Immortal Martial: Sweeping Across the Two Worlds from Reality

Jiang Shu recalled all the information he had gathered in Pingling County back then. He did not know how the martial arts realms on Mystic Star would be divided in the future, nor how martial arts would be cultivated.

But he did know the three realms of Martial Artists in Pingling County, under the Great Jing Dynasty of that other world.

Skin Tempering Realm. Bone Tempering Realm. Viscera Refining Realm.

He clearly remembered what a storyteller had said as he snapped his fan shut:

"A Viscera Refining Realm Martial Artist channels Inner Strength into the viscera and lives beyond two hundred and forty years!"

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"Boss, twelve meat buns, three shaomai, and two cups of soy milk."

"The vehicle is starting. Please hold on and remain seated. Passengers who have just boarded, please move toward the rear..."

Jicheng Fifth Middle School was located in the north of Ji City—a relatively remote area. Most of its students lived on campus, so whenever there was a day off, Jiang Shu had to fight a crowd of classmates to board the bus.

But today, the bus was unusually empty.

Through the window, Jiang Shu turned back to glance at the school.

Mystic Star's cultural and technological development was similar to that of his previous life, almost like another parallel world of Earth Star.

Jiang Shu became increasingly certain that this world was not as peaceful and simple as it appeared on the surface.

What was the truth behind it all?

Perhaps he would only learn it after fully stepping into the martial arts realms and raising his social standing to a certain level.

Jiang Shu held a Horse Stance, hovering above his seat as he digested the buns, shaomai, and soy milk already in his stomach, emptying his mind.

Perhaps because it was still the tenth day of the first lunar month, there were not many cars on the streets.

The bus barely encountered any traffic. In just forty or fifty minutes, it reached the final stop. Jiang Shu transferred to another bus and meditated with his eyes closed for another hour before arriving at the station closest to his home.

A journey that had once felt long and unbearable now seemed like nothing when he calmed his mind and practiced martial arts.

He got off with his luggage in hand and looked up at the familiar sights.

Beneath a sky as clear as an enormous sapphire, several villages lay scattered in orderly fashion, while a four-lane road stretched endlessly onward.

Ahead was a century-old mountain village that had already been developed into a tourist attraction.

Behind him was Ji City's urban district, bustling with traffic and prosperity.

This place lay in the south of Ji City, with the Jade River winding around it and green mountains encircling it. People gathered here in abundance; there were many outsiders and many elderly residents as well.

Qingjiang Garden.

An old relocation housing complex built in the early 2000s, with extremely narrow gaps between buildings. Below them, several private cars that had not been washed in ages were squeezed into every available space.

Jiang Shu climbed the stairs, took out his key, and opened the door. A wave of warm air rushed toward him.

"News from our station: Recently, the First Leader inspected Shengjing Academy and delivered an important speech. Students of the present generation need more new faces."

The living room was not large. On the over-two-meter-long sofa, Jiang Yanyue had her legs crossed, basking in the warmth from the air conditioner. She crunched loudly through potato chips, sprawled there without the slightest concern for appearances.

Before the sofa stood a sixty-five-inch LCD television, playing a rebroadcast of yesterday's news.

"Why aren't you watching your food channel today?"

"What else could I do? My brother is planning to become a Martial Arts Student. As his little sister, how could I not properly learn about it?"

Hearing Jiang Shu return, Jiang Yanyue stretched lazily. With a red envelope in hand, she casually stood and turned toward him.

She was tall, one meter sixty-eight, and above her fluffy cotton slippers, her legs were round and straight beneath pure white sweatpants.

Unlike her utterly ordinary brother, Jiang Yanyue had always been the kind of child parents bragged about.

In elementary school, she had entered writing and math olympiad competitions, winning several awards in Ji City. In middle school, her grades had never fallen below the top three in her year. Last semester, she had even secured early admission to Jicheng First High School, without needing to worry about entrance exams like ordinary students.

"I thought you'd stay at school to catch up with your classmates and only come home tonight."

When she saw her brother approach, she handed him the red envelope she had prepared long ago.

"Here. The lucky money I painstakingly saved up—eight hundred in total." Jiang Yanyue patted Jiang Shu on the shoulder with great solemnity. "Poor scholars, rich Martial Artists. This eight hundred is your little sister's enormous support for you!"

"And besides, learn martial arts if you can. If you don't want to learn anymore, then once your little sister starts a business, you can be your sister's bodyguard! As long as President Jiang has a bite of ribs to eat, Jiang Shu will have a sip of soup!"

"Crazy girl!"

Jiang Shu slapped away Jiang Yanyue's hand and gave his sister's head an unceremonious knock.

To his surprise, what he felt was not her scalp, but soft pomelo peel.

"Hey! See? I told you that you could definitely learn things online. This pomelo-peel bun I stuck on my head is tall and plump. Not only does it make my whole head smell like pomelo, it can also stop sneak attacks!"

Jiang Yanyue hurriedly took a step back and proudly raised her chin. Then, suddenly, she looked Jiang Shu over in confusion, stepped forward again, and moved her hand from the top of her own head all the way across to Jiang Shu's nose.

"Ahhh! Jiang Shu! Did you secretly grow taller behind my back again?! When I measured last time, you were only a tiny bit taller than me!"

"Childish! And you call yourself a top student? You don't even understand the simple fact that practicing martial arts makes you taller."

"Tch. With my perfect height, do I need martial arts? I'm not sure whether it makes you taller, but practicing martial arts definitely increases your appetite. One rice bucket in this family is enough."

"And you aren't one?"

Jiang Shu glanced sideways at the sofa, where bags of every kind of snack had already stuffed the trash can full.

"Pah! I'm a gourmet! A devotee of fine food! I'm not the same as you, a rice bucket who can wolf down five bowls of plain rice after eating a few pieces of meat!" Jiang Yanyue ground her teeth. "But why can you eat like that without getting fat? I'm so jealous, boo hoo hoo hoo."

"You can practice martial arts too. Did Mom and Dad say when they would be back?"

"Get up before five every day and stand in a stance like you? If I could get up at five, I could have casually read a few books and skipped a grade to become your senior two years ago, you know!"

"I believe you."

Jiang Shu nodded. He had never doubted his sister's intelligence. They had clearly played together as children, yet their academic performance had been as far apart as heaven and earth.

"Mom said she has to bring in a batch of goods today. She'll come back once they arrive. Dad's uncertain, but he said he'll definitely be back before ten."

Jiang Shu's mother, Xu Lizhi, had originally worked at a clothing factory. After the factory shut down, she gritted her teeth and used the family savings to open a clothing shop. By now, it had been in business for more than a decade.

At first, she rose early and worked late, earning some money. But the overall economy had been poor these past few years, and business had become sluggish. So whenever the children were home, she chose to close early and return to spend time with them.

Jiang Shu's father, Jiang Yongyi, had become unemployed in middle age. He traded in the family's old gas-guzzler for an electric car and began driving for Didi. He could not earn much, but he had freedom and did not have to take much abuse.

"Jiang Shu, maybe the times really are changing. I specifically watched the news rebroadcast today and noticed that for the past two months, practically every day's news has mentioned practicing martial arts. What good does martial arts actually do? In this day and age, no matter how superb your skills are, can you stop bullets?"

Jiang Yanyue could not help asking.

Though she was highly intelligent, she was still young and had not yet left school. The knowledge she had learned was often absolute, black or white.

So she was especially prone to becoming trapped by the barriers of her own understanding, unable to grasp the wondrous nature of martial arts.

"It preserves your looks."

Jiang Shu's answer was brief and direct. He knew exactly what to say to what kind of person.

For someone like his sister, there was no point telling her that martial arts would strengthen her blood and vitality, break human limits, and prolong her life.

Even saying that one could dodge gunfire once one's martial arts reached a certain level would seem like nothing much to her.

You could dodge bullets, but could you dodge missiles?

But preserving one's looks...

Three words. Instant kill!

Sure enough, the moment Jiang Shu finished speaking—

Jiang Yanyue froze. Beneath her long eyelashes, her bright eyes widened round with suspicion. Then, when she saw Jiang Shu nod again with certainty, she abruptly leaped up.

"Brother! Teach me the Horse Stance!"

"You're standing wrong. The Horse Stance emphasizes rising and sinking, crouching like a galloping horse; suspended in the air, the crown lifts lightly, and form and spirit unfold."

"With every rise and fall, you have to stand as though conjuring a horse from thin air. You need to control both the rising force and the sinking force. Otherwise, your body's weight will rest on your knees, and if you stand too long, something will definitely go wrong."

"Suspended in the air, the crown lifts lightly means climbing high and looking far, with an open field of vision. Our floor is too low, so it isn't suitable. Yuantuanzi, you're a beginner, so stand on the balcony and look outside."

Jiang Shu taught her hand in hand.

Yuantuanzi was the new nickname he had given Jiang Yanyue during the New Year.

At the time, their parents had been in high spirits and dug out some childhood photos of the siblings. The pictures of his sister as a baby had been especially adorable, her little chubby face round and tender. Jiang Shu immediately thought of the hugely popular meme from his previous life—Grass-Growing Yuantuanzi.

He immediately grabbed a pen and sketched a few strokes on paper.

Yue meant reunion, after all. Yanyue, Yantuan—there was no difference.

Jiang Yanyue and Grass-Growing Yuantuanzi were exactly the same!

As Jiang Shu corrected his sister's stance, his mind gradually relaxed. Over the past three months, he had truly kept himself wound far too tight.

That other world was not as peaceful and beautiful as Mystic Star.

The County Office, powerful households, gangs.