First Layer of Inner Qi

Returning to the main road, Lu Ming had already undergone a complete transformation.

His tattered cloth shirt, which had originally let wind in from all sides, had been replaced with a black outfit designed for movement—and, unexpectedly, it fit him perfectly.

He had initially thought the clothes in the bundle belonged to the burly man who had driven the carriage. Given that man's build, they should have been much too large for him.

Yet they fit just right, which left him somewhat puzzled. He did not dwell on it, merely guessing that there had been another boy in the carriage with a build similar to his.

As for his feet, the straw sandals riddled with holes had also been replaced with a pair of boots with white soles and black uppers.

His hair had been simply tied behind his head with a strip of cloth.

His face had been washed clean as well. Although he still looked rather thin overall, the spirit he now exuded was worlds apart from before.

He believed that even if he walked past the beggars who had known the original owner, they would have a hard time recognizing him.

This would save him a great deal of trouble, and it made him even more grateful to the carriage owner.

"Then I'll begin my new life."

Lu Ming straightened his clothes once more, held his head high and chest out, and strode toward Shuofeng City.

The closer he got to the city, the more likely he was to encounter other people. All of them were Martial Artists. Some moved with long, swift strides, while others directly employed lightness techniques, bounding along like rabbits and falcons.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, the sound of something tearing through the air rang out. Lu Ming only saw a dark shadow flash past him.

It startled him badly. He hurriedly looked ahead and saw that it was a chubby figure dressed in yellow.

The figure revealed itself for only a brief pause before turning into an afterimage and vanishing again. When it appeared once more, it was already more than ten meters away.

It was practically teleportation.

After only a few breaths, the figure had completely disappeared from sight.

"What incredible lightness skills. As expected of a martial world—this is a little terrifying."

Lu Ming was both envious and flustered. In front of these people, he was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, utterly lacking any sense of security.

This made him even more desperate to begin practicing martial arts.

"No, I have to get into the city and settle down as soon as possible."

According to his memories, Shuofeng City had only simple rules, but there were many people there. If he was a little careful, he could avoid plenty of trouble.

The wilderness was different. It had absolutely no rules. If he encountered someone who took a dislike to him and casually slapped him to death, there would be nowhere to seek justice.

Just like earlier—if that chubby figure had meant him harm, he would already be dead.

Thus, Lu Ming continued forward with even greater caution and speed.

Finally, after trudging for more than another hour, he arrived near the city gate. Looking at the lofty and magnificent city tower, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Without stopping, he continued toward the city gate.

The gate was very wide, with only a sparse number of people entering and leaving. The soldiers from the City Lord's Mansion stationed nearby did not even need to maintain order.

Lu Ming knew part of the reason for this.

This was the northern gate, facing an area with little of great value, so few people usually passed through it.

The southern gate, by contrast, was completely different. Whether day or night, an especially large number of people entered and left there.

At times, it was even unbearably crowded.

The reason was simple enough. The southern gate faced the Shuofeng Mountain Range. To ordinary people, it was a dangerous forbidden zone, but to some Martial Artists, it was a treasure trove.

Spirit medicines, demonic beasts, and other resources were all targets they sought to turn into wealth.

Many Martial Artists even treated it as a place to hone themselves.

Thus, even the depths of the mountains were bustling.

Still, having more people also had its advantages: it made it easier to slip into the city unnoticed.

Here, however, there were too few people. Lu Ming was afraid he might run into some unexpected trouble.

Fortunately, those soldiers seemed to have grown accustomed to slacking off, and no incident arose.

Thus, he finally entered the city.

Looking at the streets that were both unfamiliar and familiar, Lu Ming had no time to wander around.

His goal was very clear: find a cheap place to rent. As a beggar, the original owner had begged throughout the entire city and naturally knew where cheap rooms could be found.

However, it was already late in the day. Even if he found a landlord, it would not be convenient to rent a room now.

Therefore, he planned to stay for one night at the cheapest inn he remembered.

"Hmm? I feel like I've seen the person who just passed by somewhere before."

After crossing another street, a beggar by the roadside suddenly stopped. He looked back suspiciously and caught sight of a figure disappearing into the crowd.

"You ask people for food every day, so of course you've seen plenty of faces. What's strange about seeing one again?"

Beside him, another beggar reached out and pushed him, urging him on.

"Come on. If we're late handing over today's offering again, that skinflint won't go easy on us."

"True."

The previously puzzled beggar nodded, then sighed.

"When will these days ever end? We can't eat our fill or keep warm, and we still have to be skinned alive. If this goes on, we won't last."

"Who says otherwise?"

The other beggar sighed as well. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said,

"Too bad we haven't seen that fellow Lu Ming for two days. Otherwise, snatching a little from him could make things easier for us."

"Don't count on it. He couldn't beg up anything for several days and got a vicious beating from that skinflint. I figure he's already frozen to death in some corner of the city."

Elsewhere, Lu Ming naturally knew that he had run into acquaintances. They were beggars controlled by the same Beggars' Sect members, and they had quite a few grudges with the original owner.

However, he showed no emotion and calmly walked past them.

It was not yet time for revenge.

After carefully making his way to the secluded inn from his memories, Lu Ming paid three coins of silver and successfully checked in. The price included one dinner and hot water.

Now he was soaking in a tub of hot water and felt an indescribable comfort throughout his body.

He had never imagined that bathing in hot water could be such a pleasure. As a result, he soaked for a full quarter of an hour, only taking the towel to scrub himself after the water cooled.

Earlier, at the puddle outside the city, he had not dared to wash his entire body with cold water. He had only washed his hair, then used the bundle cloth to clean his face, neck, and other places.

The rest of him had remained filthy.

Thus, after soaking and scrubbing himself, the hot water in the tub had turned pitch-black.

"The innkeeper will definitely be shocked tomorrow."

After putting on his clothes, Lu Ming looked at the black water in the tub and smiled helplessly. He then stopped worrying about it and went to the table to eat dinner.

The inn served food à la carte, and guests could order whatever they wanted.

The complimentary meal was rather meager: only two steamed buns and a plate of pickled vegetables with a trace of oil.

Even so, Lu Ming ate with great relish.

He had not eaten a proper meal in a very long time.

After wolfing everything down, Lu Ming quickly finished eating and let out a satisfied belch. Then a wave of drowsiness swept over him. He was certain that if he lay down now, he would fall asleep instantly and sleep like the dead.

Yet he forcibly endured it. Ever since entering the city and seeing Martial Artists filling the streets, he had been unable to suppress his desire to learn martial arts as quickly as possible.

Thus, he wanted to try practicing the Heavenly Saber Art in his mind.

He hurried to the bed and sat down cross-legged, then promptly summoned the internal cultivation method of the Heavenly Saber Art.

After the Jade Pendant had infused it into him, he had completely understood this technique. He might even have grasped certain details more clearly than the owner of the Stone Coffin.

This was the Jade Pendant's effect. It was equivalent to raising his comprehension to the maximum level. In the future, no matter what peerless martial art or secret manual he received, he would understand it at a glance after the infusion.

As for mastering it immediately, that would still depend on his physical aptitude. For now, he merely had to wait for his body to learn it.

Returning to the matter at hand, after Lu Ming finished reading the technique, he tried circulating the portion concerning the Nei Qi Realm.

As the technique described, he quickly entered the proper state, and his consciousness gradually sank into it.

After an unknown length of time, a warm current suddenly arose in his abdomen. Then he felt a slight itch and numbness.

"Did I succeed just like that?"

Once the strange sensation faded, Lu Ming opened his eyes, somewhat unable to believe it.

If his perception was correct, he had just completed the Drawing Qi into the Body described in the Heavenly Saber Art.

In other words, he had officially crossed the threshold of martial arts and entered the First Layer of Inner Qi.

This left him somewhat incredulous. According to the technique, the speed of Drawing Qi into the Body determined one's martial aptitude to a certain extent.

Although he did not know the exact standards, the fact that he had succeeded after only a brief moment meant that his aptitude was extraordinarily high.

With the Jade Pendant on top of that, he was now configured like an unparalleled genius.

"Continue."

Suppressing his excitement, Lu Ming circulated the technique again. After confirming that the flow of qi inside his body truly existed, he decided to continue cultivating and strengthen his inner qi.

Yet this time, he was forced to exit his meditative state after only a short while.

It turned out that a wave of hunger had suddenly risen from his abdomen.

He had clearly just eaten, yet he had become hungry so quickly. After thinking it over, he understood the reason.

Practicing martial arts was a process of refining essence into qi. And where did essence and qi come from? Naturally, from the outside world—most importantly, food.

It was clear from this that martial arts was not something the poor could afford to practice.

After all, the poor pursued literature, while the rich pursued martial arts.

His hunger grew increasingly intense, and Lu Ming did not dare continue practicing. Otherwise, it would forcibly draw on the essence currently stored in his body, making his already frail body even worse off.

He found the few pastries left from earlier. Only after he finished eating them did the hunger gradually disappear.

Then he could hold on no longer and sank into a deep sleep.