Body Forging Art

"Qi and blood—was it really this miraculous?"

In the room, Chu Mu sat wrapped in a thick padded coat beside the brazier, gazing at the volume of Real Skill in his hands. This doubt once again rose uncontrollably in his mind.

Three days had already passed since he had returned wounded.

For those three days, aside from going to Old Li Doctor's place to change his medicine, Chu Mu had spent nearly all his time holed up at home.

With his injuries not yet healed, there was naturally little Chu Mu could do.

Each day, besides repeatedly recalling and summarizing the life-and-death battles in the mountains, and setting aside a little time to go to the Chang Residence to read and learn characters, he devoted the rest of his time to the volume of "Body Forging Art" in his hands.

In his previous life and this one, Real Skill had been almost nothing more than a legend to him.

The difference was that in this world, Real Skill was something he could confirm truly existed.

And now, he even held it in his hands.

What man had never fantasized about carrying a sword across the world and roaming freely beneath the heavens?

Real Skill held in his hands...

Even after several days had passed, Chu Mu still could not conceal the surge of excitement that welled up unintentionally.

The Body Forging Art was a volume of several dozen pages, filled with illustrations and text. In just a few days, he had nearly engraved every word and image completely into his mind. He could not quite recite it backward, but he knew it thoroughly.

With this thorough understanding, he naturally gained a rough grasp of the Real Skill of this world.

Unlike his impression of Martial Arts from his previous life, the Real Skill of this world seemed, in Chu Mu's eyes, to be... a process of gradually becoming inhuman! Martial artists first calmed their minds and nurtured their dispositions, then practiced Stance Training. Using Stance Training as an aid, they quieted their minds and focused on sensing their qi and blood.

After that came a process of internal consumption and external refinement.

Internal consumption referred to taking Medicinal Formulas that nurtured qi and replenished essence.

External refinement referred to practicing Stance Training, nurturing and strengthening one's qi and blood, and thereby tempering and strengthening the body.

The stronger one's qi and blood, the stronger one's physical constitution would naturally be. And that, in turn, meant gradually becoming inhuman!

According to the Body Forging Art, those who mastered it would have bodies like iron and stone, impervious to Swords, and possess Hundred Stone Strength, enough to shatter rocks and split mountains.

Such descriptions were clearly exaggerated to some degree. After all, Hundred Stone Strength amounted to no more than ten thousand jin. That kind of strength was enough to shatter rocks, but to split mountains, one would have to transform into a humanoid excavator. Otherwise, it was clearly far from enough.

But without a doubt, ten thousand jin of strength was already far beyond the limits of the human body, reaching the level of the inhuman,

to say nothing of having a body like iron and stone, impervious to Swords!

"But... there isn't a specific realm?"

A doubt he had experienced before could not help surfacing again.

Based on his impression of Martial Arts, there were clearly defined realms.

Things like Ming Jin, An Jin, and Quenching Bones and Refining Skin.

Yet after turning through the entire volume of Body Forging Art, he had not found any clearly defined realms.

He had even specifically asked Wu Shuo about it yesterday, but had received no definite answer.

It seemed to be nothing more than an extremely simple cycle of nurturing qi and blood, strengthening qi and blood, and repeating the process over and over.

There were no realms, nor any levels! After pondering for a while without figuring it out, Chu Mu could not be bothered to think about it any longer. Real Skill was right in his hands, so why think so much?

Besides, the great likelihood was that he could not figure it out simply because, as before, his understanding was still too limited and he had not encountered it yet.

Once he came into contact with it and broadened his understanding, he would naturally understand.

"As for calming my mind and nurturing my disposition, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Chu Mu pondered silently.

According to the book's description, the most important thing in beginning the Body Forging Art was calming the mind and nurturing the disposition. Put simply, it meant quieting one's heart and casting aside distracting thoughts.

Only then could one slowly sense qi and blood while practicing Stance Training, try to manipulate qi and blood, nurture... strengthen qi and blood, and thereby temper and strengthen the body.

Ever since arriving in this world, the existence of Spiritual Radiance had long made Chu Mu consciously train his concentration. Quieting his mind and practicing Martial Arts or reading without distracting thoughts had already become his daily life.

For him, the most important hurdle in beginning the Body Forging Art clearly posed no obstacle at all.

As for sensing qi and blood...

Chu Mu closed his eyes and tried once again to sense it. The result remained unchanged. Aside from the faint stabbing pain at his wounds, he felt nothing else whatsoever.

"Stance Training..."

Chu Mu lowered his head and glanced at the booklet in his hands. Clearly, this kind of perception could not be separated from the Stance Training recorded in the Body Forging Art.

It was just that, in his current condition, it was obviously impossible for him to practice Stance Training.

"I'll wait a little longer..."

Chu Mu sighed softly. Real Skill was right in his hands, yet he could not practice it. It was truly unbearable.

After sweeping his gaze around the room, Chu Mu silently recited a thought. The familiar Light Screen Panel once again emerged in his field of vision.

Name: Chu Mu.

Skills: Basic Blade Technique (Initial Understanding) 263/500

Spirit Radiance Value: 156.7%

The path of Basic Blade Technique at the Initial Understanding stage had advanced halfway in just a few short days... no, strictly speaking, it should have crossed half the distance in the span of only one day and one night.

All of this had clearly been thanks to the several life-and-death battles in the mountains.

Chu Mu remembered that when he left the mountains, his Blade Technique proficiency had already reached more than two hundred and forty. The dozen or so additional points of proficiency had naturally come from his pondering and summarizing over the past few days.

"If I practice the Body Forging Art, my Blade Technique proficiency should surge again..."

Chu Mu pondered to himself. His current Blade Technique was limited most of all by strength.

Even though his Blade Technique had reached Initial Understanding and was already more than halfway through its progress, his physical constitution limited him, and he had still never been able to control the weight of the long blade particularly well.

Especially when fighting others, the collision of strength made this limitation expand almost without end! If he practiced the Body Forging Art and improved his physical constitution and strength, his control over the blade would naturally soar as well.

"What a haul!"

Chu Mu exhaled deeply. This trip into the mountains, the repeated bloody battles, and the lives of more than a hundred Patrol Inspectors...

When some rejoiced, others naturally grieved.

And Chu Mu was undoubtedly the one who ought to rejoice.

His Blade Technique, backed by his own strength, had advanced greatly. He had also obtained the Real Skill known as the Body Forging Art. His external power and status would improve as well, with the five severed heads and Wu Shuo's regard for him after he had begun to show his abilities.

Although he had suffered serious injuries, such returns clearly far outweighed what he had paid.

After all, those Patrol Inspectors who had lost their lives had received nothing more than a pension and a replacement position.

By comparison, Chu Mu could undoubtedly be called exceedingly fortunate.

As he pondered, Chu Mu removed the thick padded coat covering him and carefully rose from the chair.

Over the past few days, Nanshan Town had been struck by successive heavy snowfalls. At this moment, the snow in the courtyard was already deep enough to cover his ankles, and that was despite Xu Yuan having cleared it the previous night.

Chu Mu raised his head and glanced at the dim sky. After mulling it over for a moment, he returned to his room and draped a thick beast-hide coat over himself before braving the wind and snow toward the outside...