“Mm.” Xu Taiping nodded, “But Elder Sansan inscribes the practice content on a wooden board every day, with great detail. I’ve benefited a lot from it.”

Xu Taiping held great respect for Elder Sansan.

Upon hearing this, not only Xu Ziyan but also Zhao Linglong found it somewhat incredible.

“How long has Elder Sansan been teaching you, Taiping?”

Zhao Linglong asked with a serious face.

“Altogether, it’s been about half a month now.”

Xu Taiping answered truthfully.

“Only half a month?”

Xu Ziyan held her forehead.

In her view, no matter how well Elder Sansan taught, or how talented Xu Taiping was, half a month of sword control practice was hardly enough to patch up the situation for the upcoming competition.

“Junior Brother, what exactly did Elder Sansan teach you?”

Zhao Linglong looked at Xu Taiping with a serious expression.

She was more concerned about the mysterious Elder Sansan and whether he might have led her junior brother astray than whether Xu Taiping could perform well in the Seven Peaks competition.

“On the first day, Elder Sansan had the heart technique of controlling the sword inscribed on the wooden board for me to practice on my own, then had me try to leave sword marks on the cliff face.”

“For the next ten days, I basically repeated this task every day.”

Xu Taiping gave a brief reply.

“That’s it?”

Zhao Linglong found it hard to believe and wished she could immediately go back to the Seventh Peak to confront her unreliable father.

Xu Ziyan also frowned.

“It sounds quite interesting.”

Lin Buyu put away the book she was holding and showed a keen interest upon hearing this.

“Yes, indeed very interesting.”

Xu Taiping smiled and nodded.

He wasn’t just speaking on behalf of Elder Sansan; he genuinely found it fascinating and enjoyed it thoroughly.

“How many sword marks did Elder Sansan have you carve into the cliff each day?”

Lin Buyu continued to inquire.

This question was clearly crucial.

Zhao Linglong and Xu Ziyan also looked curiously at Xu Taiping.

“The first day was three thousand.”

Xu Taiping thought for a moment before answering.

“Three thousand?!”

Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong exclaimed in unison.

“On your first day of learning to control the sword, he had you carve three thousand sword marks on a hundred-foot-high cliff?”

Zhao Linglong felt increasingly that Elder Sansan was unreliable.

“Yes, it was indeed a bit difficult to complete the task the first time, so I…”

“So you didn’t finish it, right?”

Before Xu Taiping could finish, Zhao Linglong interrupted him angrily, then added indignantly:

“Taiping, don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly normal not to finish on the first day.”

“I did indeed almost fail to complete it.”

Xu Taiping nodded in agreement.

“Almost failing to complete it means you did finish?”

Xu Ziyan’s eyes brightened.

“Mm.”

Xu Taiping nodded.

“Although I was busy until late at night, I eventually finished it. Worried that Elder Sansan would think I was just trying to complete the task, I added one more stroke, making it three thousand and one in total.”

He continued.

“You were able to strike three thousand times with the heart technique on the first day?”

Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong exchanged glances, both faces filled with disbelief.

“What about the following days? Did Elder Sansan set any more requirements for you?”

Zhao Linglong couldn’t wait to know what happened next.

“In the following days, there were no specific requirements, but I would add six hundred more strikes each day, and if time allowed, I would descend the mountain early.”

Xu Taiping replied calmly.

He treated it as if he were sharing sword practice insights with fellow disciples.

He spoke with ease, but Xu Ziyan and Zhao Linglong grew more astonished as they listened.

“However, about four or five days ago, after I was able to strike six thousand times within three hours, Elder Sansan assigned me a new task.”

Xu Taiping added.

“What task?”

Zhao Linglong immediately asked.

“Carving words on the cliff with the sword, at least three thousand words a day.”

Xu Taiping answered.

He mostly practiced alone and rarely shared cultivation insights with fellow disciples, so he found the exchange quite refreshing and answered very earnestly.

At this, Zhao Linglong couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Taiping, did you complete that too?”

She asked in surprise.

“I did, but it took a lot more time, and I couldn’t return home early.”

Xu Taiping nodded.

Hearing this, Zhao Linglong and Xu Ziyan exchanged glances again, then both chose to remain silent.

“Is this pace of cultivation… too slow?”

Seeing their silence, Xu Taiping thought his performance had disappointed his senior sisters.

He knew very little about sword cultivation; he only learned from Elder Sansan how to carve sword marks and write characters daily, so he was unclear about the normal pace of a cultivator’s progress.

But judging from what Elder Sansan inscribed on the wooden board every day, he felt his talent might indeed be average; otherwise, why would Elder Sansan find so many faults?

“However, I feel that although it’s slow, as long as I can write one more character, I can sense my own progress. So, I think Elder Sansan’s teaching method suits me very well.”

He quickly added.

“It’s not just suitable for you; it’s tailor-made for you!”

Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but respond with a mix of laughter and helplessness.

“Senior Sister Ziyan, why do you say that?”

Xu Taiping was puzzled.

He thought everyone in the Qingxuan Sect practiced swordsmanship this way.

“Taiping, you might not be aware.”

Zhao Linglong looked at Xu Taiping excitedly:

“In the Qingxuan Sect, when a disciple first learns the art of sword control, being able to control the sword successfully within ten days is considered a success, achieving control over the flying sword within a month is considered a minor accomplishment, and being able to freely control the flying sword to write characters, unless one is a genius like our second senior brother, usually takes at least three months. Yet, Taiping, you only took half a month!”

“We Buyu also took only half a month.” Xu Ziyan smiled at Lin Buyu.

“It was fourteen days.” Lin Buyu corrected.

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping was first surprised, then filled with doubt: “Does it really take the other senior brothers that long? But I find it quite simple. Could it be because of Elder Sansan’s unnamed sword control heart technique?”

Setting aside his Mortal Bones, he was well aware of his own talent for cultivation; while not poor, it certainly wasn’t exceptional. His previous ability to catch up with other disciples’ cultivation progress was entirely due to time and treasures like Dragon Gall Wine.

So, in his view, there was only one possibility: Elder Sansan taught better than others.

“Elder Sansan’s swordsmanship is second only to Uncle Nine…”

Xu Taiping suddenly remembered the Peak Master’s letter about Elder Sansan and became even more convinced of his guess.

It must be the reason!