84.
The moment he clicked in the '+' behind the Stillwater Art, Yang Ze felt a burst of coolness inside him. The sensation then slowly spread throughout the body before reaching his head. At this moment, Yang Ze felt peace. However, this sensation lasted for a short term before disappearing completely.
"This is?" Closing his eyes, Yang Ze once again circulated the Qi according to the instructions. The moment he started circulating Qi, he felt the familiar sensation returning back to him.
Nodding his head, Yang Ze once again looked at the Stillwater Art in front of him. Unlike the majority of other techniques, this Stillwater Art was divided into three realms. 'Introduction', 'Beginning' and 'Perfection'. After reading the book, one can circulate their Qi to step into the introduction. Being in the introduction realm means that you are just familiar with the technique or the martial arts, it just means that you can mimic it to a small degree without gaining any effects.
The second realm of the Stillwater art which was the 'Beginning', means that one is able to circulate the Qi inside his head in a distinct way to achieve the effects of a calm mind. During this state, one will be devoid of any lingering thoughts or any rashness. But this state will only last till you are practicing according to Stillwater Art. The moment you stop, you will not feel the calmness that you previously experienced.
"Go on." Looking at the 200 XP requirement that was needed to promote it, Yang Ze didn't hesitate and clicked on the '+'.
"Aaaahh." Feeling a cool sensation throughout his body, Yang Ze moaned in comfort. This was the third and final realm of Stillwater Art. After reaching this realm, the Qi will travel automatically travel according to the Stillwater Art. This will put the practitioner in a state of constant calmness. The practitioners of the third realm don't need to circulate the Qi by themselves, their bodies will do this process automatically.
Yang Ze who was feeling the changes slowly observed his body. The feeling that he was getting after practicing Stillwater art was somewhat familiar to the Seaheart Art that he practiced. However, whereas the Seaheart Art made him energetic, the Stillwater Art gave him a sense of peace.
Sitting in the library, Yang Ze felt a sense of extreme peace. There were no thoughts in his mind, just him looking outside.
"I should head back home." Yang Ze didn't want to promote the fist and the defense art that he got here. Who knows what kind of changes it will cause. So, after making up his mind, he stood up before leaving the academy.
A few moments after he left, another figure followed him out before heading in another direction.
...
Inside a room in the city hall, the figure of a man in his late twenties was sitting on a chair, reading a report that was placed on the table in front of him.
Beside him, was the figure of a man in his thirties standing with a stoic expression.
"So, you are saying he just bought three martial arts worth 200 spirit stones. And not only that, he even bribed you with ten spirit stones to let him say there for a while."
"Yes, squad leader."
"Interesting." The man tapped the chair a few times before nodding his head. "Good work. Keep an eye on him. Tell me every little detail about what he does or where he goes."
"Squad leader, why are we wasting so much time on this? We should just go and capture him. After a little interrogation, we can get all the answers."
Hearing the obvious question, the man sighed before shaking his head. "Do you think I don't want to?"
"Then why?" The man was flabbergasted. He couldn't understand the thoughts that were going on in this squad leader's mind. However, no matter what he thought, it was not his place to question him.
"Did you not see the cuts that tore down the walls of the shop? They were made in a single slash. This means someone in the Late or even peak stage of Qi guiding is with him. What if we rashly make a move and anger that expert. Who is going to stop him?"
After a brief silence, he continued...
"Let's forget about his strength in the Qi Guiding realm for a moment, just think about the formations that were placed in the shop. Didn't you see how the entire formation was laid to waste in a single and precise strike? What do you think it means?"
"A... A Runemaster?" The man spoke with some hesitation.
"Exactly." The squad leader nodded his head before continuing "This means that he has a runemaster accompanying him. And did you forget how heavy and sturdy the safes in our shops are? For someone to take it without a sound and hide it in a place where we can't find it, how much strength do you think they need?"
"Hiss...." The man took a deep breath.
"This is why I am not making any rash decision. Offending a late Qi Guiding expert without any solid evidence is nothing but suicide. That is someone at the same standing as the patriarchs of our three families. Without the help of an ancestor or city lord, taking him on would be a joke. Who knows what kind of force is behind them. This rash move of ours could lead to an all-out war. That's why we need to be careful."
The squad leader finally talked about everything that was going through his mind. The man standing beside him nodded in understanding before looking at the squad leader with eyes that were filled with respect. No wonder, this person was able to become a squad leader at the young age of twenty-eight. Till now many had doubts about his eligibility, even though he was somewhat conflicted in his heart, but after hearing him, he had to admit that this man in front of him was eligible for the position.
"Go... Keep an eye on him and inform me of any move that he makes. Who knows, perhaps we might be able to gain some information."
"Squad leader..." With some hesitation, the man looked at him before speaking slowly "How about we inform the family about this matter?"
"NO. Not right now." The squad leader shook his head before dismissing this idea. Going to the family means that he was not competent enough to take care of this matter on his own. The situation might demand it, but his pride won't. There was no way he was going to ask for help. This was something he needed to deal with himself. This will not only improve his image further but also give him a standing in some of the family matters.
After dismissing the man, the squad leader looked at the report in front of him before reading it again. Who knows, perhaps he might have overlooked something.
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"Someone was here."
Yang Ze who opened the door of his house was instantly able to tell that there were some uninvited guests that paid his house a visit. Smelling more than six kinds of different scents, Yang Ze narrowed his eyes. Even though he had expected them to move, he didn't expect them to move this fast. Good thing he kept that safe and all other valuables in the personal space provided by his plug-in.
Yang Ze opened the window and looked at the sky which was almost dark. After joining the Martial alliance, the days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Closing his eyes, Yang Ze took a deep breath. He could still hear the heartbeats of many people observing him from the distance.
"Heh." With a hollow laugh, he closed the window and sat on the bed before taking out the rune papers and the ingredients from his personal space.
"Let's see." Without wasting another moment, Yang Ze picked up the brush and started drawing on the paper. Unlike the previous time, the process this time went smoothly without any difficulties. Just like the name says, the Stillwater Art was something that could make one's mind as calm as water, without any ripples.
With his experience and knowledge as a formation master, Yang was able to draw more than ten runes by the time it takes an incense to burn. After drawing them, Yang Ze stood up and slowly placed the runes on the ground in a formation. It didn't take him long to cover the area around his bed in runes.
With a jump, Yang Ze sat on the bed and took out the last rune before placing it in front of him. As soon as he did that, the small area around his bed was covered in a hazy mist. From the outside, one will find nothing unusual, they will only be able to see Yang Ze sitting there, but only after entering the formation, you will be able to notice the difference. This was a minor formation formed by runes that Yang Ze placed to control any fluctuations of Qi. Every time he promote his martial arts, there would be some disturbance around him. If this was any other place, he might have ignored it, but right now there were more than ten people observing him.
In their eyes, he was but a mortal. If they noticed the qi fluctuations from him, then the situation might take a drastic turn.
After arranging everything, Yang Ze looked at the screen in front of him before stopping his gaze at the martial arts. Since the day he started on the road of cultivation, it was the martial art that helped him out the most. It was this that played a major role in some of the most extreme situations. The black tiger Blade technique that he learned first was what helped him fight even someone stronger than him.
Reaching the perfection in the Black Tiger Blade Technique not only gave him the ability to manifest an illusory white tiger that could support him in battle, but it also gave him senses that were far beyond any humans. It was with these and his experience as a tiger that he could smell different scents and distinguish amongst them. His keen sense of hearing and seeing was also something he gained after practicing it to perfection.
With a smile, Yang Ze looked around him before clicking on the '+' behind them and closed his eyes.