Chapter Six: One Must Rely on Oneself

Liang Jin had barely spoken when Zhao Baogang cried out in astonishment and then clapped both hands over his mouth, afraid someone might overhear.

He darted nervous glances around him. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he lower his voice and ask, “Brother Jin, this manual, the one called the Bone-Melting Silk Palm, is it... an earth-rank secret art?”

Ever since Zhao Bao had obtained the Yin Palm, he had been studying it assiduously. The manual now in his hands was clearly far more subtle and profound than the Yin Palm.

Liang Jin nodded.

Zhao Bao froze after receiving his confirmation.

“You’re giving it... to me?”

Liang Jin nodded again.

If Zhao Bao had not brought him the Yin Palm yesterday, Liang Jin would never have obtained the Bone-Melting Silk Palm. Zhao Bao kept him in mind and shared any good thing with him. Naturally, Liang Jin would repay that kindness a hundredfold.

Zhao Bao bit his lip, his eyes reddening at once.

An earth-rank secret art might sound as though it were only one rank above a yellow-rank manual, but in truth the difference in value was like heaven and earth. For someone like him, a lowly eunuch, it was practically priceless.

There was likely no second person in the world who would ever give him such a thing.

Zhao Bao had been tossed about and uprooted since childhood, and after entering the palace he had suffered endless humiliation. To receive something so precious now, he was overwhelmed with gratitude and nearly wept with joy.

He hurriedly wiped away his tears and tucked the handwritten copy close to his body.

“Brother Jin, I—”

Before he could finish, Liang Jin cut him off.

“We’re all on the same side. There’s no need for thanks.”

“Study it well, and don’t let anyone know.”

“And reach the eighth rank as soon as possible. Only then can you truly bring out the power of this palm technique.”

Among martial artists, the gap between the ninth and eighth ranks was enormous.

Only those whose dantian and qi sea could generate inner force could truly be called martial artists.

A ninth-rank martial artist could produce a small amount of inner force, but because his control was insufficient, he could not guide it into the meridians and convert it into usable power. Once it arose, it would quickly dissipate on its own.

Thus, a ninth-rank martial artist was physically stronger than an ordinary person, but not by much.

Even if a ninth-rank martial artist used the Bone-Melting Silk Palm, it would be no different from an ordinary palm technique.

The eighth rank was the threshold at which one could formally fight with inner force.

An eighth-rank martial artist could retain a small amount of inner force without it leaking away, and could begin to unleash the effects of martial arts according to the nature of that force.

Thus, an eighth-rank martial artist could start to display the initial might of the Bone-Melting Silk Palm.

His combat strength would rise dramatically as a result.

Zhao Bao nodded hard.

“Brother Jin, then I will not thank you aloud for such a great kindness.”

“I know how I should strive from now on.”

With that, Zhao Bao departed with the handwritten copy in his possession.

Watching Zhao Bao leave, Liang Jin felt more and more that the boy had matured far earlier than his years.

He still had something even better that he had not given Zhao Bao yet.

Healing talisman water.

The special nature of his clone could also be shared by the original body.

So Liang Jin could now, using his own body, perform the talisman-water healing as well.

Martial cultivation was a slow process.

But this talisman-water healing took effect in an instant and could be said to cure all ills.

Eunuchs had far more chances to come into contact with the nobility than the imperial guards did.

If used well, this miraculous talisman water could truly launch one to great heights.

Yet precisely because its effects were so astonishing, Liang Jin had not given it to Zhao Bao.

In this imperial palace, such wondrous talisman water could bring either towering opportunity or lethal disaster.

Until Liang Jin was certain Zhao Bao could handle it, and that it would not bring trouble down on him, he would not hand it over.

He glanced at the panel.

Host: Liang Jin

Cultivation: Eighth-Rank Martial Artist

Martial Arts: Imperial Guard Long Fist, Three Layers; Coiling Dragon Staff Technique, Two Layers; Yin Palm, Not Yet Started; Great Subduing Devil Fist, Three Layers; North Overlord Six-Fusion Spear, Two Layers; Bone-Melting Silk Palm, Not Yet Started

Trait: Talisman-Water Healing

Number of External Avatars: 1

After reading it, Liang Jin sighed softly.

“My martial arts really are broad but not refined, many but not strong.”

For a martial artist, realm was the foundation; secret manuals were secondary.

Back in the day, the founding emperor of Great Qian was said to have risen from the imperial guard as well.

Yet with nothing more than the Imperial Guard Long Fist and the Coiling Dragon Staff Technique, two common and unremarkable arts, he had swept across the world undefeated.

In his hands, those plain techniques had become like divine arts at the pinnacle of greatness, turning decay into wonder.

That was what happened when inner-force cultivation reached its utmost: one returned to simplicity, no longer bound by the intricacy of forms.

Of course, the founding emperor of Great Qian had already reached the legendary first rank.

An ordinary martial artist could not be compared to him.

At lower realms, however, the superiority of martial arts and techniques still mattered greatly.

For example, if two ninth-rank martial artists were compared, the one who had trained Imperial Guard Long Fist to the ninth layer could easily defeat one who had only reached the first layer.

Nine layers meant the art had been fully mastered.

The first layer was merely the threshold of entry.

Liang Jin now knew many techniques, but most of them were only at the second or third layer.

That meant his actual combat ability was still not strong enough.

“At the very least, I need to bring one martial art to the level of full mastery. Only then will I have a better chance when facing an enemy.”

“Too bad I can’t train freely here. I can only practice when I’m off duty.”

Deep within Liang Jin, a persistent unease lingered.

Especially after that incident some time ago, when a martial expert had broken into the imperial palace at night and caused heavy casualties among the palace guards.

It had been fortunate that Liang Jin was not on duty that night. Otherwise, who knew whether the one who died would have been him.

Of course, the imperial palace had its own hidden experts in residence.

But those experts were far too valuable to be easily injured, easily risked, or easily sent to their deaths.

So when enemies had invaded recently, the palace’s hidden experts had not rushed out at once. Instead, they had first sent the imperial guards forward.

By making the guards expend their lives, they could drain the enemy’s inner force and force the intruder to reveal the structure of his martial arts.

Only after the hidden experts had seen through the enemy’s methods, and once the enemy’s inner force had been seriously depleted so victory was assured, had they struck like thunder and driven the foe back.

Viewed from the perspective of the powerful and privileged, this was, of course, perfectly understandable.

But Liang Jin did not want to be one of the bodies used to fill the gap.

He wanted to live. He had no wish to die for the sake of the nobility.

Yet as an imperial guard, he had no choice in the matter.

He could only grow stronger if he wanted to live well.

But if he practiced martial arts for private reasons while on watch in the palace, it would be extremely troublesome if he were discovered.

Especially since martial training produced a great deal of noise; it was hard to hide from prying eyes and ears.

That too left Liang Jin feeling helpless.

“The sign-in time has arrived. Let’s see what I draw today.”

Liang Jin pressed the Sign In button.

At once, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

Congratulations, host. Sign-in successful. Reward obtained: increased martial arts proficiency.

Please choose a martial art to improve its proficiency.

???

During the month since Liang Jin began signing in, most of the rewards had been increases in cultivation. This was the first time he had encountered a reward that improved martial arts proficiency.

As for which martial art to choose, that was not difficult.

Naturally, he would choose the highest-grade art.

After all, the higher the grade of a martial art, the harder it was to train.

Aside from the unsuitable Bone-Melting Silk Palm, the other two earth-rank martial arts could be improved.

After a brief moment of thought, Liang Jin chose Great Subduing Devil Fist.

Choice successful.

Congratulations, host. Great Subduing Devil Fist proficiency increased.

Since Great Subduing Devil Fist had already reached full proficiency at the third layer, it has automatically advanced to the fourth layer.

In the next instant, Liang Jin felt that his understanding of Great Subduing Devil Fist had suddenly deepened by a great deal, and his training progress had advanced by a large margin.

Even his muscle memory now contained far more about Great Subduing Devil Fist.

Liang Jin blinked, then broke into laughter.

He had been worrying himself for nothing.

With the system, sign in and level up. Was that not far easier than grinding through hard training?

But soon, Liang Jin stroked his chin and fell into thought.

“Martial arts still need to be trained. A person must rely on himself; he can’t depend on the system all day.”

“Still... I really am looking forward to seeing what good thing tomorrow’s sign-in will bring.”