Chapter 68

In the misty rain of the Jiangnan region, which is inherently a scene of lingering beauty, paired with the gentle breeze, it is intoxicating.

Chen Ang stood before the Huan Shi Water Pavilion, holding a scroll in his hands, with a cup of clear tea beside him. In the light green tea water, deep green tea leaves floated like small pearls, covered in fine, soft hairs. With a slight sway, a fragrant aroma wafted up.

These pearl-like tea leaves were a specialty of the mountains near Taihu Lake, known locally as "Scare-to-Death Fragrance," and later called "Biluochun." The incense, the scroll, and the clear tea made Chen Ang look incredibly relaxed. Amidst the mist and the drizzle, there was a sense of transcendence.

At this moment, the books piled beside him were from the Huan Shi Water Pavilion and the Langhuan Jade Cave. Although the Murong family had carefully preserved these precious texts, they had never meticulously organized them. After all, they treated these martial arts secrets as forbidden treasures, unwilling to let others easily come in to organize and read them. Murong Fu himself only picked out the martial arts with some renown to read, naturally missing many details.

The Langhuan Jade Cave still maintained the classification method of the Xianyao Sect. Many texts that discussed martial arts theories, and even some esoteric and mysterious side paths, were categorized as miscellaneous studies, scattered haphazardly on the bookshelves. Many notes and reflections were left unorganized, suggesting that these things had been undervalued since the Xianyao Sect.

Their preservation was largely due to the relocation of the Langhuan Fudì.

In fact, pearls are often hidden in the mud. During the process of organizing these martial arts texts, Chen Ang and Huang Shang frequently made discoveries.

Sometimes, the titles of the books could be misleading. Chen Ang found many marvelous aspects in a Tang Dynasty fragment of the "Jinzhongzhao." Upon careful study, he realized that this "Jinzhongzhao" was actually a fragment of the "Buhuai Jinshen," given a common name. Among the more than thirty copies of "Jinzhongzhao" in the Huan Shi Water Pavilion, about half had different contents.

These secret texts varied in quality, some crude and others exquisite and magical. Often, they were just the author's disjointed reflections, but to Chen Ang, they were invaluable inspirations and wisdom. Especially those widely circulated martial arts in the world, such as the thirty-seven versions of "Tiebusan" and the fifty-one versions of "Yingzhaoshou."

Even "Caoshangfei" had twelve schools and twenty-nine different versions. Many of them were completely different in content except for the name. Chen Ang often recorded the key points on a stack of blank paper, a few pages at a time. He read thousands of martial arts texts daily, and the stack of blank paper in front of him grew thicker.

After finishing a section, Chen Ang would organize his reading notes, summarizing the abstracts and core points into essays. Often, a thick stack of blank paper would be reduced to a dozen or a few dozen pages. The more he progressed, the slower the increase in the number of pages. Many texts that couldn't be categorized had to be placed in a new category.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, more than a month had passed. Chen Ang had completed a large part of his reading, and his notes were already a thick stack, about a palm high. The abstracts and summaries of the texts had accumulated to a height equal to his body.

Countless martial arts wisdom, the principles summarized by third-rate experts, the secret texts passed down and revised through generations, and the exclusive martial arts and practice notes of some experts, were all disassembled, understood, and integrated by Chen Ang. Together with the imperial collection, they became his rich accumulation.

Even without these, Chen Ang had rediscovered hundreds of valuable books in the collections of the two families. To his surprise, Xianyaozi had made insightful annotations on many secret texts, and it seemed he was the first to discover them. In the palm techniques and footwork secret texts, there were parts of the "Tianshan Zhemoshou" that, when organized, formed a significant portion of it.

Chen Ang even found fragments of the "Beiming Shen Gong," "Bahuang Liuhexin," and "Xiaowuxin Xinfa" in some notes. Connecting these martial arts, there was a clear lineage. Xianyaozi had reviewed these secret texts to compile the Xianyao Sect's ultimate techniques.

Chen Ang replicated this path and grasped Xianyaozi's thinking. Many fragmented, unformed sparks of wisdom became Chen Ang's most precious harvest. It was like a dialogue across time, with the collision of wisdom shining brightly.

With Huang Shang's help, Chen Ang quickly compiled the collections of the Huan Shi Water Pavilion and the Langhuan Jade Cave, totaling 36,814 complete texts and 3,021 fragments. After removing duplicates and meaningless texts, and organizing inconsistent versions into the most complete ones, correcting errors, and checking for mistakes, there were only 9,063 texts left.

Chen Ang's reading notes alone amounted to 67 volumes and 80,000 pages, a massive project with immeasurable value. Each of these 67 volumes was a supreme martial arts secret text, or a collection of all the world's martial arts principles, except for a few like the "Yijinjing," "Liu Maishenjian," and "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms."

Chen Ang's accumulation and harvest this time were far beyond imagination. Huang Shang was even obsessed with it, studying day and night without rest. Chen Ang was confident that he had learned more of the Shaolin 72 Special Techniques and the various martial arts of the Xianyao Sect than any authentic Xianyao Sect disciple or Shaolin monk, unmatched by anyone.

Huang Shang sighed, "Chen Ang's reading notes should not be called 'Langhuan Lansheng,' but rather 'The General Outline of the World's Martial Arts.' This outline is so profound that only someone who has read all the world's martial arts can understand a bit of it. In the world, there are few who qualify. Beside Chen Ang, only two and a half people can understand it: Huang Shang, Wang Yuyan, and half of it is Murong Fu."

Chen Ang's own annotations on martial arts were like a heavenly book. Readers not only had to be proficient in martial arts but also in medicine, mathematics, divination, astrology, the Eight Trigrams, the Art of Concealment, and more, to understand a third of it. To fully understand it, one would need several doctoral degrees from Earth and some knowledge of alien science.

This "General Outline of the World's Martial Arts" seemed to be unlearnable by anyone.

"The collections of Langhuan and Huan Shi only account for a quarter of the world's martial arts. The name 'General Outline' is not fitting," Chen Ang sighed, looking back at Huang Shang. "Don't be captivated by the martial arts inside. Remember, the principles of martial arts are complex and infinite, with many conflicting aspects. Grasp their wisdom, but don't practice them."

Huang Shang was puzzled, "The martial arts in the Water Pavilion are complete, even surpassing the imperial library. I counted, and only 220 texts in the imperial library are not in the Water Pavilion. Even the martial arts of the Western Xia, the Hui people, the Tubo, and the Liao are detailed. Is this only a quarter of the world's martial arts?"

"Even a quarter is an overestimation. The principles and wisdom of martial arts that can be written down are only about half. And you know the low level of martial arts knowledge in the world. Even if they have wisdom and ideas, they find it hard to put them into writing. Are there few illiterate experts?" Chen Ang said softly.

Huang Shang was slightly lost in thought and sighed, "Mysterious and profound, the gate of all wonders, hard to fully describe!"

Chen Ang increasingly felt that the essence of martial arts lies in various aspects, not just in a single secret text. No wonder Shaolin Temple is not afraid of its martial arts secrets being leaked, as its tradition is not just in the scripture hall but also in meditation, the guidance of masters, oral transmission, and a cultural atmosphere, passed down through generations.

To learn from the world is to understand the true essence of martial arts in each world.

Each world has its unique landscape and tradition, with a deep accumulation. The distinction between high and low martial arts should not be based on their power but on their wisdom. Power is easy to obtain, but the realm is hard to achieve.

The principles of martial arts in each world are deeply rooted, perfected by countless people. Some powerful techniques that control wind and thunder may not be as profound as the light and ethereal Tai Chi. Judging martial arts by their power is short-sighted, like comparing fish and birds.

Internal strength, compared to controlling the elements of the world, may seem weak, but Chen Ang found that this self-sufficient system, not relying on external forces, was more suitable for him. Who can guarantee that the elemental energy in each world is the same?

When Chen Ang sensed the original force, he found that the original force in the Tianlong world was almost dead, unable to stir. A Jedi here might not be more powerful than a martial artist.

Chen Ang's eyes were a deep blue, feeling the exceptionally pure internal strength in his body, nourishing his body and spirit. He looked up and smiled slightly.

Wisdom is not about looking down, but about learning from the humble, discovering the beauty in the ordinary.

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