Martial Artist

The heat flow grew stronger.

Starting from his lower abdomen, it spread throughout his limbs and bones.

Before long, his entire body felt scalding hot.

His muscles and bones generated heat.

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

He felt incredibly comfortable.

"As expected of excellent medicinal supplements for health cultivation, they work wonders. This money was well spent!"

Xie An almost regretted not investing in himself sooner.

Practicing the Health Cultivation Technique like this would at least double his progress.

With that thought, Xie An quickly brought up his status panel:

[Five Animal Play: Novice (69/100)]
[Remaining Years: 4 years]

Normally, it took him an entire day of intense effort to increase his progress by one point. Now, with the Qi Generating Soup, he had gained two points in less than two hours.

It was incredibly fast.

Moreover, long after taking the Qi Generating Soup, the heat flow within him hadn't dissipated. It felt like being full but unable to digest immediately.

Xie An felt that the benefits he gained from practicing the Health Cultivation Technique far surpassed those of others.

"I need to continue practicing the Five Animal Play, increase my lifespan, and strengthen my physique. Everything else is secondary to this."

Xie An calmed his excited emotions. While he had made significant achievements recently, he knew very well... in this chaotic world, he was still very weak.

What he needed to do now was to keep working hard and refine himself.

The proficiency of the Five Animal Play was steadily increasing.

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

The complex movements were performed steadily by Xie An, becoming more lifelike. It was as if he had transformed into the five animals, sometimes like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, sometimes like a bear's paw shaking a tree, sometimes like an ape's arm climbing a mountain.

Like a young deer crossing a stream, or a bird flying through the forest...

Unknowingly, a month had passed.

In the early morning, the autumn dew was as cold as ice. Xie An, bare-chested, practiced the Five Animal Play in his room.

Fierce tiger, great bear, agile ape, gentle deer, soaring bird... various transformations were seamlessly executed by Xie An. His body was coordinated, blending stillness and movement, and every gesture possessed a fluid beauty.

Suddenly, his Collapsing Fist improved, his swift and powerful fists compressed the air, emitting a sharp "crack."

"Even a strong man in his thirties doesn't have as much strength as I do. If I keep practicing, I don't know what level I'll reach."

Only when he was utterly exhausted did Xie An stop, slumping to the ground, panting heavily.

He brought up his Daoist Record panel:

[Five Animal Play: Integration of Movement and Stillness (13/100)]
[Hint: Mastering Integration of Movement and Stillness adds ten years to lifespan.]
[Remaining Years: 7 years.]

After more than two months of hard training, he had finally passed "Novice" and entered "Integration of Movement and Stillness."

With seven years of remaining life, Xie An had completely shed his worries about dying of old age. He could eat and sleep soundly.

What made Xie An even happier was that his previously gaunt and wrinkled skin had regained its luster and plumpness. Streamlined muscles had appeared on his body, comparable to those of a strong man in his thirties.

The heat flow in his lower abdomen was even more vigorous and substantial, his body was filled with power, and his blood and qi were abundant.

Yesterday, Xie An had lifted a stone lock weighing an astonishing three hundred jin!

"With one punch, I can easily kill a scrawny young man. Even if I encounter an adult man, I can beat him to death with a flurry of random punches."

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

Xie An had discovered that the Five Animal Play became more effective the further he practiced, but also more difficult.

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

Fortunately, Xie An had a calm mindset and didn't rush for quick success.

"My body is now stronger than ever before. Perhaps I should find a killing martial art to practice?"

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

No matter how robust his physique, if he didn't know how to fight, he would just be a strong-looking weakling against a genuine martial artist ruffian.

What's more, a long lifespan didn't mean immortality.

Even if he could achieve longevity through practicing the Health Cultivation Technique in the future, if his strength was insufficient and he accidentally offended a powerful individual... he would still be beaten to death.

To establish himself in this chaotic world, he had to practice martial arts.

Although Xie An had never practiced martial arts, he had, after all, transmigrated thirty years ago. He still had some understanding of martial arts knowledge.

Haven't you seen a pig run even if you haven't eaten pork?

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

After achieving great success in Blood Tempering and forging Internal Strength, one can be called an Internal Strength Martial Artist of a certain rank.

Above the Nine Heavens of Internal Strength, upon achieving the Unity of Heaven and Man, one can be called a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

A Grandmaster was the highest level Xie An knew of.

Qingwu County was already a small place, let alone the town of Wuqiao under its jurisdiction. For Xie An, who had never left Qingwu County, it was not easy to gather this knowledge.

"With my current physical strength, I should be quite capable below the level of a martial artist. But against a martial artist, I still have no power to resist."

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

Xie An was full of beautiful expectations for the future.

However, the difficulty of actually implementing it was very high.

If he were not yet twenty, with this body, the Chen Martial Arts School would definitely snatch him up. They might even waive his tuition fees.

But he was too old...

Societies throughout history have not been kind to the elderly.

"There's still one month left before the three-month deadline given by the master of the Li Manor, so I have plenty of time. I'll go buy some medicinal aids first."

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

Xie An quickly ate breakfast, put on his clothes, and slipped out.

He ran into Zhang Bing on the way.

"Master, you look much younger..."

Zhang Bing was startled by Xie An's appearance.

During this time, Zhang Bing had considered himself the Appraisal Master of the shop, bossing around the shop assistants and showing off. He hadn't gone to the backyard to visit Xie An, truly believing Xie An was about to die of old age.

He didn't expect that his master was not only energetic but also looked younger!?

"I've been in a good mood recently, so I'm a bit more spirited. Go about your business."

Xie An replied indifferently and walked away.

By this time, Xie An no longer cared about his rather wicked disciple. He was wholeheartedly focused on practicing.

When the month was full, he would deal with this fellow.

"Strange, Brother Xie, did you take some miracle drug? You really look younger."

Chen He was amazed by Xie An's appearance.

He was a martial artist by origin and practiced health cultivation techniques in his old age. However, they weren't very effective. Seeing Xie An's transformation now deeply stimulated him.

"Three portions of Qi Generating Soup." Xie An had finished the medicinal aids he bought half a month ago and had come to buy them once more in the meantime. This was his third purchase.

Money flowed like water.

Even practicing a health cultivation technique was like this; he couldn't imagine how expensive practicing martial arts would be...

As Chen He dispensed the medicine, he said, "There won't be as big a discount this time. It'll be three taels of silver."

"Deal."

Xie An readily took the medicine and paid, then handed Chen He an extra two taels of silver. "Oh, right, Shopkeeper Chen, has that health cultivation master you mentioned arrived yet?"

Chen He didn't take the extra two taels of silver but handed Xie An a wooden token. "Yes, he has. He's lecturing in the backyard of the martial arts school. Just take this token and go in."

"Shopkeeper Chen, this silver..."

"I took the jade ruyi from last time to a large pawnshop in the county town, and it indeed sold for twenty taels. The money for the pharmacy needs to be accounted for, so I can't give you too much of a discount. Consider these two taels for the lecture as me treating Brother Xie to a drink."

"Shopkeeper Chen is generous."

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

"Stop!"

A sturdy, knife-wielding man in a red short shirt blocked Xie An, exuding a strong sense of pressure.

If it were before, Xie An would have felt uneasy facing such a powerful, bull-like man with a knife up close.

Now, looking at this man, he seemed rather ordinary. He even started calculating in his mind: it should only take about seven or eight punches to take this guy down?

Although he thought this, Xie An's attitude was still humble as he presented the wooden token.

The knife-wielding man examined the wooden token and looked at Xie An with surprise. "Follow me."