Chapter 48

Sitting quietly at a window seat on the second floor of the tavern, he held a fragrant cup of tea in his hand, indifferent to the bustling and noisy street outside, his mind wandering elsewhere.

To be honest, he could hardly remember much of "Deer and the Cauldron" except for the fact that Duke Wei used any means necessary to seduce women. There were very few parts that left a deep impression on him.

Since he wanted to experience the legendary internal martial arts, he inevitably had to deal with so-called martial world figures. He needed to carefully consider which forces and people he could safely interact with and which dark and evil sects he must not easily involve himself with!

The Qinglong Sect was not to be provoked. Accidentally offending them would only bring trouble, and their methods were too similar to those of the demonic sect in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," relying on underhanded means like peculiar poisons to control their followers.

In contrast, the leader of the demonic sect, Dongfang Bubai, was truly the top martial artist in the world, whose ferocity could stop a child from crying at night. The demonic sect's power was so great that it could stand against the entire righteous martial world, and even the imperial court feared it.

The Qinglong Sect fell far short in comparison. Their methods were too ruthless and cruel, and they always hid behind the scenes, only daring to engage in clandestine and despicable activities in the dark.

Only the Qing dynasty, with its loose control over the regions and numerous security loopholes even in the imperial palace, allowed the Qinglong Sect to repeatedly infiltrate the palace.

Moreover, the leader of the Qinglong Sect, Hong Antong, was not necessarily the strongest in the world. At the very least, the Venerable Nine Difficulties, Guixin Shu, and Chen Jinnan were not necessarily inferior to him. His ability to intimidate all the martial artists in the world was far less than that of Dongfang Bubai.

He did not know where the Qinglong Island was, nor did he want to know. Hong Antong was a madman with ambitions far greater than his abilities. If he were to be targeted by him, it would not be a good thing. Regardless of whether he could handle it or not, if he couldn't, he would be in for a terrible fate, one that would make him wish he were dead.

On the other hand, Chen Jinnan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society, had a great reputation, and his temperament was surely not bad. The ancients cherished their reputations very much.

The only problem was that he had no way to meet Chen Jinnan.

It wasn't entirely impossible, as Chen Jinnan, being the military advisor to the Zheng family in Taiwan, would certainly need to liaise with various heroes and lords for the cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. Someone like Old Wu, the largest warlord in the country, would definitely be a force the Zheng family wanted to ally with.

Unfortunately, Lin Sha's position in the Yunnan army was too low. Even if Chen Jinnan really came, he would not get any reliable information, let alone have the opportunity to meet Chen Jinnan alone under the strict surveillance of Old Wu's subordinates, unless he didn't want to stay in Yunnan anymore.

Regarding Chen Jinnan's martial arts, Lin Sha had some guesses. There was definitely an indescribable connection with the Hong Gate.

In later generations, it was rumored that the Hong Gate was created by the Zheng family to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, and its power was no less than that of the Heaven and Earth Society. It was hard to believe that there was no connection between the two.

Since that was the case, he definitely wanted to meet Chen Jinnan. At the very least, he wanted to spar with him to see what the initial Hong Quan looked like and whether it had any internal martial arts techniques.

As for the one-armed nun, Nine Difficulties, she was a character that gave Lin Sha a headache.

In the modern films and TV shows he had seen, this old nun gave him a feeling similar to that of Extermination in "Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," being highly skilled in martial arts but with a peculiar personality, making her difficult to deal with.

This old nun indeed had profound internal martial arts and was the person Lin Sha most wanted to meet.

However, if he were to meet this old nun, he would probably have to fight right away, as he was a subordinate of the great traitor Old Wu, who was considered the greatest enemy by the old nun Nine Difficulties!

The more he thought about it, the more it gave him a headache. It seemed that none of the top martial artists in the world were easy to approach.

As for the Shaolin and Wudang sects, they were even more formidable and not to be provoked lightly. Unless his power and status were so great that even these two sects would be wary, it would not be wise to offend them before he was fully prepared.

On the other hand, Guixin Shu of Huashan should be easier to deal with. He had a mentally challenged son who was always sickly. If he played his cards right, gaining their trust would not be difficult. The challenge was how to obtain the coveted internal martial arts techniques and receive genuine guidance from them.

Indeed, in a martial arts world with internal martial arts techniques, how could he resist the temptation? He would not be able to bear it if he did not try!

Internal martial arts also involved breathing and qi cultivation. Lin Sha, having practiced Ming Jin to the intermediate stage, always felt a warm sensation in his lower abdomen during training, as if a warm current was swirling in his dantian.

He knew this was a normal qi sensation in internal martial arts, but he did not know if the warm qi in his dantian could be transformed into the miraculous internal energy through internal martial arts techniques.

In the world of the "Huang Fei Hong" films, his cheap master and the boxing manual had mentioned that the foundation of internal martial arts was to unblock the body's meridians. Ming Jin strengthened the tendons and bones, while An Jin's internal foundation was to unblock the belt meridian to form a small circulation, and Hua Jin further unblocked the Ren and Du meridians to achieve a great circulation.

Internal martial arts techniques also involved sensing, cultivating, and nurturing qi, then manipulating the internal qi to impact blocked meridians, thereby strengthening internal energy and transforming it into true qi.

These two different martial arts techniques were not in conflict but rather complementary, mutually enhancing each other.

Internal martial arts could unblock the body's meridians but could not fully utilize them, while internal martial arts techniques could only circulate within the meridians, gradually improving physical fitness.

In short, internal martial arts could assist in the rapid breakthrough of internal martial arts techniques, and internal martial arts techniques could, in turn, assist in the cultivation of internal martial arts. Lin Sha thought about it and found no better way to improve his strength.

Currently, what he was most concerned about was how to obtain internal martial arts techniques and have experienced experts guide and protect him as he entered the field.

Apart from the top martial artists and sects of the world, there should be some first-class or near-first-class experts under the major forces.

For example, Old Wu, as the top warlord in the country, would naturally prioritize his personal safety. It was hard to believe that he did not have any martial arts experts guarding him.

Unfortunately, Lin Sha was completely in the dark about the martial world in Yunnan. Even though he was eager, he had no way to enter it, which was truly frustrating.

"Lin, Lin, Lin Sha, are you Lin Sha?"

Just as Lin Sha was feeling a mix of joy and sorrow, frustrated and restless about the internal martial arts techniques, a hesitant and disbelieving voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Yes, sir, you are...?"

Lin Sha was slightly taken aback, turned his head, and saw a plump, well-dressed young man. The original owner's memory immediately provided all the information about this person. He quickly stood up, clasped his hands, and smiled, "It's Hu Dasha! It's been a while, and you still look as splendid as ever. I truly envy and admire you..."