Mastery of Calligraphy and Painting

"It had grown too big. Someone higher up had taken notice.

That was why it stopped.

But looking at things now, they must think the uproar had already died down. That was why they started asking people to 'help' again."

Ayong spoke with a wooden expression.

He could ensure that he lived steadily in Appraisal Room Ten.

But he had no confidence he could survive even a day in his Third Master's Water Cloud Retreat or Second Master's Gold Treasure Room.

"The authorities... don't they care??"

Chen Shaojun asked instinctively.

"The authorities?

Don't forget who we are.

The authorities can't protect people like us.

On the contrary, if we tried to escape, the authorities would be the first to help capture us.

Otherwise, did you think no one tried to run during that time?

The one who got farthest only made it to the city gate before being killed on the spot.

As for those who were caught and brought back, you absolutely wouldn't—"

Ayong sighed.

Chen Shaojun felt somewhat uncomfortable after hearing this, yet he also understood that the world was simply like this. No one could argue against it.

"This truly isn't a normal world. Human lives are worth less than dogs."

Returning to Appraisal Room Seven, Chen Shaojun could not help sighing.

If what Ayong said was true, then aside from the menial workers and apprentices, who in the pawnshop could be considered innocent?

Shen Lang alone, Appraiser Shen, could decide an apprentice's life or death with a single thought. As for Xu Hongtao, though he appeared amiable in ordinary times, having returned from a gang where they licked blood from their blades, even if his heart was not black to the marrow, he was certainly a ruthless man.

Because anyone who was not ruthless could never survive long in a gang.

Today, the item Chen Shaojun was to appraise was a wolf-hair brush. Its handle was made from pale yellow warm jade, while its bristles were strands of fox fur, red and white intermingled, soft yet firm in just the right measure.

A wolf-hair brush with three wisps of Killing Intent naturally could not stump Chen Shaojun.

He cast the Divine Gaze Technique.

Before the Killing Intent within could even surge forth, it dispersed into wisps of green smoke.

The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror appeared at once, reflecting the brush within it.

Lower Mortal Grade.

Reward: Mastery of Calligraphy and Painting.

As Chen Shaojun received the information, he immediately grasped countless pieces of knowledge about calligraphy and painting. By his estimation, he had reached a level that ordinary people would need decades of painstaking practice to attain.

Unfortunately, there were few opportunities to hold a brush in the pawnshop. Though he possessed the art of slaying dragons, he had nowhere to use it.

Of course, he always remembered that this was a world where Dao Martial Arts flourished. Scholars, calligraphers, and great Confucian scholars of official families held far less status than they had in the dynasty of his previous life.

After appraising the treasure, Chen Shaojun did not leave immediately.

Instead, he took out the copy of Appraiser's Notes that his Second Master, Dai Ming, had given him earlier.

Opening it and flipping through its pages, he discovered that it recorded the growth experiences of a Certified Appraiser named Zhou Chen. What it described most often were the problems Zhou Chen encountered while cultivating the Divine Gaze Technique, along with their solutions.

Yet what truly drew Chen Shaojun's attention were several cases recorded within.

For instance, when Zhou Chen had once appraised a bronze mirror, his mind had gone hazy and he had been pulled into an ancient residence, where he was about to marry a woman named Xiue.

The two bowed before Heaven and Earth, performed the rites, and eventually even entered the bridal chamber.

After a night-long dream, he woke to find that it had all been an illusion, leaving him dejected for quite some time.

"Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly?

Or ghosts and monsters clinging to him?"

Chen Shaojun leaned toward the latter.

Still, the ghost had not attacked Zhou Chen and had even sent him out, which surprised him somewhat.

There were few cases in the notes. Chen Shaojun gave them a brief summary: the ones worth mentioning were all rather perilous and wondrous events. Three involved encounters with ghosts. Most had been close calls without real danger, yet they still opened his eyes.

He pondered the other man's methods of handling them, learning what was worth learning.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Chen Shaojun put down the notes, but his mind was no longer on them.

Instead, it rested on the Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist he had received as an appraisal reward earlier.

Martial arts.

True martial arts.

And this martial art was precisely a body-tempering fist technique used by Martial Warriors to lay their foundations.

By relying on this martial art, an ordinary person could step onto the path of martial arts.

"The Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist is a fist technique, but it is also a method for cultivating force."

Over the past few days, he had not gained nothing regarding martial arts.

He knew that at the initial stage of a Martial Warrior's path, the most fundamental thing was a method for cultivating force.

Practice fists without practicing force, and all your effort would be wasted in the end.

Where did this force come from? It came through methods for cultivating force.

Because only by developing force could a Martial Warrior use it to temper their entire body.

The Body Tempering realm in particular was divided into nine levels: First Level Flesh Tempering, Second Level Skin Tempering, Third Level Sinew Tempering, Fourth Level Bone Tempering, Fifth Level Marrow Tempering, Sixth Level Blood Exchange, Seventh Level Five Organs Tempering, Eighth Level Six Bowels Tempering, and Ninth Level Inner Sight.

Every one of these realms required force to temper and hammer the body before it could possibly be attained.

When ordinary people said one had practiced martial arts into one's very bones, they meant that the force of martial arts had penetrated every part of the body and tempered it to the utmost limit.

In fact, whether someone had developed force was the standard for judging whether they were truly a Martial Warrior.

Only after developing force could one be considered a Martial Warrior.

Without developing force, then even if one possessed immense strength, could lift a cauldron, and smash rocks with one's fists, one was at most a crude brute.

After that, Chen Shaojun began formally practicing martial arts.

The appraisal room was enclosed on all sides. Though the space was cramped, it was still the most suitable place he could find for practicing martial arts in the short term.

In any case, as long as he remained in the room and did not make too great a commotion, no one would come in.

As for practicing martial arts in the pawnshop's rear courtyard?

He had not considered it at all.

Standing in the room, Chen Shaojun took a deep breath and began to go through the movements.

At first, he could maintain the correctness and fluidity of the movements, but before long, he felt his breathing become disordered, and even his movements began to warp out of shape.

"Sure enough, memories are only memories. Actually practicing is completely different."

Even though he had already comprehended every essential point of the fist technique in his memories, actually performing it was an entirely different matter.

Distorted movements were only one aspect.

The enormous drain on his stamina was what truly made it difficult for him to continue.

Before he had even completed a full set of movements, he was already panting heavily and drenched in sweat.

One had to know that his body was not weak.

The nourishment of the Essence-Nourishing Pill and Blood-Qi Pill had long brought his physical strength to its peak. He was confident that even carrying a load of over a hundred jin, he could still walk as swiftly as if on wings.

"It seems the Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist is more profound than I imagined."

As Chen Shaojun thought this, his eyes gleamed brighter and brighter.

He had long been yearning to practice martial arts. Now that the 'true method' was in his hands and he was about to use it to embark on the path of strengthening himself through martial arts, he naturally cherished it all the more and would not shrink back because of temporary hardship.

He quickly began again and continued practicing the fist technique.

Once, twice, three times...

Though the beginning was difficult.

His movements warped, his breathing rhythm became chaotic, and his strength was constantly draining away...

He persisted all the same.

At the very least, he could feel himself improving.

Moreover, he discovered that when he practiced the fist technique in conjunction with the Evergreen Breathing Method, the effect was exceptional.

Not only did his stamina recover much faster, but the two seemed to complement one another, making his movements smoother as he performed them.

Practice after practice, correction after correction.

Finally, at a certain moment, Chen Shaojun smoothly and completely performed the entire Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist.

.