I Have A Martial Arts Panel
In a world entrenched by monsters filled with myriad factions, state disputes run wild. Amid these troubling times, martial arts have come to prominence and prosper.
Xu Ning transmigrates to this world with a Martial Arts Panel and becomes an ordinary villager. He only has one goal in mind: to become a master of martial arts.
Spend three energy points to level up Gale Knife Technique? Yes/no
Yes! Hell yes!
Read I Have A Martial Arts Panel Chapter 1 online for free - AllNovelFull
Chapter 1: Martial Arts Panel
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
State Feiyun.
Yunze Mountains.
At the foothill of the mountains, Xu Ning gradually woke up.
Instantly, countless unfamiliar memories flooded into his brain.
Xu Ning sniffled and felt a horrible headache.
After a long time, the unfamiliar memories were digested by Xu Ning's brain, and the pain gradually subsided.
"I actually transmigrated!"
Xu Ning had to accept this bizarre reality.
He traveled to a Budo World and became a village boy.
This village boy's name was also Xu Ning. Before this, he went up the mountains to gather medicine. He took a huge risk when trying to pick up a spirit medicine plant, but it was too difficult to grab, so he slipped and was fatally injured. After his consciousness dissipated, he was replaced by the current "Xu Ning".
This was not a peaceful era.
Sect disputes, state capital battles, family rivalries, bandits lording over streets, and monster animals causing chaos. In this era, human lives were as valuable as dirt.
And now, he became an ordinary person, who had to work hard to survive in this era.
"This is unbelievable…"
Xu Ning felt pain in several places on his body, but fortunately, his movements were not impaired.
He slowly got up and saw the spirit medicine plant that was picked up by his predecessor, a few meters ahead of him.
This jasper medicine plant was called Jasper Grass. It was precious, and the market price for it was more than 500 taels.
For ordinary farmers, this was an enormous sum of wealth.
"Jasper Grass…"
Xu Ning hesitated for a moment before walking to the Jasper Grass and bending over to pick it up.
This Jasper Grass was a dark green colored plant that had a slight fragrance to it.
Just by smelling it alone, Xu Ning could feel the pain in his body alleviating.
Just when Xu Ning was about to take a closer look at it, a white gleam of light suddenly flashed in front of his eyes.
A light display appeared in his field of vision.
—
Discovered energy: 6 units
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Art: Gale Knife Technique (beginner)
Available energy: 0 units
—
"What!?"
Xu Ning couldn't believe it.
'Isn't this the Martial Arts Panel from my previous game? Why did it suddenly appear here?'
Xu Ning rubbed his eyes vigorously.
But the panel was still there—it wasn't an illusion.
Xu Ning suddenly realized.
"Is this the golden finger of a trasmigrator…"
Xu Ning took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his mood.
'If this Martial Arts Panel really works in this era, then I may be able to get far ahead of others.'
"Yes!"
Xu Ning chose to absorb the energy.
"Absorbing energy… absorption complete."
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Art: Gale Knife Technique (beginner)
Available energy: 6 units
—
The panel refreshed, and the available energy changed from 0 units to 6 units.
The Jasper Grass in Xu Ning's hand suddenly faded in color and withered away, turning yellow in the process.
"The energy in the Jasper Grass was absorbed?"
After acquiring 6 new units of energy, Xu Ning focused his attention on the "" sign besides the Gale Knife Technique.
—
Consume 3 energy units to improve the Gale Knife Technique?
Yes/No
—
"Yes!"
Xu Ning was certain.
Xu Ning learned the Gale Knife Technique from a previous master, and he had practiced it for almost three years, but because of his limited talent, he was stuck at the beginner realm, unable to improve further.
But now, he finally had the chance to improve his Gale Knife Technique.
Sure enough, in the next moment, the panel refreshed again.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Art: Gale Knife Technique (elementary)
Available energy: 3 units
—
His Gale Knife Technique realm had changed from beginner to elementary, and the available energy had decreased to 3 units.
The moment after the panel was refreshed, Xu Ning's understanding of the Gale Knife Technique suddenly became more profound.
He suddenly felt that he was oddly familiar with the methods of the Gale Knife Technique, as if he had practiced it day after day for several years; it was like he knew it like the back of his hand.
Xu Ning raised his hand and made a gesture. Although he didn't have a knife in his hand, he felt that he had been wielding a knife for a long time.
His heart suddenly became intrigued.
Xu Ning picked up the hatchet he used to climb the mountains and defend himself. He realized that the pain of his injuries had subsided, and using the new knowledge in his mind, he began to perform the Gale Knife Technique.
Instantly, the knife whistled in the air.
After the performance, Xu Ning took a deep breath, his eyes filled with excitement.
"This Martial Arts Panel is like a bug. Although the Gale Knife Technique is just an ordinary skill, it instantly increases my knife technique. From my understanding of ordinary martial artists, practicing one external skill should take two to three years, but I only took one second…"
Suddenly, Xu Ning began to look forward to this martial arts world.
With the Martial Arts Panel, he had the ability to become a master.
Xu Ning calmed his mind, and he once again focused his brain on the "" sign besides the Gale Knife Technique.
He wanted to improve again.
—
Consume 6 units of energy to level up the Gale Knife Technique?
Yes/No
—
"6 units of energy?"
Xu Ning winced.
It took 3 energy units to level up his Gale Knife Technique from beginner to elementary realm, and from elementary to intermediate realm, the energy requirement had doubled. He only had 3 units of energy remaining, which was obviously insufficient.
"No."
Xu Ning was a little saddened, but not overly disappointed.
As long as he had the Martial Arts Panel, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to find spirit medicine plants or other energy sources to improve his martial arts.
"It's time to go home…"
Xu Ning glanced at the sky. The sun had begun to show signs of setting.
He squatted down and picked up the herbal medicine plants that had dropped out of the basket on his back.
These herbal medicine plants were just normal herbs he had previously picked. They were ordinary quality and were not precious.
Xu Ning tried to pinch the common herbal medicine plant in his hands to see if he could absorb its energy.
But unfortunately, a normal quality herbal medicine plant did not provide him any energy.
After packing up the herbs, Xu Ning clenched the hatchet and tried to remember his previous route.
Xu Ning's current location was on the edge of Yunze Mountains. There were often beasts roaming around, so he had to be careful at all times.
Luckily, Xu Ning did not encounter any trouble on his return trip. After about half an hour, he finally came back to his village.
This was the Tao Village, where Xu Ning lived.
Xu Ning was not born and raised in the Tao Village, instead he and his older sister, Xu Lian, came here a few years ago.
Xu Ning and his sister, Xu Lian, had previously lived in their own village, but a few years ago, a horse bandit attacked their village. The village was destroyed, and his relatives and neighbors were killed. Xu Lian took her younger brother, Xu Ning, and escaped. They had been homeless since then.
The two of them roamed the streets and tried to survive before they were finally taken in by the Tao Village.
Sister Xu Lian had married Tao Yunchuan.
Hence, Xu Ning also became a member of the Tao Village.
The sun was gradually setting, and looking at it from a distance, the outline of the village began to look dim.
The Tao Village was surrounded by a stone wall. On the walls, there were clansmen holding weapons, patrolling back and forth.
At first glance, this looked like an entrance to a small town.
The Tao Village was a large village with a population of more than 3,000 people. It was wealthy and influential in Kangyun County.
At the entrance of Tao Village, Xu Ning hesitated.
There were barriers Xu Ning had to cross to integrate into this new family since he was a trasmigrator.
But after hesitating for a while, Xu Ning still took a step forward.
This was something he had to face sooner or later.
Xu Ning entered the village.
The Tao Village was big and had a large population.
But since he was an outsider, his predecessor had never been able to blend in here.
"Is this it…"
Xu Ning followed the path in his memory before he came to an ordinary courtyard.
The courtyard door was closed. There was the sound of chopping wood coming from the courtyard.
Xu Ning paused for a moment and opened the door.
He saw a strong man holding an axe, chopping a block of wood.
The movements of his hands were a bit stiff, so the chopping and slashing motions were uncoordinated.
"Xu Ning is back?"
After hearing the sound of the door opening, the strong man looked up, saw Xu Ning, and smiled.
He put down the axe and walked over. "Give the stuff to me, you go and rest."
The strong man limped as he walked. In addition to his hands, he obviously had leg problems as well.
Xu Ning recognized this man as his brother-in-law, Tao Yunchuan.
He was injured when he was young, causing his movements to be choppy.
"Huh? Xu Ning, are you hurt from falling?"
After walking over, Tao Yunchuan noticed that Xu Ning's clothes were torn in many places, as well as some surface wounds.
"I accidentally fell while picking herbs."
Xu Ning was a little uncomfortable with Tao Yunchuan's show of concern.
"Are you okay?"
Tao Yunchuan asked.
"I'm fine…"
Xu Ning waved his hand.
He was in fact, feeling fine.
"That's good, that's good…"
Tao Yunchuan seemed relieved.
"Xu Ning is injured?"
A young woman dressed in a linen dress walked out of the room. There was a sense of tension and concern in her tone.
This young woman was Xu Lian, Xu Ning's sister.
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Chapter 2: Selling Herbal Medicine
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Xu Lian had overheard the conversation between Xu Ning and Tao Yunchuan while she was cooking in the kitchen—she knew that Xu Ning was injured.
"Sis, it's fine, just some surface wounds."
Xu Ning responded to Xu Lian's concerns.
Xu Ning tried his best to keep calm in front of his sister.
Xu Lian was still not relieved, so she stepped forward and took a closer look.
"As long as you're okay." Xu Lian looked at him for a long time. When she saw that it was nothing serious, her heart was relieved. She was still distressed as she said, "Go and change your clothes. Food is ready."
"Got it."
Xu Ning glanced at Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan again before turning around and going inside his room.
Even the simple conversations just now made Xu Ning feel anxious.
Tao Yunchuan watched Xu Ning walk away before he suddenly sighed.
He looked at his wife, Xu Lian, with a lonely expression. "This is all because of my lack of ability. This is all my fault. You two have suffered because of me. Xu Ning has reached marriageable age, but he has to support my family instead…"
"Don't say that."
Xu Lian looked at her husband. "If you didn't marry me back then, Xu Ning and I might have died on the streets. Don't say those words. Our days will definitely be better in the future."
Xu Lian held Tao Yunchuan's hand.
"Ok…"
Faced with his wife's encouragement, Tao Yunchuan nodded silently.
…
Xu Ning returned to his room.
He wanted to adjust his emotions, but as soon as he opened the door, he saw a girl with pigtails sitting on his bed, holding two wooden toys in her hands, playing and muttering to herself.
After hearing the sound of the door opening, the girl turned around.
The sun was going down and the room was dim, but the girl's large eyes were shining brightly.
After seeing Xu Ning, the girl smiled.
"Uncle!"
'Uncle?'
Xu Ning remembered instantly.
The girl in front of him was the daughter of his sister Xu Lian and his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan. She was his niece, Tao Tao.
When Tao Tao saw Xu Ning come in, she put down the toy in her hand and jumped out of the bed.
"Uncle, what took you so long to come back?"
Tao Tao looked up at Xu Ning.
"I…"
Faced with Tao Tao's question, Xu Ning couldn't figure out how to answer her.
"What?"
Tao Tao suddenly muttered. She looked at the holes and blood stains in Xu Ning's pants, her eyebrows tightened.
"Uncle, what happened to your leg?"
Tao Tao moved closer to Xu Ning's wound.
She puffed her cheeks and blew hard into Xu Ning's wound.
"Tao Tao, what are you doing?"
Xu Ning asked.
"Does it still hurt?"
Tao Tao looked up at Xu Ning again.
Xu Ning suddenly remembered that whenever Tao Tao scratched her skin after a fall, Xu Lian would blow her on wounds, and the cool breeze from her mouth would relieve the pain of the injury.
Xu Ning suddenly smiled.
He touched Tao Tao's head. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Really?"
Tao Tao seemed a little suspicious.
"Really."
Xu Ning pulled Tao Tao's pigtail. "Go eat dinner first, I will go after I change my clothes."
Tao Tao pushed Xu Ning's hand away. "Okay then."
But as soon as she got up, Tao Tao turned around and took out a few green dates from her pockets.
Tao Tao's hands were small, so she could hold only three to four dates in one hand.
"Uncle, for you."
Tao Tao stuffed the green dates into Xu Ning's hands.
Xu Ning took it and said, "You waited for me just to give me this?"
"Yeah."
Tao Tao nodded.
Right afterwards, she walked away with her pigtails swinging behind her back.
Xu Ning looked at the tiny figure before looking down at the green dates in his hand.
"This kid…"
Xu Ning unconsciously had a smile on his face.
He put a green date into his mouth and chewed it.
"Ah…"
Xu Ning took a deep breath.
'So sour.'
"Perhaps everything is a part of destiny…"
Xu Ning looked at the remaining green dates in his hand and began to think.
After a long time, he raised his head, and the sky was already dark.
It seemed like his estrangement from this world seemed to be diminishing, bit by bit.
…
Xu Ning changed his clothes before roughly smearing his wounds with an ointment cream. After doing so, he went to the main room for dinner.
The dining table was a square table. On it were a plate of light greens, a plate of pickles, four bowls of porridge, and a piece of flatbread.
'The standard of life is quite low here…'
Xu Ning secretly thought.
Although the Tao Village was a powerful ethnic group in Kangyun County, his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan had limited mobility. Moreover, he and his sister had no valuable skills. Thus, their life was quite difficult.
The income of the entire family was about 10 taels of silver a month.
Xu Ning relied on his memory to calculate that the purchasing power of one to two taels of silver in this world was equivalent to 200 yuan in his previous life.
Xu Ning suddenly thought of the Jasper Grass from before.
It was worth 500 taels of silver.
Because of its high value, his predecessor had risked his life to pick it.
But the precious Jasper Grass had already been absorbed as energy by himself. Xu Ning's heart flashed with a tinge of guilt.
"Come sit."
After Xu Ning took a seat, Xu Lian tore the flatbread apart.
Him and his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan were given bigger pieces, while Xu Lian and Tao Tao had smaller pieces.
The family did not talk much over the dinner table.
Soon after dinner was over, Xu Ning went back to his room with the excuse of being tired.
The night came forth, and the room was dim.
Xu Ning lied on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
After dinner, he had a more intuitive understanding of the family's situation.
Starving and in poverty.
This was the current state of the family.
The more he thought, the more he was guilty about absorbing the Jasper Grass that was worth 500 taels of silver.
"I have to find a way to make money…"
Xu Ning's brain was trying hard to think.
He had to convert the strength he had gained in exchange for some money in order to help his family.
…
Early morning the next day.
Xu Ning woke up a little late.
When he woke up, Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian had already left the house.
Tao Yunchuan was an assistant at the village rice shop, while Xu Lian was a tailor.
As for Tao Tao, she was still sound asleep.
Xu Ning didn't wake her up yet. Once she woke up, she would find her friends to play with before coming back during noon.
Because they were in a village, there was no need to worry too much about Tao Tao's safety.
After getting up, Xu Ning groomed himself and ate the leftover flatbread from last night, which slightly alleviated his hunger.
He sorted the medicinal materials picked from the mountain yesterday with the rest of the materials. He then put them in a basket before going outside to sell them.
Picking and selling herbs was what Xu Ning had been doing all this time.
After leaving the house, Xu Ning walked towards the medicinal shop of the village.
"Guo Ye."
After walking into the medicinal shop, Xu Ning saw a strong young man.
He had dark skin, small eyes, and a beard on his face. He looked a bit mature.
"You're here, Xu Ning!"
The young man named Guo Ye smiled warmly when he saw Xu Ning.
In the entire Tao Village, Guo Ye had the closest relationship with Xu Ning.
Guo Ye and Xu Ning had similar experiences. After losing his parents, he followed his aunt and married into the Tao Village when he was young. He was also an outsider.
However, Guo Ye's situation was much better than Xu Ning's.
His aunt had married Tao Yungang, a well-known medicinal material merchant in the Tao Village. Other than nearby villages and farmers, his business scope covered the entire Kangyun County, so his family was quite wealthy.
Tao Yungang usually collected medicinal materials from the outside world and made business deals, while Guo Ye managed the medicinal materials shop for him in the village.
Xu Ning had always sold his herbs here, and Guo Ye never low-balled him.
"These are the stuff I picked over the past few days."
Xu Ning placed the back basket in front of the counter and took out the herbs inside.
He had already sorted and tied the herbs into bundles.
"I will weigh it."
Guo Ye's movements were swift.
"A total of three taels of silver."
Guo Ye calculated the price.
"Three?"
Xu Ning was a little surprised.
In his memory, these medicinal herbs were worth one and a half taels at most.
"That much? You're not taking special care of me, are you?"
Xu Ning asked.
"No." Guo Ye replied, "The price of Heal-all Plants has increased. It used to be a pound for three taels, now it's a pound for six taels."
Guo Ye held a bundle of Heal-all Plants in his hand.
The surface was withered and the grass blades were slender, like dead weeds.
But after putting his nose closer, he could smell a faint smoky fragrance.
"A pound of Heal-all Plant is worth six taels?"
When Xu Ning heard this price, he began to think.
He suddenly thought of a memory from his predecessor.
A month ago, somewhere in Yunze Mountains on the hills far away, his predecessor had found a large patch of land with Heal-all Plants growing there.
However, that place was very dangerous, as it was too close to the inner circle of Yunze Mountains. In the inner circles, there were many wild beasts, poisonous insects, and poisonous plants. Thus his predecessor did not dare to pick the plants there.
But now, since his own strength had improved, and that the price of Heal-all Plants had risen, he could give it a try.
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Chapter 3: Heal-all Plant and The Wolf
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Yes, six taels. My uncle said that there is a big buyer in Kangyun County who recently increased their demand for Heal-all Plants. The pharmacies in Kangyun County are almost out of stock. Thus, its price has soared to the moon. The city's purchase price is almost eight taels."
Guo Ye said, "My uncle has been busy visiting various villages recently, just to gather more Heal-all Plants and sell it to that big buyer."
"I see…"
Xu Ning nodded blankly. In his mind, he kept thinking about picking that patch of Heal-all Plants.
"When you are picking herbs in the wild, you should pay more attention to Heal-all Plants. That stuff is now valuable."
Guo Ye put three taels of silver in Xu Ning's hands.
"Thanks."
Xu Ning took the taels of silver, made some small talk, and went out the door.
He didn't hesitate. He went straight back home, grabbed a hatchet, sorted out his equipment, and rushed towards Yunze Mountains.
Xu Ning wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune to relieve his family of their current financial problem.
…
More than half an hour later, in Yunze Mountains, a tall young man with sharp facial features walked cautiously.
It was Xu Ning.
In fact, Yunze Mountains was not a single mountain, it was instead an endless mountain range.
The mountain hills were steep and were filled with many beasts. It even had rumors of demon beasts. It was a dangerous place.
But there were also a lot of precious resources there, so people in the nearby villages and farms were willing to explore it. In a sense, the mountain range provided a way of living for these people.
"Although my strength has improved, I still have to be careful…"
Xu Ning knew where his destination was, so he walked at a fast pace.
But at the same time, he held the hatchet steadily in his hand, constantly observing any surrounding movement.
"I'm here!"
Xu Ning followed the route in his memory and found the patch of land full of Heal-all Plants.
It was on a rather steep hill, and at first glance, it was a large patch of Heal-all Plants.
The Heal-all Plants swayed in the wind, and looking at it from a distance, it gave off a bleak autumn vibe.
But Xu Ning's eyes were full of dollar signs.
"Good, this place has not been discovered yet…"
Xu Ning was still a few dozen meters away from this patch of land, but he didn't go over immediately.
This was the boundary between the inner circle and the outer circle of Yunze Mountains.
In the outer circle, there were fewer beasts so it was safer, while in the inner circle, not only were there more beasts, but there were also poisonous insects and weeds everywhere.
Xu Ning was cautious. He climbed up a tree nearby, looked around, and found no signs of danger.
"I'll quickly finish picking and leave immediately…"
Xu Ning went down the tree, tied the hatchet behind his waist, and ran over quickly.
He began to bend over and carefully pull the Heal-all Plant one by one before throwing them into his back basket.
"There are a lot of Heal-all Plants. If I pick all of them, it'll probably weigh around 50 pounds!"
While picking the plants, Xu Ning began to think. This amount had exceeded his expectations.
If he sold them all to Guo Ye, these could be exchanged for close to 300 taels of silver.
This was a lot of money.
Although Xu Ning's movements were careful, he did not act slowly. And within 15 minutes, his basket was filled.
"This weighs more than 20 pounds…"
Xu Ning's back basket was pretty big, but it had already been completely filled.
After seeing how half of the Heal-all Plants still hadn't been picked yet, Xu Ning thought for a moment, but he still decided to leave.
Firstly, he no longer had the space to carry more. Secondly, it was getting too heavy, if he encountered any danger, it would affect his mobility.
Xu Ning pushed down the Heal-all Plants in his basket and sealed it.
After sealing it, Xu Ning carried the basket on his back.
He was just about to turn around and leave.
Suddenly, a thumping voice came from behind.
"Footsteps…"
Xu Ning was alert. He instantly pulled the hatchet away from his waist and turned around.
He saw five or six big black wolves positioned higher up, staring at him coldly.
"Huff…"
Xu Ning took a deep breath.
'I'm in trouble.'
He thought for a moment before he suddenly took a step forward and let out a roar.
The several eager black wolves wanted to attack, but were shocked by Xu Ning's roar and took a few steps back.
Xu Ning took advantage of this opening. He was desperate to run away, so he immediately turned around and ran.
"I knew it, the deeper into Yunze Mountains, the greater the risk!"
Xu Ning looked back while running.
The black wolves had begun to chase him, obviously preparing to eat him.
"I can't run faster than them!"
Xu Ning instantly realized this problem.
The mountain paths here were steep. It was the home of wild beasts. In addition, with more than 20 pounds of Heal-all Plants on his back, it was only a matter of time before the wolves would catch up to him.
Xu Ning heard the footsteps chasing behind him getting closer.
He clenched his teeth and stopped running. He then climbed against the nearest big tree.
The black wolves rushed towards the tree.
They leaped, and one of them almost caught Xu Ning's trousers.
These black wolves from the inner circle of Yunze Mountains were not only larger than normal wolves, but they also had high jumping power and great strength.
'I have to find a way to escape…'
Xu Ning looked solemn. He looked at the black wolves under the tree who wanted to tear him apart.
'It's definitely impossible to run. There are only two options.'
'Either wait until these black wolves leave.'
'Or go down the tree and fight these black wolves to the death.'
'Now that I am in the elementary realm of the Gale Knife Technique, I should have the skills to deal with a few black wolves…' Xu Ning thought, 'However, if I fight them to the death, I will be at risk of getting injured… If I am injured here, even if I escape from the claws of these wolves, I may still be buried in the belly of other beasts…'
Xu Ning was a little uncertain.
'Sure enough, if I want to gather more resources, I have to take risks.'
Xu Ning calmed himself down and climbed up a little, preventing the black wolves from jumping up and scratching him.
The black wolves, who pounced on the tree several times to no avail, gradually calmed down.
But they still surrounded the tree. They stared directly at Xu Ning, obviously not planning to let him go.
'I'll wait a bit…'
It wasn't even noon yet, so Xu Ning could afford to wait.
Time slowly passed by.
Xu Ning began to eat some flatbread to replenish his stamina. The black wolves were lying next to the tree, surrounding Xu Ning, without the slightest intention to leave.
Two hours had passed.
'These guys are so patient…'
Xu Ning noticed that these black wolves were tenacious. They did not seem annoyed in the slightest; they acted very patiently.
The longer he waited, the more his physical strength would reduce and the more his combat effectiveness would decrease.
'I'll just fight them!'
Xu Ning had a firm gaze in his eyes.
He looked down. The black wolves were still lying in a circle under the tree, their heads drooping.
It was noon, and they seemed to be a little tired; they were distracted.
Xu Ning took a deep breath and jumped.
'Ha!'
Xu Ning held the hatchet tightly in his hand, instantly, the knowledge of the Gale Sword Technique reverberated in his mind.
'Fierce Sword Wind!'
Xu Ning took advantage of the inertia of his jump to stab the back of the largest black wolf.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The black wolf wailed. It wanted to get up, but its spine was chopped so it could only spaz on the ground.
The other black wolves were frightened.
They did not anticipate Xu Ning's sudden attack. Their first instinct was to escape.
'This is my chance!'
This time, Xu Ning no longer ran away.
Instead, he swung his knife at the black wolf nearest to him.
Its neck was chopped through.
Out of the six black wolves, two were down.
The black wolves finally began to resist.
But Xu Ning no longer panicked. Two of the six black wolves had already been dealt with, and one of them was even the strongest one.
The power of the enemy had dropped sharply.
Xu Ning began to retreat. He leaned back against the tree trunk, preventing the four black wolves from attacking him from behind.
One human and four wolves faced each other.
This time, no one acted first.
The crippled black wolves next to him were still wailing.
The situation was still dangerous.
Just when Xu Ning was about to continue to attack, suddenly, a black wolf took a step back.
Immediately afterwards, the other three black wolves also retreated.
Their cold gaze shifted away from Xu Ning. They then glanced at their seriously injured companions before turning around and left.
Soon, the black wolves disappeared from Xu Ning's sights.
The animal instincts of the remaining four black wolves made them feel the fear of death.
They choose to abandon this dangerous prey.
'It's safe…'
Xu Ning's tight nerves could finally be relieved.
He glanced at the two black wolves who were badly injured and were abandoned by their partners.
'The cruel laws of nature treated me as a prey, but instead they were the prey…'
Xu Ning did not stick around. He turned around and left.
Normally, he might have cleaned up these two black wolves as material.
Although there were many wild wolves in the outer circle of Yunze Mountains, their fur was not worth much money. Rather, the bright, sharp claws of these black wolves could easily be sold for seven to eight taels of silver.
However, he was too close to the inner circle of the Yunze Mountains right now. Cutting their fur would waste time, and the smell of blood would attract even more terrifying beasts.
After weighing his options, Xu Ning gave up the corpses.
But he didn't feel regretful, as the Heal-all Plants in his basket were worth a lot more.
'I'm going home!'
Xu Ning wiped the blood on the hatchet and quickly left.
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Chapter 4: Improvement
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Back at the Tao Village, the sun was starting to set again.
Xu Ning did not go home, instead he went straight to Guo Ye's medicinal shop.
"Guo Ye!"
Xu Ning walked in.
"Xu Ning, why are you here again?"
There was currently no one else in the medicinal shop, so Guo Ye made a pot of tea and leaned on the back of the seat, but he stood up when he saw Xu Ning coming.
"Come here, weigh this!"
Xu Ning threw the back basket in front of Guo Ye.
Guo Ye stepped forward and saw the contents in the basket, his eyes widened.
"Heal-all Plants? This many?"
Guo Ye quickly leaned over, grabbed a handful, and pressed it against his nose. "The scent of soil… it's freshly picked!"
"That's right, I just picked it from Yunze Mountains." Xu Ning explained, "I found this patch of Heal-all Plants in the past, but it was too dangerous. It was at the border between the inner and outer circles, so I did not dare to pick it. But then you said that the price of Heal-all Plants had risen, so I took the risk."
"The border between the inner and outer circles?" Guo Ye was speechless. "You are ruthless!"
"The wages of sin is death."
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Quick, weigh it."
"Alright."
Guo Ye dragged a large scale from the backyard.
After working at it for a while, the weighing was finished.
"24 pounds and a half…" Guo Ye said, "I'll count it as 25 pounds, one pound for six taels of silver, a total of 150 taels!"
"150 taels…"
Xu Ning laughed when he heard the profits from his adventure.
"Kid, you're rich!"
Guo Ye patted Xu Ning on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Wait a second, I'll go to the backyard to withdraw the money for you."
They did not have 150 taels of silver at the front counter.
Soon after, Guo Ye walked out with two silver notes.
"150 taels."
Xu Ning took a look at the silver notes.
One note was 50 taels, while the other note was 100 taels.
"Thanks."
Xu Ning put the silver notes into his pocket.
These 150 taels were equivalent to a year of his family's income.
With this new sum of wealth, his family could live a lot more comfortably.
"Oh yeah, the price of the Heal-all Plant won't go down for a while, right?"
Xu Ning asked Guo Ye.
"Not in the short term…" Guo Ye shook his head and frowned. "Kid, you have more?"
"I haven't finished picking them yet. I can bring more in a few days."
Xu Ning did not hide anything.
"Okay, I will buy as much as you have!"
Guo Ye was also very happy.
The number of Heal-all Plants he had bought today was higher than what his uncle Tao Yungang had gathered over the past few days.
This would gain his uncle's respect.
"But you have to stay safe."
Guo Ye reminded.
"I know." Xu Ning waved his hand and said, "see you later"
He picked up the basket and walked out of the medicinal shop.
"Huff…"
Xu Ning stretched his body.
With money in his pockets, he felt more at ease.
He glanced at the sky and guessed that his sister and her husband had not yet returned home, so he went to the butcher shop in the village first.
Xu Ning was going to buy some meat.
The Tao Village was a big village with a large population so they had a high demand for resources.
However, in this kind of environment, with transportation being inconvenient, individuals had to travel a lot if they wanted to purchase basic necessities.
Thus, the Tao Village set up some trading places, such as a butcher shop, grain store, oil store and so on.
These places were all managed by the villagers.
Xu Ning entered the butcher shop, only to see the butcher leaning on the recliner.
"Buying meat?"
After seeing someone come in, the butcher stood up and picked up a deboning knife.
"Yes, I want two pounds of lamb leg."
Xu Ning remembered that Tao Tao loved to eat lamb, as lamb meat was tender—she could chew it easily.
"Okay!"
The butcher was skilled with the knife.
Soon, the butcher wrapped two pounds of lamb leg meat and handed it to Xu Ning. "Half."
"Half" meant half a tael of silver.
"Half…"
Xu Ning pondered and felt that it was indeed not cheap.
But he did not hesitate as he took out two shards of silver from his pockets.
These shards of silver were from the herbal medicine plants he had sold to Guo Ye in the morning.
He handed the silver shards to the butcher. "Half a teal, here you go."
After leaving the butcher shop, Xu Ning quickly went home.
On the way back, Xu Ning passed by the schoolyard of the village.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"…"
Sounds of exercising could be heard.
Xu Ning looked over.
They were all teenagers. Under the guidance of the instructor of the village, some practiced with guns while some practiced with knives—the scene was full of enthusiasm.
The Tao Village was influential in Kangyun County, not only because of its large population, but also because of the number of martial arts masters in the village.
It was precisely because of the prevalence of martial arts that the Tao Village attached great importance to martial arts practice for younger generations.
Young people under the age of 20 would receive careful guidance from instructors as long as they signed up for training.
Xu Ning was 17 years old this year; he was considered a young man in the village.
Although Xu Ning was an outsider, the Tao Village was happy for him to learn martial arts with them. He was qualified to come for training.
However, Xu Ning only came to practice for a month. And after learning the Gale Knife Technique, he never came again.
It's not that his predecessor didn't want to practice martial arts, but that participating in a training camp required him to pay five taels of silver every month, for the instructor's wages and to purchase martial arts equipment.
For Xu Ning's family, this amount of money was too much.
In order to save money, after learning the Gale Knife Technique, Xu Ning had to practice alone.
Compared to others, his improvement rate was a lot slower.
But fortunately, he now had the Martial Arts Panel. He didn't need to be taught by others. As long as he had enough energy, it was not difficult to improve his strength.
…
As Xu Ning got closer to the house, he heard Tao Tao chatting in the front yard of the house.
Xu Ning pushed open the courtyard door and walked in.
He saw Tao Tao holding a wooden stick in each hand, chasing an old hen.
While chasing, she yelled. "Petty thief, stop right there and eat my sword!"
Xu Ning reluctantly shook his head and smiled.
"Uncle, you're back?"
Tao Tao let go of the old hen after seeing Xu Ning.
"You brought meat back as well?"
Tao Tao looked surprised when she saw the lamb legs in Xu Ning's hands.
"You'll have plenty to eat this time."
Xu Ning patted Tao Tao on the head, then went to the kitchen to clean up the lamb legs.
Another half hour passed.
Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian came back together.
When they saw the lamb soup and large chunks of lamb meat on the table, they were all very surprised.
"Where did the lamb meat come from?"
Xu Lian looked at Xu Ning.
"Uncle bought it!"
Before Xu Ning could answer, Tao Tao rushed to answer first.
"You used all your money from selling herbs to buy this?"
Xu Lian was obviously a little unhappy. She seemed to blame her brother for spending money recklessly.
For their family, the price of lamb meat was indeed too high.
"I'll talk about it later, eat first."
Xu Ning looked at Xu Lian, then gestured to Tao Tao, who was standing by the side, signaling that since Tao Tao was here, it was inappropriate to have this discussion.
Tao Yunchuan saw that Xu Ning seemed to have something to say, so he motioned to his wife. "Eat first, then talk later."
The family enjoyed a rare sumptuous dinner.
Tao Tao ate the most lavishly, with foot bits stuck on her face.
Tao Tao was sent away to play after dinner.
"Xu Ning, why are you willing to spend money on this?"
As soon as Tao Tao left, Xu Lian asked.
She was confused about this meal.
Tao Yunchuan also frowned and stared at Xu Ning with a questioning glance.
"Because… I made money."
Under the gaze of Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian, Xu Ning took out two silver notes from his pockets and spread them on the table.
"What is this…"
Xu Lian's heart skipped a beat.
She picked up the two silver notes carefully.
One note was 50 taels, and the other note was 100 taels.
"Where did you get so much money?"
Xu Lian covered her mouth with a look of disbelief.
Tao Yunchuan was calmer than Xu Lian, but he was also full of doubts.
"I got it from selling herbs."
Xu Ning explained, "Today I went to Guo Ye to sell my herbs. He told me that the price of Heal-all Plants had risen. Now it is six taels for a pound. Coincidentally today, when I entered the mountains, I happened to encounter a patch of Heal-all Plants. I picked a lot, a total of 25 pounds, exactly 150 taels."
Xu Ning purposely concealed the process and danger he went through to pick the Heal-all Plants.
"Such a coincidence?"
Xu Lian obviously didn't believe it.
"Yep, a coincidence."
Xu Ning had a confident expression. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Guo Ye."
Xu Lian obviously believed this.
"Good, I will ask Guo Ye tomorrow."
Xu Lian felt that she still had to verify this herself.
However, even though she was still confused, Xu Lian had a smile on her face.
Report chapter
Chapter 5: Intermediate Gale Knife Technique
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
150 taels. This amount of money would greatly relieve their financial difficulties.
At least Xu Ning would have the means to marry a wife in the future.
"You are not allowed to spend money like this in the future."
Xu Lian put the silver notes back on the table and reprimanded Xu Ning.
"I got it, Sis."
Xu Ning responded.
"It's always good to make money…" Tao Yunchuan said, "Since this is the case, Xu Ning, you keep the silver notes."
Tao Yunchuan pushed the silver notes back towards Xu Ning.
150 taels was too much. Tao Yunchuan did not plan to use Xu Ning's income for himself and his wife.
"I don't need it, you guys take it."
Xu Ning refused. "I live and eat with you guys so I have nothing to spend the money on. It should be used to help the household live better."
"Oh that is not appropriate."
Tao Yunchuan waved his hand.
"Tao Yunchuan, you…"
Xu Ning still wanted to try to persuade him, but Xu Lian spoke first.
"Okay enough, this money stays with me."
Xu Lian collected the hundred-silver taels note.
Obviously, Xu Lian was not greedy for her brother's money. She just planned to save the money for her brother, for him to use when he eventually would get married.
"You take the rest."
Xu Lian put the fifty-tael note in front of Xu Ning.
"Um… Okay."
Xu Ning thought about it before putting the money away.
He understood Xu Lian's intentions.
"I'm going to my room."
After a brief exchange, Xu Ning returned to his room.
"This kid has all grown up."
After Xu Ning left, Xu Lian's face gradually revealed a smile.
Even if she didn't spend the 100 taels, just having it made her feel at ease.
"Yeah…"
Tao Yunchuan looked at the silver note in Xu Lian's hand with a thoughtful expression.
"What are you thinking?"
Xu Lian noticed that Tao Yunchuan was thinking about something.
"I think Xu Ning should practice martial arts in the village." Tao Yunchuan said, "In this world, martial arts training is the best way to success. Xu Ning didn't go to the training camp in the past because of the family's financial conditions. But now that we have more than 100 taels of silver, our financial difficulties have been mostly covered, so letting him practice martial arts is the right choice."
Xu Lian nodded when she heard these words. She also felt that what her husband said was reasonable.
"Okay…" Tao Yunchuan calculated in his mind and finally decided, "Put this hundred taels away and save it for Xu Ning. Then take out 50 taels of silver from our savings and give it to me. I will give it to the village tomorrow, so that Xu Ning can join the training camp."
"Okay."
Xu Lian answered.
…
Xu Ning didn't know anything about the plans of his sister and his brother-in-law.
The next day, Xu Ning went to Yunze Mountains again and picked the remaining Heal-all Plants.
This time he had better luck. Although he encountered a beast, it eventually left after a brief confrontation.
Xu Ning brought the Heal-all Plants to Guo Ye's medicinal shop.
This time, the total weight of the Heal-all Plants was around 23 pounds, but Guo Ye still gave him 150 taels.
"You made 300 taels in two days, wow…"
Guo Ye's tone was full of envy and jealousy.
Xu Ning did not put away Guo Ye's silver note immediately.
"Did my sister come here?"
Xu Ning asked.
"Yes, she did." Guo Ye patted his head. "She came in the morning and asked about you selling the Heal-all Plants. She was afraid that there was something suspicious with how you made the money. But after I told her, she was relieved."
After hearing this, Xu Ning asked, "You didn't say that I still have more Heal-all Plants that I can pick and sell to you, right?"
"I didn't say that."
Guo Ye responded.
"Good, don't tell her."
Xu Ning said.
Guo Ye noticed something wrong. "Why, this time you made another 150 taels. You don't want your sister to know?"
"Sort of…"
"By the way, I have something to ask you…" Xu Ning didn't wait for Guo Ye to speak. He said, "Uncle Yungang is in the medicine business, so he should be able to get his hands on spirit medicine, right?"
If Xu Ning wanted to increase his strength, he needed energy points, and absorbing the energy in spirit medicine was the only method Xu Ning knew to obtain more energy points.
He wanted to see if Guo Ye had spirit medicine here and whether it could be absorbed.
"He can…"
Guo Ye nodded. "But I have rarely seen any. Generally, when we receive any, we sell it to the county city immediately. Why do you ask? The price of spirit medicine is not low; it's at least 200 taels of silver."
"200 taels of silver…"
Xu Ning was a little intrigued.
Right now he had two hundred taels of silver in his hands.
"Are there any in the store now?"
Xu Ning asked.
Guo Ye eyebrows furrowed. "There are… Do you want to buy some?"
"Let me see it."
Xu Ning smiled.
Guo Ye realized that Xu Ning wasn't joking so he said, "You don't want your sister to know about this batch of silver because you want to buy spirit medicine?"
Xu Ning answered with silence.
Guo Ye looked at Xu Ning with an astonished look, and after a second, he said, "Wait right here…"
He turned around and went to the backyard. He then brought back three wooden boxes.
Guo Ye put the three wooden boxes on the counter and opened them one by one.
"Three spirit medicine plants."
Guo Ye explained.
Xu Ning leaned forward.
"These three are Star Clover, Spiky Thorn, and Swallowtail."
Guo Ye introduced them to Xu Ning separately.
Xu Ning looked at the three spirit medicine and was intrigued.
He carefully pressed his finger on the emerald green Star Clover.
—
Discovered energy: 3 units
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
A white light flashed in front of Xu Ning's eyes.
'I knew it. The energy-absorbing panel came out again!'
Xu Ning looked at the 3 units of energy absorption reminder. He suddenly felt uncertain.
Once the energy was absorbed, the Star Clover would wither instantly, and his own secrets would be exposed.
Xu Ning controlled himself.
He turned to Guo Ye. "How much is the Star Clover?"
Guo Ye couldn't see the Martial Arts Panel floating in front of Xu Ning. He only saw that Xu Ning's expression changed after touching the Star Clover.
"This is a little more expensive, 400 taels."
Xu Ning felt chills in his body.
'So expensive.'
He then touched the Spiky Thorn.
—
Discovered energy: 2 units
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
"This is 230 taels."
Guo Ye took the initiative to tell him the price.
"230 taels…"
Xu Ning put down the Spiky Thorn in his hand.
From a cost-benefit perspective, the Spiky Thorn was obviously more cost-effective than the Star Clover.
Xu Ning then looked at the Swallowtail.
—
Discovered energy: 3 units
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
'This is also 3 units of energy…'
There was still a gap between Xu Ning and the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique.
"Swallowtail, this one is cheap, 190 taels."
Xu Ning was overjoyed by Guo Ye's words.
"Perhaps because of its characteristics and rarity, the energy units contained are the same, but the price difference is huge."
Xu Ning finally understood now.
He closed the wooden box of Swallowtail Flower and said to Guo Ye, "I want the Swallowtail fFower."
"You really want it?"
Guo Ye had an incomprehensible expression on his face. "This spirit medicine is useless to you. My uncle said that only those who practice internal skills can use the Swallowtail Flower to improve their health."
"Don't worry about it, I have my own uses."
Xu Ning took out the 50-tael silver note returned by Xu Lian from yesterday.
Combined with the 150 taels in his hand, a total of 200 taels were handed to Guo Ye. "Give me change."
"Um…"
Guo Ye originally wanted to persuade him otherwise, but when he saw Xu Ning's firm expression, he finally shook his head. "Okay… If you regret it, just come back and refund it."
Guo Ye gave 20 taels back to Xu Ning. "180 taels total."
"Thanks."
Xu Ning understood Guo Ye's concern for him. He would remember Guo Ye's good intentions.
After receiving the goods, Xu Ning did not stick around. He quickly went home.
After returning home and greeting Tao Tao, Xu Ning closed his door tightly, took out the wooden box, and pinched the Swallowtail Flower.
—
Discovered energy: 3 units-
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
"Yes!"
With the goods in Xu Ning's hand, he did not hesitate.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Art: Gale Knife Technique (elementary)
Available energy: 6 units
—
"I have 6 units of energy…"
Xu Ning looked at the "" sign besides the Gale Sword Technique.
—
Consume 6 units of energy to level up the Gale Knife Technique?
Yes/No
—
"Yes!"
Xu Ning confirmed his selection.
Wow!
Just like the last time he was promoted.
In Xu Ning's mind, his knowledge and understanding of the Gale Knife Technique had risen to a new realm.
His body had gained more instinctive models of the Gale Knife Technique.
In just a few seconds, Xu Ning's Gale Knife Technique was improved from elementary to intermediate realm!
Xu Ning had a feeling that if he met the same six black wolves again, relying on his intermediate realm Gale Knife Technique, he could easily avoid injury and defeat them swiftly.
'I feel so relieved!'
Xu Ning's heart was full of pleasure after his sudden increase in power.
"Other than those prodigies, going from the elementary realm to the intermediate realm takes a martial artist three to ten years, but I only took a few days!"
Although Xu Ning already knew the strength of the Martial Arts Panel, he still felt overwhelmed.
As long as he had enough energy, his increase in power was only a matter of time.
"I have to get more energy!"
Xu Ning's eyes were full of enthusiasm.
Report chapter
Chapter 6: Group Training
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was night time again.
Their dinner was the leftover lamb soup from last night.
Xu Ning did not say a word about picking the Heal-all Plants during the day.
After dinner.
Xu Lian packed up the dishes and chopsticks. Tao Yunchuan said to Xu Ning, "From tomorrow onwards, on odd-numbered days, you shouldn't go to the mountains to pick medicine."
"Why?"
Xu Ning was puzzled.
Tao Yunchuan said to Xu Ning, "I paid the village five taels of silver so you can go to the martial arts training."
Xu Ning suddenly felt a little confused.
'Training?'
Xu Ning was a little dumbfounded.
He was already in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique, why would he need training?
Seeing how Xu Ning did not immediately agree, Tao Yunchuan thought that Xu Ning was distressed over the money. He said, "You don't have to worry about the money. We have 100 taels in savings, so take this opportunity to practice martial arts."
"Xu Ning, you have to understand that martial arts training is the true way in life."
Tao Yunchuan said, "When I was a teenager, I went up the mountains to collect medicine and met a beast. Although I escaped, I was physically disabled. I had no ability to practice martial arts, so I couldn't get ahead in life. You are still young, and with your current capabilities, you can't give up this opportunity."
"I…"
Xu Ning felt that this was a waste of time.
Xu Ning pondered for a moment and spoke.
"Yunchuan, my knife technique is actually quite good."
Tao Yunchuan heard this and shook his head. He smiled. "Don't lie to me. Last month, you were upset because you haven't improved your skills for a long time. And now you're saying that your technique is good? Do you think I'm gullible?"
Xu Ning was at a loss for words.
"It's fine, Xu Ning, don't hesitate. I have already paid the money. Go there tomorrow."
Tao Yunchuan did not intend to give Xu Ning a chance to make a decision this time. He stood up and patted Xu Ning's shoulder. "Remember, practice hard."
After that, Tao Yunchuan limped out of the room.
Seeing how Tao Yunchuan was determined, Xu Ning decided to listen to his brother-in-law.
"If that's the case, I'll go practice."
Xu Ning knew that he couldn't escape Tao Yunchuan's demands.
However, he didn't plan to train for a long time. After finding an excuse for his increase in strength by going to the group training, Tao Yunchuan would recognize his talents.
By then, he would ask to train alone instead of training in a group.
…
Early the next morning.
The rooster crowed while the sky was still dim.
Xu Ning woke up early. He quickly groomed himself and went outside.
Today, Xu Ning would officially begin his time in the training camp.
On the way there, Xu Ning saw a large bunch of teenagers rushing towards the school.
As soon as Xu Ning arrived at the school, he saw that the field was crowded.
Xu Ning estimated there were more than 200 people in the school field.
Every 30 people were divided into a team, and the training was led by the elders of the clan.
Yesterday, Tao Yunchuan told Xu Ning that his instructor would be Tao Yunmeng.
Xu Ning asked around and finally found his team.
Tao Yunmeng, the leader of Xu Ning's team, hadn't arrived yet. Xu Ning greeted the peers in his group.
Although he was an outsider, the young men with Tao as their surname did not exclude him.
However, from what Xu Ning remembered, his predecessor had never been unable to fully integrate and be accepted by the Tao village.
In his predecessor's heart, he had never been a member here.
But fortunately now, as a transmigrator, Xu Ning was not so sensitive anymore.
"Xu Ning!"
Suddenly, Xu Ning heard someone call his name.
He looked over.
"Guo Ye?"
Xu Ning saw Guo Ye.
"Xu Ning, you are here too!"
Guo Ye was surprised.
"My brother-in-law signed me up."
Xu Ning then asked, "So you are also participating in the training camp, I didn't even know."
"I occasionally practice. I come here for a few days a month. If it weren't for my uncle forcing me to come, I would rather go to the medicinal shop."
Guo Ye scratched his head; he felt quite embarrassed.
Having poor martial arts skills in this era was considered as being unambitious, so Guo Ye didn't mention the training camp to Xu Ning.
Xu Ning smiled when he heard his words.
Most people who paid the fee wanted to come every day, but Guo Ye was forced to come instead.
Furthermore, Tao Yungang was in the medicinal materials business, so he had plenty of money in his hands. The fee of five taels of silver per month wasn't a huge expense.
"Uncle Meng is here!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
A muscular man in a tight shirt, carrying two large wooden boxes on his shoulders, walked over.
This was the leader of Xu Ning's team, Tao Yunmeng.
Tao Yunmeng was a powerful man in the Tao Village. Apparently, he had long mastered the Gale Knife Technique, and his internal skill had reached the fourfold realm. He was also famous among the nearby villages.
Bang! Bang!
Tao Yunmeng put down the two large wooden boxes from his shoulders.
"Grab a knife and line up!"
Tao Yunmeng looked at the dozens of teenagers in front of him as he shouted.
Tao Yunmeng's team practiced the Gale Knife Technique.
The dozens of teenagers in front of him went silent instantly.
Everyone stood in order. They then took out the steel knives from the wooden boxes and stood back in line.
The steel knives were not anything special, but not every family had one.
For example, Xu Ning's household only owned two hatchets.
Therefore, the knives needed for the training camp were prepared by the village.
The members stood still. Tao Yunmeng counted the number of people before nodding with satisfaction. "Very well, many people came this time! There are even new faces."
Tao Yunmeng noticed Xu Ning.
"Roll call."
Tao Yunmeng took out a piece of paper with the list of trainees on it.
"Tao Qingshu!"
"Here!"
"Tao Zhi!"
"…"
"Xu Ning!"
Finally, Xu Ning was the last one called out.
"Here!"
Xu Ning said loudly.
"Okay, there are only three people who are absent, which is pretty good. Then, let's start practicing!"
Tao Yunmeng shouted fiercely.
"Everybody get your spirits up!"
There was more than one team on the school field. There were nearly ten leaders, but Tao Yunmeng's voice was the loudest.
"Practice the usual routine first, begin!"
Dozens of teenagers began to practice the Gale Knife Technique at the same time.
Instantly, the knives glided in the wind.
Tao Yunmeng did not stand in place, instead he paced around slowly, carefully observing everyone's movements.
"Use more power!"
Tao Yunmeng would reprimand those whose movements were not of standard or had no force.
Especially for those whose movements were obviously subpar, Tao Yunmeng would even kick them as a reminder.
Occasionally, Tao Yunmeng would also praise them.
"Tao Zhi, good progress, continue to work hard."
Tao Yun praised the young girl.
In Kangyun County, regardless of which village, there were always a few women practicing martial arts.
In Xu Ning's team, there were two to three women practicing martial arts.
They were all from good family backgrounds. Their parents and relatives were regarded as upper-class in the Tao Village; they had few problems in life.
In the Tao Village, women could practice martial arts, but it was not compulsory.
Firstly, for external skills such as the Gale Knife Technique, women were disadvantaged in terms of physique when compared to men.
The second reason was that even when women practiced martial arts, they rarely participated in defense and fighting. The high-risk occupations such as guards and hunting teams of the village were mostly performed by men.
After being praised by Tao Yunmeng, the girl named Tao Zhi smiled and swung her knife even harder.
Tao Yunmeng continued to walk and examine, and soon he arrived in front of Guo Ye.
Guo Ye was obviously nervous when Tao Yunmeng came over.
"Guo Ye, what are you practicing?"
Tao Yunmeng suddenly spoke in an aggressive tone.
Guo Ye was naturally an anxious person, so his movements were more stiff than most people.
"Lazy and enervated. Looking after your uncle's shop as an excuse, you lack perseverance and hard work. You never practice in your spare time. You still haven't touched the basics of the knife technique. What do you want me to say about you?"
Tao Yunmeng gently kicked Guo Ye's calf.
Guo Ye staggered and almost fell to the ground.
But faced with Tao Yunmeng's aggressiveness, Guo Ye didn't dare to say a word.
"I really don't know how Brother Yungang can stand you…"
Tao Yunmeng sneered.
Tao Yunmeng's eyes turned away from Guo Ye.
He was completely disappointed in Guo Ye, who had average talents and no fighting spirit. Such a person could not become a true warrior.
Then, Tao Yunmeng turned his gaze from Guo Ye to Xu Ning.
Report chapter
Chapter 7: Intermediate Gale Knife Technique?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tao Yunmeng scrutinized Xu Ning's movements.
Tao Yunchuan handed over five taels of silver for the training camp yesterday. After Tao Yunmeng received the notice from the accountant, he added Xu Ning's name to the list.
According to the registration information, Tao Yunmeng knew that Xu Ning had been practicing alone previously, so he didn't have high expectations.
After all, people like Xu Ning who could not gather enough money for martial arts training because of their family background, were common in the Tao Village.
Xu Ning watched Tao Yunmeng walk over, but he was calm as a cucumber.
His Gale Sword Technique had reached the intermediate realm.
Thus, Xu Ning was not worried, so he continued to practice the Gale Knife Technique.
Tao Yunmeng approached and stood beside Xu Ning, wanting to see the results of his lone practice.
'What?'
Tao Yunmeng stared at Xu Ning for a while and his eyebrows suddenly jumped, revealing a rather unexpected look on his face.
Xu Ning's knife technique was extremely smooth, and his slashing force was also precise. He was clearly ahead of the others.
'The kid's lone training sessions seem to be pretty good…'
Tao Yunmeng thought secretly in his heart.
The Gale Knife Technique was not an internal skill; it was an external technique.
As far as the technique was concerned, there was a big difference between an untrained and a trained individual.
Xu Ning learned the Gale Knife Technique without any guidance from the elders and practiced privately by himself, so being able to reach this realm was quite amazing.
'Xu Ning's proficiency with the Gale Knife Technique seems like it's elementary, no matter how I look at it…'
Tao Yunmeng was still unable to determine Xu Ning's true strength just by the practice routine.
But even so, Tao Yunmeng still looked at Xu Ning in admiration.
It was difficult to reach the elementary realm of the Gale Sword Technique within three years. And practicing without any guidance at least doubled the difficulty.
'When we do the individual tests later, I have to take a good look at this kid… If he really only practiced alone, he's definitely a talented kid…'
Tao Yunmeng smiled softly.
Although Xu Ning had a foreign surname, Tao Yunmeng still regarded him as a descendant of the village.
"Xu Ning, very good!"
Tao Yunmeng did not hide his compliments.
"Thank you Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning continued his movements without showing any excitement.
Xu Ning knew clearly about his own strength.
Tao Yunmeng walked away from Xu Ning.
After Tao Yunmeng walked away, Guo Ye opened his mouth and whispered to Xu Ning next to him.
"Xu Ning, you were praised by Uncle Meng!"
There was a tone of disbelief and bits of jealousy in his voice.
Xu Ning glanced at Guo Ye and ignored him.
"How did you do it?"
Guo Ye knew that Xu Ning had been practicing alone. He thought Xu Ning would not be as good as him. He didn't expect Xu Ning to be praised by Instructor Uncle Meng.
"Practice more, and think more."
Xu Ning's expression remained blank.
He certainly couldn't tell him the secrets of the Martial Arts Panel.
"Um…"
Suddenly, Guo Ye had the urge to practice martial arts harder.
A complete set routine of the Gale Knife Technique was soon finished.
After finishing the routine, Tao Yunmeng stood in front of the team again.
"Except for a few lazy people, most people have made progress."
Tao Yunmeng's gaze shined over Guo Ye.
Guo Ye lowered his head subconsciously.
"Next, practice on your own and ask me if you have questions."
Everyone followed the new instructions and began to practice.
…
After an hour and a half, all of the practice procedures were over. Finally it was time for the last part of the morning training.
Tao Yunmeng was personally in charge of the test.
"Form a circle, I want to test everyone individually."
Tao Yunmeng said.
"First person, come forward."
Tao Yunmeng took out a steel knife from the wooden box.
A young man at the front of the line stepped out and entered the circle.
The young man gave Tao Yunmeng a salute. "Uncle Meng!"
"Come!"
Tao Yunmeng swung his sword fiercely.
The boy suddenly rushed towards Tao Yunmeng.
The test began.
The young men and women in the circle stared at them intently.
Although this was a test, Tao Yunmeng was utilizing his actual combat techniques, which was something worthwhile to study.
"Uncle Meng is a master…"
Xu Ning stood in the crowd as he watched the fight between the two.
Tao Yunmeng was obviously going easy on the young man, but he was still able to put tremendous pressure on his opponent.
The young man swung his knife and slashed forward, but Tao Yunmeng was able to counter easily.
The heavy steel knife was like a flexible rope in Tao Yunmeng's hands. It constantly restricted the young man's movements by whipping in the air.
'He's just like me, in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique…'
Xu Ning thought to himself, 'However, I might be wrong, but I still feel that my realm seems to be higher…'
Xu Ning could understand all of Tao Yunmeng's moves, and Xu Ning even felt that he could do better in some places.
'But he only used his external skill. If he showed the strength of his four-fold internal skill, I would definitely not be a worthy opponent of his…'
After thinking of this, Xu Ning felt a little unfortunate.
He had no access to internal skills at all.
Apparently, an internal skill was a fundamental cultivation technique.
"Enough."
In the circle, Tao Yunmeng picked up the steel knife from the young man's hand.
The young man lasted for two minutes.
"Your understanding of the Gale Knife Technique is basically solid, but there are some details that need additional attention…"
After the test, Tao Yunmeng patiently pointed out the young man's problems and made some suggestions.
"Next…"
Tao Yunmeng called for the next person.
Soon, it was Guo Ye's turn.
"Uncle Meng…"
Guo Ye scratched his head and walked into the circle.
Tao Yunmeng's eyes narrowed. "Go."
Guo Ye grabbed the knife with both hands and rushed over.
Tao Yunmeng dodged his attack easily, then he turned around and kicked Guo Ye's ass.
Guo Ye was sent flying out of the circle.
"Learn the basic routines first."
Tao Yunmeng said coldly.
"Yes, Uncle Meng."
Guo Ye stood up awkwardly and scratched his head.
"Last person, Xu Ning."
Tao Yunmeng was looking forward to this test against Xu Ning.
He would soon be able to understand how good this kid's lone practice had been.
Xu Ning walked into the circle and saluted. "Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning was also looking forward to this fight with Tao Yunmeng.
After he got into the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique, he hadn't had the opportunity to test his true strength.
Soon, Xu Ning's entire body entered a flow-like state.
With a knife in one hand, he rushed towards Tao Yunmeng.
The knife slashed forward.
"So fast!"
Tao Yunmeng was shocked.
Xu Ning's slash was extremely fast and done at a tricky angle.
The knife flew towards Tao Yunmeng, who had not yet exerted his full strength. He almost didn't react in time.
When the blade reached his face, Tao Yunmeng was able to dodge it by instinct.
'No way…'
Tao Yunmeng looked at Xu Ning, who was full of fighting spirit. He was a little frightened.
'His realm of skill demonstrated just now is not elementary, it should be intermediate!'
'Three years of lone practice to cultivate his Gale Knife Technique into the intermediate realm?'
Tao Yunmeng breathed heavily.
"Come!"
Tao Yunmeng was ready for battle.
He suppressed his internal skill, but began to manifest his intermediate realm Gale Knife Technique.
Xu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly. After the slash just now, he vaguely felt that he had the upper hand.
He stabbed with the steel knife in his hand again.
The gale knife violently flew in the air.
Xu Ning's relentless attacks were like a tsunami, crashing into Tao Yunmeng wave after wave.
'He really is in the intermediate realm!'
Tao Yunmeng was certain this time.
Xu Ning's combos and cohesion were even better than his own.
The rhythm, speed, and intensity of his slashes were all accurate and precise.
Tao Yunmeng suddenly realized that he was slightly struggling.
Xu Ning displayed more and more offensive slashes, and Tao Yunmeng slowly began retreating in a defensive posture.
Xu Ning and Tao Yunmeng were fighting inside the circle.
The people gathered around were amazed by Xu Ning's performance.
"If I remember correctly, this person is an outsider, right?"
"Yeah, his name is Xu Ning…"
"Why do I feel that Uncle Meng is at a disadvantage in the fight?"
"Uncle Meng should have suppressed his true strength, but it seems that Xu Ning should at least be in the elementary realm…"
"…"
The crowd whispered amongst themselves.
"Xu Ning's Gale Knife Technique does not seem to be in the elementary realm…"
Everyone around felt that Tao Yunmeng was going easy, but Tao Zhi, the girl who was praised by Tao Yunmeng before, clenched her fists tightly and muttered to herself, "He should be at the intermediate realm…"
The reason why Tao Zhi made this judgment was because she was taught by her father, who was in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique.
The oppressive force displayed by Xu Ning at that moment was similar to that displayed by her father.
"If he's already so strong, why did he come to the training camp…"
When Tao Zhi saw Xu Ning's fresh face in the morning, she thought he was a novice.
But now that did not seem to be the case. Tao Zhi was shocked.
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Chapter 8: Internal Skill Reward
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It wasn't just Tao Zhi, almost everyone looked at Xu Ning in amazement.
Although they were not as perceptive as Tao Zhi, they all discovered that Xu Ning's Gale Knife Technique was far beyond their level.
Xu Ning was inside the circle, so he did not notice the commotion of those around him.
All of his attention was focused on tussling with Tao Yunmeng.
The blades slashed together, rustling in the wind.
"A newcomer beating a master, Xu Ning is a talented man!"
Tao Yunmeng felt that if he continued to fight, he would be forced to use his internal skill, otherwise he would lose face.
Bang!
Tao Yunmeng flicked Xu Ning's knife with a fierce blow.
"Done!"
Tao Yunmeng looked at Xu Ning with a smile on his face. "Intermediate Gale Knife Technique, not bad Xu Ning!"
'Intermediate realm Gale Knife Technique…'
There was an uproar in the surrounding crowd.
Everyone realized that Xu Ning's battle against Tao Yunmeng just now was a true demonstration of his superior Gale Knife Technique.
It turned out that everyone had underestimated Xu Ning.
They couldn't believe that an outsider like him had appeared in the Tao Village.
Guo Ye's mouth twitched.
"No wonder this kid dares to pick Heal-all Plants in the inner circle—he's this strong!"
Guo Ye felt that he finally understood Xu Ning's behavior. 'No wonder this kid bought the Swallowtail Flower. Because of his great achievements in his external skill, he needed to prepare for the practice of his internal skill… I can't believe this kid concealed his progress…'
'No… I have to practice more after I go back!'
After seeing Xu Ning show his intrepid strength. Guo Ye's heart suddenly exploded with motivation.
Xu Ning was relatively calm.
After the battle, he was certain of one thing.
His intermediate realm in the Gale Knife Technique was stronger than Tao Yunmeng's intermediate realm.
Tao Yunmeng had been cultivating the Gale Knife Technique for more than ten years.
But even after cultivating for so long, he was not as good as Xu Ning.
This was the terrifying power of the Martial Arts Panel.
'This Martial Arts Panel really is amazing…'
Xu Ning was calm on the surface, but emotions were bubbling in his heart.
"Kid, at first I thought you signed up for the training camp to learn, I didn't expect you did so just to test your strength…" Tao Yunmeng stepped forward and patted Xu Ning's shoulder. "Go collect the reward later, and get a refund of your training camp fee."
"Test my strength? Reward?"
After hearing Tao Yunmeng's words, Xu Ning was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Looking at Xu Ning's puzzled look on his face, Tao Yunmeng smiled. "It seems that you are still unaware…"
"Here's the thing…" Tao Yunmeng explained, "Anyone who participates in the training camp, as long as they reach the elementary realm and pass the assessment, will no longer have to participate in the training camp. In addition, they will also be rewarded with a steel knife and an internal skill. This would allow you to start a new chapter in your martial arts practice."
"An internal skill as a reward?"
Xu Ning was intrigued.
Compared to external skills, internal skills were the true essence of martial arts in this world.
To a certain extent, external skills were just techniques, while internal skills were the fundamental way to stimulate one's own potential from within and truly master martial arts.
Prior to this, he still felt unfortunate for not being able to obtain an internal skill, but now, an internal skill was being gifted to him.
Xu Ning was quite pleased with this outcome.
But immediately, Xu Ning's eyebrows tightened. "Uncle Meng, the internal skill reward you mentioned, can an outsider receive it too?"
This was Xu Ning's concern.
In Xu Ning's opinion, internal skills were a precious resource.
Tao Yunmeng laughed out loud when he heard these words. "You worry too much. Your brother-in-law is from the Tao Village, and you are also from the Tao Village, so you are naturally eligible for the rewards."
"Is that so… I see, thank you Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning was quite moved.
At the same time, Xu Ning began to feel thankful for the Tao Village.
The Tao Village's culture was quite liberal. The reason why his predecessor had not been able to integrate into the village might be due to his lack of talent.
"You don't need to thank me—these are all rules of the village." Tao Yunmeng waved his hand. "But you, you have reached the intermediate realm after three years of practicing the Gale Knife Technique. That's quite eye-opening."
"It's all luck…"
Xu Ning said modestly.
"Well, this is the end of the morning training session!"
Tao Yunmeng was in a good mood. Although he had only been Xu Ning's instructor for half a day, he was happy to teach such a talented individual.
The only unfortunate matter was that he had not discovered Xu Ning's talents earlier.
Tao Yunmeng said to Xu Ning.
"Oh yeah, go to the old clan church to receive your reward. You can go right after dismissal."
"Noted, Uncle Meng."
Although they had only met for a short period of time, Tao Yunmeng showed his sincerity towards Xu Ning.
"Guo Ye, come here!"
After that, Tao Yunmeng glanced at Guo Ye in the crowd and shouted.
"Uncle Meng."
Guo Ye leaned forward with a smile on his face.
Tao Yunmeng said to Guo Ye.
"Pack up the knives and take them to the armory. When we come back in two hours, bring them back again."
"It's too heavy…"
Guo Ye immediately tried to make excuses.
But after seeing Tao Yunmeng's threatening look, Guo Ye finally compromised.
Soon after, the crowd dispersed.
Only Xu Ning and Guo Ye were left.
"I'll help you carry the steel knives to the armory."
Xu Ning was ready to help Guo Ye.
"It's fine, no need."
Guo Ye waved his hand. "Go to the old clan church, don't worry."
"You can carry it alone?"
Xu Ning asked.
"I can't, but I'll just make multiple trips."
Guo Ye smirked. "I've decided, I will also practice the Gale Knife Technique."
Xu Ning was amused. He knew Guo Ye must have been motivated by him.
"It's not too late, work hard."
Xu Ning said with encouragement.
"In the future, if I don't understand anything, I'll come and ask you—you have to teach me."
Guo Ye said.
"Of course."
Xu Ning nodded in response.
"Okay, go to the old clan church."
Guo Ye urged.
Xu Ning didn't waste any more time. He bid farewell to Guo Ye and quickly walked towards the old clan church.
…
Xu Ning walked along the path in his memory and came to the old clan church.
The old clan church was the high-level decision-making body of the Tao Village.
Every member of the old clan church was not only strong, but also had a high status and influence in the village.
All major decisions in the Tao Village were made by these clan elders.
There were more than a dozen clan elders in the old clan church. They gathered on special occasions, but usually they were on duty in rotation and were responsible for small matters inside and outside the clan.
Two guards holding weapons stood in front of the old clan church. Xu Ning walked forward, and before he could speak, one of the guards asked Xu Ning, "Did you pass the training test and come here to collect the reward?"
"Yes."
Xu Ning responded.
"Go on in."
The guards let him in easily.
Xu Ning walked through the front yard and went inside.
The decoration in the old clan church was simple, but the place was huge.
There were seats arranged on both sides of the hall.
Xu Ning came in and saw that there were already three people inside. It was obvious that they came from other training groups to collect their rewards.
Xu Ning recognized two of them.
One was a young girl, with strong makeup and a domineering posture. She was Tao Ye, the granddaughter of Tao Jingxing, who was the head of the Tao Clan.
The other person Xu Ning recognized was Tao Qingfeng, an energetic youngster.
Tao Qingfeng was famous in the Tao Village. Previously, it was rumored that he was extremely talented, and had made great progress when he first started practicing the Hurricane Spear Technique.
He wasn't even 13 years old yet.
'I wonder if the Gale Knife Technique is stronger than the Hurricane Spear Technique…'
Xu Ning wondered in his mind.
The Hurricane Spear Technique and the Gale Knife Technique were the two main external skills practiced by the younger generations of the Tao Village.
The main reason was that learning them was relatively simple and practical.
Aside from Tao Qingfeng and Tao Ye, Xu Ning did not recognize the third person.
When Xu Ning looked at the three of them, they were also looking back at Xu Ning.
Obviously, they did not recognize Xu Ning.
Although Xu Ning knew of Tao Ye and Tao Qingfeng, they did not know Xu Ning.
There were more than 3,000 people in the Tao Village. Moreover, Xu Ning was just an ordinary outsider with no social presence.
But since everyone was here together, they all nodded politely to greet each other.
Because this was the old clan church, it was not appropriate for them to chat or sit, so they stood there quietly.
After a while, there was a hearty laugh outside the old clan church.
Soon after, a high-spirited old man with white hair walked in.
Report chapter
Chapter 9: Internal Skill Confusion
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Not bad, there are four people with elementary realm knife techniques."
An old man strode in and took his seat.
He was Tao Jinglu, one of the clan elders.
"Uncle."
Tao Ye took the lead to greet him.
Her grandfather was the head of the village, thus she knew the clan elders.
"Hello uncle."
After Tao Ye, the three saluted at the same time.
"Tao Ye, you lived up to your grandfather's expectations! At the tender age of thirteen, you have achieved the elementary realm in the Gale Knife Technique, you are almost catching up with your sister, Tao Jin."
After Tao Jinglu praised Tao Ye first, he then looked at Tao Qingfeng. "Are you Tao Qingfeng?"
"Yes uncle."
Tao Qingfeng nodded as a response.
Although he was young, he spoke with a confident tone. Tao Ye couldn't help but take another look at him.
This was the confidence one had when they grew up in an environment full of praises.
"You have great potential…"
Tao Jinglu obviously knew about the talents of this young man.
The clan elders highly valued young talents.
The future prosperity of the Tao Village would all depend on these young geniuses.
"And you are?"
Tao Jinglu looked at the other person Xu Ning did not know.
"Uncle, I am Tao Qingping."
Tao Qingping looked about the same age as Xu Ning, but his talents were incomparable to Tao Ye and Tao Qingfeng. He looked a little nervous in front of the clan elder Tao Jinglu.
"Oh…"
Tao Jinglu nodded. He obviously did not pay attention to Tao Qingping.
He then looked at Xu Ning. "What is your name?"
Tao Jinglu did not recognize Xu Ning at all.
"Uncle, my name is Xu Ning."
Xu Ning responded.
"Xu Ning?"
Tao Jinglu was obviously surprised.
There were few outsiders in the Tao Village, and even fewer that had reached the elementary realm in the Gale Knife Technique.
Xu Ning's situation was rare.
"Outsider…" Tao Jinglu rolled his eyes and thought for a moment. "Whose family are you from?"
"My brother-in-law is Tao Yunchuan."
Xu Ning responded truthfully.
"Tao Yunchuan…"
Tao Jinglu began to think. It was obvious that he was not familiar with this name either.
Tao Jinglu paused for a moment, then asked, "How old are you? Do you practice spear techniques or knife techniques?"
"Seventeen, I practice the Gale Knife Technique."
Xu Ning answered truthfully.
"Seventeen…"
Tao Jinglu's expression remained blank. "Not bad…"
He thought that Xu Ning was only in the elementary realm of the Gale Knife Technique.
The young people in the Tao Village started martial arts training as early as 12 years old, so being in the elementary realm as a 17-year-old was nothing outstanding.
Xu Ning knew that Tao Jinglu had misjudged his abilities.
But after thinking about it, Xu Ning did not explain further.
That would seem too vainglorious.
Afterwards, Tao Jinglu stopped asking questions. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, enough small talk, you guys have been waiting long enough. I will now teach you internal skills."
As soon as Tao Jinglu said this, the four people's eyes lit up at the same time.
The same was true for Tao Ye. Although she was the Clan Head's granddaughter, her grandfather never privately taught her internal skills in advance, so she was also full of expectations.
Under their excited gazes, Tao Jinglu got up and walked to the compartment behind the lobby.
After a while, Tao Jinglu walked out.
He was holding a few booklets and a few pieces of paper in his hands.
"These are the internal skills your heart so desires!"
Tao Jinglu smiled before handing the booklets to the four people.
Xu Ning took it and glanced at it.
Three words. The words "Spring Breeze Tactic" were printed on the cover.
"So this is an internal skill…"
A look of expectation appeared in Xu Ning's eyes.
He slowly opened the cover page and quickly glanced at a few pages.
The Spring Breeze Tactic booklet was composed of words and some pictures of the human body—the cultivation technique was quite detailed.
Although it was difficult for ordinary people to become literate in this era, the Tao Village was a big village, where children began to learn how to read from a young age.
Although Xu Ning was not in the Tao Village when he was a child, after staying here for three years, he had learned the basics from Guo Ye.
Guo Ye gave Xu Ning's predecessor a lot of help.
"Uncle."
Tao Ye happily flipped through the pages of the Spring Breeze Tactic. She seemed to realize something and asked, "Was this always the method of how the Spring Breeze Tactic was passed onto the villagers?"
"It has always been like this."
Tao Jinglu nodded.
Tao Ye frowned slightly. "I remember my grandfather said that internal skills are the foundation of martial arts. What if someone obtains this internal skill booklet and leaks the skill?"
Xu Ning overheard their conversation and thought that Tao Ye's concerns made sense.
For example, once he obtained this booklet, if he wanted to teach it to others outside the Tao Village, no one could stop him.
Tao Jinglu laughed and explained, "Internal skill is a budo, but it is not a precious resource."
"Outside the village, regardless who it is, as long as they have the mind to practice martial arts, it is easy to obtain internal skills. In Kangyun County, you can even buy it with taels."
"Um…"
Tao Ye was obviously surprised.
"However, if internal skill cultivation techniques are so wildly available, why does the village still impose restrictions on us, with us not being able to be exposed to internal skills if we don't reach the elementary realm of the Gale Knife Technique?"
Tao Ye asked again.
Tao Jinglu replied, "You are not allowed to learn internal skills in advance, because we are afraid that you will be lost in the pursuit of strength. Moreover, for beginners in martial arts, internal skills are not as practical as external skills."
"For a newcomer who has no fundamentals in martial arts, the immediate gain in combat power from practicing an external skill to an elementary realm is greater than that of practicing an internal skill. The difference in combat power between internal and external skills is small in the early stages, but it becomes obvious in the later stages."
"Also, the difficulty of practicing internal skills are much higher than that of external skills. If a person can't even achieve the elementary realm in external skills, then their talent and perseverance are not enough to start the path of internal skill."
"These are the reasons why the village asked you to practice external skills first, then internal skills."
Tao Ye nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.
Tao Jinglu's words cleared up Tao Ye's confusion, and at the same time made them understand the difference between internal skills and external skills.
"Are there any other questions?"
Tao Jinglu seemed rather patient with the younger generation.
"Uncle, I have another question."
It was Tao Qingfeng who spoke this time.
"Go ahead."
Tao Jinglu waved his hand.
"I heard that there are many types of internal skills. For example, the internal skill of our Tao Village is the Spring Breeze Tactic, while the internal skill of the Song Village next door is the Wind and Thunder Book. What's the difference?"
Tao Qingfeng also had a curious look on his immature face.
"Kiddo, you know quite a lot. You even know that the Song Village's internal skill is the Wind and Thunder Book."
Tao Jinglu smiled, pointed to Tao Qingfeng and explained, "Yes, there are many internal skills in the world, and their essence is to break through the nine levels of mortal realms in martial arts."
"The difference between the various skills is mainly reflected in the different ways of stimulating an individual's physical potential. The Spring Breeze Tactic of the Tao Village, is stable in terms of cultivation and breakthrough methods, thus providing protection for individuals. Practitioners of the Spring Breeze Tactic seldom suffer serious injuries because of cultivation, but the disadvantage is that its speed of cultivation is relatively slow."
"The Wind and Thunder Book of the Song Village has a relatively more domineering way of stimulating the potential of the physical body. It allows for them to break through their potential faster, but is also more likely to injure the practitioner. Last year, a young man in the Song Village was eager to break through and almost lost his life. Although he was later rescued, he was crippled for life."
"Generally speaking, there are no good or bad cultivation techniques, the cultivation styles are all different. The internal skills that are passed down are all tried and tested. You don't have to worry about the pros and cons of the cultivation techniques. No matter what the cultivation technique is, after breaking through the realms, the strength gained are all similar."
"Is that so…"
Xu Ning finally understood the essence of internal skills.
This was a bit like textbooks from his previous life. Although the compilation was different, there was no difference in essence.
"Then if warriors of the same realm fight one another, where does the difference come from?"
Tao Qingfeng continued to ask.
"There are many factors affecting strength…" Tao Jinglu said, "Some warriors have just entered their realm, some have reached their peak; some have experienced battles, some grew up with a silver spoon; some have average external skills, some even have multiple external skills that are at intermediate or even satisfactory realm… These are the factors that determine the victory or defeat of warriors."
"Oh…"
Tao Qingfeng thought for a while and bowed. "Thank you, uncle!"
"What about you two? Any questions?"
Report chapter
Chapter 10: Spring Breeze Tactic
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tao Jinglu looked at Xu Ning and Tao Qingping, who both hadn't said a word.
"No uncle."
Xu Ning and Tao Qingping shook their heads at the same time.
Xu Ning really didn't have any questions in his heart. Tao Ye and Tao Qingfeng's questions basically covered his own questions.
"If that is the case, go back and practice the Spring Breeze Tactic."
Tao Jinglu said, "On the tenth day of each month, if you have any questions about the cultivation of your internal skills, you can go to the training grounds, and there will be village elders to help you. This is different from Gale Knife training. If you feel that your cultivation is going smoothly and stably, you don't need to ask for help. After all, the key to cultivate internal skills depends on the individual."
"Also…"
Tao Jinglu divided the remaining pages of paper and placed them in their hands.
"This is your reward." Tao Jinglu said, "This is a voucher to go to the armory to receive your weapons. If you practice a knife technique, ask for a knife. If you practice a spear technique, ask for a spear. Got it?"
"Understood."
The four people responded in unison. They were all in high-spirits.
After all, everyone would begin a new chapter in their martial arts practice.
"Okay, dismissed."
Tao Jinglu patted his sleeve.
"Yes uncle."
They bowed at the same time.
After leaving the old clan church, the four of them went to the armory. They followed Tao Jinglu's advice and each took their own weapons.
Xu Ning took a steel knife because he was practicing the Gale Knife Technique.
Afterwards, the four went their own ways.
Xu Ning did not go home immediately, instead he went to the accounting office first.
He followed Tao Yunmeng's instructions and obtained the five taels of silver paid by his brother-in-law.
Although five taels of silver did not seem much, it was worth half a month of his family's income.
Although Xu Ning did not have a certificate in his hand while withdrawing the money, after explaining the reason with the accountant, the accountant did not give him any trouble.
The accountant could easily verify this with Tao Yunmeng later.
If Xu Ning was lying, the price he had to pay would definitely be much greater than the five taels of silver.
…
After taking the silver, Xu Ning returned home.
He took some time to receive the rewards, so it was already past lunch time, but Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan left a meal for Xu Ning.
"Brother-in-law."
Xu Ning entered the house with a steel knife.
"You're back…" Tao Yunchuan sat on the bench and said, "Go eat first…"
Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian both saw the knife behind Xu Ning's back, but didn't think much of it.
He just thought Xu Ning had brought the training knife back.
Xu Lian spoke.
"Go eat and take a break after lunch, you still have to train in the afternoon…"
Xu Ning put the knife down and sat on the seat. "Sis, Brother-in-law, I don't have to go there this afternoon."
"Don't have to go?"
Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan were puzzled. "What's the matter? The instructors don't want you?"
The two of them assumed that since Xu Ning had been practicing by himself, he was discharged by the instructor.
Xu Ning saw the two of them panic, so he quickly said, "It's not that. It's just that the instructor said that I have practiced enough and that I have passed the assessment criteria of the training camp, so there is no need to follow the training anymore."
Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan both had their mouths wide open, thinking they had misheard.
The two looked at each other with a puzzled expression.
"Xu Ning, don't try to play tricks with us."
Tao Yunchuan said, "Last month, you were still annoyed by the progression of your knife technique. And in a blink of an eye, the instructor says that you have practiced well enough and that you have passed the assessment?"
Xu Ning was well prepared for Tao Yunchuan's question. He had already thought of an excuse in advance.
"I had practiced the Gale Knife Technique alone, so I was not sure about the extent of my progress." Xu Ning did not hesitate and said, "The reason why I was confused last month was that I encountered a bottleneck by entering a new realm too fast. No one guided me, so I thought my technique was stuck."
"Today the instructor helped me with my troubles, then I realized that my martial arts talent is actually quite good."
After that, Xu Ning took out the internal strength booklet and pointed to the steel knife next to him. "Sis, Brother-in-law, look, this internal skill booklet and this knife was given to me after I reached the assessment standard."
When Xu Ning spoke, he was quite confident.
Even if they didn't understand martial arts, after his explanation, coupled with these tangible rewards, he could surely persuade them.
Sure enough, Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan were both silent.
They all felt that what Xu Ning had said was bizarre, but the rewards from the village were right in front of them. They couldn't help but believe him.
"Xu Ning, then, you are a real warrior?"
After a moment of silence, Tao Yunchuan spoke tentatively.
He had a doubtful tone, but his eyes were full of anticipation.
"Yes."
Xu Ning nodded heavily.
After receiving Xu Ning's confirmation, Tao Yunchuan remained silent for a while.
He slapped his thigh and smiled. "Okay… that's great… There is finally a martial artist in our family!"
In this world, becoming a warrior was a prerequisite for success.
The life of their family had been difficult because their family members were all ordinary people.
But that would soon change. Now that Xu Ning was a warrior, they could work more and earn more.
When Xu Lian saw her husband's expression, she also showed a look of unconcealed joy on her face.
As long as Xu Ning was willing to endure hardships, he would no longer have to worry about the difficulties of finding a wife and the difficulties of survival. The family would be able to get rid of their constraints and obtain a higher standard of living in the future.
The things they had been worrying about for a long time were solved easily like this.
Xu Ning felt warm in his heart when he saw how joyful they were.
Whether it was the large income from selling Heal-all Plants, or becoming a martial artist, Xu Ning was certain that he had begun to bring beneficial changes to this ordinary family.
In the future, he would also take on more responsibilities for this family.
'Work hard, Master Budo.'
Xu Ning had a firm belief in his heart.
…
After lunch, Xu Ning returned to his room.
After Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian coaxed Tao Tao into a nap, they went out for work.
When they left the house, there was still a smile on their faces.
Xu Ning was satisfied after seeing how joyful Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian were.
Inside the room.
Xu Ning closed the door of his room and put the book that contained the contents of the Spring Breeze Tactic internal skill on the desk.
"Spring Breeze Tactic…"
Xu Ning was quite excited at the idea of a fundamental skill that could activate the human body's true potential and was regarded as the fundamental way to unlock real martial arts.
"Martial Arts Panel."
The Martial Arts Panel appeared in front of him.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Art: Gale Knife Technique (intermediate)
Available energy: 0 units
—
The information on the Martial Arts Panel did not change.
"I wonder if I can incorporate the Spring Breeze Tactic into the Martial Arts Panel…"
Xu Ning began to think. "Surely I don't have to break through the first mortal realm stage before I can start using energy to improve…"
If this was the case, Xu Ning would be quite disappointed.
Without the Martial Arts Panel, his predecessor would never have achieved the elementary realm in the Gale Knife Technique, let alone the much more difficult Spring Breeze Tactic.
If he had to wait a few years and practice the Spring Breeze Tactic to the mortal realm first stage before he could use the magical effects of the Martial Arts Panel, it would be a huge waste of time.
"Enough thinking, I'll try it first…"
Xu Ning shook his head and began to learn the Spring Breeze Tactic.
The contents of the Spring Breeze Tactic was not complicated; the text was easy to read, and there was nothing particularly difficult to understand.
Even though there were some obscurities, it contained pictures for clarity. Xu Ning didn't encounter any difficulties.
"So it seems that this Spring Breeze Tactic is not too difficult to cultivate…"
Xu Ning thought, "But if I only practice and rely on the body's potential, I am afraid it will not be easy to succeed…"
Time slowly passed by.
After about an hour, Xu Ning had read this booklet thoroughly.
Xu Ning brought out the Martial Arts Panel again.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Arts:
Spring Breeze Tactic (Novice)
Gale Knife Method (Intermediate)
Available energy: 0 units
—
This time, the Spring Breeze Tactic appeared under the martial arts column.
"The Spring Breeze Tactic is on the Martial Arts Panel!"
Xu Ning felt relieved.
It seemed like the conditions for being on the Martial Arts Panel were far less strict than he had thought.
As long as he learned a technique, the Martial Arts Panel would include the technique.
"I wonder how much energy is needed to break through the mortal realm first stage of the Spring Breeze Tactic…"
Xu Ning did not hesitate and focused his mind on the "" sign next to the Spring Breeze Tactic.
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NovelI Have A Martial Arts PanelChapter 11
I HAVE A MARTIAL ARTS PANEL
C11
Chapter 11: Guo Ye's Invitation
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
—
Consume 3 units of energy to level up the Spring Breeze Tactic?
Yes/No
—
"It takes 3 units of energy to reach the mortal realm first stage…"
Xu Ning smacked his lips.
3 energy units was the same as leveling up the Gale Knife Technique to the elementary realm—it was not much, making it totally acceptable.
But right now, his energy reserves had been used up, so he couldn't level up immediately, which was a pity.
"No."
Xu Ning reluctantly closed the Martial Arts Panel.
If he wanted to level up in the future, he would have to store energy first.
However, Xu Ning no longer worried about obtaining new energy units.
Since he had already reached the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife technique, he could now enter the inner circle of Yunze Mountains.
The wild resources he could obtain there would be much more abundant than before, and they would also be much more valuable.
The strength of his martial arts would be fully utilized at Yunze Mountains.
"I'll rest for two days, get ready, and enter the mountains again."
Xu Ning had made a plan.
Time slowly passed by.
Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian went out to work. Because they were not at home, Xu Ning acted as a babysitter.
Inside the house yard.
Xu Ning and Tao Tao stood face to face.
Tao Tao was three years old this year, less than a meter tall.
She held a wooden stick used to herd chickens in her hand, as she looked at Xu Ning with a serious look on her face.
She was about to fight her uncle.
Tao Tao was normally a friendly kid in front of Xu Lian, but her personality was actually quite boisterous.
Usually when she played with her friends, she was the boss leader, and she would fight with boys, using power to solve problems.
The day before yesterday, Xu Ning passed the martial arts assessment, and this once again deepened Tao Tao's passion for martial arts.
Afterwards, Tao Tao began to follow Xu Ning to practice and learn martial arts.
Of course, Xu Ning did not teach her properly. Tao Tao was too young and had no resources to support her. It was easy to hurt her body if she practiced martial arts blindly.
Tao Tao refused to accept this and clamored for a duel with Xu Ning.
"Bring it on."
Xu Ning put his hands on his chest, lowered his head, and looked at Tao Tao.
Tao Tao frowned when she heard him.
She felt provoked.
"Ah~~"
Tao Tao shouted while rushing forward with her stick.
She wanted to let her uncle see her martial arts talent.
Xu Ning's eyes narrowed when he saw how frantic Tao Tao was.
When Tao Tao rushed towards him, Xu Ning raised his feet and pressed it against Tao Tao's belly, stopping her from moving.
Then, Xu Ning gently pushed.
Tao Tao stumbled and fell on the ground.
"Again!"
Tao Tao did not admit defeat. She stood up, patted the dirt off her body and rushed forward again.
And the same thing happened again.
Tao Tao fell on the ground again.
She was about to get up again, but she suddenly felt a huge hand pressing her to the ground.
Xu Ning squatted down and pressed on Tao Tao's stomach, making her unable to move.
"Now?"
Xu Ning looked at Tao Tao.
"No!"
Tao Tao was still struggling.
"Ah…"
Xu Ning laughed coldly.
He pressed Tao Tao with one hand and started tickling Tao Tao with the other.
"Now?"
Xu Ning asked again.
"No…"
Tao Tao's tone obviously softened.
Her voice trembled. She was very angry, yet she wanted to laugh.
"Now?"
Xu Ning asked.
"No… no, okay, I do!"
Tao Tao surrendered.
"Good."
Xu Ning let go of Tao Tao.
He glanced at the sun; it was almost noon.
Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian both came back for lunch—it was time for him to cook.
Xu Ning went to the kitchen and took a look. He saw that there was not much firewood left, so he planned to chop some firewood first.
Tao Tao, who was defeated by Xu Ning, was full of frustration. She turned her eyes and looked at the old hen in the yard.
The old hen was agitated. It felt like it was being stared at by something terrifying, so it screamed and ran away.
"Stop!"
Tao Tao caught up with it.
While Tao Tao was still causing trouble, Xu Ning had already finished cutting the firewood.
Just as he was about to wash some vegetables, Xu Ning heard someone call him from outside the door.
"Xu Ning!"
Afterwards, the gate was pushed open.
Guo Ye walked in.
He was carrying a knife on his back and an oily paper package in his hand.
Guo Ye looked at Xu Ning and asked.
"Are you busy?"
"Busy making lunch."
Xu Ning glanced at Guo Ye. "You came here during noon for a free meal?"
"Nope."
Guo Ye shook his head. "Came here to practice martial arts."
"Let's talk about it after lunch."
Xu Ning evaded.
"No need to cook, eat this."
Guo Ye smiled and spread out the oily paper, revealing a few meat sausages wrapped in it. "My uncle bought it so I brought some over."
Guo Ye's uncle, Tao Yungang, traveled around Kangyun County and often brought back tasty treats for Guo Ye.
"Then thank you very much."
Xu Ning did not refuse. He took the meat sausage and said, "Then, I will steam the meat sausages and teach you how to practice the Gale Knife Technique."
"Okay!"
Guo Ye grinned.
Xu Ning entered the kitchen while Tao Tao greeted Guo Ye.
"Uncle Ye."
Tao Tao politely said.
"Hey…"
Guo Ye was seventeen years old this year; he was too young to be called uncle.
"Here."
Guo Ye took out a few lumps of candy from his pocket and handed them to Tao Tao.
He had also brought these from home.
"Thank you, Uncle Ye."
Tao Tao's eyes lit up and took it.
She stopped chasing the chicken and sat in the corner of the yard before beginning to eat the candies.
"Uncle Gang is a mortal realm third stage master, and also in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique, why don't you let him teach you?"
Xu Ning steamed the sausages and walked out of the kitchen.
"My uncle has been busy collecting medicinal materials in several nearby villages, so he doesn't have the time to teach me."
Guo Ye complained, "He was all enthusiastic when he asked me to help negotiate prices for him, but afterwards he doesn't care about me."
Xu Ning glanced at Guo Ye and did not answer.
Although Guo Ye didn't have much talent in martial arts, he still had a knack for trading goods.
He negotiated sales with other villages, and not only were the prices low, but their customer relationships were also strong.
It was precisely because of this ability that Guo Ye was able to stand up straight in front of his uncle and didn't feel ashamed.
"Enough, not more talking, show me your Gale Knife Technique first."
Xu Ning said to Guo Ye.
Regardless of whether Guo Ye really liked martial arts, since he wanted to make progress right now, Xu Ning would help him.
"Okay."
Guo Ye took out a steel knife from behind and held it firmly in his hand.
The material of his steel knife was one rank lower than the reward knife Xu Ning had received. It was only four or five pounds, about the size of a training knife.
"Ahh!"
Guo Ye quietly shouted, as if to encourage himself.
Afterwards, he began to display his Gale Knife Technique.
Xu Ning stood aside, watching Guo Ye's movements, and while doing so, he gently shook his head.
Just like Tao Yunmeng said before, he had not grasped the basic fundamentals of the Gale Knife Technique.
"How is it?"
After finishing the routine, Guo Ye asked for Xu Ning's opinion.
"Not so good."
Xu Ning did not show mercy. "Here, I'll show you."
Xu Ning was patient. He executed a routine for Guo Ye to see.
Then he pointed out the flaws in Guo Ye's Gale Knife Technique and gave him suggestions to improve.
Guo Ye was inspired by Xu Ning. He was obviously serious about learning.
After repeating the routine two to three times, Guo Ye actually corrected many mistakes.
"I feel like I have improved!"
Guo Ye seemed to be aware of this.
"That's right, you have made some progress."
Xu Ning nodded.
Guo Ye laughed. He then threw the knife and sat on a stone in the yard.
He was sweating profusely. "That's it for today, I'll rest for a while."
"Tao Tao, get us some water."
Xu Ning shouted to Tao Tao in the corner.
Tao Tao ran into the room and fetched some water from the tank. Instead of giving it to Guo Ye, she handed it to Xu Ning first. "Uncle, water."
"Give it to Uncle Ye."
Xu Ning waved his hand.
"Uncle Ye, water."
Tao Tao passed the water to Guo Ye.
"Thanks kid…" Guo Ye took the scoop of water and muttered, "I'm dying over here and you still gave the water to your uncle first, you really are his niece."
Guo Ye drank it and returned the water scoop to Tao Tao.
Tao Tao grinned at Guo Ye before turning around and running away.
"Xu Ning, you plan on taking care of Tao Tao these days?"
Guo Ye looked at Tao Tao running away and asked.
"No, I will enter the mountain in two days. My strength is higher now, so I can explore a wider range."
Xu Ning responded.
"Oh…"
Guo Ye nodded before suddenly pausing. He suddenly said, "Um… My uncle is going to the city to deliver goods in two days. Are you interested in escorting the carriages together?"
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"Follow Uncle Gang into the city and escort the carriage?"
Xu Ning glanced at Guo Ye.
"Yes." Guo Ye explained, "By tomorrow, we will have three months worth of collected medicinal materials. The day after tomorrow, my uncle will set off to transport the medicinal materials to Kangyun County and deliver the goods to the medicinal store over there."
"Every time he delivers goods, my uncle finds a few good fighters to follow him together." Guo Ye continued, "His recruiting conditions are either being in the intermediate realm of an external skill, or being in the mortal realm second stage of an internal skill. You are in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique, so I thought of bringing you."
"I see…"
Xu Ning finally understood.
According to what Tao Jinglu said before, the combat prowess of external skills had an advantage over internal skills in the early stages.
The elementary realm of external skills was stronger than the mortal realm first stage of internal skills, and the intermediate realm should be similar to the mortal realm second stage. This was why Tao Yungang's recruitment criteria was set this way.
However, this was just a comparison. Generally speaking, those who had trained in an internal skill generally had at least an elementary realm external skill. Only a few were like Xu Ning, who were in the intermediate realm of an external skill but had not yet practiced an internal skill.
"Oh yeah, I haven't told you the pay yet." Guo Ye added, "It takes five days for a roundtrip, and the pay is 50 taels of silver."
"50 taels of silver?"
Xu Ning was quite surprised—this amount was a lot.
Despite the fact that he had made 300 taels from selling the Heal-all Olants, those opportunities only came by chance.
These 50 taels of silver would be earned by his strength and power alone.
"Sounds like a lot?"
Guo Ye smiled. "50 taels sounds like a lot. But in fact, it is not too much. On the way to the county city, we are likely to encounter horse bandits. If we have to fight against them, it will be risky."
"But you can be rest assured that my uncle will also go. He is in the mortal realm third stage in inner enrichment, and in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique. Even if we encounter a horse bandit, you won't have to worry about your life."
Guo Ye added.
Xu Ning listened, but did not immediately respond. He pondered for a moment and nodded. "I'll go."
Tao Yungang was leading the team escorting the carriage, so their safety was relatively guaranteed, and the reward was also generous.
Furthermore, as a warrior, he must take risks to make money. This was something he would inevitably face in the future.
"Good, I'll tell my uncle when I go back." Guo Ye waved his hand and stood up. "Okay, I'm leaving. Your sister and brother-in-law should be coming back soon."
Guo Ye should call Tao Yunchuan his uncle, since he and Tao Yungang were in the same generation.
But because of his close relationship with Xu Ning, he called them sister and brother-in-law, just like Xu Ning.
"Go back and practice hard."
Xu Ning reminded.
"Okay."
Guo Ye responded.
"Uncle Ye, see you later."
"See you."
…
In the early morning of the next day, Xu Ning got up early and went to Tao Yungang's house.
Xu Ning had already told Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian about him escorting the goods for Tao Yungang.
After hearing that Tao Yungang, a master of inner enrichment, was personally leading the team, both of them were relieved, and they agreed to let Xu Ning go.
The sun was just beginning to rise, as Xu Ning arrived at Tao Yungang's home with a knife.
Because of their business in medicinal materials, Tao Yungang's family was considered wealthy throughout the Tao Village.
His house was large and looked grandiose in appearance.
The courtyard door was wide open, so Xu Ning strode in the spacious courtyard. He saw that the carts that were being pulled by several donkeys had already been loaded with goods.
He didn't see anyone else.
"Xu Ning, you're here so early?"
Guo Ye walked out of the house.
"Are you going as well?"
Xu Ning asked.
"I'm going."
Guo Ye nodded.
"But you're basically physically disabled in terms of martial arts, why are you going?"
Xu Ning asked rhetorically.
"I'm different from you, I'm going there to talk business." Guo Ye said, "Just make sure I'm safe."
"Xu Ning is here?"
Another person walked out of the house.
The man looked to be in his forties, about the same age as his former instructor Tao Yunmeng.
He had a strong build, bright eyes, and a fierce gaze.
"Uncle Gang."
Xu Ning greeted.
This was Guo Ye's uncle, Tao Yungang.
Because of Xu Ning's relationship with Guo Ye, they had met before.
"Kid, you're already in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique, but how come you never mentioned it before."
Tao Yungang stepped forward and patted Xu Ning's shoulder. "You are much stronger than Guo Ye."
"Uncle, you…"
Guo Ye pursed his mouth. He looked a little angry.
"Wait a moment, the others will be here soon."
Tao Yungang said.
Just like Tao Yungang said, after a while, five more people arrived one after another.
They all look older than Xu Ning, with the younger ones being at least in their twenties, while the older ones were about the same age as Tao Yungang.
They were either carrying knives or spears—they were probably all from the Tao Village.
After seeing that everyone was there, Tao Yun walked in front of them.
"Everyone is here, we are ready to go."
Tao Yungang looked at them and said, "Before we set off, I will give out the payment for this trip."
After that, Tao Yungang took out six 50-tael silver notes and placed them in the hands of Xu Ning and the other five people.
Xu Ning was a little surprised.
Job payments were generally settled after the job. Prior payment was a rare occurrence.
Guo Ye seemed to notice Xu Ning's confusion, so he explained, "It's rare for people to travel to the city. My uncle pays in advance so that everyone can buy something they like in the city."
Xu Ning nodded silently.
The rest of the people who received the money thanked Tao Yungang. Everyone seemed to be accustomed to this gesture; it was obviously not their first time escorting the carriage.
"Okay, ready to go."
Tao Yungang said, "There are four carriages and eight of us in total. Yunquan and I will guard the head carriage, Xu Ning and Guo Ye will be in the second carriage, while the rest sort it out yourselves."
Guo Ye was basically defenseless, and Xu Ning had no experience in escorting carriages, so they were placed right behind Tao Yungang's carriage.
Soon after, the people got into the donkey carriages that were filled with goods and left the Tao Village, heading towards the direction of Kangyun County city.
"This is such a desolate place…"
There were barely any people outside of the Tao Village.
The world was rather chaotic, so except for some powerful martial arts masters, everyone lived in groups.
Guo Ye and Xu Ning sat together, chatting to one another.
At the speed of the donkey carriage, it would take close to one day to get from Tao Village to Kangyun County—the distance was quite far.
Soon, two hours passed by, and the sun was blazing in the sky.
Even though it was autumn, the sun was still deadly.
On the desolate mountain roads, they all just ate bread and drank some water—this was their lunch.
"Hurry up and eat." Tao Yungang took a bite of the flatbread. "Horse bandits are likely to appear on the mountain road up ahead."
"Horse bandits?"
Xu Ning and the others became alert.
Everyone tensed up and looked at the hillsides on both sides of the road.
The slopes were steep and the mountains were high. There were a lot of trees nearby. If someone suddenly came down from the mountains, they could be in a minacious situation.
"Beware of the rubble."
Tao Yungang reminded.
While they were advancing forward, rubble would slip down from the mountain.
Luckily, the volume of the rubble was small, so they could easily avoid it.
Although he was an inner enrichment master, Tao Yungang was still a little worried.
This section of the road was the easiest place to be robbed.
But this time everyone seemed to have good luck. They took half an hour to cross the mountains, and there were no obstacles in the way.
"I was nervous the entire time just now, at least we're safe now."
After passing the dangerous section, Guo Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Ning didn't reply. He just turned around and looked at the mountain disappearing behind him.
The scorching sun, the blowing autumn winds, the trees swaying side to side, everything was desolate.
However, just after Xu Ning and his party passed through the valley, more than a dozen people dressed as horse bandits appeared from one side of the mountain.
Their leader was a bald man.
He was wearing a short sleeveless shirt. His arms were packed with muscles, and his face was full of scars. He was obviously a dangerous character.
Besides the bald man, a man with a broken arm and a crooked nose stared coldly at the place where Xu Ning and his party had disappeared, his eyes full of murderous intent.
"The leader was Tao Yungang?"
The bald man asked the man with the broken arm.
"It's him. The thievish-looking kid behind him is his nephew, named Guo Ye."
The man with the broken arm's voice was a little hoarse, his tone filled with hatred.
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The bald man sneered when he heard the words. "You have everything figured out."
"Of course." The man with the broken arm had a tone filled with hatred. "Three months ago, he broke my arm. If I didn't get on my horse and flee immediately, he would have taken my life."
"My poor brothers, all of them were killed by Tao Yungang and his guards. This time, I will make them pay for their mistake!"
The bald man saw the man with the broken arm act emotionally. He patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, when they return from selling their goods, we will kill them all and avenge you and your former brothers."
"Thank you, boss."
The man with the broken arm lowered his head.
"No worries." The bald man laughed. "If you join us, brother, our squadron will finally have a foundation to stand on. We might not be able to catch up with the Knife Horse Group or the Flower Butterfly Group, but we will leave our name in history."
"If you act as our leader, that is inevitable."
The broken arm man sucked up to the boss.
The bald-headed man smiled and spoke to a subordinate, "Stay here with two people and observe. If Tao Yungang and the others come back, remember to report immediately."
"Yes."
The horse bandit agreed.
"Also, if you run into people from other stockades, don't get into trouble," the bald man said again, "after all, we have only just established our stockade. There is still a difference in strength when compared to other stockades."
"Okay."
The horse bandit nodded.
The bald-headed man turned around and left.
The broken arm man glanced into the distance again, his eyes narrowed.
…
The sun was on the west side.
Tao Yungang's carriage fleet arrived outside the gate of Kangyun County.
"We're here!"
Guo Ye laughed out loud.
Xu Ning looked at the outline of the city gate. He was full of curiosity.
Ever since he arrived at the Tao Village, apart from Yunze Mountains, he hasn't gone anywhere.
This was the first time he came to Kangyun County.
Although he had not yet entered the city, there were already many people coming in and out of the city gate.
This was the first time Xu Ning saw such a dense crowd outside of the Tao Village.
"You have to pay the fee before your goods can enter the city!"
A soldier wearing armor shouted.
Tao Yungang was experienced in this area, thus he obediently entered the queue for delivering goods into the city.
Tao Yungang paid the fee and his group finally entered the city.
"How magnificent."
"This place is indeed much more prosperous than the Tao Village."
"…"
Although everyone except Xu Ning had been in the city before, they still couldn't help but praise the city every time they saw this lively scene.
Xu Ning was calm. Although it was more prosperous than the Tao Village, he still remembered the metropolis he lived in during his previous life, thus this city did not impress him as much.
"Everyone, thanks for the hard work."
Tao Yungang said as he sat in the carriage up front. "Let's find an inn to stay at and have a good meal. Tomorrow, we will contact the medicine store to unload our goods."
"Okay!"
After hearing that they would rest and eat food, everyone agreed.
Tao Yungang had experienced this many times so he rushed towards the inn.
Ta ta ta.
Suddenly, there was the sound of galloping horses in the distance.
It was followed by someone shouting.
"Get out of the way, don't block the path!"
When Tao Yungang saw this, his expression changed slightly. He moved the donkey carriage to the side and told the people behind him. "Move to the side and don't block the road."
Afterwards, a group of black armored cavalry galloped past them.
They wore all black armor and clothes, with short and long swords on their waists, and masks on their faces.
Their exposed eyes were full of coldness and disdain.
When the black armored cavalry passed by, the two sides of the street became silent instantly.
When they disappeared, the streets became lively again.
"Black Armored Guards…"
Tao Yungang watched the black armored cavalry ride away from him, his eyes full of jealousy.
If anyone offended them in Kangyun County, the outcome would be tragic.
"Black Armored Guards?"
When Xu Ning heard this, he retrieved a piece of relevant information from his memory.
The Black Armored Guards was a subordinate army of the Source Faction, the overlords of State Feiyun.
They were the powerhouse of the Source Faction, ruling over State Feiyun.
Three hundred years ago, the previous dynasty was destroyed. Afterwards, there were continuous battles and wars—the family sects all fought each other.
A new unified dynasty did not appear during this period, instead they evolved into various sects or families that controlled the state capitals, becoming overlords of the land.
And the helm of State Feiyun was the Source Faction.
"How majestic!"
Guo Ye looked envious. "If only I could join the Black Armored Guards…"
The scene of the guards rushing through the roads and everyone giving them the right of passage intrigued the young man.
After hearing Guo Ye's words, Tao Yungang laughed. "Don't even think about it kid, your martial arts talent is really quite hopeless."
After being attacked by his uncle, Guo Ye shook his head lightly, but he didn't care too much, he was used to it.
"Enough, continue ahead and find an inn to settle down in!"
Tao Yungang continued to ride the donkey carriage.
Within 15 minutes, Tao Yungang found an inn.
Obviously, this was not his first time here. The shopkeeper and assistant in the store were friends with Tao Yungang. Not only did they quickly arrange the guest rooms for him, but they also took care of the donkey carriages and goods.
Afterwards, everyone went inside a large private room and sat down, and soon, they were served food and alcohol.
Guo Ye sat next to Xu Ning and spoke.
"Xu Ning, relax and eat as much as you want."
"Okay…"
Looking at the table full of delicacies, Xu Ning began to devour them.
There were not many opportunities to eat meat in this world.
'Uncle Gang is quite generous…'
Xu Ning looked at the food and thought to himself.
The food and alcohol on the table were obviously not cheap. Moreover, everyone here was a martial artist with huge appetites. This meal would definitely cost a lot of money.
Sure enough, after eating, Xu Ning heard from the shop assistant that the meal cost 40 taels.
Although Xu Ning was mentally prepared, the price still made him speechless.
The cost of this meal was worth four months of his family's income.
'Sure enough, in this world, a person with power can control resources that ordinary people can't even touch…'
Tao Yungang was intelligent and had connections, so he was in the medicinal material business.
In addition, he was strong in martial arts, was willing to spend money, and make friends with martial artists. He also had the capital to keep his business.
They finished drinking and eating.
"Xu Ning, you rarely come to the county city, right?" Tao Yungang's face was red after drinking, but his consciousness was still clear. "Take advantage of this opportunity, let Guo Ye accompany you to see the nightlife of the county city."
"Okay, you guys should go rest."
Xu Ning and Guo Ye helped the drunk men get back to their rooms.
Only the two of them had not touched alcohol during dinner, while the rest drank heavily.
"It's night out, but there are still so many people."
After leaving the inn, moonlight began to shine on the streets. Guo Ye sighed as he looked at the pedestrians on the road.
Xu Ning also sighed.
At this hour in the Tao Village, everyone would have returned home—there was no nightlife in the village.
"I'll go to the stalls and buy something for Tao Tao and my sister."
Under the guidance of Guo Ye, they came to the night market.
Xu Ning looked at the vendors and the bright street lights; he felt as if he had returned to the modern ages.
"How much is this hairpin?"
Xu Ning saw wooden hairpins of various colors with simple patterns carved on them in front of a stall; they were quite beautiful.
"One tael of silver per pin."
The hairpin seller was an old man, with a big smile on his face.
"One tael of silver?" Xu Ning said, "You can do better than that."
"No can do, young man."
The old man waved his hand with the same smile on his face.
"Okay…"
Xu Ning didn't know how to bargain, so he was ready to pay.
He thought Xu Lian would like this wooden hairpin.
"Hey old man, how can you scam him like this?" Guo Ye pressed down Xu Ning's hand that was about to take out his money. "One tael of silver for two hairpins. That's our final offer. I don't believe the other stalls are this expensive."
Xu Ning glared at Guo Ye's confident face.
"Okay." The old man waved his hand. "Deal."
Just like this, Guo Ye saved Xu Ning one tael of silver.
He picked two wooden hairpins, one for Xu Lian and one for Tao Tao.
As for his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan, Xu Ning bought him two jars of liquor before leaving Kangyun County.
Xu Ning didn't spend any more money. He was afraid that after going back, he would be nagged by Xu Lian again.
Guo Ye, on the other hand, bought a lot of food and some novelties that Tao Village didn't have. He would share most of these things with the children of the village.
This was why Guo Ye was popular with the kids in the Tao Village.
After shopping for more than an hour, the two returned to the inn to rest.
They would be quite busy over the next few days.
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Over the next three days, Xu Ning followed Tao Yungang and the others to deliver goods.
During this period, Tao Yungang had to spend a lot of effort to form good relationships with his customers, which consumed a lot of time.
Finally, three days later in the morning, everything was done, and they finally started their return journey. It had been five days since they had first left home.
The further away from Kangyun County, the fewer the people.
"The last donkey carriage ride, next time my uncle would change to horse carriages."
Guo Ye and Xu Ning were still sitting in the donkey carriage behind the leading carriage.
"Uncle Gang made a lot of money this time?"
Xu Ning asked.
"2000 taels." Guo Ye lowered his voice, "and this is the net profit after costs."
"2000 taels?" Xu Ning was shocked, "Once every three months for a business trip like this, so Uncle Gang makes 8000 taels a year?"
"Not that much."
Guo Ye waved his hand. "It depends on the situation… It was just autumn a few months ago, so it allowed us to harvest more medicinal material. But at the end of the year, a lot less medicinal material can be harvested, hence the money dies down as well."
"Also, our carriage was safely escorted without being robbed." Guo Ye added, "If we encountered ruthless robbers, we would have no income for the year, and our life might even be in danger."
Xu Ning thought about Guo Ye's words. "That is so…"
Tao Yungang received huge profits for this trip, but this was due to the hard work he did prior to the journey. Moreover, he also had to take risks.
The donkey carriages continued ahead on the roads, and two hours later, they entered the mountain roads with trees on both sides.
"Wake up, stay alert."
Tao Yungang reminded everyone.
Xu Ning clenched his steel knife, on guard against any possible dangers.
The sun shined bright and hot in the sky.
There were occasionally roars of beasts or birds chirping from the hillsides, giving off a desolate feeling.
"After we get out of here, let's grab a bite to eat."
Tao Yungang said to the people behind him.
Everyone nodded.
Suddenly, there was a sound of horses neighing from the hillside, followed by the sound of trampling hooves.
Everyone looked over.
A team of horsemen galloped down from both sides of the mountain.
They had weapons attached on their bodies, with eyes full of greed. They completely surrounded the four donkey carriages.
There were more than a dozen people.
'Is this a horse bandit robbery?'
Xu Ning suddenly remembered in his heart.
Xu Ning looked at the aggressive horse bandits. He grabbed the handle of his knife, ready to deal with the upcoming battle.
In fact, Xu Ning was a little nervous. Although he had anticipated that this might happen, when faced with the real situation, he was unable to remain completely calm.
He had faced ferocious beasts before, but had not yet encountered desperate warriors.
"Damn…"
Tao Yungang's eyebrows furrowed.
However, this was obviously not the first time Tao Yungang had encountered this situation. He gestured to everyone to stop moving.
"I wonder who is here to make friends with us?"
Tao Yungang didn't grab any weapons. He just jumped out of the carriage with his bare hands and walked towards the leader of the horse bandit.
"Are you Tao Yungang?"
The leader of the horse bandit replied.
The leader of the horse bandit was a bald man. He had a body packed with muscles and a cruel look rested on his face.
He was the bald leader who stalked Tao Yungang's carriages before they entered the city.
"What?"
Tao Yungang heard the other party call his name, and his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach.
Instinctively, he felt something was wrong.
He seemed to have been targeted in advance.
"It is I, Tao Yungang, resident of the Tao Village."
He was nervous on the inside, but on the surface, Tao Yungang remained calm as a cucumber.
He put his hands together with a prideful look on his face.
He deliberately said he was from the Tao Village, as a reminder to the other party.
As one of the three major villages in Kangyun County, Tao Village had a good reputation.
"I know, good…"
The bald man rubbed his head. "Tell your men to lay down their weapons and get off their carriages."
Tao Yungang frowned upon hearing this.
The bald-headed man had a dangerous attitude, and he didn't seem to care about who he was.
"To whom am I speaking to?"
Tao Yungang ignored what the bald man said and asked about his identity.
The bald-headed man sneered. "My surname is Zhan, my brothers all call me Zhan Sandao."
"Brother Zhan Sandao." Tao Yungang calmly said, "this is our first time meeting, we can consider it a type of destiny. I will give you 500 taels of silver as a greeting gift, sounds good?"
"500 taels?"
Zhan Sandao smiled unexpectedly.
Guo Ye, still in the carriage, had a serious look on his face.
"Xu Ning, I'm afraid we are in big trouble."
Guo Ye pursed his lips and whispered in a quiet voice.
"What's happening?"
Xu Ning asked rhetorically.
"Before, when there were thieves, my uncle would give them 200 taels to back off. This time he offered 500 taels, indicating that the other party is troublesome to deal with, even 200 taels can't satisfy their desires."
Guo Ye explained.
"I see…"
Xu Ning was more alert than ever.
He knew that if Tao Yungang couldn't come to an agreement with the other party, he might have to take out his blade today.
"500 taels is a bit too low."
Zhan Sandao smiled, his tone was sharp. "Offer some more."
Tao Yungang's eyes narrowed, but his smile remained undiminished. "Okay, since this is our first time meeting each other, in this case, I will offer 1000 taels as a greeting gift."
"1000 taels…"
Zhan Sandao took a deep breath and said sarcastically, "Good, good!"
"In this case..."
Tao Yungang saw that Zhan Sandao had the intention of letting them go, but when he was about to withdraw the money, Zhan Sandao spoke again.
Zhan Sandao knocked on his bald head and grinned. "1000 taels is heartwarming, but my friend, I don't agree!"
A man with a broken arm rode up on his horse next to Zhan Sandao.
He smiled gloomily, and stared at Tao Yungang. "Tao Yungang, long time no see."
"You…"
Tao Yungang's pupils shrank when he saw the man.
"Guan Yinggou, it's you!"
Tao Yungang recognized this man—Guan Yinggou was the horse bandit who had robbed him in the past.
He had passed here three months ago, when Guan Yinggou asked him for thousands of taels.
But Tao Yungang refused to give it to him, instead he took the opportunity to fight back, killing and seriously wounding his subordinates, even crippling Guan Yinggou's arm.
He thought that Guan Yinggou had no subordinates left after his arm was crippled. He didn't expect him to come rob him again.
"Last time I asked you for 1000 taels, but you didn't give it. This time, not only do I want 1000 taels, but I also want your head!"
Guan Yinggou drew out a knife with one hand.
Tao Yungang had already understood the current situation and no longer had any doubts.
This time, they came here to kill him.
"Arm yourselves!"
Tao Yungang instantly moved away from Guan Yinggou and Zhan Sandao.
He took out a machete from the donkey carriage.
The others also took out their weapons, without any intention of backing down.
Finally, Tao Yungang's bodyguards could come into use.
Zhan Sandao and his subordinates began to surround Tao Yungang, Xu Ning and others.
"These people are dangerous, everyone get ready." The situation was urgent, but Tao Yungang was calm, "If anyone dies or becomes injured during battle, I will take care of your family members for the rest of their lives. Even if I die here today, my wife will take care of you all, please be rest assured."
As soon as he finished his speech, everyone who escorted the car became even more determined.
"Xu Ning."
Tao Yunmeng turned his head sharply and said, "You are the weakest here, so you don't have to fight to the death. You take Guo Ye and run up the mountain. Don't look back."
Xu Ning heard the words and nodded, knowing that the immediate crisis was urgent. "Yes, Uncle Gang."
"Yunquan, you and I are the strongest here." Tao Yunmeng said, "After I clear the way for Xu Ning and Guo Ye, you go and deal with Guan Yinggou. I will deal with Zhan Sandao."
"Understood, Brother Gang."
Tao Yunquan was Tao Yungang's long time partner, and as a veteran, he didn't panic at all.
"The rest of you, if you have a chance, flee, protect your lives!"
Before the enemy was about to attack, Tao Yungang gave one last instruction.
"Kill them!"
Zhan Sandao and his horse bandits started their attack.
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Tao Yungang took the initiative to attack the incoming horse bandits.
He jumped in the air and sliced through a bandit who was still on his horse.
Tao Yungang's movements happened instantly, fully demonstrating his mortal realm third stage power.
"So strong!"
This was the first time Xu Ning had seen an internal skill master demonstrating his strength.
Intermediate realm external skills could barely keep up with a mortal realm second stage, much rather less a mortal realm third stage.
"Xu Ning, take Guo Ye and quickly leave!"
The attack just now created an escape passage for Xu Ning and Guo Ye.
"Okay!"
Xu Ning did not hesitate. He seized the opportunity and dragged Guo Ye to the hillside.
The hillside trees were filled with branches and leaves, but there was still a chance of escape.
Guo Ye was closely behind Xu Ning. He knew that his strength was low, so he had to follow Tao Yungang's orders.
"Someone wants to run?"
Zhan Sandao sneered. He then tapped a stocky horse bandit with the tip of his knife. "Go and take care of those two trying to escape."
"Yes!"
The stocky horse bandit received the order and rushed up the hillside, chasing after Xu Ning and Guo Ye.
Zhan Sandao held his huge machete and walked towards Tao Yungang.
"Tao Yungang, this will be your last battle!"
Zhan Sandao and Tao Yungang began to fight each other.
…
In the dense mountain forest.
Xu Ning and Guo Ye ran in a hurry.
"I hear horses behind us."
Xu Ning suddenly noticed this problem.
"What should we do?"
Guo Ye asked.
He knew clearly that he had to rely on Xu Ning.
"We are definitely slower than horses."
The sound of the horse galloping was getting closer. Xu Ning thought for a moment before he glanced at a tall tree on the side.
"Up the tree."
Xu Ning wanted to try and avoid the opponent.
Guo Ye didn't hesitate, and the two soon climbed up the tree.
Soon, the sound of the horse galloping stopped.
"What?"
The stocky horse bandit frowned. "Where are they?"
He saw them just a second ago, but now they had disappeared in the dense forest.
"Are they that fast?"
The stocky horse bandit dismounted from his horse.
He bent down and began to observe the ground.
Soon, the stocky horse bandit saw the footprints on the dirt.
"How naive…"
The stocky horse bandit smiled as he walked along with the footprints.
He discovered that the footprints disappeared in front of a tree.
"Found you…"
The stocky horse bandit smiled triumphantly and looked up.
Suddenly, a black figure jumped down.
Xu Ning was holding a steel knife with a murderous look in his eyes. He slashed down at the stocky horse bandit.
Xu Ning had used this exact same technique of jumping down from trees when dealing with black wolves before.
Xu Ning's blade was about to slash on the forehead of the stocky horse bandit.
"Sh*t!"
The stocky horse bandit instantly realized he was in danger.
The stocky horse bandit leaned back and avoided Xu Ning's fatal blow.
'So fast!'
Xu Ning was shocked.
The dodging speed of the stocky horse bandit, although not as fast as Tao Yungang, was much faster than himself.
Moreover, just after the short and strong horse bandit stretched his body to show off his flexibility, Xu Ning heard the sound of his muscles and bones humming in his body.
Xu Ning was well aware about internal skills, and so he knew that this was a state that could only be manifested by a second stage muscle bone realm warrior.
In other words, his opponent was an internal skill martial artist!
"Not bad, kid!"
The stocky horse bandit who avoided Xu Ning's blow was also scared. Xu Ning's face was filled with murderous intent.
The stocky horse bandit also held a knife in his hand, as he slashed at Xu Ning.
As one of the most practical weapons in this era, the use of knives was extremely common.
The stocky horse bandit swung his knife.
'Such explosive strength.'
As an intermediate realm martial artist of the Gale Knife Technique, Xu Ning could tell at a glance that the short and stocky horse bandit had mastered an elementary realm knife technique.
In Xu Ning's opinion, his knife skills were rough, as the angle of his slices were not the best.
However, his knife speed was extremely fast and his strength was enormous. If he couldn't evade the attack, he would be killed instantly.
Since Xu Ning was on high alert, he dodged the blow from the stocky horse bandit.
"So you have some tricks, but how long can you last?"
While the stocky horse bandit spoke, his hands kept moving.
His blade was like a net, as it seemed to cover Xu Ning's body.
Dang!
Xu Ning raised his own knife in retaliation.
Xu Ning felt a huge force coming from the blade.
His arms went numb for a moment, and there was also a strong sense of discomfort in his body.
"What a useless body!"
The stocky horse bandit noticed Xu Ning's condition.
The stocky horse bandit kicked forward. Xu Ning could not dodge the attack and fell down on the ground.
"I'm too weak!"
Xu Ning was in pain.
His intermediate realm external skills could only fight against muscle bone realm martial artists who have not practiced an external skill. If the muscle bone realm martial artist had an elementary realm external skill, the difference in their body's foundation would be too large, tilting the advantage to his opponent's favor.
"This is the end of you!"
The stocky horse bandit immediately held his knife high.
"Go die!"
The horse bandit shouted.
The horse bandit stopped his slash against Xu Ning and subconsciously raised his head.
As soon as he raised his head, the stocky horse bandit saw another figure jump down from the trees.
This man was not holding a weapon, so the stocky horse bandit was a little surprised.
But afterwards, he saw the figure suddenly throwing a handful of dirt.
"Blind attack!"
Before the stocky horse bandit could react, his eyes were covered with dirt.
'This is my chance!'
While the stocky horse bandit was still wiping his face, Xu Ning got up instantly and stabbed him with a knife.
The tip of Xu Ning's knife pierced the heart of the stocky horse bandit.
"You…"
The stocky horse bandit wanted to turn around, but his entire body fell limp.
Xu Ning held the knife and twisted it, and the stocky horse bandit fell on the ground and died.
"Good job, Guo Ye!"
Although the battle ended extremely quickly, Xu Ning still felt mentally exhausted.
Especially after he was kicked down and the horse bandit's knife was about to pierce his chest, Xu Ning felt like he was on the edge of death.
If it wasn't for Guo Ye's timely assistance, he would have died here just now.
"Thanks…"
Guo Ye finally calmed down.
Before going up the tree, he had grabbed a handful of soil from the ground. If he encountered an enemy, he would have the opportunity to blind the enemy.
Facts had proved that Guo Ye's idea was correct.
His sudden ambush blinded the short horse bandit, allowing Xu Ning to take the opportunity to counterattack.
"This was all thanks to you."
Xu Ning gave Guo Ye a thumbs up.
Guo Ye waved his hand dismissively. "Come on, if you weren't here, my ambush wouldn't have done anything. I should thank you for saving my life."
"What shall we do next?"
Guo Ye glanced at the corpse of the short horse bandit.
"Let's see if there is anything valuable on him."
Xu Ning and Guo Ye looked at each other and began to scavenge the horse bandit's body.
After searching for a while, they didn't find anything.
"It seems that these horse bandits don't carry anything with them when they're robbing people…"
Guo Ye grumbled.
"But we still have one thing."
Xu Ning picked up the knife from the ground.
The stocky horse bandit's knife was of equal quality as his own steel knife—it was not anything valuable.
There was also his horse.
This horse looked mediocre; it was not very energetic.
But for some reason, when Xu Ning fought with the short horse bandit just now, it didn't run away.
"Guo Ye, do you know how to ride a horse?"
Xu Ning asked.
"I know a little bit."
Guo Ye nodded.
Before working with Tao Yungang, he had some experience riding horses.
"Well…" Xu Ning handed Guo Ye the knife of the stocky horse bandit and said, "you take this knife, ride this horse, and go straight back to the village."
"What about you?"
Guo Ye was puzzled.
"I'll go back."
Xu Ning's words surprised Guo Ye.
"What did you say?" Guo Ye thought he didn't hear clearly. "Are you going back to find my uncle?"
"Yes."
Xu Ning nodded.
"You are crazy, Xu Ning!"
Guo Ye looked anxious, "It took us so much effort just to kill one bandit. If you went back there, what could you even do?"
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"Besides, how are you going to stay safe once you return there?"
Although Guo Ye was worried about the safety of his uncle Tao Yungang, he couldn't just let Xu Ning die.
And in the bottom of Guo Ye's heart, he was very confident about Tao Yungang's skills.
This was not the first time Tao Yungang had been robbed. In the end, Tao Yungang had always escaped from danger.
This was the first time that Xu Ning had escorted carriages. Guo Ye was quite worried about Xu Ning's return trip.
"Don't worry, I will definitely not fight them hand to hand."
Xu Ning explained, "Just like what happened just now, as long as I don't make any sudden movements, they probably won't notice me. The guy found us just now because he was looking for our footprints. Moreover, the horse bandits won't expect me to go back."
"But, what will change if you go back?"
Guo Ye was still trying to persuade Xu Ning.
Xu Ning went silent for a while before saying, "Guo Ye, although this is my first time escorting carriages, I think those bandits aren't normal bandits."
"You…"
Guo Ye saw how serious Xu Ning was.
"You told me that previous horse bandits that had gone after Uncle Gang were asking for money, right?"
Xu Ning stared at Guo Ye.
"Yes…"
Guo Ye paused, he obviously realized something.
"But this time, the other party called out Uncle Gang's name, and Uncle Gang recognized his past enemy among them. So obviously, this time, their purpose is not to ask for money, but to seek revenge. They want to take Uncle Gang's life. "
"These people have clearly figured out Uncle Gang's routine. This is a targeted robbery. These people want to make Uncle Gang suffer."
Xu Ning's words made Guo Ye's heart tense up.
Based on this analysis, the nature of this robbery was indeed different.
"Uncle Gang gave me 50 taels of silver as payment, and so I have to show that I'm worthy of it."
Xu Ning had made up his mind.
He was not a reckless man; he did not want to die. But after weighing the pros and cons in his heart, Xu Ning felt that he could find some opportunities to help Tao Yungang and the others, while also protecting himself.
If the situation turned for the worse, Xu Ning would not rush forward and sacrifice himself. He would seize the opportunity to use his abilities to change the situation.
Both his predecessor and himself had received help from Guo Ye, and Guo Ye could only do so after receiving consent from Tao Yungang.
Xu Ning would not be able to live with himself if he walked away and never looked back.
Additionally, there was one thing Xu Ning did not tell Guo Ye.
If the extreme situation really happened, Xu Ning did not want to leave their corpses behind.
Therefore, he must return.
"Xu Ning, you…"
After seeing Xu Ning's determination, Guo Ye clenched his fists.
He knew that this good friend of his was one worthy of sacrifice for.
Xu Ning had received help from Guo Ye and was willing to stand up for his family.
"Go ahead then."
Guo Ye had a complicated look on his face. He patted Xu Ning's shoulder. "You must come back to the village alive… Be careful."
"Okay."
Xu Ning nodded.
Guo Ye didn't wait around, and he soon got on the horse with his knife.
He knew that he was a burden.
Guo Ye grabbed the reins, looked back at Xu Ning, and rode away.
Xu Ning watched Guo Ye disappear from his field of vision before he turned around and began walking.
…
The sun was scorching hot.
The battle on the mountain roads continued.
There were many people lying down on the ground.
Most of them who were killed in battle were horse bandits, but three people from the Tao Village were on the ground, god only knew whether they were alive or dead.
Guan Yinggou and several subordinates circled Tao Yunquan and another Tao Village man, both of whom were covered with blood and wounds all over their bodies.
Tao Yungang himself was fighting one-on-one with Zhan Sandao.
Judging by the situation, there was not much difference between the strengths of the two. Zhan Sandao was also in inner enrichment and had an intermediate realm external skill, but his actual combat experience was obviously more abundant.
"Tao Yungang, you really do have some tricks up your sleeves, no wonder you took my brother's arm! When I slaughter you later, I will leave your body intact!"
Zhan Sandao was excited about the fight against Tao Yungang.
Tao Yungang did not answer Zhan Sandao. He tried his best to resist the attacks.
No one noticed that a person was sneaking down from one side of the mountain.
Xu Ning was cautious. Before taking a step, he observed everyone's field of vision and made sure that no one noticed him.
Soon, Xu Ning was behind a big tree on the side of the mountain road.
He was less than 50 meters from the battlefield.
"Sure enough, we are at a disadvantage."
Xu Ning closely observed the situation.
Three of their people had been taken down, Tao Yunmeng and the remaining others were also struggling to stay alive.
Obviously, they would soon be taken down as well.
"Give up, Tao Yungang."
Zhan Sandao had already dismounted. His machete slashes gave off a sharp metal clink sound.
Zhan Sandao's attacks were oppressive. Tao Yungang was forced to only defend.
'Am I going to be buried here today?'
Tao Yungang still seemed resolute on the outside, but on the inside, negative emotions were brewing in his heart.
He was in the medicinal materials business for more than ten years, and right now was the most dangerous situation he had ever been in.
"Ah!"
On the other side of the battle field, as Tao Yunquan's hand was cut off, he let out a painful cry.
"Yunquan!"
Tao Yungang was worried.
This slight window of opportunity was caught by Zhan Sandao.
Zhan Sandao cut off Tao Yungang's left arm, blood flowed everywhere.
Tao Yungang, who was heavily wounded, was forced to retreat step by step.
It just so happened that the direction Tao Yungang was forced to retreat to was towards the big tree where Xu Ning was hiding.
"They're coming…"
After waiting for a long time on the sidelines, Xu Ning seemed to have an opportunity to cut into the battlefield and change the situation.
Xu Ning adjusted his breathing, stabilized his mood, and put himself in a state of high concentration.
Zhan Sandao wounded Tao Yungang's shoulder with another slice.
Tao Yungang seemed to have reached a desperate situation.
"What a shame, this is it."
Tao Yungang glanced at the direction of the Tao Village.
He had a look of determination in his eyes.
"What?"
Zhan Sandao noticed this change. "Are you trying one last time before dying?"
Sure enough, when Tao Yungang attacked again, the direction of his knife was extremely precise.
He completely gave up his defenses and attacked forward.
Tao Yungang had more and more wounds on his body.
Finally, he leaned against a tree behind him. Tao Yungang had no place to retreat.
"You really are something."
After seeing Tao Yungang's final resistance, Zhan Sandao was quite impressed.
But this still didn't change the fact that he wanted to kill Tao Yungang.
Zhan Sandao raised his knife, about to take one final swing.
Just as Tao Yungang was waiting for his life to end, he suddenly saw Xu Ning's figure appear behind the big tree.
He jumped forward with knives in both hands.
"Xu Ning!?"
Tao Yungang's heart was shocked.
"Who is it?!"
As an inner enrichment warrior, Zhan Sandao sensed danger.
But his movements were still a little too slow, as he felt a blade pierced into the skin of his waist.
'I was too careless!'
Zhan Sandao was very anxious.
If there was a sneak attack, normally he would have sensed it in advance.
But his attention was all on Tao Yungang, and he also didn't expect anyone to ambush him.
Zhan Sandao's waist and abdomen were torn open, blood flowed across his body.
He saw the face of the attacker clearly.
"You!"
Zhan Sandao recognized that the sneak attacker was the young man with the knife who had escaped before.
"How dare you?!"
Zhan Sandao was in disbelief.
Not only did this young man defeat his capable subordinate, but he also returned to the battlefield with incomprehensible courage!
"You really are an inner enrichment warrior."
Xu Ning noticed the terrifying body of the inner enrichment warrior.
Xu Ning would have cut open the waist of any ordinary person.
But after piercing the skin, his blade was stuck in Zhan Sandao's muscles, making it difficult to slice through.
The body of an inner enrichment warrior was terrifying.
"Zhan Sandao, die!"
Tao Yungang saw the sudden change in the situation, so he instantly activated his battle spirit and became violent.
Tao Yungang went after Zhan Sandao with a stab.
Xu Ning did not retreat, instead he moved forward, slicing in the same place. Zhan Sandao was completely wounded.
Zhan Sandao waddled back and forth.
"Save… save me!"
Zhan Sandao began to cry for help, as he felt his life passing by.
But Tao Yungang didn't give him this opportunity. Tao Yungang concentrated his strength in one swing and sliced forward.
Zhan Sandao's head rolled off his body.
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"Boss!"
A horse bandit heard Zhan Sandao's cry for help. He was about to rush forward when he saw Tao Yungang slice his big sword, followed by Zhan Sandao's head rolling on the ground.
He cried out in horror.
"Boss… Boss is killed!"
He instantly lost his will to fight, and he screamed as he fled.
Zhan Sandao was not only the strongest person in the group, but also everyone's spiritual pillar.
But now that Zhan Sandao was killed, his mental pillar collapsed.
"Boss is killed?"
The other horse bandits were still besieging Tao Yunquan and the rest. They looked back and saw Zhan Sandao was dead, and they lost their fighting spirit instantly.
"Go, let's go!"
Their siege against Tao Yunquan instantly collapsed.
"Tao Yungang!"
Guan Yinggou was furious.
He thought that his missing arm was about to be avenged, but the situation changed in the blink of an eye.
He himself was not worthy of being Tao Yungang's opponent. If he had not taken refuge in Zhan Sandao's camp, he would never dare to seek revenge at all.
Zhan Sandao was killed, and he, who had lost an arm, was definitely not Tao Yungang's opponent.
"Run!"
Guan Yinggou gritted his teeth and went on his horse.
"Guan Yinggou!"
Tao Yungang immediately noticed Guan Yinggou's escape.
He also grabbed a horse and chased after him.
"All of this is because of you! Accept your death!"
Tao Yungang caught up with his horse and swung his sword.
Guan Yinggou was holding the reins with one arm, with no chance of dodging the attack, he fell down from the horse.
Guan Yinggou was seriously injured. He was dripping with blood as he screamed.
Tao Yungang didn't show any mercy. He immediately dismounted and swung at Guan Yinggou again.
"Yunquan!"
The horse bandits who had previously surrounded Tao Yunquan had either escaped or died. Tao Yungang quickly went to Tao Yunquan to check his injuries.
Tao Yunquan was missing a hand. There were many wounds all over his body.
Because of his excessive bleeding, his lips turned white and his consciousness was slipping away.
"I'll grab the hemostatic medicine!"
Xu Ning also rushed over. After seeing Tao Yunquan's injury, he quickly went to the donkey carriage.
The donkey carriage carried medicine in the case of accidents.
"How are the others doing?"
Tao Yunquan's injury stopped bleeding, but his whole body had lost its strength. He leaned on the wheel of the donkey carriage.
"Except for a few of us, the rest… are gone."
The man who fought with Tao Yunquan inspected the bodies of their three companions.
He was also slightly injured, but because of Tao Yunquan's protection, his injuries were less severe.
"I'm sorry everyone!"
Tao Yungang, who was on the verge of life and death, finally showed fatigue, and feelings of guilt came like a torrent.
He knelt on the ground and looked at the three dead companions. His eyes staring blankly.
Xu Ning stood aside and sighed.
Just a few days ago, everyone was drinking and chatting at the dinner table, but now, some had already lost their lives.
Xu Ning looked at the blood on the ground and the messy weapons, for the first time, he truly thought that the world of martial arts was horrifying.
Whether it was an ordinary person or a warrior, everyone was like a lone ship in a rainstorm, able to be capsized at any time.
"Uncle Gang…"
Xu Ning walked over and held Tao Yungang's shoulders.
He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"Yungang."
Tao Yunquan stood up and dragged his injured body over.
He glanced at Xu Ning first and gave him a kind look.
Tao Yunquan did not see Xu Ning suddenly appear to help Tao Yungang behead Zhan Sandao. But he did see Xu Ning's blade being covered in blood after returning back to the battlefield. He respected the loyalty and courage of this outsider.
"Yungang, I understand how you're feeling right now." Tao Yunquan said to Tao Yungang, "but everyone made this decision when they accepted to work for you—they knew the risks."
"You paid our wages, and we escorted the carriage as our job. Moreover, you paid us generously and treated us fairly. We have no complaints. We didn't want to face this incident today, but what has happened has happened. You have to forgive yourself."
Tao Yunquan's words made Tao Yungang's eyes gently light up, but sadness and shame still hovered in his heart.
He had worked in the medicinal materials business for more than a decade, and he had witnessed his brothers being injured and forced to retire.
But this was the first time three people had died under his watch.
"I know."
Tao Yungang tried to comfort himself.
He stood up and looked at Xu Ning.
"Xu Ning, thank you for what you've done!"
Tao Yungang shook Xu Ning's hand. "If you didn't risk your life to attack Zhan Sandao from behind, all of us might have died here this time."
Tao Yunquan and the other person looked at Xu Ning with astonishment in their eyes.
They all knew that Xu Ning hadn't cultivated his internal skill and was in the intermediate realm of his Gale Knife Technique.
But he still risked his life to attack Zhan Sandao. This righteous act moved their hearts.
"You're too kind, Uncle Gang."
Xu Ning said to Tao Yungang, "Just like what Uncle Yunquan said, this is my job—this is what you paid me for. You and Guo Ye have also been helping me in the past. This is just a small repayment."
"Xu Ning… kid…"
Tao Yungang was unable to speak for a while.
After a long time, he stabilized his mood and asked, "Where is Guo Ye?"
"We took the bandit's horse, and I asked him to go back to the village first."
Xu Ning responded.
Tao Yungang's lips trembled a little. He patted Xu Ning's shoulder again and finally sounded relieved. "Guo Ye's greatest honor in life is having a brother like you."
"Okay, okay, let's get ready to go." Tao Yungang sorted out his emotions and said, "it's not wise to stay here for a long time. Let's clean up the battlefield and take our brothers… home."
Soon after, they roughly cleaned out the battlefield.
Because there were only four people left to ride the four donkey carriages, they untied the ropes for two of the donkey carriages and tied them to the other two donkey carriages, with two donkeys pulling each carriage.
The two horses left by the horse bandits were also taken by them.
After that, they set off on their return journey.
…
More than two hours had passed, and they still hadn't arrived at the Tao Village.
They suddenly heard a shout from the distance.
"Uncle!"
It was Guo Ye's voice.
Xu Ning and the rest looked over, and they saw Guo Ye with a dozen people behind him.
The leader was Tao Yunmeng, Xu Ning's previous instructor.
"They should be the rescuers Guo Ye brought."
Xu Ning instantly knew what was going on.
This was the advantage of a big village. If one person got into trouble outside, the whole village would help them.
The two parties met each other.
"Uncle, Xu Ning, you guys are still alive!"
After seeing Tao Yungang and Xu Ning in good condition, the weight on Guo Ye's shoulders were finally lifted.
"Brother Yungang, you are back."
It was Tao Yunmeng who was talking.
After Guo Ye fled back to the village, he immediately reported the situation.
The village quickly gathered people together, with Tao Yunmeng taking the lead to rescue them. Although a long time had passed and they didn't know what the current situation was, everyone was still determined to rescue them.
"We're back."
Tao Yungang nodded and turned his head. "It's just…"
Everyone followed his gaze and saw the bodies of their companions on the carriage. There was a moment of silence.
Everyone scattered behind the two donkey carriages and followed them.
The group finally returned to the Tao Village by sunset.
…
"Xu Ning, I will come back and thank you on another day."
After arriving at the Tao Village, Tao Yungang stopped Xu Ning before returning home. "I have to let my brothers rest in peace."
"Uncle Gang, don't worry about me, take care of yourself."
Xu Ning said.
Tao Yungang did not reply. He had to deal with the funeral of his brothers.
Guo Ye didn't talk much to Xu Ning either. They just looked at each other before he followed Tao Yungang and went away.
'Only with strength and power can I gain a firm foothold in this world and protect my family.'
On the way home, Xu Ning kept thinking.
He had made a decision. After a short period of resting, he would enter the inner circle of Yunze Mountains and seek more resources to improve his martial arts.
Soon, he arrived at the doorstep of his house.
Xu Ning pushed open the courtyard door. He finally felt a sense of warmth in his heart.
"I'm back!"
Xu Lian was drying her clothes in the courtyard when she suddenly heard Xu Ning's voice.
She saw Xu Ning push open the gate and walk in. He was holding a wine jar in his hand, with a big knife on his back. He looked exhausted.
"You're home."
A smile appeared on Xu Lian's face.
She quickly put the laundry tub in her hand on the ground and greeted him.
This was the first time Xu Ning had escorted carriages. Although he was with Tao Yungang, she was still a little worried.
After seeing Xu Ning return in good condition, Xu Lian was relieved.
"This is the wine I bought for my brother-in-law."
Xu Ning handed the wine jar to Xu Lian.
Before leaving Kangyun County, Xu Ning bought two jars of wine for his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan.
But during the subsequent battle, one of the wine jars was broken, so he could only bring back one jar.
"Recklessly spending money again."
Xu Lian took the wine jar as she reprimanded her brother.
But her tone was more relaxed than before.
Now that her family had savings and her younger brother had become a warrior, Xu Lian no longer worried as much about spending money.
"I'll go rinse off first and change my clothes."
Xu Ning felt his entire body was sticky.
"Put your clothes in the tub and I'll wash them for you."
Xu Lian said.
"Okay, Sis."
Xu Ning agreed swiftly.
But just after taking two steps, Xu Lian suddenly stopped Xu Ning.
She noticed the blood on Xu Ning's blade, and she then noticed the dried red stain on Xu Ning's body.
"Is that blood on your body?"
Xu Lian frowned.
Xu Ning paused and nodded. "Yes, we ran into a small group of thieves on the road. So we fought and drove them away."
Xu Ning did not try and hide anything, but he did play down the danger of the situation.
He didn't want his sister to worry.
However, although Xu Ning spoke casually, Xu Lian's facial expression immediately changed.
"Were you hurt?"
Xu Lian leaned forward and took a good look at Xu Ning's body.
Xu Ning shook his head. "Not hurt at all, see…"
Xu Ning turned around and jumped in the air, his body moving normally.
Xu Lian was relieved. "Good…"
Afterwards, Xu Ning took off his clothes, cleaned himself up, and put on the clean clothes Xu Lian gave him.
After some rest at home, both his physical and mental state returned to normal.
Xu Ning was refreshed and energized.
"Is Uncle back?"
Xu Ning was drying his hair in the house when he heard Tao Tao's voice.
The little girl came back from playing with her friends.
Tao Tao pushed open the door and went inside.
"Uncle!"
Tao Tao grinned when she saw Xu Ning. She threw herself forward and hugged his waist.
Seeing Tao Tao's face, Xu Ning couldn't help but smile.
But he still grabbed Tao Tao's pigtails and pulled her away from him.
"Tao Tao, stay away from me, you're covered with dirt, and I cleaned up just a second ago."
Tao Tao didn't care about Xu Ning's words.
"Come here."
After Xu Ning pulled Tao Tao away, he called her to the table.
Tao Tao leaned over and stood tiptoe, her head barely reaching the table.
"Look, do you like it?"
Xu Ning took out a wooden hairpin from his bag.
The wood hairpin was green with a simple pattern on it. It looked quite exquisite and beautiful.
"Is this for me?"
Tao Tao tilted her head to look at Xu Ning, her mouth wide open.
"It's for you."
Xu Ning put the hairpin in Tao Tao's hands.
Tao Tao took the green wooden hairpin and held it with both hands, as if holding some kind of rare treasure.
She stared straight at the wooden hairpin, her eyes seemed to be glowing.
After a while, Tao Tao laughed out loud.
She turned around and ran outside, yelling as she ran, "Mom, look, Uncle gave me a gift!"
"Silly child…"
Xu Ning was amused by Tao Tao's reaction.
Prior to all this, their family was quite poor, and Xu Lian's only wooden hairpin was given to her by Tao Yunchuan when they got married.
Xu Lian looked after her hairpin like a treasure. Tao Tao had always wanted to take a look, but Xu Lian wouldn't let her. Hence, Tao Tao always regarded wooden hairpins as something extremely precious.
Now that Xu Ning gave her a better-looking wooden hairpin, Tao Tao was overjoyed.
Xu Ning gave the other wooden hairpin to Xu Lian.
Xu Lian's reaction was much calmer than Tao Tao. But even so, after receiving the gift, she couldn't help but smile.
"Where's my dad?"
At the dinner table, the three waited for Tao Yunchuan to return.
Tao Tao was still holding the wooden hairpin in her hand. Xu Lian had asked her to put it down, but Tao Tao refused.
"He should be back soon."
Xu Lian glanced outside the door.
Tao Yunchuan opened the door and entered.
Although his footsteps were slow, he seemed to be in a hurry.
"Xu Ning, is Xu Ning back?"
Before he even entered the house, Tao Yunchuan asked in a coarse voice, his tone full of concern.
"Brother-in-law, I'm back."
Xu Ning quickly got up from the table and went outside to hold Tao Yunchuan.
"Good, good…"
Tao Yunchuan was breathing heavily, with sweat forming on his forehead.
Xu Lian took a towel and wiped his sweat. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I was worried about Xu Ning!"
Tao Yunchuan coughed and explained, "On my way back, I heard that Tao Yungang ran into an accident. They were robbed by horse bandits on the way back. People were seriously injured and three even died! I was shocked when I heard it, and came back quickly. I thought something happened to Xu Ning."
"Has it already spread…"
Xu Ning did not expect that in less than half an hour, the incident of Tao Yungang's carriages being attacked had spread throughout the Tao Village.
"Three people died?"
Xu Lian was startled and stared at Xu Ning.
Xu Ning didn't mention this at all.
Xu Ning knew that he couldn't keep it a secret any longer, so he confessed to Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian on what had happened.
"So dangerous…"
After hearing the story, Xu Lian's smile disappeared. She looked at her younger brother in fear.
Although Tao Tao was young, she vaguely understood that the wooden hairpin in her hand came from her uncle's dangerous adventure.
"You are not allowed to escort carriages anymore."
Xu Lian spoke sternly. Her tone of voice did not give Xu Ning any room for negotiation.
Tao Yunchuan also stared at Xu Ning without speaking, obviously agreeing with his wife's words.
Xu Ning knew that he couldn't argue with them, so he responded, "Okay, okay, okay… I won't escort carriages anymore.
If he went into Yunze Mountains to collect natural materials and sold them, he could also still earn a lot of income. There was no need to make his sister and brother-in-law worry.
Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian's expressions relaxed after Xu Ning agreed.
"Okay, let's eat."
Tao Yunchuan waved his hand and the family began to eat dinner.
…
Xu Ning was going to rest for two days before going into the mountains again.
The next morning, Xu Ning first went to pick up a few buckets of water before going outside the village. After cutting down some firewood in the forest, he brought them back to the village.
While Xu Ning was walking in the village, he felt that the people in the village were more friendly towards him.
Strangers would take the initiative to walk up and greet him, and acquaintances would often start a conversation. They praised his brave act of risking himself to rescue Tao Yungang and the others yesterday.
The story of Xu Ning fighting off the horse bandit leader and saving his people, had spread throughout the Tao Village.
"Xu Ning!"
Xu Ning carried firewood on his back, but before he got home, he heard someone calling for his name.
A girl holding a spear walked towards him.
"Tao Ye?"
Xu Ning recognized this person.
She was the granddaughter of Tao Jingxing, the head of the Tao Clan. She had collected the Spring Breeze Tactic prize with him.
"Brother Ning, you really are something."
Tao Ye came over and tapped Xu Ning's chest.
Xu Ning was a little uncomfortable.
"Using the intermediate realm Gale Knife Technique to fight against an inner enrichment realm warrior, how courageous."
Tao Ye had always thought that Xu Ning was in the elementary realm of the Gale Knife Technique. But yesterday, she found out that Xu Ning was already in the intermediate realm when they had received the rewards.
A 17-year-old elementary realm external skill user was nothing special, but being a 17-year-old intermediate realm external skill user was different.
With such a good cultivation of external skill, his internal skill would also be stellar.
"Everyone is too kind…" Xu Ning said humbly, "the enemy was killed by Uncle Gang, I just distracted the enemy, nothing more."
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"Don't be so humble."
Tao Ye said, "Even my grandfather praised you for your courage when he heard about this."
After hearing this, Xu Ning was quite surprised.
Her grandfather, Tao Jingxing, was the head of the Tao Clan, the most powerful and prestigious person in the Tao Village.
He couldn't believe he was actually praised by Tao Jingxing.
After some small talk, the two parted ways.
"What happened to my reputation…"
After parting ways from Tao Ye, Xu Ning felt a little emotional.
Prior to this, he never had the opportunity to socialize with the granddaughter of the Clan Head, but now, he was praised by the Clan Head of the Tao Village.
Although he was an outsider, from this point onwards, no one should have any more prejudice against him.
Xu Ning went home with firewood on his back.
He pushed the door open and saw a ton of stuff in the courtyard.
There were grains, meat, clothing, and all kinds of things.
"What is this…"
Xu Ning was a little confused.
'Sis and Brother-in-law are gone, Tao Tao also went outside to play, so how did these things get here?'
"Xu Ning!"
Guo Ye's voice came from outside the gate.
"You're home."
Guo Ye appeared with a wooden box in his hand.
"You brought these things?"
Xu Ning asked.
Guo Ye nodded. "My uncle asked me to bring it… When I got here, the yard door was open, but no one was in the house, so I just left them here."
"Uncle Gang is too kind."
Xu Ning had already guessed why Tao Yungang gave him these presents.
It was no doubt as a show of thanks for helping him in the battle.
"My uncle was supposed to come here and thank you, but he was busy with the funeral and injuries of his brothers, so he asked me to come thank you instead."
Guo Ye said.
"Actually, this is totally unnecessary…"
Xu Ning really didn't care much about this.
"Oh yeah, in addition to these, there is one more thing my uncle asked me to hand to you."
Guo Ye handed the wooden box in his hand to Xu Ning.
Xu Ning took it and opened the wooden box curiously.
"This is… a Swallowtail Flower?"
Xu Ning raised his eyebrows.
Five Swallowtail Flowers were placed neatly in the wooden box.
"This is too expensive of a gift."
Xu Ning sighed.
Previously, he had absorbed 3 energy units from a Swallowtail Flower, which gave him the energy required to reach the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife Technique.
And for that Swallowtail Flower, even with Guo Ye's discount, he still had to spend 180 taels.
Normally, the price should be around 200 taels.
There were five Swallowtail Flowers in this wooden box, which was equivalent to 1000 taels.
"I can't accept this."
Although Xu Ning was moved, he gritted his teeth and refused.
1000 taels was too much.
"You have to accept it." Guo Ye continued, "my uncle said, you saved his and my life, so our family owes you. You know how my uncle is. If you insist on refusing, just return it to my uncle yourself. "
"Besides, now that you're practicing your internal skill, these Swallowtail Flowers will be of great use to you."
"But…"
"No buts…" Guo Ye said, "Take it, I have to go. My uncle is busy, and I have to help him."
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Ning finally accepted the generous gift.
On one hand, he decided to accept Tao Yungang's gratitude, and on the other, Xu Ning really needed an energy source.
After fighting against internal skill martial artists, Xu Ning clearly noticed his own shortcomings.
Although he was in the intermediate realm of the Gale Knife technique, the potential of his body was not activated yet—he was too weak.
Only by practicing internal energy and combining it with external skills, could he exert his greatest strength.
After Guo Ye left, Xu Ning moved all the grain, meat, and clothing sent by Guo Ye into the house.
After that, Xu Ning put down the firewood and went inside the house with the five Swallowtail Flowers.
"Five Swallowtail Flowers…"
Xu Ning placed the wooden box on the table. He felt a little hesitant.
One Swallowtail Flower could provide 3 units of energy, so five Swallowtail Flowers was equivalent to 15 units of energy!
He tried to upgrade his Gale Knife Technique from intermediate realm to perfection realm, and it required 12 units of energy.
But if he spent it on his internal skill Spring Breeze Tactic, he could move up two realms at once.
Xu Ning no longer hesitated, he immediately grabbed a Swallowtail Flower in his hand.
As expected, the Martial Arts Panel appeared in his vision.
—
Discovered energy: 3 units
Absorb?
Yes/No
—
"Yes!"
The Swallowtail Flower in Xu Ning's hand withered as he gained 3 energy units.
Xu Ning did not stop, as he continued to absorb the remaining four Swallowtail Flowers.
The Martial Arts Panel refreshed.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Arts:
Spring Breeze Tactic (Beginner)
Gale Knife Method (Intermediate)
Available energy: 15 units
—
"15 units of energy…"
Xu Ning finally experienced what having an abundance of energy felt like.
He set his sights on the Martial Arts Panel.
After obtaining these 15 units of energy, the first thing Xu Ning must do was to improve his Spring Breeze Tactic.
Xu Ning looked at the "" sign next to the Spring Breeze Tactic.
—
Consume 3 units of energy to level up Spring Breeze Tactic?
Yes/No
—
"Yes!"
Xu Ning confirmed.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Arts:
Spring Breeze Tactic (Mortal realm first stage: practice realm)
Gale Knife Method (Intermediate)
Available energy: 12 units
—
The moment the panel refreshed, Xu Ning suddenly felt the blood in his body beginning to surge.
An inexplicable sense of power poured out from the depths of his physical body.
His limbs, torso, and head seemed to be expanding, as if he was becoming a giant.
"This feeling…"
This sudden increase in power actually made Xu Ning feel dizzy.
"This is what internal skill strength is."
Xu Ning glanced down at his body.
He was still skinny, as if the feeling of expansion was an illusion.
However, even though his body had not changed, the feeling of power still existed.
Xu Ning looked at the steel knife next to him.
This steel knife weighed about ten pounds, so when he used it, he had to grab it firmly.
However, his arm strength was low. He did fine during practice, but it became restrictive during real combat. Once the battle went on for too long, his arm strength would weaken and his form would change.
But now, Xu Ning, who had broken through the realm of strength training, decided to try again.
Xu Ning walked to the steel knife and picked it up.
"It's lighter!"
Xu Ning could clearly tell the difference compared to before.
Xu Ning felt like he was holding a wooden knife.
Xu Ning slashed around swiftly.
"Huff…"
Xu Ning couldn't contain himself. He began to practice the Gale Knife Technique inside his house.
Hu! Hu! Hu!
The knife slashed in the wind.
Fortunately, there were not many things inside the house, so Xu Ning was not cramped by the space.
After finishing his routine, Xu Ning was ecstatic.
'My improvement in my internal skill has made my Gale Knife Technique more lethal!'
In addition to the improvement in strength brought about by the breakthrough of the Spring Breeze Tactic, Xu Ning's control of his body had also been raised to a higher level.
"Sure enough, internal skill is the key!"
Xu Ning exclaimed.
'If I continue to ascend to mortal realm second stage, or mortal realm third stage, then the blessings on my body's strength would be even more powerful!'
Xu Ning once again focused on the "" besides his Spring Breeze Tactic.
—
Consume 6 units of energy to level up the Spring Breeze Tactic?
Yes/No
—
Leveling the internal skill realm from the first level to the second level required twice the energy units.
Xu Ning did not confirm immediately. He was weighing his options.
He still had 12 units of energy left, which was enough to easily achieve the mortal realm second stage muscle bone realm, but after the breakthrough, he would have 6 units of energy left, which was definitely not enough to reach the mortal realm third stage inner enrichment realm.
He knew from before that it took 12 units of energy to achieve the perfection realm in the Gale Knife Technique, which was exactly how much energy units he had left.
'Should I level up my Gale Knife Technique to the highest level, or enhance my internal skill?'
Xu Ning was a bit hesitant.
Xu Ning had already witnessed the physique of a muscle bone realm warrior during his battle against the horse bandit.
If the body's internal skill level was higher than the external skill level, one could easily manifest all the strengths of the body, achieving powerful combat power.
Xu Ning still didn't know how strong the perfection realm of an external skill was.
After all, it seemed that there were only a few clan elders who practiced the Gale Knife Technique or Hurricane Spear Technique to the perfection realm.
For ordinary warriors, improving their external skills to the perfection realm was a process that relied heavily on years of practice.
Report chapter
'Let's level up my internal skill first…'
After thinking for a while, Xu Ning finally made a decision.
No matter how amazing his external power was, if he didn't have a strong body, his power would be limited.
As long as his body was strong, even if his external skill realm was one level lower, he could still exert terrifying combat power.
Xu Ning stared at the Martial Arts Panel and said "yes".
The panel refreshed again.
—
Name: Xu Ning
Martial Arts:
Spring Breeze Tactic (Mortal realm second stage: muscle bone realm)
Gale Knife Method (Intermediate)
Available energy: 6 units
—
After the panel was refreshed, Xu Ning felt a strange feeling in his body.
Unlike breaking through the practice realm, Xu Ning felt a chilling sensation in his fascia and bones.
It seemed like his bones had been tempered and his fascia had been stretched.
Xu Ning stretched his body and noticed that his flexibility had improved greatly.
Practice realm increased his strength, but after reaching the muscle bone realm, he was more flexible, explosive, and agile.
'After reaching the muscle bone realm, I can manipulate my body more delicately.'
Xu Ning clearly understood the changes in his body, 'The accuracy of my Gale Knife Technique has been improved, and the range and angle of my slashes has been improved. My attacks will be more difficult for enemies to defend against.'
'Additionally, my body is much stronger than before. Now, even if I don't use my external skill, I can easily defend against an attack from ten normal men just by relying on my fists.'
Xu Ning took a deep breath.
His physical changes made him feel ecstatic.
"No wonder countless warriors are pursuing higher realms. They are not only pursuing power and strength, but also a sense of control."
After experiencing the power of internal skills, Xu Ning had a higher level of thirst for martial arts.
'Thanks to these five Swallowtail Flowers, I am now two realms above what I was before.'
When Xu Ning's Gale Knife Technique was superimposed on his muscle bone realm, he could be considered outstanding amongst the young people in the Tao Village.
There were not many people of the same age who could match Xu Ning in the Tao Village.
With Xu Ning's current strength, he could leave Tao Village and earn a living by himself.
Xu Ning now had the basic qualifications to survive on his own.
'Let's see how many units of energy it takes to level up again…'
Xu Ning looked at the "" sign besides the Spring Breeze Tactic.
—
Consume 12 units of energy to level up Spring Breeze Tactic?
Yes/No
—
"12 units…"
Although he knew that his energy units were not enough for three consecutive level ups, Xu Ning still didn't expect the energy requirement to increase by 6 whole units.
'The same amount of energy units to reach the perfection realm of the Gale Knife Technique…'
Xu Ning thought for a moment and turned off the Martial Arts Panel.
'Uncle Gang and Guo Ye helped me a ton this time.'
Xu Ning sighed.
These five Swallowtail Flowers allowed his internal skill to rise by two levels in a row, and he still had 6 units of energy left over.
Although Tao Yungang was just expressing his gratitude, Xu Ning still felt like he owed Tao Yungang a favor.
'Now that my strength has grown, I will surely gain more resources when I enter Yunze Mountains.'
Xu Ning was full of confidence.
The improvement of his strength and the acquisition of resources was a positive feedback cycle.
'I'll go into the mountains tomorrow!'
Xu Ning made a decision.
…
Half a month had gone by.
During this period, Xu Ning entered Yunze Mountains almost every other day.
A few days ago, Xu Ning carefully explored the outer areas of the inner circle, and after familiarizing himself with the terrain and environment, he began to tread deeper.
Xu Ning discovered many medicinal materials that were rare in the outer circle, as well as some beasts that were rarely seen anywhere else. The abundance of wild resources was amazing.
Xu Ning used to pick herbs on the outskirts of the mountains, and his monthly income was usually around three taels of silver.
But now, after only half a month, Xu Ning's income from selling herbs was 60 taels!
If he continued working, his monthly income would be more than 100 taels, which was equivalent to his family's yearly income.
Although this income was still incomparable to that of Tao Yungang's herbal business, it was much larger than most people.
Xu Ning came back from Yunze Mountains again.
As usual, he still sold the medicinal materials to Guo Ye's shop.
Over the past half a month, Tao Yungang handled the affairs of his fallen brothers.
Tao Yungang compensated 500 taels each to the families of the three casualties, and would also pay for the living expenses of their children until they got married.
Tao Yunquan lost his hand, so Tao Yungang paid him a large sum for medical expenses and provided precious herbs for him to recover from his injuries.
Tao Yungang performed all of his duties impeccably.
Thus, in the future, there would still be people willing to escort Tao Yungang's carriage.
People were happy to work for generous bosses.
Xu Ning sold six taels of silver worth of medicinal materials today.
Although this was small compared to the huge profits from selling the Heal-all Plants some time ago, the small profits added up.
If he could find a spirit medicine once in a while, he would be even more wealthy.
Guo Ye had gotten used to Xu Ning's sudden increase in income.
Xu Ning was now comparable to some of the old medicine collectors in the village; he could be regarded as a master medicine collector.
After selling the herbal medicine, Xu Ning returned home.
Their family income had increased significantly recently, so Xu Ning persuaded Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan to relax and quit their job.
At first, the both of them were a little hesitant. But after seeing the high amount of income Xu Ning brought back the next day, they agreed to his request.
They had just entered winter, and the couple planned to spend their winter leisurely.
During spring next year, they would start farming and planting again. They didn't need to make money from selling food—they just wanted something to do.
At the dinner table.
The quality of the dishes on the table had obviously improved. They went from eating meat once a month to eating it almost every other day.
The family house had also begun renovations.
It was like the entire family was experiencing a new life.
"Brother-in-law, is there any meat at home?"
Xu Ning asked after dinner.
"Yes, what are you going to do?"
Tao Yunchuan's mental state was very different from before.
The fatigue caused by his original life had disappeared.
"I want to take two pounds of lamb meat and go to Uncle Tao Yunmeng's house."
Xu Ning said.
During this period of gathering medicine in the inner circle of the mountains, Xu Ning had encountered various ferocious beasts.
Even though Xu Ning was strong, there was still a risk of injury if these beasts got close to his body.
After pondering this problem, Xu Ning decided to learn a long-range archery type external skill.
By attacking the mountain beasts from far away, he would be much safer.
Although this was a good idea, he didn't know where to learn archery skills.
Although quite a few people in the Tao Village now knew his name, most of them were still strangers.
Xu Ning had asked Guo Ye to ask Tao Yungang, and Tao Yungang told Xu Ning to visit his former coach, Tao Yunmeng.
Which brought him to where he was today.
"Okay, after dinner, I will tie up the lamb chops for you."
Tao Yunchuan immediately responded. Xu Ning's affairs were extremely important to him.
"Bring some of Uncle Yungang's gifts too."
Xu Lian said. She knew that Xu Ning was going there to learn martial arts.
…
After dinner, Xu Ning went to Tao Yunmeng's house with the gifts.
Tao Yunmeng's home was quite grandiose.
The night was coming. Two illuminated lanterns were hung high at the gate of Tao Yunmeng's house, lighting up the front gate.
Tao Yunmeng was a powerful moral realm fourth stage qi realm warrior. His income was similar to Tao Yungang's.
The reason why he served as the head coach and instructed the younger generation in the village was not for the salary, but just to train the descendants of the village.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Xu Ning banged on the door.
"Who is it?"
Soon, a voice came from the courtyard. It was the voice of a young man that was loud and clear.
"I'm Xu Ning, I came to visit Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning responded loudly at the door.
The courtyard door soon opened.
A young man came out, his face looked somewhat similar to Tao Yunmeng's.
"Xu Ning?"
The young man glanced at Xu Ning.
"It's me."
Xu Ning responded.
The young man grinned. "Come on in."
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