Chapter 13: Inner Cultivation Technique
Chapter 13: Inner Cultivation Technique
"It's been nine months, and I've finally reached this stage." Chen Mu exhaled slowly.
He summoned the system interface once more, only to find that the system panel had also undergone changes.
[Martial Arts: Gale Blade Technique (Perfection)]
[Experience: 0]
As expected, the Gale Blade Technique had reached the realm of Perfection, and his experience points had reset once again.
"I wonder if there's a realm beyond Perfection," Chen Mu suddenly thought. He then tentatively tried to allocate points to the already perfected Gale Blade Technique, but this time, there was no response at all, as if Perfection was the pinnacle of the technique.
In the past, even if his experience points were insufficient, the system would provide a prompt, indicating how much experience was needed for the next allocation. But this time, there wasn't even a hint, suggesting that Perfection was the ultimate level of the Gale Blade Technique.
"If the blade technique is perfected and I've cultivated the blade aura, is this the limit?" Chen Mu furrowed his brows slightly.
Although he wasn't sure if there was a higher realm beyond the blade aura, he knew that there were even stronger cultivation methods. However, it seemed that he couldn't force his way to a higher level by allocating more points to the Gale Blade Technique.
Perhaps the Gale Blade Technique wasn't profound enough, and its level was limited. If he wanted to reach a higher level, he would need to seek out a more advanced blade technique to cultivate.
"If that's the case..." Chen Mu fell into deep thought.
Maybe it was time to visit the pawnshop and inquire about higher-level blade technique manuals.
Additionally, he wanted to ask about 'Inner Cultivation Techniques,' as he knew that apart from external martial arts like blade techniques, there existed internal cultivation methods in this world.
If cultivating the blade aura was the pinnacle of the technique, and he wanted to become stronger, he would need to find a genuine Inner Cultivation Technique to practice. The Patrol Commander from the City Guard Corps was most likely a cultivator of such a method.
Having made up his mind, Chen Mu closed the system panel.
After breakfast, Chen Mu headed to the largest pawnshop in the market, the renowned 'Ji Family Pawnshop.'
As far as he knew, the Ji family was one of the major clans in the Inner City, wielding considerable influence. This particular pawnshop was an offshoot of the main branch in the Inner City, and even as a branch, it remained the largest pawnshop in the Nine Streets.
As soon as Chen Mu entered the shop, a clerk behind the counter stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Hello, sir. Are you here to pawn or purchase?"
Chen Mu walked up to the counter, took out the Gale Blade Technique manual from his bag, placed it on the table, and asked, "If I pawn this, how much silver can I get?"
The clerk picked up the manual, flipped through a few pages, and then exclaimed, "Oh, it's a blade technique. Well, among all martial arts manuals, blade techniques are the most common and widely circulated. Please wait a moment, sir... Little Sun, bring some tea for the gentleman!"
"Yes, sir!" came a reply from inside. A servant quickly rushed out and served tea to Chen Mu.
The clerk then drew aside the deep blue curtain and entered the inner room.
Chen Mu remained calm, knowing that this was a major pawnshop, and sat down by the side.
After a short wait, the clerk returned with the manual, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, "Our appraiser said there's no issue with the technique. It belongs to the Wind Lineage of the Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams. If you want to pawn it, you can probably get five taels of silver."
Five taels.
This was slightly higher than what Chen Mu had initially expected.
Intrigued by the clerk's statement, Chen Mu asked, "Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams?"
The clerk smiled and didn't inquire about the origin of the Gale Blade Technique manual. Instead, he explained, "The Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams is the most mainstream and orthodox lineage of all martial arts today. It was originally an official court style but has since spread to the common folk."
"It is said that the Eight Trigrams were created by ancient martial arts masters who observed the wind, thunder, water, and fire of nature. Many others then developed various variations based on the original Eight Trigrams. This Gale Blade Technique belongs to the Wind Lineage."
Chen Mu pondered for a moment and asked, "So, does that mean there's a higher-level Wind Lineage blade technique?"
The clerk laughed and said, "Sir, you might not fully understand. The main lineage of the Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams branches out into various techniques and skills, and the original lineage doesn't differentiate between blades, swords, staffs, or clubs. What's passed down is the 'art,' but if you're asking what the art is, I'm afraid I don't know either."
Art?
Chen Mu's mind raced.
Perhaps the so-called art was the realm above the blade aura, but the Gale Blade Technique's level wasn't high enough to reach that stage.
Since he had already asked, Chen Mu didn't mind inquiring further. After a brief moment of thought, he asked, "Do you have any cultivation methods for the main lineage of the Eight Trigrams here?"
Before he could finish, the clerk shook his head and said, "Sir, you're joking. How could a small shop like ours have something like that? Maybe the main branch in the Inner City might have some information, but... even if they do, it's incomparable to this blade technique. The value is beyond measure."
Chen Mu's heart sank slightly.
The Gale Blade Technique, a widely known sword art, isn't particularly valuable compared to the Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams, which is said to be the root of the imperial court's orthodox martial arts. The former is easily accessible, but the latter is priceless, a thousand gold pieces wouldn't be enough.
At least, for now, he doesn't have the means to acquire it.
"What about Inner Cultivation Techniques?" Chen Mu asked again.
At this point, he no longer cared about being seen as ignorant by the shopkeeper. He had already asked some seemingly foolish questions, so he didn't mind asking a few more.
The shopkeeper smiled and replied, "Inner Cultivation Techniques... Hmm, I might not know much about them. Actually, the so-called 'Inner Cultivation Techniques' that circulate among the people is a general term. To be specific, there are two types: Body Tempering Techniques and Inner Breath Techniques."
"Let's not talk about Inner Breath Techniques for now. Even if we went to the Inner City, we wouldn't be able to buy them."
Chen Mu listened with a thoughtful expression but remained silent, his gaze fixed on the shopkeeper, awaiting further explanation.
The shopkeeper didn't mind elaborating further, "As for Body Tempering Techniques, they start with Skin Tempering, and then progress to Muscle Tempering and Sinew Tempering, commonly known as the stages of skin, flesh, sinews, and bones."
"Each step has its corresponding tempering method. Therefore, whether it's Skin Tempering or Muscle Tempering, they are all referred to as Inner Cultivation Techniques, and naturally, their prices vary."
Chen Mu's expression turned thoughtful upon hearing this.
He had initially assumed that Inner Cultivation Techniques were a fixed set of cultivation methods, but it seemed that wasn't the case. There were specific methods for Skin Tempering and Muscle Tempering, collectively known as Inner Cultivation Techniques.
This was actually better.
If he wanted to purchase just the basic Skin Tempering Technique, it probably wouldn't be too expensive.
Just as Chen Mu was thinking this, the shopkeeper smiled slightly and said, "You're probably interested in the most basic Skin Tempering Technique, right? We have three cultivation methods here, and the cheapest one, the 'Iron Sand Skin Tempering Technique,' only costs one hundred and fifty silver taels."
Chen Mu's lips twitched slightly. He had considered himself quite wealthy, but now he realized the price was exorbitant. Like sword techniques, Skin Tempering Techniques could be repeatedly copied, yet they were being sold for one hundred and fifty silver taels. It was truly outrageous. He had already spent a significant portion of his silver, and now he could only afford a fraction of the price.
Fortunately, one hundred and fifty silver taels was a reasonable amount compared to the cost of Inner Breath Techniques. With his mastery of the Gale Blade Technique and its blade aura, earning that amount of money wouldn't be difficult.
...
After leaving the Ji Family Pawnshop, Chen Mu reached into his pocket and touched the 'Blazing Wind Blade Technique' scroll, feeling a hint of regret.
He couldn't afford the Inner Cultivation Techniques for now, and since he had already perfected the Gale Blade Technique, he couldn't just sit idle. In the end, he purchased the 'Blazing Wind Blade Technique,' which belonged to the same Wind Lineage as the Gale Blade Technique but was a different type.
Fortunately, he had gone to sell the Gale Blade Technique, so this purchase was like an exchange, and he only had to pay an additional five silver taels.
According to the shopkeeper, the fundamental techniques of the Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams were not circulated outside the imperial court, and no faction dared to spread them. However, the branch techniques like the Gale Blade and Blazing Wind Blade were widely known.
There were rumors of a peerless individual who could deduce the fundamental techniques from the branch techniques, but Chen Mu had no way of knowing if these rumors were true. Nonetheless, it gave him an idea. His Gale Blade Technique had reached perfection, and even the system couldn't further enhance it. Still, he could cultivate other branches of the same type.
Mastering two blade techniques and cultivating two distinct blade auras would undoubtedly make him stronger than focusing on just one.
Chen Mu even suspected that the system wasn't incapable of further enhancing his skills; perhaps it was a matter of insufficient conditions.
If he could perfect various techniques from the Wind Lineage, cultivate their blade auras, and then use the system to integrate and derive higher-level fundamental techniques, he might be able to reach an even higher realm.
Of course, physical cultivation was also crucial. Currently, his priority was to obtain a Skin Tempering Technique.
"Inner Breath Techniques are not something ordinary people can access, and even the Patrol Commanders might not have access to them. But as for Body Tempering Techniques... I wonder which step that Patrol Commander Min has reached—Skin Tempering or Muscle Tempering."
Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat.
There was no doubt that the Patrol Commander of the City Guard must have cultivated Body Tempering Techniques. Otherwise, a single perfected skill and its resulting blade aura wouldn't be enough to secure his position. The question was, which step of Body Tempering had he reached?
Based on the information Chen Mu gathered from the shopkeeper, Body Tempering Techniques were extremely challenging. It was almost like tempering the body with pure gold and silver. Every Body Tempering medicine formula was a gold sink, and to make significant progress, one would need to spend several hundred silver taels in a year.
Without a vast fortune, one could spend a lifetime just on the first step of Skin Tempering.
Chen Mu guessed that the Patrol Commander Min, who oversaw the nine-street City Guard, might have only reached the Muscle Tempering stage. If he had achieved a higher level, he probably wouldn't be just an Outer City Patrol Commander; he would have been promoted long ago.
(End of Chapter)
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