Ming Jin

Only by breaking through to Ming Jin can one truly step into the martial path, arriving at the foot of the towering mountain of martial arts to begin the climb; those who have not reached Ming Jin can only linger in the distance.

Chen Mo withdrew his thoughts.

The basic essentials and insights of the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique converged in his mind, and he began to practice around the stake, transforming every shred of realization into practical martial essence.

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The more insights he gained, the more profound he felt martial arts to be, far from being as superficial as the illustrations in the manuals suggested.

In the afternoon, Chen Mo drank some porridge and ate the radish-stewed ribs and seasonal vegetables he had brought in the morning; the radish was stewed until soft and mushy, and the bone marrow had melted into the soup, its fragrance enticing.

He had not experienced such days of eating vegetables and meat for a long time.

After the meal, he went to the Iron Furnace Room to continue honing his Comprehension of the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique.

Ever since he was accepted into the Tianqing Martial Hall, the laborers around him began to flatter him; everyone wanted to build a connection with a potential martial artist of the future, for an extra connection meant an extra way out, even if that connection was maintained only by empty words.

In private, however, these laborers would look at Chen Mo's back with sour expressions, sighing in their hearts at the unfairness of fate.

It is worth mentioning that ever since Huang E died, the relationship between the Black Tiger Hall and the Hansha Gang seemed to have become even more tense; this could be seen from the gloom on the faces of the two overseers.

Chen Mo paid little attention to it, focusing instead on smelting iron.

Dusk gathered.

As Chen Mo focused on smelting iron, a golden light suddenly suspended itself in his mind:

[Thousand Hammer Refinement, Mountain and Water Cultivation]

[Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique: Basic stake technique, trains leg stance below, trains fist power above]

[Comprehension: 1/100 (Entry)]

The Comprehension of the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique had finally reached the entry level; he immediately settled his mind into meditation and began to silently recite the basic essentials from the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique manual.

In the process, those minute details he had previously failed to notice now contained profound truths, which he grasped one by one.

The Comprehension gained from Mountain and Water Cultivation now appeared as golden, shimmering silhouettes of moves, flowing slowly before his eyes.

All of this was branded into the bottom of Chen Mo's heart; he did not need to deliberately memorize it and would never forget it—he only needed to accept it.

If not for the boost in Comprehension from Mountain and Water Cultivation, it would have been difficult to explore these hidden truths within the technique on his own for seven or eight years, and even with someone guiding him, it would not have been as profound as what he had realized himself.

The laborers in the Iron Furnace Room left one after another, and Chen Mo practiced the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique on the spot; insights must be immediately grounded into moves to be truly profound.

Time ticked away, bit by bit.

During the thirteenth repetition, he suddenly felt a strange change occurring in his body and immediately sat down cross-legged.

His skin felt as if ten thousand biting insects were crawling over it; it was both incredibly itchy and burning hot, and the skin where the "insects" crawled became tough and yellowish, as if a layer of scales had grown.

He touched it with his hand and felt a sudden firmness, while the muscles and bones beneath had also become more resilient.

When all the "biting insects" disappeared, Chen Mo felt an unprecedented freshness; the sense of heaviness in his body had vanished entirely, and even his gaze had become sharp.

"Is this Ming Jin..."

Chen Mo threw a punch, and the sound of the wind breaking was like a mountain gale passing through a ridge, lasting for two breaths before stopping.

"It's much more powerful than before."

He was overjoyed, knowing well that this Ming Jin blocked thousands of martial arts practitioners; if not for Mountain and Water Cultivation, he did not know how long it would have taken him to break through to Ming Jin.

At the same time, a look of anticipation appeared in the depths of his eyes—to what heights would this Mountain and Water Cultivation eventually lead him...

Chen Mo left the Iron Furnace Room and headed toward his home.

Passing in front of the Hua Pavilion, he glanced at the entrance and seemed to see the back of Chen Lan, who was currently being blocked by a large man carrying a saber.

At the entrance, the man said in a deep voice, "Young lady, if you are obedient and enter this Hua Pavilion, there will be free food and drink to treat you well, and you can enjoy the night; if you don't go in..."

His gaze turned cold, "With people coming and going at this entrance, if they see you, it will ruin my business at the Hua Pavilion, and we won't be so polite!"

Chen Lan's face turned pale; how could she not know what kind of place the Hua Pavilion was! She had just been passing by on her way home from the butcher shop when she was intercepted.

The other party spoke nicely about free food and drink, but as a woman, what was there for her to enjoy in this Hua Pavilion? If she were to be drugged...

Just last year, a woman living in the same alley had been dragged into the Hua Pavilion, drugged, and forced to become a girl of the house.

Thinking of this, Chen Lan's voice trembled, "Big brother, I was just passing by, rushing home; I didn't mean to ruin your business, please just let me go back."

The man glared, "That won't do! I cordially invite you, yet you won't go in; if others see this, they'll think our Hua Pavilion is a den of tigers and dragons!"

At the same time, in the shadows of another alley, two figures stood: these two were Chen Mei and Chen Hang.

Chen Mei crossed her arms over her chest, her right heel against the corner of the wall, looking like she was watching a show, "Let's see how she ends this."

Chen Hang was slightly worried, "Sister, our relationship with her family may be bad, but if she gets dragged in... she won't be able to come out."

Chen Mei rolled her eyes at him, "If she gets dragged in, it's her bad luck. What, you want to go in and save her?"

Chen Hang looked at the saber-carrying man at the entrance and swallowed hard, "From this distance, I really can't tell that man's strength; if he has already reached Ming Jin..."

As Chen Hang reached this point, he shivered.

The burly man took a step forward, and just as he was about to touch Chen Lan, a figure swiftly darted between the two of them.

"Xiao Mo!"

"Who are you?" The man's expression darkened even further.

"That's my line." Chen Mo observed the man's physique and complexion; although he was a martial practitioner, he had not yet reached the level of Ming Jin.

Seeing that Chen Mo spoke with a resonant voice and showed no fear, the saber-wielding man did not attack immediately, instead bringing up his background, "I am under the Hansha Gang, invited by the Hua Pavilion to maintain order. This person..."

He pointed at Chen Lan, "is affecting the Hua Pavilion's business, so I am inviting her inside for a cup of tea."

Chen Mo thought to himself, The Hansha Gang can stand toe-to-toe with the Black Tiger Hall, so they surely aren't simple...

At the mouth of the alley, Chen Mei saw Chen Mo appear and the corners of her mouth curled up, "The poor brat is here too; today's show is truly entertaining."

Chen Hang stood to the side without speaking, as if he had sensed something.

In front of the door, Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then reached out to place his hand on the man's shoulder, saying slowly:

"I am a disciple of the Panshi Martial Hall. Since we are both martial artists, it is better to have one more friend than one more enemy. We will take our leave now; how about I pay you a visit another day?"

His hand looked like it was resting there casually, but in reality, he was secretly exerting force. The man felt the weight of a Hundred Catty Weight from his hand, and his expression changed instantly, "Ming... Ming Jin!"

"Fine... fine, since you are a friend of the Panshi Martial Hall, you may go."

Chen Mo withdrew his hand, and the man felt a sudden sense of relief, watching as Chen Mo and Chen Lan walked away.

Chen Mei at the mouth of the alley was so shocked by this bizarre scene that she jumped up, "Are you kidding me? That blockhead just let them go?"

Chen Hang, standing beside her, snapped out of his daze and stammered, "Chen Mo seems to have... seems to have... practiced martial arts."

"Did you see that clearly?"

"It is highly likely."

Hearing this, Chen Mei's expression turned exceptionally ugly.