Getting Started with Cultivation Methods

After a busy night, Lu Chen had barely rested before he went to the blacksmith shops to buy a few sabers and swords as spares.

His old saber had long since been ruined.

Yanling Sabers of this kind were fairly ordinary and sold at several blacksmith shops in the city. There were no special markings on the blade, either. When he bought it, he had picked the most ordinary kind, so neither the buyer nor its origin could be traced.

He had recovered all the iron pellets and throwing knives.

He was quite careful about that.

By the time he returned to Qingshan Village, it was almost noon.

He had only been teaching for a few days in total, and he had already taken leave several times.

He was being a somewhat derelict teacher.

Fortunately, he had just bought his students gifts, so no one would have anything to say about it.

After comforting Lu Tang and Lu Ming, whose eyes were full of worry, and buying them off with snacks, candied fruit, and pastries, Lu Chen took out several Cultivation Methods and laid them out one by one on the table.

First was Rolling Stone Fist, which could be cultivated up to the Organ Tempering Realm.

Soul-Severing Swordsmanship: Iron Bone Realm.

Wind-Chasing Swordsmanship: Iron Bone Realm.

Formation-Breaking Spearmanship: Iron Bone Realm.

Eight-Direction Footwork: Iron Bone Realm.

Linked Pearl Archery: Copper Skin Realm.

These were all Cultivation Methods that Wang Hu and the Green Bamboo Gang had collected over the years.

Now they all belonged to Lu Chen.

"For the time being, I'd better stay away from the county town and take some time to settle down. But I'm only at the early stage of the Marrow Washing Realm right now. To reach perfection, I still need 3,600 points."

There weren't enough to go around!

Whenever he ran short of Fate Value now, he always felt a little restless, wanting to go back to the county town and do it again.

The "money" came in too fast!

It was rather like someone who had gone into business and earned ten or twenty thousand a day finding it hard to go back to working for someone else, toiling for a whole month to earn just a few thousand.

He wiped those untimely thoughts away, took a deep breath, and read all six Cultivation Methods carefully from beginning to end.

Then, following the books, he took up a stance in the courtyard and began practicing, one move at a time.

Lu Tang and Lu Ming sat by the door, each clutching a piece of candied fruit, their cheeks bulging as they watched their brother's fists whistle through the air in the courtyard.

After a long while, Lu Chen stopped and smiled at the Trait on his panel.

[Host's "Rolling Stone Fist" skill detected. Trait generated]

[Rolling Stone Fist (beginner)]

Without stopping to rest, he began practicing the other Cultivation Methods.

Lu Chen only stopped when it was time for dinner.

By then, Traits had been generated for the other Cultivation Methods on his skill panel.

The Thrusting skill Trait and the Formation-Breaking Spearmanship Trait had merged.

"Brother!" Lu Ming had been struggling to contain himself for a while. When he saw Lu Chen stop, he hurried over and asked, "Brother, what were you practicing? Can... can you teach me?"

He gazed at him eagerly, anticipation almost spilling from his eyes.

Lu Chen laughed. "You're my younger brother. Of course I can teach you. But bite off more than you can chew, and you won't digest it. First tell me, do you prefer the saber, the spear, or the sword?"

"Can I only pick one? Can't I pick them all?" Lu Ming's brows knitted in indecision. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Brother, which one do you think I should choose?"

Lu Chen patted Lu Ming on the head. "If you want my advice, start with Linked Pearl Archery and add Eight-Direction Footwork. Those two are a little simpler and good for beginners."

"All right, I'll pick those two!"

Hearing their conversation, Lu Tang also threw herself at Lu Chen. She grabbed his arm and refused to let go, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Brother, brother, I want to learn too!"

"All right, you can learn together!" Lu Chen smiled as he looked at Lu Tang's face, which was gradually regaining its color and starting to fill out with a little baby fat. She no longer looked as frail as she had when he first transmigrated.

For some reason, a fatherly warmth of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

After dinner, he gave the two of them Eight-Direction Footwork and Linked-Bead Arrows, telling Lu Ming to take Lu Tang through them several times first.

He himself picked up a packet of pastries and headed for Second Grandfather's house.

Since he wasn't going to the county town for the time being, he would have to rely on the villagers to provide him with Fate Value.

He needed a large amount of Fate Value to add points to his Cultivation Methods, as well as Luck Value to break their limits.

It wasn't that he couldn't practice on his own, but it was too slow.

For the time being, he didn't want to go back to the county town and stir up trouble.

Walk a tightrope long enough, and sooner or later he was liable to fall.

If his true identity were discovered one day, his current cultivation would be nowhere near enough.

Besides, he could run away, but what about the villagers?

Nearly a thousand people lived in the village, and they might all suffer because of him.

So, to obtain a large amount of Fate Value, he came up with a plan.

Perhaps he could arm the village!

Then he could help the village find a trade that would bring in money.

With both measures working together, they would have fighting strength and income. That could certainly be called changing their fate!

He had come to understand that in this world, studying the classics offered no way forward!

If the flesh-eaters at the top kept Cultivation Methods so tightly under wraps, Lu Chen didn't believe they would truly be willing to give those at the bottom another path upward.

Teng Chuan, the village's Teacher Teng, was a Xiucai, but after taking the examinations for so many years, he was still only a Xiucai.

It was far too hard for ordinary people to turn their lives around.

"There are plenty of people and plenty of land in the village, but there still isn't enough grain each year. After taxes are collected, many households can barely fill their stomachs, with little left over. If a natural or man-made disaster strikes, they might have to sell their land and become tenant farmers."

He pondered the matter as he walked.

If the villagers were strong enough, even if they were all only at the Copper Skin Realm, they would be a force not to be underestimated.

Several hundred Copper Skin Realm cultivators would be a major force in the surrounding area, more than enough to protect themselves.

In truth, he had felt vaguely uneasy ever since returning from the county town.

The times were troubled, but not quite so troubled as all that. At least there was still a little order.

But Wang Hu's words had left him somewhat pessimistic about the future.

As he was thinking, he arrived at the gate of Second Grandfather's courtyard.

The gate happened to swing open from inside. Lu Ting came out carrying a basin of water and nearly collided with Lu Chen.

"Oh, Xiao Chen? What brings you here so late?"

"Uncle Ting." Lu Chen smiled and held up the pastries in his hand. "I brought some food back from the county town for Wen Jin and the others to try."

Lu Ting glanced at the packet of pastries and said reproachfully, "You child, why bring anything when you're just coming for a visit? Come in, quickly. Your Second Grandfather was just talking about you."

The courtyard was small, and several children were playing and frolicking in it.

Lu Wenjin, Lu Wei's eldest grandson and Lu Ting's eldest son, immediately settled down when he saw his teacher arrive.

"Second Grandfather!" Lu Chen spotted Second Grandfather Lu Wei at once, smoking a dry pipe beneath the eaves.

"Mm, Xiao Chen is here. Wen Jin, go get your Brother Chen a stool."

Lu Wenjin hurriedly brought over a stool and set it beside Lu Chen.

Lu Chen nodded to him, then handed the pastries to Lu Ting, who stood nearby. "Uncle Ting, Uncle Zhen, these are some pastries I bought in the county town. Share them among the younger children."

With that, he sat down and said to the old man, "Second Grandfather, thank you for yesterday. Something suddenly came up, and I had to go to the county town. Sorry to trouble you with looking after Xiao Ming and Xiao Tang."

Lu Wei waved a hand. "All right, we're family. If you have something to do next time, just bring them straight over. There's no need to buy pastries and waste money! You're in charge of your household now, so you need to be careful with your spending!"

Lu Wenjin and his siblings stared eagerly at the packet of pastries in Lu Ting's hands and swallowed.

Lu Chen smiled and chose his words. "Second Grandfather, you know about the injury I suffered before. Afterward, I actually came across a... fortuitous opportunity and learned a Cultivation Method. That's why my injury healed so quickly."

Lu Wei's expression immediately turned serious. He shooed the little ones away and took Lu Chen into the inner room.

Lu Ting and Lu Zhen exchanged a glance and followed them.

The four sat down in the room.

"You have your own secrets; you don't need to tell me. Is there something you need this old man's help with? Or have you run into some trouble?"

Lu Wei was a little worried about Lu Chen.

Lu Ting and Lu Zhen also looked at Lu Chen. "That's right, Xiao Chen. If something's wrong, just say the word! Your father was our big brother. He was the one who took us into the mountains and taught us to hunt. We uncles don't have any great abilities, but we still have some strength in us!"

A little warmth filled Lu Chen's heart.

Since transmigrating here, he really hadn't encountered any of those repulsive relatives. They were all of one heart.

Even Teng Yue, who had a different surname, had saved his life.

The other villagers had also helped him a great deal.

"It's not that! I was just thinking that quite a few people in the village, like Uncle Ting and Uncle Zhen, often go hunting in the mountains. If they could learn martial arts with me and have some skills to protect themselves, they'd be a little safer the next time they encountered wild beasts!"

"Also, when I went to the county town this time, I heard some troubling news... things aren't very peaceful out there!"

Lu Chen's voice was low.

Lu Wei took a puff on his dry pipe. Through the curling smoke, his eyes were full of the vicissitudes of life.

"Ah, these are troubled times... The year your mother fled here, the old emperor died and the young emperor took the throne. But he was too young, so I heard the empress dowager ruled in his place. After that, life got worse by the day. They say the barbarians in the northwest have killed many of our people these past few years."

Lu Wei sighed and spoke of the past.

"Lu Jiang went to serve as a soldier on the northwestern border back then. He came back lucky to be alive, with a broken leg, and that was when he married into a family in the neighboring county town. Xiao Chen, if you're willing to teach them, naturally there's no problem. With martial arts to protect themselves, they'll have a better chance of surviving troubled times. If your father had possessed that ability back then, he wouldn't have lost his arm and his life!"

Lu Chen fell silent.

Lu Jiang was his own Second Uncle, the younger brother of his father, Lu Hai.

He remembered that Lu Jiang did indeed have a lame leg, though he had only seen him a few times.

"Since you have this idea, and it's a good thing for the village too, let's go find Xian De right now!"