Chapter Fourteen: Tidal Cultivation

  "Is it really good?!"

  Tie Jun's eyes lit up, after all, he still had a youthful heart and couldn't bear to be praised by others. Ming Jian looked at Tie Jun's expectant gaze and continued nodding.

  "It's really not bad, it seems you don't have any talent for practicing knives and no foundation in knife skills. Switching to practicing swords shouldn't make a difference, good, good!"

  Tie Jun's face turned bright red as he choked back his words.

  "The most important thing in swordsmanship is momentum. Among the Five Tigers' Broken Gate Swords, there's one that emphasizes momentum even more strictly. You've got the moves right, but you haven't unleashed a single bit of momentum. Luckily, you haven't actually gone into battle against an enemy; otherwise, you'd probably be dead by now!"

  Tie Jun smiled slyly, and Tie Dan, who was standing at the gate of the courtyard, also looked embarrassed.

  "The way of the sword emphasizes momentum, while the way of the sword emphasizes intent. Remember this clearly!" Ming Jian said faintly, taking over the long knife from Tie Jian's hand and throwing it aside. "The swordsmanship of our school especially emphasizes intent, you must carefully experience it during your cultivation!"

  "Yes!"

  "Sit down, I'll tell you some things about your cultivation!"

  The iron gall at the gate of the courtyard listened and saw Qingming Sword slightly salute, turn around and leave, leaving only Xiaoming Sword and Tie Jun in this courtyard.

  "Do you know why I want to help you get this county lieutenant position?"

  Two men sat down on the stone bench, but instead of discussing martial arts, Mingjian brought up his appointment as county magistrate, which caught Tie Jian somewhat off guard.

  "It turned out that the master had shown his face, no wonder there was such a sudden appointment!" Tie Jian revealed an expression of realization, this was also something he had been puzzled about. Although this time he did make a great achievement, but the merit wasn't big enough for the imperial court to give him a formal official position to such an exaggerated extent.

  The Tang Dynasty has always been very cautious in controlling official positions, and each position is a rare resource that cannot be easily obtained.

  It was him who secretly used his power, no wonder.

  "What's so special about this official position?"

  "Of course, you've never heard of a saying, 'Good deeds are done behind six closed doors'?"

  "I've heard of it, but I don't understand!"

  "The Six Panels Gate is just an institution of the imperial court, but in the eyes of cultivators, it can represent the entire imperial court. Cultivation emphasizes the importance of wealth and companionship, which is not easy for cultivators, especially those who cultivate alone. Wealth may be easily obtained, but that would be fleeting wealth, useless for cultivation. Companions are even harder to come by. Take you, for example, you cultivate a family-transmitted technique, treasuring it like a precious broom, and wouldn't practice with others, so there's no chance of mutual improvement. As for techniques, it's even more difficult. You only cultivate the Lesser Yang Qi and the Five Tigers Severing Door Knife, wanting to obtain higher-level techniques is as hard as ascending to heaven. Outside of here, you would find it difficult to find a truly suitable place for cultivation, but Six Panels Gate has all these things!"

  "But I didn't join the Six Panels Gate, I'm now a County Magistrate!"

  "You think so, the county lieutenant belongs to the three law enforcement agencies, that is, the so-called three lieutenants. Right? Didn't anyone tell you? You should go visit your superior within three days of taking office."

  Tie Jun looked at Ming Jian with some confusion, he hadn't expected that Ming Jian would say this to him.

  "Don't be ridiculous, you think cultivation is what? Getting a few secret manuals, finding a scenic spot with clear mountains and water, eating a few sacred fruits, and suddenly becoming a super master, achieving immortality and becoming an ancestor? Young man, this isn't 10,000 years ago anymore. Even back then it was barely possible, but now... Ha! You're really that naive!"

  "I thought..."

  "It's not what you think that matters, it's what you can do. Understanding the world and knowing people's hearts is the most important cultivation. Wielding a sword is all about the intent of the sword, what is the intent of the sword? This isn't something you can just imagine, you need experience, otherwise everything is just an empty castle in the air."

  "So this is also a kind of cultivation?!"

  "Not bad, this is also a kind of cultivation, but don't cultivate it intentionally, otherwise it will backfire!"

  A hint of a smile flashed in Ming Jian's eyes, "However, at your current level, it's still too early to discuss these things with you. To comprehend the mysteries of intent, you'll need at least ten more years of cultivation. Before that, all you need is to follow the established steps and cultivate diligently. Now, forget what I said earlier. Tell me, what do you think is most important in cultivating a path?"

  "What's most important?" Tie Juan pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Should be strength, I suppose?"

  "Not bad, it's power!" Tie Jun's answer made Ming Jian feel a little surprised. "Practicing a way, after all, is two words, one is strength and the other is skill, and strength is the most fundamental. The greatest effect of qigong is to enhance our strength, so the stronger the qigong that can help us increase our strength, the greater its value!"

  "What about prolonging one's life?"

  "Attaining immortality and becoming a legendary ancestor is the ultimate goal, but without sufficient power, everything is empty. Even if you can live as long as heaven and earth, without enough power to protect yourself, you will still end up dying on the streets. To achieve longevity and eternal youth, one must fight, fighting against heaven, earth, and man. What to rely on in this struggle? In the past 10,000 years, it was mainly based on brute force, but in recent 10,000 years, technique has also become a crucial factor."

  "Skill and strength?"

  "Not bad, technique, referring to martial arts techniques. In nearly a thousand years, martial arts techniques have made tremendous progress, although strength is still fundamental, but in many cases, technique is extremely important, even surpassing strength."

  Ming Jian's face showed a hint of pride as he said, "Unlike 10,000 years ago, when technique became more important, knives and swords became the most popular weapons. Most warriors and Qi cultivators also focused on mastering these two types of weapons for self-defense. Of course, in the military, long-range weapons were still the main focus."

  "Master, you are a swordsman!" Tie Jian laughed and said, "However, I have never seen your swordsmanship before, only your flying sword."

  "The flying sword is also a skill, a relatively high-level skill, but not complicated, as long as you have enough control!" Ming Jian looked at Tie Jian, who was eager to try, and poured cold water on him. "However, this is not what you should be considering now. The Shaoyang Qigong has given you a good foundation, which is a good qigong. So, don't stop practicing it. In addition, apart from this, you also need to specialize in another qigong, the Chaotai Qigong."

  "Tidal Qigong?"

  "Yes, it's the qigong I've been practicing, which is the qigong of my school. Since you're my disciple, I naturally want to pass it on to you. The Shaoyang Qigong absorbs the power of heaven and earth's Shaoyang, usually practiced during Si and Wu hours. The Tidal Qigong absorbs the tidal power between heaven and earth, best practiced during You hour. They don't conflict with each other. I suggest you start practicing at Shen hour every day, using one hour to transform your Shaoyang Qi into Tidal Qi, which will have twice the effect!"

  "I understand!"

  Tidal Qigong is Mingjian's main qigong practice, and it's also the secret transmission of his school. According to him, currently in his school, including the newly joined Tie Jian, there are only three people who possess this skill. Apart from these new master-disciple duo, there is another one, which is his senior fellow disciple, who has not appeared for nearly sixty years. From his tone, Tie Jian knew that his senior uncle prefers a reclusive life, following the path of a cultivator, and it's unknown whether he is dead or alive now.

  Ming Jian did not hide his private skills, and spent half a time to pass on the entire set of Chaojin Qigong to Tie Jun. Then he spent three hours explaining it, until the sky was dark, only then did he finish explaining some details and techniques in the whole skill.

  "No matter what you cultivate, qigong is the fundamental way. Many people will also practice a basic method similar to Shaoyang Qigong, because after transforming this method, it's equivalent to practicing twice as much time every day. However, there are not many people who can really persist until the end. Practicing four times a day is a very dull thing, and some people can't even sit for the most basic amount of time, let alone two more times a day. Cultivation is like this, it's not as wonderful as you imagine. This is also why many people will eventually choose a shortcut and fall into the devil's path. I don't want you to be one of them!"

  "I don't know!"

  "Many people have said the same thing when they were as young as you, so I won't believe it!" Ming Jian waved his hand, "Don't worry, if that day comes, I'll definitely take care of you first, to avoid losing face for me!"

  Tie Jun smiled and didn't answer.

  On the second day, after a trip to the county government office, he set off for Dengzhou Prefecture to see his superior, Dengzhou Tuanlian Shi Jiang Kun.

  Dongling is one of the sixteen counties under Dengzhou Prefecture and one of the five lower counties, basically in a very remote location.

  It was precisely because of the remoteness that from Dongling County to Dengzhou Prefecture, even on horseback, it would take three days. Tie Jian didn't have a horse and wouldn't ride one either; he only had a donkey, which was used for grinding grain at home, so naturally, he couldn't ride it out. Therefore, he found the only cart and horse rental service in Dongling County. Coincidentally, they had a batch of goods to transport to Dengzhou Prefecture, so Tie Jian set off with them. However, this way, going back and forth would take at least ten days. With no other choice, Tie Jian asked for a ten-day leave from the county magistrate. After all, his position was also forced upon him, and the county magistrate readily approved his request with a stroke of his brush.

  From Dongling to Dengzhou Prefecture, half of the road is mountainous and the other half is a semi-ruined official road. Leaving Dongling, after walking for more than ten miles, you will enter the mountains.

  As they were approaching the end of the official road, an old footman came running over.

  "County Master, just ahead is Niujiaozi Mountain, the road may be a bit bumpy."

  "We're going into the mountains!" Tie Juan pulled open the curtain and looked up to see that the official road ahead was blocked by a large mountain. This mountain, even from Dongling County, could be seen in the distance, because in the mountain there were two large peaks, one south and one north, leaning towards both sides, resembling a pair of bull horns, so locals called this mountain Niujiaozi Mountain.