Chapter 245 Part 1

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Chapter 245 Part 1: One Life in the Dream (1)

Many years ago, when Qiao Mu was still in Yan City, he had heard Qiao Canxue talk about the glorious history of Heyang City’s Qiao Family Long Life Fist.

It was said that this martial art could keep a person young and strong even when they were old. There was a legendary master over a hundred years old who stayed youthful and strong, so much so that the Great Yan Emperor invited him to the palace, causing quite a stir.

The effect of "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" is unique – Qiao Mu looks old with loose skin and many wrinkles, appearing very old, but his energy can still slowly rise.

If time is like a never-ending river, then "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" goes against the flow, moving slowly but still progressing.

On the other hand, "Long Life Fist Sutra" merges with the flow like water, maintaining energy and vitality, showing no obvious signs of aging until the martial artist reaches their limit, at which point aging becomes visible.

"What happens if both are practiced together?"

Qiao Mu had a thought, and suddenly a copy of "Long Life Fist Sutra" appeared in his hand.

He had just fallen asleep, feeling well, temporarily setting aside the dreams of eighty years, and focusing on the "Long Life Fist Sutra" in front of him.

His attention was on the pages, spending half a day reading.

In half a day, he finished reading the entire Spiritual Refining Chapter, deeply absorbing its contents.

At this moment, he suddenly realized something.

"Why do I feel so immersed that half a day has passed in the blink of an eye?"

He had experienced lucid dreams before, but those two times only lasted a total of 5 years, and the Death Assessment was at a C level.

According to his deduction….the higher the Death Assessment, the longer the dream lasts, which means he will enter deeper dream levels, causing time in the dream to pass slower compared to the outside world….

In the past, high-quality deaths not only meant the body aging more years, but also indicated higher time efficiency.

During C level, he could focus on practicing two or three martial arts within a few years at most.

Whereas with high-quality deaths at A and S levels, one could practice seven or eight different types of martial arts in a few decades simultaneously, earning the title of time management master.

This time, Qiao Mu entered the 2nd rank and achieved A-level death for the first time after realizing he was in a dream.

He quickly noticed something unusual.

"In the deep dreams of A-level, is it easier than before to immerse oneself in practicing martial arts and reading? Is this what is called time management?"

To confirm his idea, Qiao Mu tried practicing Long Life Fist in his dream.

Meanwhile, the dream world scenes changed at will, with the sun rising in the east.

When Qiao Mu came back to his senses again, he looked up and saw the moon and stars shining brightly, indicating that it was already deep into the night.

"It is indeed true," Qiao Mu realized.

Both Buddhism and Daoism have the concepts of entering tranquility and meditation, and in the modern era, there is a similar concept known as ‘flow state’.

Flow state refers to a highly focused state where a person is completely immersed in what they are doing, temporarily forgetting about external disturbances, and even losing track of time.

"If that’s the case, then spending eighty years in this A-level realm might be more effective than practicing for two hundred years in the outside world," Qiao Mu pondered.

This thought crossed Qiao Mu’s mind.

Despite being highly focused, the length of time he experienced would not change at all – eighty years would still be eighty years, with not a single second reduced.

He forcefully set aside the issue and continued to focus on practicing the "Long Life Fist Sutra" Spiritual Refining Chapter.

At the age of 215, Qiao Mu’s experience in martial arts was far beyond that of an ordinary martial artist. He had mastered several martial arts practices and reached a high level of proficiency.

Despite being of average talent, 215-year-old Qiao Mu was highly respected in the world of martial arts due to his experience and insight. He had already perfected the practice of the Long Life Fist.

Now, as he read through the second half of the Spiritual Refining Chapter, it all came naturally to him without any obstacles.

Within a couple of days, he had already grasped the basics of the Spiritual Refining Chapter. However, during his intense training under the morning sun, he suddenly coughed up blood and lost his focus.

His body trembled uncontrollably as an invisible but powerful internal strength surged through him, causing his blood to rush and his blood vessels to burst, leading to bleeding from his pores.

His upper body felt like it was on fire while his lower body went numb and cold, almost losing sensation in his legs. It was clear that something was seriously wrong inside Qiao Mu’s body.

Qiao Mu was familiar with this phenomenon – it was called deviating from the correct path in practice, commonly known as "going astray."

The "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" was originally created by Hai Wuya and was incomplete. Qiao Mu had improved and perfected the technique through his own insights.

When Qiao Mu practiced the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" and the Long Life Fist separately, he didn’t notice any obvious conflicts in their techniques. But when he started practicing the Spiritual Refining Chapter, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

"It’s like trying to have your cake and eat it too… These are two completely different ‘ageless’ martial arts techniques headed in opposite directions. They definitely clash. It’s hard to practice both."

If Qiao Mu were just a regular martial artist, he would probably give up at this point.

Only just beginning the Spiritual Refining Chapter, and already getting into trouble. Even though he didn’t die, the damage inside his body was clear. How could he continue practicing like this?

"But a grown-up doesn’t make choices… I want it all!"

If he gets into trouble with his practice, then let’s deal with it when the time comes.

In his dreams, he couldn’t die. He had tried before, even after attempting suicide countless times, he couldn’t leave that dream. So Qiao Mu could push himself as hard as he wanted. Even if he got injured from practicing, he would be back to normal in the next moment.

With a single thought, Qiao Mu’s mind sank into the Ouroboros Long Life Lock, and a message appeared.

Energy: 20%

"Did it really increase by one percent?" Qiao Mu wondered.

Now that the current Long Life Fist Spiritual Refining Chapter can truly help him increase his energy and blood flow, it shows that this path should be feasible, albeit with risks of going astray or experiencing paralysis.

Sprinkle some water.

Qiao Mu tried to stand up by placing his hands on the ground, but at that moment his feet felt numb and temporarily lost sensation, making it difficult for him to stand up.

"So troublesome…" he pointed to his temple, pierced through it, blood dripping.

The next moment his injuries had healed, and he stood back up in full condition.

He looked at the Long Life Fist Sutra in his hand, continuing to mutter to himself:

"In theory, there are two possible ways to practice simultaneously, but it’s only theoretically possible…"

"But even if there’s only a one in a thousand chance of success, I will keep trying until I find theoretical solution."

Qiao Mu’s time is very long in the dream, and he will not die in the dream, so he can try his best to create and practice the techniques.

"In order for both techniques to be compatible for practice, Hai Wuya’s "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" may need a major revision…" Qiao Mu mumbled to himself.

"No, it’s not a major revision. Because this "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" is originally a rough draft and not perfect."

"This is not a major revision, it’s called making it better."

With a single thought, the surroundings changed again.

At this moment, Qiao Mu was inside the military arsenal in the solitary city in the desert.

The arsenal of the former white-headed soldier stored many martial arts skills from top soldiers of the army forty years ago. Before the old man of the arsenal sent Qiao Mu to the Imperial Capital, he gave him all the martial arts books from the arsenal in a storage bag.

Qiao Mu quickly scanned through the books and remembered everything with his powerful memory at the 2nd rank of Spiritual Refining Period, now appearing in his dream.

In the arsenal of the solitary city, there were many martial arts skills, but the most advanced ones included nine Spiritual Refining Techniques, such as Li Changge’s "Military Martial Arts Classic".

These martial arts techniques are no match for the Wudang’s ultimate skill, the "Pure Yang Wuji Skill". So when they fell into Qiao Mu’s hands, they were simply placed at the bottom of a box as part of his collection.

However, now in his dream, he felt a strong urge to carefully explore and study them to broaden his knowledge.

The Martial Saint collected martial arts from all over the world, just as Hai Wuya needed to immerse himself in a wide range of books even while in prison. The martial arts of their predecessors, regardless of their complexity or simplicity, served as the foundation for their own cultivation techniques.

And now, Qiao Mu was about to do the same thing.

"Hai Wuya spent thirty years studying in the heavenly prison and created the ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra’."

"And now, I have eighty years…"

Hai Wuya had to be very cautious in deducing his techniques, as he had to stay alive and avoid being consumed by evil spirits. Therefore, his approach was very conservative, like feeling his way across a river one step at a time.

In contrast, Qiao Mu was different; he could simply jump into the river in front of him.

If he drowned, it meant the water was too deep, and he had gone astray in his training.

After being revived, he changed his position and jumped into the river again, until he found a shallow area, slowly moving further into the river until he reached the other side!

………………….

Two days later, Qiao Mu practiced martial arts excessively and his arms’ veins were severed, blood flowing heavily.

After refreshing through suicide, Qiao Mu looked at the books in his hands and thought carefully for half a day:

"It’s okay if this path doesn’t work out; every mistake is a lesson for the future."

"I will make use of it next time!"

Half a day later, Qiao Mu confidently practiced martial arts again. This time, his arms were fine, but his body temperature was imbalanced, feeling like he was burning up. His body was in chaos, so he had to once again open his mind and put an end to his wicked life.

Three days later, Qiao Mu’s head exploded, red and white liquid spilled all over the ground, this was the first time he fell into a state of instant death due to demonic possession.

But the next moment he fully recovered, propping his head with one hand and sinking into contemplation.

Thanks to being deeply focused in a dream, he immersed himself in practicing martial arts, temporarily forgetting about the passing of time.

In the first year, every other day he would struggle with inner demons, getting severely injured or killed, only to revive and start over from scratch each time.

Over the course of a year, he died hundreds of times due to the inner demon struggles.

Even though he could revive endlessly, Qiao Mu started feeling restless after dying so many times.

With a thought, the figure of King Qin holding a long knife appeared before him.

"Let’s start by beating up King Qin to relieve stress."

"It’s all your fault that I died." Qiao Mu punched King Qin in the face, turning him into a swollen mess.

In reality, this was not the real King Qin, but a figment of Qiao Mu’s imagination, so his strength didn’t match the real King Qin and could be altered at will by Qiao Mu in the dream.

After beating up the imaginary King Qin for half an hour, Qiao Mu felt relieved and started contemplating on how to combine two different martial arts techniques.

In his dreams, Qiao Mu lived a very dull life, with time swiftly passing by as he practiced, studied, and analyzed techniques.

Life in his dreams was like a circle, a series of ellipses, monotonous and repetitive.

………………..

"I’ve been in school for many years, but I still don’t love my job."

"I’ve been training in martial arts for two hundred years, and I still find it a boring and challenging process…"

Qiao Mu talked to himself in front of the mirror.

Ordinary people practice martial arts, enduring the cold of winter training and the heat of summer practice, with years of sweat and effort, who would see this as enjoyable?

He certainly didn’t.

"Wearing three layers of clothing in summer, thirty-nine layers in winter, that’s what I call enjoyment." Qiao Mu muttered to himself in front of the mirror.

The person in the mirror looks much older now, with deep wrinkles on their forehead and between their eyebrows.

Ten years have passed since he fell asleep, and during this time he developed a habit of talking to himself.

His mind sank into the Long Life Lock, and a message appeared.

Current age: 225 years old

Energy: 15%

In these ten years, he not only practiced martial arts, but also studied the Xumi Mountain King Sutra. Sometimes, he would also practice the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps and other martial arts for variety.

As a result, his body is still strong, his energy has not declined, but the proportion has decreased.

However, he has yet to find the balance between the two martial arts techniques he imagined. This makes him restless, and not even beating King Qin a hundred times can calm his emotions.

Twenty years.

Thirty years passed.

Every year, Qiao Mu in his dreams would go crazy and commit suicide hundreds of times.

By the thirtieth year, Qiao Mu in his dreams had died tens of thousands of times.

This meant that on the path of exploring the ways of practicing both the "Long Life Fist Sutra" and the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra," ten thousand Qiao Mus, ten thousand martial arts masters with two hundred years of experience, failed in deducing the techniques and died.

Also, in that same year.

Qiao Mu, who was meditating with closed eyes, opened his eyes once again. He repeatedly opened and closed his eyes, checking his inner and outer conditions, before reaching a conclusion.

"Is it done? Have I succeeded this time without going crazy and smoothly?"

There was no ecstatic joy.

Only a sense of relief.

Joy had faded away during the long and dull years, and now Qiao Mu didn’t feel any anger when he saw King Qin’s face.

Finally achieving the goal, Qiao Mu felt content in his heart.

Focusing on the Long Life Lock, a message appeared.

Lifespan consumed by death: 80 (16*5) years (50 years remaining).

Current age: 245 years old.

Vitality: 10%.

"Only 10% of vitality left? No, this number means something else."

Qiao Mu stood up, his fists clenched.

"The meaning of this number is… when my vitality returns to its peak of youth, I will be ten times stronger than now!"

With a thought, a long table, a stack of white paper, and a brush appeared in front of him.

Qiao Mu’s hand swiftly wrote row after row of characters.

The stack of white paper turned pages automatically in the dream, eventually forming a half-bound book.

After thirty years of major changes, the current martial arts technique had significant differences compared to both the "Long Life Fist Sutra" and the "Xumi Mountain King Sutra."

However, it was only half of the complete book.

This new martial arts technique, like Hai Wuya’s "Xumi Mountain King Sutra," only had the initial layers, and further developments had to be explored.

"The technique is developed, now what should we call it?"

Qiao Mu’s brush lingered on the cover of the book for a while before writing down a few bold characters.

"Human Path Sutra"

This martial art technique is not some exceptional skill that requires extraordinary talent to practice. Qiao Mu himself is not a prodigy.

His ability to practice it means that even ordinary martial artists can follow his path and practice it too.

This is a tree grown by the lives of ten thousand ordinary martial artists, a tree of martial arts belonging to ordinary people.

So, naming it after Hai Wuya’s cherished "Human Path Sutra" is also very fitting.

Of course… this "Human Path Sutra" is only half complete, still only a prototype, and probably not meeting Hai Wuya’s vision of perfection.

However, this doesn’t stop Qiao Mu from claiming the name.

Writing these words, Qiao Mu finally feels a faint sense of joy.

It seems like thirty years, but if shown to the outside world, it might take three hundred years to deduce.

After all, even if all the martial artists in Jiu Province for three hundred years were combined, it would still not be possible to have ten thousand martial artists with two hundred years of experience.

"The Human Path Scripture is complete, so what’s next?" Qiao Mu thought about it, the slight joy fading away.

"There are still fifty years ahead, not even halfway through yet."

In the first thirty years, he focused all his energy on deducing the Human Path Scripture.

Now that the martial arts technique is complete, his motivation diminished and he lost his drive.

"Fifty more years, how should I spend them?" he mumbled to himself.

He looked up at the sky, the vast, cloudless expanse reminding him of his dreams with only the sun shining brightly.

Achieving his goal in thirty years, mastering the divine technique, now all he desired was the impulse to conquer all upon waking from his dreams.

The following fifty years ahead seemed like they would be much harder to endure than the first thirty.

…………………..