Jianwu Kingdom, Qi King's Estate.
The Qi King's Estate was the oldest family in the Jianwu Kingdom. The founding meritorious minister, King Qi, had previously served as Emperor Wu's attendant, and together with Emperor Wu, established a great dynasty, expanding the empire over vast lands. Consequently, his wife and children enjoyed immense privileges, making them arguably the most illustrious nobles among the royal descendants of the Jianwu Kingdom.
The Jianwu Kingdom was founded on martial prowess, and the Qi family established its legacy through martial arts. The ancestor, Duke Qi, single-handedly fought across all 51 prefectures without rival. He even surpassed the limits of martial arts, cultivating the Divine Wheel and mastering divine abilities. It was for this reason that the previous emperor held him in high esteem, appointing him King Qi and granting him the title of Duke.
Naturally, the Qi King's Estate prioritized martial arts above all else. The disciples of the Qi family practiced diligently, and outstanding ones often entered the imperial court as officials, rising to the rank of grand general. It was for this reason that the Qi family increasingly resembled a towering ancient tree that no one could shake.
Every day, the disciples of the Qi King's Estate rose early to practice martial arts from the fifth watch until the sun was high in the sky. Therefore, at this time each day, large oil lamps were lit, their flames illuminating the estate as brightly as day.
Today, many Qi family disciples had finished their practice and began to disperse. After a while, two junior servants appeared to neatly arrange the scattered weapons.
"Zichuan, just now... when those young masters were practicing, I secretly watched a bit, and I even learned two moves!"
A strong, robust fellow was demonstrating moves with both hands, his palms vibrating as they moved, creating a whooshing sound. The techniques he executed were powerful, and his foundation was quite good. These were indeed two secret techniques of the Qi King's Estate that he had deliberately spied on and learned, now showing off in front of his friend.
The one he called "Zichuan" was Jiang Nan, courtesy name Zichuan, a youth with blue eyes and beautiful eyebrows. He wore the blue servant's attire of the estate and was about fourteen or fifteen years old. His figure was refined and elegant, and his demeanor was not like a servant's, but rather like a young master from a wealthy family.
"Zhuzi, are you tired of living long?!"
Jiang Nan cautiously looked around and whispered, "We are just servants. At most, we can only learn some low-level martial arts from outside the estate. The move you just used is a high-level martial art of the estate! Last time, Liu Heida was discovered secretly learning high-level martial arts and was beaten to death on the spot by an estate master, his body left to rot in the open for three days!"
"Zichuan, you're being too cautious. Strictly speaking, I've only learned the moves; I haven't even touched the mental cultivation methods."
Tie Zhu patted Jiang Nan's shoulder repeatedly, laughing as he said, "The reason Liu Heida was beaten to death last time was because he dared to steal the Jiangyue Breaking Waves Art, one of the Four Great Divine Arts of the estate!"
Seeing that he didn't take it to heart, Jiang Nan advised, "You'll get caught one day..."
"Zichuan, although I am currently just a servant doing odd jobs in the estate, that doesn't mean I'll be a servant my entire life! If I can cultivate a formidable set of skills, in the future, I can also enter the imperial court as a general, second only to one person and above ten thousand!"
Tie Zhu, who had been full of high spirits, suddenly grew serious as a thought struck him, and he said, “Zichuan, I heard you bought a fox at the food market, didn’t you? These foxes are very wicked. As your elder brother, I advise you to immediately abandon the idea of raising it. What if, by some misfortune, it sucks all the *yang* energy from your entire body? That would be terrible. I heard that the poor district in the Prince Qi’s Manor is a place with many demons. There are foxes and wild wolves that have cultivated into spirits, often roaming inside to drain the *yang* energy from young, strong men. Handsome bookworms like you are absolutely their favorite targets…”
Jiang Nan found it amusing and said, “How could there be so many demons? I only saw that fox with its fur burnt off, and some hunters wanted to skin it and eat it fresh. It looked so pitiful then that I suddenly felt soft-hearted and bought it. Once it recovers, I’ll let it go wherever it pleases.”
Tie Zhu immediately said, “I heard my mother say that these demon spirits also love to eat the guts, liver, and kidneys of young men. Some strong fellows like me from the poor district, after spending a night with a female demon, woke up the next day to find both their kidneys eaten clean. Some even had their heads eaten, or all their internal organs devoured…”
Tie Zhu acted as if he didn’t see Jiang Nan’s wide-eyed stare and continued to ramble, “I heard that female demons also like to drain *yang* to nourish *yin*. No matter how strong a young man is, if he sleeps with these hussies, he’ll have all his *yang* energy sucked out by the next day, turning him into a dried-up corpse…”
…
After a busy day, Jiang Nan returned to his room, which was in the very poor district Tie Zhu had spoken of. Servants and retainers in the manor were also divided into various classes. High-ranking servants lived inside the princely manor, enjoying the highest privileges, high wages, frequent rewards, and never having to worry about food or clothing. Their treatment was even better than that of young masters from ordinary wealthy families. Lower-class servants lived outside, like domestic helpers, specializing in odd jobs, heavy and dirty work. They often went without meals, and were frequently beaten and humiliated; being beaten to death was a common occurrence.
Jiang Nan called out softly and saw a fox with patchy fur lazily emerge from the room. The young man picked up the fox and headed towards the area outside Luòhé Mountain.
Refugees in these troubled times were worse off than dogs!
He was not a native of Jianwu Kingdom but a refugee. His homeland had suffered a great catastrophe; thousands of miles of land had been ravaged by water and fire for days. It was said that two celestial gods had waged a great war, bringing disaster upon mortals.
He had used every possible means to flee as a refugee for thousands of miles. Along the way, starving people lay dead everywhere, skeletons piled up in the fields, and will-o'-the-wisps flickered across the desolate plains. Furthermore, wild dogs and wolves that had cultivated into spirits by feeding on human corpses constantly brought rolling black smoke as they infiltrated the fleeing refugees, seeking people to devour.
Jiang Nan was originally a descendant of a prominent family, but after this horrific catastrophe, that great family also collapsed. Masters and servants scattered in all directions, seeking a way to survive. Jiang Nan, amidst the chaotic flight, managed to reach Jianwu Kingdom. He tried every means to survive, and finally, out of desperation, sold himself into servitude in the Prince Qi’s Manor.
In Luoha Mountain, Jiang Nan took a deep breath to regain his composure. His chest gradually swelled like a large drum, and at this moment, the thumping of his heart, like the beat of a drum, would stir anyone who heard it.
One could only hear a series of cracking and thudding sounds emanating from within his body. Beneath the skin of his arm, a large tendon tightened like a crossbow being drawn. As he gently stretched, twanging sounds rang out, like a bowstring being pulled taut!
Thwack!
Jiang Nan struck out with a palm towards the air, his arm, like a fierce whip, lashed through the air, producing crisp cracking sounds!
This move of his was exactly like the martial art Tie Zhu had secretly learned from the Qi Royal Manor, but it appeared much more powerful and proficient!
"Most of the young masters and noble sons in the Qi Royal Manor are useless," he thought. "Such a simple martial art as the Hunyuan Kai Bi Hand, and it took them over a month to comprehend!"
Although Jiang Nan usually appeared weak, at this moment, when executing his moves, he was as fluid as flowing water and drifting clouds. His two hands were like two axes, continuously chopping, hacking, cutting left, and cutting right. In just a few breaths, he unleashed the entire Hunyuan Kai Bi Hand!
The wind whistled through the mountain. Jiang Nan's palms and fists sent dry branches and leaves swirling into the air. His moves were fierce, like a strong man wielding a giant hammer. He now looked like a martial arts master who had cultivated for over ten years!
Like Tie Zhu, he had also secretly learned martial arts from the Qi Royal Manor. However, Tie Zhu had only grasped a superficial understanding, while Jiang Nan had learned the very essence within. He even comprehended principles that the young masters and noble sons of the Qi Royal Manor had yet to grasp!
No one would have expected that a weak, scholar-like youth such as Jiang Nan possessed such formidable and domineering skills!
"Zhu Zi doesn't want to bow his head as a servant his whole life, and neither do I!" he thought. "To stand out in this time of great chaos, one must not rely on scholarly knowledge and words, but on absolute martial power!"
His fists and kicks suddenly slowed down, gradually transforming into another martial art of the Qi Royal Manor. His two hands at this moment were sometimes like embracing the bright moon, sometimes like guiding the endless great waves of the Changjiang River. The aura he exuded was profound within but graceful without, like the moonlight in the water slowly rising!
Great River Exits Deep Valley!
Bright Moon Hangs in the Sky!
Great River Born with the Tide!
These were three stances from the Jiang Yue Po Lang secret art, one of the four great foundational martial arts of the Qi Royal Manor. Jiang Yue Po Lang was considered a martial art that transcended the ordinary. In Jianwu Kingdom, it could even be said to be one of the top martial arts, the pinnacle of the Qi Royal Manor's martial arts!
The Jiang Yue Po Lang Art had ten stances, each containing a layer of martial dao mental cultivation technique corresponding to ten realms. Jiang Nan had only learned three of them.
He practiced these three stances repeatedly. The true qi in his body was like the rolling waves of the Changjiang River, growing ever larger, surging endlessly. And bright moonlight condensed, transforming into a moon that rose with the mist on one side, like the bright moon emerging from the sea. It softly descended, then gently ascended, finally, when it reached his glabella, it radiated a brilliant, illuminating light.
The moon rose and set, an endless cycle.
This was merely a sensation; it wasn't actually steam and moonlight rising within him, but rather the Jiang Yue Po Lang technique causing his inner *zhenqi* to resonate.
He had obtained this incomplete Po Lang manual by seizing it from Liu Heida.
A year ago, Liu Heida had stolen the Qi Royal Manor's cultivation method, the Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue. Unfortunately, it only contained three stances. However, because Liu Heida was utterly ignorant, when he acquired the cultivation technique, he didn't understand how to cultivate it, so he secretly took it to Jiang Nan.
This fellow was truly clever. He divided the cultivation method into many parts and brought each sentence to Jiang Nan for guidance, to prevent Jiang Nan from realizing it was a martial art. He had Jiang Nan explain each word, each phrase, and its underlying meaning to him. Afterwards, he combined the profound meanings Jiang Nan had taught him and cultivated the Po Lang Jue.
Jiang Nan quickly discovered the hidden truth but still pretended not to know, continuing to answer Liu Heida's questions. At the same time, he memorized the Po Lang Jue, then slowly deduced and refined it, eventually completing the incomplete Po Lang manual.
When the Qi Royal Manor discovered that Liu Heida was cultivating the Po Lang Jue, Steward Qi Dong immediately beat him to death. Jiang Nan himself had been somewhat apprehensive at the time, but when the matter wasn't exposed later, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After a year of arduous cultivation, Jiang Nan's *zhenqi* was already quite substantial; compared to the aristocratic disciples in the Qi Royal Manor, he could even be considered average!
"The Martial Dao comprises ten layers. The first five layers are Body Tempering, and the latter five are Qi Refining. The five Body Tempering layers are divided into: Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones, Marrow! I have successfully cultivated the Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue to the Tendon Tempering stage; every movement makes my tendons taut, as tough as a crossbow string. If we're just talking about physical strength, I'm several times stronger than someone with innate divine strength like Zhuzi!"
He thought to himself: "The three stances of Jiang Yue Po Lang obtained from Liu Heida can, at most, only allow me to cultivate to the third layer of the Martial Dao, the Tendon Tempering realm. To advance further, I can only rely on myself to deduce the fourth layer of the cultivation method!"
Over the past year, Jiang Nan, relying on this incomplete Jiang Yue Po Lang manual, had cultivated through the three Martial Dao realms of Skin, Flesh, and Tendons. His speed was not at all slower than the disciples in the Qi Royal Manor, perhaps even faster!
"As for the realms of the five Qi Refining layers, they are divided into: Qi Refining, Primordial Chaos, Inner Gang, Outer Gang, and Divine Wheel! I have currently reached the peak of Bone Tempering, and there are still six realms until the Divine Wheel. I wonder how many years of arduous cultivation it will take to reach it."
Most of the Qi Royal Manor's members were experts, but not many could cultivate to the Divine Wheel. The five Body Tempering realms weren't difficult; the true difficulty lay in the five Qi Refining realms.
Jiang Nan closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts, his mind continuously working, deducing all sorts of variations of the Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue. Suddenly, his body subtly moved, executing what he had envisioned for the fourth stance. Then he immediately stood still, motionless, closing his eyes to continue perfecting it.
The fox with the patchy fur quietly went to sleep under a large tree. Its eyes occasionally stole glances at Giang Nam practicing martial arts. Its snow-white fur, having been scorched by a great fire, was now uneven in length, with patches of red and black. Its tail was also bare and scraggly. It looked weak and listless, as if gravely ill. However, its eyes, like those of a woman, exuded a captivating allure.
As night fell, Giang Nam returned to the poor village outside the Qi Wang Manor. He washed his face and then ate dinner. It was already late at night, so Giang Nam quickly climbed into bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The moon hung high, its hazy light streaming through the tattered window onto the head of the bed inside the dilapidated old house.
The fox crept out from the corner, making rustling sounds. It blinked its large eyes, looking at the deeply sleeping Giang Nam. Suddenly, it took a long breath. A dense stream of Yang energy, emanating with Giang Nam's breath, was continuously drawn into its own body!
The moonlight flickered. A cold gust of wind seemed to sweep through the room, sending shivers down one's spine.
The scorched patches on the fox's body began to peel off. Its snow-white fur grew at a visibly rapid pace. Giang Nam, still in a deep slumber on the bed, seemed oblivious to the events unfolding!