Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill: Fragmented Page

In the study.

Jiang Ning slowly advanced along the bookcases placed on the floor, his eyes rapidly sweeping over the titles of the books arranged on them.

One row, two rows, three rows.

After he had finished looking through all three rows of bookcases, he had a general understanding of the collection of books in Wang Jin's study.

Among these three rows of bookcases were books on governance and statecraft, various classics, books related to the Imperial Examination, medical texts and herbalism, as well as a whole row of Martial Path books.

He also took a brief look at those Martial Path books. They were basically books on Martial Arts Techniques of the ordinary grade, with only a few Lower Grade Martial Arts Techniques placed in the topmost cabinet.

He had just pulled a few out and skimmed them. If he learned them, they would naturally be of some help.

But Jiang Ning understood his own method of cultivation. He should focus on mastery rather than greedily accumulate too much.

For him, biting off more than he could chew would only leave him unable to digest any of it.

In his hands, any technique that was trained to the Perfected Realm would reveal its most wondrous and profound aspects only after a Breakthrough.

Not only would its effects be further enhanced, it would also grant him some extraordinary Trait.

Just like the Skill Literacy. After its Breakthrough, not only did it make his thoughts operate more swiftly and strengthen his Spiritual Power, most importantly, it granted him the Trait of Photographic Memory.

This Trait had helped him greatly.

Therefore, he would not give up the Experience Points for training Literacy. Moreover, training Literacy did not conflict in the slightest with his practice of martial arts and boxing.

A person's body could only bear so much, after all!

If he overtrained, even an abundance of powerful tonics would not keep him from collapsing.

Besides, reading opened the mind and allowed one to understand principles.

Most importantly, it clarified the Spirit.

The Spirit referred to the "Spirit" among Essence, Qi, and Spirit. It was also Spiritual Power, and also the Spirit Soul.

By thoroughly studying the meaning of the classics and increasing one's learning, one could strengthen Spiritual Power and fortify the Spirit Soul. That was one of the rules of this world.

The great masters of the Confucian Path could send their Yin Spirits out of their bodies and roam the world, traveling to Kunlun in the morning and Changwu by evening.

They could even use their Spirit Souls to command the power of Heaven and Earth. Their strength was not to be underestimated.

This was also the foundation on which the court officials relied.

At the same time, many books mentioned the importance of the Spirit. It was a path that had to be cultivated once one's Martial Path reached its later stages.

Yet very few powerful Martial Path cultivators chose this path to strengthen their Spirit Souls, because achieving anything in literature likewise required extraordinary talent and decades of diligent study.

Jiang Ning knew that if he had not possessed this powerful Panel, he would likewise have been unable to study literature while practicing martial arts.

Now that he was capable of studying literature, he would not give it up.

As long as he kept pushing Literacy through Breakthroughs, he would sooner or later reach the Yin Spirit Realm. This would also greatly benefit his growth in the Martial Path.

But his time and energy each day were limited. Focusing on one or two techniques and Skills was the best choice for him.

Only by doing so could he maximize the efficiency of his Experience Points, bring his Skills to the Perfected Realm as soon as possible, and then achieve a Breakthrough.

Every Breakthrough of any technique would bring tremendous changes, and Jiang Ning especially valued the Traits among them.

Various thoughts raced through his mind. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

[Complete Records of Luoshui County Intelligence]

[Great Xia Rebellion Summary]

At the same time, beside the two dossiers, he also saw a fragment that was especially eye-catching.

The next moment.

He covered the distance to the desk in three steps, his gaze immediately falling on the fragment. His instincts told him that this fragment was no ordinary thing.

[Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill]

When he saw the five characters on the fragment, his gaze hurriedly moved downward.

There were only a few hundred words on the fragment.

Yet Jiang Ning spent the time it took to finish a cup of tea reading those few hundred words.

After a long while.

Whoosh—

He let out a soft breath and set down the fragment in his hand.

Swallow a Golden Elixir into my belly; my fate is mine to command, not Heaven's!

"What lofty intent! What profound Internal Strengthening Method!"

"What a pity!"

"What a pity that it's only a fragment."

Jiang Ning secretly shook his head.

After reading the fragment, he also understood what kind of technique the Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill was.

As far as he knew, the Martial Path system contained both the realms of Skin, Flesh, Tendons, and Bones and the realm of Internal Strengthening, in which the Five Viscera and Six Bowels were nurtured and Inner Breath was produced.

The Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill was an Internal Strengthening Method originating from the Daoist School.

If cultivated over a long period, this method could prolong life and slow aging.

Once mastered, it could further produce Inner Breath, giving one seemingly endless stamina, flowing on without cease.

Once this Skill reached the Perfected Realm, an Inner Alchemy Pellet would condense in the dantian within the body, achieving the intent of "swallowing a Golden Elixir into my belly; my fate is mine to command, not Heaven's."

From then on, one could absorb the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth and complete the transformation from Skin, Flesh, Tendons, and Bones to Internal Strengthening in just a few months.

This was a cultivation method of certain branches of the Daoist School: cultivating one's nature first, then cultivating one's life.

"What a pity. It only records the methods of breathing and circulation. At most, this can count as reaching the Initiation level. No wonder Wang Jin casually left the fragment on the desk."

After memorizing all the writing on the fragment, Jiang Ning returned it to Wang Jin's desk.

[Skill]: Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill (Not Initiated 0/100)

"One hundred points?"

Looking at his Panel, Jiang Ning's gaze suddenly sharpened.

It only required reaching Initiation, yet it already demanded one hundred Experience Points. Could this Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill truly be so extraordinary?

His eyes held a trace of surprise.

It should be because it was a high-level technique. If so, he could not let this technique slip away.

With the Panel, perhaps the fragment would not affect the technique's ability to break through further.

After thinking it over briefly, Jiang Ning felt that his guess was highly likely to be true.

Breakthroughs could produce effects that shattered conventions and brought something out of nothing.

Not to mention the effect of completing a fragment.

Compared with each other, the difficulty of completing a fragment was on an entirely different level.

Wang Jin had managed to find this fragment while seeking longevity and regulating his bodily functions. Since there was a fragment, that alone proved that a complete record of the Inner Alchemy Nourishing Life Skill existed somewhere in the world.

A Breakthrough, however, was different. It shattered the understanding of all people.

Then, his gaze fell once more on the two dossiers before him.

He picked up one of the dossiers and skimmed through it.

[Great Xia Rebellion Summary]

Xia Calendar Year 839, early January: A rebellion broke out in Boshan County. The rebel forces breached the county seat and swept through three counties before being suppressed by the Black Armor Army, which arrived late.

Xia Calendar Year 839, early January: Baishan Village was slaughtered by the rebel forces, who raided two towns before being scattered by the garrison stationed in Shishan County.

Xia Calendar Year 839, mid-January...

...

Jiang Ning read through it at a glance. The farther he read, the more astonished he became.

That was because several of the incidents recorded here had taken place within Zeshan Province.

Zeshan Province had many waterways and many mountains, hence its name.

After a long while, having finished the dossier, Jiang Ning slowly withdrew his gaze. He suddenly understood why Great Xia had established the Patrol Office with a Martial Saint stationed in command.

In just the previous year, Zeshan Province alone had experienced a total of six rebellions, large and small.

And this was only one province of Zeshan Province. Great Xia had nine provinces in all, and in terms of the number of rebellions, Zeshan Province still ranked in the lower middle among the Nine Provinces.

One could imagine how many rebellions had broken out across Great Xia in total the previous year.