In the early morning, the rchant woke up from bed, habitually glanced out of the window, and his face suddenly turned to terror.
Right below the Inn of Delight, there were about a dozen Jianghu martial artists in yellow robes performing an extrely twisted, bizarre "dance" that made one’s skin crawl just by looking at it.
"Jing Lin! Jing Lin!"
"What’s the matter, Dad?" The young rchant imdiately ca out from the partition, seeing his father with the look of soone just awakened, and asked in confusion,
"Dad, did you have a nightmare?"
"No, downstairs..." The old rchant pointed to the people in yellow robes "practicing their dance" below, their cloaks writhing like tentacles and limbs extending at inconceivable angles, as if a horde of demons were cavorting.
"Ah, that, they are doing their morning practice!" Jing Lin glanced through the window and said as if it were a matter of course:
"Isn’t it quite common for people in the Martial World to practice their kung fu in the morning? Darts Master Lin and his folks also practice their kung fu in the mornings!"
"But this..." The old rchant looked at the strangely positioned yellow-robed people, his mouth twitching as he said:
"How can this look like martial practice? Doesn’t it look more like those Demon Sect witches performing so sorcery?"
"Oh dear Dad! You really shouldn’t say such things in front of them, you’ll make enemies!" Jing Lin rushed over in a few strides and covered his father’s mouth, and after making sure no one had heard them, he whispered:
"Doesn’t the Sunset Fist Technique of the Golden Crow Sect also look aged and feeble? Haven’t those who laughed at it been beaten to death? I asked Darts Master Lin before, he said that the kung fu these people practice is just ordinary against regular Jianghu martial artists, but extrely effective against Demon Sect demons. Paired with their yellow robes, they can basically restrain the Poisonous Insect Demons from the Demon Sect.
"I also paid the waiter to find out more, and he said that this is the ’Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist’, and their footwork is known as the ’Shengxuan Dingguan Step’. Right now, they’re only rehearsing, it looks like a dance, but this step is said to be used in conjunction with Mathematics, and in actual combat, each step can land in the enemy’s blind spot, quite mystical!"
"Is that so?" The old rchant cald down a bit after hearing his son’s explanation, but still, the area of Yan State was ultimately plagued by Demon Sect demons, so he couldn’t be careless and imdiately said:
"Let’s have soone call us, and after breakfast, we’ll set off."
"Understood." Jing Lin nodded, then attended to his father as he changed his clothes, before heading with the Darts Master guarding the door, to the main building of the inn.
They saw that there were about a dozen people inside the hall, but perhaps because those from the Mystical Lord Sect were outside doing morning exercises, there were no yellow robes to be seen in the hall, and among them, even a few with obvious physical deformities, which made the old rchant feel a bit more at ease.
At least it confird that this was indeed Yan State.
At that mont, two Jianghu martial artists in tight garnts entered the inn upon the waiter’s query of "refueling or staying", ordered a table full of food, and sat down not far from where the others were seated, engaging in a rather intense conversation—
"Brother Zhou, I pondered half of last night after I went back, and I feel that your understanding is still problematic. The essence of the Life and Death Qi should be in this transformation. Although the Life Qi is vigorous and useful, we shouldn’t neglect the subtle and frail Death Qi."
"But this Death Qi is essentially an energy of decline, rely a foundation to awaken the Life Qi. Cultivation not only requires extensive nourishnt, but it also consus vital energy and blood. When I first practiced, my level of cultivation even regressed and I barely suppressed the Demonic Qi within my body!"
The Jianghu man, whose right arm was covered by scales resembling snake skin, objected, but his friend took out a book and said:
"This ’Ganoderma Life Extension thod’ has already made it very clear. Life and Death are the cycles of the human body. Only when diseased flesh declines can vitality erge. Without this energy of decay, rotten flesh will proliferate. Those of us tainted by Demon Cultivator’s Demonic Qi are those whose chanisms of Death Qi have been completely devastated by it, unable to tabolize the diseased flesh, thereby giving rise to various weird abnormalities!"
...
"Dad, what are they talking about?" Jing Lin suddenly got the impression "These people of the Jianghu actually seem more cultured than , who has properly attended private school", and for a mont, he began to doubt his life.
The old rchant was also slightly astonished and beckoned a waiter over, saying:
"What are these two guests discussing? It’s so abstruse and difficult to understand. Isn’t it sowhat inappropriate to discuss such Secret Transmissions in public, where others might overhear?"
Hearing this, the waiter just laughed and said:
"The guest is joking. The two guests are rely discussing the ’Ganoderma Life Extension thod’. This thod was created by Mystical Lord after researching the principles of Demonic Qi circulation. It’s a dical book as well as the main outline of the ’Mystical Lord Secret Scripture’. You can buy it at any bookstore in Yan State. If you’re interested, I can also sell it to you here, for just fifty coins."
"Just fifty coins? To buy the main outline of the Mystical Lord Secret Scripture?" Jing Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief. He knew that even after the destruction of Tianya Pavilion in Qing Province, the most rudintary of the leaked manuals would cost five silver taels, and those forr secrets that were not supposed to be shared, even re copies, would see people spending thousands of taels to snatch them up. How could the Mystical Lord, who is currently in good health and has his sect’s scriptures, allow them to be sold so cheaply?
"That’s right. As for the Mystical Lord, his temperant and character are that of a top-tier Great Grandmaster. After he created this Divine Skill, he started teaching martial arts in Jining City. Anyone who wishes to learn can beco a disciple. He also built a Mystical Lord Pavilion, which is not just a sect, but also a place where books are stored. The reason why this main outline is selling for fifty coins is because of printing and transportation costs. When you get to Jining, you can directly go to the Mystical Lord Pavilion to borrow and read it."
Upon hearing this, an Escort Leader who had been quiet on the side until now couldn’t help but interject:
"If Martial Arts secrets are disseminated so indiscriminately, what if soone who does not understand the essence looks at them and practices them incorrectly?"
"Hey, that’s indeed a possibility. However, since the Mystical Lord himself resides in Jining City, anyone with doubts about the techniques can go and consult him. If the question is intricate enough, it might even be recorded and turned into a ’Residence Report’ called the ’Mystical Lord Hundred Solutions’."
"Most of these martial artists usually study and discuss among themselves, accumulating their questions, and then visit the Mystical Lord Pavilion periodically to seek guidance. However, over the past half year, common questions can practically be found answered in the ’Mystical Lord Hundred Solutions’. I’ve heard that many in the Martial Arts community take pride in posing questions that make it into the ’Mystical Lord Hundred Solutions’!"
Hearing the waiter’s words, the Escort Leader felt almost incredulous, thinking this differed greatly from his impression of the Martial Arts community in Yan State. Jing Lin exclaid:
"If you hadn’t said this was about martial arts, I would have thought it was the Imperial College in the Capital..."
However, his words seed to stimulate the Escort Leader. He frowned, looked at those people of the Jianghu who were eating and discussing knowledge at the sa ti, and felt irritated. He imdiately asked the waiter:
"Waiter, is there a place where martial artists can spar in Yan State nowadays?"
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