What Martial Arts Really Are

Duan Rong was immersed in joy when he suddenly realized that Xiao Zongting's voice, which had been ringing beside his ears all along, had vanished some time ago. The surroundings were utterly still...

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately cried inwardly, Not good.

Then Duan Rong deliberately withdrew his Mental Strength. Once it dispersed, that thread of inner breath vanished into the depths of his qi channels like a fish swimming into the sea, scattering away...

Duan Rong abruptly opened his eyes, a heavy look of confusion in them.

Xiao Zongting immediately saw that Duan Rong had only held the stance for an instant, yet after merely a few breaths, his qi had become disordered.

And the deep bewilderment in Duan Rong's eyes made it clear that even he himself could not understand what had just happened.

Xiao Zongting let out a faint breath. It seemed Duan Rong's state just now had been that fleeting, ethereal state which those blessed with exceptional comprehension occasionally slipped into.

He himself had experienced it from time to time when he was young and training.

"Looks like this brat may well become the next me!"

Xiao Zongting had also come from humble beginnings. If not for his exceptional talent, how could he have risen all the way to become the Chief Escort of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency?

In his eyes, for a poor youth like Duan Rong to become someone like himself was already a kind of limit.

To climb any higher was beyond what human effort could achieve.

"Listen carefully!" Xiao Zongting barked at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong raised his head and looked at Xiao Zongting with rapt attention, secretly thinking, In life, it all comes down to acting. Looks like I cleared this hurdle.

I'll have to be more careful from now on. That stubborn old man Xiao Zongting won't be so easy to fool.

"Martial Arts are techniques for killing!" Xiao Zongting's voice suddenly turned icy.

"The forms and moves of Martial Arts are merely methods of combat. The Inner Power Cultivation Method is the true foundation!"

"Practice fists without cultivating inner power, and in the end it is all empty!"

"Martial Arts take Martial Skills as their methods of combat, Inner Power Cultivation Methods as their foundation, and Mental Strength as their core!"

Duan Rong's heart trembled. He repeated Xiao Zongting's final words in his mind. He could understand why the Inner Power Cultivation Method was the foundation, but he could not grasp the profound meaning of Mental Strength being the core.

Wasn't Mental Strength merely the means for cultivating inner breath?

"Martial Arts take Martial Skills as their methods of combat, Inner Power Cultivation Methods as their foundation, and Mental Strength as their core!"

Duan Rong turned the words over and over in his mind. The more he considered them, the more vast and profound the meaning behind them seemed.

Following the logic of the sentence, the things placed later were more important.

"So that means... Mental Strength is actually even more important than the Inner Power Cultivation Method?"

"Enough. I have said all that needs saying. How much you can absorb will depend on your own fortunes." Xiao Zongting suddenly stood with his hands behind his back and looked at the two of them. "I'll give you three days to study and ponder it yourselves. Three days from now, in this same courtyard, I will examine the results of your inner breath circulation!"

Kong Bin wore a face as bitter as a bitter gourd upon hearing this. To him, Xiao Zongting's long string of explanations was simply fantastical nonsense, like listening to a heavenly scripture.

But Duan Rong was not worried in the slightest. As far as he was concerned, he had already basically mastered the method of circulating inner breath.

Moreover, because he had devoured and digested the artifact spirit, he even possessed several years of cultivation experience. Even the intricate circulation pathways in the tiniest details were crystal clear to him.

All that remained was the slow grind of water wearing through stone. It was the same principle as practicing forms to temper the body—this time, he would be tempering his inner breath!

There was no rushing it, and rushing would do no good!

"Take the Secret Manual back and read it! But if it is lost or passed on to others, I'll break your legs!"

The Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber was not some profound martial art, and there were quite a few copies of this style circulating on the market, but most contained errors.

With Martial Arts, and especially Inner Power Cultivation Methods, a deviation of a hair could lead to an error of a thousand miles.

Though the copies in their hands were ragged and worn, Xiao Zongting had personally corrected them. Some difficult passages even included annotations and further explanations.

Their value could no longer be measured in money.

The more Duan Rong heard Xiao Zongting speak this way, the more delighted he became.

The stricter the rules, the more genuine the goods!

As long as he was being taught the real thing, signing that contract of sale had not been in vain!

Duan Rong and Kong Bin tucked away the Secret Manual and were just about to leave when Xiao Zongting called them back, saying he had nearly forgotten something.

As he spoke, he handed each of them a slip of paper.

Several lines of writing were written on the slips, with the seal of the escort agency's accounting office stamped at the bottom.

"You two, take these slips to the Inner Treasury and collect a new saber each. That saber will be your weapon from now on. For those who practice martial arts, where the saber is, courage is! While you're at it, collect this month's wages, as well as the medicinal herbs allotted to apprentices!"

After giving his instructions, Xiao Zongting waved them away. "Go."

Duan Rong and Kong Bin took the slips and headed outside.

As Duan Rong reached the door, he tilted his head slightly and saw the side room beside the study. Thin red gauze covered its carved windows.

Judging from the decorations, it should be Xiao Baijiao's bedchamber.

At the thought, Xiao Baijiao's dough-white, tender face flashed before Duan Rong's eyes.

Duan Rong suppressed the flutter in his heart and walked out of the courtyard.

Xiao Zongting kept his gaze fixed on Duan Rong's retreating back and muttered, "A fine seedling! I haven't seen such a fine seedling in so many years! If I can raise you properly, then my time as Chief Instructor will not have been in vain. Even if I die, I can leave the Young Shopkeeper a right-hand man!"

As Xiao Zongting spoke, murky tears seemed to glimmer in his aged eyes.

He had thought of the Old Shopkeeper.

When people grew old, they always found it easy to remember the past.

Things long gone, and people long gone...

Xiao Zongting intended to train Duan Rong into the next version of himself.

After Duan Rong and Kong Bin left Xiao Zongting's courtyard, they saw that it was lunchtime and headed toward the dining hall in the Middle Courtyard.

The Middle Courtyard was indeed the Middle Courtyard. The dining hall in the outer courtyard did not even have tables or chairs. The Menial Disciples could only carry their own bowls, find a spot, and squat down to eat.

The dining hall in the Middle Courtyard, however, had neatly arranged tables and chairs, all scrubbed spotless.

Duan Rong and Kong Bin collected their food and found a quiet corner with few people before sitting down.

Duan Rong saw that the vegetable soup, with beads of oil floating atop it, actually contained quite a few chunks of fatty meat.

In ancient times, when supplies were scarce, fatty meat was even more expensive than lean meat.

Just as the two were about to lift their chopsticks, Zhao Mu entered the dining hall with a group of people clearly dressed as escort guards, laughing, chatting, and shoving one another.

They sat down on the other side of the dining hall. Zhao Mu looked up and spotted Duan Rong and Kong Bin, but he only nodded at Duan Rong...

A simple, honest smile appeared on Duan Rong's dark face in reply.

Kong Bin's eyelid twitched. Zhao Mu had only nodded at Duan Rong, and his eyes had not even turned in Kong Bin's direction.

He admitted that Duan Rong's talent was better than his.

But it was hard for people to keep their jealousy in check.

After the two finished eating, they left the dining hall.

"Brother Rong, let's go to the Inner Treasury together and first collect what Old Xiao ordered for us." Kong Bin suggested with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"You go ahead. I have something to do. I'll go later." Duan Rong gave him an icy reply, then headed east of the dining hall.

Kong Bin froze slightly. Watching Duan Rong's departing back, his pupils contracted a fraction.

He had naturally taken Zhang Zheng's advice to befriend Duan Rong to heart, but Duan Rong seemed to have no interest in giving him the time of day.

Kong Bin ground his teeth. "Since we can't piss into the same pot, we'd better each walk our own road."

The so-called Inner Treasury was the storeroom of the Middle Courtyard, where weapons, medicinal herbs, escort wagons, escort banners, and such were stored.

The storeroom in the Front Courtyard was called the Outer Treasury, and it was generally where the menials collected miscellaneous supplies.

The reason Duan Rong had not gone with Kong Bin to the Inner Treasury was that he could no longer wait to practice circulating his inner breath.

He had tried the method of inner breath for many days without finding a way in.

Today, under Xiao Zongting's guidance, he had clearly gained insight into it, but he could not reveal that in front of Xiao Zongting.

He could only force himself to suppress it, and it was enough to drive him mad with impatience!

Duan Rong arrived at the Martial Arts Field east of the dining hall, found an empty corner, and immediately assumed the Hun Yuan Stance.

The circulation pathway for inner breath while holding the stance had long since been deeply imprinted in his mind. Now, as soon as his Mental Strength intervened, that thread of inner breath began to circulate through his meridians on its own...