"The *Basic Body Refining Technique*?" Qiao Zhiyao almost thought she had misheard. "Isn’t that... isn’t that for Early Stage Martial Apprentices to practice? I’m long past that..."

"Will you listen to me?" Xu Wuyi cut her off, his gaze calm yet carrying an invisible pressure.

Qiao Zhiyao opened her mouth to speak, but seeing the completely serious look in his eyes, she ultimately swallowed the rest of her words.

She said, somewhat petulantly, "Fine, I’ll listen to you!"

She repositioned herself and assumed the Starting Form of the *Basic Body Refining Technique*.

She had mastered this Basic Cultivation Technique, promoted by the Federation for countless years, back when she first started her Martial Arts training. The movements were already second nature to her.

Soon, she had smoothly performed the nine forms once through.

Her movements were still perfect, even possessing a sort of practiced grace that came from long-term training.

"Stop," Xu Wuyi called out, halting her.

"Is there a problem?" Qiao Zhiyao relaxed her stance, a hint of barely perceptible disdain in her voice. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’This "Newcomer King’s" teaching method seems a bit... needlessly cryptic.’

Xu Wuyi walked up to her, his gaze piercing, and said in a low voice, "Your movements are perfect, but you’re just ’going through the motions’."

He pointed and instructed, "The first form, ’Qi and Blood Condensation,’ you’ve only achieved a superficial resemblance. Your Intention must sink along with it. Feel your Qi and Blood, like mercury, pour into your feet, connecting with the Earth to create a ’Root Sense,’ not just float on the surface."

"The third form, ’Muscle and Bone Stretching,’ your stretching is limited to your limbs; it hasn’t penetrated your fascia. Imagine your Qi and Blood as warm water, flowing through every tiny fascial connection, nourishing and expanding them."

"The sixth form..."

Xu Wuyi pointed out the problems in her performance one by one.

These issues weren’t about incorrect form, but a lack of understanding of the movements’ inner meaning and a missing subtlety in her Qi and Blood control.

These were all deeper aspects he could see only after cultivating the *Basic Body Refining Technique* to the Great Success Realm and Returning to the Essence.

If Qiao Zhiyao had come a few months earlier, before his *Basic Body Refining Technique* had reached Great Success, he probably wouldn’t have had anything to teach her.

At first, Qiao Zhiyao was still dismissive, but as she listened, the look of disdain on her face gradually vanished, replaced by surprise and contemplation.

The things Xu Wuyi was pointing out had never been explained to her in such detail by any of her famous teachers.

Or perhaps, those powerful experts believed that such fundamental things were simply not worth wasting time on.

It was like an adult teaching a child addition and subtraction. They’ll explain what ’plus’ and ’minus’ are and offer some tricks, but they won’t explain why the number ’one’ is written the way it is.

"Now, follow my rhythm and do the first form again." Xu Wuyi gave her no time to think, assuming the stance himself.

His movements looked simple and unadorned, even less flashy than Qiao Zhiyao’s "perfect" form.

But Qiao Zhiyao keenly sensed that when Xu Wuyi moved, the Qi and Blood around his body seemed to truly quiet down, creating an indescribable resonance with the Earth beneath his feet.

She focused her Heart and Spirit, mimicking Xu Wuyi’s rhythm and his state of concentration, and began again.

They trained like this for nearly two hours.

Xu Wuyi was extremely patient, constantly correcting her slightest deviations—from the way her toes gripped the ground, to the subtle flow of Qi and Blood at her fingertips, to the perfect synchronization of her breath and movements.

In her entire life, this was the first time someone had been so meticulous with her basic forms. It felt more draining on her Heart and Spirit than cultivating advanced Martial Arts.

But strangely, when she truly calmed her mind and adjusted herself according to Xu Wuyi’s guidance, the Qi and Blood in her body, long familiar to her, seemed to flow in a way she had never felt before.

"Time’s up," Xu Wuyi stopped his instruction.

Qiao Zhiyao snapped out of her immersed state, only then realizing how quickly two hours had passed.

She was breathing lightly, with sweat beading on her forehead. She felt a trace of spiritual fatigue—the price of focusing on such minute control.

"That’s all for today." Xu Wuyi looked at her, his tone as placid as ever. "The practice on the Battle Network is just to help you correct your form and build the right muscle memory. After you return to the real world, you need to continue practicing for at least two hours every day, focusing on the *Basic Body Refining Technique*."

He paused, then emphasized, "And don’t just practice the movements mechanically. You must truly quiet your mind, use your Intention to guide, to feel, to understand why each movement was designed this way, what part of your body it is actually refining, and how that Refinement works."

"This is the true essence of the *Basic Body Refining Technique*, and the reason it’s called the foundation of all Body Refining Techniques."

Qiao Zhiyao looked at Xu Wuyi’s earnest expression and nodded. "I... I understand, Teacher Xu. I’ll give it a try."

Her feelings at that moment were complicated. She was both skeptical of this methodology and, because of the subtle, novel sensations she’d felt during practice, held a sliver of uncertain hope.

A flash of light, and Qiao Zhiyao’s figure vanished from the training ground.

Qiao Yongwen’s figure appeared immediately after, a warm smile on his face. "Mr. Xu, thank you for your hard work."

"It was no trouble. Miss Qiao was very cooperative," Xu Wuyi said, shaking his head.

"That’s good to hear. We’ll transfer the payment to your account as soon as possible. As for whether we’ll continue, we will contact you again based on Zhiyao’s feedback."

Qiao Yongwen spoke politely, offering no opinion on Xu Wuyi’s unique "fundamental teaching method."

"Alright," Xu Wuyi nodded.

...

Her consciousness returned to reality. Qiao Zhiyao opened her eyes in her family’s luxurious Cultivation Room, which was equipped with a top-of-the-line life support pod and a spirit energy-gathering formation.

She recalled her two-hour experience on the Battle Network and Xu Wuyi’s final words.

After a moment’s hesitation, she stood up and, in the center of the spacious Cultivation Room, assumed the Starting Form of the *Basic Body Refining Technique*.

She tried to recall the state Xu Wuyi had guided her into, striving to sink her Intention into the subtle corners of her body to perceive the flow of her Qi and Blood.

However, there was ultimately a difference between reality and the Battle Network’s simulation.

On the Battle Network, the body was a perfect digital simulation, and perception was clear and direct.

In reality, although her body had been tempered by countless resources and was far tougher than an ordinary person’s, her perception was actually limited by her physical form, becoming much more vague.

She tried her best to practice according to the method Xu Wuyi had taught her. After an hour, she stopped, her brow furrowed tightly.

Aside from feeling like her body was warmed up, she felt nothing special.

There was no feeling of her Qi and Blood increasing, no tangible sense of her strength growing, and certainly no sign that the bottleneck of her *Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace* was loosening.

The subtle, faint sense of control she had experienced on the Battle Network was almost impossible to grasp in reality.

’Is it really useless?’ she wondered. ’Was it just a coincidence, or did I imagine it?’

She pushed on for another hour, but the result was the same.

Her Qi and Blood had barely increased at all. For someone accustomed to rapid, efficient progress, this was simply a waste of time.