Chapter 88: Chapter 86: Killing the Eagle
In Jinshi Academy, within Yang Luochen’s classically elegant courtyard, a painting of a white ape hung on the wall of the house. The ape was depicted squatting on a pine tree with its hands tucked in, gazing up at the great sun in the sky.
Beneath the ancient painting, Yang Luochen sat in a Taishi Chair, with Chen Ku standing opposite him and Yang Shaoqi to the side.
He was transmitting the technique.
"Our Medicine King Hall’s Five Beasts Great Strength Technique emulates five Strange Beasts, and thus five Ultimate Skills have been derived from it," Yang Luochen said slowly. "However, after reaching the Inner Qi Realm, there is only one universal Inner Strength technique to be practiced, known as the ’Everlasting Youth Classic.’ It can be combined with any of the Ultimate Skills to cultivate to the Fifth Realm—the Inner Strength Realm."
He continued, stroking his beard, "This Inner Strength technique can be considered the fundamental Martial Art of our Medicine King Hall. As the name suggests, Medicine King Hall originated from medical skills, not distinguishing between medicine and martial arts, with Health Cultivation being of utmost importance. Therefore, if one can successfully cultivate the ’Everlasting Youth Classic’ to the Inner Strength Realm, they will be able to break the natural human lifespan limit of one hundred thirty and live up to one hundred eighty years old."
"One hundred eighty years!"
This was the first time Chen Ku had heard that practicing Martial Arts could increase one’s lifespan. After all, having spent nearly half a year in Baojiao County, he was well aware that even Inner Qi Experts, and even those several Realms above, had normal human lifespans.
They were merely continuously tapping into the human body’s potential, but lifespan was a fundamental limit set by human nature, a deadline.
Unless one could transcend the levels of life.
Now, he had finally heard the most substantial information.
To live for one hundred eighty years, almost as long as an entire Eastern Han Dynasty from his previous life’s history... The allure of longevity!
Suddenly, with this prospect, Chen Ku felt nothing could be more heart-stirring than living for one hundred eighty years.
Haven’t you heard? Even Monkey Brother, when faced with various Magic and Divine Skills, most desired the answer to the question, "Can it bestow eternal life?"
"Master, aren’t you currently in the Fifth Realm, the Inner Strength Realm? Doesn’t that mean you are only in your prime now?" Chen Ku asked.
Master Yang’s age was no secret in Medicine King Hall. He was one hundred years old this year, about the same as Wudang Zhang Sanfeng. Yet, the thought that he could live another eighty years was astonishing. Even as only a Martial Practitioner, in Chen Ku’s world, he would be considered like an Immortal.
"Roughly speaking," Yang Luochen said, stroking his beard. "Once a Martial Practitioner reaches the Fourth Realm of Meridian-Opening, they can slow their heartbeat to a turtle’s pace and heal all internal injuries, living up to the theoretical human lifespan of one hundred thirty years. Our ’Everlasting Youth Classic’ focuses more on Health Cultivation itself. Hence, in the Fifth Realm, one can live longer than those practicing other techniques. Now, I will impart to you the ’Internal Qi Chapter’ of the Everlasting Youth Classic. Listen carefully; it consists of 1,201 words."
Chen Ku nodded, adopting a serious listening posture.
He then heard Yang Luochen recite the Incantation word by word:
"Blood is the mother of qi, qi is the commander of blood... Blood generates qi, qi circulates blood... So-called Inner Qi, is the qi within blood...
"Humans consume the essence of water and grains, the quintessence of medicine and meat, stored within the body, transforming into Essence Blood, nurturing all parts...
"Blood Qi is one; when blood is abundant, qi is strong; when blood is weak, qi is exhausted...
"Unity of Move and Force, Unity of Intent and Force, Unity of Qi and Intent; connect the Three Combinations, thus Inner Qi is born.
"The Incantation of this Chapter of the ’Everlasting Youth Classic’ consists of 1,201 words. It aims to instruct Disciples on using Martial Arts Divine Intent to mobilize blood throughout the body. This then gives rise to Inner Qi, as blood movement leads to qi creation.
"Starting from Qi Sensation, the Inner Qi Realm has four minor stages: Qi Sensation, Sufficient Qi, Robust Qi, and Full Qi.
"Once qi is full throughout the body, one can challenge the Life-and-Death Mystical Pass..."
After finishing the recitation, Yang Luochen handed Chen Ku several pieces of paper with the Incantation written on them, saying, "Once you’ve memorized it, burn it. This is the method of mobilizing Essence Blood to generate Inner Qi, a secret of our art that must not be lost or disclosed to others."
Chen Ku carefully stored them away.
Next, Yang Luochen gave him three Fundamental Diagrams, saying, "Including the first technique that Shang the Dwarf acquired for you, these are the second, third, and fourth techniques of the Furious Ape Mighty Staff: ’Two Sticks Splitting Mountains,’ ’Three Sticks Breaking the River,’ and ’Four Sticks Scorching Wilds.’ Each technique contains the Mental Realm specific to that move. Only when the Mental Realm is executed can it be considered Great Achievement."
Chen Ku etched this into his memory.
"You can first practice them with your senior brother in the courtyard."
Then, Chen Ku began to spar with Yang Shaoqi in the courtyard.
At first, Chen Ku could match his senior brother blow for blow, thanks to his strength. In a non-lethal exchange, they were evenly matched. But as time went on, because Yang Shaoqi had already reached the late Inner Qi stage of Robust Qi, his Inner Qi was both robust and full, and he showed no sign of fatigue even after half an hour.
Chen Ku, on the other hand, lacking Inner Qi for endurance and relying solely on his strength, found it difficult to continue.
But Yang Shaoqi was also having a hard time.
"My hands and feet are numb..." he complained. "Master, can you let Junior Brother practice on his own later? Though I can last longer, his strength is immense, and I suffer with each of his staff strikes."
"Stop complaining. You must accompany your junior brother in practice. Otherwise, how can we prove that he is more suited to practicing the Furious Ape Mighty Staff rather than the Black Tiger Butcher Knife?"
Hearing these words, Yang Shaoqi began to grumble inwardly again: You old man, always so concerned about your reputation, using me as a whetstone! Getting beaten numb by a junior brother who doesn’t even have Inner Qi—don’t I have any pride?
But he ultimately didn’t dare to say it out loud.
Yet how could Chen Ku not appreciate his senior brother’s sparring? He stepped forward, bowed, and said respectfully, "Senior Brother, you’ve worked hard. When I have time, I’ll bring you something to help you recover."
"Sure thing!" Yang Shaoqi’s eyes lit up. "It’d better be the eight dishes and eight bowls from Hongyan Tower. I really love that."
Yang Luochen snorted angrily. "Your junior brother was just an Apprentice before. Where would he get the money to treat you to Hongyan Tower? It makes more sense for you to treat him."
Yang Shaoqi deflated. All his money went into his Martial Arts practice, and he had no extra to spend at Hongyan Tower.
Chen Ku coughed and said, "Master, Senior Brother, to tell you the truth, I do have some family assets. I own an iron shop outside, and it will have its grand opening ribbon-cutting in a couple of days. If Master and Senior Brother could grace the occasion, I will arrange the feast at Hongyan Tower."
"Oh, who would have thought, you lad, were a mine boss?" Yang Luochen laughed upon hearing this. "Well then, that’s great. In that case, I won’t try to save you money."
Chen Ku was even more satisfied. Now that he had influential backing, the grand opening naturally needed an impressive ceremony. What could be more prestigious than having the second top expert in the county personally attend the ribbon-cutting?
He practiced in Jinshi Academy for half a day.
After Chen Ku became a Disciple, he generally didn’t have to work anymore, but he still went back to the workshop in the Butcher Court as usual.
It wasn’t for any other reason... He just wanted to see if, with his current status as the Disciple of two great masters, he was qualified to take on the task of dissecting Demon-level beasts.
Ke Yansheng was initially very happy to see Chen Ku return to stay the night. However, after hearing his request, he was surprised and seemed to understand something, asking, "Last time you said you used butchery to practice your Bladesmanship, was that true?"
"Yes, it’s very useful," Chen Ku said, partly concealing and partly revealing the truth. Indeed, his growth owed much to the slaughtering work at the Butcher Court. Otherwise, where would his Four Symbols Power have come from?
The last time Chen Ku had requested a transfer to Workshop No. 3, which handled the butchering of large ferocious beasts, he had mentioned that he no longer felt any improvement from killing small wild beasts. That was why he switched to Workshop No. 3.
Many Apprentices in the Butcher Court had experience with practicing through butchery.
But at most, they would only reach Minor Achievement.
No one expected that Chen Ku could use this method to achieve Great Achievement in Bladesmanship in less than three months.
"So, you mean you want to try butchering Demon-level beasts now?" Ke Yansheng pondered for a moment and said, "With your strength, it’s indeed sufficient. However, I’m afraid that now that you are a Disciple, you shouldn’t be doing this dirty work anymore. Also, your other great master always likes to be clean."
"That’s not a problem. Am I not taught by each master on alternating days? I can help out while I’m practicing in our Slaughter Court, and then go see the other great master the next day looking clean. There’s no conflict," Chen Ku said, anxious that Ke Yansheng might not agree.
"Then... okay." Ke Yansheng looked over the procurement list of Butcher Court. "If this truly helps your Bladesmanship practice, then perhaps you can also quickly achieve entry-level mastery of Elder Shang’s Black Tiger Butcher Knife through this method."
He continued, "Coincidentally, tomorrow, two First Realm Demons that were purchased will arrive. One is the ’Multi-faced Illusion Lion,’ which can use its Demonic Qi to create illusory clones to confuse people. The other is the ’Golden-eyed White Feathered Sculpture,’ which flies high in the sky and can cover twenty zhang in a single flap of its wings, making it extremely fast. The flesh and blood of these two Demons are premium tonics, not to mention their special parts, which are materials for refining ’Demon Cores’."
"You pick one. Yan Hairu from the court can handle the other."
Chen Ku looked at the two Demons on the list and made his decision.
「Before long, it was early the next morning.」
As per Chen Ku’s request, a Golden-eyed White Feathered Sculpture, with a wingspan of about ten feet and locked inside a huge cage, appeared in the main yard of the Slaughter Court.
"Be careful. The claws of this Golden-eyed White Jade Sculpture are as tough as steel and capable of crushing swords. When its Demonic Qi bursts forth, even an Internal Qi Expert can be forced to retreat," Ke Yansheng warned with concern.
In the courtyard, many Apprentices of the Slaughter Court were watching Chen Ku.
They saw the future successor of the Slaughter Court, who had now become the Young Master of the Institute, open the cage. He confronted the Demon Bird that stood as tall as a person with a ten-foot wingspan. As the cage opened, the bird started to flap its wings frantically and screeched sharply, striking with its claw towards Chen Ku.
Chen Ku, holding a sharp knife, directly unleashed the Bone-Chopping Butcher Blade, going head-to-head with it. The force of his blade collided with the Demon Bird’s sharp claws, creating sparks.
But as Chen Ku’s Divine Power exploded, he directly grabbed the White Jade Eagle’s ankle and, with a fierce yank, slammed it to the ground. Then, with a single slash, he slit its throat...
A First Realm Demon, especially one confined to a cage and unable to fly, had its advantage reduced by seventy percent. How could it be difficult for an Internal Qi Expert to kill?
[Diagram Master has killed the Golden-eyed White Feathered Sculpture, obtaining one strand of First Realm Demon-level Evil Qi...]
Chen Ku was satisfied. A flyer has arrived!