Chapter 145
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Chapter 145: The Fifth Layer Stronger Than the Ancestor
Dong Xinglin is a renowned doctor in the Imperial Capital. Although he has also practiced martial arts, the skills he demonstrates are not solely focused on combat and killing.
This is a technique called "Fragmented Virtual Finger."
"The ‘Fragmented Virtual Finger’ also includes some pressure point techniques, which can cause stagnation of one’s energy and make the body stiff and immobile. It can also be used for medical purposes… However, for a martial artist like you, this finger technique is also formidable."
"According to the Strength List of Tide Listening Building, you are ranked ninety-nine. This means your internal strength accumulation is quite profound, making you a perfect fit for the ‘Fragmented Virtual Finger.’"
"The essence of the ‘Fragmented Virtual Finger’ can only be executed by martial artists with deep internal strength. It allows one to use their finger as a sword, striking with invisible force. From this aspect, it surpasses ordinary martial arts."
Once a martial artist develops internal strength, they can release powerful energy with their fists or weapons, but they struggle to strike from a distance or harm others without physical contact.
The ‘Fragmented Virtual Finger,’ on the contrary, is a superior form of martial arts developed by martial artists with deep internal strength. It is specifically designed for striking from a distance or targeting pressure points without physical contact.
Qiao Mu is unstoppable.
Dong Xinglin immediately ordered someone to bring the secret manual of "Fragmented Virtual Finger" and let Qiao Mu read it in the inner hall, while he himself carefully pondered over the Blood Moon Chart, gradually becoming engrossed.
At that moment, Hai Wuya walked towards Qiao Mu.
When Qiao Mu was having a medical check-up earlier, Hai Wuya had already talked to Fang Yuan for a while and learned that Fang Yuan had given the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" to Qiao Mu.
Hai Wuya had no objections to this.
After all, he had created this imperfect martial art and had no intention of boasting about it.
The only thing that surprised him was that the current state of "Qiao Shuanglin" in front of him was not right.
From the appearance, Qiao Shuanglin looked even older than him, with deep wrinkles, which indicated a decline in vitality.
However, based on Qiao Shuanglin’s recent events, it was clear that his vitality was still abundant, which led Hai Wuya to have a vague guess in his mind.
"At the age of ninety, looking old on the outside but full of energy and vitality, this is clearly the goal that I have been longing for in my dreams, the ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’."
Hai Wuya felt a rush of excitement in his heart, and his steps toward Qiao Mu quickened slightly.
He spent thirty years studying in the heavenly prison and created the ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’, with two goals in mind.
One goal was to create a martial art technique that anyone can practice regardless of their talent, which means it requires a lot of effort and time.
The other goal was to try to imitate the ‘Long Life Fist Sutra’, using a different approach to ensure that martial artists still have abundant energy and vitality in their old age.
It’s important to know that a martial artist’s foundation lies in their physical energy and vitality, and internal strength comes from a strong physical body.
Only when the energy and vitality are abundant can a martial artist continue to improve and progress even in their old age.
As the founder of the technique, Hai Wuya reached the fourth level in practicing the Xumi Mountain King Sutra, allowing him to regain his vitality in his late seventies and achieve the 7th rank, experiencing a rejuvenation.
However, even so, compared to Hai Wuya’s strength in his prime at the 4th rank, his energy and vitality had still declined significantly.
And the person in front of him, Qiao Shuanglin… not only is he older than him, but he also proved his own strength just a few days ago, showing that he is not an old man in his nineties with declining vitality.
Isn’t this precisely the dream of the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra"?
Hai Wuya couldn’t help but walk up to him. The more he looked at Qiao Mu, the more he saw that Qiao Mu seemed to have reached a high level of mastery in the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra."
"Brother Qiao, I heard that just a few days ago, Fang Yuan gave you my "Xumi Mountain King Sutra."
"I see that Brother Qiao has achieved a high level of skill, even though he is old and his vitality is declining. I wonder how far you have practiced my incomplete skill?" Hai Wuya looked closely at Qiao Mu with an intense gaze.
After giving it some thought, Qiao Mu ultimately decided to tell the truth.
After all, Hai Wuya is the founder of this skill and has studied the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" in the heavenly prison for thirty years. No one understands it better than him. Qiao Mu’s level of accomplishment in this skill is unlikely to deceive Hai Wuya.
He just had some disbelief in his heart when he asked such a question.
"The fifth level," Qiao Mu honestly replied.
Hai Wuya suddenly stood up.
This sudden movement even startled Famous Doctor Dong Xinglin who was still carefully looking at the paintings.
He couldn’t help but say, "The《Xumi Mountain King Sutra》I created doesn’t prioritize talent, but rather perseverance. Therefore, the practice requires a long time and cannot be achieved instantly."
"To reach the fourth level, an ordinary person would need 16 years, while reaching the fifth level would require 32 years for an ordinary person."
"Even though a talented martial artist can progress faster in their training, Brother Qiao just got hold of this《Xumi Mountain King Sutra》less than half a month ago. How could he achieve the fifth level?"
This was something Hai Wuya couldn’t understand no matter how much he thought about it.
He was considered one of the early members of the Wuji Association and was acknowledged by the Martial Saint as one of the seventy-two wise men.
He was very aware of how many exceptional talents there were among the Martial Saint’s three thousand disciples.
Even Hai Wuya himself had a high aptitude in martial arts, but in his early years, he didn’t focus on cultivating his skills, viewing martial arts only as a shortcut to fame and success in government.
But… this "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" requires 32 years of hard practice for the fifth level. How is it that Qiao Shuanglin was able to master it in less than half a month, surpassing the founder of this technique?
Even for a martial arts genius, it would take 32 years of hard practice for an average person to achieve what he did in just two weeks. This progress in his training must be thousands or even tens of thousands of times faster than an ordinary person’s.
"Brother Hai, there’s something you don’t know," Qiao Mu said with a slight smile, as he prepared to make up a story.
Although he was several years older than Hai Wuya, out of respect for Hai Wuya, he still addressed him as "brother".
Hai Wuya might be able to judge the depth of his understanding of the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra," so Qiao Mu already had a plan in mind. If the two of them were to meet in the Imperial Capital, how could he explain his progress?
"Brother Hai, do you know the origins of my Qiao’s family?" Qiao Mu asked.
"Is it from the overseas Taoyuan Land?" Hai Wuya asked.
"Correct," Qiao Mu’s eyes filled with nostalgic memories.
"In this Taoyuan Land, there’s a cave with walls that are filled with intricate patterns. These patterns were all carved by the heavens themselves," Qiao Mu explained.
"When my ancestors arrived at this Taoyuan Land, they spent many years facing the wall. From this stone wall, they realized exceptional martial arts skills."
"In reality, this ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’ coincides with the ancestral martial arts passed down in the Qiao family."
"These two martial arts skills were originally very different, but through mutual verification, I managed to reach the fifth level."
"So, the fifth level of ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’ that I learned can also be considered as the fifth level of the Qiao family’s ancestral martial arts."
Hai Wuya was amazed, "Can such a coincidence really happen in this world?"
"The truth is always alike. ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’ is almost the essence of martial arts, and the top-notch martial arts naturally connect with each other," Qiao Mu smiled, with no flaws visible on his face.
Initially, Hai Wuya didn’t believe it.
However, he had to believe it, even if he didn’t want to.
This was because in just two weeks, "Qiao Shuanglin" mastered the fifth level of ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra,’ which usually takes thirty years of rigorous training. It was evidently more absurd than the coincidence between the Qiao family’s martial arts and ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra.’
The latter can be said to be a coincidence that is closely related to the principles of martial arts, while the former can be said to be too absurd, far exceeding the category of martial arts geniuses.
He tested it and discussed with Qiao Mu about the fifth level of the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" and the yet-to-be-deduced sixth level.
As a result, he found that Qiao Mu responded fluently and had indeed reached the fifth level of the martial arts technique.
Even in the yet-to-be-deduced sixth level of the martial arts technique, he showed great insight, surpassing the founder of this technique and going further in his understanding.
"It seems that this can only be true. It is a coincidence that it matches the Qiao family’s inherited martial arts, so it makes sense." Hai Wuya exclaimed in admiration.
Qiao Mu’s understanding of the sixth level of the martial arts technique had already surpassed him.
Little did he know that through Qiao Mu’s responses, a dream-like memory gradually emerged in his mind.
After turning 90 years old, Qiao Mu died multiple times in the old Fang residence due to getting lost in the process of deducing the sixth level of the martial arts technique, becoming fuel for the Human Path Sutra.
And now, within Qiao Mu’s newfound memories, during the time from age 90 to 93, he tirelessly deduced the techniques of the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra."
After three years of persistence, he deepened his understanding of the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" and finally deduced the sixth level of the technique.
"Can the Ouroboros Long Life Lock in my mind not only allow me to skip through time and accelerate my martial arts training, but also help me deduce martial arts techniques?" Qiao Mu wondered.
He noticed that every time he died, the progress of his martial arts techniques didn’t happen randomly, but changed according to his thoughts.
Before dying, Qiao Mu thought about practicing lightness skills, so after resurrecting, he would focus on practicing lightness skills for several years.
And now, Qiao Mu discovered that this thing could not only be used to practice martial arts, but also the Art of Lovemaking, and even for deducing techniques?
While Qiao Mu was contemplating, his companion Hai Wuya also had many mixed feelings.
"I am not alone in my path!" he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.
The inhuman are high and mighty, while the Great Yan Imperial Court bows and kneels, but Hai Wuya hopes that everyone will practice martial arts, and that humanity will prosper, pioneering a path that no one has taken before.
He originally thought he was a solitary pioneer, but now he knows that in this world, there is a Qiao family who walks a similar path. The two styles of martial arts converge and can validate each other…
"Maybe I underestimated the Qiao family. They might have traveled further on this road than me, and they seem even more mysterious and powerful than I imagined." This thought crossed Hai Wuya’s mind.
He had also heard Qiao Zhong bragging about the Qiao family in the heavenly prison, boasting about their countless elders with extraordinary skills, even stronger than him.
Qiao Zhong was just the weakest among the Qiao family members in Jiu Province. There were even stronger ones behind him…
Now he finally understood why the Qiao family had so many powerful elders. They had a martial arts technique similar to the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" and "Long Life Fist Sutra," which achieved the unique effect of staying forever young.
"Someday, I really hope to visit Taoyuan Land and personally see the mystical stone wall that inspired the Qiao family’s ancestors to create their martial arts technique…" exclaimed Hai Wuya.