Five Realms of Body Tempering

Chen Cheng sat there calmly, leisurely drinking tea as he waited.

Luo's Shop was, after all, a major establishment. It would not stoop to anything improper over an internal breath method that could only cultivate the Great Root.

After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, the middle-aged steward returned from the second floor and said with a smile, "Our expert has examined it. This internal breath method can indeed be cultivated, but we still need to inspect the latter half of the manual.

"If the latter half is also sound, our shop is willing to purchase it for one hundred taels of silver. What does our honored guest think?"

One hundred taels of silver far exceeded Chen Cheng's expectations!

Of course, he could not agree too readily. Propping up his chin, he pretended to ponder for a moment before answering crisply, "Fine. One hundred taels it is."

With that, he took a complete martial arts manual from his robes and placed it on the table.

The middle-aged steward did not immediately pick it up. Instead, he smiled and said, "The ink on your manual is very fresh, honored guest. I presume it was copied recently. Before purchasing it, our shop would like to confirm one matter.

"Have you sold this manual to any other shops before? If you have, then our shop can only offer twenty taels of silver."

"I haven't sold it before," Chen Cheng replied firmly. He simply took out all the manuals and laid them on the table together.

"You are indeed forthright, honored guest! Please wait a moment." The middle-aged steward praised him, then picked up the manuals and went upstairs again.

This time, Chen Cheng did not have to wait long. After only a short while, the middle-aged steward hurried back and said with a smile, "Honored guest, our expert has examined them. There are no issues with the manuals.

"Would you like silver notes or silver ingots?"

The middle-aged steward had not asked where the manual came from, nor had he further verified whether it had been sold before, but Chen Cheng could not help thinking it over.

In truth, he had covered most of his face with a bamboo hat precisely to conceal his identity, lest questions about the manual's origin bring him trouble.

His original plan had been to sell the manuals to several shops at once, earning three to five taels from each. That alone would have counted as a success.

Yet events had developed far beyond his expectations.

Luo's Shop was offering far too much!

Not to mention one hundred taels of silver—even twenty taels would have been enough for Chen Cheng to sell.

As expected of a major shop!

With a silent sigh, Chen Cheng removed his bamboo hat.

"Aren't you worried that I might have sold this manual elsewhere before?"

The middle-aged steward's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

Any intelligent person would not risk offending Luo's Shop to commit fraud. That was precisely the confidence a great power like Luo's Shop possessed.

The young man before him had voluntarily revealed his true face. Clearly, it was an exceedingly clever move.

"What are you saying, honored guest? Your choice to sell the manual at our shop is already the greatest trust you can place in us.

"Since you trust our shop, our shop naturally trusts you as well.

"My name is Qian Bin. I am the steward of Luo's Shop's branch in Ruyi Ward. Should you need anything, whether martial arts manuals, weapons, or medicinal herbs, you may come directly to me.

"As for prices, they will absolutely be more favorable than at other shops."

Without making a show of it, Qian Bin took the initiative to give his name. On one hand, he wished to demonstrate Luo's Shop's attitude and put Chen Cheng at ease; on the other, he could not help wanting to befriend him.

Though the young man before him was plainly dressed, he had remained composed and unflustered throughout, calm even in the face of change. That steadiness of character alone was beyond ordinary people.

A person like this, even if born humble, might one day soar into the heavens. Forming a good connection with him would benefit neither Luo's Shop nor himself in any bad way.

Having lived two lives, how could Chen Cheng fail to hear the meaning beneath Qian Bin's words? He immediately rose, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Then I'll thank Steward Qian in advance.

"My name is Chen Cheng. I serve at South City Prison as a prison guard under Chief Cheng Rui. If Steward Qian ever has need of me, I will certainly do my utmost."

As the saying went, one should return a peach for a plum. Naturally, Chen Cheng could not lag behind.

"Easy enough! Easy enough!" Qian Bin also smiled and returned the gesture, without the slightest trace of disdain because Chen Cheng was merely a lowly prison guard.

On the contrary, Chen Cheng's admission of his prison guard status raised Qian Bin's estimation of him by several degrees.

To be humble in status yet open and upright, neither servile nor overbearing—how many people in this world could manage that?

Qian Bin had served as a shop steward for many years and met countless outstanding young men, yet he had never encountered one with a temperament like the youth before him!

Seeing that Chen Cheng was in no hurry to collect the money, Qian Bin continued with a smile, "Little Brother Chen, are you looking to buy a saber technique manual?"

In just a short while, the way he addressed Chen Cheng had changed from honored guest to little brother.

Chen Cheng could hear the friendliness in his tone. Seeing that Qian Bin was about the same age as Old Chen, he considered it briefly before saying, "Brother Qian, that is precisely my intention."

"Heh heh." Qian Bin chuckled, clearly pleased by the form of address. Patting his chest, he continued, "Then you have come to the right man. I cannot boast about anything else, but when it comes to saber technique manuals, I, Old Qian, can guarantee that you can buy the finest ones in all of Linji City here."

With that, he took a manual from a cabinet and solemnly handed it to Chen Cheng.

"This Chasing Wind Saber Technique is a mid-grade saber technique manual. It should suit you best."

Chen Cheng was greatly intrigued and asked, "What is a mid-grade manual?"

Qian Bin had long noticed that Chen Cheng seemed to know little about martial cultivation, but he did not mind. Smiling, he explained, "Martial arts manuals are divided into high-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade manuals.

"Ordinary manuals become impossible to advance further once cultivated to completion. These are low-grade manuals."

"As for mid-grade manuals, not only can they be cultivated to completion, but those with exceptional talent can take them a step further and develop force.

"High-grade manuals, meanwhile, contain a fundamental diagram. By comprehending the fundamental diagram, one may gain insight into artistic conception."

Chen Cheng felt that he had gained much from this and asked further, "What is force?"

Qian Bin pondered briefly, then smiled. "I have not cultivated force myself, so I do not know much about it.

"Take saber techniques, for example. Once an ordinary saber technique is cultivated to great mastery, it is enough to reliably defeat three to five burly men armed with weapons. Once cultivated to completion, it can reliably defeat three to five martial artists of the same realm whose saber techniques have reached great mastery.

"If one grasps saber force, one can easily defeat more than ten martial artists of the same realm whose saber techniques have reached completion, and may even defeat martial artists with completed saber techniques across realms.

"As for artistic conception, that is a legendary realm. Looking across all of Linji City, there are likely fewer than five martial artists who have comprehended artistic conception."

After a brief moment of thought, Chen Cheng asked again, "So you mean external martial arts are more important than internal cultivation methods?"

Qian Bin chuckled. "Not exactly. Martial cultivation requires both internal and external training.

"The Body-Tempering Realm is divided into the Skin-Tempering Realm, Tendon-Transforming Realm, Bone-Forging Realm, Marrow-Cleansing Realm, and Organ-Refining Realm. These are the five realms of body tempering. With every realm one advances, one's strength rises dramatically.

"External martial arts naturally possess immense power due to the advantage of weapons. An ordinary martial artist whose saber technique has reached great mastery can kill someone who has just entered the Skin-Tempering Realm, relying on the sharpness of the blade.

"If body tempering reaches great mastery in the Skin-Tempering Realm, one's skin becomes as tough as cowhide, while physical strength and speed far surpass those of ordinary martial artists.

"If the two faced each other, even an ordinary martial artist who had cultivated their saber technique to great mastery would stand no chance.

"If body tempering advanced another step to Skin-Tempering completion, the skin would become as hard as iron and stone, difficult for blades and swords to harm. Even if one stood still and allowed an ordinary martial artist to hack away, one would remain completely uninjured.

"Whether force or artistic conception, they are generally compared among those of the same realm. When realms differ, that is another matter altogether."