Chapter 2

(New book, seeking recommendations and collections, starting today, two updates per day.)

Gripping the *Gui She Gong* and *Yao Jing* tightly in his hands, Su Qinnian took a deep breath. This would be the crucial support for his rise. As long as he could successfully lay the foundation within five years and cultivate internal family true qi, he could shed his criminal status and officially become a Wudang disciple.

"Third-rate realm is definitely not enough; at least I need to reach second-rate to have a glimmer of hope!"

Su Qinnian shook his head. The Great Han Empire valued martial arts. Since the first Great Han Emperor, over 5,400 years ago, established the empire with the Crimson Dawn Sword and the supreme martial art *Emperor's Qi Sensing Technique*, the Great Han Empire, along with various sects and noble families, and the surrounding nations, united to banish the nine great demon saints into the void. Since then, human martial arts have reached their peak.

In this world, there is no such thing as Confucians disrupting the law with literature or martial artists breaking the law with their skills. Here, Confucianism and martial arts are one, benefiting all under heaven. Even the successive Great Han Emperors placed great importance on martial arts. There are no literary examinations, only martial examinations, and they do not value historical and political essays.

Over 5,400 years, although the nine great demon saints were banished into the void and the demon race was fragmented, they still occasionally appeared, causing chaos in the human world. Therefore, the Great Han Empire has always had a strong martial spirit. Officials' promotions and advancements are heavily dependent on their martial arts progress.

"Martial sect and noble family disciples cannot participate in the imperial examinations but can join the Dragon Guard Manor and become Dragon Guards..."

Su Qinnian thought, his head growing increasingly heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.

When he woke up again, it was with a start.

"Who's there!"

He was both shocked and angry. Due to his extreme fatigue, his alertness had dropped, and he had not noticed when two strangers, dressed in rough short robes and weathered faces, had entered the thatched hut. They paid no attention to Su Qinnian's awakening and continued to rummage through his belongings.

"Stop!"

Su Qinnian shouted in anger, leaping up and clenching his fists, he lunged at their shoulders like a galloping horse.

"The seven-layer *Bengma Jing*普及 by the empire? This horse-shaped fist is just at the initial stage? Too weak!"

One of them sneered, not even looking, and his left hand shot out like lightning, passing through the gap between Su Qinnian's fists and striking his chest.

Bang!

Su Qinnian's face turned pale, his chest felt as if struck by lightning, his breath momentarily halted, and he stumbled back several steps, collapsing to the ground, his body feeling as if it had been disassembled, unable to muster any strength.

"Bad! After sitting in the prisoner's carriage for so long, my qi and blood are depleted, my strength is scattered, and my boxing form is too rusty. But this strike scattered my qi, the palm force is as powerful as a half-wild horse, at least fourth-layer foundation cultivation."

Su Qinnian's face was grim as he watched the two men casually dump the books from his bag and flip through them, throwing his clothes to the ground.

"Su Wangsheng, just appointed as a lowly eighth-rank armory editor in the past decade? No wonder he conspired with the demonic sect to steal demonic martial arts, without even a family foundation cultivation technique, practicing the empire's popular seven-layer *Bengma Jing*. But to reach here in Xianxia Valley, there are few death-row descendants below the sixth rank. Hmm? You even managed to meet the Lady of Hanyang County, no wonder you have a chance to be here, but once you're here..."

One of them, flipping through the Ministry of Justice document, glanced at Su Qinnian with surprise and then sneered, "Remember, starting today, you must hand over half of the herbs you gather to my brother and me every day before sunset, at the ninth thatched hut in the first row by the water. You can try to refuse, but first, consider your own weight. If you have a chance to shed your criminal status, you should understand that living is the most important thing."

After saying this, the two men exchanged a glance, both showing disappointment. Before leaving, they casually threw the books from the bag into the dying fire pit. A few wisps of blue smoke and sparks rose, and the orange flames began to rise, casting a red glow on Su Qinnian's face and the pulsing veins on his forehead.

"This is the law of the jungle. It seems these two are also descendants of death-row prisoners. I must become strong as soon as possible. Although Wudang is a Daoist sect that values tranquility and non-action, in Xianxia Valley, there is no connection to Daoism at all."

Su Qinnian slowly suppressed his sense of humiliation. As a prisoner, he did not expect sympathy or fairness. In the Great Han Empire, only strength can rule everything.

Wait!

Suddenly, Su Qinnian's face changed, and he stared at the burning fire pit. These were the only three Daoist texts left to him after his family was seized, brought back by his father from the imperial armory. These so-called "waste texts" were the ones the imperial armory planned to destroy each year, either because they contained incorrect principles or were old and decayed, and not very important.

These texts were either wild histories, or erroneous theories from the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist schools, deemed harmful and useless by the scholars of the imperial armory.

However, what Su Qinnian saw now was a book called *Yin*. In the fire pit, the pages burned to ash, revealing a palm-sized, silver-shimmering paper. This silver paper did not burn in the flames, and faint, tiny characters could be seen on it.

"Heritage paper!"

Su Qinnian whispered, his breathing becoming heavy. If he was not mistaken, this was the heritage paper used by many martial arts sects and noble families to preserve and transmit important martial arts. This heritage paper does not burn in fire or rot in water, and can remain intact for a long time. Of course, its production process is extremely strict, using very precious materials, and it is not used for martial arts below the first-rate level.

After half a cup of tea time.

Su Qinnian retrieved the silver heritage paper from the extinguished fire pit. The first thing he saw were nearly a thousand characters, with the four slightly larger characters at the top: *Mihun Dafa* (Great Soul-Binding Technique)!

"Among the waste texts discarded by the armory, there is actually a page of heritage paper! This *Mihun Dafa* is at least first-rate, or comparable to first-rate martial arts!"

Su Qinnian skimmed through the *Mihun Dafa* text, and his face immediately showed amazement. This *Mihun Dafa* was a rare mental martial art in the martial world, focusing on cultivating mental energy in the ancestral brain, rather than internal family true qi.

"No! I must memorize this *Mihun Dafa* as soon as possible. If discovered, I won't be able to keep it, and I won't be able to explain myself."

Su Qinnian nervously glanced at the door. As a criminal, the appearance of such a suspected first-rate martial arts secret manual would likely draw criticism and even attempts to eliminate him.

Fortunately, it was already night, with the moon high in the sky, and the thatched hut was quiet. However, Su Qinnian did not dare to relax. He spent nearly half an hour memorizing the text on the heritage paper, then crumpled it into a ball and swallowed it.

At this moment, Su Qinnian's face was even paler. The heritage paper was not easy to swallow. His bones had already grown, and he had been practicing foundation cultivation for less than a year, with shallow skills. After the long journey, his physical condition was even worse than an average person's.

Just half an incense stick after Su Qinnian swallowed the heritage paper, another group arrived.

"Someone got here first, what bad luck!"

The leader was a muscular, sinewy young man, nearly in his thirties. His eyes first fell on the scattered bag and clothes, then he grabbed the Ministry of Justice document and scanned it, before looking at Su Qinnian coldly, "I don't care who came before. From now on, you must hand over half of the herbs you gather to the seventh thatched hut in the first row by the water before sunset. Of course, you can try to refuse..."

Another half an hour later.

"The fifth thatched hut in the first row by the water, you must hand over half of the herbs you gather before sunset. Otherwise..."

One hour later.

"Hand over half of the herbs you gather to the fourth thatched hut in the first row by the water before sunset. Remember, this is not a request, it is an order!"

...

When the sky was just beginning to lighten and the last group left, Su Qinnian's face was extremely grim. He had not rested since he woke up in the middle of the night. During this time, nine groups had come, from the second to the tenth thatched hut in the first row by the water. From their words, he understood that as death-row prisoners, these were the nine highest-ranking people in Xianxia Valley, at least descendants of Great Han officials of the fourth rank or higher. Because of their wealthy backgrounds, they had undergone rigorous training from a young age, with superior physical and mental qualities, and their foundation cultivation was among the best in the entire valley, ranking in the top ten.

"Damn! These people treat me, Su Qinnian, like a soft persimmon, to be squeezed at will!"

His eyes bloodshot, Su Qinnian, who had not slept all night, was agitated. He struggled to calm himself and steady his breathing.

"Anger is useless. We are all criminals, already on the brink of death, so we have fewer inhibitions. Nine groups, I can't even serve three of them."

Su Qinnian's eyes glinted coldly. He understood that in Xianxia Valley, everyone was competing, hoping to successfully lay the foundation and cultivate internal family true qi before their probation period ended, to shed their criminal status.

This way, even if they could not pursue a career through the imperial examinations, joining Wudang, a major sect, would still allow them to achieve success and fame in the martial world.

"Three days, I have only three days left!"

Su Qinnian looked at the two books in his hands, one the *Yao Jing* on medicinal stones, and the other the Wudang foundation cultivation *Gui She Gong*.

"The seven-layer *Gui She Gong*, each layer is a boxing form, along with桩功, setting the boxing form to temper every inch of flesh, skin, and bones, and to understand and perform the seven corresponding *Gui She Quan* techniques."

Spending half an hour, Su Qinnian memorized the essence and桩功 diagrams of the first three layers of *Gui She Gong*, then closed his eyes to rest. (New book, seeking recommendations and collections, starting today, two updates per day.)