“So it’s like this: if the spirit gets damaged when it exits the shell, it’s very different from being injured when practicing martial arts. If one has medicine and doctors, one can be restored in the case of a physical injury. However, the spirit is incorporeal when it’s harmed, it’s very hard to recover completely. Not to mention that one cannot advance in cultivation during the recovery stage, and one’s cultivation may even be decreased or even destroyed altogether due to the injury.”
After his spirit had recovered, Hong Yi finally understood some of the taboos of exiting the shell. Based on the knowledge Hong Yi recalled from organizing, reading, and taking notes on the ancient books in the valley on that day, he finally had a deeper and more in-depth understanding of cultivating the spirit.
The many ancient scriptures have many different methods and thought processes, but all of them are about training the spirit. They don’t have anything that addresses what happens after the spirit is injured. One needs to visualize the portrait of the buddha to recover.
It’s probably because of this that cultivators are so cautious and don’t dare to exit the shell and wander.
“They don’t dare to get there feet wet, and learn how to swim. How can standing on the shore analyzing methods to swim compare to completely immersing oneself in water? Staying on the shore is incomparable to attempting to enter the water, and trying in person. Fortunately, the Mituo Sutra has this level of efficacy. The Mituo Scripture is an elephant that can truly repress evil spirits and thoughts, and restore the injuries incurred on the spirit through the supreme buddha visualization. With this method, I only need to be a bit careful, and not be panic-stricken. No matter the type of injury, I can recover from them all. This way I can relax and confidently exit the shell and train my spirit.”
After grasping this philosophy, Hong Yi had a deeper understanding of the main and critical points of cultivation.
In the dead of night, Hong Yi once more exited the shell and floated out towards the east manor’s Yun Ting Zhai.
As expected, Hong Xuejiao was, as before, on-site training diligently her foot and fist.
Hai!
“Demonic Tiger Stretch! Demonic Tiger Climbing a Mountain! Demonic Tiger Descending a Mountain! Demonic Tiger Ridge! Demonic Tiger Roar! Demonic Tiger Headbutt! Demonic Tiger Hunting Sheep! Demonic Tiger Jumping Over a Stream!” (TL Note: Please don’t ask why…..It’s like this in the raws…..So yeah……)
Hong Xuejiao stamped out the footwork. As her foot and fist moved back and forth, her tongue pushed against her teeth, her abdomen filled with power. She trained in the eight techniques, increasing the might of her fist technique.
The Tiger Bone Training Fist had a total of 8 forms.
Each form had tens of different types of styles.
He only saw her completely focused. Every fist thrown had her whole body and even her bones trembling. She utilized Qi to strike out with kicks. Hong Yi, who was watching from the side, felt as if Hong Xuejiao’s bones were like knives being sharpened on whetstone, gradually becoming sharper and sharper.
Based on Hong Yi’s spirit’s senses, he was able to perceive that Hong Xuejiao’s punches and kicks were becoming sharper and sharper, possessing a type of deep piercing force.
Training the bones to be like steel! The fist’s piercing might is a well-known characteristic of Martial Warriors becoming Martial Masters.
Once a Martial Warriors has trained their muscle and skin to perfection, they can resist such punches performed by other Martial Warriors, but those same people can definitely not resist a fist thrown by a Martial Master. At this moment, Hong Xuejiao was slowly, step by step, attacking the boundary of Martial Master.
Hong Yi was able to clearly feel Hong Xuejiao’s internal aura getting stronger and stronger by the day even with his spirit’s senses. Sometimes if his spirit got too close, the aura would even cause his spirit to be struck by pain.
But, Hong Yi had the visualization method for restoring his spirit, and thus he was not the least bit afraid.
Hong Yi watched for a couple nights in succession, and he used every opportunity he could to analyze the book.
Because Hong Xuejiao sometimes needed to stop and turn the pages to understand the meanings behind the words, the chances to read was also very long. Contrary to what one may expect, Hong Yi was able to easily sneakily read all of the contents in the book.
Hong Yi noticed that, in addition to practicing the “Demonic Tiger Fist,” Hong Xuejiao also practiced another set of fist techniques called “Star Plucking Fist.”
This fist technique wasn’t for training the muscle or skin, or for training the bone.
It was only used for fighting, specifically for when one wanted to destroy an enemy. There were a total of twelve forms.
Hong Yi also memorized this technique.
As Hong Xuejiao was training, Hong Yi’s spirit was also training. This wasn’t because he wanted to train his spirit in martial arts, but rather because it was more convenient for trying to memorize the techniques.
With a set of fist techniques to compare, on top of Hong Xuejiao’s postures, and on top of that, Hong Yi having the Demonic Bull Strengthening Fist Technique as a foundation, Hong Yi’s understanding of the Demonic Tiger Bone Fist Technique was surprisingly more profound than Hong Xuejiao’s.
Sometimes, when Hong Xuejiao performed a part incorrectly based on the book, Hong Yi was surprisingly able to spot it.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hou! Hou! Hou!
The windows were closed securely, the door was also closed tightly shut. It was gloomy and pitch black. Hong Yi was training in a square space four or five steps in length at one of the back corners of his bed.
The space may have been small and narrow, but to Hong Yi, it was sufficient. The area was small, and the space was completely sealed on all sides. Contrary to what one might have expected, the area had a vigorous aura that wasn’t dissipating–the aura just kept being constrained within the circular area.
Exercising the primary muscles in the body, Hong Yi started to feel his body start to gradually become more and more powerful.
His exhale was explosive. Once two fists pressed down on his abdomen, Hong Yi’s fist Qi exited his body, his waist was stretched out as far as it could go, and his neck was perfectly straight. Soon after, a Demonic Bull Technique Fist, followed by another, was unleashed, causing him to vomit out a “hou” sound like a water buffalo.
The two fists, thrown perfectly, landed on a board about two pointer finger widths thick, causing a “kacha” sound as the board was split into two slabs. This solid piece of wood was something Hong Yi had found to test his strength with.
“I can finally be considered to be strong enough to truss a chicken.”
After Hong Yi’s fists broke the wooden board, he looked at his two hands, and then closed his eyes as he felt delight from the bottom of his heart.
Using this feeling, he started to sense his four limbs, waist, abdomen, chest, back, his two buttocks, and performed twice the Demonic Bull Strengthening Fist Technique for training the flesh as he willed. He noticed that every movement made during the punches all seemingly were able to link up all the major muscle areas of his body!
Each fist thrown could utilize and link up all of the major muscles of the body.
“After training for a little while more, all the muscles in his body will become fully rugged. As his spirit expands, training the mind (TL note: training the mind refers to training the spirit) seems to increase the control over the physical body by a lot.
Hong Yi sensed the changes happening to him, and he perceived that training the spirit also gave great benefits to martial training.
No wonder one needed to dual cultivate: the flesh body is the boat, and the spirit is the person steering it. If the boat was sturdy, the person will be safe, and at the same time, if the person was stable, he could control the boat better. Both sides complemented each other.
Wu Wu Wu, Wu Wu Wu.
A few sounds were released as the brazier below the corner of the bed roasted a stove. Soon after the smell of wine permeated the room.
“Suhexiang Wine has been fully cooked. Although it can’t compare to a tenth of Ziyue’s Qiongjiang Wine’s effect, if it is used to nourish the body, the effect is still very good.”
Hong Yi took out a small bowl and poured the finished cooked wine into the bowl. After taking a few sips, he carefully moistened himself, removed his clothes, and wiped himself off.
This type of wine is called Suhexiang Wine. Before Bai Ziyue left, he had given Hong Yi the methods to cooking it. It could strengthen one’s body and nurse the internal organs. It was a medicine that helped martial cultivators in establishing a foundation.
So although the Suhexiang Wine would forever be incomparable to the Qiongjiang Wine, the Suhexiang Wine was so much easier to make than the Qiongjiang Wine, and thus, in terms of winemaking, the Qiongjiang Wine would never be able to stack up to the easiness of the Suhexiang Wine. The Suhexiang Wine, in fact, was made by just using ordinary wine as a base and adding on a few extra herbs.
Bai Ziyue was nicknamed wine god; his understanding of making nourishing wine was very profound and deep.
After wiping off his body, he felt his entire body become very warm and comfortable. Hong Yi then dressed back up, grabbed his wallet, left his house, and walked toward the east side of the Jade Capital’s main streets to tour the “Guanshi Hao”(TL Note: Guanshi Hao means Piercing Louse Establishment) shop.
“Guanshi Hao” was the Jade Capital City’s largest manufacturer.
The Da Qian Dynasty’s law forbade crossbows, but not bows. Thus, contrary to what one may expect, bows could be bought.
As a matter of fact, with Hong Yi’s status, he could even walk around with a sword anywhere in the country.
Hong Yi wanted to buy a bow to test his strength. This was because the army’s Martial Hall’s first test was on the art of shooting. Horseback riding and archery were fundamental parts of the military.
“If I could pull open a 60 catty silk bowstring bow and shoot it in rapid succession, then I would have already reached the Martial Student realm. If I can’t, then I must further train myself. Buying a bow is also an option to help in training. As for those 80 to 220 catty ox tendon bows, I don’t want them for now.”
fter passing four roads filled with traffic and walking 5000 steps, Hong Yi arrived at the Jade Capital’s bow and arrow shop, “Guanshi Hao.” A three-floor pavilion with a large, gold-painted signboard appeared in front of him.
“This is the Guanshi Hao store.” Hong Yi lifted up his head and looked at the gold-plated sign: the words had a deep and profound power to them, and the handwriting felt vigorous, causing one to feel that “this store was no small matter, and that one should not casually enter to look around.”
“Guanshi Hao”–this name was also very ingenious. It conveyed the sense that the bows and arrow production here had reached its very pinnacle.
In times of old, there was once a master archer, who hung a louse 100 steps away, and sent out an arrow that pierced through the louse. This level of ability has been recorded amongst many ancient records, and over time, the people came to consider “Guanshi” as the ultimate pinnacle of archery.
“Guanshi” has reached a level that even exceeds being able to shoot an arrow accurately a hundred steps away.
The people entering and exiting the store were all bustling with activity, but most of them were scholars wearing green garments and supervisors from the imperial academy wearing square shaped hats that had two ribbons dangling from them. Furthermore, there were also courageous and strong Martial Warriors who were wearing clothes from foreign countries there as well.
The Great Qian Dynasty’s power could shake the four oceans. Their weapon manufacturing methods were among the best. In addition the Jade Capital is the Great Qian’s trade center. Among the shops here, any and all sorts of weird and bizarre objects could be found. This was because even those from the Western Huoluo country, Eastern Yunmeng, Western Yuantu, Southern Shenfeng, or Liuzhudeng countries all liked to come here from great distances to procure things.
After a few more days, it will be New Year’s. The large stores in the Jade Capital would be bustling with excitement.
“These scholars and supervisors come here to buy bows, only to hang them in their studies. Trying to express themselves as rounded in all Confucius Six Arts, when in actuality, the number of scholars who actually have attained all six arts is very low.”
Hong Yi walked into the store and saw many scholars and supervisors that were thinking of buying bows. Among the Confucius Six Arts of Etiquette, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy and Mathematics, the arts of Charioteering and Archery were the two arts specialized in archery on horseback. Charioteering was horseback riding.
The early stages of the Great Qian Dynasty emphasized the importance of martial arts. But after a period of a Golden Age, when strict restrictions were put up, styles of literature was made to be more important than styles of martial arts. In fact, 20 years ago, the imperial court cancelled the archery on horseback part of the imperial examination. The simple literature battles determined what is good and bad, the spears and swords were sent to storage, and the horses were released on the fields of the Southern Mountain to inhabit the place. Right now, there were very few scholars that were masters of both the sword and the pen.
Hong Yi practiced many world-class punching and kicking techniques. He also let his soul roam from his body everyday to only watch Hong Xuejiao practice punching techniques. He also read the Martial Scripture until he was familiar with it. He analyzed and made discerning judgements in his thoughts based on what he observed with his vision. He found that half of these scholars and supervisors that were coming to buy bows didn’t have the body that shows practice in martial arts. The flesh on their bodies was loose and didn’t have indicators of power and sturdiness that appear after one exercises their body.
“En? So I can tell if a person doesn’t have a body that practices martial arts? My vision has become superior.”
Hong Yi suddenly inspected his own changes.
He had improved.
This thought made him very happy.
Huge varieties of all sorts of bows filled the walls for people to choose from. Hong Yi walked inside and looked over the small and long bows.
“Sir, what kind of bow do you want? We have cow tendon, silk, and snakeskin. Furthermore, we even have bamboo, mulberry, chestnut, and other fine quality woods. Seeing the light-colored garment signifying you’re a scholar, you must buy this bow with a painted picture of a golden magpie and hang it in your study. It’ll be both elegant and interesting, giving off the feeling of an heroic character…….”
Seeing Hong Yi looking everywhere, a clean and nimble shop assistant promptly approached to welcome him.
“Take out a 60 jin strength bow made from chestnut wood, and cowhorn silk for me.” Hong Yi looked at the shop assistant introducing the that bow with the golden magpie. The bow was painted brightly gold and was very bright, and at the center there was a vermillion magpie. It was definitely something that only had looks and was useless for practical use. The bow gave people the feeling that it was something to decorate a study.
“Alright.”
The shopkeeper’s assistant hurriedly brought a bow over. The bow’s limbs were long, and the string seemed powerful.
Hong Yi took the bow, reached out his hand and caressed it. For a moment, he couldn’t contain his excitement. Just this bow would cost seven or eight taels of silver. Staying in the manor, Hong Yi only got 4 taels of silver a month. Every month he needed to get ink, paper, food, clothes, firewood, charcoal, lamp light, etc. Saving enough money to to buy this bow would have been impossible.
“Fortunately, I received 100 taels of silver from the manor recently, and obtained 10 pink royal gold coins. It should be more than enough to buy some good things. But unfortunately, it’s not enough to buy a horse. However, it should be enough to get a bow to help me train. How about allowing me to test out this bow?”
Hong Yi grabbed the bow, while he internally focused on the “Xieyi Technique” of the six arts: Have a clear mind, free from all distracting thoughts.
Have faith–one must first believe it’ll hit, and reality will become inside and out. Keep in mind: move only when at ease, and eliminate all noise. The main idea is this: be calm and composed. Even when one is on the battlefield, one’s appearance shouldn’t change color. (TL note: appearance/face changing color means to get angry, embarrassed, or pissed)
After muttering these mental teachings, Hong Yi’s body emitted a calm and leisurely aura-like feeling.
At the same time, he stepped forward the length of one big toe, his two knees separated, his butt scrunched up, his waist pressed backwards, his chest pushed forwards, his belly button pointed towards the ground, and his mind was blank.
Mental teachings are a Sheyi scholarly principle.
His movements were one of the Demonic Cow Strengthening punches archery techniques.
Bang! Hong Yi pulled on the loose string and the entire bow became the shape of a full moon, issuing a crisp, powerful, and solid sound.
“Good bow, just the sound shows that. I’ll just choose this one.” Hong Yi breathed a few times, adjusted his breath, then said the words. He was completely secretly astonished inside.
When he had pulled open the bow a few moments ago, he had felt all the tendons in his body being strained, almost like a bow string, they were stretched tightly. Once the bowstring was released, his entire body seemed to tremble like a bow string.
After testing out the bow, his entire body felt as if his muscles had been ferociously ripped.
“It’s no wonder opening a bow is the first step in training and the sage of ancient times made it one of the six arts. There are many different ways to train in the martial arts: there’s carrying bricks, binding together lead blocks, waist and abdomen pushing, rolling boulders, playing with stone locks, and lifting clubs. But none of these can compare with opening a bow. I only just opened the bow for a bit–I didn’t even get a chance to aim–and my entire body already feels injured. There is no need to even mention firing the bow in rapid succession and having each and every arrow hit the target.
After having pulled the bow, Hong Yi finally understood why archery and horseback riding were the very foundation of martial arts, and the most important part. The army’s test, also included this.
“Young master has very good eyesight. Our Guanshi Hao’s bows are the best under heaven. The very wood used is the best. The total is seven taels of silver.” Hearing Hong Yi’s desire to buy the bow, the shopkeeper’s assistant promptly smiled.
Hong Yi took out seven taels of silver and prepared to go home to train. At that time, the shopkeeper’s assistant smiled once more, and repeatedly bowed: “Seeing young master’s bow pulling technique, I can tell that you are a person versed in both the pen and the sword. Would young master like to take home a sword?”
“Buying a sword? Where is the sword?”
“Young master, please come up to the second floor.” The shopkeeper’s assistant passionately guided the way.
The Great Qian Dynasty’s weapon laws: Ban crossbows, but not bows. Ban knives, but not swords. However people of ordinary households, can only buy swords and leave them in their homes. They cannot walk around with them as they wish, otherwise they will be arrested. Only refined talents can walk around with swords. As for knives and spears, they aren’t even permitted to be bought and sold, there is no need to even mention walking around with them.
Walking up to the second floor of the “Guanshi Hao” store, the number of people there decreased significantly. This is because the cost of a good sword was far higher than that of a bow.
The swords on the second floor were all placed on top of the shelves. They were all very bright, radiant, and spotless. The swords were strictly sharpened, and just seeing it could allow one to identify that the swords were made out of first-class metals.
“Young master, these are our Guanshi Hao’s best swords. If you still aren’t satisfied, then wait a few days. Even if you are looking for weapons made from Heavenly Stairwell Pattern Steel, and Chrysanthemum Pattern Steel, we can still help you handle it. So long as you prepay for it. But if you want a Blood Pattern Steel sword, I have heard that they don’t exist.”
Once Hong Yi entered the floor, he heard a voice.
He only saw a young person wearing the Imperial Academy’s garb, shaking a fan. Behind him were two people radiating a valiant and biting cold aura following him. A single glance was enough to tell that they were expert level bodyguards.
“Blood Pattern Steel is something priests refine in stoves, the inside of the steel is filled with veins of blood, almost like a human. It is a immortal tool, a flying sword, for cultivators who are in the matter manipulating realm to use. The Great Qian Dynasty’s Jade Capital has everything, and Daoist temples were in great numbers. So how can it be possible that you don’t have this type of thing?”
As this young person was in the middle of rocking his fan and muttering to himself, filled with regret, Hong Yi heard a voice. The voice wasn’t suited for a man, Hong Yi sneaked a glance over and noticed that the person didn’t have a prominent larynx. Unexpectedly, it was a woman dressed like a man, pretending to be a fake young master. (TL Note: Not exactly what raw is saying but this is for the sake of making sense)
Hong Yi was startled.
The Imperial academy was the imperial household academy; there couldn’t possibly be a female in there.
“Eh? It couldn’t be possible, unless she is a princess from the surrounding countries who came here to study abroad. She wants to buy Blood Patterned Steel?”
Hong Yi was careful and good at observing. With merely one glance, he managed to discern fifty to sixty percent of the situation.