Slowly releasing his fists, Zhen Shi calmed down. For the moment, he could do nothing about the matter regarding divine blessings and could only continue to grow stronger.

As such, he began to think about what Vivienne had told him about cultivating, just a moment ago.

Thinking back, almost all of the times where he had 'cultivated' he had leveled up through the system. Except most recently when he used the spiritual blessing from the golden bridge, which also didn't count as genuine cultivation.

While he did have memories of cultivating from the former Zhen Shi, that was based on an incorrect method. And even then, he had cheated by stealing qi and aether from the primordial chaos base...

As for the [Martial Cultivation Technique] he had used later, it was rather different from actual cultivation since it was based on using martial prowess for cultivation progression.

As a result, he had next to no experience in actual cultivation. This meant that he would be in deep trouble if he actually had to cultivate...

So, expecting some reassurance from the system, he mentally asked, "System, it's fine to just cultivate by leveling up through you, right?"

Ding!

Cultivation is defined as an improvement of the existence of a person by gathering qi or understanding and infusing into the said person. Leveling up through the system simply provides the user with the energy needed to improve their cultivation. Thus it is advisable to meditate and cultivate, occasionally.

'FUCK! What type of system needs the user to cultivate as well?! It's the system's job to level me up! At the very least, shouldn't you have told me sooner?!

What? Do you think that by spouting some fancy definition everything will be fine?'

System: (´◉◞౪◟◉)

Nevertheless, Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of defeat as he shifted into a meditative lotus position.

Being bathed by the warm midday sunlight, with the peaceful sound of the trickling stream, he slowly closed his eyes and attempted to circle the qi in his body according to .

As he performed the practice method, he was immediately dumbstruck!

Previously, even with the technique in his mind, he hadn't thought much about the fact that the system was improving his cultivation, as he had believed that it was an 'expected' function of a 'system'.

But now he realized the truth. Just like the system's definition, every time he 'leveled up', he would be forcefully provided with a torrent of qi or energy. This would then be utilized by the system to revolve the energy through his meridians and dantian. This meant that his level ups were a type of forced cultivation.

Even with the few books that (Soul) Zhen Shi had read so far, Zhen Shi could already see a few problems with this method if used continuously in the long term.

But now that he was aware of the matter, he began to practice with greater interest than before.

However, to his great annoyance, his progress was extremely slow and he was only able to move his qi about at a snail's pace. In fact, it was extremely difficult. He felt like he was a mortal trying to walk along a tight rope that was on fire... while wearing a blindfold!

As such, Zhen Shi activated and focused his golden eye on his body.

A while back, when he was testing out this skill for the first time, he had discovered that it also allowed him to analyze his own body and view the presence of qi in his meridians, qi paths, and dantian!

He couldn't think of a better time than now to make use of this ability!

Now, being able to see what he was doing, it was much easier to move the qi along his meridians and qi paths.

Even still, Zhen Shi felt that ordinary cultivators might be able to do much better than he was.

He could only assume that since he had leveled up automatically so far, it was difficult for his body and mind to get used to doing things manually.

But that didn't stop him from getting even more annoyed...

'FUCK! Why won't the qi move? I'm even feeling nostalgic and reminded of Earth... A qi path is the loading bar, while the qi is the amount of progress. But my internet is so slow, that the progress just... stopped! Ah! So annoying! My qi is just buffering!'

---------------------

After what felt like ages, Zhen Shi was finally able to complete one revolution of qi around his body with the help of one of the pills that he had bought from the market.

Honestly, it wasn't that his qi was weak or his meridians were thin. On the contrary, his qi was very rich and his meridians were extremely strong, considering his perfect cultivation technique and divine beast bloodlines.

But this was simply a foreign act unfamiliar to him, and so will require some time to master.

Zhen Shi heaved an exasperated sigh as he reopened his eyes. Even though he was still suffering from the disability or sickness of being unable to cultivate manually, he was feeling rather relaxed after that session of meditation and cultivation.

He felt at ease and more familiar with the concept of qi and aether. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but seemed to be more clear than before...

While he was still immersing himself in that wondrous feeling, Myne suddenly walked from outside into the pavilion and sat down next to Zhen Shi.

Deciding that a bit of messing around will make him forget his troubles, Zhen Shi turned around to a rather exasperated Myne with a grin and askedmischievously, "What? The wife giving you troubles, grand mage?"

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Myne scowled and muttered, "Bugger off! I didn't even do anything! It was all that Laura girl!"

Zhen Shi's grin grew even wider as he playfully comforted Myne by cutely patting his head.

Myne's scowl grew worse as he shook off Zhen Shi's hand and said, "Kid. Do you want me to teach you or not?"

Zhen Shi hurriedly stopped the joke, sat at attention, and with a salute, spoke out seriously, "Gomenasai, Sensei!"

Myne frowned, "What bullshit are you spouting now?" but with a light sigh, shook his head in exasperation.

He turned towards the peaceful garden and the ever-flowing stream and began to speak in a serious tone, "You better listen to this old man's ramblings well... I won't repeat what I say!"

Zhen Shi bent his head sideways with a quizzical look, "No matter how I look, I can't see 'an old man' in your young face..."

Myne proceeded to ignore him and continued to speak, "You can ask from the million of blacksmiths and artificers out there... What is the most important factor to be a blacksmith?

And they will all answer differently. Knowledge of the materials, the nature of the fire, the blacksmithing tools, the artificing technique, the degree of control over energy and qi, or perhaps even powerful physical strength...  And I say they're all IDIOTS!"

He lightly scratched his chin and continued to speak with a grin, "In my millennia of life, I have come to realize that the most important thing for a blacksmith is none other than... spirit and will! All those other things are merely necessities to engage in smithing. They do not hold the true essence of a blacksmith.

Most of the celebrated blacksmiths of my time, it's probably much worse now, got hung up on improving those factors, finally ending with subpar results..."

Noticing Zhen Shi's skeptical face, he continued to speak with an even wider grin, "I didn't use to think so either, but... I once met a boorish Norseman out in the Ice Lands up North. His feet had been hamstrung and he had been made into a cripple by a local Warband Chief, simply for not providing his services under their conditions. He had been thrown out of his tribe to die alone in the bone-chilling cold. That was around when I first met him...

But when I did, he was simply hammering down on a piece of Abyss Glass, in the terrifying cold with no fire but weak qi to melt the metal and nothing to maintain and nourish him beside the falling snow.

I was impressed by his determination and offered to help out, with divine fire, better materials, or better tools, but... with a toothy almost mad laugh, he refused them all! So I stayed to witness his obvious failure and even made a bet on the fact that he would fail.

After all, he was trying to smith a weapon with one of the strongest materials in the world, without a proper fire, in the coldest regions known to mankind, and using only a simple hammer for a tool. And this weapon had to be strong enough to help him beat an entire Warband! Simply impossible! So my victory was assured!"

Myne's eyes glowed, "But that was when I witnessed the miracle..."

But he didn't get much father, because Zhen Shi suddenly stood up and shouted excitedly, "Let me guess. He made a divine weapon at the peak of the art of blacksmithing, the likes that no-one has seen before! And with his powerful weapon, he went and killed off that stupid Warband Chief despite being crippled and he was hailed as a hero!"

Myne slapped his forehead and sputtered in exasperation, "Kid are you crazy? What have you been learning this entire time? Who'd be hailed as a hero for killing their Warband Chief in cold blood?"

He continued to speak out, "Also, how on earth could he make a weapon at the peak of Blacksmithing with only a small hammer? Are you drunk?"

Zhen Shi could only shamelessly laugh and brush his mistake aside, while seriously considering whether he should pretend to be drunk...

Myne shook his head helplessly and spoke out, "Well, it might not have been a divine weapon but it was indeed miraculous. After years of hammering, he was finally able to carve out a small edge on that stone. And after he did so, he collapsed on the spot."

Zhen Shi grimaced completely forgetting about his mistake, 'FUCK! What's the moral of such a story?"

Noticing his face, Myne simply laughed and continued, "I took him away and helped him to heal. But immediately after waking up, he grabbed the piece of carved abyss glass and went back to his Warband. I was intrigued and followed after him as well.

He patiently waited until the Warband Chief left on some official business, and then with his crippled cultivation and only that sharpened abyss glass, he attacked!"

Myne's eyes glowed with adoration as he continued speaking, "It simply made no sense. On one side was a crippled blacksmith with a sharp rock, and on the other side were the Warband chief's sons who happened to be extremely skilled warriors, and yet... it was a massacre!

He killed them all with a few pokes of his carved abyss glass and even kidnapped the poor chief's daughter!

For many years to come, the people spoke about how he escaped laughing, flying with mechanical wings of his own making, while boasting that he would sire the Chief's grandson!

Just like that, despite the odds stacked against him, the crippled boorish fellow won my bet in the end...

Wait...

FUCK! That's where my Legendary divine tier furnace went! I lost it to that crippled Norseman in his bet..." and finished with a great sense of loss.

But Zhen Shi couldn't care less about Myne's Divine Tier furnace, because he was still trying to piece the moral of this story, "So... Just hammer some tough material... until you faint... and then poke people with it? And maybe... use a winged flying tool... you had prepared before... to run away if it doesn't work? Is that the true essence of being a blacksmith?" he wondered out loud jokingly.

Myne slapped his forehead in exasperation and spoke, "Uhhh... That's what you got from that? The Wings he used to run away from the hundreds of furious Warbanders isn't the point. Sure, he probably had made them before, because how could he have escaped with his legs hamstrung? But again, that's not the point.

The point is that while being crippled, he was able to infiltrate a Warband, defeat the Chief's half-a-dozen sons, and kidnap his daughter, with just a piece of sharp rock! Even now I find it hard to believe. By holding on to his will and with great determination, he was able to make such a crazy weapon; crude but highly effective. In fact, this tale teaches you many important facts."

Zhen Shi bent his head sideways with another quizzical look, "It does...?"

Myne ignored him again, and said, "In all my years, I haven't seen such a unique weapon. No qi, no energy, nothing fancy. Just a sharpened rock... and yet a crippled man killed six warriors with it! I can only assume that crazy Norseman ventured into some sort of trance state and entered a higher level of blacksmithing. But, no matter how much I tried, I was unable to copy his attempts...

So the first lesson is that a weapon need only be powerful! Appearance matters less!"

Myne continued as Zhen Shi nodded in agreement, "The next lesson is, no matter how suited a weapon is to a person, the one who knows best about it is the blacksmith who created it! I've tried using his sharpened abyss glass in battle, and it was as useful as an actual rock."

Turning to Zhen Shi, he continued in a serious tone, "Honestly, your bow is an even more amazing piece of weaponry. The blacksmith who made it is probably leagues above that fellow in the Ice Lands. I almost believe it is worthy of being wielded by a god... But, it also seems to lose it's power when it's not in your hands... Where the hell did you get it from, you lucky bastard...?"

Zhen Shi opened his mouth to explain, but Myne stopped him saying, "If you say it's another perk of your special physique... Just. Don't."

Scratching his head guiltily, Zhen Shi grew silent. That was exactly what he had been planning on saying.

Myne proceeded to ignore the implications of Zhen Shi growing silent and continued, "And yet, what I said before still applies. Even if the blacksmith who made your weapon isn't an archer, he could probably use it better than you. Not to mention that every weapon has small misfits that prevent perfect synchronization. A weapon is only truly known, by the blacksmith who made it.

Right now, you can use the bow up to Soul Tier Grade 1 so that it matches your cultivation... but if you could truly understand the weapon, you could probably do much much better.

It's true that the problem will lessen with time and practice, but if you had made the bow by yourself, such a problem would never have occurred!"

Myne proudly patted his chest as he reached the end, "And now, the final lesson. It is impossible for anyone to reach such a level overnight. So, for the moment, forget everything I said and follow the 'wrong' advice given by the ordinary IDIOT blacksmiths!" with a confident and self-satisfied grin.

Zhen Shi collapsed sideways, 'SHIET! Then why'd you make me listen to all that crap?'