and started reading.

The font in the book was messy and barely legible. It was clear that this book was copied by one of Qijianglun's apprentices and was a typical pirated copy.

The process of making talisman skins was divided into two stages.

Stage one was making the skin.

The raw skin bought from the market couldn't be used directly. The hair had to be removed first, and then the excess fat had to be scraped off.

Afterwards, it had to be soaked in a specific potion for five days and nights.

Then it had to be taken out and air-dried in the shade.

This process was very important. It had to be air-dried, not dried with spells, fire, or exposed to direct sunlight. It was quite particular.

This was to maintain the life force contained in the skin itself and ensure that the natural patterns of the skin were not destroyed.

After air-drying, it had to be cut into small square pieces of a specific size, about the size of a palm.

This was the process of turning "raw skin" into "finished skin."

Stage two was making the talisman.

The finished skin obtained in the first stage was spread out, and then the top layer of fat was cut off with a small knife.

When only the bottom layer of skin remained, it had to be split into thin layers along the natural patterns.

These thin layers were the talisman skins.

This seemed simple, but this first stage was actually the key stage.

It required extremely precise knife skills.

No pattern could be damaged because these patterns were crucial for storing the laws of heaven and earth when drawing talismans.

Once even a tiny part was accidentally damaged, the success rate of drawing talismans would greatly decrease.

As for the thickness, thinner was naturally better.

But the thinner it was, the easier it was to be damaged, which required the person making the talisman skins to carefully pick out and cut off any hard veins that could easily cause damage to the talisman skins. This process also required extremely precise knife skills.

A skilled talisman skin maker could cut out four or five good talisman skins from a single piece of finished skin.

But an inexperienced one might not even be able to guarantee one good piece.

In short, a good talisman skin needed to have the following characteristics:

Thin, the thinner the better.

Even, the same piece of skin should not have varying thicknesses.

Clear and complete patterns.

Removal of hard veins.

When all these characteristics were combined, it became extremely difficult.

After listening to this, Chen Ping pondered.

Was his "dissection skill" going to come into play again?

If that was the case,

This skill was truly versatile.

One time of hard work, a lifetime of benefit.

(End of this chapter)