Chapter 20: Becoming a Master of Internal Martial Arts, The Classification of Martial Arts
"Have you heard? Su Wei, the head of the Su family, passed away today!"
"I just heard too! The city lord ordered the entire Mengxi City to be dressed in white to mourn the Su family head!"
"Power and influence really do bring a lot of attention. Even death causes a city-wide uproar!"
"You don't know anything! The Su family has produced a cultivator. If the city lord doesn't react, what if the Su family retaliates?"
Listening to the conversation around him, Zhao Datou's eyes widened, tears welling up.
The knot in his heart that had troubled him for decades was finally untied at this moment.
After a long while, Zhao Datou finally emerged from his emotional turmoil. He turned to look at Xu Ning, his gaze full of inquiry.
He was asking Xu Ning if he wasn't going to dig up the grave.
With so many people around, Xu Ning didn't answer, remaining silent.
Only when no one was around did Xu Ning speak. "Old man, I know you're anxious! My point of view might be hard for you to accept, but I still need to remind you."
"Do you think you can rest easy knowing Su Wei has so many enemies? He's just gone like that?"
His actions were so domineering. He'd undoubtedly made many enemies. It's obvious even to a fool.
Those enemies were definitely waiting for him to die so they could wipe out the Su family.
Zhao Datou's eyes widened in surprise, but he was still unwilling to give up. "What good is it if I can't rest easy? He's about to die, what can he do?"
Xu Ning suddenly spoke. "What if he faked his death?"
Zhao Datou froze, disbelief flashing in his eyes, and he fell into a daze.
That's right! Putting himself in Su Wei's shoes, to ensure the Su family's safety after his death, he could fake his death to lure his enemies to his door, eliminate some major threats, and secure a future for the Su family.
Just thinking about it sent chills down Zhao Datou's spine.
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced. Luckily, Xu Ning had thought of the key point. Otherwise, impulsively digging up the other person's grave would have made him the first enemy to be dealt with.
He wouldn't even know how he died.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Datou couldn't help but speak up. "How cowardly are you to think the other party would use such a method?"
Xu Ning wanted to retort, "Can an immortal being called cowardly? That's called being cautious, don't you understand?"
Besides, he had watched too many novels and TV shows in his past life. Many plot points were plausible. As long as he maintained a cautious attitude, he could naturally figure it out.
Of course, Xu Ning's speculation might be wrong, but he couldn't risk his life to test it. Anyway, he had plenty of time. He could observe slowly and find out later.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled. Only by being mediocre and indistinguishable from the crowd, unknown to anyone, can one avoid becoming a target!"
As he said this, Xu Ning thought of many things.
Was it easy for him to make money? It would definitely be easy. He possessed many crafts from his past life that were far beyond this era, each one capable of earning him a fortune.
Furthermore, he could upgrade items, which would then fetch even higher prices.
However, he dared not attempt any of these upgrades, precisely because he didn't want to appear too dazzling. This was also why he would immediately flee after gaining some fame in a certain place.
Zhao Datou, somewhat surprised, couldn't help but laugh. "Where did you learn all this, kid? This is not something someone your age should understand!"
Xu Ning replied, "Because I value my life, I understand this."
For the next month, the master and disciple traveled without stopping, finally finding a village near a deep mountain forest. They bought a grove of trees and a thatched hut to settle down.
This place was called Yunshan Village.
Xu Ning had his own reasons for choosing this location.
First, he feared Su Qiurou might look for him. Being here would be much more discreet and less likely to be discovered.
Second, it would be convenient to upgrade items here. For one thing, they had run out of charcoal long ago, and Xu Ning needed to cultivate trees to burn some for future use.
Xu Ning had earned about thirty taels of silver selling fried tofu over the past two years. He decided that once he settled down, he would buy pig iron in batches to upgrade his iron pots and kitchen knives.
The reason for buying in batches was, of course, to avoid attracting attention.
After all, what would others think of buying so much pig iron at once? Was he going to manufacture weapons for a rebellion?
After taking out the legendary mortal-level thatched hut and integrating it into the hut, Xu Ning immediately carried a bucket of manure and his belongings to the forest he had contracted.
Unfortunately, he couldn't bring over the manure he had accumulated outside Mengxi City over the past two years. Otherwise, he could have directly created countless top-grade mortal-level trees.
The forest Xu Ning chose was in a very secluded location in the mountains of Yunshan Village, requiring him to cross a mountain to reach it.
Having practiced martial arts for many years, Xu Ning traversed such mountain paths with ease, reaching his destination in half an hour.
Upon arrival, Xu Ning didn't even bother to rest, immediately pouring the fertilizer from the manure bucket under a large tree in the center.
Then he began clearing away the weeds and stunted saplings nearby.
Life returned to normal, and six months passed in the blink of an eye.
After days of relentless practice, Xu Ning, who was practicing martial arts today, suddenly experienced a series of crackling sounds. This time, the sounds were even louder than before.
That's right, Xu Ning had broken through. All three of his martial arts techniques had reached the second level.
At the same time, Xu Ning felt a strange warm current appear within his body—this was internal energy.
Zhao Datou often explained some basic martial arts knowledge to Xu Ning. Before, those who hadn't cultivated internal energy were called external martial artists, or simply external masters.
However, in the martial arts world, these external masters were considered laymen, martial arts novices.
Only by cultivating internal energy could one become a more powerful internal master.
Internal masters were further divided into three levels: Acquired, Innate, and Grandmaster.
Xu Ning was currently an Acquired internal master, but reaching the Innate level would be quite difficult.
After all, even Zhao Datou at his peak was only at the Acquired level, not yet at the Innate level.
In Zhao Datou's words, if Xu Ning wanted to reach the Innate Realm, he needed to cultivate one of his techniques to the sixth level, which would naturally lead to his Innate Realm attainment.
Xu Ning understood that Zhao Datou most likely wouldn't live to see that day. According to his estimation, even with the aid of a legendary mortal-level hut, it would take five years to reach the third level.
The fourth level would take ten years, and the fifth level twenty years.
The most difficult part was breaking through to the sixth level, which was uncertain, as it was a watershed moment.
Zhao Datou had mentioned that most Acquired Realm martial artists were trapped here, never managing to break through in their entire lives.
Xu Ning's breakthrough naturally alerted Zhao Datou, who was always watching him. Zhao Datou pushed open the door and walked in, his face full of excitement. "Xu boy, you've broken through?"
Xu Ning nodded. "Master, the second level."
Zhao Datou said, "Good, good, good. You've become an inner master. Seeing you become an inner master, I have no regrets."
Xu Ning looked at Zhao Datou, his heart filled with complex emotions. Xu Ning knew that his days were probably numbered.