Chapter 24

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"Ten-Kill Battle Lance Technique" and "Five Tigers Secret Fist" are both the most basic of the Mystic Battle Techniques and Fist Techniques, created by a not-so-famous general in the predecessor of the Wuwei Army, the Hexi Army. They are far from profound or intricate, and the power of the martial arts recorded in them cannot be compared to the true complete versions of the Spirit Shock Lance or the Wind Cloud Leg. At most, they can be cultivated to the Mystic Realm.

As cultivation techniques for the foundation of martial arts, these two lance and fist techniques are quite good, often chosen by children from humble backgrounds and soldiers. Children and soldiers from humble backgrounds have no better options.

For Chen Hai, "Ten-Kill Battle Lance Technique" and "Five Tigers Secret Fist" are the most cost-effective choices at this time.

Chen Hai, through the snake bracelet and the puppet avatar, disassembles the secret forms of martial arts from the profound techniques. In fact, the more basic and fundamental the martial arts technique, the easier it is to disassemble.

In the following month, Chen Hai stayed in the Medicine Master Garden, not leaving his room. Besides recuperating from his injuries, he spent his time refining the "Ten-Kill Battle Lance Technique" and the "Five Tigers Secret Fist" with Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan.

In addition to the dual-lance stances he had already mastered, Chen Hai disassembled the secret forms of thrusting, blocking, and thrusting from the "Ten-Kill Battle Lance Technique," and the forms of charging, smashing, and chopping from the "Five Tigers Secret Fist."

Chen Hai disassembled twelve secret forms from the first move of the "Wind Cloud Leg," while from the complete "Ten-Kill Battle Lance Technique" and "Five Tigers Secret Fist," he only disassembled eight martial arts secret forms. This shows that if the complete "Wind Cloud Leg" could be cultivated to its peak, its power would far surpass the low-level secret techniques like the "Five Tigers Secret Fist."

Although he only disassembled five forms from the basic lance technique and three forms from the basic fist technique, which are far from complete, they are sufficient for Chen Hai to cultivate the foundation of the Shaoyang main meridians in his arms in the early stage.

Chen Hai, not yet able to perform overly strenuous movements, began his cultivation from the basic lance stances, promoting the circulation of essence and qi in the Shaoyang main meridians of his arms, first to heal the injuries in his arms caused by the backlash, and then to temper the tendons, bones, and flesh of his arms. This way, when he faces opponents in the future, he won't suffer the tragic situation of having his arms broken and losing most of his combat power after just a few strikes.

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In the days that followed, besides dedicating himself to intense cultivation, Chen Hai also carefully managed the Medicine Master Garden with Ge Tong. Short-cycle medicinal herbs could be harvested one after another, and although the early income was meager, it was enough to cover daily expenses. Chen Hai was no longer as financially strained as when he first arrived at Iron Stream Ridge. More and more fellow disciples also began to transplant medicinal herbs and spirit trees to the Medicine Master Garden, hoping to use the spirit spring to irrigate and enhance the efficacy of the herbs.

Not to mention Iron Stream Ridge, even in the vast and boundless Taowei Mountains, spirit springs are extremely scarce and are almost entirely under the control of the Taowei Sect. Only important true disciples like Chen Lie can build their own caves in places like the Splash Cloud Cliff.

Apart from the Taowei Mountains, the regions of Hexi, which can be called blessed lands, are almost entirely occupied by the powerful clans, who have built grand palaces and pavilions. On the main peak of the eastern foothills of Iron Stream Ridge, one of the few blessed lands within a thousand miles, only about twenty to thirty private residences have spirit springs seeping into their courtyards, in addition to the Dao Academy's medicinal fields being irrigated by the spirit spring.

Even the attendants of the various academies, let alone Ge Tong, a purple-clothed Dao soldier disciple, do not all have the privilege of possessing a spirit spring like the Medicine Master Garden.

The spirit spring in the Medicine Master Garden has a pitifully low flow rate, far inferior to the spirit spring at Splash Cloud Cliff, but it is a resource that Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, and other disciples from humble backgrounds can only dream of.

Medicinal herbs and spirit trees need the water from the spirit spring to grow, and the black-clothed disciples who have entered the Mystic Realm need to absorb the essence of heaven and earth daily, fusing it with their internal essence and qi to form true essence. They need to cultivate in places with abundant essence of heaven and earth to be more efficient.

With a large number of spirit herbs and spirit trees transplanted, the spirit spring's overflow of essence is locked in, making the area around the Medicine Master Garden a rare blessed land for black-clothed disciples from humble backgrounds.

After the first disciple competition, Chen Hai's situation in Iron Stream Ridge greatly improved. Even though no disciples from powerful clans interacted with him, due to Ge Tong's influence, many disciples from humble backgrounds visited and exchanged cultivation techniques with him one after another.

Zhou Jingyuan, in particular, came to report every day.

The once desolate and lonely courtyard in the乱石沟 (Rocks and Gullies) suddenly became lively.

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Every morning at dawn, Chen Hai would go to the training ground by the stone pond to practice the secret forms of martial arts and temper his tendons and bones.

After the medicinal power of a Jingyuan Pill was completely consumed, and the impurities in his body were expelled through sweat, leaving a faint, foul-smelling layer of dirt on his body, Chen Hai would not rush to clean himself. Instead, he would sit cross-legged by the stone pond, his soul and consciousness entering the Blood Cloud Wasteland through the snake bracelet, controlling the puppet avatar, which resembled a blood corpse, to circle the area where the grand hall had sunk.

For some time, he had felt that the blood clouds covering the wasteland were somewhat abnormal, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. Remembering Zuo Er's words, he became even more diligent in entering the Blood Cloud Wasteland to prevent any Rakshasa ghosts from sneaking in without his knowledge.

One day, after he withdrew his soul and consciousness from the Blood Cloud Wasteland and opened his eyes, he saw several pairs of black, beady eyes peering at the training ground from behind a hedge.

Seeing Chen Hai wake up from his meditation, the black, beady eyes quickly hid in the bushes in panic.

It turned out to be Zhou Jingyuan's daughter, Zhou Qingyun, and a medicine boy named Shen Xiu who was with Ge Tong, along with several servants and maids from nearby courtyards, hiding in the bushes to secretly watch him practice.

Chen Hai didn't take it seriously, smiled, and didn't want to startle them, so he didn't call them to stay.

Chen Hai went back to his room, washed off the foul-smelling dirt, changed into clean clothes, and sat in the courtyard, picking up a piece of hard wood to practice carving. Not long after, he saw Zhou Jingyuan accompanying a middle-aged man, who looked stern, leading Zhou Qingyun, Shen Xiu, and other pale-faced young boys into his courtyard.

The middle-aged man was named Shen Kun, also a black-clothed disciple from the Dao Academy. He was currently serving as a deputy captain in the camp in Mengyi City. He was a good friend of Ge Tong and a straightforward person. Chen Hai had met him twice before. His son, Shen Xiu, had no immediate opportunity to enter the Dao Academy for cultivation, so he stayed with Ge Tong as a medicine boy.

Chen Hai didn't know what had happened and, seeing the stern faces of Zhou Jingyuan and Shen Kun, asked in confusion.

"These little brats, knowing the sect rules, dared to secretly watch Brother Yao practice. Please, Brother Yao, punish them!" Shen Kun said.

"It's about this!" Chen Hai laughed and looked at Zhou Qingyun, Shen Xiu, and the other young boys.

In fact, the servants in the nearby courtyards, like Zhou Qingyun and Shen Xiu, were not slaves but children of disciples from humble backgrounds, all with good cultivation potential. However, they lacked the opportunity to enter the Dao Academy for cultivation, so they first served Ge Tong and others.

Although Ge Tong and others could not privately teach them martial arts, these young boys, by helping to organize books, tend to the medicinal fields, and listen to lectures, could broaden their horizons and lay a good foundation for their future cultivation.

Sending their children to serve other fellow disciples was also a way for disciples from humble backgrounds to form close relationships and support each other.

For Zhou Qingyun, Shen Xiu, and these young boys, being surrounded by cultivation matters but unable to enter the Dao Academy for cultivation was a torment, and they couldn't help but break the rules.

Chen Hai, having experienced the洗礼 (baptism) of the information and knowledge explosion on Earth, didn't think these young boys had done anything taboo. Besides, the secrets of his cultivation of martial arts secret forms and his soul and consciousness entering the Blood Cloud Wasteland through the snake bracelet were not something others could discover by peeking.

Seeing Zhou Jingyuan and Shen Kun so serious, Chen Hai laughed and said, "This is such a small matter, look how scared they are! Brother Shen is rarely in the sect, let's call Brother Ge over and have a drink."

"The sect rules are clear. If we don't discipline them now, they will cause big trouble in the future. All of you, kneel!" Zhou Jingyuan didn't relax because of Chen Hai's leniency, ordered Zhou Qingyun, Shen Xiu, and the other young boys to kneel in the courtyard, and said, "In the Dao Academy, disciples' children often can't resist the temptation to secretly watch others practice and end up being punished with eye gouging. This time, they must not be let off lightly."

"Father, we won't do it again," Zhou Qingyun and the other young boys, pale-faced, knelt down and begged for mercy.

Chen Hai smiled and looked at the terrified Zhou Qingyun, asking, "You usually seem to follow the rules and don't come to disturb me. Why did you come to watch me practice today, but not peek at your father and Master Shen practicing?"

Zhou Qingyun's face was ashen, not daring to look Chen Hai in the eye or answer him.

"Shen Xiu, speak!" Shen Kun sternly ordered.

"… I …" Shen Xiu, a bit older than Zhou Qingyun but only thirteen or fourteen, was so scared that his teeth chattered as he stammered, "We, we guessed that Uncle Yao comes from a noble family, and the Mystic Techniques he practices must be much more profound than Father's, which is why he can cultivate so quickly, so …"

Seeing Ge Tong also walk in at this moment, Chen Hai couldn't help but laugh and said to him, "These guys usually seem quite honest, but they've learned to gossip behind people's backs …" He waved his sleeve to let the young boys stand up and told them to leave, saying, "It's fine here, but don't commit such taboos at other people's doors."

This matter could be big or small. Shen Kun was still hesitant, but after living with Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan for several months, he completely trusted Chen Hai's character, knowing that he was not as notorious and unruly as rumored. He knew Chen Hai would not make things difficult for them over this, so he let Shen Xiu, Zhou Qingyun, and the other young boys and girls leave.

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