Signs

Ning Xuan's mind had opened up.

All he had to do was summon the Heavenly Demon Scroll, then attempt some training he would never have been able to do before. That would make him stronger.

Training tailored to "Ning Xuan with a constitution of 3.9" would also benefit "Ning Xuan with a constitution of 1.4."

But what should he train?

He had already mastered the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.

And from Master Zhang, he knew that "martial arts techniques" had a great deal of overlap.

It wasn't as if mastering the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, then taking up a fist technique, palm technique, or sword technique, would make him several times stronger.

That simply wasn't how it worked.

In fact, it might only distract him and make him take a step backward instead of forward.

So in the martial world, everyone fought for techniques, using them to decide victory and defeat, life and death.

Even though he had mastered the Swallow Return Three Sabers and become one of the best in the martial world with the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, viewed across the long river of martial history, he had only just begun. He had only stepped into the first realm.

That realm was called Having Moves.

Ning Xuan asked, "Is the next realm No Moves?"

Master Zhang replied, "Yes, and no."

Then he continued, "To reach the No Moves Realm, you must first break moves—break every technique under heaven.

"The countless techniques in the world cover all kinds of attacks and conceal all sorts of follow-up strikes and deadly traps.

"Only by fighting experts in these fields and breaking all their techniques will you draw closer and closer to the No Moves Realm.

"But the same technique is different in different hands.

"For those who haven't mastered it, you can break it with speed alone. That's why the martial world has always said, 'Under heaven, nothing can break speed.'

"But what if both sides are equally fast?

"That's when you've truly entered the realm of breaking moves. That's when you can truly improve."

Ning Xuan had been about to ask, "What if a beast has skin as tough as armor and is impervious to blades and spears, yet knows martial arts too?" But Master Zhang had already given him the answer.

"Impervious to blades and spears" and "nothing can break speed" were both ways of describing a top-down advantage. But how could you use someone weaker than yourself as your benchmark?

That was why techniques existed.

And weren't demonic arts another kind of technique?

Learning alone wasn't enough to make your techniques stronger. You had to train, and you had to break them.

Only by breaking other people's moves could you gain insight. After that, even if you performed the very same move, it could be much stronger than before.

Ning Xuan felt that the No Moves Realm wasn't something he could pursue deliberately, either.

He had only learned one thing from Master Zhang: even if he went and learned another cultivation technique now, there was a good chance it would do little for him.

So he decided to return to the most primitive forms of training: long-distance running with weights, rock climbing, squats, weightlifting, one-finger push-ups, regular push-ups, sit-ups, and the like.

As long as he kept adding weight until he was exhausted, that... should mean his training was effective.

Deep in the mountains.

Ning Xuan strapped a boulder the size of a small hill to his back, took a deep breath, and began his morning run. When he reached a sheer cliff, he dropped the boulder, looked up at the steep wall that soared into the clouds, then sprang into the air. His figure shot more than two zhang upward, and his right hand came down in a clawing strike.

Smack!

His fingertips sank into the rock as easily as an ordinary person's fingers sank into soft mud.

His fearsome figure hung suspended in midair. Then, with a tightening of his fingers and a push, he rose.

Smack!

His left hand sank into the cliff face.

Like a giant gecko, he clambered and sprang up the sheer wall.

For an ordinary person, one misstep would mean plunging to the foot of the cliff and being smashed to pieces.

For him, it was like running on level ground. It took effort, but there was no real danger.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Ning Xuan reached the top.

Standing on the jutting cliff, he spread his arms to greet the morning sun.

Half a month later.

The cliff.

Beneath an ancient pine, a squirrel clutched a pine nut and munched away, looking foolish. Above it, a hawk stared down with keen eyes, its wings slightly drawn in and its body hunched, ready to dive and snatch its prey.

Then a terrifying aura suddenly swept over them.

The squirrel dropped its pine nut and bolted.

The hawk abandoned the prey it had been watching for some time and fled into the sky.

Smack!

A hand suddenly gripped the jutting rock of a ten-thousand-zhang cliff.

A dark figure followed, flipping over and settling on the edge.

The morning sun had just risen. The sea of mist gleamed gold.

Ning Xuan drew in a deep breath and gazed into the distance.

His training these past days had been highly effective.

He glanced at his status panel.

[Life (Constitution): 1.8]

[Mountain Crashing Bear] (Provides an additional 2.3 Life attribute when summoned)

His "Life" attribute had risen by a full 0.4.

That was certainly cause for joy, but something else was even more interesting.

As his own constitution improved, his body was returning to normal proportions.

After summoning the "Heavenly Demon Scroll," he had stood over a zhang tall. His height had since shrunk by a full two chi, and now he was more than eight chi tall. He was still tall, but within the range of human proportions.

This meant that "if his own body was weak, then after he summoned the Heavenly Demon Scroll, he would become more and more like the demons within it;

"but if his own body was strong enough, then even after summoning the Heavenly Demon Scroll, his shape wouldn't change too drastically;

"and if his own body surpassed the Heavenly Demon Scroll, his shape wouldn't be affected at all. He would merely become denser, holding an even more terrifying explosive power."

He could use the Heavenly Demon Scroll to train himself and break through the limits of the human body, one step at a time.

At the thought, Ning Xuan was filled with energy.

Training was also about improving his quality of life, and ensuring that if disaster ever struck, he wouldn't be left utterly helpless.

He still didn't understand why the Ning Family Manor had yet to be attacked by the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, even though nearly a month had passed. But Ning Xuan would never forget the agony of being chewed apart, inch by inch, by the bear demon.

Once was more than enough.

"Keep going!"

After resting briefly, Ning Xuan hefted the boulder onto his back again, then scurried up the sheer cliff in a flash, like a gecko. His muscles bunched and the veins in his arms stood out like earthworms as he scrambled upward, head down and feet up.

He began his morning workout.

At dusk, Ning Xuan changed into fine silks and brocade and reappeared at the entrance to Star River County.

He no longer needed a horse.

He could run faster than a thousand-li horse.

If he hunted someone down, even the fastest horse couldn't help them escape.

So the once-long journey between Star River County and the wild mountains had grown shorter as his speed increased.

He could reach the old mountain where Ning Family Manor stood, thirty li outside the county, in the time it took an incense stick to burn. The return journey took just as long.

Today, beneath the setting sun,

he had trained all day and felt refreshed.

His build had become more streamlined. He had gone from a soft, pretty-faced boy to a nimble, strong young man.

The lines of his muscles showed faintly—taut but not bulky. He looked like a leopard poised to spring. His shoulders seemed a little broader, his steps steady and powerful, and even his breathing carried an invigorating rhythm.

He hadn't had a proper outing in a month.

In the past, he would have gone out long ago.

Feasting, visiting courtesans, hunting, fighting beasts, horse racing, admiring paintings, appraising jade, and hunting for novelties at the Wealthy Merchant Guild—these had all been the simplest, most ordinary parts of his daily life.

A blaze of excitement flared in his heart, but he soon quashed the idea. I'd better wait until I've finished training before going out to have fun. I can still get stronger.

He wouldn't stop.

He had to improve as much as he could. Only when he had reached the point where he could rise no further would he feel at ease about slacking off.

At that moment, beneath the setting sun, Star River County's ancient streets looked like a painting. Shops lined the roads, revealing a scene of bustling splendor from a bygone age.

Old Master Ning was not only famous; he was also a great benefactor known throughout the surrounding towns and villages.

Star River County and even the neighboring prefectural city could be said to owe their prosperity to Old Master Ning.

But no one knew what Old Master Ning actually did.

Everyone only knew that after those who came to do good deeds had finished, they would say that Old Master Ning had sent them.

Old Master Ning truly had a lot of clout.

Everyone who saw Young Master Ning greeted him with a friendly smile.

That was how it usually went.

But today was different.

The street was windy.

The wind was cold.

Dust swept through the air, and awnings flapped noisily.

The sunset was red.

A red tinged with gray.

In the wind beneath the setting sun, people hurried along, their faces filled with a strange, panicked look. Even those who spotted Young Master Ning at the county gate were too distracted to smile.

A carriage stood quietly by the roadside.

But the moment Ning Xuan appeared, its curtain suddenly flew open. A petite maid darted out and grabbed his hand as if she had just survived a disaster. With tears in her voice, she cried, "Young Master, thank goodness you're safe! Thank goodness, thank goodness! Wuwu..."

She repeated the words over and over.

The young master had only told her that he was going out.

To keep the mistress of Ning Manor from worrying, she had kept it a secret for him.

If anything had happened to the young master, she would have been done for too.

Something had happened in the county today.

She hadn't even dared stay at the manor. Instead, she'd hurriedly driven the carriage to wait at the county gate.

Ning Xuan glanced around, then at the extremely nervous Xiao Jie. "We'll talk in the carriage."

Xiao Jie nodded.

As soon as Ning Xuan climbed in, he spotted a tightly packed bundle on the carriage. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand.

Good grief. There were plenty of clothes, as well as gold, silver, and other valuables.

When he opened it a little, he even saw banknotes inside.

So something really had happened in the county. Xiao Jie had already prepared for the worst—if she couldn't wait for him, she'd flee overnight.

Ning Xuan felt nothing. He tightened the bundle again, tossed it aside, and paid it no mind. He didn't ask about it or give it a second thought.

He knew exactly what Xiao Jie was like.

It wasn't surprising.