Chapter 97: Three Martial Arts Styles, the Mysteries of the Acquired Realm

Inside Yanwu Ting, various weapons, stone wheels, stone locks, and other equipment were arranged in an orderly fashion.

Chen Mo had changed early into a short outfit convenient for movement and stood inside Yanwu Ting waiting.

Before long, Sun Shouren strode over.

"Foster father," Chen Mo said, bowing.

"You are now on the verge of cultivating the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist to the fifth level, possessing over three thousand jin of Qi and Blood strength, and have cultivated Inner Qi to perform internal observation; thus, this set of martial arts can also be taught to you."

Sun Shouren wore a smile and spoke in a deep voice.

Chen Mo's expression turned serious immediately, and he pricked up his ears to listen carefully.

"The Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist is a military cultivation method; it is simple but not crude. Accompanying this cultivation method are three martial arts styles: Greedy Wolf, Seven Kill, and Breaking Army."

Sun Shouren explained in extreme detail, and his stance had already been set.

"These three martial arts styles have no specific requirements for moves or weapons; more accurately, they are a type of special force-generating technique and a method for stimulating one's own Qi and Blood."

"They have certain similarities to the Blood Burning Technique you found before, but they carry less burden when performed and will not damage your own body."

As his voice fell, Sun Shouren suddenly threw a punch forward.

"Boom!" This punch carried a gust of wind, blowing the red tassel on a spear nearby until it danced continuously.

Yet it went far beyond that; the fist wind continued forward, and it was only after exerting force several times in succession that it finally stopped.

"This is the Seven Kill Style. When cultivated to perfection, a single strike can change the force exertion seven times. Although it will diminish slightly each time, the power of a single strike is still many times greater than one's own. I can currently only exert force five times and have not yet cultivated it to perfection."

Sun Shouren then set other stances to demonstrate these three martial arts styles to Chen Mo one by one.

Among them, the Greedy Wolf Style is the simplest: it stimulates one's own Qi and Blood to make the next strike more powerful.

When cultivated to perfection, a single strike can unleash twenty times one's own strength.

This is the limit; it is not impossible to exert more force, but if the physical foundation is insufficient, it will damage the body itself.

As for the Breaking Army Style, it is more like a relatively special state, extremely similar to the Blood Burning Technique.

Performing this martial arts style can boost one's own Qi and Blood strength and speed in a short time.

Whether used for attacking or for fleeing, it can be considered quite useful.

Of course, it can only increase strength by at most thirty percent, and it cannot last for long.

Because this method stimulates the body through Qi and Blood, causing it to exert greater power in a short time.

But every time it is increased by a portion, it causes pressure on the Martial Artist's body; once the duration of the pressure is long, it may damage the body.

Therefore, the increase in strength from this martial art is far inferior to the Blood Burning Technique.

Because that is a life-for-a-life method; one is either dead or crippled after using it.

Whereas the Breaking Army Style can be used without too many restrictions and can serve as a normal means of facing an enemy.

These three martial arts styles are complementary to the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist; the difficulty of cultivation is very low, but the threshold is not low. Because these are not simple moves, they cannot be learned by mere imitation.

Not only must one have extremely precise control over one's own Qi and Blood, but one also needs internal observation to know how to stimulate the body through Qi and Blood.

Only because Chen Mo can now achieve this step will Sun Shouren teach him these three martial arts styles.

Following his foster father, he practiced roughly a few times and initially grasped these three styles.

At the very least, he knew how to use them; what followed was the need for daily, cumulative, repetitive practice.

"These are some insights from my years of cultivation; take them back and look at them, they should be of some help to you."

Seeing that Chen Mo had roughly grasped them, Sun Shouren took a thin little booklet from his Huai.

The three martial arts styles of Greedy Wolf, Breaking Army, and Seven Kill are all easy to learn but difficult to master.

With this little booklet, Chen Mo could avoid some detours and master the three martial arts styles more quickly.

"Thank you, foster father." Chen Mo took the little booklet, which had no more than seventeen or eighteen pages.

A false teaching fills ten thousand scrolls; a true teaching is but a single sentence.

These precious cultivation experiences, in truth, do not need excessive elaboration to be explained clearly; a few words are sufficient.

"Foster father, I have one more thing I am quite curious about. General Zhou Dong, as an Acquired Realm powerhouse, doesn't seem to be much stronger than you. What exactly is the difference between an Acquired Realm powerhouse and a Tongmai Perfection Martial Artist?"

Chen Mo put the booklet into his Huai and asked with great curiosity.

"With your discernment, of course, you cannot see it. The reason Acquired Realm powerhouses are strong is that they have already opened the Heaven and Earth Gate and can turn the Heaven and Earth Power to their own use."

Although he found it a bit strange that Chen Mo would suddenly ask about these things, Sun Shouren did not think much of it.

He still answered him with a smile, his face full of yearning for that realm.

He had broken through to Tongmai Perfection for quite some time, and he was only a step away from that realm.

However, wanting to cross this barrier was not so easy.

Perhaps he could break through tomorrow, or perhaps he would never have the chance in this lifetime.

Everything depends on one's own fate.

"Heaven and Earth Gate?" Chen Mo hurriedly asked.

"The so-called Heaven and Earth Gate is just a vague term; to put it simply, it refers to the middle dantian and the upper dantian, the Mysterious Aperture and the Shenhai."

"By opening these two dantians, a Martial Artist can draw the Heaven and Earth Power into the body; not only can one's own Inner Qi be released externally, but the recovery speed is also greatly increased."

Sun Shouren changed his way of explaining, and Chen Mo understood immediately.

The Mysterious Aperture, also known as the chest center, is located at the center of the human chest; it is the middle dantian and is where a person's essence and Qi reside.

The Shenhai, also called the mud pill palace, is at the forehead; it is the upper dantian and is where a person's divine sense resides.

The three dantians—upper, middle, and lower—are where the human body's essence, Qi, and spirit reside respectively.

These things were all recorded in the Five Elements Essence-Nurturing Art, but it did not mention the Heaven and Earth Gate, nor did it say how to break through to the Acquired Realm.

Listening to his foster father's meaning, by opening these two dantians, one could, like those Qi Refiners, refine the Heaven and Earth Power for one's own use.

"Foster father, isn't refining the Heaven and Earth Power very dangerous? I don't seem to have seen General Zhou worry about the Mirage Sea?" Chen Mo asked, puzzled.

"We Martial Artists are of course different from those Qi Refiners; besides refining the Heaven and Earth Power, Qi Refiners can also control them, stirring the Heaven and Earth Power to command Wind and thunder."

"But we martial artists are different; we simply refine and absorb it, turning it into resources to improve ourselves. Unless one deliberately goes into the Mirage Sea to refine and absorb Heaven and Earth Power, there is no danger."

Sun Shouren explained to him to clear up his confusion.

"Then Godfather, you are already at Tongmai Perfection; isn't the Postnatal Realm just one step away?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

"It is not that easy. To open the middle and upper dantian, one not only needs the physical body to be fully nurtured, but the Inner Qi must also be tempered repeatedly to make it more solid and remove floating, impure Qi.

Even so, a certain opportunity is still required."

After Sun Shouren finished speaking, he let out a long sigh; this question from Chen Mo could be considered hitting upon his difficult spot.

When he first started practicing, he trained in External Martial Arts, which inevitably caused some damage to his physical body.

Over these many years, although he has been nurturing his body, he has already restored it to a relatively perfect state.

But it still cannot compare to those Martial Artists who have practiced Inner Family Kung Fu since childhood.

Fortunately, after many years of practice, his Inner Qi has long been nearing the limit of a breakthrough.

Now he just lacks an opportunity; if there is one, he has a chance to break through, and if not, he can only wait slowly.

"This child believes the opportunity will come sooner or later; you will certainly be able to break through to the Postnatal Realm," Chen Mo said with a flattering smile.

"For things like this, one does not force it," Sun Shouren shook his head as if he did not care, but in reality, it was because he knew that forcing it might not succeed.

Immediately after, he told Chen Mo many things about taking up his post as the Seventh Grade Salt Transport Chief.

The official rank is not high, but the kickbacks are excessively large.

And this money obviously cannot fall solely into the hands of Chen Mo, a small Seventh Rank Official; not only must there be a backer, but he must also grease the palms of those above, below, and to the sides to be secure.

Sitting in this official position, a background backer is first, and whether one can let everyone share the money well is second.

As for whether one has ability, whether one is incorruptible, or whether one is good or evil, those are not very important.

In fact, one cannot be incorruptible; if one is incorruptible, one cannot hold this position, because many people are counting on getting a share of this profit.

If one truly dares to be incorruptible, one will be replaced, and someone who can rake in money will be put in their place.

These all belong to the unwritten rules of the officialdom and are never explicitly stated; if no one teaches you, unless you are extremely intelligent, it is very difficult to truly comprehend them.

Chen Mo does not consider himself very smart, but he has a guide.

If someone can help explain these things clearly, it is actually not very difficult.

There is one more thing: although he has now been promoted to Seventh Grade Salt Transport Chief, he must still concurrently hold the position of Salt Transport Envoy of Zhu Niu Ji.

This is actually a normal situation; every Salt Transport Chief does this.

Besides managing the entire Salt Transport Department, one often concurrently holds a position as a Salt Transport Envoy.

Therefore, even if Chen Mo goes to take up his post, he does not need to leave Zhu Niu Ji, he just needs to put in the effort to patrol the area he is responsible for.

After receiving the teachings, Chen Mo bowed to bid farewell to his godfather and left the military camp with the items seized this time.

He did not take everything with him because he did not intend to go to his post just yet.

Chen Mo wanted to go to Xiaopao Town to see Zhao Yu first, then take a trip to Xiaqi Valley to exchange the Talismans in his hands for Blood Essence Stones or Mirage Spirits, and then go to take up his post.

Because Xiaqi Valley is too far from his post, it is far less convenient than going from the military camp.

Returning to Xiaopao Town along the way, the town was very lively today, with a large number of soldiers appearing all at once.

This made the business of the wine stalls and eateries in town instantly bustling.

And the brothel in town that had only opened not long ago had exceptionally good business today.

Only the gambling dens were relatively cold.

Chen Mo even took an extra look around several gambling dens in the town, and only after confirming there were no familiar faces did he leave.

Walking along the way, many soldiers smiled and saluted Chen Mo.

The thatched cottage remained much the same as usual, but it was now the end of autumn, and as winter approached, it should start to get cold slowly.

When that time comes, living in the thatched cottage will not be so comfortable.

Chen Mo gently knocked on the courtyard gate, and a crisp, melodious inquiry came from inside, "Who is it?"

"It's me!" Chen Mo answered loudly.

"Coming!" The voice of the person in the courtyard suddenly became joyful, and they hurried over to open the gate.

"You're finally back!" Zhao Yu opened the courtyard gate, and seeing Chen Mo appear before her eyes again, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Are there any clean clothes at home? Hurry and find me a set," Chen Mo asked hurriedly.

He could wash up in the military camp, but he hadn't had time to wash his clothes.

Although he had a few sets of clothes to change into, they were all stained with mud and dark brown blood, emitting a bloody stench.

In the military camp, he didn't feel anything unusual because everyone was basically like that.

However, once he stepped outside the military camp, he could very clearly smell the odor on his body.

"Yes, you wait, I'll go get them for you." Zhao Yu clearly also smelled the scent on Chen Mo and knew that he had been through a hard journey of fighting, and couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

After carefully washing and tidying up at the bathhouse in town, he had a satisfying meal at home.

In the afternoon, Chen Mo took the seized Talismans and headed straight for Xiaqi Valley.

Sixty-three Talismans were exchanged for one Blood Essence Stone and two bottles of Blood Nourishing Pills.

Chen Mo then used two thousand taels of silver to exchange for two more bottles of pills; it was only because of his godfather that the people of Xiaqi Valley were willing to sell to him.

Otherwise, it wasn't just anyone with silver who could exchange for pills here; Xiaqi Valley needed silver, but not particularly urgently.

By the time he finished these things, it was already evening, so Chen Mo rested in Xiaqi Valley for the night.

It was not until the next day that he returned to the military camp, took the spoils he had seized, picked up Zhao Yu from Xiaopao Town, and headed to Zhu Niu Ji together to take up his post.

(End of chapter)