Through the drone's camera, a huge island curved like a crescent moon could be seen clearly, resting in the middle of a vast blue sea.
At first, only its outline was visible.
As the drone's camera zoomed in, Lin Ze could clearly make out the pavilions and buildings on the island, as well as the people moving about below, tiny as ants from the drone's point of view.
Some were practicing martial arts, while others busied themselves with fishing, woodcutting, farming, and weaving.
It seemed that even in a Martial Arts Holy Land, there were plenty of ordinary people who served the upper echelons.
"At its longest, it stretches twenty or thirty kilometers, and it's more than ten kilometers wide. There are also quite a few smaller islands near the main one."
"A rough estimate puts the total area of this island chain at three or four hundred square kilometers. At least tens of thousands of people live here. Even if only half of them practice martial arts, they could raise an army of more than ten thousand martial artists at any time."
"No wonder it's a Martial Arts Holy Land. This strength is truly terrifying."
Lin Ze gazed at the island from afar, murmuring to himself.
The foundation of human society was force. The reason others could become a Martial Arts Holy Land and influence the rise and fall of dynasties was that they had enough strength to back it up.
Though thousands of meters away, and with the Gates to Heavens between them, martial artists had exceptionally keen senses. Still, they might not notice Xu Sheng spying on them.
"They probably wouldn't imagine that someone would use this method to spy on them."
At the same time, a hand reached through from the other side of the Gate. Carefully, it placed a camera among the grass, concealed and facing the Martial Arts Training Ground.
Xu Sheng could watch all he wanted, but that alone wouldn't teach him this Superior Martial Arts sword technique.
"Those wearing coarse hemp clothes are servants. The ones in gray uniforms are outer disciples, around eight to ten years old. The slightly older ones, eleven or twelve, who haven't been expelled from the sect yet, become Formal Disciples and wear blue uniforms. The ones in black-and-white uniforms are probably Inner Sect Disciples."
"Given the same time to grow, with the help of the Gates to Heavens, the strength and influence I can build will only surpass theirs."
"Going by the school's usual layout, the dormitories should be near the classrooms, cafeteria, and sports grounds."
At the heart of this crescent-shaped lake stood a towering nine-story building. On its plaque were three characters written in powerful, elegant strokes.
Bright Moon Pavilion!
Xu Sheng had already spent the previous day locating Bright Moon Pavilion's mountain gate, so he hadn't practiced.
Then Xu Sheng withdrew his hand, and the Gate closed.
"That should do it. My movements just now didn't attract the attention of Bright Moon Pavilion's experts."
Beside a building called the Martial Arts Hall stood numerous Martial Arts Training Grounds.
"Bright Moon Pavilion's uniforms are pretty nice, I have to admit. If they weren't likely to reject an older disciple of unknown origins like me, I'd really want to join and spend a month in a black-and-white uniform."
The Martial Arts Holy Land was already so powerful. And what kind of formidable foundation did the Great Zhou imperial family possess, if it could suppress the four Martial Arts Holy Lands and all the heroes of the realm, making them willingly honor it as the ruler of the land?
The next moment, the Gate opened again. This time, the Gates to Heavens appeared amid a carefully pruned clump of plants near the Martial Arts Hall.
"Now it's time for me to absorb nourishment and grow."
Evening came. Nothing unexpected happened, and Xu Sheng retrieved the camera that had been filming all day.
The son of the martial artist had just become a Formal Disciple and wore the sect's blue uniform. Xu Sheng also saw martial artists in gray, black-and-white, and moon-white uniforms.
Skipping the pointless footage, Xu Sheng soon found what he wanted to see.
Now that another path was available, he didn't want to waste so much time grinding away.
Here, there was a crescent-shaped lake, with numerous pavilions and buildings along its banks. The scenery was as ethereal as a landscape painting.
As usual, he first looked down from the sky.
In a force as vast as Bright Moon Pavilion, even if Xu Sheng sent them tens of millions of taels of silver, they probably wouldn't think much of him. Giving him the status of an Inner Sect Disciple would be one thing; robbing him outright would be more likely.
Using a drone's fragile frame, he couldn't withstand an attack, even if the force of an arrow had weakened over a distance of several hundred meters.
So Xu Sheng decided to learn by stealing a look.
Xu Sheng kept his thoughts in check and searched the central area of Bright Moon Pavilion.
After transporting the yellow croaker Dan Xuliang had delivered that day to the Main World warehouse and freezing it, Xu Sheng returned to the Two Realms Trade Base to continue his plan to secretly learn martial arts.
A Superior Martial Arts sword technique couldn't reach its full power through movements alone. Its accompanying breathing and circulation methods, and how the bones and muscles throughout the body had to work together to generate force, were the true essence.
Xu Sheng suppressed his distracting thoughts and moved on to the next step of his plan.
The surveillance camera was quiet. Unless one of Bright Moon Pavilion's top experts had mastered the ability to sense electromagnetic waves, they wouldn't notice it.
Before long, he found a place that looked like a classroom.
The Wu family's martial arts weren't weak. Those who had checked martial arts credentials earlier were ordinary disciples, while the people in moon-white uniforms were middle-aged or elderly. They were likely the sect's backbone and senior members.
At the pier, Xu Sheng saw the martial artist who had just come ashore.
He didn't directly send the drone in to conduct a blatant investigation. The noise it made would be masked by the crashing waves, but that wouldn't do much to hide it from martial artists with sharp eyes and ears.
Xu Sheng looked around and soon found what seemed to be a cafeteria, classrooms, and a Martial Arts Training Ground.
First, he opened a tiny Gate in the sky several kilometers from Crescent Moon Island. Then he held a high-definition pair of binoculars through the Gates to Heavens and began observing the entire island from above.
After repeating the process several times, Xu Sheng installed a total of seven cameras at different angles in the grass near the Martial Arts Training Ground.
Compared with the Bright Moon Pavilion disciples who were learning martial arts in person, Xu Sheng couldn't ask questions about problems he encountered while practicing. But he could record the teacher's explanations and play them back to watch and listen as often as he liked.
Xu Sheng remembered the young man's face.
Xu Sheng decided to practice diligently for a while and make up for the progress he'd lost the day before.
Xu Sheng reopened a Gate in the sky several kilometers from Crescent Moon Island and watched the Martial Arts Training Ground.
As for the disciples of Bright Moon Pavilion, they wouldn't find the cameras unless they were searching the grass for some reason.
This time, Xu Sheng used the method he'd used years ago to spy on the Zhang Family Fist Martial Hall in Fengping County.
He'd be able to retrieve the cameras that night. After cutting out the useless talk and extra footage, he'd have a complete manual of Superior Martial Arts.
There was no point in thinking too much. Others might be powerful, but that was the result of many years of effort.
After getting up, it was already the middle of the night. With help from several of his concubines, Xu Sheng bathed and changed.
Having gone nearly thirty-eight hours without sleep, Xu Sheng slept deeply.
He had already found the place where lessons were taught. Next, he could simply close the Gates to Heavens and go back to his residence in Fengping County to sleep.
At this Bright Moon Pavilion training ground, a middle-aged man in a moon-white uniform was teaching swordsmanship to a group of Inner Sect Disciples in black-and-white uniforms.
The whole process took less than half a second. The slight noise was hidden by the wind and crashing waves, attracting no one's attention.
Xu Sheng watched one of Bright Moon Pavilion's senior members, dressed in moon-white with a crescent moon embroidered in gold thread, and sighed to himself.
Even if he did eventually get the chance to practice Superior Martial Arts, he didn't have it in hand yet. So Xu Sheng chose to practice the martial arts he already knew.
Otherwise, if he drew attention by revealing that he was different from the people of this world and flaunted all the benefits he possessed without the strength to match them, it wouldn't be long before experts from this world came looking to carve him up like a fat sheep.
The next day, when someone began teaching martial arts at the training ground, his cameras would faithfully record the images and sounds.
Xu Sheng was focused, and time passed quickly.
Bright Moon Pavilion was, after all, a Martial Arts Holy Land. Out of respect for its experts, Xu Sheng didn't do what he had at the Zhang Family Martial Hall and send a drone in to plant cameras.
Since he'd found Bright Moon Pavilion's mountain gate, the next step was to figure out how to learn its Superior Martial Arts.
On paper, Xu Sheng had enough talent to join Bright Moon Pavilion as an apprentice and learn its martial arts.
But the thought of waiting three years to pass the outer disciple test, another three years to prove his aptitude as a Formal Disciple, and then earning merit for the sect before he could learn its Sect-Protecting Skill put Xu Sheng off.
He didn't need to worry too much about his safety, thanks to the Gates to Heavens. Even if he couldn't win, he could still run.
As Xu Sheng watched one of Bright Moon Pavilion's senior members in moon-white, with a crescent moon embroidered in gold, he couldn't help feeling impressed.
Xu Sheng had no intention of wandering around aimlessly. Instead, he followed the martial artist to a building.
Compared with the drone footage, which had only shown vague shapes and people moving like tiny ants, the binoculars let Xu Sheng see the sights on Crescent Moon Island clearly, almost as if he were there in person.
Once he'd confirmed that, Xu Sheng reset the coordinates of the Gates to Heavens.
After charging the cameras, Xu Sheng removed the memory card and connected it with a card reader to an offline computer. Then he began reviewing the footage of Bright Moon Pavilion's Superior Martial Arts from that day.
In the process, Xu Sheng stared at one of Bright Moon Pavilion's senior members for a while. The man wore moon-white and had a crescent moon embroidered in gold thread. He didn't notice anything amiss.
Or, at least, it wouldn't find the cameras unless someone went digging through the bushes.
And if he flew the drone too close, its flying height of two or three hundred meters might be safe in a small place, but it wasn't necessarily safe against true experts. They really could shoot an arrow at him from hundreds of meters away.
The site seemed to be the disciples' dormitory. Xu Sheng saw many young teenagers, around twelve or thirteen, wearing blue brocade clothes embroidered with crescent moons. He found one who looked very much like him, and both their faces lit up with smiles.
Since Xu Sheng hadn't slept the previous day while checking the size of Crescent Moon Island, he'd kept the drone several kilometers away from the island.
That way, he could ensure his practice wouldn't go wrong, and perhaps make even faster progress.
Even if he gave them more, wouldn't it be simpler for them to rob him? Why would they teach a stranger of unknown origins their Sect-Protecting Skill?
Afterward, he sent the servants back to bed, then went to his private courtyard on the pretext of continuing his practice.
By then, if he'd built himself up, he could always find a chance to repay Bright Moon Pavilion in the future.
Because the drone's telephoto lens was very useful, he could make out quite a lot, even from that distance.
Xu Sheng didn't watch randomly. Instead, he followed the martial artist's steps.
Since it was already the middle of the night, Xu Sheng discovered that everything was quiet in the moonlight. The patrol disciples moved without a sound, and the only noise on the island was the roar of the waves.
The moment had come. If anyone in the Other World could see the sky, they would have seen a lens wrapped in black plastic suddenly appear in midair.
After watching for a while longer, Xu Sheng confirmed that no one from Bright Moon Pavilion had noticed him placing the camera. Only then did he close the Gates to Heavens with peace of mind.
Even after the slight noise he'd made while planting the camera, no one came to check the area around the Martial Arts Training Ground.
At this point, there were more people in Bright Moon Pavilion's moon-white uniforms moving about here than anywhere else.
Having seen the actual scale of this Martial Arts Holy Land, Xu Sheng also abandoned his backup plan of paying for the chance to learn its martial arts.
From the fierce flashes of sword light as the middle-aged man moved, Xu Sheng could tell that it was an extraordinarily powerful Superior Martial Arts sword technique.
Since he'd already made up his mind, Xu Sheng began to act.
Watching through the Gate from thousands of meters away, Xu Sheng understood that Bright Moon Pavilion was indeed a Martial Arts Holy Land.
Without merging into the crowd and making himself conspicuous, he could still get the lessons down on camera and learn from them.
Xu Sheng's plan to secretly learn martial arts was underway.
With so many people at Bright Moon Pavilion, the martial artist immediately stood out.
Even if the drone could avoid attracting attention, keeping a careful watch on the island might make the people there suspicious.
Xu Sheng estimated the manpower and resources Bright Moon Pavilion would need to defend itself.
There were numerous buildings here. He saw no fewer than dozens of martial artists.
Under the moonlight, several disciples in gray uniforms patrolled the area.
Xu Sheng continued watching, trying to find the teaching grounds.
He could make out the Martial Arts Hall from this distance.
The moonlight cast silver over the water.
Bright Moon Pavilion was larger than he'd expected.
He'd use the recordings to learn the technique.
If he relied on the drone alone, he wouldn't be able to see the details clearly.
Xu Sheng waited patiently.
The teachers and disciples were all in the training ground.
The martial artist had come to meet his son.
They spoke with warmth and laughter.
Xu Sheng knew the sect wouldn't make it easy for an outsider to learn its martial arts.
He could only find another way.
With the Gates to Heavens, he had a way in and out.
At the same time, he had to keep his strength hidden.
He wouldn't expose himself before he could protect what he had.
Xu Sheng watched the lesson from behind the Gate.
The sword technique was taught slowly and carefully.
The teacher demonstrated each move for the disciples.
Xu Sheng recorded it all.
Every movement, every explanation, and every detail were captured.
He'd be able to study the footage at his own pace.
The disciples copied the teacher's movements.
Xu Sheng took note of the way they stood and shifted their weight.
He also watched the teacher's breathing.
The sword technique's essence was in more than its movements.
The circulation of breath and the coordination of the body mattered just as much.
Xu Sheng watched attentively, afraid to miss a thing.
He didn't dare get any closer.
The wind rustled through the grass.
The camera remained hidden.
No one paid any attention to the patch of grass where it lay.
Xu Sheng had placed the cameras at different angles, so the footage would show the lesson from several perspectives.
The lesson continued.
The teacher demonstrated the sword technique again.
The disciples followed along.
Xu Sheng recorded every second.
He watched until the class ended.
Only then did he close the Gates to Heavens.
There was no need to take any further risks.
He'd already gotten what he needed.
When it was time, he'd retrieve the cameras.
He could then review the footage and start practicing the Superior Martial Arts of Bright Moon Pavilion.
Compared with spending years trying to enter the sect, this method was much more efficient.
His plan was simple: record the lessons, then learn the technique on his own.
With enough practice, he might be able to master it.
Xu Sheng left the other world and returned to his home in the Main World.
He had spent the whole day watching the island and hadn't had time to practice.
He decided to make up for it the next day.
The more he learned about Bright Moon Pavilion, the more impressed he was by its strength.
The other Martial Arts Holy Lands were likely no weaker.
And the Great Zhou imperial family, which could keep them all in check, must have a terrifying foundation of its own.
The hundreds of thousands of soldiers it could mobilize openly were only part of its strength.
In secret, it likely had countless experts as well.
This only confirmed that keeping a low profile was the right choice for his Two Realms Trade plan.
Once he'd grown strong enough, he could repay Bright Moon Pavilion in some way.
For now, he would simply take what he needed and remain unnoticed.
Xu Sheng kept his eyes on the screen as he reviewed the footage.
He'd learn every move, bit by bit.
He would make sure not to miss any of the teacher's instructions.
After all, a Superior Martial Arts technique was not something he could master simply by watching once.
He needed to study it carefully and practice it repeatedly.
He would start by learning the forms, then work on the breathing and force behind them.
With a complete recording, he could replay every detail.
The footage would be his manual.
He might not be able to ask the teacher questions, but he could watch and listen as often as he liked.
That might even help him learn faster than the disciples in the training ground.
Xu Sheng was satisfied with the method.
There was no need to risk joining Bright Moon Pavilion and revealing his identity.
He would keep building his strength in secret.
Once he was powerful enough, he would decide what to do next.
Xu Sheng shut down the computer.
He still had a long road ahead.
He would keep practicing.
Normally, he posted one chapter of around four thousand words a day. So unless he specifically said otherwise in the author's note, there was no need to wait for a second update.
Right, there wouldn't be a second update today. I'd keep writing.
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