Chapter 32

"What is a Shiwushi (释武石)?"

Without waiting for Jiesha to explain, Musansheng had already begun, "To others, a Shiwushi is just a worthless piece of stone, but to us of the Tiejuan Sect and to us weapon casters, it is an invaluable treasure."

"The so-called Shiwushi, at first, was just an ordinary stone. However, after generations of weapon casters inscribed their understanding of martial arts and their dedication to martial studies onto the stone, it became a Shiwushi," Musansheng explained.

However, Jiesha added, "This kid is really pretending to know. If Shiwushi were so easy to come by, they wouldn't be called rare treasures. Shiwushi are indeed the masterpieces of generations of weapon casters, but not all weapon casting sects can produce Shiwushi. Each generation of weapon casters inscribes their heart and soul, their insights, onto the stone. Only under certain circumstances, when the inscribed content from each weapon caster resonates, does it become a Shiwushi. Each Shiwushi can be considered a perfect and flawless manual, and each Shiwushi is a unique treasure. Moreover, each Shiwushi has its own name, which is a place for future generations to comprehend the essence of martial arts."

"Does Shaolin have one?"

"Yes, and you've seen it, but just like this Shiwushi, you can't see its special qualities."

"Really?" Bai Chen scratched his head. "When did I see it?"

"Stupid, the stone in front of the Sutra Hall is a Shiwushi!"

"What? The stone that just has 'Sutra Hall' written on it is a Shiwushi?" Bai Chen was skeptical of Jiesha's answer.

"That was written by Bodhidharma himself, the realm of a martial saint. Can you, an ordinary person, comprehend it? When Bodhidharma's martial arts reached perfection and he attained the realm of unity with heaven and earth, he touched the wheel of the six paths and wrote with his fingers. That stone became the king of all stones, named 'Zangwu.' I have seen hundreds of Shiwushi, but none can compare to it."

Heaven and earth as one!?

Bai Chen, who had been practicing martial arts for some time, had a basic understanding of the martial arts hierarchy.

When one first enters the path of martial arts, like Bai Chen, who cultivates true qi, they are in the postnatal realm.

When the Ren and Du meridians are unblocked, and true qi can be emitted externally, it is called the prenatal realm.

When all the meridians are unblocked and the three flowers are condensed, it is called the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.

Then, when the qi sea is successfully transformed into a dantian, and true qi is gathered to form the essence, it is called One Qi Transforming into Essence.

After One Qi Transforming into Essence, one reaches the peak of martial arts, with all the body's meridians unblocked, and the ability to absorb the essence of heaven and earth. At this stage, there are two levels: the Lesser Perfection of Heaven and Earth and the Greater Perfection of the Six Paths.

If one can advance further, it is the legendary realm of comprehending the cycle of life and death, mastering the essence of heaven, earth, and the soul, and achieving unity with heaven and earth.

Bai Chen gradually realized that he could no longer view this world with his previous worldview. Many things he couldn't understand or comprehend often contained profound and subtle truths.

"What is the name of this Shiwushi?"

"Hmm?" Musansheng looked at Bai Chen with some surprise. Just a moment ago, Bai Chen didn't understand what a Shiwushi was, but now he knew that each Shiwushi had a unique name.

"It's called Litian, the name of the first patriarch of our Tiejuan Sect. Most of the inscriptions on this Shiwushi were written by him."

Unexpectedly, Jiesha made a dismissive sound, his tone full of disdain and sarcasm.

"Sure enough, it's a subpar Shiwushi, named after an ancestor. If it were a superior Shiwushi, the name would contain profound meanings, and the stone would live up to its name, like Zangwu, which is the result of Bodhidharma pouring his life's work into the stone."

Bai Chen rolled his eyes. Jiesha was comparing ordinary martial artists to Bodhidharma, which was naturally not comparable.

After all, Bodhidharma was a martial saint, and no matter how powerful the ancestor Litian was, he couldn't compare to Bodhidharma.

However, this didn't mean that the ancestor was not powerful; it was just a matter of comparison.

At this moment, two figures emerged from the martial hall in front. One of them was Nalan Ruyue, whom Bai Chen had seen before, glaring at him coldly.

The other woman walked beside Nalan Ruyue, with eyebrows like willow leaves, eyes like stars, and hair like a river flowing over her shoulders. Her lips were lightly powdered, giving her a fresh and elegant appearance. She wore a simple green robe and walked with the grace of a lotus.

"Little Senior Sister, Miss Nalan." Musansheng's face showed a hint of warmth, his eyes full of affection.

Even the equally beautiful Nalan Ruyue did not make Musansheng look at her differently; his eyes were only on his little senior sister.

Long Tuxiao greeted the two women politely, though he was not particularly close to them.

Zhuo Qingyan smiled gently and nodded slightly. "Little Brother, are you going to see Master?"

"Qingyan, is your junior brother always so impolite? A senior sister is a senior sister; why add the word 'little'?" Nalan Ruyue said with obvious displeasure, though she was clearly referring to something else.

Musansheng smiled bitterly. The term "little senior sister" was not just used by him; the entire Tiejuan Sect used it.

Moreover, Zhuo Qingyan was indeed younger than him, just because she was the granddaughter of the sect's master and had entered the sect a little earlier.

Even though he was the eldest disciple of the Tiejuan Sect, calling Zhuo Qingyan "little senior sister" was not inappropriate.

He knew about the grudge between Nalan Ruyue and Bai Chen. Nalan Ruyue's indirect criticism was clearly due to Bai Chen's influence.

"Ruyue." Zhuo Qingyan gave Nalan Ruyue a light glare, showing some resentment but not outright scolding her.

Zhuo Qingyan didn't know about the grudge between Nalan Ruyue and Bai Chen, but she knew the young lady's temper, which was always straightforward and fierce. She assumed Nalan Ruyue was speaking up for her.

"When did the Tiejuan Sect start allowing riffraff to enter freely?" Nalan Ruyue's gaze was like a sword, fixed on Bai Chen.

"Yes, I'm curious too, Brother Mu." Bai Chen, instead of refuting, nodded in agreement. "When did the Tiejuan Sect start allowing crazy women to enter freely?"

Nalan Ruyue's face darkened, and she hissed, "Who are you calling a crazy woman?"

"Whoever responds is the crazy woman," Bai Chen said matter-of-factly.

Here, only the gentle Zhuo Qingyan and the furious Nalan Ruyue were present, making Bai Chen's words more explicit.

Zhuo Qingyan finally understood that these two were old enemies, which explained their sharp exchanges.

However, she did not treat Bai Chen coldly because of Nalan Ruyue's attitude. She still greeted him warmly. "I am Zhuo Qingyan. May I ask for your name?"

"I am Bai Chen. I have long admired Miss Zhuo's beauty, and today I see that you are indeed a beauty that can make a city fall."

Bai Chen glanced at Nalan Ruyue and added with a smile, "Indeed, a red flower needs green leaves to set it off. Without the green leaves, Miss Zhuo's beauty would not be so striking."

No woman dislikes being complimented, especially when compared to another woman who is not inferior to her.

Although Zhuo Qingyan did not show it on her face, her eyes were quite pleased. Of course, she still spoke up for Nalan Ruyue.

"Mr. Bai, you flatter me. I am just an ordinary woman, while Miss Nalan is a renowned beauty in the martial world, known as one of the Seven Beauties of Jiangling."

"Hmph!" Nalan Ruyue snorted, showing her anger, but her eyes still revealed a hint of pride when she heard the name of the Seven Beauties.

"Seven Beauties? I've never heard of them." On one hand, it was a slight to Nalan Ruyue, but on the other hand, Bai Chen genuinely hadn't heard of them.

Although he could tell from Nalan Ruyue's expression that the Seven Beauties were well-known in the martial world, he didn't know if the Seven Beauties referred to one person or seven women of Nalan Ruyue's caliber.

If there were really seven such women, Bai Chen would be quite interested in meeting them. To be honest, Nalan Ruyue was not ugly; she could even be described as a beauty that could make a city fall.

Moreover, her character was not bad. She had argued with him over the tens of thousands of pounds of grain for disaster relief, which showed she was not a bad person.

However, Bai Chen didn't think that his efforts would make her treat him differently.

The first impression had already made Bai Chen a greedy, unrighteous scoundrel in Nalan Ruyue's eyes.

So Bai Chen was quite generous in accepting this label. Being able to argue with a beauty without holding back was quite enjoyable.

However, to others, Bai Chen's words sounded incredibly arrogant. If he wasn't ignorant, then he must have the confidence to back up his words.

The Seven Beauties! Not just seven women.

But a large group of women, the first sect of Jiangling!

The leader of the Seven Beauties, Gongsun Dang, was a renowned figure in the martial world, one of the four great masters.

Her sword dance was known to move the four directions, making her the best sword dancer in the world.

No one would dare to say such things, especially in front of one of the Seven Beauties, Nalan Ruyue.

No one would consider Bai Chen a fool, especially not Musansheng and Long Tuxiao.

Bai Chen might be arrogant, but he was definitely not a fool.

Qin Youwei and Qin Kelan had once thought so, but they both lost badly.

Even Yin Wuching had once thought so, but he ended up dead.

Nalan Ruyue's face turned cold, and she drew her sword, the blade already slicing toward Bai Chen.

All the disciples of the Seven Beauties used dual swords, but Nalan Ruyue didn't think Bai Chen was worthy of facing her dual swords.

Moreover, she didn't consider Bai Chen a worthy opponent; she just thought he needed a lesson.

So she held back five-tenths of her strength, but it was still incredibly sharp.

If it were last night, Bai Chen might not have dared to face this sword, but now that his Iron Shirt technique was complete and he had advanced to a higher level of external martial arts, his confidence had grown.

Bai Chen used his palm as a sword, his palm glowing with red fire, like a red-hot iron.

With a clang, Bai Chen's palm was slightly numbed, and some sparks flew from his palm.

Nalan Ruyue also took a step back, not because she was pushed back, but to protect her sword.

Except for Musansheng, who already knew Bai Chen's abilities, the others were all surprised.

Nalan Ruyue was not an ordinary person; she was one of the best disciples of the Seven Beauties. Her dual swords, Yingyue and Youyue, were not ordinary weapons.

Yet, Bai Chen had blocked her attack with his bare hands, which left everyone stunned.

Bai Chen's palm gradually dimmed and returned to normal. Using external martial arts relied not on true qi or internal strength, but on physical strength and the control of force.

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