Fang Jing spent her days practicing Body Tempering and her nights reading the books in the chest. After a period of time, Fang Jing had already reached the Body Tempering First Layer, and she was also learning the local writing very quickly. Fang Jing breezed through the introductory books as well, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of this current world.
There was also a book named *Body Tempering Formula* in the book chest, which described the process of body tempering in greater detail. It turned out that body tempering was actually a method of exercising the physical body. When unable to absorb spiritual energy, one utilized the ambient spiritual energy present everywhere in the heavens and earth to toughen the skin and surface of the body. Through massive amounts of exercise to work the muscles, body tempering could make people physically robust, their skin firm, and raise their pain threshold.
People with Spiritual Roots could guide spiritual energy into the body, using spiritual energy to scour the tendons and bones, and absorbing spiritual energy to strengthen them. Therefore, Qi Condensation tempered the interior of the body, while body tempering tempered the exterior; the two did not conflict with each other, or rather, they complemented one another. Mastering Qi Condensation made one more proficient when using spiritual energy to toughen the body's surface, while mastering body tempering gave one a vague understanding of spiritual energy, making it easier to guide spiritual energy into the body.
Fang Jing flipped through the *Qi Condensation Formula* in her hands twice, thinking that she had arrived in this world for a month now, yet she did not know if she had a Spiritual Root. The original host was an idiot. The *Qi Condensation Formula* mentioned that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was closer to people with Spiritual Roots. If this body had Spiritual Roots, nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for sixteen years, even if it could not cultivate a clever and exquisite little girl, she shouldn't still be a little fool.
Troubled, Fang Jing flipped through the rather thin book once again, almost memorizing the acupoints and meridians written in it. Anyway, there was no one here, so she might as well try it herself; even if she failed, no one would discover it, Fang Jing quietly persuaded herself in her heart.
As good as her word, Fang Jing sat in meditation according to what was written in the book, slowly calming her mind to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. As time passed, Fang Jing seemed to feel the presence of spiritual energy around her. Gradually, she drew the spiritual energy into her body, and then consciously guided these spiritual energy currents through the meridians into various acupoints one by one. Fang Jing could feel that there was already spiritual energy within her body. Unblocking smaller acupoints was relatively easy, but unblocking major acupoints remained very difficult.
Guessing that it was already past three in the morning, Fang Jing opened her eyes and let out a long breath. It seemed that guiding spiritual energy into the body wasn't that difficult after all. Fang Jing got off the bed, grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat from her body. Being able to break through a major acupoint in a single night was already a huge achievement. The more acupoints that were unblocked, the faster the speed of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; a single major acupoint could absorb much more than a minor acupoint.
Two days later, Fang Jing decided to go and take a look at the library that Qingyue had mentioned, so that later, if others discovered she had already guided spiritual energy into the body, she could claim she learned it in the library, preventing her own books from being coveted. When she arrived at the library, Fang Jing discovered that *Body Tempering Formula* and *Qi Condensation Formula* were just piled up at the entrance, not the precious secret manuals she had imagined.
After going inside, Fang Jing casually picked up a book from the nearest shelf and browsed through it. But she had only turned a few pages when the library steward arrived. The steward had only stepped out to use the outhouse and returned to find someone had entered without registering, which startled him greatly. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was the foolish cousin and heaved a sigh of relief. The steward asked with some disdain, "Cousin, can you even read the words on those?"
Fang Jing turned her head to glance at the man who spoke, detected the mockery in his words, and coldly retorted, "Does it concern you?" The steward had not expected this fool to snap back, and became somewhat annoyed, whereupon he hatched a plan.
The steward went to the back bookshelf and retrieved a book called *Chao Ling*. This book was written in an obscure and difficult-to-understand manner, but it was not any sort of cultivation technique or secret manual. The steward carried this book over to Fang Jing and said, "Miss, you'll find this book more suitable for you."
Fang Jing flipped through it and couldn't understand it, whereupon the steward said, "Miss, you can borrow it and take it back to your room to read." With that, he went to his desk and began registering: Cousin Jiang Yuejing borrows *Chao Ling*.
This whole sequence of operations was smooth as flowing water, leaving Fang Jing staring in a daze. She figured that since it was already registered anyway, she might as well just take it back and take a good look at what this book was talking about.
Upon returning, Fang Jing flipped through a dozen pages before feeling extremely sleepy, making her unable to help complaining about who on earth wrote this—it was completely incomprehensible! Afterwards, she cast the book aside and picked up the books from the chest to study instead.
A few days later, a few maid-dressed figures came to Fang Jing's room, saying that guests from the Zhao family and the Bai family had both arrived, and the mistress heard that the cousin's condition had improved, so she asked the cousin to come to the front courtyard to keep company as well. Fang Jing figured that seeing more of this world would be good, so she followed along. The leading maids ahead all spoke in soft voices, occasionally giggling twice. From behind, Fang Jing caught snatches of things like, "The Second Young Master of the Bai family is truly a man of outstanding talent!", "The First Young Master of the Zhao family has raised his cultivation level again," and the like.
When Fang Jing arrived at the front courtyard, she saw two handsome men sparring. Every move and stance could be described as graceful as startled swans and swimming dragons. "Yuejing has arrived, come sit down." Qin Ling's mother, the First Madam of the Qin Family, suddenly put on the act of a deeply affectionate elder and greeted Fang Jing to take a seat.
After Fang Jing took her seat, she watched the sparring match on the stage with relish. Before long, the two of them decided the victor, and Fang Jing joined the crowd in applause. Afterwards came everyone's praises for the two men.
Just as Fang Jing picked up her teacup and took a sip of tea, a clear voice from a collateral branch of the Qin Family spoke up: "Not long ago when I went to the library to borrow books, I heard the steward say that Miss Jiang Yuejing once borrowed *Chao Ling* back to read. This unworthy person has always failed to understand the meaning of this book, and wonders if Miss Jiang might enlighten me?"
As soon as the words fell, all kinds of giggles broke out around them. "An idiot reading *Chao Ling*? Can she even understand it? Hahahahaha." The Second Young Master of the Qin Family was seated relatively close to her, so the moment that brat laughed, Fang Jing heard it. Fang Jing turned her head and glared at him, and the Second Young Master was so frightened he stopped laughing immediately, terrified that this lunatic would go crazy and punch him again.
Faced with the various taunts and jeers all around, Fang Jing unhurriedly continued drinking the tea in her hand, utterly failing to display the embarrassed demeanor that the First Madam had anticipated. Drawing on Fang Jing's years of experience rooted in vegetable markets and streets, having witnessed countless arguments, she had summarized the number one rule for bickering with people: never let others drag you into their rhythm, following the opponent's pace.
Fang Jing replied leisurely, "I cannot."
That person named Qin Shuo attempted to use reverse psychology: "It's not that you cannot; actually, you simply can't understand it at all, right?"
Fang Jing countered, "Because you are stupid, you don't understand it."
Qin Shuo looked as though he had been hit by a soft, feeble punch; a surge of breath had already reached his chest but couldn't be exhaled, yet he still stubbornly argued, "Then you're very smart, I suppose?"
Fang Jing chuckled lightly, "I am not smart, but you are definitely foolish."
Qin Shuo genuinely wanted to vomit blood. He had been called stupid by an idiot, and now he couldn't even catch his breath. Seeing this, the First Madam of the Qin Family gave up any hope for Qin Shuo; this fellow couldn't even handle a small matter properly.
The First Madam chimed in with a smile, "Alright, Yuejing, come greet the Second Young Master Zhao."
Fang Jing—that is, Jiang Yuejing—smiled and said, "Hello."
Zhao Er merely gave a grunt of acknowledgment, looking at Jiang Yuejing with an even more disdainful gaze; an idiot who didn't even understand proper etiquette. Zhao Da softly pacified Zhao Er from the side, "Alright, just bear with it."
Jiang Yuejing took all of this in, instinctively feeling that this First Madam definitely had some motive. Afterwards, the First Madam would periodically make her go over to Zhao Er's side, eliciting even more disdainful looks from Zhao Er, which only deepened her suspicions.
Seeing the Second Young Master Zhao's reaction, the First Madam was even more satisfied; this was precisely the effect she wanted. The First Madam walked over to Fang Jing, took Fang Jing's hand, and said, "Yuejing, what do you think of the Second Young Master Zhao?"
Fang Jing suddenly understood the First Madam's intention—she wanted to make her marry Zhao Er! No, this was absolutely out of the question! Fang Jing's mind raced, trying to figure out how to respond, when she felt the back of her hand lightly patted. "Yuejing, why are you staring blankly at the Second Young Master Zhao?" the First Madam said with a smile.
Jiang Yuejing wanted to defend herself and was just about to open her mouth when the First Madam continued, "Your uncle and I have arranged a match for you. The Second Young Master Zhao will be your devoted husband in the future, hehe."
A few days prior, the First Madam, the Master of the House, and Zhao Yin, the current head of the Zhao family, had arranged to drink tea. During the gathering, the First Madam suddenly assumed a sorrowful expression and said, "My younger sister went to the Northern Territory many years ago and has yet to return, and Yuejing is growing older day by day staying at home. Everyone knows Yuejing has some physical issues, so to this day she is merely a mortal. Mortal women of this age are all beginning to talk about marriage, and the Master and I are terribly worried at home." Saying this, she gently dabbed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, looked at Zhao Yin, and continued, "You say, if we were to find a mortal for Yuejing, the Master and I wouldn't rest easy either, so we want to find someone from an immortal cultivation family for her, yet we're afraid that person might treat Yuejing poorly. That's why we want to find someone whose background we know thoroughly."
Seeing the expression of the couple opposite him, Zhao Yin understood everything instantly. He also feigned worry and said, "Alas, but Yuejing cannot cultivate; would an immortal cultivation family even want her?"
Exchanging a glance, the First Madam and the Master said, "Who's to say otherwise? Everyone more or less has an idea of what kind of Spiritual Roots Yuejing's parents had; presumably Yuejing's Spiritual Roots aren't bad either. It's just that she suffers from being a... sigh. If she marries an ordinary person, you say if she gives birth to a boy with Spiritual Roots in the future, how would a mortal know how to cultivate? Wouldn't that be an utter waste?"
Zhao Yin rolled his eyes and immediately grasped the meaning. Everyone knew that Jiang Yuejing was an idiot, but if she inherited her parents' superior Spiritual Roots and then produced a child with a single Spiritual Root with one of his own family members, their Zhao family's status would definitely rise to another level in the future. His eldest son had to inherit the family business in the future and could not marry an idiot and become a laughingstock; it would be better to let his second son marry this idiot. In any case, a mortal's lifespan was short, and if he didn't like her in the future, the second son could find someone new. Moreover, it would also do a favor for the idiot's parents.
Feigning thought for a moment, Zhao Yin said to the couple, "Brother Qin, I understand your worries as well. Yuejing is someone I've watched grow up since childhood; our second son is a good-for-nothing, and I've also been thinking of finding him a wife so he can settle down. How about it, what do you think of my second son?"
Hearing this, the Master of the Qin Family beamed with joy: "The Second Young Master Zhao is as graceful as jade trees and orchids; of course my wife and I are willing."
This tea-house conversation left both host and guest thoroughly pleased, and thus the marriage between the Second Young Master Zhao and Jiang Yuejing was settled just like that. The First Madam and Master of the Qin Family were overjoyed to be rid of the idiot Jiang Yuejing, while Zhao Yin also gained a tool who might potentially give birth to a single Spiritual Root for the Zhao family.