Chapter 11: Practicing Martial Arts is Truly Simple

An incense stick of time later.

Daoist Longshan left with a complex mood.

It was a mixture of joy and frustration.

The joy came from the fact that his disciple was indeed a natural martial talent; no matter what he explained, the boy could grasp it instantly, draw inferences, and even offer insights that he himself had never considered.

To be able to take such a prodigy under his wing was naturally a joyous occasion.

And the frustration stemmed from the same reason.

When a disciple is too monstrous, the master’s pressure doubles. In just a short while, he felt as if he were being hollowed out.

If this continued, what if the boy asked a question he couldn't solve? Wouldn't he lose all his dignity?

With this thought in mind.

Daoist Longshan immediately found an excuse to leave.

"Master, you haven't taught me the other stake exercises yet?" Ning Qi clearly felt unsatisfied. What Daoist Longshan didn't know was that Ning Qi had already been holding back significantly; otherwise, it would have been even more shocking.

If anyone else had said this, Daoist Longshan would have scolded them for being "greedy and unable to digest."

But at this moment, hearing the voice of his little disciple from behind, his scalp went numb.

Teach more?

If he kept teaching, his Dao heart would shatter!

"Let your senior brother and sister teach you."

Leaving these words behind, Daoist Longshan’s figure instantly vanished into the distance.

Watching his master’s slightly hurried back, Ning Qi shook his head helplessly.

"Am I that scary..."

He seemed to have underestimated the impact of a prodigy. Although he had shown immense intelligence and wit over the past three years, this was the first time he had revealed such comprehension in the martial path. He should have held back a little more.

Then, a smile appeared on his face, and he looked at Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi beside him with a naive expression

"Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother..."

The two of them shuddered in unison, looking at each other and speaking at the same time.

"You go first?"

"You are the Senior Brother, you go first."

"Nonsense, you are younger than me, you should go first."

"Bullshit, Master went first just now. Are you saying you're older than Master?"

Watching his two senior brothers arguing until their faces were red, Ning Qi helplessly covered his forehead

"Stop arguing, let's do it together!"

Luo Wentian and the other looked at each other in dismay.

"Can you handle it?"

"I can, I can keep up."

Ning Qi’s eyes sparkled; he didn't want to waste time here.

After his initial contact with the martial path, especially since his Bi'an Stake had reached a profound level, he already had many insights into martial arts.

"Then... shall we try?"

After their initial confusion, the two began to demonstrate and explain simultaneously.

An incense stick of time later.

The two of them watched Ning Qi’s departing back, beginning to doubt their own lives.

"Was that the Qiuniu Stake you taught just now?"

"Nonsense, wasn't that the Baxia Stake you were explaining?"

"So... the Little Junior Brother learned both at once?"

"It seems he didn't learn them slowly, either."

The two looked at each other, both seeing the hurt in the other's eyes. Fellow sufferers, they wanted to hug each other and cry.

This wasn't just "not slow"!

It was god-like speed.

Compared to Ning Qi, they felt that all their years of practicing stake exercises had been for nothing!

"The Little Junior Brother is simply not human!"

Luo Wentian sighed, his face full of a bitter smile.

Xiong Shi felt the same.

In front of such a monster, it was truly unbearable. They finally understood the looks those with ordinary aptitude gave them.

"However, it's a good thing."

Although they had been dealt a blow, they felt more relief than anything else.

...

Ning Qi walked away with a spring in his step.

He had gained a lot today.

Master had taught him the Bi'an Stake, his Senior Brother had taught him his main practice, the Qiuniu Stake, and his Second Senior Brother had taught him the Baxia Stake.

He had already obtained three of the Nine True Martial Stakes.

"Six left: Chaofeng, Pulao, Fuxi, Chiwen, Suanni, and Yazi."

"Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother are really something, insisting on only teaching me their main stakes, saying they aren't proficient in the others and are afraid of leading me astray."

Ning Qi shook his head and laughed.

He thought that was one reason, but he suspected they also didn't want to be crushed by him anymore, or perhaps they wanted the other senior brothers and sisters to have a "sense of participation"—in short, to let them experience the same feeling of being left in the dust.

Ning Qi could only shrug at this.

He couldn't help it; he had tried his best to hold back.

But he couldn't pretend to be an ordinary person when he had such peerless comprehension. He didn't have that hobby, and there was no need to do so in front of his closest people.

"Next, I will practice while learning the other stake exercises."

Ning Qi made his decision.

Merely practicing the Bi'an Stake could not satisfy him. Although it was a superior exercise, Ning Qi wanted to create a method more suitable for himself, which would allow for faster body tempering and a stronger foundation.

In the past, having never touched the martial path, going from zero to one would have taken a lot of time. But now, going from one to many was much simpler.

In fact.

While learning the three stake exercises just now, Ning Qi had already had many flashes of inspiration.

And he had discovered something else.

"Although these three stake exercises each have their own advantages, there seems to be some commonality between them?"

Ning Qi became interested.

He recalled Daoist Longshan’s boast that the Nine Sons of True Martial could fight a Martial Saint, and he felt that this commonality might be the key.

Back at his residence.

With no one to disturb him, Ning Qi could finally go all out.

He started with the Bi'an Stake.

His eyes changed almost instantly. Before he even moved, there was already a fierce, majestic aura about him, as if he were a young Bi'an wearing human skin.

If Daoist Longshan saw this, he would surely call him a monster.

The Divine Intent of Bi'an!

And that wasn't all.

Ning Qi practiced the stake exercise over and over. Inside the small courtyard, it sounded like a mythical beast roaring. He had already reached the realm of Perfected Divine Intent, the highest level the Bi'an Stake could achieve.

It was fortunate that the residences of the true disciples were far apart and that outer and inner disciples were not allowed to approach, otherwise, it would have surely caused a commotion.

Ning Qi felt better the more he practiced. His sweat evaporated, his skin turned red, and his skin rippled like bubbles, as if a mouse were scurrying beneath it.

One could see how intense the effect on skin-tempering was.

The eight realms of body tempering were each difficult to achieve.

For example, the Skin-Tempering Realm was divided into Ox Skin, Stone Skin, Iron Skin, and Jade Skin.

Some people with ordinary aptitude might waste several years just in the Skin-Tempering Realm, or even get stuck at a minor stage without making any progress.

But Ning Qi felt.

It might not take him more than a few days to reach the Ox Skin realm.

"Practicing martial arts... seems quite simple. It's not as hard as Third Senior Sister said, is it?"

Ning Qi thought.

If Ye Qinghe knew what Ning Qi was thinking, she would probably be speechless.

Who on earth can practice a superior stake exercise to its highest realm the moment they step onto the martial path?

The higher the level of the stake exercise, the better the tempering effect.

Starting at full power right from the beginning—who could keep up with that?

Ning Qi naturally didn't know this.

Tiring of the Bi'an Stake, he switched to the Qiuniu Stake.

Before long.

The Divine Intent of Qiuniu was added, and then it, too, was perfected.

Then came the Baxia Stake.

Ning Qi carefully experienced the unique characteristics of the three stake exercises.

It wasn't until his body felt a stinging pain that Ning Qi stopped practicing and decisively took a medicinal bath.

Lying in the tub, Ning Qi touched his skin, which had become much tougher, feeling incredibly happy.

"The martial path is simpler than I imagined."

The road of martial arts was opening up to him. When he eventually reached the Heaven-Man realm or even became a Martial Saint, he would have a long lifespan and naturally more time to pursue the path of immortality.

As for revenge, once his strength was sufficient, it would be an easy matter.