Chapter 28: Nine Provinces Eight Sects

Duan Rong returned to the Escort Agency and, in a secluded corner of the Martial Arts Arena, held a slice of Blood Velvet Antler in his mouth and began Stance Training.

Duan Rong could clearly feel a warm current flowing into his stomach along with his saliva, dispersing throughout his entire body...

"Blood Velvet Antler... it truly is top-grade!"

With the surging medicinal power of the Blood Velvet Antler nourishing his entire body's blood vessels, Duan Rong discovered that he could continue his Stance Training indefinitely.

One hour, two hours...

Duan Rong discovered that the circulation of his Internal Breath had begun to undergo a subtle change!

It was not faster, but more agile!

Although the Internal Breath between his meridians was only as thick as a strand of hair, it was like a gossamer thread!

Yet every hour that passed, a new strand of hair-thin energy would merge into the Internal Breath.

The gossamer-like Internal Breath was growing stronger bit by bit!

By evening, Duan Rong had already stood in that secluded corner for an entire day; he had not moved at all, like a stone statue.

Throughout this entire day, he had already consumed three slices of the top-grade Blood Velvet Antler!

The affectionate afterglow of dusk painted the entire Martial Arts Arena in a soft yellow; Duan Rong was shrouded in the afterglow, with heat rising from his head like mist!

Suddenly, Duan Rong dispersed his cultivation and exhaled, spitting out a stream of white air the size of an infant's arm, which shot straight out in front of him and only dissipated after nearly a zhang!

At the same time, Duan Rong pressed his hands downward in the air before him, stopping only when they reached his dantian.

"If it continues at this speed, this Internal Breath First Layer will be achieved very soon!"

In fact, the Internal Breath First Layer is inherently the easiest layer to achieve within the Internal Breath Four Layers Realm.

This is because, during cultivation, the First Layer extracts and absorbs the residual innate true essence within the meridians.

Once the innate true essence remaining in the subtle parts of the meridians is stimulated by the medicinal power, it merges into the Internal Breath.

If one follows Duan Rong's method of practice, this Internal Breath First Layer realm can likely be achieved within a few days.

Of course, for a normal Martial Artist, this is absolutely impossible.

The circuit of Internal Breath circulation is incredibly complex.

For a Martial Artist who has just begun practicing an Internal Cultivation Method, even if they can barely control their Internal Breath, it is far from easy to circulate it for one full cycle without making a mistake.

The meridians are winding and tortuous; if there is the slightest error in the path, the entire cycle is wasted and must be started over from the beginning.

For someone like Duan Rong, who upon starting is like an experienced driver familiar with the road, circulating cycle after cycle, it is truly too monstrous!

At this time, it was the hour for dinner, and there were few people on the entire Martial Arts Arena; Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead and went to the canteen to eat dinner.

After finishing dinner, Duan Rong returned to the Martial Arts Arena once again.

Although he had practiced Stance Training all day, because he had used up three slices of Blood Velvet Antler, Duan Rong did not feel very tired.

He wanted to try practicing his routines again, to train the harmony of Qi and strength, and then continue with his Stance Training!

Duan Rong drew his blade and stood ready, performing his moves one by one!

This time, Duan Rong clearly felt the change; it was not just that the sound of the blade cutting through the air was sharper!

More importantly, with the integration and coordination of his Internal Breath, the moves he had previously failed to understand now all had clear connotations.

The moves, it turned out, were not just for show; they were meant to coordinate with the exertion of Internal Breath!

Only when one's Internal Breath reaches a certain realm can one understand why there are those pauses and turns in the moves.

Xiao Zongting's words appeared in Duan Rong's ears once again: "Martial arts use Martial Techniques as the method of combat, Internal Cultivation Methods as the foundation, and Mental Power as the core!"

At the very least, at this moment, Duan Rong felt he had understood the first half of the sentence!

And having understood this, Duan Rong suddenly thought that the national martial arts of his previous life being called "flower-fist-and-embroidered-legs" was very likely caused by the loss of the inheritance of Internal Cultivation Methods!

Without Internal Cultivation Methods, the original killing techniques were reduced to performance items!

Because, without Internal Cultivation Methods, those pauses and turns in the moves completely lost their meaning.

Duan Rong performed the complete routine three times in a row, flowing in one breath, feeling refreshed and exhilarated!

And at this time, it had only been a little over twenty days since he devoured the Spirit Tool of Zhao Mu's weapon.

After finishing the routine, Duan Rong was in a great mood; it seemed the gloom of the previous killings had also completely dissipated at this moment!

He sheathed his blade, held a slice of Blood Velvet Antler in his mouth, and practiced Stance Training for another two hours before returning to his dormitory courtyard.

He drew a bucket of water from the well, washed the foul sweat from his entire body with the cold water, and climbed naked into the blanket on his bed.

Although Duan Rong was already very tired, he did not sleep; instead, he lit an oil lamp and, by the dim yellow light, pulled a book from the pile of miscellaneous books at the head of his bed and began to read with great interest.

These few books were ones Duan Rong had specifically selected at a book stall, and they were precisely about the knowledge of this world that he was most curious about.

Some things, although common knowledge, were exactly what he, as an "outer-realm heavenly demon," needed to understand most.

Duan Rong read through three books in succession until he was yawning repeatedly and his eyes felt uncomfortable; only then did he reluctantly close the book, blow out the lamp, and lie down on the bed.

Duan Rong lay on the dark bed, closing his eyes in contemplation.

He had long since known from the original owner's memories that this world was ruled by sects and consisted of the Nine Provinces.

However, it was not until today that he had gained a general understanding of the basic information of the Nine Provinces Eight Sects from the books.

Taiyi Sect, which dominated Qingzhou, was the place where he himself was located and could be considered the sect he was most familiar with.

Besides the Taiyi Sect, the other seven sects were the Xiaoyao Alliance, Faxiang Sect, Tianyan Sect, Shenyi Sect, Baiji Academy, Wuji Palace, and Qingyang Sect.

And among the Eight Sects, the one with the greatest power was the Qingyang Sect.

One sect occupied the territory of two provinces! It looked down upon all the sects in the world!

And the successive Sect Masters of the Qingyang Sect implemented a game strategy, which was referred to in the books as the "Sect Equilibrium Policy"!

The so-called "Sect Equilibrium Policy" meant that whenever any of the other seven sects began to grow in power, the Qingyang Sect would contact the sects in the surrounding provinces and employ vertical and horizontal strategies to weaken them!

In this way, they could maintain the balance of power among the other seven sects, while also consolidating their own position of being the sole dominant power!

This policy used the power of the seven sects to keep the influence of the seven sects in check!

It could be called truly outstanding and profound!

The Qingyang Sect, relying on this strategy, has been the number one sect in Jiuzhou for thousands of years!

Thinking this way, Duan Rong slowly drifted into a deep sleep...

The next day was the examination day, three days later, as Xiao Zongting had mentioned.

After eating breakfast, Duan Rong and Kong Bin both stood in Xiao Zongting's courtyard early.

The two waited for a full incense stick's time before Xiao Zongting, puffing on his pipe, limped out from the Back Courtyard.

Xiao Zongting stood still, exhaled a smoke ring, and said, "How is the Internal Cultivation Method coming along? Come, practice it, let me see."

Hearing this, Kong Bin sighed, cast a fleeting glance at Duan Rong, and then closed his eyes to begin his Stance Training.

He certainly knew he was not as good as Duan Rong, but he had to practice even if he was being forced into it.

Xiao Zongting glanced at Kong Bin and nodded slightly; Kong Bin was already able to initially control his Internal Breath, and to achieve this in just three days was not bad.

Xiao Zongting's gaze swept past Kong Bin and fixed on Duan Rong, who was still standing there, and said, "Hey, kid, what are you blanking out for? I told you to practice so I can see. Didn't you hear me?"

After killing in the alley, Duan Rong's mental fortitude seemed to have climbed, and the sense of oppression that originally emanated from Xiao Zongting seemed to have faded significantly.

Could that sense of oppression actually be killing intent?

Hearing Xiao Zongting's question, Duan Rong stopped his train of thought and returned to the scene before him.

For today's examination, he had already made up his mind; there was no need to hide anything—I am a monster!

Duan Rong turned his head and gave Xiao Zongting a crisp smile, then suddenly drew the saber in his hand and channeled his Internal Breath to perform the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, one move after another.

The sound of the blade cutting through the air and the rustling of his sleeves rose and fell in succession!

"Internal Breath power!"

Xiao Zongting was startled, choked on a mouthful of thick smoke, and coughed repeatedly...

Duan Rong finished the routine, and Xiao Zongting's coughing finally subsided.

Xiao Zongting wiped the tears that had been choked out of his eyes and looked at Duan Rong with a complex expression.

(End of chapter)