Chapter 146: Heaven-Supporting Secrets, Masters of Heaven and Earth

As the name implies, the "Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art" is a cultivation technique focused on nurturing.

Similar to the Five Animal Frolics or modern gymnastics, the entire set consists of movements for stretching and activating the sinews and bones.

The goal is simple: to strengthen the body and prolong life.

From the introductory level to the stages of force and blood-Qi, it carries not a shred of lethality; it is completely gentle and harmless.

Well, it is only after advancing to the Martial Master stage that it possesses some means of self-protection and defense, and even then, it cannot passively counterattack.

The key is, for a fist technique with no lethality and no offensive capability, slow and focused on self-cultivation, how many years would it take to break through the stages of force and blood-Qi, let alone become a Martial Master?

Zhou You concluded on the spot that this book had already been deciphered while in the hands of the Xu family.

The value of this ancient book is limited to this, which is why it was used as a bounty reward.

"What a huge loss!"

Zhou You could not help but feel a bit discouraged, having wasted time deciphering it for nothing.

He had thought that since the Heaven-Supporting Sect was once illustrious, it would have left behind some powerful technique, but as it turned out...

The Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art is just for old men and old women to strengthen their bodies.

Come to think of it, things of true value are kept by noble families to cultivate their own lackeys; how could they bear to bring them out? A technique that has no offensive moves in the initial stages of training and requires one to reach the Martial Master level to even protect oneself.

Are you kidding me? You'd be beaten to death before you even reached the Martial Master level.

Such a technique deserves to be lost; it's only because the book has some age to it that it still has value as an antique.

For the remaining days, Zhou You practiced martial arts during the day and went to Zeng Fu to study Seal Script at night.

When his parents learned that he had become a student of the great scholar Master Zeng in the city, they were so happy they nearly threw a banquet for their relatives and friends.

This was a major event that brought honor to his ancestors; it was worthy of being written into the family genealogy.

Their son was becoming more and more promising; besides practicing martial arts, he was also studying literature. Having many skills is never a burden, and his path ahead would be even broader.

The literary and martial circles are different, but for commoners, martial artists are always fighting and killing, which is not a choice for a stable life. Studying literature is more promising; at the very least, one can teach or become an accountant to make a living.

"You'er, I'm going to tell the matchmaker the good news; our requirements should be raised a bit."

His mother thought happily that since her son was touched by literary grace, he should choose a wife with better conditions.

Zhou You hurriedly stopped her, "Keep a low profile. Don't let it spread for now, lest it invite jealousy."

"You'er is right. I heard that when the young master of the firm was young, he wanted to become a student of Master Zeng, and the master prepared 1,000 taels of tuition, but he was still rejected."

Zhou Laodie shook his head as he analyzed.

Even the young master of a merchant firm was turned away; how could Zhou You, a Commoner, receive such an honor without inviting jealousy? His mother was a bit unwilling, but after thinking about it, she chose to keep a low profile for the sake of her child.

Days flowed by like water, with undercurrents surging beneath the calm surface.

One day, Zhou You returned from the Diba Lianwuchang and happened to glance at that ancient book.

Suddenly, his heart stirred! The training postures in the ancient book did not require much space, and they could be practiced even in the narrow terrain of a room.

Even if there was only a bed, it could be performed within a small area.

Having just finished practicing his fist techniques, his blood-Qi had not yet calmed down; why not strike while the iron is hot? Zhou You did as he thought, flipping through the yellowed pages of the ancient book and comparing the pictures and text as he gestured.

Before he knew it, he had finished the entire set of introductory stances.

A prompt from the panel sounded in his ears:

"You have completed a full set of the Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art introductory fist technique, Experience Points +50."

Zhou You estimated the time spent; the whole set took only the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

Excellent, he had grasped where the value of this technique lay.

To him, the Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art was an Experience Points printing machine! It didn't matter that it had no lethality, and it didn't matter that the cultivation progress was slow; Zhou You was not short of those for the time being.

What he needed was a steady stream of Experience Points.

Less time consumed, more value added; combined, it was one word: cost-effectiveness! The Tiger-Subduing Fist, Yanxing Quan, and Seven Step Poison Sand, when evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness, did not add up to the Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art. In the hands of others, this technique was truly a useless object, but for Zhou You, it was a perfect fit.

"Practice, I must practice."

Zhou You stayed up all night, practicing the fist technique over and over, and the prompt kept ringing in his ears, "Experience Points +50!"

Not only did he not feel tired, but he felt increasingly energetic and gained a deeper understanding of the Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art.

Eight words: seek no lethality, harmonize and smooth internally.

This technique carried heavy philosophical principles, treating the human body like the governance of a nation, harmonizing the internal and external, and eliminating hidden dangers.

Other techniques are books on military strategy; this technique is a guide to internal political governance.

Hmm! Zhou You had originally intended to farm Experience Points and did not care at all about the added value the technique brought.

However, after a period of time, he discovered that his body was better, and the minor ailments he usually had from practicing martial arts had vanished.

Even the effectiveness of his fist training had risen accordingly, and his overall physical fitness had improved by a large margin.

"The Heaven-Supporting Origin-Nurturing Art is an auxiliary technique."

Zhou You then realized that the function of this technique lay in nourishing things silently, subtly improving the body's potential.

Unfortunately, the gap between input and output was too large, and the returns were too slow; the average martial artist could not afford the high cost.

He could not help but feel curious about the Heaven-Supporting Sect; what kind of past did this sect have to possess such a technique, and how was it destroyed?

Once, Zhou You inadvertently mentioned the Heaven-Supporting Sect in front of Wang Jianxiong.

The old man pondered for a moment and told the history of the sect on the spot.

The Heaven-Supporting Sect was a sect near Gongliang City and Su Cheng, possessing thousands of members.

A sect is a group larger in scale than a martial arts school, capable of even interfering with the appointment and removal of officials and the selection of heirs by noble families.

Once upon a time, wealthy families in the city would visit the sect during festivals to kowtow and thank the Heaven-Supporting Sect Master.

From shops in the city to farmland outside the city, not a single one could escape paying tribute to the Heaven-Supporting Sect.

"There was such an astonishing existence?"

"Flowers do not bloom for a hundred days; the once-illustrious Heaven-Supporting Sect was ultimately unable to avoid being destroyed in a single day, leaving not a trace behind."

The founding, rise, and development of the Sky-Piercing Gate spanned too long a history.

Yet the sect's destruction was incomparably simple, because it provoked a passing martial artist who single-handedly slaughtered his way through the entire sect, causing its elite forces to be completely wiped out.

Merely by offending one person, the Sky-Piercing Gate, with its thousands of years of history, was destroyed just like that.

After a long while, amidst the silent atmosphere, Zhou You spoke up to ask.

"Master, what kind of martial artist was that?"

Wang Jianxiong rubbed the Grass Gourd and spoke slowly, "This old man is at the Martial Master realm, at least in the top ten of Gongliang City."

"The Sky-Piercing Gate back then had 20 to 30 Martial Masters, hundreds of Blood-Qi martial artists, and countless Disciple-level martial artists with internal strength."

"The sect leader's realm was above Martial Master... the Strong Martial realm, with a Jade Marrow Golden Body, indestructible through tribulations."

"Above Strong Martial, there is another level called Grandmaster; they follow the natural order and master the heavens and earth, possessing the great power to reach the heavens and penetrate the earth."

"Grandmasters are further divided into Human Sect, Earth Sect, and Heaven Sect."

"Human Sect, the physical body reaches perfection!"

"Earth Sect, exhausting the changes of the Earth level."

"Heaven Sect, their creation can rival the sun and moon!"

"The one the Sky-Piercing Gate offended was no mortal, but an Earth Sect expert strong enough to reverse the Earth level."

(End of this chapter)