Gu Ningyun quickly grabbed her wrist. "Don't. Top-grade Return-to-Spring Pills are best saved for dangerous moments when we're out adventuring. You know that."
"You're injured this badly and you won't take medicine? Do you not value your life?" With her right hand restrained, Wen Xuan used her left to take out a pill and stuffed it into Gu Ningyun's mouth.
"My constitution is special. Pills I refine myself have absolutely no pill toxicity, so don't worry."
The pill dissolved the moment it entered her mouth. She didn't even need to circulate spirit energy to activate its properties; her injuries began to heal at an incredible speed under the gentle medicinal power.
Even her torn disciple robes were automatically repairing themselves.
While Wen Xuan was busy stuffing a pill into Jun Luo's mouth, Gu Ningyun finally found a chance to explain. "That's not what I meant."
"I meant that our injuries only look serious. They're actually just superficial wounds. It's really not a big deal, so there was no need to use top-grade Return-to-Spring Pills."
Wen Xuan gave her a disapproving look. "Aren't pills meant to be used? Just tell me, did it work or not?"
"It worked very well. Unexpectedly well."
By the time they finished talking, her injuries had completely recovered. Gu Ningyun stood up from the ground. "Wen Xuan, you are exceptionally talented in the Dao of Alchemy."
Wen Xuan couldn't help but smile. She reached out to support Gu Ningyun's arm. "So, how exactly did you two get hurt?"
Now that the two were healed, Wen Xuan finally had time to observe their surroundings.
When she saw the blood on their swords, the smile on her face vanished instantly, and she narrowed her eyes.
She shielded Gu Ningyun behind her, trying to keep her voice steady. "Jun Luo, did you bully... were you fighting with Ningyun?"
Jun Luo paused as he was getting up. His usually cold expression faltered slightly.
"We were just sparring with our swords." He rubbed his brow, his voice tinged with helplessness.
Wen Xuan looked at him suspiciously, then turned to ask Gu Ningyun, "Is that true? Is sparring always this brutal?!"
Gu Ningyun patted her shoulder and stepped out from behind her. "Only by going all out can we make the most progress."
"Wen Xuan, for me, I'd rather suffer minor injuries while practicing my sword than suffer serious injuries or even die later because I was too weak."
Seeing that Wen Xuan was moved by her words, she added, "Actually, today was my first time sparring with someone in swordsmanship. I didn't quite have a handle on my restraint, which is why it looked a bit scary."
"It won't happen again, right, Jun Luo?" At this point, she glanced at Jun Luo.
Jun Luo nodded with certainty. "Yes. It was also my first time sparring with someone after refining my sword qi."
"Sword cultivators really are vicious," Wen Xuan sighed in relief after hearing their explanation, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Gu Ningyun couldn't help but try to protest. "Actually... I'm just a frail and weak music cultivator. I'm not vicious at all."
Wen Xuan was speechless.
She looked at Jun Luo. "Did you hit her so hard she went stupid?"
Gu Ningyun: "...I'm serious."
To Wen Xuan's surprise, Jun Luo hesitated for a moment and then gave a slight nod. "Strictly speaking, Ningyun's description isn't wrong."
He had heard from Ningyun that she couldn't use attack melodies.
So, purely in terms of music cultivation, it wasn't wrong to say she lacked offensive power.
Looking at the wind-attribute sword qi that had yet to dissipate on the plaza, Wen Xuan decided not to argue with these two.
She stuffed a bottle of top-grade Return-to-Spring Pills into each of their hands. "To make sure you two don't accidentally kill yourselves, keep a bottle of pills on you at all times."
"I refined them myself. Take them whenever you want; there's no pill toxicity."
Since it was a gift from Wen Xuan's heart, Gu Ningyun didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it graciously.
In the future, if she found any good items, she would just share them with Wen Xuan.
Although she had her healing melody, pills were still essential if the injuries were severe or if she couldn't play her zither in a certain environment.
The first day of sword sparring passed under Wen Xuan's worried gaze.
Over time, Gu Ningyun and Jun Luo became increasingly familiar with controlling their sword qi, learning to release and retract it at will, and their injuries became fewer and fewer.
Furthermore, after Gu Ningyun used 《Zongjiao》 to heal them in front of everyone, Wen Xuan and the others gradually grew accustomed to it.
As time went on and they saw how rapidly the two's strength was growing, the other three adjusted their task schedules. They cleared their afternoons and joined the sparring sessions.
...
Wen Xuan's artifact was a yellow-rank top-grade mace. It was roughly two meters long, its body covered in sharp spikes that shimmered with a chilling light under the moon.
When Gu Ningyun first faced Wen Xuan, she held her peach wood sword and felt like she didn't even know where to start.
Wen Xuan swung the mace with a domineering air and winked at Gu Ningyun. "Don't be afraid. I'm just a harmless alchemist with no offensive power."
Gu 'Frail Music Cultivator' Ningyun: ...The boomerang came back too fast; she could barely catch it.
Jun Luo: If you only look at her alchemy, that statement is technically correct.
Gu Ningyun took a deep breath. "Come at me."
Wen Xuan's mace was very heavy, creating a distinct sonic boom with every strike.
Gu Ningyun tentatively tried to parry a blow from the mace with her sword. The peach wood sword was fine, but her wrist nearly suffered a hairline fracture.
Using the massive force to tilt her body and circulating her wind spirit energy, Gu Ningyun nimbly moved to Wen Xuan's side.
The mace seemed cumbersome, but it was both stylish and flexible in Wen Xuan's hands.
By now, it had already changed its trajectory, bearing down on Gu Ningyun from the side.
The sword qi in Gu Ningyun's hand was already primed. She swung her sword in a slash, meeting the mace with her wind-attribute sword qi.
The moment they clashed, Gu Ningyun saw a layer of red light surface on the mace. When the green sword qi hit the red light, it seemed to encounter resistance, and its speed slowed significantly.
However, the stalemate lasted only a moment before the red light was shredded by the green sword qi.
Seeing the sword qi about to graze the mace, Wen Xuan twisted her arm, causing the mace to narrowly dodge the strike.
After exchanging a few probing moves, the two stood facing each other.
Gu Ningyun looked at Wen Xuan's mace in surprise. "That red light just now... was it fire-attribute sword qi?"
"No, to be more precise... mace qi?"
"It's the fire momentum produced by the combination of the mace and my fire spirit root. I only recently got the manual, so I'm not very good at it yet."
Wen Xuan's voice was full of excitement. "Again? Don't hold back; I'm not afraid of getting hurt."
"Let's go!"
Wen Xuan swung her mace with clear discipline, but Gu Ningyun was extremely fast and could always find flaws in her moves.
After being defeated time and again, Wen Xuan became more flexible in her use of the mace, and her flaws became fewer and more hidden.
Even with Gu Ningyun's speed, it became difficult to get close to Wen Xuan and strike at her weaknesses through the impenetrable defense of the mace.
She simply used her agile footwork to attack the transition points between Wen Xuan's moves, using her friend's techniques to hone her own swordsmanship.
While the two of them were sparring, Jiang Yao and the other two weren't idle either, fighting intensely on the other side of the plaza.
...
The time spent in collective training passed quickly, and nearly a month went by before they knew it.
During this period, they rotated opponents and fought each other.
After each day's sparring session, Gu Ningyun would first play 《Zongjiao》 to heal everyone.
Then, the five of them would gather to discuss each other's strengths and weaknesses.
The next day, they would use the previous day's experience to perform targeted practice and adjustments.
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