The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Chapter 25 Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Deficiency Technique

Qu Feiyan choked up as she recounted the whole story in fits and starts, starting with her alias Yang Ruoyun and going into every detail.

After she finished speaking, she blinked and stared at Shen An, waiting for his reply as if she were facing judgment.

"So, your name is Qu Feiyan, right?"

"Mmm!" Qu Feiyan didn't know why Brother An would ask this first, but she nodded hurriedly, her two hair buns swinging back and forth, looking extremely cute.

"Neither smoke nor mist, like a dream, ethereal. A beautiful name." Shen An pondered for a moment. "May I call you Fei Fei?"

"Hmm!" This time, he nodded even harder.

Looking at her adorable appearance, Shen An couldn't resist playing a mischievous trick, "This time it's not fake, is it?"

"Of...of course not!" Qu Feiyan hurriedly shook her head, flicking away the tears clinging to her eyelashes, on the verge of crying again. "If Brother An doesn't believe me, I...uh..."

Seeing that she was about to make a solemn vow, Shen An quickly covered her mouth.

It was damp to the touch, mostly from snot and tears.

"Alright, alright, I believe you, Feifei." Shen An looked at her, nodded solemnly, and then let go of her hand.

Qu Feiyan was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face again.

"Brother An... Brother An is so mean..."

Qu Feiyan gripped Shen An's clothes tightly with her small hands, her face pressed against Shen An's chest.

Why are you crying again... Shen An hugged her and gently patted her back.

Sigh, I'll have to bother Xiaocao to wash it again when I get back. Wait, why did I say "again"?

Not far away, Qu Yang watched this scene with a slight toothache, but in the end, he nodded with relief.

Liu Zhengfeng also sighed deeply and said in a low voice, "Brother Qu, Feifei really has a good eye. This young man is indeed a person worth entrusting... cough cough, a person worth befriending."

Qu Yang glared at him, about to say something, when he saw Shen An looking over.

"The two seniors are of noble character and integrity, and I am deeply grateful."

Huh? Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng didn't understand what he was talking about.

Shen An looked at the two of them and said sincerely:

"With your extraordinary cultivation, you two seniors could have easily taken my life in an instant and crushed me to the ground. However, you deliberately held back and endured more than fifty moves with me, stopping only when I was exhausted."

Shen An's tone was extremely sincere, but someone has become famous, and I won't say who it is.

The air suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng exchanged a glance. A wonderfully awkward and surprised look flashed in both of their eyes.

Who deliberately fed them this information?

Qu Yang roared inwardly: "That broken iron sword of yours swings like a hammer! I just hit it with my bare hand, and my hand is still numb. Fighting for so long wasn't about deliberately stopping to give you more moves; I was just genuinely exhausted."

But seeing the grateful look in Shen An's eyes, Qu Yang, being a seasoned elder of the Demonic Sect, reacted quickly.

He took a deep breath, put his still slightly trembling right hand behind his back, stroked his beard, adopted a mysterious expression, and smiled faintly:

"Ahem... You're teachable, young man. Since you've discovered it, I won't hide it from you. Indeed, while your swordplay is powerful and heavy, the transitions are a bit clumsy. Brother Liu and I are of one mind, so we'll go along with it and lower our cultivation levels to help you hone your skills. Otherwise, as you said, if we were to actually fight, hmph..."

Liu Zhengfeng, however, was naturally a bit thin-skinned, and his face flushed slightly as he listened. But since things had come to this point, for the sake of his senior's reputation, he could only grit his teeth and follow along.

"Indeed, indeed. Nephew Shen is extremely insightful. Since you were able to grasp this meaning, Brother Qu and I didn't work out in vain."

After listening, Shen An naturally offered another round of thanks and compliments.

"Hehe...hehe..."

The two elders felt uneasy upon hearing this, so they could only straighten their backs, nod with a smile, a smile that contained three parts kindness and seven parts stiffness.

"Ahem... You two little kids can stay by yourselves for a while. I have two jars of twenty-year-old Zhuyeqing liquor that I'm about to have a good drink with Brother Liu."

"Absolutely, absolutely. We two old folks won't get in the way here."

Watching the two disappear at lightning speed, Shen An couldn't help but feel a little envious of their lightness skills.

...............................

After venting her emotions, Qu Feiyan finally calmed down. Upon learning that he wasn't truly blamed, she regained some of her usual mischievousness. However, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Shen An held an indescribable emotion.

She slowly helped Shen An sit down, leaning against a large rock.

"Brother An, although your swordsmanship is impressive, I noticed that you expend a lot of internal energy and physical strength every time you strike a blow," Qu Feiyan said casually.

"Not bad." Shen An gave a wry smile. "My swordsmanship relies entirely on internal energy and strength. There's nothing particularly ingenious about it; it's just about overwhelming people with sheer force."

"Like Yang Guo's heavy sword in The Return of the Condor Heroes, seemingly simple yet incredibly skillful?"

"That's right."

"Then, Brother An," Qu Feiyan suddenly appeared in front of Shen An, her eyes sparkling, "will Brother An become stronger if I increase my internal energy and physical strength?"

"That's true, but accumulating internal strength and power is ultimately a gradual process, it can't be rushed..." Shen An nodded, then immediately realized something was wrong, "Why is Feifei bringing this up?"

"Hehe." Qu Feiyan blinked and smiled slyly. She took out an oilcloth package from her bosom, then took out a yellowed old book from it and mysteriously handed it to Shen An.

"This is?"

Shen An took the book with a puzzled look. The book was yellowed and the edges were curled. The cover had five big characters printed on it: "Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Imperfection Skill".

Qu Feiyan smiled somewhat shyly: "Ever since that day when Brother An was practicing his sword under the waterfall, I vaguely guessed that he was trying to build up his strength. Unfortunately, I begged Grandpa to search for a long time, but we couldn't find any proper martial arts for building strength. Most of them were just some crude farming techniques and external martial arts methods..."

"So this book..." Shen An was pleasantly surprised. The martial arts that tempered his strength were exactly what he needed right now. This Heavenly Crippled and Earthly Deficiency Technique must be extraordinary, otherwise Qu Feiyan would not have said that.

"Yes, this martial art is indeed profound and unique, but it is a martial art specifically for people with disabilities. I wonder if Brother An would mind..."

Qu Feiyan's voice grew softer and softer, indicating that she still felt her preparations were somewhat inadequate.

Martial arts specifically for disabled people? Let alone in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, this shouldn't even be popular in the metal-themed world.

Shen An didn't mind. As long as it increased his strength and minimized the hidden dangers, that was enough for him. However, he was genuinely curious about this martial art.

"Where did you get Feifei from?"

"It was taken from the sect." Qu Feiyan said, glancing at Shen An's expression. Seeing that he didn't object to this martial art from the Sun Moon Sect, she continued with relief, "It was previously practiced by the Six Immortals of Peach Valley. Brother An might not know this. Although those six eccentrics weren't very bright and were crazy all day, their superhuman strength was truly astonishing. Even my grandfather would avoid them."

"The Six Immortals of Peach Valley?" Shen An knew them all too well. Indeed, those six possessed superhuman strength and enjoyed tearing people to shreds, but... "Do they have any disabilities?"

"Brother An, you don't know this, although this martial art is now called the Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Deficiency Skill, its original name was..."

Qu Feiyan then said, word by word: "Deaf, blind, lame, weak, skilled."

Oh, so the Six Immortals of Peach Valley are mentally challenged? That makes no wonder.

Wait, what is this?

Shen An was taken aback, then repeated it twice more:

"The skill of the deaf, blind, lame, and weak..."

"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill?!"