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In the Kingdom of dadao, at the Prince 齐王府 Manor.
The Prince 齐王府 Mansion is the oldest and most prestigious noble family in the Kingdom of dadao. The founding Prince Qi devoted his early years to the Martial Emperor in establishing the kingdom, conquering vast territories. With his wife and sons inheriting the royal position generation after generation, it was the most renowned noble lineage in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of dadao was established through martial might, and so was the Qi family. Their ancestor, the Duke of Qi, was unrivaled across the fifty-one states with his bare hands. He even transcended the limits of martial arts, achieving godly powers; this allowed him to receive the previous Emperor’s favor and to be granted the title of Prince Qi, the Duke of the Nation.
Naturally, the Prince 齐王府 Mansion placed great emphasis on martial arts. The juniors of the Qi family tirelessly practiced martial arts, often producing outstanding individuals who would serve as officials in the court or esteemed generals. This rendered the Qi family increasingly indomitable, with no one capable of shaking their stability.
The juniors of the Prince 齐王府 Mansion got up before dawn every day to practice martial arts until it was broad daylight; hence, when it was early morning, oil lamps were lit and the blazing fire illuminated the interior as if it were daytime.
On this particular day, several Qi family juniors completed their training and scattered. After a while, two young minions stepped forward to tidy up the disarranged equipment.
"Zichuan, I sneaked a peek at the young masters practicing martial arts earlier, and I even learned two moves!"
A burly man as sturdy as a tower executed two casual moves, causing the wind to whistle as his palms moved. His demonstration was powerful, showing some solid foundation. These were two of the Prince 齐王府 Mansion's signature techniques, which he spied on intentionally or unintentionally, learned, and was now showing off to his companion.
The "Zichuan" he mentioned was his companion, a handsome and clear-eyed youth standing next to him. This was a low-ranking servant in the Prince 齐王府 Mansion with the surname Jiang and the name Nan, also known as Zichuan. At fourteen or fifteen years old, he was handsome and elegant, and his demeanor was not that of a servant but resembled that of a rich family's young master instead.
"Zhuzi, are you courting death?"
Jiang Xi looked around warily and murmured, "As servants, we can only learn some low-level martial arts from the outer mansion. The techniques you just used are advanced skills from the mansion. Remembered how Liu Heida was caught secretly learning the mansion's high-level martial arts? He was killed by the mansion's top fighter and his body was exposed for three days!"
"Zichuan, you're too cautious. I'm only learning the moves, not the secret techniques."
Zhuzi gave his shoulder a hard pat, laughing, "The reason Liu Heida was put to death is because he stole one of the four divine skills of the mansion - the River Moon Breaking Waves Technique."
Seeing that he didn't take his advice seriously, Jiang Xi warned, "Better safe than sorry..."
"Zichuan, even though now I'm just a lowly servant, it doesn't mean I'll be a servant forever! If I can master a set of skills, I might get a chance to serve in the court in the future, being second only to one, but above thousands!"
Tie Zhu appeared confident and assertive, suddenly recalling something and said seriously: "Zi Chuan, I heard you bought a fox from the market? Foxes are tricky creatures. If you want to keep one, I would advise against it as a brother. Be wary of it draining your vital energy. The slums of Prince 齐王府 residence are a hotspot for attracting goblins. I’ve heard of foxes and wolves there that have refined themselves into goblins, preying on the vital energy of young boys in the slum. A scholarly-looking young man like you is just the type of prey they love...”
Jiang Xi responded with a dumbfounded expression, then laughed, "Where do all these goblins come from? I bought the fox because I saw its fur burned and crisp by a hunter who wanted to peel it and eat. I felt sorry for it and decided to buy it. When it gets better, I will release it."
"I heard my mother say that these goblins also enjoy eating the hearts and kidneys of young boys,” continued Tie Zhu. "There was a robust man like me who slept the night in the slum with a goblin, the next day, he found that both of his kidneys were eaten. Some had their heads gnawed off, their hearts and livers eaten from their bellies. I also heard that some female gorgon love to drain the yang from the yin, men found themselves depleted and sapped of vitality after sleeping with them in the slums…”
After a busy day, Jiang Xi returned to his dwelling in the slum that Tie Zhu mentioned.
There were different classes of servants and minions in the residence; the upper class lived inside the residence and were more favored and compensated, frequently receiving awards and gifts. Their food and clothing was taken care of, their treatment far better than a typical wealthy heir. The lower class lived outside the residence, doing the menial and demanding tasks, and earning tragically little. Suffering both physical and verbal abuse, some were even beaten to death.
Jiang Xi called out, and a fox with mottled fur lazily came out from the house.
He picked up the fox and headed toward the sunset mountain outside the city.
Displaced peoples in troubled times live less comfortably than dogs.
He was not a citizen of the dadao country, but a refugee who had fled from disaster. His homeland had suffered great hardships caused by the battle between two heavenly gods which affected mortals.
Millions of refugees fled hundreds of miles amidst fires and rivers, skeletons scattered across the fields, dying from starvation along the way. At night, ghostly fires rolled in bringing evil spirits, dogs, and wolves feasting on the bodies to increase their powers. They targeted the living among the refugees.
aaaa originally came from a well-off, scholarly family; in the wake of the disaster, the family scattered, and servants fled for their lives. He ended up in dadao country and, out of necessity, sold himself into slavery to Prince 齐王府 residence.
In the Sunset Mountain, Jiang Xi steadied his mind, breathed in deeply and gradually puffed out his chest as if there was a drum hidden inside. His heartbeat pulsed rhythmically like the sound of drumming, thumping in resonance.
Suddenly, echoes of snaps started emanating from his body. His tendons, underneath the skin, tightened like a loaded crossbow and with the slightest movement, would make a thumping sound as if releasing the tension.
Slap!
He smacked his palm into the air. Like a whip slashing through the air, it made clear and concise cracking sounds.
His move mirrored the martial art style of Prince 齐王府 residence learnt from Tie Zhu. Yet, it was much more skilled and confident than what Tie Zhu could muster.
"The young masters of the Prince Qi’s mansion are mostly fools. This incredibly simple martial art technique, the Mixed Yuan Stone Tablet Hand, took them more than a month to learn!"
Although he seemed delicate, his movements at this moment were bold and vigorous. His hands were like two axes, chopping and slashing, cutting left and right. In only a few breaths, he had executed a round of the Mixed Yuan Stone Tablet Hand, Prince Qi’s Mansion’s secret technique!
In the forest, the constant sound of wind resonated, and his Pugilist Wind Palm kicked up dead leaves and twigs. His moves were fierce, resembling a strong man swinging a giant hammer. He embodied the skill of a martial arts expert submerged in the field for over a decade!
Just like Tiezhu
Iron Pillar
, he discreetly learned the martial arts of the Prince Qi’s mansion. But unlike Tiezhu, who only scraped the surface, aaaa had grasped much more – he had realized the essence, even before the young masters of the Prince Qi’s Mansion. He had achieved complete understandings!
Nobody knew that aaaa, who had always been gentle and scholarly, hiding under a mellow and weak scholar's appearance, would have such domineering skills!
"Tiezhu does not want to be a servant all his life - nor do I! To rise above the rest in troubled times, one relies not on profound knowledge, but on martial strength!"
His movements suddenly slowed down, transforming into another martial arts skill of the Prince Qi’s mansion. His hands alternatively resembled embracing a bright moon, and then pulling a restless long river, which felt incredibly heavy. Amid the heaviness, there was also a bright moon rising from the river!
River emerges from deep valleys!
Bright moon hangs in the vast sky!
River accompanies the rising tide!
This is another martial art of the Prince Qi’s Mansion, one of the four unique secret techniques – the River Moon Breaking Wave Secret. It surpasses other martial arts and even ranks first or second among all the martial arts in dadao Country. It is the pinnacle of the martial art in the Prince 齐王府 mansion!
The River Moon Breaking Wave Secret consists of ten different postures. Each posture represents a level of martial arts mentality, corresponding to the top ten realms of martial arts. aaaa has only achieved three of them.
He practiced these three postures repeatedly. His inner vitality was like a rolling river with surging waves. The vitality gathered and formed a bright moon that rose from his abdominal chakra, as if a bright moon was emerging from the sea. Gradually, it ascended to his forehead, lighting it up.
The moon rises and falls, repeatedly.
This is a sensation, not actually a bright moon rising from the body’s chakra, but a vitality response triggered by the River Moon Breaking Wave Secret.
His Wave Breaking Technique was procured from Liu Heida.
A year ago, Liu Heida stole the heart method from Prince 齐王府 mansion, which happened to be the River Moon Wave Breaking Technique. Unfortunately, only three styles were taken. Liu Heida was illiterate. Although he got the heart method, he didn't know how to practice it, so he quietly went to aaaa with the method.
Liu Heida, clever as he was, disbanded sections of the heart method, asking about them one by one, benefiting from aaaa's explanations on the profound meaning behind each sentence. He made sure aaaa wouldn't discover this was a martial art technique. After aaaa's explanations, he then would connect these profound meanings, cultivating them into the Wave Breaking Technique.
Soon, aaaa noticed the trickery but, nonetheless, continued to answer Liu Heida's questions while secretly committing the Wave Breaking Technique to memory. With careful elaboration and deduction, he was finally able to restore the three styles of the technique.
When Liu Heida's practice of the Wave Breaking Technique was discovered by Prince 齐王府 mansion, Manager Qi Yong killed him. aaaa had initially been apprehensive, fearing any involvement, but when nothing further occurred, he breathed a sigh of relief.
After one year of diligent practice, aaaa's internal strength had notably improved. Even among many children of the nobility in Prince 齐王府 mansion, he could be ranked in the mid-tier!
In martial arts, there are ten levels: five for training the body and five for training the qi. The five realms of body training are divided into skin, flesh, sinew, bone, and membrane! "I have practiced River Moon Wave Breaking Technique, and I have already succeeded in refining my sinew. Every move I make, my tendons react like a powerful crossbow, making my physicality alone several times stronger than the naturally strong men like Zhu Zi."
He secretly thought to himself, "The three styles of River Moon that I got from Liu Heida can only allow me to cultivate to the third level of martial arts, the realm of sinew refinement. To progress further, I can only rely on my own deduction of the fourth-level heart method!"
In one year, aaaa had used the incomplete River Moon Wave Breaking Technique to cultivate through the three realms of skin, flesh, and sinew. His cultivation speed was not slower than those of Prince 齐王府 family, perhaps even faster!
"As for the five realms of qi refining, they are divided into refining qi, mixing Qi, internal Gang, external Gang, and Spiritual Wheel! Now I am at the peak of bone refining, six major realms away from the Spiritual Wheel. I estimate it will take many more years of hard work to achieve it."
There are many experts in Prince 齐王府 mansion, but not many can cultivate to the Spiritual Wheel. The five realms of body refining are not difficult, but the five realms of qi refining are.
aaaa closes his eyes and concentrates, his mind moving at high speed to decipher the mysteries of the River Moon Wave Breaking Technique. Suddenly, he executes the fourth style he envisioned, then he stands still, closing his eyes to continue perfecting it.
The white fox, with its uneven, mottled fur, dozes off under a tree, occasionally sneaking a peek at aaaa practicing his martial arts. Its once snow-white fur is tainted with a black hue due to the fire that has left parts of it bare and dull, its tail barren and frail. Despite its disheveled appearance, the fox's eyes are akin to the enchanting eyes of a woman.
As the night falls, aaaa discreetly returns to the slum outside Prince 齐王府 mansion, washing and eating. Late into the night, he succumbs to sleep.
The moon rises casting a hazy glow through the ramshackle window frames, illuminating the room and the bed.
The white fox emerges from a corner, its big eyes blinking at the sleeping aaaa. Suddenly, it takes a deep breath, siphoning a strong stream of yang energy from aaaa's breath into its body!
Under the moonlight, an eerie wind seems to blow around the room, inducing a wave of chills. The white fox's singed fur starts to shed slowly, replaced by new, snow-white fur growing at a visible pace. All this while, aaaa, deep in his sleep, remains oblivious of the subtle transformation taking place in the room.