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nChapter 103: Chapter 103 Leisure Time

nThe Middle Ancient Stele without words?

nZhou Heng’s gaze sharpened upon hearing this. Could this be the reason Honghua Palace and Plague Emperor Sect were instigating Shocking Thunder Manor disciples to join the martial arts competition?

n-The so-called Middle Ancient Era referred to a period starting ten thousand years ago.

nIt is said to have been an unprecedentedly prosperous era, with nine individuals of Divine First Rank, known as the Nine Saints.

nHowever, that dazzling era came to an abrupt end without any apparent reason. Many powerhouses vanished and numerous heritages were lost.

nOnly a handful of Sects have maintained their legacy to this day.

nPure Yang Sect was one of them.

n“Is this Stele without words really so miraculous that anyone can comprehend martial arts from it?” Zhou Heng inquired.

nNot quite so,” Bai, the shopkeeper, replied with a smile, shaking his head. “Actually, it’s quite the opposite; only a few are able to perceive martial arts from the stele.

n“Perhaps that’s also why the Wang Family is willing to offer the opportunity to comprehend the Stele as a prize for the competition. They let outsiders perceive from it and then keep the comprehended martial arts,” he added.

n“However, there are restrictions on the martial arts comprehended from the Stele,” Bai explained further. “Firstly, one must leave a copy of the martial arts they’ve perceived with the Wang Family and the original perceiver must not teach it to others on their own. If they wish to teach someone, they must notify the Wang Family in writing and obtain permission first.”

n“Then isn’t that essentially a martial art of the Wang Family?” Zhou Heng said, surprised. Although the martial arts are perceived from the Wang Family’s Stele, not even having the right to teach it seemed too overbearing.

n“That’s just how it is,” Bai, the shopkeeper, sighed softly. “For many martial artists, if they can’t join a Sect, learning higher-level martial arts means selling their services to a martial academy or navigating the corridors of power.

n“Both paths come with all sorts of rules and restrictions, and the latter even has its high demands. If one desires freedom and spontaneity, then they must hope for extraordinary encounters in the Jianghu. Compared to that, the martial arts learned from the Stele feel much more tangible.

nEven though the Wang Family places various restrictions on these martial arts, people are still free overall, not bound by too many rules. Thus, naturally many martial artists flock to the Wang Family’s martial arts competition,” he ’ concluded.

nThat is understandable,” Zhou Heng nodded slightly. After all, most people in this world are ordinary, including martial artists. Those born into great families and able to join Sects are, after all, the minority.

n“Are you also interested in this martial arts competition?” Bai, the shopkeeper asked. ’

n“lam somewhat interested in that wordless stele,” Zhou Heng replied with a smile. If his earlier assumption was correct, getting close to that stele would likely lead to encounters with individuals from Plague Emperor Sect.

n“That Stele is indeed mysterious. It’s normal for you to be interested,” Bai the shopkeeper, said with a smile. “The top five finalists will all get the chance’to comprehend from the Stele. If you’re interested, you only need to make it into the top five, which should be no problem with your strength.”

nAs Zhou Heng had revealed his identity when showing his Pure Yang Palace waist tag, Bai, the shopkeeper, already knew he was “Bone Fracture Injury,” ranked ninety-ninth on the martial artists’ list.

nWith such strength, in normal circumstances, not to mention the top five he could have swept through the Wang Family’s martial arts competition without any trouble.

nHowever, this time it was said that there would be masters from the top fifty of the martial artists’ list attending, which is why Bai, the shopkeeper, didn’t make any guarantees and simply mentioned the top five.

n“When exactly will it take place?” Zhou Heng asked.

n“Half a month from now, on the third of July, is when the martial arts competition will be held,” Bai replied. “The past few times the competition lasted two days, with rewards being issued on the fifth of July, which also happens to be the Wang Family patriarch’s birthday celebration.”

nThere is still some time then. I’ll have to trouble you, Mr. Bai,” Zhou Heng said.

n“What are you saying? All of us servants sent out from Pure Yang Palace lead a comfortable life because of it. It’s only proper that we assist you,” Bai, the shopkeeper, responded with a smile.

nAfter settling down in Bai’s pharmacy,

nZhou Heng began a peaceful and tranquil cultivation life. Every day, he either sat in meditation to refine his Inner Qi, to improve his proficiency with the Innate Skill, or he practiced the Six-Path Plum Blossom Hand and the Solitary Nine Swords.

nThe noise created by training in the Purple Thunder Seven Strikes was too great, so he substituted palm for sword to practice the movements, which meant proficiency grew slowly.

nAs for the technique of fighting with both hands, this martial art was essentially closer to a skill. Once he grasped the crux, proficiency could increase quite rapidly.

nMartial Arts:

nEighth Rank Ambidextrous Combat: Advanced (1568

/3000)

nSeventh Rank Innate Skill: Intermediate (265

/2000)

nSeventh Rank Six-Path Plum Blossom Hand: Intermediate (157

/2000) Seventh Rank Solitary Nine Swords: Intermediate (1885

/2000) Absolute Fourth Rank Purple Thunder Seven Strikes: Fifth Level (412

/5000)

nBeing at Eighth Rank with several Seventh Rank martial arts and even low- level application of an Absolute Fourth Rank martial art, such an “array” would be extremely rare even among the topmost Martial Dao Sects of the present day.

nZhou Heng’s martial arts were far more powerful than those of disciples from ordinary Sects.

nThey weren’t even in the same league.

nWith his current strength, ordinary Seventh Ranks were unlikely to match him. Only those from great Sects and great families of Seventh Rank had the strength to exchange a few moves with him, but their chances of winning were still not great.

nOnly those of strong Seventh Rank with several secret techniques or those at the pinnacle of Seventh Rank who had glimpsed the mysteries of Middle Third Rank posed a real threat to Zhou Heng now.

nTime flew by quickly.

nIn the blink of an eye, Zhou Heng had already been staying with Bai, the shopkeeper, for ten days.

nIn these days, Shopkeeper Bai’s care for him could be described as meticulous, with clothing, food, accommodation, and transportation all prepared extremely well, nearly without any oversight.

nOne could see how attentive Shopkeeper Bai was.

nOver this period, Zhou Heng became familiar with some people in Shopkeeper Bai’s household.

nShopkeeper Bai had a wife, a daughter who was only eight years old, named Bai Yuejian, and an apprentice at the pharmacy, who was also his adopted son, a sixteen-year-old teenager named Bai Jingtian.

nEvery morning, the young girl Bai Yuejian would come with a pot of freshly brewed tea for Zhou Heng, while Bai Jingtian would clean Zhou Heng’s room, making sure it was spotless, ensuring Zhou Heng’s comfort and peace of mind. One day, after breakfast, Zhou Heng was practicing his stance in the pharmacy’s backyard.

nThe Innate Skill also included stance training, which not only strengthened inner qi but also nurtured the qi and blood throughout the body, allowing the body to be nourished by the inner qi.

nMoreover, while standing in stance, one would gaze into the distance, clear the mind, and be able to sense the natural rhythm of the world, nurturing the divine soul.

nAs Zhou Heng was in stance, a little girl in a white dress sat on a stone bench not far away, chin in hand, watching him intently.

nThis little girl, about seven or eight years old, was pretty as a picture, delicate and lovely, like a porcelain doll, and very adorable; she was none other than Shopkeeper Bai’s daughter, Bai Yuejian.

nAfter bringing tea to Zhou Heng every day, she would watch him practice his stance. Initially, she would try to mimic the stance, but later, she found it too tiring and gave up, simply sitting there to watch.

n– The most important aspect of the Innate Skill was the circulation of inner strength techniques; standing stance was just external aid for the flow of inner qi, at best it could be compared to Ninth Grade stance. Even if it was learned by others, it didn’t matter to Zhou Heng, and besides, the little girl Bai Yuejian didn’t seem like someone who could learn it.

nWhen Zhou Heng finished practicing, the little girl cheered and said, “Big brother, your eyes were so bright just now, like two lanterns, so impressive!” “That’s the divine light naturally bursting forth from a spirit full of vitality ” Zhou Heng smiled and patted her head, saying, “If you learn martial arts, you will eventually be able to do the same.”

n“Wuuwuu, learning martial arts is too hard,” Bai Yuejian shook her little head, messing up her hair, and said, “Daddy says it’s not good for a girl like me to learn martial arts, but I like watching big brother practice. You look particularly good when you train!”

nAt such a young age, she already had a preference for looks.

nIn the future, you shouldn’t judge people byjust their appearance,” Zhou Heng reminded her with a smile and then looked around in confusion, asking, “Eh, where’s your brother?”

nHe was referring to Shopkeeper Bai’s adopted son, Bai Jingtian.

nAlthough the teenager was an apprentice at the pharmacy, he was also an apprentice at a martial arts school and was incredibly diligent in practicing martial arts. Unfortunately, due to his limited talent, he found many martial concepts difficult to grasp, making his progress in martial arts very slow. Moreover, this young man was rather shy and not very adept at socializing. In fact, Bai Jing Tian had been intending to ask Zhou Heng for advice ever since Zhou Heng had moved in.

nAfter all, a seventeen-year-old who was highly placed in the martial artists’ rankings and at the Eighth Rank of the Martial Path, to him, these titles already made Zhou Heng a master among masters.

nHowever, due to his temperament, it wasn’t until five days ago that Bai Jingtian finally mustered up the courage to ask Zhou Heng some questions about martial arts.

nZhou Heng had a good impression of such hardworking and ordinary individuals and was happy to explain.

nMoreover, the martial arts Bai Jingtian asked for advice on were just basic Entry Rank Martial Arts, at most seeking guidance on the Wang Family’s Ninth Grade Swordsmanship. Advising on this level of martial arts for Zhou Heng now was almost like teaching addition and subtraction within ten.

nEvery sentence spoken by Zhou Heng would enlighten Bai Jingtian, yielding great benefit. The rapid progress in his martial arts was clearly visible and extremely swift.

nThus, almost every early morning, Bai Jingtian would come over to seek his advice. Today, not seeing Bai Jingtian felt somewhat strange to him.

n“Hmm, my brother, he’s fine, it’s probably just that he has more matters to attend to today, which is why he didn’ t come,” Bai Yuejian said in a soft voice, covering her small pale hands over her eyes.

nSeeing this, Zhou Heng laughed and said, “And why are you covering your own eyes?”

n“Daddy says the eyes are the windows to the soul, and when people lie, their eyes change,” Bai Yuejian replied with her eyes covered and head lowered. “If I cover my eyes, then you won’t be able to tell that I’m lying.”

n“Haha, are you intentionally trying to let me know you ‘re lying?” Zhou Heng smiled and then asked, “Speak up, what happened with Bai Jingtian?” “Teacher, let me explain it myself,” Bai Jingtian intervened at this moment, walking over with some bruising around his eyes, appearing as though he had been injured in a fight.

n“Ah, brother, I didn’t tell him about your injury!” Bai Yuejian immediately dashed off, running away and shouting as she went, “Big brother, I’m leaving my brother in your care!”

nAnd before long, she had disappeared from sight.

nBai Jingtian was a sixteen-year-old youth with a nondescript appearance, though his physique was sturdy from regular martial arts practice, and he was fairly tall—an energetic young man.

n“What happened?” Zhou Heng inquired, holding a fairly good impression of Bai Jingtian.

n“Please don’t worry, Teacher, it’s really nothing much…” Bai Jingtian hesitated slightly, then said, “It’s just that I lost a few moves while sparring with someone and got a bit injured.”

n“You didn’t want Yuejian to tell me because you intend to train hard and win back the victory?” Zhou Heng asked with a light chuckle.

n“Yes,” Bai Jingtian nodded and said, “The one who bested me joined the martial institute two months before me. I admit he is better than I am, but I will eventually defeat him.”

n“If it was only a sparring session among Sect mates, why would you end up injured like this?” Zhou Heng noticed he was holding something back and said, “You must have other conflicts.”

n“No, there’s none,” Bai Jingtian shook his head.

n“Tell the truth,” Zhou Heng said flatly, his tone full of authority.

n“Er… yes, it’s because my fellow disciple heard that a high-level master is staying at my place and also intends to participate in the Wang Family’s martial contest. His own family elder will participate in the contest too, and so some verbal disputes arose.

n“Of course, the high-level master is you, Teacher. But when my fellow disciple spoke of you, he used some disrespectful words, which I couldn’t stand to hear, so I argued with him, and then we ended up fighting. However, my skills were ‘ inferior, and I feel I have let you down, Teacher. I was ultimately defeated,” Bai Jingtian said, hanging his head. “I’m sorry, Teacher, for causing you trouble.” “What did he say about me?” Zhou Heng asked with a smile.

n“That, that… he said you’re just a country bumpkin who came to stay with poor relatives and knows a bit of trifling martial arts, only fit to instruct apprentices like me and not worthy of taking part in the martial contest,” Bai Jingtian said in a low voice.

nThat’s interesting; your fellow disciple’s brain might not be working so well ” Zhou Heng chuckled, then continued, “Tell me, how did you lose? Which moves did you lose to?”

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