Body Forging Art

Body Forging Art. "Could Qi-Blood truly be so miraculous?"

In the room, Chu Mu sat bundled in a thick padded coat beside the brazier, staring at the volume of real skill in his hands as the question once more surfaced in his mind.

Three days had passed since he returned wounded.

Over those three days, aside from visiting Old Li Doctor to have his medicine changed, Chu Mu had spent almost all his time cooped up at home.

With his injuries yet to heal, there was naturally little Chu Mu could do.

Each day, apart from repeatedly revisiting and reflecting on the battles in the mountains, and setting aside some time to study reading and writing at the Chang Residence, he devoted all his remaining time to the copy of the "Body Forging Art" in his hands.

In both his past and present lives, real skill had been little more than a legend to him.

The difference was that, in this life, real skill was something whose existence he could be certain of.

And now, he even held it in his hands.

What man had never dreamed of roaming the world with a sword at his waist, free and unbound beneath the heavens?

Real skill lay in his hands...

Even after several days, Chu Mu still could not suppress the surge of excitement whenever he thought of it.

The Body Forging Art was a volume of several dozen pages, filled with illustrations and text. In just a few days, Chu Mu had nearly engraved every word into his heart. He could not quite recite it backward and forward, but he knew it as well as the back of his hand.

With such familiarity, he had naturally gained a rough understanding of the real skill of this world.

Unlike his impression of Martial Arts from his previous life, the real skill of this world seemed to Chu Mu to be... a process of gradually becoming inhuman! A martial artist first calmed his mind and cultivated his nature, then practiced Stance Training, using it to assist his concentration in sensing Qi-Blood.

After that came the process of internal consumption and external training.

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

External training referred to practicing Stance Training, nurturing and strengthening Qi-Blood, thereby cleansing and tempering the body and making it stronger.

The stronger one's Qi-Blood, the stronger one's physical constitution would naturally become—and one would naturally become less and less human!

According to the Body Forging Art's description, one who mastered it would have a body like iron and stone, difficult to injure with blades or swords, possessing Hundred Stone Strength, capable of shattering rocks and splitting mountains.

That description was clearly exaggerated. After all, Hundred Stone Strength was only ten thousand jin. Such strength would be enough to smash rocks, but to split mountains, one would have to turn into a humanoid excavator—otherwise, it was clearly nowhere near enough.

Yet ten thousand jin of strength undoubtedly far exceeded the limits of the human body, reaching an inhuman level.

Not to mention having a body like iron and stone, difficult to injure with blades or swords!

"But... are there no specific realms?"

A question he had long held could not help surfacing again.

According to his impression of martial studies, there should clearly have been distinct divisions of realms.

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

Yet he had searched through this copy of the Body Forging Art and found no clear division of realms.

Yesterday, he had even specifically asked Wu Shuo, but received no definite answer.

It seemed to be nothing more than nurturing Qi-Blood and strengthening Qi-Blood, an exceedingly simple, cyclical process.

There were no realms, nor any ranks! After pondering for a moment and failing to understand, Chu Mu could not be bothered to dwell on it. Real skill was already in his hands, so why think so much?

Besides, the most likely reason he could not understand was the same as before: his knowledge was still too limited, and he simply had not encountered it yet.

Once he encountered it and his horizons broadened, he would naturally understand.

"Calming the mind and cultivating one's nature shouldn't be much of a problem."

Chu Mu pondered silently.

According to the book, the most important thing for entering the Body Forging Art was calming the mind and cultivating one's nature. Put simply, it meant settling one's heart and becoming free of distracting thoughts.

Only then, while practicing Stance Training, could one gradually sense Qi-Blood, attempt to control it, nurture it... strengthen it, and cleanse and fortify the body.

And ever since coming to this world, the existence of Spiritual Radiance

had long made Chu Mu consciously train his focus. Calming his mind, clearing away distractions as he practiced martial arts and studied had become part of his daily life.

This most important hurdle to entering the Body Forging Art clearly posed no obstacle to him.

As for sensing Qi-Blood...

Chu Mu closed his eyes and tried to feel for it once more. The result remained unchanged. Aside from the faint stabbing pain from his wounds, he felt nothing else.

"Stance Training..."

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

But in his current condition, he clearly could not practice Stance Training.

"Wait a little longer..."

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

Sweeping his gaze around the room, Chu Mu silently called out in his heart, and the familiar Light Screen Panel appeared before his eyes once more.

Name: Chu Mu.

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

Spirit Radiance Value: 156.7%

The path of Initial Understanding in blade technique had crossed half its course in only a few days... No, strictly speaking, it had done so in only a single day and night.

All of it had clearly come from those several life-and-death battles in the mountains.

Chu Mu remembered that when he left the mountains, his blade technique proficiency had already exceeded two hundred and forty. The extra dozen or so points naturally came from his deliberation and reflection over the past few days.

"If I practice the Body Forging Art, my blade technique proficiency should see another surge..."

Chu Mu mused inwardly. For his current blade technique, one of the greatest limitations was strength.

Even though his blade technique had reached Initial Understanding and was more than halfway through its progress, his physical constitution had always prevented him from properly controlling the weight of the long blade.

Especially when fighting others, the collision of force nearly expanded that limitation without end! If he practiced the Body Forging Art, improving his physical constitution and increasing his strength, his control over the blade would naturally soar as well.

"What a harvest!"

Chu Mu let out a long breath. A trip into the mountains, battle after bloody battle, the lives of more than a hundred patrol inspectors...

Where some rejoiced, others naturally grieved.

And he, Chu Mu, was undoubtedly among those who should rejoice.

His blade technique, which was the source of his personal strength, had improved greatly. He had also obtained real skill in the form of this Body Forging Art. As for external power and status, with those five heads and Wu Shuo's esteem after he had begun to distinguish himself, they would certainly rise as well.

Though he had suffered grave injuries, such rewards clearly far outweighed what he had given.

After all, even those patrol inspectors who had lost their lives received nothing more than a pension and a replacement quota.

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, heavy snow had fallen repeatedly in Nanshan Town. By now, the snow in the courtyard was deep enough to cover his ankles, and that was after Xu Yuan had already cleared it last night.

Chu Mu looked up at the dim sky. After pondering briefly, he returned to his room and put on a large fur coat, then braved the wind and snow out of the house...