Inner Training Method

"It had taken nine months, but I had finally reached this step."

Chen Mu slowly let out a breath.

He summoned the system interface again, only to find that the System Panel had changed as well.

Martial Arts: Whirlwind Saber Technique (Perfection)

Experience: 0 points

The Whirlwind Saber Technique had indeed entered the realm of Perfection, and his experience had been reset to zero once more.

"I wonder if there is another realm beyond Perfection."

The thought suddenly crossed Chen Mu's mind. He then tentatively tried adding points to the already perfected Whirlwind Saber Technique again, but this time, it vanished like a stone sinking into the sea—there was no response at all.

Previously, even when he lacked sufficient experience, the system would tell him how much experience the next upgrade required. This time, however, it gave no prompt whatsoever. It seemed that Perfection was the very summit of the Whirlwind Saber Technique.

"So once a saber technique reaches Perfection and produces Saber Force, that is the end?"

Chen Mu frowned slightly.

Though he did not know whether there were higher realms beyond Saber Force, he knew that existences stronger than those who had cultivated Saber Force certainly existed. It was only that he seemingly could not forcibly elevate himself any further by adding points to the Whirlwind Saber Technique.

Perhaps the Whirlwind Saber Technique itself was not profound enough, and its limits lay there. If he wished to enter a higher level, he would need to seek out a more profound saber art to cultivate.

"If that is the case..."

Chen Mu fell into deep thought.

Perhaps it was time to visit the pawnshop and ask whether they had secret manuals for higher-level saber arts.

He also needed to ask about Inner Training Methods. After all, as far as he knew, besides external martial arts such as saber techniques, Inner Training Methods also existed in this world.

Perhaps producing Saber Force was the pinnacle of martial arts. If he wanted to become stronger, he would need to find a true Inner Training Method to cultivate. That Runner Office lord from the City Guard had most likely cultivated one.

Having made up his mind, Chen Mu put away the System Panel.

After breakfast,

Chen Mu went to the largest pawnshop in the marketplace, the Ji Family Pawnshop.

As he understood it, the Ji Family was a major Lineage of the Inner City, quite influential even there. This Ji Family Pawnshop was a branch established outside by the main Inner City shop. Even as a branch, it remained the largest pawnshop in Nine Stripes Ward.

"Ah, sir Runner, are you here to pawn something or purchase something?"

The moment Chen Mu entered the pawnshop, an accountant seated behind the counter stood up and greeted him with a smiling cupped-fist salute.

Chen Mu walked over to the counter, took the copy of the Whirlwind Saber Technique from his robe, and placed it on the table. "How much for an outright sale?"

The accountant picked up the Whirlwind Saber Technique manual and flipped open a page for a look. He gave an "Mm," then said, "A saber technique. Among all martial arts manuals, saber techniques are the most common and widely circulated. Please wait a moment, sir Runner... Xiao Sun, pour tea for our guest!"

"Right away!"

A voice answered from the inner room. Soon afterward, a young clerk hurried out and poured Chen Mu some tea.

The accountant lifted the dark-blue cloth curtain and entered the inner room.

Since this was a large establishment like the Ji Family Pawnshop, Chen Mu was in no hurry. He calmly sat down nearby.

After waiting for a short while,

the accountant came back out holding the Whirlwind Saber Technique manual. He set it on the table and said with a smile, "The expert inside says there is nothing wrong with this saber technique. It belongs to the Xun Wind Lineage among the Eight Branches of Qiankun. If you wish to sell it outright, it can fetch around five taels of silver."

Five taels.

That was somewhat more than Chen Mu had expected.

Hearing the accountant's words, Chen Mu asked with mild curiosity, "The Eight Branches of Qiankun?"

The accountant smiled. Without asking where the Whirlwind Saber Technique had come from, he explained directly, "The most mainstream and orthodox lineage among all martial arts today is the Eight Branches of Qiankun. They were originally official arts of the imperial court, but they have since spread among the common people as well."

"It is said that these eight branches were comprehended by ancient grandmasters of the martial path as they observed heaven and earth, wind and thunder, mountains and marshes, water and fire. Later, many people built upon their foundations and developed all manner of variations. This Whirlwind Saber Technique belongs to the Xun Wind Lineage."

Chen Mu asked thoughtfully, "So this saber technique has a higher-level Xun Wind Saber above it?"

The accountant laughed. "Sir Runner, you do not seem to understand. The main lineages of the Eight Branches of Qiankun are scattered into all sorts of techniques and moves. Their overarching principles do not distinguish between sabers, swords, staffs, or clubs. What they pass down is called 'Artistic Conception.' But if you ask me what Artistic Conception is, I do not know either."

Artistic Conception?

Chen Mu immediately gained some insight.

Perhaps beyond Saber Force lay this so-called Artistic Conception. The Whirlwind Saber Technique simply was not of a high enough level to reach that realm.

Since he had already started asking, Chen Mu did not mind asking a little more. After a brief moment of thought, he asked again, "Then do you have cultivation methods for the eight main lineages here?"

Before he could finish, the accountant said helplessly, "Sir Runner, you jest. How could a small shop like ours possess such things? Perhaps the main shop in the Inner City might have some news of them, but... even if they truly exist, they cannot be compared to this saber technique. Their value cannot be measured in mere hundreds or thousands of times."

After hearing that,

Chen Mu shook his head slightly to himself.

Something like the Whirlwind Saber Technique was a relatively widespread saber manual and thus not particularly valuable. But the Eight Methods of Qian Heaven and Kun Earth mentioned by the accountant, once the root source of the imperial court's orthodox martial arts, were worth more than gold could measure. The difference was truly immense.

At the very least, he had no ability to reach such things for now.

"Then what about Inner Training Methods?"

Chen Mu asked again.

At this point, he no longer cared whether the accountant took him for some ignorant novice. He had already asked questions that might as well have been idiot-level common sense, so asking a few more made no difference.

The accountant smiled. "Inner Training Methods... Mm, perhaps sir Runner does not know much about them. In truth, the so-called 'Inner Training Methods' circulating among the people are a general term. More specifically, they are divided into Body Tempering Methods and Inner Breath Methods."

"We shall not speak of Inner Breath Methods for now. Let alone a small shop like ours, even in the Inner City, you could not buy one."

Chen Mu listened thoughtfully but said nothing, merely watching the accountant and waiting for him to continue.

The accountant did not mind wasting a few more words and went on, "As for Body Tempering Methods, they begin with skin grinding, then move on to Flesh Tempering and Tendon Tempering, each step going deeper than the last. They are commonly called first skin, second flesh, third tendons, fourth bones."

"Each stage has its corresponding tempering method. Thus, whether it is a Mo Pi Fa or a Lian Rou Technique... they are all called Inner Training Methods. Naturally, their prices differ as well."

Chen Mu immediately fell into thought.

He had originally believed that an Inner Training Method was a fixed cultivation art. Now, however, it seemed otherwise. There were methods for grinding the skin and methods for tempering the flesh; they were merely grouped together under the general name of Inner Training Methods.

That was actually better.

If he only wanted to buy the most basic Mo Pi Fa, it presumably would not be too expensive.

Just as Chen Mu was thinking this,

the accountant smiled faintly. "What sir Runner wishes to ask about should be the most basic skin-grinding method. We have three cultivation methods here. The cheapest is the Iron Sand Skin Grinding Method, and it costs only one hundred and fifty taels of silver."

Cough.

Chen Mu's mouth twitched.

So he had previously thought himself something of a wealthy man, with his back straight and his purse full.

A Mo Pi Fa was obviously like a saber technique—something that could be copied again and again—yet it still dared to sell for one hundred and fifty taels of silver. It was utterly outrageous. He had already spent much of the silver he had obtained before, and now he could only afford a fraction of the price.

Fortunately, compared with an Inner Breath Method, one hundred and fifty taels was still a reasonable figure. Now that his saber technique had reached Perfection and he had grasped Gale Saber Intent, he had many ways to make money. Earning enough for a Mo Pi Fa would not be difficult.

After leaving the Ji Family Pawnshop,

Chen Mu touched the copy of the Fierce Wind Saber Technique in his robe and felt as though his heart were bleeding.

He could not afford an Inner Training Method for the time being, while the Whirlwind Saber Technique had already reached Perfection. He could not simply sit around doing nothing, so in the end, he bought the Fierce Wind Saber Technique—a different saber art of the same kind as the Whirlwind Saber Technique, also belonging to the Xun Wind Lineage.

Fortunately, he had gone to sell the Whirlwind Saber Technique in the first place. The sale and purchase nearly amounted to an exchange, and he only had to pay an additional five taels of silver.

According to the pawnshop accountant, the fundamental methods of the Eight Branches of Qiankun had never spread beyond the imperial court, and no force dared spread them. However, derivative branches such as the Whirlwind Saber and Fierce Wind Saber were widely circulated.

There were rumors that peerless geniuses, one in ten thousand, could reverse-engineer the fundamental methods from branch techniques.

Though no one knew whether such rumors were true or false, they gave Chen Mu a direction. His Whirlwind Saber Technique had already reached Perfection, and even the system could no longer raise it further, but he could cultivate other branch techniques of the same type alongside it.

Mastering two saber techniques and cultivating two different kinds of Saber Force would surely be stronger than mastering only one.

More than that,

Chen Mu vaguely felt that it was not that the system could no longer elevate his martial arts, but that the conditions were insufficient.

If he could truly cultivate many saber arts of the Xun Wind Lineage to Perfection and grasp their Saber Forces, perhaps the system could integrate them and derive a higher-level fundamental method, allowing him to step into a higher realm.

Of course, cultivating his physique was equally important. Finding a Mo Pi Fa was also a crucial task for him at present.

"Inner Breath Methods are not something ordinary people can come into contact with. Perhaps even a Runner Office lord cannot access one. But as for Body Tempering Methods... I wonder which stage that Director Min has reached—skin grinding or Flesh Tempering."

Chen Mu murmured inwardly.

There was no doubt about it.

That Runner Office lord of the City Guard had certainly cultivated a Body Tempering Method. Otherwise, relying solely on Saber Force produced from a perfected martial art would not have been enough for him to sit securely in the position of Runner Office lord. It was only unclear which stage his Body Tempering Method had reached.

Based on the information Chen Mu had gleaned through indirect questioning, Body Tempering Methods were also extremely difficult. One could say that the body was tempered with real gold and silver. The medicinal formulas required for any Body Tempering Method were absolute money-devourers. To push one's progress to the limit, one would need to spend over several hundred taels of silver a year.

Without the support of vast amounts of gold and silver, the very first step of skin grinding would be enough to train for a lifetime.

Chen Mu guessed that Director Min, who oversaw the Nine Stripes Ward Guard Office, had likely reached only the realm of Flesh Tempering. If he had gone any higher, he probably would not have remained merely a Runner Office lord in the Outer City; he would have been promoted long ago.