Martial Artist

The flow of heat grew stronger and stronger.

Starting from his lower abdomen, it spread toward every limb and bone in his body.

Before long, his entire body had turned scorching hot.

Heat blossomed from his muscles and bones.

If the warm current lingering in his lower abdomen before had been a spark, then it was now a candle flame.

He felt incomparably comfortable.

"As expected of an excellent health-nourishing medicinal supplement. It really works. This silver was well spent!"

Xie An even regretted not investing in himself sooner.

Cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique this way would at least double his progress.

Thinking of this, Xie An hurriedly brought up his panel data:

Five Animal Play: Initial Glimpse (69/100)

Remaining Years: Four Years

Normally, he had to grind away for an entire day just to raise his progress by one point. Now, with Qi Generating Soup, he had increased his progress by two points in less than two hours.

It was astonishingly fast.

Moreover, even long after he had finished drinking the Qi Generating Soup, the heat in his body had not dispersed. It felt like having eaten his fill but being unable to digest it all at once.

Xie An felt that the effects produced by his cultivation of the Health Cultivation Technique far surpassed those of other people.

"I need to keep practicing Five Animal Play, continue increasing my lifespan, and strengthen my body. Compared to that, everything else is a minor matter."

Xie An calmed his excited heart. Although his achievements over this period had been considerable, he knew all too well... in this chaotic, war-torn world, he was still weak.

What he needed to do most right now was keep working hard and build up his foundation.

His proficiency in Five Animal Play steadily increased.

Tiger Play, Deer Play, Bear Play, Ape Play, Bird Play...

The intricate movements flowed steadily from Xie An's hands, becoming ever more lifelike. It was as if he had transformed into the five animals themselves—sometimes a fierce tiger descending the mountain, sometimes a bear paw shaking a tree, sometimes an ape's arms climbing a peak.

A fawn wading across a stream, a flying bird darting through the forest...

Before he knew it, a month had passed.

At dawn, the autumn dew was cold as ice. Bare-chested, Xie An practiced Five Animal Play inside his room.

Fierce tigers, giant bears, nimble apes, deer by the stream, flying birds... all kinds of transformations flowed naturally from Xie An's hands. His body was coordinated, movement and stillness blending together, and every gesture carried a smooth, graceful beauty.

Suddenly, he advanced to Collapsing Fist. His swift, powerful fist compressed the air and let out a sharp crack.

"Even a sturdy thirty-year-old man would be nowhere near as strong as me. If I keep training, I truly wonder what level I'll reach."

Only after his muscles were exhausted did Xie An stop, collapsing onto the floor and panting heavily.

He brought up the Daoist Talisman panel:

Five Animal Play: Integration of Movement and Stillness (13/100)

Hint: Once Integration of Movement and Stillness is completed, lifespan will increase by ten years.

Remaining Years: Seven Years.

After more than two months of arduous practice, he had finally passed "Initial Glimpse" and entered "Integration of Movement and Stillness."

Seven remaining years had completely freed Xie An from his anxiety over dying of old age. He ate heartily and slept soundly.

What delighted Xie An even more was that his formerly dry, wrinkled skin had regained its luster and fullness. Streamlined muscles had also appeared on his body, enough to rival those of a sturdy man in his thirties.

The heat in his lower abdomen had grown even more vast and profound. His body brimmed with strength, and his qi and blood were abundant.

Yesterday, Xie An had lifted a stone lock and reached the astonishing weight of three hundred pounds!

"If I throw this punch, killing a thin young man would be effortless. Even if I ran into a grown man, I could beat him to death with a flurry of punches."

"It's just that my progress has slowed down again..."

Xie An had more or less discovered that the further Five Animal Play was cultivated, the better its effects became—but the greater the difficulty as well.

Even with medicinal supplements, it was nowhere near as fast as before.

Fortunately, Xie An's mindset remained calm, and he was not in a hurry to force success.

"With my physique now, I'm stronger and sturdier than I've ever been. I should be able to find a martial art meant for killing and fighting, right?"

Although the Health Cultivation Technique could increase one's lifespan and strengthen the body, it was ultimately not a martial art for combat.

No matter how healthy one's body was, without knowing how to fight, one would merely be a bloated weakling when facing a true martial arts-trained thug from the jianghu.

Besides, having a long lifespan did not mean one could not die.

Even if he could eventually attain longevity through cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique, if his strength was insufficient and he carelessly offended a powerful expert... he could still be beaten to death.

To establish a foothold in this chaotic age, he had to practice martial arts.

Although Xie An had never practiced martial arts, he had lived in this world for thirty years after transmigrating. He still understood a thing or two about the martial path.

If he had never eaten pork, had he at least never seen a pig run?

Martial artists were divided into the five basic stages: Skin Tempering, Muscle Tempering, Bone Tempering, Organ Tempering, and Blood Tempering.

After Blood Tempering reached great completion, if one tempered out internal strength, one could be called a ranked Internal Strength Martial Artist.

Above Ninth Level Internal Strength, achieving Unity of Heaven and Man earned one the title of Martial Arts Grandmaster.

Grandmaster was the highest level Xie An knew of.

Qingwu County was already a small place, let alone its subordinate Wuqiao Town. For Xie An, who had never left Qingwu County, gathering this knowledge had been no easy feat.

"With my current physical strength, I should count as quite capable beneath the level of a martial artist. But against a martial artist, I'd still be completely powerless to resist."

"If I can become a martial artist in the future... I'll be a High Person in Wuqiao Town. I might even be able to move into the county seat..."

Xie An was filled with beautiful hopes for the future.

But putting them into practice would be extremely difficult.

If he were under twenty, Chen Martial Arts School would certainly scramble to take him in with this physique. They might even waive his tuition.

But he was too old...

Society had never been friendly toward the elderly, from ancient times to the present.

"There's still one month left before the three-month deadline given by the master of Li Manor. Time is plentiful enough. I'll buy medicinal supplements first."

Practicing without medicinal supplements was too slow and not worth the effort.

Xie An hurriedly ate breakfast, then put on his clothes and slipped out the door.

He encountered Zhang Bing halfway there.

"Master, you look much younger..."

When Zhang Bing saw Xie An's appearance, he was given a tremendous shock.

During this period, Zhang Bing had taken himself for the Appraisal Master of the shop, ordering the assistants around and basking in the limelight. He had never gone to the rear courtyard to visit Xie An, truly believing that Xie An was about to die of old age.

He had never expected that not only did his master look spirited, but he also looked younger!?

"I've been in a good mood lately, so I look more energetic. Go on and get busy."

Xie An replied indifferently and walked away.

By now, Xie An had long since stopped caring about this vile-hearted disciple. His entire mind was focused on cultivation.

Once the moon was full, he would deal with this fellow.

"My goodness, Brother Xie, did you eat some divine medicine? You really look young."

When Chen He saw Xie An's appearance, he marveled endlessly.

He came from a martial artist's background and had also cultivated the Health Cultivation Technique in his old age, but it had not been of much use. Seeing the change in Xie An deeply stimulated him.

"Give me three portions of Qi Generating Soup." The medicinal supplements Xie An had bought the first time had run out half a month ago, and he had come to buy more once in between. This was his third purchase.

Money flowed away like water.

Even cultivating a health technique cost this much. He truly had no idea how expensive practicing martial arts would be...

As Chen He prepared the medicine, he said, "There won't be such a big discount this time. I'll charge you three taels of silver."

"Fine."

Xie An readily took the medicine and paid. Then he handed Chen He two additional taels of silver. "By the way, Shopkeeper Chen, has that health-nourishing master you mentioned arrived?"

Chen He did not accept the extra two taels. Instead, he handed Xie An a wooden token. "He has. He's giving lessons in the rear courtyard of the martial arts school. Just take this token in with you."

"Shopkeeper Chen, this silver..."

"That Jade Ruyi Scepter from last time really sold for twenty taels at the biggest pawnshop in the county seat. The pharmacy's money has to go into the accounts, so I couldn't give you too large a discount. As for these two taels for the lesson, just consider it my invitation for you to drink with me, Brother Xie."

"Shopkeeper Chen, you're generous."

Xie An accepted the silver, took the wooden token, and turned toward the entrance of the neighboring Chen Martial Arts School.

"Stop!"

A burly man in a red short shirt with a saber at his side reached out to block Xie An, radiating an oppressive presence.

Before, if Xie An had faced such a hulking saber-wielding man at close range, he truly would have felt nervous.

Now, the man looked nothing special to him. Instead, he began calculating inwardly: Seven or eight punches should be enough to knock this fellow down, right?

Though he thought this, Xie An remained extremely humble in his manner. He took out the wooden token and handed it over.

After inspecting the token, the saber-wielding man studied Xie An with surprise. "Come with me."