Chapter 9: Omen

Chapter 9: Omen

Ning Xuan’s train of thought had finally opened up.

As long as he summoned the Heavenly Demon Record and performed training that he would normally be completely incapable of, he could become stronger.

The training aimed at "Physique 3.9 Ning Xuan" would also apply to "Physique 1.4 Ning Xuan."

But what should he train?

He had already finished practicing the *Swallow Chasing Wind Blade*.

From Master Zhang, he knew that "Jianghu martial arts" had a great deal of overlapping territory.

It wasn't as if you could just practice the *Swallow Chasing Wind Blade* and then go on to practice a set of fist techniques, palm techniques, and sword techniques to make yourself several times stronger.

Although Master Zhang himself had not reached that realm, he understood the ins and outs of the Jianghu very clearly.

He had told Ning Xuan a few truths.

"A person's physique is seven parts training and three parts nourishment; too much is as bad as too little. In reality, the difference in physique between every person in the Jianghu is not that great. It’s not the case that if you practice my *Swallow Chasing Wind Blade* and then go practice another technique, your physique will become stronger."

"That doesn't exist."

"In that situation, it’s more likely that you’ll just distract yourself, causing you to regress instead of progress."

"Therefore, in the Jianghu, everyone fights over moves, using moves to decide victory or defeat, life or death."

"Even if you have mastered the 'Swallow Returns Three Blades' of the *Swallow Chasing Wind Blade* and become a leader in the Jianghu, looking at the long river of Jianghu history, you have only just entered the door; you have only just stepped into the first realm."

"This realm is the 'Realm of Moves'."

Ning Xuan asked, "Then is the next realm the 'Realm of No Moves'?"

Master Zhang said, "Yes, and no."

After a pause, he continued, "To reach the Realm of No Moves, you must first break moves—break every move in the world."

"The various moves in the world cover all kinds of attack methods and hide all kinds of lethal follow-ups."

"Only by fighting and killing against masters in these areas, and breaking all their moves, will you get closer and closer to the Realm of No Moves."

"But different moves are different in the hands of different people."

"For those who haven't mastered them, you only need speed to break them. That is why there has always been a saying in the Jianghu: 'Of all the martial arts in the world, only speed cannot be broken.'"

"But what if both sides are fast?"

"That is when you truly reach the realm of breaking moves; that is when you can truly improve."

Ning Xuan had originally wanted to ask, "What if a beast has thick skin and flesh, is impervious to blades, but also knows martial arts?" But Master Zhang had actually already given him the answer.

"Impervious to blades" and "only speed cannot be broken" both actually speak of a top-down suppression, but how can you use someone weaker than you as a reference for your own cultivation?

That is why there are moves.

And isn't sorcery just another kind of move?

To make your own moves stronger, learning is not enough; you must train, and you must break.

Only by breaking the moves of others can you gain insight. Afterward, even if you perform the same move, it will be much stronger than it was originally.

Ning Xuan felt that this Realm of No Moves could not be deliberately pursued.

He only understood one thing from Master Zhang: even if he went to find a new technique to practice now, it would, nine times out of ten, have no effect.

Therefore, he decided to return to the most primitive training methods: weighted long-distance running, rock climbing, squats, weightlifting, single-finger push-ups, regular push-ups, sit-ups, and the like.

As long as he could keep increasing the weight and make himself exhausted, that should mean his training was effective.

Deep in the mountains and old forests.

Ning Xuan carried a boulder the size of a small hill on his back, took a deep breath, and began his morning run. When he reached a cliff, he tossed the boulder aside, looked up at the steep mountain wall that pierced the clouds, and leaped up suddenly. His figure appeared at a height of over two zhang, his right hand’s five fingers striking down like claws.

*Pa!!*

His fingertips hooked into the rock as easily as an ordinary person would insert their fingers into soft mud.

His ferocious figure hung halfway, and with a tightening and pressing of his fingers, he ascended.

*Pa!*

His left hand’s five fingers hooked into the cliff face.

He climbed and leaped on the sheer cliff like a giant gecko.

For an ordinary person, one misstep would mean falling to the bottom of the cliff and being smashed to pieces.

But for him, this was like a long-distance run on flat ground; although it required effort, it was definitely not dangerous.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Ning Xuan climbed to the top of the cliff.

He stood on the protruding cliff, opening his arms to the rising sun.

Half a month later.

The cliff.

Under an old pine tree, a squirrel was foolishly eating a pine nut. High above, a hawk was staring at it with sharp eyes, its wings slightly tucked, its body slightly hunched, waiting to swoop down and hunt its food.

Suddenly, a terrifying aura arrived.

The squirrel dropped the pine nut and ran for its life.

The hawk no longer cared about the prey it had been watching; it spread its wings and fled in a panic.

*Pa!!*

A hand suddenly grabbed onto the protruding rock of the ten-thousand-foot cliff.

A black shadow followed, flipping up and sitting on the edge of the cliff.

At the beginning of the sunrise, the sea of clouds turned golden.

In the golden mist, Ning Xuan took a deep breath and looked into the distance.

These days of training had been very effective.

He glanced at his panel.

【Life (Physique): 1.8】

【Mountain-Crashing Bear】 (Summoning provides an additional 2.3 to the Life attribute)

"Life" had increased by a full 0.4.

This was certainly gratifying, but there was something even more interesting.

That was, as his base physique improved, his body size was normalizing.

From the zhang-tall figure after summoning the "Heavenly Demon Record," it had decreased by a full two chi. Now, he was over eight chi tall—very tall, but already within the realm of humanity.

This meant that "if his base body is weak, then after summoning the Heavenly Demon Record, he will infinitely approach the appearance of the demon within the record; but if his base body is strong enough, even if he summons the Heavenly Demon Record, his physical changes will not be too exaggerated; even if his base body surpasses the Heavenly Demon Record, his figure will not be affected at all, but will instead become denser, harboring even more terrifying explosive power."

He could completely use the Heavenly Demon Record to train himself, allowing him to break the limits of the human body step by step.

Thinking of this, Ning Xuan was full of motivation.

Training was also to improve his quality of life, so that if disaster were to strike, he would not be without the power to fight back.

Although he didn't understand why, even after nearly a month, the Ning Family Manor had not been attacked by the Mountain-Crashing Bear demon. But Ning Xuan could never forget the pain of being gnawed inch by inch by the bear demon.

That kind of pain—experiencing it once was enough.

"Continue!"

Ning Xuan rested for a moment, then shouldered the giant rock again, and like a gecko, "whoosh," he climbed up the vertical cliff face. His muscles were knotted, his veins like earthworms, and he climbed rapidly, head down and feet up.

He... began his morning exercise.

By evening, Ning Xuan changed into silk robes and reappeared at the entrance of Xinghe County.

He had long since stopped needing horses.

He ran faster than a "thousand-mile" horse.

If he were chasing someone, that person would never be able to escape, even if they were riding the fastest horse.

Therefore, the distance from "Xinghe County to the wilderness," which was originally quite long, had shortened due to his greatly increased speed.

He could run to the old mountain where the Ning Family Manor was located, thirty miles outside the county, in the time it took to burn a stick of incense, and the return trip was the same.

Today, in the sunset.

He had trained all day and felt refreshed.

His physique was more streamlined; he had transformed from a soft, pampered "pretty boy" into a vigorous and powerful youth.

His muscle lines were faintly visible, firm but not bulky, like a leopard ready to pounce. His shoulders seemed broader, his gait steady and powerful, and even his breathing carried an upbeat rhythm.

He hadn't had a proper "play" in a month.

In the past, he would have gone out to have fun long ago.

Feasting, visiting courtesans, hunting, animal fighting, horse racing, appreciating paintings, appraising jade, and looking for novelties at the wealthy merchant guilds—these were his simplest and most basic daily routines.

A fire ignited in his heart, but he quickly dismissed the idea, thinking to himself: 'I'll wait until I'm done training before I go out to play. I can still improve.'

He would not stop.

He had to improve himself as much as possible until he reached a point where he "could not improve any further," and only then would he feel at ease to slack off.

At this moment, in the sunset, the ancient streets of Xinghe County were picturesque, lined with shops, presenting a scene of ancient prosperity.

Master Ning was not only famous but also a well-known philanthropist throughout the region.

Xinghe County, and even the neighboring prefectural city, could be said to be prosperous because of Master Ning.

But what exactly Master Ning did, no one knew.

Everyone only knew that those who came to perform charity said that Master Ning had sent them.

Master Ning really had a lot of face.

Everyone who saw Young Master Ning also wore a friendly smile.

Usually, it was always like this.

But today was a little different.

On the street, there was wind.

The wind was cold.

Dust was swept up, and the canvas awnings rattled.

In the sunset, there was red.

A gray-tinged red.

In the wind, under the sunset, the people walking by were in a hurry, their faces showing a strange panic. Even when they saw Young Master Ning appear at the county gate from afar, they were too preoccupied to show a smile.

On the side of the street, a carriage was parked quietly.

But when Ning Xuan appeared, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and a petite maid rushed out from inside. As if she had survived a disaster, she grabbed Ning Xuan's hand and cried, "Young Master, it's so good that you're alright, so good, so good, wuwuwu."

She repeated this sentence over and over.

She was the only one the Young Master had told about going out.

And to avoid worrying the mistress of the Ning household, she had covered for him.

If something had happened to the Young Master, she would have been finished.

Today, something had happened in the county.

She hadn't even dared to stay in the manor, but had hurriedly driven the carriage to wait at the county gate.

Ning Xuan scanned the surroundings, then looked at the extremely nervous Xiao Jie, and said, "Talk in the carriage."

Xiao Jie nodded.

Then, as soon as Ning Xuan got into the carriage, he saw a sturdy bundle on the seat. He picked it up and weighed it.

Good heavens, there were plenty of clothes, and gold and silver jewelry as well.

Opening it slightly, he even saw silver banknotes inside.

It seemed that something had really happened in the county. Xiao Jie had already prepared for his death, ready to run away overnight if she couldn't wait for him.

Ning Xuan felt no ripples in his heart. He tightened the bundle, tossed it aside, and didn't care, didn't ask, and didn't take it to heart.

He knew what kind of person Xiao Jie was.

It was not surprising.

(End of chapter)