Intermediate Martial Arts

"Five packs of fertilizers, huh? I've never been so lavish before."

Chi Qiaosong was delighted. Without hesitation, he opened a fertilizer pack and spread it around the Saturn peach tree.

After a while, the red flower on the Saturn peach tree became even more gorgeous.

"Isn't... the result a little poor?" After glancing at the red flower, he noticed the Growth Rate of the Purple Cloud Serenity went from 1% to 26%. In other words, one packet of fertilizer was worth a quarter of the Growth Rate.

He would still need to use another three packets of fertilizers.

The epiphany moment only further discouraged him.

Regardless of his feelings, he still had to do it. With that, he used up another three packets to fertilize the soil. The red flower withered, and peach could be seen growing on the tree until the size of a fist while he observed the entire process.

There was a hint of red on the fruit, and it slowly turned full red until the entire appearance looked purple.

In short, the Saturn peach in the Purple Cloud Serenity was completely ripe.

After taking a bite of the peach, his mouth was instantly filled with its juice, and it melted on his tongue. However, it was several times more delicious than the fruit of the bay tree. So, he finished the entire peach in no time, leaving only its seed.

"Hmm?"

Gazing at the seed in his hand, Chi Qiaosong pondered if he should eat it.

Before he had enough time to contemplate, pieces of mysterious information flooded his mind. For some reason, he heard a stentorian and resonant voice reciting the scriptures of Purple Cloud Serenity around his ears.

"... At the wake of the world, all things were covered in dust..."

Instinctively, he sat in a lotus position, and the Guidance Technique began running by itself autonomously. As the scripture was recited, some kind of gas started exuding from his flesh, bones, muscles, and organs.

Soon, the gas slowly gathered together and drew in more gas from the outside.

"... Those who reached the summit would watch the sunrise that illuminated every corner of the world with its dazzling light..."

While the magnificent voice continued to chant the scripture, the gas within Chi Qiaosong's body rose and merged into a mass. Eventually, it turned into a different and unique form.

It was a One Word Qi.

While its nature was that of a gas, its essence proved otherwise. It was indescribable and formless.

Upon its manifestation, it let loose and traveled in his body unrestrictedly while alleviating the internal injuries high and low. Nevertheless, bringing it under control was an arduous task, so he could only keep it there.

"... Alas! The dust would quiet down!"

The voice disappeared following the end of the scripture recitation. After a while, Chi Qiaosong slowly opened his eyes, signifying the completion of his meditation, and noticed the scenery around him becoming more vivid than ever. The fire cloud in the sky looked like a real burning scene in particular.

At that, he ruminated on his current situation a little.

Meanwhile, he took time to feel the changes in his body.

"The Purple Cloud Serenity really lives up to its name. Now, everything that my eyes can see, my ears can hear, and my body can sense, feels like they are even more polished."

The world remained the same, but all his surroundings grew sharper after being wiped once.

There were only three stages to martial arts.

The advanced martial arts were about attaining the Tao; those who reached this tier could achieve world peace. The intermediate martial arts were about wisdom and philosophy; those who made it to this level could maintain positive well-being in their physical and mental states. The beginner martial arts were about skill mastery; those who got to this stage could defend themselves from abuse and harm.

At that time, Chi Qiaosong finally understood why intermediate martial arts could maintain positive well-being in one's physical and mental states through wisdom and philosophy. Intermediate martial arts were the practices of internal strength. They differed from beginner martial arts' external skills, which focused on physical enhancement and strengthening. Intermediate martial arts focused on the cultivation of the mind and spirit.

At that moment, Chi Qiaosong cultivated both internal and external martial arts. In other words, he was both a wrestler and a Taoist householder.

...

...

...

He had used four out of the five packets of fertilizers, which left him with only two packs.

Since it was already the eighth month of the year, another new packet of fertilizer materialized after the field was adequately circulated with the essence of heaven and earth.

After spending fifty cents to take the anti-tricycle, Chi Qiaosong arrived at the Military Academy to check things out and heard a few interesting stories.

The first account was about a student who suffered from heat stroke while practicing martial arts. After his teacher carried him to a shadier location, no one expected that his condition would worsen. The worst part was that he nearly didn't survive the ordeal.

Thus, all the students requested for absence from the academy.

Nonetheless, the chief instructor, Hao Bozhao, did not permit them to do so. Instead, he rebuked them through the loudspeaker, "You should train during the coldest days of winter and dog days. If you couldn't even endure a little hardship like this, you might as well go home and quit martial arts altogether."

Another one was about Mr. Liu.

It had been a few months since he started teaching, yet none of his students could initiate energy fluctuation. So, even the female students gradually stopped attending his classes. Hence, there had been no student in his classes since two days ago.

No one knew if Liu Chun was thick-skinned or a maverick.

Even though there was no one in his class, he shook his head and recited the Purple Cloud Serenity once, then took some wolfberries to make tea for himself and read the newspaper without a care in the world.

It was a rather peculiar sight to behold.

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...

"Sigh, some students from the other county have broken through to become wrestlers. Even the cities have people who have become Taoist householders. Why isn't there a single excellent student here in Ink Ridge County's Military Academy?"

Kong Hongcai grumbled at the office.

Another teacher added, "You said it! Ink Ridge County has been producing many talents for the longest. Even if they weren't the pick of the litter, at least they didn't come last. Could it be the problem with our abilities as teachers?"

"We're just teaching basics here. How could there be such a big difference in the teaching quality?"

"If there's still no student break through to the next level, our Military Academy will be compromised during the test."

"Hehe. Chief Hao has been monitoring the classes for several days now. It looks like he's even more worried than us."

"I've heard that Chief Hao is planning to accept a new batch of students?"

"You don't say! This term isn't even over yet, and he's accepting new students already?"

"Well, the current ones have become invalid. He had no choice, did he?"

"Yeah. You're right."

Some of the teachers bleated while the others gloated. But at the end of the day, none of them had any hope for the Military Academy's first batch of students. There wasn't even a genius out of the group, let alone a slightly exceptional student.

Like the teachers, Chi Qiaosong was also worried.

After wandering around the dormitories of the Military Academy, he became speechless, having realized that no one was even close to a breakthrough. He decided not to keep it a secret anymore after some contemplation.

So be it if he were to stand out from the crowd. After all, it'd be better for him to hurry and learn higher-tier martial arts.

Once he made up his mind, he immediately went into the office.

Since the office was a public area, the Warrior Plane teachers would spend time sipping teas, chatting, or resting. He would come to this place when he requested for absence. So he was pretty familiar with the layout.

"Oh, Chi Qiaosong. Are you here to request for absence again?" Kong Hongcai opened the drawer to get the pen for signature.

"No, I'm not gonna request for absence today."

"Hmm?"

"Mr. Kong, I've made it to Wrestler Plane already."

Upon hearing that, all the teachers from the surrounding tables immediately turned in his direction.

With all eyes on him, Chi Qiaosong remained calm as usual since their reaction was within his expectation. "I came across a black bear on the mountain yesterday. After killing it, I've noticed signs and symptoms of visible strength in me."

Surprised, Kong Hongcai instantly stretched his hand and uttered, "Alright. Throw a punch at me."

"Be careful, Mr. Kong!"

Exerting all his strength, Chi Qiaosong went all out with that punch. With visible strength, the punch hit right in Kong Hongcai's palm.

Pow!

Kong Hongcai received the punch firmly and felt its power, so he was no longer in doubt. Immediately, he burst into laughter and commented, "You've done well, Chi Qiaosong! You didn't disappoint me! As you've said, you can use visible strength and have reached Wrestler Plane now!"

Immediately after, he turned toward the other teachers, clasped his hands, and declared, "Oops. I'm sorry, everyone. It seems like my student is coming out on top this time."

Xu Jingyang sat at a table a little further and was stunned. After the information finally registered in his mind, he teased, "Mr. Kong, I think you might have to thank me for that."

"What should I thank you for?" Kong Hongcai was confused by the statement.

Xu Jingyang chuckled, "I've taught Chi Qiaosong the Yu Sword Skill before. The Yu Sword Skill focuses on the meditation of external and internal martial arts. At this point, I guess I don't have to elaborate on its effects anymore, right?"

The Military Academy did not prohibit the students from learning other martial arts.

Kong Hongcai knew Chi Qiaosong had learned the Yu Sword Skill from Xu Jingyang for a few days after sending the latter gifts.

Without hesitation, he slighted, "The Yu Sword Skill is a soft-style martial art. What use does it have? There is no one other than you who treats it like a treasure. The martial arts that Chi Qiaosong learned from me, Crazed Bull Heavy Fist and 12 Paths Spring Kick, are the real deal."

No matter what, he was still Chi Qiaosong's homeroom teacher.

Chi Qiaosong's breakthrough would definitely make him feel proud.

Twisting his head to glance at Chi Qiaosong, he said gently, "You should go back first. Reaching the Wrestler Plane is just a new beginning. I'll arrange your future training regimes later on."