abnabooks Chapter 20 Old Friends
Chapter 20 Old Friends
"Is it to select geniuses?"
Mo Zheng answered without hesitation.
To achieve perfect Qi and blood circulation, one must reach the level of subtle external martial arts skills. Martial arts disciples under the age of eighteen who can achieve this are extremely rare.
Even those scions of powerful families, or even descendants of powerful martial artists, can build up their internal strength through resources, but their external skills require diligent cultivation little by little, leaving no room for falsehood.
Even with the help of mental power, it took Mo Zheng more than half a year to comprehend the mysteries of this realm under the pressure of life and death.
The Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall is the highest martial arts hall in the entire Liangzhou region, encompassing 212 counties. Only the most talented disciples are selected to enter and cultivate there.
Zhou Xian laughed, shook his head, and said, "That's only a small part of the reason. The real reason is to lay a solid foundation."
"Laying a solid foundation?"
This is quite different from what Mo Zheng had learned during this period.
"Is this unexpected? This is because your knowledge at the Shangyin Martial Arts School is limited, and you are unaware of the various levels of cultivation in martial arts."
Zhou Xian explained: "Martial arts cultivation is divided into five realms: Qi and Blood, Skin and Flesh, Tendons and Bones, Internal Organs, and Acupoints."
"Each realm is further divided into four minor realms: entry, minor achievement, major achievement, and perfection. Those who achieve major achievement in the Qi and Blood realm can break through to the Skin and Flesh realm, which is what people often call an entry-level martial artist."
"However, once these martial artists have exhausted their potential, they can only cultivate to the Great Perfection of the Skin and Flesh Realm at most in their lifetime, and it is extremely difficult for them to break through to the Tendon and Bone Realm."
"They spend their whole lives going back and forth between prefectures and counties, serving as minor officials and bullying ordinary people. The constables, county lieutenants, and that Black Sand Gang leader you've seen these past few days are nothing special. A single first-tier demon beast is enough to make them fight to the death."
Mo Zheng was shocked by the disdainful tone in Zhou Xian's mouth.
It turned out to be the case.
Does failing to reach the Qi and Blood Realm mean there's no hope for martial arts in the future?
"So, do we have to cultivate to perfection at each realm?" Mo Zheng asked.
"Junior brother, you're really fearless like a newborn calf. Martial arts cultivation is never that easy!"
Zhou Xian gave a wry smile and said, "Even a Martial Saint cannot reach perfection in every realm."
"Look at the disciples of the Jinqing Prefecture Martial Arts Hall. They are enrolled in a five-year program, and by the time they graduate, most of them have only just broken through to the physical realm."
"This is our Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall. It's a ten-year program. Many people cultivate their flesh and skin to perfection and break through to the tendon and bone realm. However, those who cultivate their tendon and bone realm to perfection are one in ten thousand. This involves not only the cultivation of internal energy, but also breakthroughs in external skills. You should know that external skill cultivation is much more difficult than internal skill cultivation."
External and internal martial arts skills complement each other. However, even a single mastery of external martial arts is enough to prevent Jinqing Prefecture, which governs eighteen counties and has a population of over ten million, from producing more than one master in a year. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to reach even higher levels of external martial arts skills.
"Fortunately, you are still young and have unlimited potential. As long as you have a solid foundation and cultivate each realm to perfection, you may one day be able to cultivate to the Acupoint Realm and become another national martial saint of our Great Yan," Zhou Xian joked.
The Martial Saint was originally at the Acupoint Realm.
Mo Zheng couldn't help but feel a deep longing. Although these realm divisions were unknown to those who weren't martial artists, the title of Martial Saint was widely circulated among the common people.
The Great Yan Emperor was a martial saint.
Legend has it that the Martial Saint is indestructible, like a god or demon, with such overwhelming power that he can shatter mountains and break rivers, something no ordinary person could withstand.
In the stories that storytellers often told on the streets and alleys, there were often scenes of a martial saint charging into an army formation alone, and being no match for ten thousand men.
Moreover, this is not a legend or a figment of imagination; it is something that truly happened.
Although the Great Yan was established a thousand years ago, there is more than one Great Yan in this world. There are many countries that border Great Yan. When they fight for territory, there are often stories of martial saints charging into battle and turning the tide of battle.
Of course, there are also regulations such as prohibiting martial saints from participating in military conflicts between two countries. However, when the other country is about to perish, who would care about such things?
The reason why this world is filled with various kingdoms is because of the heaven-defying combat power of martial saints who act as peace envoys; otherwise, it would have been unified long ago.
However, this realm is obviously difficult to cultivate and break through, otherwise it wouldn't be called a Martial Saint.
Right now, it's still too far away from Mo Zheng; we can only dream about it.
"Senior Brother Zhou, tell me about the cultivation of the Qi and Blood Realm and the Skin and Flesh Realm. The Martial Saint Realm is too far away and not realistic for me," Mo Zheng said.
Previously at the Shangyin Martial Arts School, Zhao Feng did not explain the cultivation of the Qi and Blood Realm and the Skin and Flesh Realm to Mo Zheng in detail. He just kept teaching him to practice swordsmanship. Although he had read some of it in the book, it was ultimately superficial and could not compare to the detailed and accurate explanations given by the disciples of the Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall.
Fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys are at an age where they love to dream, so Zhou Xian was somewhat surprised that Mo Zheng didn't pester him to talk about the Martial Saint.
Little did he know that Mo Zheng, having lived two lives, was nearly forty years old in total, and no longer possessed the youthful spirit of a boy.
"Junior Brother Mo is a reliable person. Alright, then I'll tell you about it. You should know about the perfection of Qi and Blood, right?"
"I know," Mo Zheng nodded.
The main purpose of cultivating Qi and Blood Realm is to strengthen Qi and Blood. Being able to sense the strengthening of Qi and Blood through stance training is the entry point. Being able to open four of the eight extraordinary meridians is the minor achievement, and opening all eight is the major achievement. As for perfection, it is achieved by using the subtle level of power control to open many subtle hidden meridians in the body, thereby strengthening Qi and Blood once again.
For those who haven't mastered external skills to a high level, this is an insurmountable challenge, but for those who have, it's just a matter of time.
"Then let me tell you about the physical realm."
Zhou Xian said with a smile, showing no impatience.
The journey was long and uneventful, and since he was fond of giving advice, talking about these things helped pass the time.
Of course, the main reason was that he had a good feeling about the boy in front of him.
The first time I heard about it was when he killed the notorious bandit Yu Yang.
He witnessed firsthand how ruthless the Black Sand Gang was in dealing with their forces, severing a man's arm with a single sword strike without hesitation.
A martial artist needs this kind of clean, decisive, and ruthless nature; otherwise, it is difficult to achieve great things.
Once you reach the physical cultivation stage, you no longer practice standing meditation, but rather cultivate your inner energy.
There is a spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
However, this spiritual energy cannot be directly absorbed by people; it can only be transformed through eating and drinking.
Standing meditation transforms the energy obtained from eating and drinking into qi and blood, thereby strengthening one's physique.
The "Flesh and Skin Realm" isn't about improving the skin's resistance to blows by blunt weapons; that kind of training would ruin a person in just a few days.
It involves using various techniques to transform one's own blood and qi into internal energy, which is then used to temper the skin and flesh.
The stronger one's Qi and blood, the purer and more abundant the internal Qi that is transformed, the higher the efficiency of tempering the skin and flesh, and the faster one can cultivate at this level.
The distinction between minor success, major success, and perfection in this realm is no longer based on the amount of effort required to improve. Although this aspect does have an effect, it mainly refers to the degree of physical and mental refinement.
Those who have reached the minor level have skin and flesh as tough as cowhide, which can greatly hinder the damage from sharp and blunt weapons; those who have reached the major level have skin and flesh as hard as stone, and when they are cut by swords and other weapons, they will only leave a white mark; those who have reached the perfect level have skin and flesh as hard as copper, and unless they are using divine weapons, ordinary weapons are completely immune to damage, or even break in two!
Cowhide, stone, and copper—these are the three levels of the physical realm.
Mo Zheng once again felt the severity of the martial arts realm.
Without a doubt, copper-skinned martial artists completely overwhelm stone-skinned martial artists, and stone-skinned martial artists also completely overwhelm cow-skinned martial artists. With just one minor realm difference, it is difficult for lower-level martial artists to even break through the defenses.
He recalled his fight with Yu Yang, who was a martial artist at the entry level with extremely tough skin and flesh.
If it weren't for his enhanced mental power, which greatly increased his strength, even if he had mastered the subtle level of swordsmanship, it would have been quite a struggle to kill him.
If the gap between minor realms is so large, one can only imagine how vast the gap is between major realms.
No wonder weapons are so expensive.
If the flesh and skin realm is like this, the subsequent bone and tendon realm and internal organ realm will likely be the same.
The stronger a martial artist is, the more robust their flesh and bones must be. Without divine weapons, they would likely be at a great disadvantage in a fight.
The same goes for monsters.
The black leopard shattered his sword but remained unharmed. Martial artists also need good weapons to deal with these monsters.
If you learn how to forge weapons, it's sure to be a profitable business.
In Mo Zheng's pocket, the money he had saved over the past two months, plus the five taels of silver left after the sale of Yu Yang's estate, totaled less than thirty taels.
Poor, poor, poor...
The two talked as they traveled, and soon the sun began to set. At that moment, a great city stood before them.
The city walls were seven or eight zhang high, entirely black, stretching so far that their entirety was difficult to discern, their grandeur and magnificence indescribable.
Above the city gate hangs a plaque with the three characters "Jinqing Prefecture" written on it.
"It's still three hours' journey to Liangzhou City. By then, neither of us will be able to get in. Let's rest here in Jinqing Prefecture for the night."
Zhou Xian said, "Didn't your master ask you to go see his daughter? You might as well go. The Zhao family of Jinqing Prefecture is quite influential; maybe he's the one who's trying to match you two up."
"Senior Brother Zhou, please stop teasing me."
Mo Zheng laughed. He had become quite familiar with the other party after spending the day with him and knew that although this senior brother seemed decisive and ruthless, he was actually a cheerful and warm-hearted person.
Stopping at Jinqing Mansion to rest is probably a deliberate act of taking care of him.
"Let's go into town."
Zhou Xian took the lead and whipped his horse, with Mo Zheng following closely behind.
Upon reaching the city gate, both men dismounted, led their horses, and walked into the city.
This prefectural city, which governs eighteen counties, is extremely prosperous. Even though it is about to get dark, there is still a constant stream of people coming and going.
After each person paid a copper coin, the two entered the city of Jinqing.
Within Jinqing Prefecture, as one enters the city, shops line the streets in rows, pedestrians jostle shoulder to shoulder, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares fill the air, creating a truly bustling scene.
However, the two were too tired from their journey to watch anything. They found an inn to stay in, put down their luggage, and then went to the second floor of the inn's lobby to find a window seat to eat.
The food at this inn is particularly delicious, and Mo Zheng ate with great relish.
Zhou Xian only took a small bite, and when Mo Zheng had almost finished eating, he said, "Are you going to the Jinqing Prefecture Martial Arts Hall later? I saw that Master Zhao left you a letter, saying that half of the contents were for his daughter. Don't forget that."
Senior brother, you've already observed this?
Mo Zheng secretly admired Zhou Xian's meticulousness; he remembered even these small details.
He immediately took out the letter, tore open the sealing wax, and went to find out what it was.
The envelope contained several silver notes and a letter.
Mo Zheng unfolded the document and saw that it read: "I promised you that when your swordsmanship reaches a certain level, I would give you all the pills you need for your qi and blood to be fully replenished. However, the world changes so quickly that I could not have predicted it. Here are five hundred taels of silver notes, which can be considered as your expenses for the pills."
After reading this letter, Mo Zheng felt a pang of sadness and was deeply moved.
He hadn't expected Zhao Feng to still remember this.
When he mastered the Thunderclap Sword Technique, he promised to provide the pills for him to cultivate to perfection once his sword technique reached a higher level. Now, he's giving them to him in this way.
However, just as Mo Zheng was immersed in his emotions, a surprised and uncertain voice suddenly rang in his ears:
"Zhou Xian, is that you?"
But then they saw a group of four or five people walking up the stairs in the distance. The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, dressed in a purple outfit. He had an ordinary face, but his eyes were sharp and piercing, making people dare not look him in the eye. Behind him were several young men and women around twenty years old.
At this moment, the middle-aged man walked towards Mo Zheng and his companion with a delighted smile on his face, saying, "It really is you. I thought I was seeing things."
Zhou Xian stood up and said familiarly, "Teacher Ding, it's been a long time."
"Hahaha, you brat, you've come all the way to Jinqing Prefecture and you haven't even come to visit me?"
Master Ding laughed loudly and said to the people behind him, "Why don't you come and greet Senior Brother Zhou? Your Senior Brother Zhou Xian entered the Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall from our Jinqing Prefecture Martial Arts Hall six years ago. He is an extraordinary genius."
The young men and women, who had initially appeared indifferent, changed their expressions upon hearing the words "Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall" and bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhou."
Many of the disciples who enter the Liangzhou Martial Arts Academy each year come from martial arts academies in various prefectures, and they are all geniuses among them.
The people in front of me are disciples of Jinqing Prefecture. Although they are usually arrogant, their arrogance is nothing compared to the reputation of Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall.
"No need for such formalities."
Zhou Xian laughed and said, "Master Ding, I dare not claim to be a genius. This Junior Brother Mo Zheng is only fourteen years old, yet his swordsmanship has already reached a high level. I came here on the orders of the headmaster to pick him up. My journey was rushed, so I did not have time to pay my respects. Please forgive me."
Fourteen years old, and his swordsmanship is already incredibly refined?!
Upon hearing these two words, the expressions of the people present all changed simultaneously.
Martial arts schools usually recruit students who are twelve years old or older, which means that this boy has mastered swordsmanship to a high level in just two years.
It should be noted that although they are all in their early twenties and have cultivated for many years, none of them have reached this level in external martial arts.
What incredible talent!
They were unaware that Mo Zheng had only been practicing swordsmanship for about half a year; otherwise, they would have been astonished.
"Impressive, impressive. No wonder it was worth it for you, Zhou Xian, to make the trip yourself."
Master Ding was full of amazement. He cupped his hands in greeting to Mo Zheng and said, "Brother Mo, I am Ding Kaishan from the Martial Arts Hall of Jinqing Prefecture. Greetings!"
……