Chapter 8

The entire venue fell silent once again, no one would have thought that the final outcome would be like this.

Luo Xiu's gaze swept over everyone present, then he let out a cold snort and strode away.

The crowd automatically made way for him, no one dared to stand in Luo Xiu's path at this moment.

"This Luo Xiu from the beginner class is simply a freak!"

"I've heard that some people's martial talent develops a bit later, but they accumulate strength and then burst forth, rapidly improving their strength!"

"He just scanned everyone with his gaze, clearly as a warning. We should be more careful in the future and must not offend this kid."

"Zhao Liang is completely finished. This time, he practically walked right into Luo Xiu's trap to establish his authority."

Many people were discussing, but they had to admit Luo Xiu's displayed strength, because in the Martial Hall, powerful strength was the foundation for standing firm and earning respect and awe from others.

After leaving the Blackstone area, Luo Xiu did not return to his residence but entered a bamboo forest.

In the bamboo forest, there were several spacious clearings. Each clearing had wooden stakes of varying heights and lengths, and the distances between each stake were different, forming a complex and intricate pattern.

The students of the Martial Hall often practiced their body techniques here.

Luo Xiu leaped up and landed on a wooden stake. Each stake bore the marks of time, as the Martial Hall admitted new students every year, and batches of young men aspiring to martial arts endured hardships and diligently practiced here.

Only through great hardship can one become a superior person. Luo Xiu's father had told him this when he was very young, and the first lesson of the year in the Martial Hall also imparted this wisdom to everyone.

The meridian circulation route of the second-grade body technique "Cun Bu" appeared in his mind. As he improved and refined it using the life meridian diagram, Luo Xiu's figure also moved swiftly on the wooden stakes.

"Pa!"

With a light tap of his toes, his figure rose, moving from a short stake to a tall one. At first, his movements were slow as he needed to familiarize himself with the rhythm of the body technique, but as he progressed, he became faster and faster.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, he made a misstep. Since the distances between each stake were different, it was easy to make a mistake when moving quickly.

Falling from the stake, Luo Xiu immediately leaped up again and resumed practicing the body technique.

Unconsciously, time passed. He was so engrossed in practicing the body technique that he was almost in a trance.

Apart from internal cultivation, martial techniques and body techniques each had four levels: beginner, minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection.

Even a second-grade martial technique, if cultivated to the minor accomplishment level, could rival a third-grade martial technique at the beginner level. At the major accomplishment level, it could rival the minor accomplishment level, and at the perfection level, it could rival the major accomplishment level of a third-grade martial technique!

Therefore, unless the levels were the same, the higher the grade of the martial technique, the greater its power. However, if a lower-grade martial technique could be cultivated to a higher level, it could also achieve victory over a stronger opponent, which was not a difficult feat.

Luo Xiu had cultivated the Dragon Tiger Fist to the major accomplishment level with the superhuman insight granted by the Life and Death Pearl. Zhao Liang, on the other hand, had cultivated two third-grade martial techniques but had not even reached the beginner level, so he was naturally no match for Luo Xiu.

For the next half month, Luo Xiu immersed himself in intense training, practicing martial techniques and body techniques during the day and cultivating internal energy at night to enhance his cultivation.

During this period, every student preparing for the annual assessment was striving with all their might for their future prospects.

"Zhang Hai has been quiet recently. I heard from others that he recently spent a large sum of money to purchase a Qi Nourishing Pill, planning to break through to the eighth level of the Body Tempering stage."

One morning, Luo Xiu woke up from his cultivation, musing to himself.

His cultivation and strength were steadily improving, and his opponent was also making progress. Moreover, Zhang Hai's cultivation conditions were better than his.

The more advanced the martial cultivation, the harder it became, so external aids were needed to accelerate the cultivation process to break through limits within a limited lifespan.

It was said that if one's martial cultivation could reach the Innate stage, they could surpass the limits of ordinary people and live for three hundred years!

Before the Innate stage, even a Qi Sea realm martial artist was still just a stronger ordinary person.

"It seems I need to improve even faster!"

As the annual assessment drew closer, Luo Xiu was not worried at all but instead felt even more determined.

The cultivation of the Dragon Tiger Fist was steadily improving, although it was still at the major accomplishment level, it was not far from perfection.

The improvement of the "Cun Bu" body technique was the slowest, so Luo Xiu increased the difficulty. He brought some thorny brambles with sharp spines and laid them in the area where he practiced the body technique. This way, if he made a mistake, he would fall and be scratched or pierced by the thorns.

Not only that, he also made the stakes thinner, forcing himself to surpass his limits!

His intense training recently caught the attention of many Martial Hall students. Initially, it was the students practicing body techniques here who spread the word.

A group of people gathered nearby to watch Luo Xiu practicing the body technique on the thinner stakes. His clothes were tattered, and his body was covered in wounds. The thorns below were stained with blood, and the spines were black and shiny.

"Is this guy trying to kill himself?"

"No wonder his strength improves so quickly. With such intense training, it's hard not to improve fast!"

Everyone who had seen Luo Xiu train was deeply impressed. Some of the poorer students were inspired and began to strive harder and practice diligently.

On the stakes, Luo Xiu had cultivated the "Cun Bu" body technique to the peak of minor accomplishment, but he felt that he was just one step away from major accomplishment.

He closed his eyes and moved swiftly on the stakes, sometimes rushing forward, sometimes moving sideways, and sometimes retreating quickly. His movements were unpredictable and not routine.

If a martial technique or body technique is practiced according to a routine, even if it is memorized perfectly, it is at most at the beginner level. Only by understanding the essence and grasping the key points can one reach the minor accomplishment level.

To reach the major accomplishment or perfection level, one needs not only hard work and insight but also opportunity.

Sometimes a flash of inspiration can seize a chance to break through the limits of one's cultivation and reach a higher level.

There are no shortcuts in martial cultivation. Talent and potential are important, but the heart of martial arts and opportunity are equally crucial.

In the past, he was aimless and did not understand what martial arts were, but since fusing with the Life and Death Pearl, Luo Xiu had truly entered the realm of martial arts.

Although his cultivation was still low, he already had the heart of martial arts!

"Major accomplishment!"

On the stakes, Luo Xiu's figure suddenly stopped. The wind moved, the clouds moved, the world moved, but he remained still!

He suddenly opened his eyes, a smile on his lips, leaped up, and drifted away, disappearing from everyone's sight.

"His speed is so fast. Could his body technique have reached the minor accomplishment level?"

"I heard that Luo Xiu chose three second-grade martial techniques from the library: 'Yi Jin Duan Gu Gong,' 'Dragon Tiger Fist,' and 'Cun Bu.'"

"The 'Yi Jin Duan Gu Gong' is not a big deal, but the 'Dragon Tiger Fist' and 'Cun Bu' are notoriously difficult to cultivate. Many people have chosen them, but even reaching the beginner level is hard, let alone minor accomplishment."

"It seems that when Luo Xiu fought Zhao Liang, his 'Dragon Tiger Fist' was comparable to a third-grade martial technique at the minor accomplishment level, indicating that his Dragon Tiger Fist must have reached major accomplishment!"

People were discussing, speculating about Luo Xiu's current strength. The major accomplishment level of the Dragon Tiger Fist was evident, but body techniques were harder to cultivate, so they thought it was unlikely that he had reached major accomplishment, at most minor accomplishment.

Even so, everyone was amazed. With a major accomplishment Dragon Tiger Fist and a minor accomplishment Cun Bu, even at the fifth level of Body Tempering, his overall strength could rival a seventh-level Body Tempering practitioner.

"A seventh-level Body Tempering practitioner is already on par with the top students in the intermediate class. This kid is really impressive."

"But no matter how hard he tries, he can't possibly beat Zhang Hai, who is about to break through to the eighth level of Body Tempering and enter the advanced class this year!"

"Anyone who can enter the advanced class is an elite of the Martial Hall. Zhao Liang and Zhang Hai are not in the same league."

"The Zhang family is a major force in Qingyun City. What was Luo Xiu thinking when he opposed someone from the Zhang family?"

Despite Luo Xiu's increasingly surprising performance, no one believed he could beat Zhang Hai, who was about to reach the eighth level of Body Tempering.

With all his martial techniques and body techniques at the major accomplishment level, Luo Xiu returned to his residence.

"Relatively speaking, my cultivation has been slow to improve." In the room, Luo Xiu frowned. His cultivation had reached the peak of the fifth level of Body Tempering but had not yet broken through to the sixth level.

Martial cultivation is a difficult and arduous path. Each realm has nine levels, akin to ascending nine levels of heaven, with each step more difficult than the last.

The hardships and difficulties of martial cultivation are far from simple. Luo Xiu had a deep understanding of this, especially after his recent intense training.

"At my current level, I need some auxiliary means to accelerate my cultivation. Otherwise, my cultivation will improve, but it will take too long."

Luo Xiu had never been negligent in his internal cultivation, but relying solely on the circulation of his cultivation technique to absorb the essence of heaven and earth, the growth of his internal energy was very slow.

The most common auxiliary means for martial cultivation are pills and arrays. For Body Tempering realm practitioners, first-grade pills are the most commonly used, and arrays are even more expensive.

But Luo Xiu was very clear about his conditions. His family relied on his father for a monthly income of only twenty to thirty taels of silver, while a single first-grade Qi Nourishing Pill could cost hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver!

For example, Zhang Hai's recent seclusion to break through to the eighth level of Body Tempering involved taking a Qi Nourishing Pill, and the cost of a single seclusion was more than what an ordinary family could earn in a lifetime.

Luo Xiu knew that if he didn't find a way, he would not know when he could break through to the Qi Sea realm and become a true martial artist.

A month later, the annual assessment was not on Luo Xiu's mind, nor was the fight with Zhang Hai. His goals were set even further ahead.

Many martial artists strive their entire lives to break through to the Qi Sea realm, and those with more ambitious goals hope to become Innate realm martial masters.

But Luo Xiu was not satisfied. With the Life and Death Pearl and various advantageous conditions, if he did not achieve something in martial arts, it would be a waste.

"It's time to take some action." Luo Xiu narrowed his eyes, with some plans in mind.