Mastery of Calligraphy and Painting

"This had grown too big, and people higher up had taken notice.

That was why it stopped.

But now, it seemed they believed the storm had passed, so they had begun asking people for 'help' again."

Ayong said with a wooden expression.

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

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

"The authorities... don't 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 the farthest only made it to the city gate before being killed on the spot.

As for those dragged back, their endings were absolutely not—"

Ayong sighed.

Chen Shaojun felt uncomfortable hearing that, but he also understood that this was simply how the world worked. No one was allowed to argue against it.

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

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

If what Ayong said was true, then aside from the servants and apprentices, who in the pawnshop was truly innocent?

Shen Lang alone 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 life of licking blood off the edge of a blade in the gangs, even if his heart was not black to the bone, he was certainly a ruthless man.

Because without a hard enough heart, one simply could not survive long in a gang.

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

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

He cast the Divine Gaze Technique.

Before the Killing Intent within could even rush out, it turned into green smoke.

The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror appeared immediately afterward, and the brush was reflected within it.

Low-grade mortal item.

Reward: Mastery of Calligraphy and Painting.

As Chen Shaojun received the information, countless pieces of knowledge concerning calligraphy and painting flooded into his mind. Judging by the feeling, his skill should be comparable to that of an ordinary person who had practiced painstakingly for several decades.

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

Of course, he always remembered that this was a world where Dao Martial Arts flourished. Scholars, calligraphers, and great Confucian officials held status far inferior to that of their counterparts 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 Second Master Dai Ming had previously given him.

After opening it and flipping through a few pages, he found that it recorded the growth and insights of a formal appraiser named Zhou Chen. The greatest number of entries described the problems Zhou Chen encountered while cultivating the Divine Gaze Technique and the methods he used to resolve them.

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

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

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

After a night's dream, he awoke to discover that it had all been an illusion, and he remained dejected for quite some time.

"Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly?

Or a ghost haunting him?"

Chen Shaojun leaned toward the latter.

However, the ghost had not attacked Zhou Chen. It had even sent him out, which surprised Chen Shaojun somewhat.

There were very few cases in the notes. Chen Shaojun gave them a brief summary and found that the ones worth mentioning were all rather perilous and wondrous events. Three involved encounters with ghosts. Most had ended in fright but without danger, yet they had still broadened his horizons.

He considered Zhou Chen's methods of response and learned from what was worth adopting.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Chen Shaojun set down the notes, but his thoughts were no longer on them.

They had turned instead to the Tiger Demon Body-Tempering Fist he had received as a reward for appraising the treasure earlier.

Martial arts.

True martial arts.

Moreover, this martial art was precisely a Body Tempering fist technique used to lay a martial artist's foundation.

With this martial art, an ordinary person could embark upon the path of martial cultivation.

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

Over the past few days, he had not learned nothing about martial arts.

He knew that in the early stages of martial cultivation, the most fundamental thing was a method for training force.

Practice fists without training force, and all your effort will be wasted in the end.

Where did this force come from? It came through methods of training force.

Because only after cultivating force could a martial artist use it to temper the entire body.

In particular, the Body Tempering realm was divided into nine stages: first, Flesh Tempering; second, Skin Tempering; third, Sinew Tempering; fourth, Bone Tempering; fifth, Marrow Tempering; sixth, Blood Exchange; seventh, Five Organs Tempering; eighth, Six Bowels Tempering; and ninth, Inner Sight.

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

When ordinary people spoke of training martial arts into one's very bones, they meant martial force penetrating deep into every part of the body and tempering it to the utmost limit.

In fact, whether one had cultivated force was the standard by which one judged whether someone was truly a martial artist.

Only after cultivating force could one be considered a martial artist.

Without cultivating force, no matter how great one's strength, no matter if one could lift a cauldron or shatter stones with one's fists, one was merely a brute.

Then, 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.

After all, as long as he remained in the room and did not make too much noise, no one would enter.

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 immediately began going through the movements.

At first, he could maintain the correct, fluid motions. But before long, he felt his breathing become disordered, and even his movements began to distort.

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

Even though he had already comprehended every essential point of the fist technique through his memories, putting it into practice was an entirely different matter.

Distorted movements were only one part of it.

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

Before he could even finish a complete set of movements, he was already panting heavily and drenched in sweat.

It had to be said that his body was not weak.

The nourishment from the Essence-Nourishing Pill and Blood-Qi Pill had long brought his physical stamina to a peak. He was confident that even carrying a heavy object of more than a hundred jin, he could still walk as swiftly as if flying.

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

Though Chen Shaojun thought this, his eyes shone brighter and brighter.

He had long yearned to practice martial arts. Now that the 'true method' was in his hands and he was about to rely on it to embark upon the path of cultivating martial arts and strengthening his body, he naturally cherished it all the more. He would not shrink back because of temporary hardship.

He quickly began again and continued practicing the fist technique.

Once, twice, three times...

Though it was difficult at the beginning.

His movements distorted, his breathing rhythm fell into chaos, and his stamina continued to drain...

He persisted nonetheless.

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 results were excellent.

Not only did his stamina recover far faster, but the two seemed to complement each other, making his movements smoother as he performed them.

Practice after practice, correction after correction.

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

.