Chapter 36

Thank you to the generous rewards from Du Tian, Luxifa, and Luo Ye Sui Feng Jue, each with 588起点币. Thank you also to Kan Bu Tou Ni Tong Kong Di Se, Song Zirui, Kan Shu H Cheng Xian, and Chi Bu De for their rewards. During the new book period, I am seeking collections, recommendations, and clicks.

………………………………I am a pure dividing line……………………………………

Since Yang Guo chose to join the army, Zhao Hao also gave up his plan to go to Xiangyang.

The Mongol army had not yet invaded Xiangyang City, and Zhao Hao originally intended to take Yang Guo to the Sword Tomb outside Xiangyang City, where Yang Guo could inherit the legacy of Dugu Qiu Bai.

However, for Yang Guo, who was determined to join the army, going to the Sword Tomb had no meaning anymore.

Zhao Hao was very familiar with the inside of the Sword Tomb. It was indeed a treasure place, guarded by a divine condor, with strange snakes that could enhance internal strength, and several precious swords left by Dugu Qiu Bai.

But apart from these, there was nothing else that Zhao Hao coveted.

Inside the Sword Tomb, there was no Dugu Nine Swords.

In fact, Zhao Hao was not even sure if the Dugu Nine Swords were created by Dugu Qiu Bai.

However, Zhao Hao was certain that Yang Guo had never obtained the Dugu Nine Swords from the Sword Tomb.

Based on Zhao Hao's speculation, it was more likely that Yang Guo, after achieving great martial arts, created the Dugu Nine Swords.

According to Dugu Qiu Bai's own account, he had ultimately reached the realm of no moves. However, the Dugu Nine Swords, in essence, encompassed all the moves in the world and did not transcend the realm of moves.

Moreover, Dugu Qiu Bai lived and died alone in the Sword Tomb, so it was impossible for him to leave any legacy elsewhere.

In comparison, it seemed more plausible that Yang Guo, after achieving great martial arts, created the nine sword techniques and named them the Dugu Nine Swords.

The few precious swords and strange snakes held no appeal for Zhao Hao.

The divine condor was somewhat tempting to Zhao Hao, but without Yang Guo's main character aura, Zhao Hao had no confidence in taming it.

If Zhao Hao were just a wandering martial artist or a dedicated swordsman, it would be fine to visit Dugu Qiu Bai's Sword Tomb in Xiangyang.

However, Zhao Hao was not a wandering martial artist, and in this life, he did not plan to practice swordsmanship.

Swords are too straight and too sharp, hurting others and oneself.

Zhao Hao was very interested in the Way of the Sword, but in this life, it was not the right time to practice sword techniques.

The Way of the Sword is a great path worth pursuing for a lifetime.

Zhao Hao did not intend to follow Dugu Qiu Bai's old path; he had the confidence to forge his own path. But this required time.

In this life, Zhao Hao did not have that much time.

Dugu Qiu Bai was indeed the strongest of his time, but Zhao Hao's goal was far beyond that.

What Zhao Hao wanted was to be revered for all eternity.

To achieve this, going to the Sword Tomb would be useless, as Dugu Qiu Bai himself did not achieve it.

The place that could help Zhao Hao reach this goal was another holy land of martial arts.

Zhao Hao had his own plans for his future.

Most people in the world, including Dugu Qiu Bai, only practiced martial arts.

However, Zhao Hao intended to practice the Way of Martial Arts.

Skills are easy to learn, but the Way is hard to attain.

But the achievements of those who attain the Way far surpass those who achieve great martial arts.

Therefore, figures like the Sweeping Monk and Dugu Qiu Bai could only be strong for a lifetime.

However, figures like Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng were revered for all eternity.

Because they had attained the Way.

The path Zhao Hao intended to follow was this one.

However, throughout history, only Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng achieved this.

To attain the Way before practicing martial arts is no easy task.

Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng both had their own philosophies, and based on these, they created their own martial arts.

This realm was something Zhao Hao could only aspire to.

He could not achieve it.

So he could only choose to solidify his foundation first.

This was not shameful; Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng also took this step-by-step approach.

Before Bodhidharma founded the Chan martial arts and before Zhang Sanfeng evolved Tai Chi at Wudang, they already had other legacies.

A solid foundation is necessary for a breakthrough.

Without a sufficient foundation, forming one's own Way is a pipe dream.

So Zhao Hao needed to accumulate his own foundation.

However, the accumulation of a foundation also required careful selection.

Some martial arts could be practiced, while others could not. Some philosophies could be absorbed, while others could not.

For example, if the Dugu Nine Swords were really in front of Zhao Hao, he would not practice them.

Because the Dugu Nine Swords were not his Way, and if Zhao Hao practiced the Dugu Nine Swords, he would have to spend a lot of time and energy.

This would be putting the cart before the horse.

Therefore, from beginning to end, Zhao Hao only practiced the *Nine Yin Manual*.

In this world, if anyone understood the *Nine Yin Manual* as well as Zhao Hao, it would be hard to find someone like Guo Jing.

In Zhao Hao's eyes, the greatest value of the *Nine Yin Manual* was not as a martial arts manual, but in the thousand years of Daoist essence it contained.

This contained countless principles waiting for future generations to explore.

Even Huang Chang himself might not have fully understood the entire *Nine Yin Manual*.

Anyone could practice the *Nine Yin Manual*, and each person could gain different insights from it.

In this world, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Zhou Botong, Yi Deng, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong all benefited greatly from the *Nine Yin Manual*, but it did not affect their own martial arts philosophies.

Because the greatest role of the *Nine Yin Manual* was not martial arts.

If a metaphor must be used, the *Nine Yin Manual* is more like an encyclopedia. What one learns from it depends entirely on one's own insight.

The *Nine Yin Manual* opens a door for practitioners, and what lies beyond the door depends entirely on the practitioner's own destiny.

Now, Zhao Hao had already opened this door, and he needed to explore the world beyond it.

He needed other means.

The *Nine Yin Manual* would continue to provide Zhao Hao with help, but in the short term, it could no longer advance his strength.

He needed to find another path.

In this world, the martial arts that could help Zhao Hao's strength were already very rare.

And those that met Zhao Hao's requirements were even fewer.

Coincidentally, these few martial arts were all in the same place.

So Zhao Hao came to Dengfeng.

Dengfeng has a mountain called Songshan.

Songshan is divided into Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain. On Shaoshi Mountain, there is a martial arts sect that once led the righteous path of the martial world and was revered by all.

Shaolin Temple.

Zhao Hao's target this time was the Shaolin Temple, which was still in seclusion.

For a long time, Shaolin Temple had been in seclusion, and many people in the martial world had already forgotten its existence.

But not Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao was very clear that the depth of Shaolin Temple's foundation was far beyond what the Quanzhen Sect, which was now praised as the largest sect in the world with 80,000 disciples, could compare to.

The supreme martial arts possessed by Shaolin Temple far exceeded those of the Quanzhen Sect.

The *Nine Yang Manual*, which would shine brightly in the *Jade Dynasty* world, should have already appeared in the Shaolin Temple's scripture hall, if there were no unexpected events.

However, Zhao Hao's true target on this trip was not the *Nine Yang Manual*.

Compared to the *Nine Yin Manual*'s inclusiveness, the *Nine Yang Manual* did not appeal to Zhao Hao.

What Zhao Hao truly desired was Shaolin Temple's sect-defining divine skill—the *Yi Jin Jing*.

To others, the power of the *Yi Jin Jing* might not be as great as the *Nine Yang Manual*, but in Zhao Hao's eyes, the value of the *Yi Jin Jing* was at least ten times greater than the *Nine Yang Manual*.

PS: Speaking of today being Singles' Day, I should have taken a break to hide the fact that I am still single. Every year on this day, it is a sad day for me.

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