Chapter 446 - 275: Martial Arts Body, Perfection
Chapter 446: Chapter 275: Martial Arts Body, Perfection
Wasn’t it?
The night was star-strewn and brilliant, the moon a silver hook.
A cool breeze stirred.
Withered leaves drifted down, one by one.
Brightly lit lanterns swayed gently, casting a splash of red light.
Xiao Wan’er saw Chen Yi and Xiao Wuge to the door, her eyes slightly red but also filled with relief.
"You two should get some rest."
"You too, Big Sister."
Chen Yi bowed. Just as he was about to lead Xiao Wuge and Xiaodie back to Spring Lotus Garden, he heard Xiao Wan’er continue:
"Brother-in-law, I’ve decided to have Little Sister Qingwu help manage the Medical Dao Academy’s affairs."
Chen Yi paused for a moment, then realized after a moment’s thought that she had taken his two earlier suggestions to heart.
"Miss Cui comes from an extraordinary family. With her involvement, things with the Medical Dao Academy will go much more smoothly."
Xiao Wan’er nodded lightly. "So tomorrow, I’ll go find her to discuss the matter of the academy’s headmaster."
"Y-you don’t think this is inappropriate, do you?"
Meeting her slightly apprehensive gaze, Chen Yi smiled faintly.
"Whatever you decide is fine, Big Sister."
Just as he had said before, bringing Cui Qingwu into the fold gave Xiao Wan’er and the Xiao Family much more room to maneuver.
At the very least, she would be far more useful than him, a live-in son-in-law on the fringes of the Jiangnan Prefecture Chen Family.
"That’s good..."
Before long, Chen Yi returned to Spring Lotus Garden with Xiao Wuge and Xiaodie.
Perhaps because of the painting, Xiao Wuge didn’t linger and followed Xiaodie back to his room.
"Young Master, shall I hang this painting up for you?"
"No, no, I’ll do it myself."
"Then, please be careful, Young Master. Calligraphy and paintings are fragile."
"Don’t worry, I’ll be careful and put it away properly..."
Hearing the faint sounds of their conversation from upstairs, Chen Yi couldn’t help but smile.
It seemed that once his Painting Dao improved further, he would need to paint another one for Xiao Wan’er.
Not for any other reason.
Just so he could paint himself to look even more dashing and handsome.
After washing up, Chen Yi returned to his room and sat cross-legged on the bed.
He rested for a moment.
Then, he opened the glowing screen and began to look it over.
Today, because of the incident with Immortal Bai, his Opportunity had increased by 253 points.
Furthermore, the grade of his Mountain Shattering Fist had been raised to the Celestial Tier, the same as his Dragon-Falling Spear Technique.
[Opportunity: 1021]
Chen Yi gazed at the contents of the glowing screen, a thoughtful expression on his face.
’In terms of maximizing returns, raising my Fist Dao to Perfection would be the most suitable choice.’
’That way, I’d have the Celestial Tier Mountain Shattering Fist for close combat and the Celestial Tier Dragon-Falling Spear Technique for long-range attacks.’
’And with both Daos at Perfection, the combined power from the overlapping Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism Realms would be far greater than before.’
’At that point, very few within the same realm would be able to match me.’
But even though Chen Yi knew this, he still hesitated.
The reason was simple.
Fist Technique and Spear Technique were both methods of combat. While their upper limits were high, the improvements they offered were singular in focus.
Therefore, Chen Yi was more inclined to choose between Martial Arts·Body and Step.
Improving the former’s realm would enhance the effects of his Big Spear Pile Skill, Black Tortoise Concealment Technique, and Four Symbols Skill.
The latter would make his two step techniques, the Meteor Butterfly Step and the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix, even faster.
After a moment of thought, Chen Yi’s gaze landed on [Martial Arts·Body]. ’In all of martial arts, nothing is indestructible. Only speed is unbeatable.’
’But that requires sufficient cultivation and physique to support it.’
Therefore—
[Opportunity consumed. The realm of Martial Arts·Body has been upgraded from Great Success to Perfection.]
A golden light flared.
A roar echoed through Chen Yi’s mind.
The vast, ocean-like Profound Mysteries of the Martial Arts Body surged into him, nearly causing him to lose consciousness and fall into a coma.
Even so, Chen Yi’s head was splitting.
He had no choice but to rapidly digest some of the Profound Mysteries while circulating the Four Symbols Skill, using his True Essence to slowly recover his spent mental energy.
About an hour passed.
Only then did Chen Yi begin to feel refreshed. He got up, stretched his arms and legs, and let out a long breath.
Compared to his previous breakthrough to Spear Dao Perfection through epiphany, his senses felt slightly different this time, having relied on Opportunity to raise his realm.
After all, when he’d had his epiphany in the Spear Dao, he had been in a life-or-death battle with Yan Fusha, making his comprehension of the Spear Dao far more profound.
Chen Yi checked the sky. Seeing that it was still three hours until midnight, he wasn’t in a hurry to head to the Chishui Riverbank for his appointment.
’I’m meeting Liu Lang for a duel tonight. It’s a good chance to ask him about his progress over there.’
With this in mind, Chen Yi went to the study.
He began writing a letter to Xiao Jinghong while simultaneously absorbing the Profound Mysteries in his mind.
He had to admit.
His choice had been the right one.
After his Martial Arts·Body reached the Perfection Realm, the effects of his Pile Skill and Heart Method had indeed multiplied.
This was especially true for the Big Spear Pile Skill.
Originally, after his Martial Arts Cultivation broke through to the Ninth Grade, the Pile Skill had become almost useless to him.
His body’s Power had stagnated.
But now, he could find a way to raise the grade of the Big Spear Pile Skill and continue to strengthen his body.
The same was true for the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique and the Four Symbols Skill.
However, the grades of these two cultivation techniques were already high. He just needed to finish absorbing all the Profound Mysteries to make significant progress.
The Black Tortoise Concealment Technique, for one, would be better at hiding his cultivation and Technique Realm.
Even if it couldn’t fool the likes of Immortal Bai, he believed it would be better at dispelling the suspicions of Xiao Jinghong and the others.
As for the Four Symbols Skill, the improvement from raising its realm was the most direct—it would allow his cultivation to advance faster.
Of course, the enhancement effect of the Four Symbols Spiritual Essence on his techniques would also be more formidable.
The specific effects remained to be discovered.
’All in all, I’ve taken another step forward.’
’A good thing, a very good thing...’
As he mused on these things, the wolf hair brush in his hand moved ceaselessly. Under the power of his Perfect Calligraphy Dao, every word was like an Illusion Realm.
In the end, they merged into an Illusory Chain.
These illusions were not grand or magnificent, not like the ones that appeared during the Mid-Autumn Festival with the "Song of the Water Melody."
They were confined to a single study.
The desk was opulent, the candlelight flickering.
Chen Yi sat upright before the desk, a wide smile on his face, narrating the letter’s contents:
"My dear wife,"
"Nothing much has happened in the mansion lately, so you needn’t worry."
"As for me, I’ve been busy preparing for the Annual Examination..."
"Wuge is busy with his cultivation and is progressing at an incredible speed..."
"There’s also the matter of the Medical Dao Academy... and Hundred Herbs Hall..."
As if he were standing right in front of Xiao Jinghong, Chen Yi’s figure recounted all the recent events in Shu State.
At the end, he tilted his head up slightly and asked, as if quite pleased with himself:
"My wife, what do you think? Is your husband’s use of the Calligraphy Dao to write a family letter pleasing to the eye?"
How could it not be?
Chen Yi felt that using the Perfection Realm of the Calligraphy Dao to write a letter to someone was an absolute rarity in the Great Wei Dynasty.
It wasn’t that others couldn’t do it, but that they probably couldn’t bring themselves to do so.
It had the distinct air of showing off.
And what’s more, hadn’t he "shamelessly" pointed it out himself?
Imagining Xiao Jinghong’s expression when she saw this letter, Chen Yi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"The wife manages the outside world, the husband manages the home... Quite nice, quite nice..."
...
「Meanwhile, at the Wu Mountain Mutual Market.」
Amidst the mountains, the dense forests made the area seem even more profound in the darkness of night.
Only the surrounding bonfires provided any light.
The faint outlines of structures of varying heights could be seen, showing that it was already beginning to take shape.
On a nearby hillside.
Xiao Jinghong stood on a rooftop overlooking the entire Mutual Market, but her eyes held no joy for its impending completion.
Instead, they were filled with anxiety and worry.
Although it took some time for news from the Prefecture City to arrive, she was, after all, a Commander of the Dingyuan Army.
She would receive word of any major events at the first opportunity.
Such as the death of Lv Jiunan and the attack by King Landu.
Such as the abnormal grain prices in Shu State, and the fact that the Marquis’s Mansion had to borrow grain from Guangyue Prefecture to fill the supply gap in Iron Wall Town.
And also the appearance of the Five Poison Sect in Shu State, Immortal Bai’s journey to Shu State, and so on.
All this inevitably made Xiao Jinghong anxious.
’The Mutual Market is on the verge of completion, yet it has to be at a time like this...’
’And that "Liu Wu"... he helped my Xiao Family before, so why would he act so impulsively this time?’
’He killed Lv Jiunan, provoking King Landu into action. For Shu State, this does far more harm than good.’
Xiao Jinghong couldn’t understand "Liu Wu’s" intentions, but because of that previous letter, she subconsciously stopped herself from assuming the worst.
At least, not before confirming King Landu’s movements.
’I wonder what Grandfather will do.’
’If we report this to the Imperial Court now and request the Tiger Talisman, I’m afraid...’
Having been in the army for many years, Xiao Jinghong naturally understood the importance of the Dingyuan Army to the Xiao Family.
But she knew even better that now was absolutely not the best time to deploy the troops of the Three Towns.
First, those horse bandits from Poshisu Country come and go like the wind. If the Dingyuan Army were to fight them, they would need cavalry.
This would disrupt the training of the soldiers in the Three Towns.
Second, if the Dingyuan Army mobilized, it would inevitably trigger a great upheaval in Shu State.
Xiao Jinghong had no confidence she could foresee what was to come.
Mulling this over, she called down, "Zhenyue, send two more letters. One to inquire with Grandfather, and the other to the Capital Commandery..."
Before she could finish.
Xiao Jinghong’s gaze snapped northward, her expression turning grave.
"Who’s there?!"
After two or three breaths of silence, a slightly aged, laughing voice rang out.
"Haha, was I not right? Hetong, your Junior Sister Xiao’s Martial Arts Cultivation is no worse than yours, is it?"
"Jinghong girl, don’t be so tense..."