Chapter 11

Gu Jinnian didn't expect that this thing was actually controlled by thought.

Make it fall, and it will fall.

However, after the fruit fell, threads of red light spread out, eventually forming a talisman in Gu Jinnian's mind.

That's right.

It was a talisman.

An ancient, light yellow talisman, with two characters clearly written on it.

【Courage】

Gu Jinnian: "......"

Well, after all that anticipation, offending so many people, and he gets a talisman?

And what the hell is this?

Courage?

A Courage Talisman?

What's the use of this thing?

Gu Jinnian was a bit at a loss. To be honest, he thought the fruit would be something to enhance cultivation.

But he didn't expect it to be a piece of talisman paper?

Gu Jinnian knew a bit about the art of talismans, which was exclusive to sorcerers. On the Divine Continent, sorcerers refined tools, alchemy, drew talismans, caught ghosts, and controlled beasts—these were all the jobs of sorcerers.

However, most talismans were things like the Vajra Talisman and the Great Strength Talisman, specifically provided to the imperial court.

Ordinary people, after using them, would have bodies as strong as Vajra, temporarily invulnerable to blades and bullets, with significant effects. However, these talismans were very difficult to refine and not everyone had them.

They were essentially controlled items, and the imperial court needed a large number of these talismans every year. Once a war broke out, these things became very valuable.

But ordinary people didn't need this stuff.

But what the hell is a Courage Talisman?

Increase courage?

What's the point of this thing?

Use a Courage Talisman when you don't have the guts to rob a bank?

Damn it.

Gu Jinnian was genuinely confused.

He was even a bit demoralized.

It wasn't that he couldn't accept it, but he had been so full of anticipation, and this was the result?

"Jinnian."

"Why aren't you eating anything?"

Just as Gu Jinnian was confused, Wu An spoke up, calling out to him.

This woke Gu Jinnian up.

"Oh, I'm not hungry. You guys go ahead and eat, I'm going to practice."

Gu Jinnian got up. His mind was a bit messy, so he didn't plan to continue eating.

As Gu Jinnian left, everyone was a bit curious but didn't say much, assuming it was a side effect of his illness.

After leaving the dining hall,

Gu Jinnian found a quiet place.

He then continued to study the ancient tree.

The Courage Talisman floated in front of the tree.

Gu Jinnian tried calling out to it.

Immediately, the ancient talisman appeared in his palm.

The paper was a bit thicker than rice paper, a bit rough to the touch, and not particularly exquisite.

It looked like it had no use.

"How could it be this thing?"

"Could it be that I didn't absorb enough resentment and picked it too early?"

Gu Jinnian frowned.

The ancient tree in his mind was definitely not an ordinary thing.

It was related to the white rainbow that pierced the sky that day.

Following this logic, the fruit of the ancient tree should be all kinds of good things.

But a Courage Talisman really made Gu Jinnian speechless.

So, after some thought, the only possibility was that he didn't absorb enough resentment and picked the fruit too early.

"Right, it must be that."

"Otherwise, it doesn't make sense."

The more Gu Jinnian thought about it, the more he felt this was a strong possibility.

"Next time, I can't pick it so quickly. I need to absorb more resentment."

"And I need to find the right people to absorb from."

"Ordinary people's resentment isn't very useful, and it has to be from enemies, otherwise it's meaningless."

Gu Jinnian thought to himself.

He roughly figured out that this resentment was divided by people. For example, Zhou Ning, just a single conflict, provided more resentment than the entire academy.

It was very likely that Zhou Ning was at a different realm. He was a Scholar in the Qi Cultivation Realm, the second realm.

In the academy earlier, the teacher didn't have much resentment towards him.

A higher realm had an impact, and whether it was genuine resentment was also important. Compared to Wu An, Li Ping, and others, Zhang Yun provided more resentment.

Clearly, Zhang Yun really hated him.

He needed to rely more on Zhang Yun, and it would be best if Zhang Yun could successfully condense his qi soon, so he could absorb more resentment.

Thinking about this, his earlier frustration gradually dissipated.

However, the ancient tree had nine branches, and the resentment absorbed went into the first branch on the left. What about the remaining eight branches?

Or what do the remaining eight branches represent?

Greed? Forbidden? The Seven Deadly Sins?

"It shouldn't be that."

"Is it a system?"

"Resentment, plus Immortal, Martial, Buddhist, Demon, Confucian, and Sorcery."

"But there are two missing."

Gu Jinnian was a bit puzzled.

The Way of the Sword shouldn't count, as it is a variant of the Immortal Way and not a unique system.

So for the ancient tree, it only counted as six.

"Regardless, I'll try it out."

After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure it out, so Gu Jinnian decided to try it himself.

He had to understand the function of this ancient tree.

Gu Jinnian got up, basked in the sunlight, and started practicing boxing.

Born into a martial family, Gu Jinnian naturally knew martial arts and had been trained from a young age, eating medicinal soups, bathing in beast blood, and cultivating his body.

At ten, he toughened his tendons and bones; at fourteen, he shaped his physique; and at sixteen, he began practicing martial arts.

This was the perfect state.

Before ten, he nourished his body; after ten, he toughened his tendons and bones; at fourteen, he shaped his physique; and after all that, at sixteen, he could begin practicing martial arts.

The first sixteen years, the original body didn't miss a single step.

After all, the poor studied literature, and the rich studied martial arts. The Gu family wasn't poor, so everything was arranged perfectly. It was because of this that Gu Jinnian felt something was strange about his drowning and death.

Although he hadn't officially entered the martial path, his physique was very strong, and it was impossible for him to die from drowning.

It hadn't been half an hour yet.

But for now, he put these thoughts aside and focused on practicing martial arts.

Bang, bang, bang.

Gu Jinnian swung his fists, and a loud noise echoed.

The blood in his body circulated rapidly, making Gu Jinnian feel hot all over.

Martial arts have seven realms, each divided into four sub-realms: early, middle, late, and great perfection.

The first realm is the Physical Body Realm.

Early stage: Copper Skin; Middle stage: Iron Bones; Late stage: Internal Organs; Great Perfection: Rebirth of the Body.

After entering the early stage, the body would condense martial inner qi, which would then improve the body, making the skin as hard as copper and iron, difficult to cut by blades.

In the middle stage, the bones would be tempered, so even if blades and bullets struck, they would only injure the bones, not the internal organs.

In the late stage, the five organs and six viscera would be strengthened, so falling from a height of several dozen meters wouldn't injure the lungs.

In the great perfection of the Physical Body Realm, the body would undergo a rebirth, greatly enhancing overall strength.

Strength surpassing a tiger, speed surpassing a leopard, jumping four to five meters high, walking on walls, and plucking leaves to injure people were all easy tasks.

Wu An was at the great perfection of the Physical Body Realm.

The early stages of martial arts relied on resources, such as medicinal soups, meat, and beast blood.

The later stages relied on resources and talent.

The poor studied literature, and the rich studied martial arts.

After a quarter of an hour,

Gu Jinnian stopped his boxing, his internal qi and blood surging, and he was drenched in sweat.

He then sat cross-legged and practiced the Yang Absorption Technique.

The surging blood in his body was converted into a stream of inner qi, nourishing his body. After forming copper skin, it would be considered a breakthrough to the early stage.

However, before Gu Jinnian could nourish his body, the newly formed inner qi suddenly surged into the second branch of the ancient tree.

A jujube-sized fruit hung on the second branch.

It was still orange-red, just like before.

Only the growth position was different.

"Indeed, it's like that."

Gu Jinnian was instantly excited. The second branch indeed represented martial arts.

Did that mean the other branches represented Immortal, Buddhist, Confucian, and other paths?

If so, the corresponding branches would produce corresponding treasures, making him a universal king?

He was a bit excited and happy.

It wasn't that Gu Jinnian was unambitious, but being in a high position, young and inexperienced, who could predict what would happen in the future?

To put it bluntly, even the crown prince might not safely ascend the throne, let alone a grandson of a national duke?

If the Gu family really fell, his own strength would be the key.

He could take his family far from the court.

Of course, it would be best if this didn't happen.

But having read history, Gu Jinnian was very clear about one thing: born in adversity, die in comfort.

However, there was one thing that troubled Gu Jinnian.

He practiced martial arts, and after absorbing a bit of inner qi, it was all absorbed by the ancient tree.

How could he improve?

If the fruit produced something good, it would be fine, but if not, wouldn't it be a huge loss?

He was a bit troubled.

After thinking about it, he couldn't find a solution, so he didn't think about it anymore.

Let's see what happens.

"Since the second branch is related to martial arts, the remaining branches must correspond to Immortal, Buddhist, Confucian, and Demon. What about the remaining two?"

Gu Jinnian couldn't help but think about another question.

Until the afternoon class bell rang, Gu Jinnian didn't think of anything.

He decided not to think about it anymore.

The afternoon class was just pure calligraphy practice.

Gu Jinnian arrived a bit early, as he had some things to do.

After the afternoon class started, he diligently practiced calligraphy for the rest of the afternoon.

Although he was a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越者" in English, but in this context, it means "a person who has traveled through time or space, often from a modern setting to a historical or fantastical one." For clarity, I will translate it as "time traveler" here.), with many poems in his mind, he could recite classics at will.

But calligraphy was a basic skill.

Gu Jinnian didn't want to end up writing like a dog if he became a scholar one day.

So during the afternoon class, he was very serious, and his writing was decent, though not outstanding. With time, he could write beautifully.

It was just a matter of time.

It was already the hour of You (7-9 PM).

The study hall finally dismissed.

Gu Jinnian, who was planning to go home, was directly pulled by Wu An.

"Jinnian."

"Why are you in such a hurry to go home? There's a good place, do you want to go?"

As Wu An spoke,

Several people gathered, each with a mischievous smile.

"What place? I won't go to anything improper, I'm a gentleman."

Gu Jinnian looked at them, a bit curious.

Everyone: "......"

They were speechless, but Wu An ignored Gu Jinnian's nonsense and smiled.

"Qingyue Tower."

"Have the courage to go?"

Qingyue Tower?

Memories flooded back.

It was a famous place in the capital, not exactly a brothel, but a high-end one, generally a place for drinking and chatting.

Of course, there were girls, and they were all quite beautiful, with a few top-ranking courtesans, frequented by the capital's elite.

In such a place, to have a story with a girl, you either had to have great power or great talent to win their affection.

Otherwise, money alone wouldn't do.

Of course, if you threw down ten thousand taels, she might accompany you.

But theoretically, no one would refuse money.

Gu Jinnian thought about it for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

"Never mind, you guys go ahead, I'll just follow to take a look."

Gu Jinnian said with a helpless look.

This made everyone silent again.

Damn it, are you going or not?

Why does it seem like you're being wronged?

Everyone was speechless, but thinking about the girls at Qingyue Tower, they didn't argue anymore.

Seven or eight people left the study hall excitedly.

After they left, Zhang Yun's gaze was somewhat strange.