No Years in the Mountains, Three Years in the World

After his physical body broke through to the first level of Innate Martial Master, Zhao Ping'an's first sensation was power—endless power surging through his limbs and bones, making him feel like one punch could shatter Feather Mountain before him.

If the Turtle Shell Art mainly strengthened the skin, then the Ironclad Art primarily reinforced the sinews and bones, while the Bronze Armor Art fortified the internal organs.

Of course, that was just a difference in emphasis; each time, the enhancement was comprehensive, from the inside out.

And the internal organs were like the engine of the human body. Strengthening them would drive a full-scale boost in essence, energy, and spirit.

Stronger digestion and absorption, more abundant vitality—this not only meant sustained combat power but also gave Zhao Ping'an more time for cultivation.

Now, he only needed about two hours of rest each day (half an hour at noon and an hour and a half at night) to stay energetic throughout the entire day.

That meant his strength would grow at an even faster rate.

At this point, after only a few months of training, Zhao Ping'an's panel had become:

[Name: Zhao Ping'an]

[Realm: Houtian Martial Artist, Third Level]

[Body: Innate Martial Master, First Level]

Cultivation Methods:

[Bronze Armor Art (First-rate Cultivation Method): 0/400 (First Level, Simplified) Use your body to continuously collide with stone pillars 100 times to increase Training Progress by 1 point.]

[One Qi Art (Second-rate Cultivation Method): 36/300 (Third Level, Simplified) Sit quietly in meditation to absorb Heavenly Qi for ten minutes to increase Training Progress by 1 point.]

Martial Arts:

[Blade Draw Slash (Second-rate Martial Art): 300/300 (Mastered, Simplified) Available for Deduction!]

[Deduction Points: 91%]

(Method to obtain Deduction Points: Omitted!)

"Almost there! In two more days, I can deduce the Blade Draw Slash."

Looking at the [Deduction Points: 91%] on the panel, Zhao Ping'an muttered to himself, his upper body bare. He picked up his clothes from the ground and walked toward his room.

The sun had set.

As his strength grew, not only did his appetite increase, but the effects of his medicinal baths had also diminished significantly. The Deduction Points he generated each day were only half of what they used to be, around four or five points.

Now, he needed better Spiritual Medicines to obtain more Deduction Points in large quantities.

Unfortunately, there were none on this mountain.

And for now, he didn't want to go down the mountain, nor did he have a reason to.

After dinner, Zhao Ping'an returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began to inhale and exhale Heavenly Qi.

Now, he spent about half an hour each morning absorbing Heavenly Qi and roughly two hours at night.

In other words, he sat on his bed for about five hours a day absorbing Heavenly Qi, which allowed him to increase the One Qi Art's Training Progress by about 30 points.

That was a full hour or more longer than normal cultivators, completely bypassing the two-hour cultivation limit that ordinary martial artists faced.

Basically, he could raise his martial artist realm by one level every ten days—incredibly fast.

If he didn't have to train other techniques and martial arts, he could even spend most of the day absorbing Heavenly Qi.

Life in the mountains was as plain as water. Except for every half year when his three Senior Brother Sisters would return together, Zhao Ping'an mostly kept to himself, training day in and day out.

In this world, he only had his Master, Mistress, and a few Senior Brother Sisters—these were his only family. He was willing to keep training like this, carefree, forever.

The only problem was that Deduction Points were growing slower and slower. If he had an endless supply, he would even be willing to cultivate on this mountain until the end of time.

Within the Blazing Blade Sect, he was like a ghost. The vast majority of the sect's disciples were at the foot of the mountain and barely had any contact with him.

Most of the Blazing Blade Sect disciples down the mountain didn't even know he existed.

As for the direct disciples, they had long known he was just an ordinary person with terrible talent, so they completely ignored him.

The Stewards and Elders, out of respect for his Master, wouldn't speak harshly to him, but they also paid him no attention.

Time passed day by day...

In the late spring of the second year, Fourth Senior Disciple Brother Liu Zhe also broke through to the Houtian Martial Artist realm.

At that time, Fourth Senior Disciple Brother was just a little over eighteen years old.

Zhao Ping'an remembered clearly that day—Master was very happy, drank a lot of wine, and kept muttering the words "Grandmaster is within reach."

At that time, Zhao Ping'an's physical body had already reached the first level of the Grandmaster Realm. He wondered what Zheng Hetong would think if he knew.

A few months later, Fourth Senior Disciple Brother followed the three Senior Brother Sisters, who had come up the mountain to visit Master and Mistress, and went down the mountain as well.

And Zhao Ping'an, whose strength had long surpassed the Innate Realm, had learned the light-body skill he had dreamed of from Fourth Senior Disciple Brother during those months.

A Second-rate Martial Art—the Swallow Art!

[Swallow Art (Second-rate Martial Art): 0/300 (Not Yet Started, Simplified) Continuously run one kilometer to increase Training Progress by 1 point.]

For Zhao Ping'an now, a mere kilometer could be run in under two minutes—faster than the world record in his previous life.

With Fourth Senior Disciple Brother going down the mountain, the already quiet courtyard became even more serene.

Most of the time, it was just Zhao Ping'an, his Mistress, and a few servants who cleaned and attended to them.

Master Zheng Hetong, as one of the four great elders of the Blazing Blade Sect, was very busy, often descending the mountain and leaving for a month or two at a time.

That was also when Zhao Ping'an was at his freest, because he didn't have to pretend to cultivate the Body Forging Art and could spend more time practicing other techniques.

Mistress Zhao Xiuyun knew a little martial arts, but it was only a health-preserving technique—at the initial Martial Practitioner realm, she probably couldn't even defeat some peak Martial Warriors.

She didn't interfere with his training progress either, letting him cultivate on his own. Just like his name, Mistress only hoped he would be safe and sound.

Time flew like a white horse passing a crack, leaving no trace. Before he knew it, Zhao Ping'an had been practicing martial arts for over three years.

More than a year had passed since the Fourth Senior Disciple Brother descended the mountain.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!..."

Deep in the forest, the blade's light was shadowless, swift as lightning.

As it cut through the air, it continuously produced tearing sounds of swish, swish.

"Clang!"

After who knows how long, the long blade returned to its sheath!

A figure, one meter eighty tall, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, stood tall and straight in the forest.

On his bare upper body, the muscles had flowing, sharply defined lines, giving the impression of explosive power at a glance.

"Huff!..."

Zhao Ping'an let out a long breath and walked toward the Clear Spring in the forest, preparing to wash himself.

He was now nearly eighteen years old, basically an adult in his past life. In this martial world, which closely resembled China's Song Dynasty, many people were already married with children.

But as martial artists, most married quite late.

Take Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming, for example. He was almost twenty-seven this year and was only now preparing to marry.

Half a month ago, Senior Disciple Brother personally came up the mountain to tell Master, Mistress, and Zhao Ping'an the news: he planned to marry Zhao Manling in a month.

It was only then that Zhao Ping'an learned Zhao Manling's identity—she was Mistress's niece, the granddaughter of her second uncle.

Zhao Ping'an listened to these matters merely as entertainment. What truly concerned him was that he was about to descend the mountain.

Senior Disciple Brother's wedding couldn't be held on the mountain, but in South Ridge City.

As one of the rising stars of the Blazing Blade Sect, Ji Xiangming had reached the eighth level of the Martial Practitioner Realm. With years of savings, he had bought a house in South Ridge City.

Though small, it was enough to settle down.