Chapter 146: Solid Foundation
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Feng Yuyu, relying on her young age, asked innocently, "Master, are you going to teach us Dugu Nine Swords today?"

Xin Zhen almost laughed when he heard this, and said, "Nine Swords of Dugu, you dare to think of it! Is it because I don't want to teach you, can you learn it now?"

Chen Zichi said respectfully: "Master, please give me some instructions."

Chen Zichi was the oldest among the disciples. He would be eighteen in a few days. In fact, he was only two years younger than Xin Zhen. However, Chen Zichi always maintained his self-respect and was especially respectful to Xin Zhen. He never behaved disrespectfully just because Xin Zhen was close to him in age.

Xin Zhen was quite satisfied with this second disciple. Although Qu Feiyan entered the sect early, she was younger than him. Chen Zichi was very respectful to her and often assisted Qu Feiyan in disciplining his fellow disciples.

Moreover, Chen Zichi's own talent is also very outstanding. Among this group of true disciples, Chen Zichi's talent is one of the best, only slightly worse than Jiang Zicheng.

However, Chen Zichi's overall quality is much stronger. He knows when to advance and retreat and is very proactive. On the contrary, Jiang Zicheng is aloof and generally doesn't talk much, making it difficult for him to unite his fellow apprentices.

Xin Zhen did not keep the secret any longer and said with a smile: "Starting today, I will lead you to practice Zixia Kung Fu. You must work harder and get started as soon as possible."

The fourth disciple Xu Jianping was surprised when he heard this and said, "Is it the Zixia Gong, the first of the Nine Huashan Gongs?"

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Yes, it is Zixia Gong."

The disciples were all surprised, and some couldn't believe it. The seventh disciple Yuan Sumei asked in surprise, "Master, isn't this Zixia Gong only practiced by the headmaster and the headmaster's successor? You are teaching this Zixia Gong to us. Isn't this a taboo?"

The other disciples also looked at Xin Zhen with great concern.

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, your Grand Master, uncles, and uncles and I have revised the rules. From now on, Zixia Gong will not be exclusive to the head of the sect. As long as you are a true disciple, you have the right to practice Zixia Gong.

Of course, this Zixia Gong is still a top secret of Huashan Sword Sect. Anyone who dares to pass on the Zixia Gong without authorization will be a traitor to the Sword Sect and will be hunted down by the entire sect!"

All the disciples immediately became solemn and said in unison: "Yes, Master!"

Afterwards, Xin Zhen taught the entire text of Zixia Gong and asked every disciple to memorize it, and then explained to them the meaning of each formula. It took several days for every disciple to start practicing Zixia Gong.

Xin Zhen practiced Zixia Gong for a long time. Actually, Zixia Gong did not have the saying as Yue Buqun said that one must have a clear mind and practice it courageously and diligently without any delays, otherwise one would go astray. In fact, this is inconsistent with the characteristics of Zixia Gong.

The main characteristic of Zixia magic skill is to eliminate the violence, arrogance, cruelty and cunningness in the internal strength, making the internal strength soft and easy to control, so that all the power of the internal strength can be precisely controlled and exerted.

This kind of skill is meant to make internal strength soft and easy to control. How is it possible that one needs to be so brave and diligent in practicing it?
In fact, according to Xin Zhen’s own experience in practicing, Zixia Gong is similar to Hunyuan Gong, both of which are steady and solid Taoist Kung Fu.

Of course, what Yue Buqun said is not without reason, but it just means that when you get started you must have a clear mind and be diligent and courageous. After getting started, you can practice slowly.

But in Xin Zhen's opinion, the younger you are, the better the effect will be, because when you are young, your mind will have fewer distractions. When you really step into the world of martial arts, your mind will only become more confused, how can it be clearer? As for the saying of going astray and becoming possessed, there is indeed such a risk. However, as long as it is an internal skill, there will be a risk of going astray. But with the elders of the sect by your side, even if you go astray and become possessed, they can be rescued in time.

Therefore, these days, Xin Zhen told his disciples that they must be present when practicing Zixia Gong. Xin Zhen also put other things aside and stayed by his disciples' side when they were practicing, in case of emergency.

Fortunately, each of these disciples were gifted, or perhaps they were still young and did not have so many thoughts, and they all completed the foundation-building one by one, which made Xin Zhen overjoyed.

Later, news came from Feng Buping, Cheng Buyou and others that, except for a few special disciples, all other disciples had completed the foundation of Zixia Gong.

This confirms Xin Zhen's guess. In fact, Zixia Gong and Hunyuan Gong have the same origin. Both are steady and solid Taoist methods, and cases of going astray are very rare.

Moreover, the best time to practice is as young as possible. It will be difficult to get started when you are older.

Among the sixty true disciples, fifty-four completed the foundation of Zixia Gong. On the contrary, Cheng Buyou and three others were unable to enter the door. It was probably because their minds were too complicated.

But even so, Xin Zhen and the others were all overjoyed.

Even if no other disciples of this generation emerge, these fifty-four disciples are enough to support a magnificent sect.

Think about it, twenty years later, the fifty-four Huashan disciples who have practiced Zixia Gong for twenty years and each has a sword technique as their main discipline, will at least be first-rate masters.

Fifty-four first-rate masters, plus countless second-rate masters, this kind of configuration is difficult to achieve even for the Shaolin Temple today. According to Zuo Lengchan, the number of first-rate masters in the Shaolin Temple should be only around twenty to thirty.

It can basically be said that with these fifty-four disciples, the future foundation of Huashan has been completely consolidated!
But Xin Zhen was still not satisfied, he was still constantly checking whether there were any missed gems among the inner disciples. In fact, there must be some, and there were quite a few of them. Some of the inner disciples were mediocre in talent, but most of them were too young. As long as they were given a few years, they would emerge sooner or later.

Spring went and autumn came. Seven or eight months after the battle at Shaolin Temple, Xin Zhen and Ren Yingying basically stayed in Huashan and rarely went out.

Apart from some minor fights, the world of martial arts is too quiet. Only those who are well-informed can feel the undercurrent beneath the calm.

The biting cold wind brought a heavy snowfall to Mount Huashan, and it seemed that there was only a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth.

Xin Zhen got up early to supervise the Sword Sect's disciples' morning sword exercises. In the heavy snow, hundreds of long swords stirred the flying snow.

Xin Zhen smiled as he watched.

The daily sword exercises only focus on practicing the basic Huashan sword techniques, regardless of whether they have mastered them or not. After seven or eight months of continuous practice, plus the three-month "Essentials of the Sword Manual" course that I gave them, the sword skills of these disciples are much better than when I first started out!
(End of this chapter)