Chapter 21

But recalling the various supernatural feats Brother Ning Chuan had displayed before, she felt it might not be so hard to accept after all.

"Great! Our Taohuadao library has so, so many books!" Huang Rong said excitedly. "Father's collection covers astronomy, geography, medicine, divination, astrology, and the hundred schools of thought—everything! I'll take you there!"

She seemed even happier than Brother Ning Chuan, pulling him toward the direction of the Taohuadao library.

Huang Yaoshi's study was naturally off-limits for Brother Ning Chuan to enter at will.

But Huang Rong had her own way; she began by taking out some miscellaneous notes, historical records, and basic introductory texts she usually read, and showed them to Brother Ning Chuan to "read."

Of course, a snake cannot flip through books like a human.

So Huang Rong patiently turned the pages one by one for Brother Ning Chuan to "hear," or rather, to let Brother Ning Chuan perceive them in his unique way.

Brother Ning Chuan's heaven-defying comprehension once again displayed its terrifying power at that moment.

Those square characters, which had been like heavenly scriptures to him, were quickly understood in form and meaning under his full concentration.

【You have encountered the structure of human writing...】

【You have understood the principles of pictographs, ideographs, compound ideographs, and phonetic compounds...】

【Your wisdom has increased; you have mastered the writing of this world!】

In just a brief moment, Brother Ning Chuan was already able to roughly read the characters on the pages!

This deeply "hurt" Huang Rong, who was acting as the "teacher" beside him.

She thought back to how much effort it had taken her to learn characters in her youth; how could this big black snake learn as easily as drinking water?

Over the next few days, Brother Ning Chuan immersed himself in the sea of books.

He devoured the various books Huang Rong found for him with ravenous hunger.

From the geography and customs of Great Song to the political situation of surrounding states, from strange tales of the Jianghu to the distribution of Men Sects in the Wu Lin...

After reading through one miscellaneous note and historical text after another, he finally gained a clear understanding of the outline of this world.

"So... this is a Comprehensive Martial Arts World!"

Brother Ning Chuan understood in his heart.

The composition of this world was far more complex and grand than he had initially imagined.

"The place I am now is the Great Song Dynasty. In the Wu Lin, the Five Greats—Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Central Divine—are revered. Besides them, there are rising stars like 'Southern Murong' and 'Northern Qiaofeng' who are famous throughout the Jianghu. Of course, these are the public figures; there are likely many hidden old monsters in the shadows!"

"Standing alongside Great Song is the powerful Great Ming Dynasty. Zhang Sanfeng, the True Person of Mount Wudang in Great Ming, is said to have cultivation base reaching the legendary Immortal Realm on solid ground, unfathomably deep!"

"There is also the Liyang Dynasty, where the Northern Liang Prince Xu Xiao, who suppressed the martial world, is remembered for legends of his iron cavalry trampling martial sects. His son, Xu Feng, is even the reincarnation of the future True Martial Great Emperor, with peerless brilliance."

"And there is the mysterious Bei Li Dynasty, where sword immortals emerge frequently; the Snow Moon Sword Immortal Li Hanyi can level a city with a single sword strike..."

"Besides these, there is the Mongol Yuan Empire watching hungrily, the brave and warlike Great Jin Kingdom, as well as Great Liao, the Duan clan of Dali, the City of Wonders, the World Alliance, the Sword-Seeking Mountain Villa, and even the legendary Lingyun Cave said to hide the Fire Qilin..."

Familiar yet strange names, magnificent forces, intertwined in his mind, forming a magnificent yet perilous world full of excitement!

"The martial arts experts of this world are indeed formidable!"

Brother Ning Chuan also gained a clearer understanding of the power hierarchy in this world.

"The Martial Dao Realm, from low to high, can roughly be divided into Postnatal Ninth Grade, opening the eight extraordinary meridians, and refining essence into qi. Above that is the Four Turns of Innate, producing innate internal energy that flows endlessly, already making one a match for a hundred men."

"Above Innate is the Grandmaster Realm, capable of founding a sect, projecting true qi outward, and injuring others from a distance. Above Grandmaster lies the Great Grandmaster, a rarity possessing various unimaginable powers. And above Great Grandmaster is that ethereal, almost immortal or buddha-like Immortal Realm on solid ground!"

"Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's current cultivation base should be at the peak of Grandmaster, just one step away from the Great Grandmaster Realm."

"And that Zhang Sanfeng of Wu Dang has already stepped onto the threshold of the Immortal Realm on solid ground!"

Thinking of this, a strong sense of urgency and desire rose in Brother Ning Chuan's heart.

His current strength, while top-tier among ordinary beasts, would probably not even guarantee victory against an Innate martial artist in this Comprehensive Martial Arts World filled with experts.

He must improve his strength as soon as possible!

And the fastest way to improve strength is undoubtedly to learn the martial arts of this world, especially the Method of strength for cultivating internal energy!

Thinking of this, Brother Ning Chuan hesitated no longer.

He used his thick snake tail to dip in some dust from the ground and slowly wrote a line of characters on the flat stone slab, asking Huang Rong beside him:

"Rong'er, can I... see some Wu Xuemi?"