Choice

Before Wu Ming's eyes were rows of wooden shelves, holding scrolls of martial arts classics. Each shelf had a tag with words like "Fist Techniques," "Palm Techniques," "Blade Techniques," and so on, written in red ink, clearly indicating different skills, all neatly categorized.

In front of these numerous shelves sat a slightly thinner booklet. Its pages were yellowish-brown, seemingly made of leather, extremely tough and difficult to destroy. The cover bore the words "Martial Arts Essentials."

Although this world revered martial arts, villages like Wu Village ensured that children, around three or four years old, would learn to read and write from the village elders. While most children were lazy, Wu Ming studied diligently. Even though the village elders weren't particularly skilled, he learned enough to recognize all the basic characters after a long time.

"Martial Arts Essentials..."

Wu Ming took a step forward, picked up the leather booklet, and began to read it carefully.

—Humans are born weak, hence the need to cultivate martial arts to fight against demons. Martial arts are methods to strengthen the body and enhance one's power. The essence of the human body lies in blood. By refining blood energy, one can stimulate the muscles, bones, and skin, causing them to transform.

Therefore, all martial arts in the world are rooted in the refinement of blood energy.

The content within the Martial Arts Essentials was mostly described in plain language, making it simple and easy to understand. Wu Ming was already familiar with most of the earlier parts. It also included the basics of martial arts cultivation, such as the Pure Yang Blood-Drawing Stance.

Skipping over the parts he already knew, Wu Ming turned directly to the sections he needed.

—The first stage of refining blood energy involves gathering it in the Dantian and circulating it through the meridians to stimulate the entire body, naturally strengthening the physique. Within a month at the latest, the Dantian will reach a state of fullness. To further improve the physique beyond this point, a second refinement of blood energy is required.

To achieve the second blood refinement, the primary focus is "nourishing the blood," which means replenishment. Three meals a day must include meat, from which nutrients are absorbed to nourish the body's blood essence. Then, practice various fist and foot techniques to invigorate the body. This naturally condenses blood essence into blood energy. By gathering and strengthening blood energy until the Dantian is full, one can then calm the mind and body, guide the blood energy, and converge it at a single point, leading to a natural transformation. This is known as the second refinement...

Reading the descriptions in the Martial Arts Essentials, Wu Ming finally understood.

No wonder Wu Qu hadn't taught him the path of martial arts after the initial blood refinement. It turned out that after successfully completing the first blood refinement, the process leading to the second refinement didn't have specific cultivation methods but was entirely a process of accumulation and nourishment.

During this period, besides eating plenty of meat to absorb nutrients and nourish the body, the only other requirement was to invigorate the body, allowing the absorbed nutrients to be fully converted into blood energy. And how to invigorate the body was also quite flexible.

Any fist, foot, blade, or spear technique, when practiced, could invigorate the body.

"So, at this stage, besides accumulating and nourishing blood energy, the most important thing is to combine it with the practice of fist and foot techniques. On one hand, it invigorates blood energy and aids in its refinement. On the other hand, the techniques themselves are also a part of one's strength."

Wu Ming pondered this.

In reality, everyone's physique and innate talent were different, so the suitable cultivation paths also varied. Some were more suited to fist techniques, others to leg techniques, and some could practice with blades, spears, or swords.

Like the Clan Head, Wu Qu, although Wu Ming had never seen Wu Qu fight, he knew that Wu Qu used a blade.

"I wonder if the Martial Arts Essentials has any suitable technique introductions."

Wu Ming continued reading. Soon, he found that the latter half of the Martial Arts Essentials did indeed discuss how to choose techniques. It was quite simple: circulate blood energy and guide it to the limbs.

If the arms were more unhindered, then fist techniques would be more suitable. If the legs were more unhindered, then leg techniques would be more appropriate.

"Let me try."

After reviewing the descriptions in the Martial Arts Essentials, Wu Ming immediately collected his thoughts. With a thought, the blood energy in his Dantian was mobilized and flowed along the meridians towards his limbs.

"Hmm, my arms seem a bit more unhindered, but the difference is very small."

Feeling the different sensations as blood energy surged through his limbs, Wu Ming quickly determined that his arms were slightly more unhindered, though the difference was minuscule. It was only with his micro-level perception that he could barely discern the difference.

With such a subtle difference, the distinction when practicing any technique wouldn't be very significant. The Martial Arts Essentials also mentioned that current martial arts, whether fist or leg techniques, were quite comprehensive. When practiced to a deep level, they would involve the shoulders, waist, hips, and even the entire body.

"Given my situation, for unarmed techniques, fist techniques are the most suitable. As for weapons..."

A faint light flashed in Wu Ming's eyes, and he already had an answer in his heart.

Spear!

There's a saying: a year for the blade, ten years for the spear. Among various weapons, the spear is the most difficult to learn, but it's also the most effective against demons. Compared to blades and swords, the spear is a long weapon, offering a greater range for both offense and defense!

"No matter if it's blade, sword, fist, or foot techniques, once practiced to a profound level, the difficulty and intensity are similar. The only difference lies in the initial stages. Fortunately, my control over my body and my perception are both very strong, so learning any technique should not be difficult for me."

Wu Ming's understanding was clear.

Once martial arts techniques reached a profound level, their difficulty and intensity were roughly the same. The spear, as a long weapon, had an advantage in fighting demons. Its only drawback was the difficulty of entry, but with his abilities, he was confident he could overcome that. Therefore, considering everything, choosing the spear technique was the most suitable option for a weapon.

At this moment, Wu Ming closed the Martial Arts Essentials, which he had flipped to the last page, and placed it back. He then turned his gaze to the rows of wooden shelves, quickly arriving at the row designated for spear techniques.

Here, the wooden shelves also held various scrolls and booklets, similarly made of some kind of ancient and tough leather. Wu Ming also keenly noticed that the shelves for spear techniques had noticeably more dust than the other rows.

Clearly, Compared to the simpler fist and foot techniques, or blade and sword techniques, spear techniques, with their higher entry difficulty, were less favored among the many martial artists. The traces indicated that fewer people chose to practice spear techniques.

Wu Ming glanced at the various spear techniques on the shelves, unable to distinguish their quality at first glance. Moreover, based on his judgment, martial arts techniques that were casually placed in the Outer Hall for everyone to practice should all be roughly similar.

He closed his eyes and picked one at random.

"Falling Leaf Spear Technique"

Wu Ming glanced at the name of the spear technique on the cover, then opened it and began to observe and read it carefully.