Muscle Relaxing Ointment

In the end, Lu Ming sold the saber in his hands for fifty-five taels. Instead of hurrying home, he took a detour to a medicinal herb shop.

He wanted to buy ointment for easing muscle soreness.

To settle his grudges as quickly as possible, he had increased the number of saber-training sessions he did each day. As a result, his body had been aching, and the pain still had not eased.

He had to take this seriously. Otherwise, he would be left with hidden injuries that might erupt all at once in the future.

"Sure enough, poor scholars and rich martial artists."

Before long, Lu Ming walked out of a medicine shop with a pained look on his face. The shop he had chosen carried an especially wide selection of plasters, pills, and other medicines for Martial Artists.

They were simply outrageously expensive.

But he had no choice but to buy them. After matching the medicine to his symptoms, he gritted his teeth and bought the cheapest bottle of Muscle Relaxing Ointment in the shop, which cost him a full fifty taels.

The more than one hundred and ten taels of silver he had just obtained had vanished almost entirely in the blink of an eye.

That was why his heart ached.

"Oh, Lu, you're back. And you're carrying a saber, too. Where'd you get the money to buy it?"

It was already completely dark. Old Man Zhao was still lying in the courtyard, seemingly waiting specifically for him to return.

Lu Ming thought for a moment before asking, "Old Man, tell me honestly. Were you following me?"

He knew that Old Man Zhao was no simple man. He probably was not merely at the Nei Qi Realm or the Zhen Qi Realm. He was very likely at the Gang Qi Realm, just like the Inner Sect Elder from that Seventh-Rank Sect.

With an expert like that following him, there was absolutely no way he could have noticed.

"Following you?" Old Man Zhao gave a soft snort, then raised a hand and pointed at the copper basin on the table.

Lu Ming was baffled. "What do you mean?"

Old Man Zhao bared his teeth.

"It means there's water in it. Take a look and see which side of your face is clean. Do you really think this old man has the spare time to care what you've been up to?"

Lu Ming's face darkened, but Old Man Zhao continued.

"Still, I can smell a trace of blood. What, did you go kill someone?"

He looked extremely curious.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming pondered for a moment. Given his current relationship with Old Man Zhao, there seemed to be no need to hide anything anymore.

Besides, he felt that aside from his background, Old Man Zhao definitely knew his circumstances extremely well.

That included the Heavenly Saber Art. After all, he practiced his saber technique in the courtyard every day.

Thus, he recounted everything in full.

As for how he had managed to cultivate inner qi despite not knowing any characters at first, he gave a half-true, half-false explanation: The manual had pictures in it, and after he tried meditating according to them, he had somehow muddled his way into mastering it.

In any case, he absolutely could not reveal the secret of the Jade Pendant. He would not tell even his wife if he married one in the future.

The matter was simply too significant. Who knew what terrifying existences might take an interest in it?

"I never thought you used to be nothing more than a penniless little beggar. You certainly had good fortune, managing to obtain Old Man Heavenly Saber's inheritance."

As expected, Old Man Zhao was only surprised by Lu Ming's background. He let out a sigh of emotion.

Good fortune, my foot. The original owner is already long gone.

After grumbling inwardly, he asked curiously, "Old Man, you know of Old Man Heavenly Saber?"

"Of course I do."

Old Man Zhao nodded and stroked his beard.

"Old Man Heavenly Saber was a saber expert, famous throughout the entire Zhao Kingdom. His cultivation was at the Early Gang Qi Realm, and his Heavenly Saber Technique was incomparably fierce and domineering."

"More than a decade ago, he appeared in Shuofeng City. I simply didn't expect him to have come in search of a burial ground."

"And fate played its tricks, allowing you to encounter it. I recognized it the moment you began practicing the saber technique a few days ago."

Lu Ming inwardly confirmed that the other man had known all along. He asked, "Then, do you need to take a look at this cultivation technique?"

"I'll give you credit for your filial piety, but there's no need."

Old Man Zhao smiled and waved his hand. "The cultivation technique I practice is no worse than the Heavenly Saber Art. I have no use for it."

At this, Lu Ming's eyes shifted. "Then compared to Old Man Heavenly Saber, who's stronger?"

"Heh..."

Old Man Zhao pointed a finger at Lu Ming. "You little brat are trying to trick me into revealing my strength. If it were that easy to succeed, wouldn't I have wasted all these years of my life?"

Lu Ming gave an awkward smile. "Fine, don't tell me. You peerless experts just love being mysterious."

This time, Old Man Zhao did not deny the words "peerless expert." Instead, he only said, "When the time comes, you'll naturally know."

How could Lu Ming not understand? The so-called "when the time comes" simply meant whenever the other man decided it had come.

Still, he did not dwell on it. After chatting for a few more moments, he carried the saber back to his own courtyard.

Once he returned to his little courtyard, Lu Ming first heated a full barrel of water and soaked in a hot bath to his heart's content.

After bathing, he began his daily, unwavering cultivation of inner qi.

Only after more than an hour did he finish and retract his power. After that bout of cultivation, the inner qi in his dantian had increased by another notch.

This time, he did not hurry to sleep. Instead, he stripped naked and took out the bottle of Muscle Relaxing Ointment he had bought earlier.

The Muscle Relaxing Ointment had the consistency of fish oil and gave off a faint fragrance.

He had already asked Old Man Zhao to inspect it and confirmed that he had not bought the wrong thing, so he confidently smeared it all over his body.

Not long after he finished applying it, a cool, icy sensation spread through him, bringing a wave of comfort.

"No wonder it costs fifty taels. The effects really are obvious. It's just that there's far too little of it."

After applying one layer over his entire body, Lu Ming discovered that half the ointment in the bottle was already gone. There was only enough left for three more applications at most.

At that rate of consumption, how could an ordinary household afford it?

"The road of martial cultivation is long and arduous."

With a sigh, he went straight into dreamland.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Lu Ming woke to find that the soreness in his body had completely vanished. He once again marveled at the effects of the Muscle Relaxing Ointment.

The money had been well spent.

With the soreness gone, he would be able to practice the saber technique even better.

Moreover, relying on the existence of the Muscle Relaxing Ointment, he decided to develop his body's flexibility to a greater extent. After all, the saber technique was dead, but a person was alive.

When fighting others, one had to adapt to the circumstances. He would not be stiff and foolish.

That made bodily flexibility extremely important.

He was also pondering whether he could deliver a saber strike at an inconceivable angle.

That way, he could catch his opponent off guard.

Thus, in the days that followed, Lu Ming once again immersed himself in arduous cultivation. He also did not forget to read and broaden his horizons.

That knowledge might save his life at some point in the future, so he could not afford to underestimate it.

Gale Style!

Rain Style!

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days had passed since he had settled his grudges. In the little courtyard, Lu Ming held the saber he had bought and performed the Heavenly Saber Technique.

Saber Light flashed throughout the entire courtyard, and fierce energy assailed the senses.

As for Lu Ming himself, under the enhancement of Heavenly Saber inner qi, only afterimages could be seen.

Slash!

Suddenly, Lu Ming's figure emerged. He was holding the saber with both hands and chopping down from above. It was none other than the third move of the Heavenly Saber Technique, Skyward Slash.

This time, his target was a wooden stake. The strike split it in two from top to bottom.

There was not the slightest pause midway.

"No, these three moves have already been trained to my limit. There's no possibility of advancing further. It's time to head to the Shuofeng Mountain Range and temper my practical combat skills."

The results before him were striking, yet Lu Ming was not particularly satisfied.

His martial cultivation had progressed at a truly astonishing speed over the past twenty-plus days.

First was his cultivation technique. He had long since trained it to the highest sixth level of the Nei Qi Realm section. The inner qi in his body now circulated in a Lesser Celestial Circuit, greatly increasing the speed at which he refined inner qi.

Next was his realm, which had also advanced extremely quickly. He was now a Martial Artist at the fifth layer of the Nei Qi Realm.

Finally, there were his martial skills. He had long since mastered the first three moves of the Heavenly Saber Technique to perfection. In addition, the lightness skill he had obtained, the Soaring Cloud Skill, had also reached a level matching his cultivation realm.

With his current fifth-layer Nei Qi Realm cultivation, his highest leap could reach nine meters, while his longest leap could reach fifteen meters.

It could be said that aside from his cultivation realm, his current strength had advanced as far as it could.

Besides, he was nearly out of money and urgently needed to earn more.

Thus, the Shuofeng Mountain Range naturally became his first choice.