Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 75: Martial Arts Realm

"It’s you?" Li Lu said, somewhat surprised.

He had just been thinking about this young man, and now here he was, right in front of him.

"Uncle Li, my name is Cheng Zongyang. I apologize for the intrusion." Cheng Zongyang was very polite, offering a slight, familiar-looking bow with cupped hands.

"Come in, have a seat."

As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face. Seeing how courteous Cheng Zongyang was, Li Lu, despite his suspicions about the purpose of the visit, smiled and invited him inside.

After Cheng Zongyang entered, Li Lu closed the door and followed him into the main hall.

"Sit," Li Lu gestured, then sat down himself.

Only after Li Lu had taken his seat did Cheng Zongyang follow suit.

Li Lu got straight to the point. "People don’t visit without a purpose. Why have you come here at this hour?"

It was dinnertime, after all. A stranger visiting one’s home at this hour wasn’t here for casual chatter, so there was no need for idle pleasantries.

Seeing how direct the other man was, Cheng Zongyang decided to dispense with the pleasantries as well. He smiled and said:

"Again, I apologize for the intrusion. It’s nothing much, just a matter concerning my second uncle. According to my second aunt, you went through a lot of trouble and used many connections to find out what happened to him. That’s why I’ve come to ask you a few things."

Li Lu observed Cheng Zongyang’s attitude and demeanor and was quite surprised.

’Is he really a farmer’s son? Not someone raised by a Noble Race?’

’Most importantly, he’s a Martial Artist?’

He had seen humble youths in the Government Office, among the Noble Races, in gangs, and at Martial Arts Halls. He had seen young Martial Artists, too.

But he had never seen a young Martial Artist as humble and polite as this one.

The ones he’d met were all so arrogant they wouldn’t even look people like him in the eye, even though he was a government official.

A farmer’s son, upon seeing a government official, would usually treat him as a Lord Official, his mind filled with a sense of hierarchy. But he saw none of that in the young man’s eyes. There was only mutual respect. Furthermore, the boy carried himself with a proper and dignified air.

"Young Master Cheng, please, speak freely." Li Lu’s eyes showed his respect. ’This kid is no simple character,’ he thought to himself.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Cheng Zongyang asked, "Is my second uncle at the Government Office?"

Without hesitation or concealment, Li Lu nodded. "That’s right. He’s in the rear courtyard of the Government Office. From what I’ve heard, every Doctor from every clinic in the city has been summoned there."

Cheng Zongyang pressed on, "Would it cause any problems if one or two of them were to leave?"

Li Lu hesitated at that. He shook his head and said:

"That I’m not sure about. My position doesn’t grant me access to that area."

"Who can get in?" Cheng Zongyang pressed.

"Hmm..." Li Lu mused for a moment before saying, "Within Jade Peak County, nearly all matters of security patrol, arrest, and investigation are handled by the Government Office’s Inspection Bureau."

"The guards on duty this time are also from the Inspection Bureau. Although I am a member, I’m at the very bottom of the ladder. To get inside, you’d have to be a constable or higher."

Cheng Zongyang was beginning to understand.

’The county’s Inspection Bureau here is like the Public Security Bureau from my past life, responsible for all security matters.’

He thought for a moment, then asked, "I’d like to know, who is the strongest person in the County Town?"

Hearing this, Li Lu’s eyelid twitched.

The question seemed fraught with ambiguity. Li Lu eyed Cheng Zongyang suspiciously and asked tentatively, "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Seeing his expression, Cheng Zongyang knew the man had gotten the wrong idea. "I don’t mean anything by it," he said. "It’s just a simple question."

Li Lu frowned, then said in a low voice after a moment, "The Director of the Inspection Bureau. I hear he’s a Martial Artist at the peak of the Seventh Grade, just one step away from the Sixth Grade."

That cleared things up for Cheng Zongyang. He asked one last question: "Then do you know where I can find Chief Zheng?"

Hearing Cheng Zongyang mention him by name, he was taken aback. "You know Chief Zheng?"

Then again, he thought, Chief Zheng was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist. ’Isn’t it normal for one Martial Artist to know another?’

But Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "I don’t. But I need to find him. Could you make an introduction? Or at least show me the way? I’d like to pay him a visit."

Li Lu’s estimation of Cheng Zongyang rose even higher.

’This kid really is something else!’

"I know Chief Zheng, but he doesn’t know me. I’m just a government official who works under the constables," Li Lu said with a wry smile. "But I do know where to find him. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get a meeting. Are you sure you want to see him? If you go looking for trouble for no reason, I’m afraid he won’t be pleased."

"It’s fine. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens."

Seeing that Cheng Zongyang wasn’t joking, Li Lu agreed.

Thinking it was best not to delay, Li Lu didn’t dawdle.

Having already helped this much, a little more wouldn’t make a difference.

And so, with Li Lu leading the way, the two headed toward the eastern part of the city.

Along the way, Li Lu asked Cheng Zongyang about matters of Martial Artist Cultivation.

However, Cheng Zongyang’s own knowledge of Cultivation was half-baked. His experience was limited to the Body Refining Skill, so he could hardly answer any questions about things like Sword and Saber Techniques.

As for where he had learned his skills, Cheng Zongyang just fobbed him off with a vague story about a traveling Ranger.

However, when asked for pointers on Cultivation, Cheng Zongyang was able to offer some answers based on his knowledge of the Body Refining Skill.

This made Li Lu incredibly excited.

Learning Martial Arts with guidance versus without it were two completely different things. Otherwise, what was the point of finding a master?

Why not just spend several hundred taels of silver to secretly buy a Lower Three Grades Cultivation Technique through some channel and practice on your own?

During their journey, Cheng Zongyang also asked Li Lu about matters within the city.

Before becoming a Martial Artist, his knowledge of the city had been limited to what a person of his status was supposed to know, was able to know, and what was publicly visible.

He was like a common laborer in a big city, only aware of what was happening on the surface.

Now, however, he wanted to understand the complete picture of the county’s inner workings.

Li Lu could understand these questions, which were practically what a complete novice would ask.

After all, a farmer’s son was only ever exposed to the bare surface of things.

Even an ordinary Martial Artist, before being recruited by a faction, would only understand what was on the surface—the things everyone was allowed to see.

Only by joining one of these groups could you learn about their internal affairs.

So, Li Lu began to explain the state of affairs in the county.

Which Noble Races there were, which gangs, which Martial Arts Halls; what kinds of Martial Artists they had, how strong they were, which powers backed them, and so on...

Slowly, through this exchange of questions and answers, Cheng Zongyang began to flesh out his mental "map of the County Town."

At the same time, he also finally learned about the divisions of Martial Arts—which he had only half-understood before—and the true structure of power!

—Martial Arts was divided into the Lower Three Grades, the Middle Third Grades, the Upper Three Grades, and finally, the Innate Realm!

The Lower Three Grades: Ninth Grade Skin Grinding, Eighth Grade Muscle Strengthening, and Seventh Grade Bone Forging.

This tier focused on tempering the skin, tendons, and bones. Not only did it comprehensively improve the body’s defense, Endurance, explosive power, and resilience, but it also allowed one to refine their Essence Blood, laying the foundation for entering the Middle Third Grades.

The Middle Third Grades: Sixth Grade Meridian Passage, Fifth Grade Refining the Internal Organs, and Fourth Grade Bone Marrow Cutting.

This Realm was dedicated to tempering the inside of the body.

Refined qi and blood would generate True Qi to flush the meridians and open the Acupoints. The entire Middle Third Grades Realm was essentially a process of opening all the meridians. Simultaneously, one would further temper the organs in stages, enhancing the vitality and strength of the Internal Organs. The final step was to open the Ren and Du Acupoints and undergo Washing Marrow and Chopping Bones, causing one’s qi and blood to flow like mercury, completely unobstructed throughout the hundred meridians.

Throughout this entire stage, one would continuously generate True Qi, which was also called Power! It could be used to injure people from a distance! 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Upper Three Grades: Third Grade Opening of Acupoints, Second Grade Purity, and First Grade Pure Essence.

This Realm involved a much deeper level of bodily enhancement.

Acupoints were the nodes where the body’s qi and blood converged and were transported, as well as the points of connection between the body and the outside world.

With the Hundred Meridians Connected and the Acupoints linked, the circulation and mobilization of qi, blood, and True Qi became much faster, and one’s perception grew more sensitive. The circulation of True Qi could expel impurities and toxins from the body, allowing it to reach a state of Purity. This pure environment within the meridians and Acupoints allowed the True Qi to become even more refined and pure. When this True Qi was channeled out of the body through the Acupoints, it could form Pure Yuan Gang Qi—also known as Innate Gang Qi—which served a protective function.

The Pinnacle of Martial Arts—the Innate Realm!

This was a process of spiritual enlightenment and further bodily enhancement, where one would continue to refine their qi and blood, transforming it into True Essence.

True Essence was practically the body’s Origin qi, its power far exceeding that of True Qi!