Martial Arts That Restrain Ghostly Creatures

Chen Mo sensed someone approaching and withdrew his hand.

"Uncle Zhou!"

Zhou Liang clapped as he spoke with a smile, "I never expected it. When I saw the Second Young Master defeat Ma San this afternoon, I felt you were close to the second gate, the Muscle Refining Realm. I didn't think you'd break through just now. The Second Young Master is truly a martial arts prodigy held back by business."

Cough.

Chen Mo gave an awkward smile. "Uncle Zhou, don't tease me. Please, come in and sit."

Since Chen Yin Fu treated Zhou Liang like a sworn brother, Chen Mo naturally regarded him as an elder and wouldn't neglect courtesy. After inviting Zhou Liang to sit, he called for Qiulan to brew tea and serve.

After some pleasantries, Zhou Liang finally couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Second Young Master, you dared to cultivate two opposing martial techniques—yin and yang clashing—and they even enhanced each other perfectly. I never expected that. What were you thinking back then?"

If he hadn't seen Chen Mo skillfully wield both techniques with his own eyes, Zhou Liang would have scolded him thoroughly. But now, he couldn't bring himself to criticize; instead, he was filled with curiosity.

Chen Mo naturally wouldn't reveal that he had a Golden Finger, so he made up an excuse. "When I first borrowed the Mysterious Yin Hand from you, Uncle Zhou, I only intended to skim through it and broaden my knowledge. But after reading the Mysterious Yin Hand's core method, I keenly sensed... that it might alleviate the side effects of the Fuyang Saber Technique, or even complement it. So I started experimenting step by step... I never expected it would bring me such a pleasant surprise."

After speaking, seeing Zhou Liang still staring at him in disbelief, Chen Mo added, "Maybe it's because I don't understand martial theory well, so I wasn't too bound by its constraints. I was a bit bolder, and it worked out by chance."

Zhou Liang accepted this explanation and sighed deeply. "I see. A newborn calf fears no tiger—it takes the Second Young Master's boldness and care to pull this off. Otherwise, you'd have missed this opportunity. As for me, I've trained for years but ended up constrained by all sorts of theories. Still, martial theory is the summation of countless predecessors and masters; it's mostly correct. There are just a few gaps. In the future, Second Young Master, you need to be cautious."

Chen Mo nodded in agreement. "Uncle Zhou is right. I'll be careful from now on."

He said this to appease, but that wasn't what he thought inside.

With his Golden Finger, he could see the key points and flaws of any martial technique, allowing him to train much faster than others.

The reason he'd shown off this time was mainly to gain his father's approval for martial training and secure the family's resources. Now that he'd achieved that, he had no intention of revealing whatever techniques he trained in next.

"Uncle Zhou, did you come to see me about something?"

At Chen Mo's question, Zhou Liang remembered his purpose. "Your father just asked me to help you with your martial training. I've brought some notes from my early training days for you to look over."

With that, Zhou Liang handed two booklets to Chen Mo. "These record my insights and experiences from breaking through gates and training. The Second Young Master can take them and study them."

Chen Mo knew the weight of this gesture and the value of the notes, so he accepted them with both hands. "Thank you, Uncle Zhou. I'll keep them for now and consult you if I run into anything I don't understand."

Seeing Chen Mo's humble attitude, Zhou Liang felt reassured. "The Second Young Master progresses swiftly yet remains unassuming and open-minded. That's reassuring."

Chen Mo asked, "By the way, Uncle Zhou, have you ever encountered any evil spirits or ghosts?"

At this, Zhou Liang's expression turned serious. "No. Why do you ask, Second Young Master?"

Chen Mo answered honestly, "I wanted to know if ordinary martial arts can counter evil spirits and ghosts."

Zhou Liang was silent for a long moment, then shook his head. "Though I've never fought a ghost, I know a fair bit. Ordinary martial arts... have no clear effect against evil spirits."

Chen Mo was taken aback. "Does that mean even a trained martial artist, if they encounter a ghost... is doomed?"

Zhou Liang said gravely, "Not entirely. The stronger a martial artist, the more formidable their blood and qi. Common evil spirits won't provoke them. But if they do, there's no recourse."

"What exactly are evil spirits and ghosts?"

"Ah, I'm ashamed to say I don't know either. If the young master wants to find out, you could try the Lei Family Martial Arts School."

"The Lei Family Martial Arts School?"

"Yes. The Lei Family Martial Arts School is said to have a secret martial technique that counters evil spirits. I'll write you a letter of recommendation. Take it to Lei Guan Zhu at the school, and you might learn something. As for whether you can learn that secret technique, that depends on your fortune."

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Zhou."

"So the only thing that counters ghosts is the strength of one's blood and qi?"

After seeing Zhou Liang out, Chen Mo sat alone in the living room, pondering.

A martial artist with strong blood and qi wouldn't be bothered by ordinary evil spirits.

But if they were bothered, it meant the ghost wasn't afraid of you, and you could only wait to die?

Encounter a ghost... and just wait to die?

That clearly wasn't what Chen Mo wanted. It also went against his original purpose in training martial arts.

If training couldn't deal with evil spirits, then why bother? He might as well lie back and enjoy life... then when a ghost showed up, he'd just tilt his head, stick out his tongue, kick his legs, and wait to die.

"That won't do..."

After all, Chen Mo had been Possessed by Evil before.

One question had always troubled him: back then, Chen Mo, Ma Tie, Qiulan, and Xie Dong were all at the Li Manor's front gate. Why was he the only one who got possessed?

"If I can't find a way to counter ghosts, I'll never feel safe."

Chen Mo pushed aside his stray thoughts and opened Zhou Liang's notes.

Among them were insights on training the Fuyang Saber Technique.

Chen Mo figured that Zhou Liang, being a master at the Five Passes: Blood Infusion Realm, had left behind extremely valuable saber experience. So he picked up his broadsword and began practicing according to the notes.

Comparing his own technique, he realized many details in his Fuyang Saber Technique were off. After adjusting them one by one, he found his saber flow much smoother. Soon, he mastered the second form, Autumn Frost Reflection, and even felt his blood and qi grow a bit stronger.

The next morning.

Chen Mo got up early, practiced the Mysterious Yin Hand and Fuyang Saber Technique, solidified his blood and qi at the Muscle Refining Realm, then checked on the woman and Chen San. He instructed Ma Tie to watch over them, then hurried out with Qiulan.

Qiulan drove the carriage out and couldn't help asking, "Young master, where are we going?"

Chen Mo said, "To the Lei Family Martial Arts School. Do you know it?"

Qiulan replied, "I know the Lei Family Martial Arts School. The Eldest Young Master Lei was an old acquaintance of the eldest young master. They used to go drinking together at the Spring Breeze Tower. The day the eldest young master fell ill there, two days later, the Eldest Young Master Lei also had an incident at the Spring Breeze Tower."

Chen Mo caught the key detail and raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Qiulan frowned. "I don't know the specifics. The Lei family kept it quiet. But within two days, over thirty people in the Lei family died overnight. The once-thriving Lei Family Martial Arts School has been in decline ever since. Now they can barely get by."