CH 9.2

lin shuang pressed her temple with a puzzled expression, looking at him. “a strike from someone at the ninth layer of qi refinement?”

xiao qi: “…………”

why did he suddenly feel like there was something caught in his chest?

“too weak,” lin shuang shook her head.

xiao qi: “!”

he clutched his chest and nearly fell off the floating sword.

“so, senior sister, could it be that i’m not strong enough because i lack the leisure time you mentioned?” xiao qi, also a talented individual, immediately started reflecting with a touch of insight.

but lin shuang propped her cheek up with her right hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, “is your learning method problematic?”

xiao qi: “?? uh?”

after a stick of incense, xiao qi received the diamond sutra with red, blue, and yellow markings that lin shuang had annotated for him, along with a recommended training plan.

“the feynman learning technique?”

“the learning pyramid?”

“the ebbinghaus forgetting curve?”

xiao qi recognized every word, but when they were strung together, he couldn’t understand.

but soon he saw the detailed explanation behind them.

【the learning pyramid – the efficiency of various learning methods】

reading, 10% efficiency;

listening, 20% efficiency;

…

teaching others and applying, 90% efficiency.

“how did you learn the diamond sutra in these seven days?” lin shuang asked curiously.

naturally, he used the method of reading the techniques meticulously.

xiao qi was taken aback and quickly found the relevant section: reading, 10% efficiency.

“…!”

shaking her head, lin shuang sighed. “ah.”

she pointed to the study guide for “diamond sutra,” “you can find a rock, treat it as a fellow disciple, and explain the first layer of the diamond sutra to it. simultaneously, speaking and listening, as well as demonstrating, can be done, by practicing these three senses in parallel. by polishing every day, going deep into the basics, you can accelerate the speed of mastery and the level of understanding.”

!

xiao qi’s body trembled. although he didn’t entirely believe it would work, he continued to read the subsequent practice advice.

“ebbinghaus forgetting curve: the unfamiliarity rate of learned techniques— ”

“after half an incense stick’s time, unfamiliarity at 40%. after two incense sticks’ time, unfamiliarity at 60%!”

lin shuang narrowed her eyes, “you just mentioned that you study the diamond sutra daily? what’s the interval between your second practice and your first?”

naturally, it was the early and late cultivation sessions every day.

six hours apart.

after all, he still had to practice swordsmanship and cultivate his inner techniques…

but when xiao qi looked down, “unfamiliarity at 60% after two incense sticks’ time”… did this mean that with a six-hour gap, he was forgetting everything and starting over each time?

!

lin shuang looked at him, shook her head in sympathy, and sighed, “ah.”

xiao qi: “…”

the shock he felt inside was as profound as when he first entered the shanhai sect and received his first cultivation technique.

so, had he been practicing wrongly all this time?

did senior brothers and senior sisters know about this?

did the elders of the clearwater sect know? did the masters in the transmission hall know?!

“it’s alright. after all, you haven’t gone through the nine-year compulsory education or the inhuman trials of the college entrance examination.”

“…?”

xiao qi’s heart was in turmoil.

was clearwater sect’s disciples’ training really this intense?

the next two days of escorting the convoy were calm and uneventful.

zhou xuanwu always radiated his spiritual awareness from high in the sky. although he occasionally daydreamed, influenced by lin shuang’s trash talk, and enjoyed the snowy mountain scenery, he quickly scolded himself for his lack of determination and returned to his focused state.

perhaps because his high-altitude sword control allowed him to see the surroundings for dozens of miles, or perhaps because the convoy’s carriage dragged the fourteen captured bandits with them, no other mountain bandits dared to approach along the way.

however, zhou xuanwu’s state of mind became increasingly tense with each passing day.

“junior brother xiao, your diamond sutra… has strengthened again?”

on the morning of the third day, zhou xuanwu landed with his sword, seeing xiao qi’s vibrant spirit, along with the enhanced golden aura on his hands and face.

“heh, it’s strengthened a bit more.” xiao qi scratched his head.

after saying that, he switched his cultivation technique and sent a sword strike toward a stone ten miles away.

instantly, the stone shattered and turned into mist.

zhou xuanwu widened his eyes. “your dragon-transforming sword has also improved!”

“hehe, i’ve improved a bit,” xiao qi scratched his head.

how did he manage that?

zhou xuanwu was shaken.

three times a day, zhou xuanwu would land with his sword, and almost every time, he could witness xiao qi’s visible breakthroughs in cultivation, techniques, and swordsmanship.

this cultivation speed was truly astonishing.

“it’s nothing special, just proficiently mastering the cultivation methods of the ebbinghaus forgetting curve and the learning pyramid.”

“???”

zhou xuanwu was completely puzzled but soon turned his skeptical gaze toward lin shuang.

recently, every time xiao qi looked at her, his face was filled with amazement and admiration.

and in xiao qi’s gaze as he beheld the first light of the day—

lin shuang stood up.

finally, she rose from the two broad swords she had been kneeling on.

her green robe fluttered, with red cords swaying between the sleeves.

as she looked at xiao qi, a hint of smile and anticipation played in her black pupils on her snowy cheeks.

“you’ve stepped into the second layer of the diamond sutra.”

xiao qi’s golden robe fluttered in the wind as he gazed at her, responding, “meeting you today, i’ve designated it as my fat-burning day.”

zhou xuanwu: “?”

in an instant, xiao qi gestured, and a brilliant golden light enveloped him. his handsome face became solemn. “on this day, i will definitely endure for the duration of a stick of incense!”

lin shuang’s lips curved into a smile as she lightly tapped her clean chin.

extending her hand, she gracefully retrieved one of the broad swords from beneath her.

“come.”

zhou xuanwu: “???”

on the northern outskirts of the vast wild mountains, atop a cloud-shrouded peak near a town.

a fierce-looking man with a severed arm wielded a large iron hammer as he sped forward.

one hundred miles behind him was a disheveled man in a mask, chasing after him.

“hmm, two at the ninth level of qi refinement and one at the third level?”

“haha, they came to me without me having to work. after i suck their blood and qi, my essence will recover. at that time, i won’t be afraid of pursuit!”

the ferocious man with the iron hammer bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood in an instant, accelerating towards zhou xuanwu and the direction of the convoy.

author’s note:

“zhao’s sect master’s notes 9”: every time you learn a new technique, you must review it regularly, or you will quickly become unfamiliar. the time and frequency of review should be based on sister’s forgetting curve. too little review yields poor results, while excessive review is wasteful.

xiao qi: i’ve really been an idiot. senior brother didn’t tell me earlier! shanhai sect is no good!

zhou xuanwu: i’ve been an idiot too. why are you speaking so softly? don’t you want me to hear?