Golden Jade Art

With that said, Chen Yao pulled Chen Mu into the Martial Arts Academy without further ado.

The Martial Artists they encountered along the way, regardless of age, rank, or status, all smiled and bowed to Chen Yao, and even bowed to Chen Mu as well.

Chen Mu knew Chen Yao's personality. Although he shook his head helplessly in his heart, he still let her pull him along.

Soon.

The two arrived in front of a row of low houses at the very back of the Martial Arts Academy.

In front of the low houses was a reclining chair, and on the chair lay an old man with white hair and beard. Although he was old and frail, the vital energy contained within his body was still no less than that of a Fifth Rank!

The old man was once a devotee of the Xuanguo Estate, a Fourth Rank non-human existence, but he had never been able to glimpse the realm of a Third Rank Grandmaster. As he aged, his vital energy declined, and his realm dropped to Fifth Rank.

However, the foundation of a Fourth Rank non-human was still there. Even with age and declining vital energy, and a drop in realm, he was still not comparable to an ordinary Fifth Rank. He was now in charge of the entire Martial Arts Academy and held a very high position.

Among the Fifth Rank vital energies Chen Mu sensed during his night roaming of the Xuanguo Estate the other day, his was included.

"Uncle Meng."

Chen Yao did not dare to be negligent. She put away her smiling expression and obediently stepped forward to bow.

Old Meng looked at Chen Yao with a smile and said, "It's Xiao Yao. What bottleneck have you encountered this time?"

There were others in the Martial Arts Academy with better aptitude than Chen Yao, but among those with the Xuanguo Duke's bloodline and under twenty years old, only Chen Yao had the best aptitude. He was also very kind to Chen Yao.

Chen Yao giggled, returning to her true nature, and said, "Nothing, I came to find someone to spar with. I just happened to meet my second brother and wanted to find a suitable training method for him."

"Hmm."

Old Meng glanced at Chen Mu.

Although he was old, as a Martial Artist, he would not forget things. He remembered that Chen Mu had come to the Martial Arts Academy to find a training method many years ago, but he gave up after not persevering for long.

"At this time, you're thinking of practicing martial arts? Forget it, you two go in."

Old Meng shook his head.

Not only did he remember these things, but he also remembered that Chen Mu was Chen Wu's younger brother. Chen Wu was indeed exceptionally talented back then, much stronger than the current Chen Yao. For this, he even personally took charge and taught him diligently.

It was just a pity that his fate was difficult, and he died in the chaos caused by demons.

And this younger brother, Chen Mu, was far inferior to Chen Wu.

Not only was his aptitude not as good, but his character and will were also far behind. He also couldn't put in the effort to practice martial arts. After observing him twice in secret, he lost interest and didn't pay much attention anymore.

Chen Mu should be sixteen years old now. Although he was still within the age range for practicing martial arts, he had already passed the best age stages of thirteen for boys and twelve for girls.

With the resources of the Xuanguo Estate, if he trained hard, entering the ranks would not be a problem. Even with hard training, he could cultivate to the Eighth Rank of the Martial Dao and had hopes of reaching the Seventh Rank.

But, at most, he would stop there.

Above the Seventh Rank, it was no longer something that could be accumulated by resources and hard training. It also required aptitude, talent, and even timing and fate.

Chen Yao pulled Chen Mu into the low house.

and said softly, "Second Brother doesn't need to be discouraged. As long as Second Brother is willing to practice diligently and patiently, with the resources of the Martial Academy, reaching Ninth Rank within a year is not a problem, and reaching Eighth Rank before twenty years old is also possible."

"In that case, Second Brother won't be casually assigned elsewhere and can stay in the estate. If you practice to Seventh Rank, Second Uncle will also find Second Brother an official position, at least the same as Chen Xing."

"Mm."

Chen Mu followed beside her, listening quietly, and calmly 'mm'ed in response.

Inside the small room were several rows of bookshelves.

On the bookshelves were various training methods.

On the path of the Martial Dao, all roads lead to the same destination. Although there are differences in the quality of the introductory training methods, they only affect the time it takes to reach a rank. Moreover, a good training method is not necessarily suitable for oneself; suitability is more important than quality.

Furthermore, all cultivation techniques and training methods only go up to Seventh Rank.

Once a Martial Artist reaches Sixth Rank, it is time to explore their own path. Above Sixth Rank, there is no longer the concept of cultivation techniques. Everyone walks their own unique path, which they forge themselves.

No path can be replicated.

"Second Brother, stand still first, don't move."

Chen Yao had Chen Mu stand there, then extended her small hand and began patting and feeling his body up and down, exploring from top to bottom.

Chen Mu's body stiffened slightly. Fortunately, he had extensive experience and was able to remain calm.

"Hmm... so that's how it is."

After Chen Yao finished exploring, she showed a thoughtful expression, then began searching through the rows of shelves. Finally, she found two training methods and placed them in front of Chen Mu.

The first one was the Eight Desolations Primordial Essence Art.

The second one was the Golden Jade Art.

"Second Brother, your body has no special characteristics. Your arm length and leg length are within the normal range, and you don't have any special bones. Those messy punching and kicking methods aren't suitable for you. What's most suitable for you are methods that focus on vital energy and blood, practicing step by step. These two should be the most appropriate."

Chen Yao said, pointing to the Eight Desolations Primordial Essence Art, "This one was practiced by Brother Chen Wu before. The speed of reaching a rank will be faster, but before Sixth Rank, you must maintain a pure body, otherwise your vital energy and blood will become chaotic and your realm will drop... I just tested it, and Second Brother, you can practice it."

"This Golden Jade Art will be a bit slower in reaching a rank, but it's more stable and focuses more on the strength of the physique. By Seventh Rank, you can cultivate a golden skin and jade bones, and ordinary weapons won't be able to harm you at all."

After listening to Chen Yao's words.

Chen Mu looked at the two cultivation techniques in his hands and fell into brief thought.

Then he quickly made a choice. Compared to the Eight Desolations Primordial Essence Art, the Golden Jade Art focused more on the strength of the physique, which was more suitable for him, because he didn't need to improve the speed of reaching a rank at all.

The abilities of a Sorcerer before Martial Dao Sixth Rank provided a much greater boost than any method in this world!

It is recorded in books that high-rank Sorcerers, upon contacting the Martial Dao, reached Ninth Rank in one day, Eighth Rank in three days, Seventh Rank in seven days... and reached Sixth Rank in just one month!

Chen Mu was currently at the level of a Sixth Rank Sorcerer, which wasn't considered a 'high-rank' Sorcerer yet, but he wasn't low-rank either!

"Let's go with this one."

Chen Mu opened the Golden Jade Art.

Chen Yao also stuck out her tongue. In reality, she also felt that the Golden Jade Art was more suitable. After all, with the Eight Desolations Primordial Essence Art, one had to maintain a pure body before Sixth Rank. Chen Mu's root bone aptitude wasn't very high, and if he couldn't cultivate to Sixth Rank his entire life, he would have to remain that way his whole life, which would be too pitiful.

"Second Brother, take it back and practice. The ones placed here are copied duplicates and can be taken back. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come find me."

"Alright."

Chen Mu flipped through it for a few moments, having already memorized all the content, but still nodded lightly and walked out of the small house with the Golden Jade Art.

Old Meng outside the door just glanced at him and Chen Yao before continuing to lean back leisurely in his recliner.

Chen Yao escorted Chen Mu all the way outside the Martial Academy.

"I hope Second Brother can reach a rank soon, preferably within this year."

"Don't give up halfway this time."

Watching Chen Mu's retreating figure, Chen Yao murmured softly.

Chen Mu was sixteen. If he reached Ninth Rank within this year, he would be seventeen at Ninth Rank, with a chance of reaching Eighth Rank before twenty. If it was any later, he might not make it to Eighth Rank before twenty.

Only concubine-born sons who reached Eighth Rank before twenty could continue to stay in the Xuanguo Estate; otherwise, they would be sent away. This was something she couldn't help with and could only depend on Chen Mu himself.