Ever since Xie Feng broke through to the Inner Qi Realm, he had considered opening a branch of the martial arts school in Dingyuan County.
Unfortunately, the martial arts schools already established in the County Town had resisted, making it difficult to gain a foothold.
This time, Xie Jingjiang and Xie Song had gone to the County Town after hearing that the auction house there had Qi Gathering Pills for sale.
They had taken most of the martial arts school's savings, hoping to compete for one.
Unfortunately, they couldn't outbid the others, and even if they had wanted to resort to underhanded tactics, they wouldn't have been strong enough.
The two had refused to give up and stayed in the County Town for more than half a month, hoping to find another opportunity.
After half a month with nothing to show for it, they had finally returned to Qingyan Town.
Breaking through to the Inner Qi Realm would have to rely on their own efforts.
But how easy was that?
As for Qingfeng Mountain, Xie Jingyun hadn't even broken through to the Inner Qi Realm yet. How could she offer them any support?
Xie Jingyun was eighteen years old and at the Body Tempering Ninth Level.
If she still couldn't break through in another two years, she would be forced to leave the mountain and work for the sect.
She would manage the sect's businesses and earn resources for it.
For now, they still had to see whether they could get any support from this side.
The Martial Dao was arduous. For most people, the Inner Qi Realm was already the pinnacle.
Chen Qinglin had occasionally asked his master, Xie Feng, whether anyone had ever reached a level of strength beyond ten thousand jin, the limit of the Body Tempering Realm's Ninth Level.
Though Xie Feng didn't understand what his young disciple was getting at and assumed he was simply curious, he still patiently explained.
The Body Tempering Realm was, in truth, a process of laying the foundation for the Martial Dao.
In great Martial Dao sects, some prodigies were nurtured from birth with all kinds of rare treasures.
By the time they began training at twelve, they could skip the Body Tempering Realm entirely and start cultivating directly at the Inner Qi Realm.
The limit of strength in the Body Tempering Realm was ten thousand jin.
It was said that in ancient times, there had been no Body Tempering Realm.
Seeing how difficult cultivation was for humanity, the sages of the Martial Dao had created Body Tempering techniques to make it easier for people to embark on the Martial Dao.
As the stars wheeled and the ages passed, generation after generation of cultivators had refined the Body Tempering techniques, allowing people to reach the realm's limit.
Ten thousand jin.
Body Tempering, Inner Qi, True Essence Condensation, Embracing the Origin, Spirit Aperture, Dharma Form... Those were the cultivation realms of the present age.
The strongest Martial Artists in Great Xuan were at the Spirit Aperture Realm.
Every one of them was a pillar of a sect, the royal family, or a great family—true figures of Old Ancestor stature.
The most powerful person Xie Feng had ever met had only been at the True Essence Condensation Realm.
He had merely learned of the power of those higher figures from storytellers wandering the martial world.
They could topple mountains, shatter rocks, dam rivers, soar through the sky, and burrow beneath the earth.
They could do things beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Chen Qinglin yearned for such realms and trained even harder than before.
Autumn passed, winter came, and the weather grew colder by the day.
Four months had passed since they returned from hunting the tiger in Linhe Village.
Chen Qinglin had joined the martial arts school in midsummer, and now it was November.
The year-end Martial Arts Competition was held in the middle of November every year, and the date was fast approaching.
Xie Feng instructed them to get their things ready.
They would set out for Dingyuan County early the next morning.
Sitting idly in the martial arts school's courtyard, he and Chen Qingshi had moved in long ago.
They had already given up the little courtyard they used to rent.
For once, Chen Qinglin wasn't practicing. He sat in the courtyard watching Chen Qingshi practice his punches.
He sat there, his gaze vacant, his thoughts already drifting far away from the bustle around him.
[Chen Qinglin]
Lifespan: 14/56
Realm: Body Tempering Eighth Level Skills: Archery (Perfect 10000/10000), Iron Wire Fist (Perfect 33/10000), Iron Sword Art (Perfect 3585/10000)
For four months, Chen Qinglin hadn't distracted himself by practicing any other martial arts.
His cultivation had surged forward, and he had already reached the Body Tempering Eighth Level, with a strength of around seven thousand jin.
Among his fellow disciples, only his eldest senior brother, Xie Jingjiang, was stronger.
The stages of cultivation in the Body Tempering Realm were as follows:
Upon first reaching the Body Tempering First Level, one had a strength of 150 jin;
Body Tempering Second Level: 300 jin; Body Tempering Third Layer: 500 jin;
Body Tempering Fourth Level: 1,000 jin; Body Tempering Fifth Level: 2,000 jin;
Body Tempering Sixth Level: 3,000 jin; Body Tempering Seventh Level: 5,000 jin;
Body Tempering Eighth Level: 7,000 jin; Body Tempering Ninth Level: a full 10,000 jin.
A person's actual fighting ability, however, depended on factors such as their realm, martial techniques, and weapons.
So although he still fell short of the Body Tempering Ninth Level in sheer strength,
the boost from his perfected swordsmanship meant that eldest senior brother Xie Jingjiang was no longer a match for him.
The reason he hadn't practiced today
was that after reaching perfection in archery and finding no way to improve, Chen Qinglin had felt something strange.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't grasp it, and it left him feeling restless.
Besides, they were leaving for Dingyuan County the next day, so Chen Qinglin had simply decided not to practice.
Over the past few months, Chen Qingshi had brought his boxing to the proficient level, and his cultivation had reached the Body Tempering Second Level.
But he still hadn't managed to get started with the sword art, despite Chen Qinglin's instruction.
Perhaps he really did lack talent in that area.
On a winter morning before the first snowfall, sunlight streamed through the clouds and between the branches, casting a patchwork of light and shadow across the grass.
The cold wind swept past, carrying away the last traces of autumn's desolation.
A caravan of wagons rolled slowly along the official road from Qingyan Town to Dingyuan County.
"Master, didn't you say there were bandits on the road to Dingyuan County? We've been traveling for two days and haven't run into a thing."
"Bandits can think, too. At this time of year, the people heading to the County Town are mostly martial arts school masters and their disciples. They naturally wouldn't pick a fight with them."
It was the party from the Iron Sword Martial Arts School.
Xie Jingjiang, Jiang Zhong, and Lin Hua's two disciples were there for the second competition. The Chen brothers were taking part in the first.
To be honest, Chen Qinglin was vastly overqualified for the first competition.
Chen Qingshi was just there to go through the motions. Xie Feng didn't expect anything from him; he had brought him along to broaden his horizons.
"Qinglin, why do you think the County Office doesn't wipe out these bandits? Why let them rob travelers and prey on the people?"
"Junior Brother Qingshi, I can answer that." Xie Jingjiang picked up the conversation and explained to Chen Qingshi.
"It's not that the County Office lets the bandits run free. The Qingyan Mountain Range is simply too vast. Whenever the County Office organizes a campaign against them, the bandits hide deep in the mountains."
"They never manage to accomplish much, and after a while, the bandits come out again."
"The County Office has also issued wanted notices, inviting heroes from all walks of life to go after them. Anyone who kills a bandit can claim a reward at the County Office by presenting the bandit's head."
There were more than just Body Tempering Realm bandits in the Qingyan Mountain Range; there was more than one at the Inner Qi Realm, too.
Dingyuan County lay in a remote region and had no True Essence Condensation Realm Martial Artists. Over the years, the bandits had gradually become a scourge.
At sunset, the party finally caught sight of the city gates.
Sunlight shone on them, making them glitter. The copper studs and ornaments gleamed brilliantly in the light.
Tall city walls stood on either side of the gates, covered in moss and vines, giving them an ancient and solemn air.
Beneath the gates, merchants and travelers streamed back and forth, a bustling scene.
Inside the gates, the plaza was packed with stalls of every kind. Hawkers' cries rose and fell, mixing with the hubbub of the crowd in a lively display of prosperity.
When they arrived at the competition grounds, a maid led them through a winding route to a courtyard. It had been set aside as lodging for the Iron Sword Martial Arts School during the competition.
The neighboring courtyard was already occupied by a martial arts school that had arrived before them. Xie Feng clearly knew them.
Xie Feng went over to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, he brought the others back to their rooms.
After several days on the road, everyone was tired. They agreed to explore the County Town the next day, then went to their rooms to rest.
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