Collecting Martial Arts Manuals

Two more days passed in this uneventful fashion.

Every morning, Lin Qing entered the martial hall on time and practiced the Bedrock Stance Art alongside the other disciples, from sunrise until the sun stood high in the sky. Two hours every day, without fail.

Every afternoon, he shut himself away at home and diligently cultivated the Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art. Two hours in the afternoon and one hour at night, for 24 progress points each day.

Then, on the evening of the third day, Lin Qing circulated the Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art as usual. As he slowly exhaled his final breath, the Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art reached completion.

Before he could sense the subtle changes in his body, Lin Qing opened the panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (Time to breakthrough: 75 years)

Fused arts: Clear-Mind Life-Nourishing Art, Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art (Expand)

Recorded arts: Meridian-Relaxing Heart-Calming Art (0/75), Spleen-Strengthening Life-Nourishing Art (0/75), Bedrock Stance Art (21/910)

Like the Clear-Mind Life-Nourishing Art, the Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art merged into his bodily instincts and began circulating automatically.

Just as expected, the proficiency requirements of the other recorded arts had decreased, including the Bedrock Stance Art.

The changes in the Bedrock Stance Art's data confirmed Lin Qing's guess. Once an art reached completion, merged into his bodily instincts, and began circulating automatically, his aptitude improved! The future was boundlessly bright.

Moreover, the breakthrough time beside his realm was no longer ∞. One had to know that this time counted only the automatic circulation of those two arts.

In other words, from now on, even if he never actively cultivated another art, he would become a Certified Martial Artist in seventy-five years.

Clearly, the fusion of the two life-nourishing arts had broken through the theoretical limits of ordinary life-nourishing arts.

Lin Qing felt exhilarated. After days of arduous cultivation, he had finally made breakthrough progress, so he decided to reward himself.

He changed into a clean set of casual clothes and headed straight for the roadside restaurant where he had eaten before. There were fewer people than there had been at noon that day, so he found an empty seat and sat down.

He ordered a plate of steamed dried vegetables, a plate of mapo tofu, and two taels of cloudy wine, then poured and drank by himself.

The wine slid down his throat, mellow rather than harsh, carrying the fresh fragrance of grass and wood. Lin Qing narrowed his eyes slightly as the muscles, tendons, and bones throughout his body gradually relaxed.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, the conversation of several men at the next table drifted into his ears.

"Have you heard? Lin Family Village at the foot of Azure Sun Mountain suffered a disaster a few days ago!"

Lin Qing's brows furrowed slightly. Lin Family Village at the foot of Azure Sun Mountain—wasn't that his hometown? He put down his chopsticks and listened carefully.

"What happened? Don't tell me it was mountain bandits. With Lord Xiao around, what mountain bandits would dare cause trouble near Azure Sun County?"

"Not mountain bandits—a ferocious beast! A ferocious beast came out from deep within Azure Sun Mountain. I heard more than a dozen people were killed or injured."

"A ferocious beast? The ferocious beasts of Azure Sun Mountain haven't come out in more than ten years, have they? Something must have happened in the mountains. Maybe some opportunity has appeared."

Everyone at the table perked up at those words, only for their spirits to droop again moments later.

"Forget it. Even if there is an opportunity, it's not something we can get involved in. You might not even come away unscathed if you ran into a particularly fierce ordinary wild beast, yet you want to snatch an opportunity from a ferocious beast's jaws?"

"Who knows! According to martial artists who returned from there, that beast was over three meters tall, looked like a black bear, and was absurdly fast."

The others grew tense upon hearing that.

"Then what do we do? Azure Sun Mountain is the most important source of supplies in our county. Which medical clinic or apothecary doesn't have medicinal herbs from Azure Sun Mountain? Even the qi-and-blood-rich meat needed by martial artists has to be brought in from the mountains."

"You don't need to worry too much. I heard Lord Xiao has already personally led people there to investigate. It's just that no news has come back yet."

"Who knows how long Lord Xiao will need to hunt that beast down? Either way, the price of medicinal herbs in the county will probably go up over the next few days."

The men spoke over one another, their tale growing more and more outlandish.

Holding his wine cup, Lin Qing gazed into the distance. The setting sun was slowly sinking behind the outline of the Azure Sun Mountains, while a faint veil of mist seemed to drift through the forests, carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression.

But none of that had anything to do with him for now. When the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. At present, he was still just a tiny nobody.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Qing returned directly to his small courtyard. He arranged no more cultivation that night, gave himself a break, and went to bed early.

Over the following afternoons, Lin Qing no longer stayed cooped up at home. He began visiting every bookstore and bookshop in the county seat. Whether it was a small roadside bookstall or a fairly large book emporium in town, he left his mark there.

He focused entirely on searching for all kinds of martial arts manuals. Unfortunately, ordinary bookstores sold only life-nourishing arts. He carefully leafed through each one, committing them to memory and recording them all on the panel.

Still, his habit of browsing without buying inevitably drew many shopkeepers' sidelong looks. Occasionally, clerks even came over to drive him away, but Lin Qing did not become embarrassed or angry.

Whenever that happened, he would buy one of the cheapest basic martial arts manuals, such as Basic Fist Art or basic footwork.

First, it silenced other people's idle gossip. Second, although these basic martial arts were entry-level skills, they were also the foundation for wielding a martial artist's strength. The more he learned and remembered, the more benefit he would gain, with no harm at all.

After several days, he had visited every bookstore in the county seat and recorded every life-nourishing art he could find. He also had several basic martial arts booklets in hand—not only fist arts and footwork, but saber arts, spear arts, palm arts, and more.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (Time to breakthrough: 75 years)

Fused arts: Clear-Mind Life-Nourishing Art, Harmonious Essence-Nourishing Art (Expand)

Recorded arts: Meridian-Relaxing Heart-Calming Art (32/75), Spleen-Strengthening Life-Nourishing Art (0/75), Bedrock Stance Art (61/910), Essence-Stabilizing Foundation-Firming Art (0/75)...