Inside the house.
After dinner, Chang Qing returned to his room and took out the Eight-Treasure Compass for a closer look.
This compass was entirely bronze-colored, with perennial Daoist patterns, mysterious and obscure.
From the center of the compass, lines of minuscule seal script were engraved.
This seal script was very similar to the celestial seal script Chang Qing had studied, yet subtly different, more akin to ancient Buddhist Zen script.
"Is this a secret technique? Or another type of formula?"
Chang Qing looked at it briefly, but was at a loss, so he set it aside for now, planning to seek his teacher's advice tomorrow.
After setting down the compass, Chang Qing immediately took out his brush and ink, and began practicing calligraphy and painting.
He had always thought he learned very quickly, so even without his teacher's praise, he still took pride in himself.
But after seeing his senior who had only followed the teacher for a mere six months, he realized his own skills were hardly noteworthy.
Compared against the four arts, he lost in all four. Although his senior wasn't overly critical, it still fueled his competitiveness.
"We're the same age, and I've been with the teacher longer, there's no reason I should lose to him."
"Since talent isn't enough, I'll make up for it with effort!"
"The teacher said that he has also arranged a literary competition for me soon. Though my chances aren't great, I must give it my all!"
Chang Qing looked determined, practicing even more diligently.
A night passed in the blink of an eye.
As dawn broke, Chang Qing left his home early, heading straight to the study.
But on the way, he was taken aback upon seeing Brother Er Niu.
"Brother Er Niu...who hit you like this?"
Seeing Er Niu's face swollen and bruised, Chang Qing was stunned.
"Hmm, slipped on the road," Er Niu groaned in pain and gritted his teeth, saying, "Chang Qing, remember to send my greetings to your senior."
"And by the way, make sure you teach me the Starlight Sword technique in the next few days. I need to learn it as soon as possible!"
With that, Er Niu hobbled away.
Chang Qing pondered the situation, unable to figure out how a fall could cause such injuries, nor did he understand the connection between falling and the sword technique.
After a while, Chang Qing shook his head and continued on to the study.
But when he arrived at the study and saw Shu Han with two black eyes, he widened his eyes in disbelief,
"Senior, don't tell me you fell too?"
Shu Han was taken aback, then gritted his teeth and said, "No, I ran into a bear and got beaten up!"
After speaking, he looked at Chang Qing and seriously said,
"Chang Qing, join me in painting today. I must regain some dignity!"
Beside them, Li Qingchen couldn't help but smile and shake his head upon hearing this.
Yesterday, Er Niu and Shu Han fought fiercely, ending in a draw.
Even though Shu Han's cultivation was slightly higher, Er Niu was the top offensive Sword Cultivator, and without serious intent, they couldn't determine a winner.
In the end, they fought until both were exhausted, resembling a street brawl with punches and kicks, leaving neither side with an advantage.
As for Shu Han wanting Chang Qing to accompany him in painting, it was to improve his skills.
After all, though Chang Qing's painting skills lagged slightly behind Shu Han's, the gap wasn't much.
With Chang Qing's comprehension, surpassing Shu Han was only a matter of time, and sparring helped Shu Han elevate his art.
"Senior, you fought with Er Niu, didn't you?"
Chang Qing said with a wry smile, "Senior, you're impressive, even as a scholar you managed to rough up Er Niu like that."
Hearing this, Shu Han grinned widely, "Heh, when a scholar loses his temper, it can be quite terrifying."
"Enough talk, let's start painting."
...
Days passed by.
With Shu Han's arrival, Cyan Mountain Village became much livelier, and Chang Qing became increasingly busy.
By day, he practiced the four arts — zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting — with Shu Han, and in the evenings, he trained in swordsmanship with Er Niu in the small grove.
After a short rest at night, he would continue to study the mysterious compass.
Although it was tiring, Chang Qing felt very fulfilled, sensing his daily progress.
And then, five days later at dusk, in the small grove.
Chang Qing danced swiftly with a wooden sword in the forest, stepping on seven stars that sparkled, while the stars above shone brightly.
At that moment, within a hundred-meter radius, dried leaves flew around, arranged and interspersed according to the positions of the stars around Chang Qing.
Bathed in endless starlight, a magnificent painting was formed.
As the sword momentum reached its peak, Chang Qing suddenly swept the wooden sword horizontally, exclaiming softly,
"Slash!"
Boom!
In an instant, over a hundred stars in the sky lit up, casting brilliant light, transforming into a massive silver sword light, swiftly falling into the grove.
Amidst the rumbling, more than ten large trees were cut in half.
And as the sword light swept out, tiny starlights gathered above Chang Qing's head, and a shining Dao seal slowly emerged.
"Innate Secret Technique!"
Shu Han, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement,
"A Celestial Tier medium-grade sword technique, and in just five days, you've already condensed an innate secret technique?"
"If this were driven by cultivation and heart technique, wouldn't it attract the brilliance of ten thousand stars?"
Shu Han looked stunned. Even though he knew of Chang Qing's extraordinary insight, witnessing it still felt somewhat unreal.
This kind of talent was more formidable than any constitution.
"Heh, succeeded!"
At this moment, Brother Er Niu also showed a hint of joy.
As an onlooker and a fellow Sword Cultivator training in the same secret technique, witnessing Chang Qing's process of condensing an innate secret technique was highly beneficial for him.
"After today, I'm even closer to mastering the Starlight Sword!"
While excited, Er Niu did not forget to provocatively glance at Shu Han,
"What do you say, bookworm? Want to spar somewhere later?"
With his skills improved greatly, he definitely needed to reclaim some pride!
"Arrogant!"
Shu Han gritted his teeth and said, "You're just relying on being taught by Chang Qing, aren't you?"
"Even if you master the Starlight Sword, I'll still pin you down!"
"Wait until you condense an innate secret technique like Chang Qing, then boast as much as you want."
Brother Er Niu retorted disdainfully, "Hah, you think I don't know?"
"During the day, when you say you're sparring the four arts with Chang Qing, aren't you just secretly learning?"
"And you claim to be Chang Qing's senior, really?"
Hearing this, Shu Han's face turned red.
He could not deny that from observing Chang Qing's learning, he benefited immensely.
The noticeable progress was even more illuminating than being directly taught by his teacher.
However, not one to admit defeat, Shu Han still firmly stated,
"Chang Qing taught me, as well as you. Let's spar later!"
Er Niu chuckled, "Just what I wanted."
...
Brother Er Niu and Shu Han seemed to have found worthy opponents, fighting every three days, battling every five.
Though the results were often quite tragic, their progress was evident.
This method propelled their advancement tenfold compared to solitary training.
Yet, the pace of Chang Qing's progress was even more astonishing!
In the first month of sparring with Shu Han, he entered the path of painting, capturing mountains and rivers lifelike, his artwork resembling reality.
By the third month, his chess skills reached mastery, able to sit at the board, drop pieces to form dragons, gather pieces to become celestial.
By the sixth month, his music integrated with the Dao; the strings' movement could captivate minds, transforming dreams into reality.
Thus, after two years, Chang Qing perfected all four celestial arts, achieving excellence in Confucian Dao!
On the day Chang Qing achieved complete mastery, a message came via Li Qingchen's Communication Talisman.
"Junior brother, the two-year time limit is up, the literary competition will begin, are you ready to bring your disciples to fight?!!"
ps: A new month is here, requesting monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, the young author thanks you!