Chapter 18: So-called Martial Arts

Duan Rong was immersed in a state of joy when he suddenly realized that the voice of Xiao Zongting, which had been ringing in his ears, had vanished for quite some time, and the surroundings were completely silent...

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately thought to himself, "This is bad."

Then, Duan Rong deliberately withdrew his Mental Power. Once the Mental Power dispersed, that wisp of Internal Breath vanished into the depths of his energy channels like a fish entering the sea, dissipating away...

Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, a look of deep confusion appearing in them.

Xiao Zongting immediately saw that Duan Rong had only stood in that posture for a moment, and after no more than a few breaths, his energy flow had become chaotic.

At this moment, there was still a look of deep bewilderment in Duan Rong's eyes; clearly, even he himself could not understand what had just happened.

Xiao Zongting took a slight breath; it seemed that Duan Rong's state just now was actually the ethereal state that those with exceptional comprehension occasionally enter for an instant.

When he was young and practicing, he would occasionally have it too.

"It seems this kid might be the next me!"

Xiao Zongting also came from humble beginnings; if not for his exceptional talent, how could he have made it all the way to becoming the Chief Escort of the Yuanshun Escort Agency?

In his view, for a youth from such a poor background as Duan Rong to become someone like him was already a kind of limit.

To want to go any higher was beyond human capability.

"Listen carefully!" Xiao Zongting looked at Duan Rong and shouted.

Duan Rong raised his head and looked at Xiao Zongting with focused eyes, thinking to himself: In this life, everything depends on acting; it seems I've passed this hurdle.

It seems I must be more careful in the future; this stubborn old man Xiao Zongting is not so easy to fool.

"Martial arts are techniques for killing!" Xiao Zongting's voice suddenly turned sharp.

"The moves of martial arts are merely methods of combat; the Internal Cultivation Method is the true foundation!"

"Practicing fists without practicing internal energy will ultimately lead to nothing!"

"Martial arts use Martial Techniques as the method of combat, the Internal Cultivation Method as the foundation, and Mental Power as the core!"

Duan Rong's heart was shaken. He repeated Xiao Zongting's last sentence in his mind. He could understand the Internal Cultivation Method being the foundation, but he could not grasp the profound meaning of Mental Power being the core.

Isn't Mental Power just a means to cultivate Internal Breath?

"Martial arts use Martial Techniques as the method of combat, the Internal Cultivation Method as the foundation, and Mental Power as the core!"

Duan Rong repeatedly pondered this sentence; the more he thought about it, the more he felt the vastness of the meaning behind it.

According to the logic of the sentence structure, the further back something is placed, the more important it is.

"In other words, is Mental Power actually more important than the Internal Cultivation Method?"

"Alright, I have finished saying what needs to be said. How much you can absorb depends on your own fortune." Xiao Zongting suddenly stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the two of them, and said, "I will give you three days to study and ponder it yourselves. Three days from now, in this very courtyard, I will test the results of your Internal Breath circulation!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Bin wore a bitter expression; the long string of things Xiao Zongting had said was, to him, simply a fantasy, like listening to a heavenly book.

But Duan Rong was not worried at all; as far as he was concerned, he had already basically mastered the method of Internal Breath circulation.

Moreover, because he had swallowed and digested the Spirit Tool, he even had several years of practice experience; he was clear in his heart even about the complex circulation circuits in the most minute details.

What remained was just the work of grinding; it was the same principle as practicing forms to temper the body—this time, it was tempering the Internal Breath!

One cannot be impatient, and being impatient is useless!

"Take the Secret Manuals back to read! But if they are lost or leaked, I will break your legs!"

This Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber is not a profound martial art, and there are many copies of this style on the market, but most have errors.

Martial arts, especially the Internal Cultivation Method, are a matter of a hair's breadth making a difference of a thousand miles.

Although the manuals in their hands were tattered, they were copies personally corrected by Xiao Zongting, with annotations and expansions for the difficult parts.

The value of this could no longer be measured by money.

The more Duan Rong heard Xiao Zongting speak this way, the happier he felt.

The stricter the control, the more it proved that it was the real deal!

If he could be taught the real thing, then the indenture he signed hadn't been in vain!

Duan Rong and Kong Bin picked up the Secret Manuals and were just about to leave when Xiao Zongting called them back, saying he had almost forgotten.

While speaking, he handed each of them a slip of paper.

They saw that the slip had a few lines of text written on it, and the seal of the Escort Agency's Accounting Office was stamped at the bottom.

"Take these slips to the Escort Agency Inner Treasury to collect a new saber. This sidearm will be your weapon from now on. For a martial artist, if the saber is there, the courage is there! By the way, also collect this month's wages, as well as the medicinal herbs provided for Apprentices!"

After Xiao Zongting finished his instructions, he waved his hand and said, "Go."

Duan Rong and Kong Bin took the slips and walked outward.

When Duan Rong reached the doorway, he tilted his head slightly and saw the side room at the end of the study, with red gauze cloth pasted over the carved windows.

Judging by the decorations, it should be Xiao Baijiao's boudoir.

Thinking of this, Xiao Baijiao's dough-like, fair, and tender face flashed before Duan Rong's eyes.

Duan Rong suppressed the palpitation in his heart and walked out of the courtyard.

Xiao Zongting's gaze remained fixed on Duan Rong's back, and he muttered to himself, "A good seedling! I haven't seen such a good seedling in so many years! If I can cultivate you, this old man's time as Chief Instructor won't have been in vain. Even if I die, I can leave behind an arm for the Young Shopkeeper!"

As Xiao Zongting spoke, murky tears seemed to flash in his old eyes.

He was thinking of the Old Shopkeeper.

Once a person gets old, it is always easy to think of the past.

Some things that have passed and some people who have passed...

Xiao Zongting wanted to cultivate Duan Rong to be the next him.

Duan Rong and Kong Bin left Xiao Zongting's courtyard, and seeing that it was the hour for lunch, the two of them walked toward the Middle Courtyard's canteen.

The Middle Courtyard is the Middle Courtyard after all; the Outer Courtyard's canteen didn't even have tables and chairs, and those Miscellaneous Disciples could only hold their bowls and find a place to squat and eat.

But in the Middle Courtyard's canteen, the tables and chairs were arranged neatly, and they were wiped spotlessly clean.

Duan Rong and Kong Bin collected their food and found a corner with fewer people to sit down.

Duan Rong saw that there was actually quite a bit of fatty meat in the vegetable soup, which had oil droplets floating on it.

In ancient times, when supplies were scarce, fatty meat was actually more expensive than lean meat.

The two were just about to pick up their chopsticks when they saw Zhao Mu and a group of people clearly dressed as Escorts walk into the cafeteria, laughing and jostling each other.

They took their seats at the other end of the cafeteria; Zhao Mu raised his eyes and saw Duan Rong and Kong Bin, but he only nodded at Duan Rong...

A simple, honest smile appeared on Duan Rong's swarthy face in response.

Kong Bin's eyelid twitched; Zhao Mu had only nodded at Duan Rong, and his eyes hadn't even looked in his direction at all.

He also admitted that Duan Rong's talent was better than his.

But it is very difficult for a person to control their own jealousy.

The two finished their meal and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Brother Rong, let's go to the Escort Agency Inner Treasury together and collect the things Xiao Lao tasked us with first," Kong Bin suggested, looking at Duan Rong with a forced smile.

"You go ahead. I have something else to do; I'll go later," Duan Rong replied coldly, then walked toward the east side of the cafeteria.

Kong Bin was slightly taken aback; watching Duan Rong's departing back, his pupils constricted slightly.

He naturally kept Zhang Zheng's suggestion to befriend Duan Rong in mind, but Duan Rong did not seem to want to pay him any heed.

Kong Bin gritted his teeth and said, "Since we can't piss in the same pot, we might as well go our separate ways."

The so-called Escort Agency Inner Treasury was the storehouse in the Middle Courtyard, used to store weapons, medicinal herbs, Escort Carts, escort flags, and the like.

As for the storehouse in the front courtyard, it was called the Escort Agency Outer Treasury, which was generally where the Miscellaneous Servants went to collect miscellaneous items.

The reason Duan Rong did not go to the Escort Agency Inner Treasury with Kong Bin to collect the items was that he could not wait to practice the circulation of his Internal Breath.

He had tried the method of Internal Breath for many days, but he could not find the way to enter it.

Today, under the guidance of Xiao Zongting, he had clearly grasped it, but because he was in front of Xiao Zongting, he could not reveal it.

He had no choice but to forcibly suppress it; it was truly maddening!

Duan Rong arrived at the Martial Arts Arena on the east side of the cafeteria, found a deserted corner, and immediately began his Hunyuan Stance Training.

The circulation path of the Internal Breath during Standing Stake had long been deeply imprinted in his mind; at this moment, once his Mental Power intervened, that wisp of Internal Breath began to circulate through his meridians on its own...

(End of this chapter)