Wu Yin had a lovely face. Though her casual sweater was rather loose, it still could not conceal her full curves. At least tonight, it was not on the verge of being burst apart like last time.
She did not speak. She merely cast Wang Xuan a cold glance before turning to look at the bustling crowd along the bar street, without the slightest emotional ripple.
The two women beside her were sizing Wang Xuan up in surprise. Was this man not afraid that the ever-unruly Zhou Yun would teach him a lesson? At their age, youth was their greatest capital. Both women had fair skin, well-proportioned figures, and vigorous youthful vitality.
One had short hair and, unafraid of the late autumn chill, wore a short skirt that displayed her snowy-white legs. The other had long hair with a slight natural curl. Her scarlet lips were alluring, and beneath the streetlights, she looked exceptionally gorgeous, drawing quite a few passersby's eyes.
"Wang Xuan, did you take gunpowder today?" Zhou Ting spoke up for her brother. She watched Wang Xuan and her brother warily, genuinely afraid that her brother would be provoked into rushing over, only to get beaten up again.
"Oh? So you're Wang Xuan?" The long-haired woman with slightly curly hair had a graceful figure. She stepped forward, her seductive phoenix eyes carrying an unusual gleam. As she approached, her red lips seemed even more vibrant. Smiling, she said, "Let's get acquainted. I'm Li Qingxuan."
"Qing Xuan, don't go too far!" Wu Yin spoke up. She knew that Li Qingxuan and Ling Wei had never gotten along. This was clearly Li Qingxuan trying to stir up trouble.
Wang Xuan nodded at Li Qingxuan, directly excluding her, Zhou Ting, and Zhou Yun from consideration.
There were also two young men nearby. Both were composed and steady, unlike Zhou Yun, who loved picking fights. They stood there calmly.
"Wang Xuan, I've been very restrained today. Are you trying to provoke me?" Zhou Yun had nearly choked on his anger just now. What Wang Xuan said was true—he had fought with people again and again recently—but did he have to be so blunt in public? The provocation made his chest ache.
Wang Xuan walked over, looking thoroughly sincere. "Sorry. Mainly because I ran into someone tonight who was emitting a faint red glow all over. He was extremely overbearing. Forget it... I won't talk about it. I'm not in a very good mood tonight. Goodbye."
After saying that, he turned and left. Aside from Zhou Yun, the others all appeared calm and composed, making it difficult to read anything from them.
"Heh, you ran into someone whose body was glowing red? That really is bad luck." Zhou Yun finally laughed, looking as though he understood everything. He felt he had guessed what Wang Xuan had experienced. Wang Xuan must have suffered at the hands of some Super Arts expert, which was why he was so fiery tonight.
He smiled faintly and immediately began filling in all sorts of details in his mind. His mood instantly improved.
Under those circumstances, he became magnanimous instead. He did not hold Wang Xuan's earlier jab at his sore spot against him, and even kindly offered a few "pointers."
"Little Wang, let me give you some advice. Don't cling to Old Arts and refuse to let go. New Arts are far beyond Old Arts. Soon, people who surpass grandmasters will emerge. You're trapped on Old Earth, with too little experience. What a pity."
White gauze was wrapped around Zhou Yun's head, and his fractured arm was in a splint and suspended in a sling. Yet he still wore an expression of immense psychological superiority, even calling him Little Wang.
Wang Xuan did his best to cooperate. He sighed, satisfying Zhou Yun's mentality, then turned and left. He did not want to listen to him show off any longer.
"Brother, you should be more humble!" Zhou Ting glared at him irritably. It had only been a few days, yet he had already been beaten twice. He was simply too capable of stirring up trouble and never let anyone rest easy.
Looking at Wang Xuan's departing back, Wu Yin said, "Be careful of that man. You need to keep an eye on him."
Hearing this, Zhou Yun said, "Wu Yin, it's not that I want to criticize you, but people should be magnanimous. Didn't he just give you a pathological analysis last time? It wasn't intentional."
Wu Yin nearly wanted to rush over and stomp that fractured, bandaged arm of his with her high heels. She had kindly reminded him, only to be accused of not being magnanimous.
In her view, Wang Xuan had first provoked Zhou Yun until he was practically beside himself, then used a few sentences to inflate his sense of superiority. It was hard to say that he had not deliberately stirred Zhou Yun's emotions, as if observing and testing something, before brushing off his sleeves and leaving when all was done, without leaving a trace.
Wu Yin was indignant. What does this have to do with me? Why should I care whether you live or die? I'll never remind you again. Furious, she ignored Zhou Yun.
"Brother Zhou Yun, what's the deal with that Wang Xuan?" Li Qingxuan smiled sweetly, gathering her curled hair with a slender hand. Her phoenix eyes tilted upward, making her look dazzling as she fished for information.
"You mean Little Wang..." Though Zhou Yun was unruly and fond of provoking trouble, he was definitely not simple-minded. He had actually been deliberately needling Wu Yin just now, provoking her in return. He was deeply dissatisfied with the Wu Family's forceful demand to involve themselves in the Qingcheng Mountain matter. It was precisely because they had waited for the Wu Family to come divide the benefits that the Zhou Family and Ling Family had not rushed to excavate, and then things had gone wrong in the end.
Li Qingxuan smiled brilliantly. "Then tell me about him in detail. My family is preparing to form an expedition team to go to that place, and we want to find some capable people."
Wu Yin felt a headache coming on at once. She had originally wanted to remind Zhou Yun that Li Qingxuan was up to something, but in the end, she simply shut up. Out of sight, out of mind. Let them toss things around as they pleased; it had nothing to do with her anyway.
After Wang Xuan turned and left, his previous expression immediately vanished. He became serious beyond compare, his gaze sweeping over the bar street like blades as he watched every passerby.
After being scrutinized by him, many people felt their hearts quiver, as though they had briefly been locked onto by a fierce tiger in the mountains. They were all uncertain and alarmed.
That night, Wang Xuan and Qing Mu went in and out of various bars, but they ultimately failed to find those people. Clearly, they had already withdrawn successfully.
"Don't worry. This isn't over. No matter who did it, we'll report this all the way up. The nature of this incident is far too vile. We'll report it to the relevant departments on Old Earth."
Qing Mu spoke, then finally told him to return and rest early. He would bring Wang Xuan a gun permit the next day.
"Those people won't dare show themselves again anytime soon. I'll have someone keep watch!" Qing Mu patted his shoulder and took his leave.
Though it was already late, Wang Xuan still called his parents. Once he confirmed that everything was normal on their end, he relaxed. He knew those people were mainly targeting him and simply wanted to erase his life.
After returning to his residence, Wang Xuan took out the Golden Body Art. His state that night was highly unusual, and even studying this physical art felt different from before. He comprehended far more from it.
In his room, he continuously stretched his body and began practicing the Golden Body Art according to the records in the secret manual.
The shooting that night had dealt Wang Xuan a tremendous shock. Against modern technological weapons, even Old Arts experts appeared fragile. If his reaction had been a little slower, his head would have been blown apart.
Even now, the thought still sent chills running down his spine.
A lock of hair was visibly missing beside his ear. The bullet had grazed it and melted the strands apart. The whole ordeal had been incomparably perilous.
That night, he felt deeply that life could wither in an instant, yet he had been unable to protect himself effectively and had needed Qing Mu to resolve the situation.
He needed to grow stronger. In particular, he thirsted incomparably for a physical art like the Golden Body Art, hoping to cultivate a powerful body capable of blocking hidden shots.
If he had attained even a little success in the Golden Body Art, he would not have let those people go that night. As long as he could block bullets to some degree and keep them from being so lethal, he would have dared to pursue and kill them, confident that he could take them out.
The first level of the Golden Body Art was not unfamiliar to Wang Xuan. It was similar to the Golden Robe Art, and he could easily transition into it.
Very quickly, he began practicing the second level of the Golden Body Art, which theoretically required two years to master.
However, Professor Lin had once mentioned that there was no need to fuss over the matter of time. The scripture had exaggerated the difficulty.
"Physical arts primarily temper the body according to special frequencies. For example, they resonate with the five viscera, accelerate metabolism, and transform the constitution. During the process, they may stimulate the adrenal glands, pineal gland, and so on."
Generally speaking, the Golden Body Art transformed the body and brought about a qualitative change in the spirit as well, eventually allowing one to block bullets.
"The Root Method is also about improving oneself in every aspect. Professor Lin repeatedly reminded me that the roots of all physical arts must be planted in the Root Method."
After practicing for a while, Wang Xuan stopped. He took out the translation of the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips and studied it carefully.
That was because he had remained in the Super-Sense state for a long time that night without ever exiting it. It made him exceptionally sharp, and he constantly felt that something was about to happen.
This was the powerful intuition Super-Sense brought him. After finishing the Golden Body Art, he began studying the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners' inheritance Professor Lin had given him.
His condition that night truly was extraordinary, and he comprehended something different.
When he visualized and internally nourished himself, he discovered that everything had changed. It was as though he had been pulled into a special space, still and soundless.
It had all happened so abruptly!
Wang Xuan felt no fear and no panic. Instead, he was so calm that even he found it slightly surprising. He seemed like someone detached from the mundane world, examining everything before him.
A long time passed, yet there was still no sound here—absolute silence. But his thoughts were extraordinarily active and sharp, and his memory was astonishing.
With a momentary recollection, the entire Golden Body Art was imprinted in his mind. He could even recite it backward fluently, because it was as though he could flip through the secret manual and read it from back to front.
Then he tried again. The translation of the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips was the same. He could recite it backward fluently, and when he thought of any particular passage, he could recite it both forward and backward.
How was this still a Super-Sense state? In his view, this was practically a Super-God State.
What kind of domain was this? How had he become like this?
Most crucially, this seemed like an isolated space without the slightest sound, like a desolate universe that had lost its stars, incomparably cold and silent.
Not understanding his own condition, he searched the scriptures for answers. He could even recite them backward, much less study them carefully once again.
Before long, he found a passage in the inheritance of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners. His Super-God State intuition told him that the answer lay within that passage.
In the translation of the bamboo slips, this passage was fairly far back. It was originally beyond Wang Xuan's reach; only when his realm had risen another level would it be suitable for him to comprehend.
But now, his own situation corresponded with this passage.
This passage mentioned emptiness, spoke of stillness, and also referred to luminous time. It was exceedingly obscure and fragmented, making it difficult to understand.
Professor Lin did not understand this passage either, so he had no choice but to attach the ancient original text from the Pre-Qin era.
Under ordinary circumstances, Wang Xuan would have found it difficult to grasp its true meaning. But his Super-God State made his mind exceptionally clear and sharp, and he gradually came to understand some things.
Very soon, certain later methods, as well as explanations of cultivation, surfaced in his mind.
Meditation, Inner Scenery of Yellow Court, Attain Emptiness to the Utmost, Guard Stillness with Devotion... certain later methods and terms leaped into his mind, helping him gradually sort out the true meaning of this Pre-Qin scripture.
In the field of meditation, there was an achievement that could be called the pinnacle. Even so-called grandmasters found it difficult to reach, and might pursue it for a lifetime without gaining anything.
Ultimate meditation, sometimes called supreme meditation, meant that after entering this domain, a person could remain in their own Void and Silence Land for years, even many years.
Yet in the outside world, perhaps only a few minutes would pass.
Now, if explained through meditation, Wang Xuan was in a state of ultimate meditation.
And if explained through the Yellow Court Scripture, then he had entered a special Inner Scenery Realm.
The Tao Te Ching also mentioned it: Attain Emptiness to the Utmost, Guard Stillness with Devotion.
Clearly, this was coded language, describing a special state on the Old Arts path—emptiness and stillness—and also revealing the condition of the Inner Scenery Realm.
Whether explained through meditation or through the Daoist school of Yellow Court, both highlighted the mystery of this state, something outsiders found difficult to understand.
Looking back now, Wang Xuan realized that what was regarded as the highest level of meditation and the Inner Scenery Realm of Yellow Court was actually only... a certain state of the Root Method of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners.
Even in the Super-God State, Wang Xuan was momentarily stunned and greatly shocked. Supreme meditation and the Inner Scenery Realm of Yellow Court were merely... the proper method of practicing the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips?!
He was deeply shaken. If his understanding was not wrong, then did that mean he had abundant time now?
Under the meditation interpretation, he could remain in this special Void and Silence Land for years.
And under Daoist theory, he had entered the Inner Scenery Realm and was currently within luminous time, where he could remain for a long while.
Wang Xuan was neither exhilarated nor overly agitated. Instead, he maintained a detached calm and decided to give it a try.
Then, he began practicing the Golden Body Art here!
Before you continue