Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 43: Becoming a Big Shot, Forging the Great Tendons, An Advance on the Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique, and a Vow to Smash Everyone into Silence
A great event had recently taken place in the five-hundred-li Anning County.
The Fire Kiln, the Chai Market, and the Cattle and Sheep Market.
The bosses of these businesses, which once controlled half of the county’s livelihood...
...had joined forces, twisted together like a single rope, and actually established a new ’faction’. It was said to be under the patronage of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster from Jiangyin Prefecture!
When the news spread, it was like the turning of an earth dragon, sending a great shockwave through the five hundred li of the Mountain Dao!
And as the Hall Master and Vice Hall Master, second only to the three leaders...
They had risen in a single leap, transforming into first-class, powerful and extravagant figures in the County, on top of being among the ’top ten’ Skin Refining experts.
They were now constantly surrounded by entourages, their power scorching hot to the touch. They held the lifelines of countless people in their hands, inspiring endless flattery and servitude.
And all of this.
For Ji Xiu, who was in the prime of his youth, living a life of fine clothes and spirited horses, like a ’young scholar who passed the imperial exams’...
...he understood the truth behind it all deeply.
...
"Master Ji!"
"Master Ji!"
The sky had just begun to brighten.
The Sword Carriers and Guests of the Wind and Cloud Association’s Fire Kiln business—who had been transformed into official Wind and Cloud Assembly Members or unofficial personnel—walked about.
When they saw a young man walking with the gait of a dragon and the stride of a tiger, dressed in a straight-lapel black tunic, a wide, thick cloak, with a sword hanging from his waist, a Cloud Pattern belt, and tall boots treading upon the cold stone path, exuding an air of nobility and integrity...
...every single one of them lowered their heads.
Who could have ever imagined?
Just over a month ago, he had been nothing but a poor boy from a destitute family, a Groom for an outer residence.
That with a sudden transformation, he would become a highly sought-after Hall Master in the Wind and Cloud Association?
They looked at Hong Jiang, who followed by the young man’s side, step for step, his face beaming with joy. Riding on Ji Xiu’s coattails, he too had leaped up to become an official Wind and Cloud Assembly Member, and they couldn’t help but feel envious.
The Three Major Professions had only selected a hundred Assembly Members.
Adhering to the principle of quality over quantity, the remaining ordinary Guests were all unofficial personnel. They still did their old jobs, and only if they performed well would they have a chance to be ’tested’ and ’promoted’ into the official ranks.
But with so many people watching with hungry eyes, how could it be so easy?
The competition would probably only grow more intense, even more difficult than it was for a Guest to be promoted to a Sword-carrying Guest in the past.
But then they looked at this fellow, who had simply followed the right person.
Now he was a trusted confidant of the Medicine Hall Master. With time, it was only a matter of time before he would be in a position of authority.
’When one person achieves the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!’
Facing the respectful greetings and envious gazes along the way, Ji Xiu responded with a lukewarm acknowledgment.
Only when he walked into his own courtyard paved with bluestone bricks did his tense expression finally relax slightly.
"Brother!"
Ji Wei threw herself into his arms, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him.
When she saw the young man before her, cloaked in his greatcoat, cinched with a Cloud Pattern belt, and shod in tall boots, his heroic air impossible to conceal, her eyes immediately crinkled into crescent moons.
"No wonder they say it’s the clothes that make the man, just as the saddle makes the horse."
"With my brother looking like this, what Hall Master position could he not hold?"
"Any young lady who becomes my sister-in-law would be marrying up."
She hummed, dressed in a willow-green blouse and skirt, with a white gauze cloak wrapped snugly around her. The skin she revealed had the glossy sheen of porcelain.
Her complexion and skin tone were completely different from before, just like a young lady from a wealthy household in the County.
The cloth-robed boy who once practiced his sword under the moon, and the timid girl who peeked through the crack in the door.
Not a single trace of them could now be glimpsed in these two.
At this, Ji Xiu’s expression softened. In the late autumn air, he took off his cloak and placed it in Ji Wei’s hands.
"It’s only been a few good days, and you’ve already forgotten the foundation of our standing?"
"Rely on a mountain, and it will collapse. Rely on water, and it will dry up."
"Nothing external is as reliable as one’s own self."
"Go make the meal. I want a creamy fresh fish soup, venison stewed until it’s tender, another pound of beef ribs stewed with potatoes, and a large pot of millet rice."
"Nourishment is thirty percent, training is seventy percent. Take your Pills daily. Only by continuing this for a long time can you strengthen your tendons, temper your bones, and achieve Fierce and Vigorous Progress on the Martial Dao."
After speaking, he patted Ji Wei’s head.
"Little sister, don’t pick up the bad habits of the wealthy before you’ve even truly made it."
"When you look at people, don’t just see their fine clothes and outer shell. You must see the weakness of the core within."
"Didn’t you say you wanted to practice martial arts?"
His eyes were clear and bright.
"Once your body is better nourished, I will take you to my Master. I’ll ask him to assess your constitution and teach you a proper Pile Skill for your Foundation Establishment."
"Okay!"
Ji Wei nodded obediently. Hearing the words ’Martial Dao’, her eyes shone with starry light, and she scampered off to cook.
"Go prepare the carriage. After I finish my Pile Skill practice, I need to head to the Medicine Hall to practice Alchemy."
Watching Ji Wei depart, Ji Xiu took a deep breath. Dressed in martial attire, he prepared to be Single-minded and begin raising his Qi and Blood to refine his bone marrow in the deep autumn chill.
His diligence couldn’t help but move Hong Jiang, who stood to the side.
"Hall Master, you’ve already reached this position, yet you’re still working so hard..."
"A few days ago, with a single word from Pharmacist Huang, the three big Bosses finalized the decision. They gave you the seat of the seventh hall, and no one can shake your position."
"But as soon as you took office, you refused to accept flattery and rejected gifts from those seeking positions. You spend all day refining your bone marrow and tempering your bones. With enough resources, when can’t you practice your Pile Skill?"
"You train to exhaustion every time, and then without a moment’s rest, you still have to go to the Medicine Hall to find Pharmacist Huang. It really makes me..."
Ji Xiu shot him a serious glance.
"Pharmacist Huang, Manor Master Lu, and the three Vice Presidents spoke to secure my position, but are the others truly convinced?"
[Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique: (12/30)]
[Perform the stance thirty times to resemble a Soaring Serpent, gathering its form and condensing its rhythm. Comprehend its True Intent to achieve Perfection!]
[Note: Having already achieved Perfection in the ’Profound Turtle Great Toad Technique’, after achieving Great Success in the Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique... a Trait can be comprehended!]
Ji Xiu flipped his wrists, slowly gathering his scattered thoughts. The thin morning mist swirled, making him, as he began his stance, resemble a Soaring Serpent in the clouds, an Immortal Crane in the sky.
The Profound Turtle is a Static Posture, emphasizing being as immovable as a mountain.
The Soaring Serpent is a Moving Posture. It requires coordinating stretching and contracting movements with the rhythm of one’s breath, in order to temper the great tendons, drive the muscles, bones, and blood, and cause the entire body... to undergo a transformation!
A punch after nourishing one’s blood is heavy and powerful, but one might not be able to unleash their full strength.
But one who has succeeded in refining their bone marrow can channel Force and control their power, striking and retracting at will. Every fist and palm can contain a Thousand-Pound Power!
The two cannot be mentioned in the same breath.
’Master Ji’s Pile Skill... it’s improved again!’
Watching Ji Xiu’s ethereal movements, it was as if an entire ’Heaven and Earth’ separated them. Hong Jiang’s eyes trembled, and he was struck with awe.
’The position of Hall Master was given to me through a noble’s appreciation. While convenient, it is nothing more than a flower in a mirror, the moon in the water.’
’If I use this to make friends, seek wealth, and gather trusted confidants... I might seem to have a large following, but with the refining of my bone marrow incomplete...’
’...what use is it?’
CRACKLE! CREAK!
A series of CRACKS and POPS sounded from his muscles and bones! fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Ji Xiu threw a punch. Before Hong Jiang could even react, it smashed—BANG!—into a stone tablet that had been deliberately placed in the courtyard!
BANG!
An explosive sound erupted!
He slowly opened his five fingers, revealing calluses that were completely different from the skin on the surface. His hair was whipped about by the force, but his eyes were exceptionally calm.
"I’m the kind of person who always has this... breath, stuck in my chest."
"Before, from servant, to Groom, to Guest... I was taken care of by the Manor Master’s family, and I unexpectedly slackened a bit."
"I didn’t notice it before, but that wasn’t a good thing."
"Fortunately..."
"...because of what happened at the Medicine Hall, I’ve got that breath back."
"When the three great Skin Refining figures in the leadership spoke, I had no room to interject. At that time, listening to the whispers filling the hall, all I could do was hold it in."
"Because I know well that the more one speaks, the more one risks."
"Although Pharmacist Huang bursting in turned my situation around, and others see me as having ascended to the heavens in a single step, forcing them to bow their heads no matter how unwilling they are... do you know, Hong Jiang?"
Hong Jiang stared blankly, watching the young Martial Artist who seemed to be enveloped in a strange Qi as he tempered his great tendons in the dead of winter...
He felt as if, for the rest of his life, this image would be a shadow weighing heavily on his heart.
"Others might be ecstatic about this, as if a pie fell from the sky. They’d immediately be off on ’dappled horses and thousand-gold furs, calling for their sons to trade them for fine wine’..."
"But for me..."
"...it is a constant warning bell!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
As he performed the Moving Posture, his wild Qi and Blood surged like a torrential river, creating turbulent waves. As Ji Xiu spoke...
...it began to relentlessly scour the great tendons within his flesh and blood!
Ji Xiu’s arms stretched out like a Soaring Serpent taking flight. From his arms down to his legs, large bundles of muscle trembled wildly, coiling and dancing like snakes.
He struck nine consecutive poses, closing his eyes to comprehend the true form of the Soaring Serpent amidst the biting cold wind. He increasingly embodied its form and rhythm, and the cuffs of his close-fitting robe and trousers bulged and trembled in unison!
As he stood there...
...a BANG! was heard!
The bricks beneath the young man’s feet cracked!
He opened his eyes, a brilliant Divine Radiance in their depths, and stared at the entire Fire Kiln, and the entire Wind and Cloud Association.
"On what grounds do they think..."
"...that these Iron Fists of mine couldn’t smash out a Hall Master’s seat for myself!?"
Sooner or later, the day would come for him, Ji Xiu.
When he would, with a single punch, silence the Assembly Members of the Wind and Cloud Association from the Chai Market and the Cattle and Sheep Market!
He would make those who should eat, eat, and those who should shut up, shut up!
This position had fallen to him, and of course, he was going to take it! ƒгeewebnovёl.com
[’Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique’ Progress +1!]
[Soaring Serpent Cloud-Chasing Technique: (13/30)]
As his mastery of the Turtle and Snake Grand Foundation Stake neared Perfection...
Ji Xiu could clearly feel himself growing stronger at a rapid pace.
The feeling was intoxicating.
And this...
...was the true foundation!
He must not let power cloud his eyes and lose his true self!
Otherwise, even with the Primordial Daoist Talisman, he would not be able to climb high or go far!
「In a flash, a double-hour passed.」
When the tide of his rapid breathing and surging Qi and Blood finally ebbed, it all came to a close.
"Prepare the horse."
Hong Jiang, who had been standing like a stone pillar, lost in the artistic conception of the Pile Skill...
...was startled awake by the calm words and hurriedly went to carry out the order.
And as the fragrant aroma of food began to waft through the air...
Ji Xiu turned his head.
He looked at Ji Wei, who was watching him speak and practice, her eyes shining brightly. She was a fluffy bundle, with her hands tucked into her blouse and skirt for warmth, and a light gauze cape draped over her...
He let out a breath and chuckled softly.
"Time to eat!"
