Night.
Xu Guang sat in his room, one hand submerged in a wooden bucket filled with pig’s blood. His eyes watched the process with intense focus.
Even though his palm showed no visible changes, the color of the pig’s blood in the bucket was constantly fading. About half an hour later, it became almost as clear as water.
Only then did he pull his hand out. He examined his palm closely, finding the whole thing incredibly miraculous.
After absorbing a mere bucket of pig’s blood, he finally sensed a change stemming from the Blood Eye. In the unseen depths, he could vaguely feel a drop of deep red blood resting at the center of his forehead. It was a fascinating sensation.
He wondered what exactly this blood was supposed to do.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
It was late at night again. Xu Guang opened his interface with a look of eager anticipation.
There would be news regarding his third sister today, and he felt both hopeful and anxious about it.
[Search results are as follows:]
[1. Seven years ago, in Feiyun City, Xu Qiu was abducted by Qian Cheng of the Ya Bang. Due to her striking appearance, she was passed around multiple times before finally leaving Feiyun City.]
[2. Five years ago, in Anyang City, Xu Qiu killed her adoptive father and was hunted down. She later encountered Mu Yourong, who saved her, and followed her to Xu State.]
[3. One year ago, in Linzhi City, Xu Qiu entered the Three Books Daoist School as the Maid to the Eldest Miss of the Mu Family.]
[Note: The current number of search results is displayed as three.]
Xu Guang looked thrilled. Xu Qiu was indeed still alive, and it seemed she was doing quite well for herself. If the Eldest Miss of the Mu Family could bring people across state borders, the Mu Family’s influence had to be substantial.
In that case, there was no need to worry too much. He only wondered if the Eldest Miss of the Mu Family treated his third sister well.
He opened the Searcher, preparing to search for unclaimed Martial Arts Secret Manuals near Feiyun City. However, he suddenly paused after entering the keywords.
Had the Searcher’s functions evolved? For example... Now that he possessed more personal knowledge, it was as if the Searcher’s core had grown stronger. Would the search speed become faster?
He had a vague guess in his mind. Master Zhao would be heading to the teaching grounds tomorrow, so he could just wait until he learned a Cultivation Technique before searching again. It was only a matter of waiting a single night, anyway.
But the Searcher could not be wasted.
[Current Search Keywords - Valuable Items. Associated terms: Unclaimed, Suitable. Set range: Within a thirty-mile radius of Feiyun City.]
[Searching... 0%]
He had heard that practicing martial arts was incredibly expensive. His savings from all these years were barely enough to pay for one month of Master Zhao’s tuition, so he needed to make preparations early.
Early the next morning, Xu Guang navigated through the city streets and arrived in front of a large courtyard near the Inner City.
A plaque hung above the courtyard gate, reading: Immortal Zhao.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Xu Guang stepped forward and knocked on the door. After waiting for a moment, a young man of about twenty, wearing a grayish-black short jacket, opened the door and cast a rather displeased look at him.
"What is your business?"
"The Eldest Miss of the Cheng Family recommended that I come here to practice martial arts."
The young man looked Xu Guang up and down. "Did you bring enough money?"
"Enough."
The heavy door opened wider, and Xu Guang followed the young man inside.
Master Zhao was present today, so the courtyard was bustling with people. There were about a dozen bare-chested, burly men and five women clad in tight-fitting clothes. Regardless of gender, they all looked rather robust and muscular.
On the steps beneath the eaves, a scrawny old man sat in a recliner. Holding a bowl of ginseng tea, he casually gave pointers to the disciples.
"Miss Cheng sent you over? Did you bring enough money?"
Xu Guang maintained a respectful expression as he hurriedly reached into his robes and took out the hundred Large Blade Coins he had prepared in advance. Large Blade Coins were extremely valuable; a single one could be exchanged for about a hundred Small Blade Coins. This sum basically accounted for all the wealth Xu Guang had accumulated over the years.
"As long as it’s enough. Miss Cheng should have told you that when I teach the Martial Dao here, I don’t accept the rich, and I don’t accept the poor. I also do not teach those with poor aptitude. Step forward and let me check your talent."
This Old Zhao had an eccentric temper. Those three rules had driven away many who came to seek apprenticeship. ’I don’t accept the rich’ meant he didn’t take in young masters from wealthy families. ’I don’t accept the poor’ meant he turned away those who couldn’t afford the tuition. Satisfying the first two conditions granted entry, but he would not personally instruct anyone with poor aptitude.
Xu Guang respectfully stepped forward. He himself had no idea whether his aptitude was considered good or bad.
Old Zhao stood up. He was short and skinny, looking almost like a comical monkey, but an uncanny aura surrounded him, giving off the distinct feeling that anyone who dared to attack him would be instantly killed. Xu Guang had heard his brother-in-law mention this before. It was an aura naturally formed by a Martial Artist after years of practicing footwork and coordinating their body.
The old man circled Xu Guang’s body before casually saying, "Endure it."
He suddenly reached out and pressed down hard on one of the Acupoints under Xu Guang’s armpit.
It was incredibly painful. A tingling sensation surged through Xu Guang’s body, and his arm involuntarily raised halfway up.
"Neither good nor bad," Old Zhao evaluated. "Your physical constitution is decent, even slightly stronger than some of your senior brothers who have practiced the Nourishing Body Scripture. However, the amount of Essence Blood your body can cultivate will probably only take you as far as Bone Forging. That’s considered decent enough."
Xu Guang’s expression subtly shifted, and he felt a wave of relief. It seemed Old Zhao hadn’t discovered that he was one of the Abnormal People. "Essence Blood?"
Seeing that Xu Guang genuinely seemed to know nothing, Old Zhao said, "I haven’t taken in a commoner disciple for many years. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll explain it to you.
"Do you know what the Martial Dao is?"
Only when he saw Xu Guang’s bewildered expression, accompanied by a thirst for knowledge in his eyes, did Old Zhao continue. "The very first step in Martial Dao Cultivation is nourishing—nourishing a good body. What follows is Skin Polishing. This hurdle isn’t difficult; as long as your body is healthy, you’re willing to endure hardship, and you have a Martial Arts Secret Manual and the formula for Secret Medicine, you will achieve it sooner or later.
"Next comes Bone Forging. At this stage, external conditions are still important, but what’s more crucial is that the vital energy and blood must condense into Essence Blood within the body. The more Essence Blood you can condense, the more you can circulate your vital energy to strengthen your bones.
"If your Essence Blood is insufficient, your cultivation speed will be too slow. Once you get older in a few years and your vital energy declines, circulating it will become even harder, making it increasingly difficult to refine your bones.
"As for things like Refining Viscera later on, they will have nothing to do with you."
Old Zhao’s explanation made Xu Guang’s heart beat a little faster.
Essence Blood... He had a nearly infinite supply of this stuff. Didn’t that mean his future cultivation journey would be smooth sailing?
After Old Zhao finished speaking, he drained the last of the tea from his cup and shouted, "Shorty, go to your shop and fetch some pastries."
Hearing this, a senior brother practicing martial arts not far away quickly got up, threw on his clothes, and dashed out.
Xu Guang was somewhat surprised. Master Zhao had an eccentric temper, yet it seemed his status in the eyes of these disciples was incredibly high. That short disciple ran quickly, looking as though he had absolutely no complaints.
"Don’t judge based on your master’s usual strictness. When it counts, these disciples are still very respectful and devoted to me. This is called honoring the master and revering his teachings.
"Your background is a bit lower than that of your senior brothers, and you can’t study for the imperial exams. Practice hard. Joining the military in the future isn’t a bad path for you," Old Zhao said earnestly.
"Thank you for your concern, Master."
Old Zhao waved his hand and handed over his empty teacup. "All the disciples under my tutelage cultivate my technique, the Golden Willow Skill. Do you know what makes this technique so profound?"
Xu Guang couldn’t help but feel that his master was showing off, but he played along, putting on a look of sheer admiration as he said, "I only heard Miss Cheng mention that the Golden Willow Skill is profoundly miraculous. As for exactly how profound it is, I must ask Master to enlighten me."
That admiring gaze made Old Zhao feel even more gratified. "Our Golden Willow Skill is a righteous, orthodox technique of the Mystic Sect. It is upright and balanced, relying entirely on steady, persistent effort. Once mastered, your body will float like a golden willow branch, as light as the wind.
"Your foundation is decent. I estimate you’ll finish cultivating the Nourishing Body Chapter very soon.
"Si, go to my room and get some Secret Medicine for your junior brother."
The senior brother named Si acknowledged the order. He soon emerged from the room, holding two packets of herbs in his hands.
Old Zhao tilted his chin, signaling Si to hand them to Xu Guang. "This is our sect’s Secret Medicine. The white packet is to be taken internally once every three days. The black packet is for external use; sprinkle it in the water when you bathe."
Xu Guang gripped the two bags of herbs, his heart surging with excitement.
The Martial Dao of this world was somewhat similar to the Hard Skills from his previous life. Even if one were lucky enough to obtain a Cultivation Technique, forcibly cultivating it without the accompanying Secret Medicine would only ruin their body. This kind of Secret Medicine was a master’s closely guarded secret and the true core of a Cultivation Technique.
"Thank you, Master."
Considering how expensive Old Zhao’s tuition was, he wondered just how much the raw materials for this Secret Medicine were worth.
"Junior Brother, come with me. I will guide you through the cultivation of the Nourishing Body Chapter," the burly man named Si said.
Xu Guang glanced at the man. He had a towering, robust build, standing over two meters tall, and looked incredibly powerful.
"Junior Brother, if you want to practice martial arts, you must nourish your body well. Right now, you’re a bit too skinny. You need to figure out a way to improve your diet." Si paused for a moment and pointed to a man of average height not far away. "That is Xu Sanduo. His family runs quite a few butcher shops. Later, you should go to him, buy some meat, and properly nourish yourself."
Xu Guang nodded seriously. "Thank you, Senior Brother. My name is Xu Guang. May I know your name?"
"I’m Zhao Yong, effectively your Fourth Senior Brother," Zhao Yong said with a smile. "Actually, the Nourishing Body Realm is the easiest to practice. There’s only one secret to it: eat more and move more. The Nourishing Body Chapter of the Golden Willow Skill mainly involves specific movements designed to invigorate the meridians, paving the way for Skin Polishing later on," he explained good-naturedly.
Xu Guang was left speechless, but he did understand something from it.
A Cultivation Technique could not be practiced haphazardly. Just because he was currently in the Nourishing Body Realm didn’t mean he could simply jump into cultivating the Skin Grinding Chapter of the Golden Willow Skill. He still needed to adapt. Every Martial Dao Cultivation Technique was deeply interconnected, with each step meticulously linked to the next.