Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 216: Beginning to Study Body Tempering

Back in Langya.

Some of the hidden dragons who came to attend the banquet and martial arts conference had already left, while others decided to stay a few more days in Langya for some sightseeing. Wang Zhaoling graciously accompanied everyone who came, seeing off those who decided to depart one by one. This actually caused many who previously had unfavorable opinions of him to gradually change their views, and many actually became friends with him.

But Situ Xiao remained unimpressed.

Zhao Changhe was dining and drinking in the hall of the inn. He glanced up and saw Situ Xiao and Wang Zhaoling passing by outside. Situ Xiao was saying, “No need to see me off, just stay.”

Wang Zhaoling replied, “It’s just a few steps... Anyway, why are you in such a hurry to leave Langya? Why not stay a few more days?”

Situ Xiao responded, “If I were to stay any longer, it would probably be just to spar with you a few more times. But do you have the leisure for that? With your mind full of schemes and worldly matters to attend to, while your demeanor has indeed improved and everyone praises you, I dare say that within half a year, you’ll find yourself far behind me, and you won’t even be qualified to be my sparring partner.”

Wang Zhaoling fell silent for a moment before sighing. “Everyone has their own ambitions.”

“Is that so?” Situ Xiao shook his head. “Well, I don’t know if you’ll come to regret your actions in the future, but for now, although I do not dislike you, we are not on the same path. Farewell, I still have more important matters to attend—”

Suddenly, a voice came from the inn’s hall nearby, “There’s no need to be in such a rush. Come in and have a drink with me.”

Situ Xiao leaned back and looked over, and he saw Zhao Changhe smiling brightly and holding up a flagon of wine. “It’s no fun to drink alone. Brother Situ, would you care to join me?”

Situ Xiao’s indifferent attitude suddenly shifted, and he smiled just as brightly as he strode into the inn. “Haha, this wine is not bad. I could smell it from far away!”

“The wine in this inn can’t possibly compare to that of the Wang Clan...”

“But this is wine offered by Zhao Changhe, so of course it’s fragrant!” Situ Xiao plopped down opposite Zhao Changhe and got himself a bowl. “Pour me some wine!”

Zhao Changhe grinned as he poured Situ Xiao wine. Wang Zhaoling stood at the door, staring at them for some time before he shook his head slightly and turned to leave.

Didn’t you say that you had more important matters to attend to? Is this one of the important matters you were referring to? Also, are you seriously saying that the wine offered by Zhao Changhe, which probably only cost a few coins, is better than the wine from my Wang Clan?

Also, why the hell hasn’t Zhao Changhe left yet? Is he really just going to continue lingering right under our noses? Is he not afraid of death?

Wait... As long as he stays here, he’s safe! With Cui Yuanyang still in Langya, then forget about killing him ourselves, even if an outsider wanted to kill him, our Wang Clan would have to move to protect him. This is all so complicated...

Wang Zhaoling sighed irritably. What do we do if he refuses to leave?

Meanwhile, Situ Xiao and Zhao Changhe enjoyed their drinks heartily, wiping their mouths with satisfaction.

“I haven’t gotten to drink these past two days. It’s been really off-putting.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Why haven’t you been drinking? Does the Wang Clan not have any wine?”

“While I am an alcoholic, I must stay sober for important matters. Such as reviewing the battles that day, especially our battle. That last move of yours, I’ve been pondering it for two days, but I still think that against someone of the same level, nobody would be able to counter that move unless you were using an ordinary saber. I rely on my brute strength, but the way you use your saber is just too cunning... Damn it, it’s like I’ve wasted two days of drinking for nothing.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled and said, “What a coincidence, I’ve been pondering our battle these past two days as well.”

Situ Xiao glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean? You already won yet you’re still pondering over our battle? Are you planning to win within a few moves next time?”

“On the contrary, I might need to use even more moves next time.”

Situ Xiao was stunned and his expression suddenly changed.

With a sheepish grin, Zhao Changhe continued, “By the way, you promised to teach me a set of hand techniques previously, right? Are you still up for it?”

Situ Xiao chuckled wryly and said, “You really don’t stand on ceremony, do you?”

“To be honest with you, the time I’ve been training in martial arts is just too short, and my experience in the jianghu is lacking in many aspects. While others may say that I have no weaknesses, I feel like I have too many. I only wish I could patch up a gap every day.”

Situ Xiao nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly said, “Did you incorporate some spiritual arts of the Maitreya Cult into your Scattering the Gods and Buddhas? It felt like it seemed to actively induce fear in your target, rather than relying on vicious qi and momentum to achieve that effect.”

“You’ve got sharp eyes! I have indeed incorporated some of the spiritual arts of the Maitreya Cult into it. However, it requires a lot of spiritual energy to use effectively. The problem is, I haven’t figured out yet how to train that part, so the effect I’m able to achieve is rather weak. It works fine against ordinary people, but against someone like you, it might as well not be there.”

“That’s not really something that you can train at the moment. In fact, most people only start using it after unlocking the Profound Mysteries. The fact that you’re able to partially use it now is due to your strong spirit. However, it should still improve naturally if you use it often.”

“Hmm... I see. Anyway, why are you asking about this?”

“If there’s a shortcoming in my sect’s martial arts, it’s in this regard. If you can share your technique with me, then I can teach you our Wind and Lightning Palm.” He paused for a moment, then added apologetically, “It’s not that I’m stingy and don’t want to share it directly with you. But in the end, this is a high-level martial art of our sect and it isn’t something that I can teach outsiders just because I want to. I have to give a satisfactory explanation to my sect.”

“I understand.” Zhao Changhe naturally had no qualms about sharing things that weren’t his to begin with. He directly explained the spiritual art of the Maitreya Cult. It was not all that complex, so it only took him a short while.

Situ Xiao noted it down carefully, then took out a booklet from his bag and handed it over.

Zhao Changhe took it and saw that the booklet was brand new, as if it had just been written. He raised his head and glanced at Situ Xiao, who grinned. It seemed like he had been ready to give Zhao Changhe the palm art from the beginning.

Zhao Changhe simply stuffed the booklet into his chest pocket and raised his wine bowl. “Cheers!”

The two happily downed another big bowl of wine, and then Situ Xiao smiled and said, “While the name of the palm art makes it sound like an explosive technique, it’s actually a defensive palm art. The moves are heavy and steady, only bursting forth at the critical moment. Originally, I thought that it might not be suitable for you, given your active and fierce style. But after hearing what you said about filling in gaps and needing more moves, I believe that you’re aware of it as well.”

Zhao Changhe smiled and said, “I actually think it’s quite suitable for me. At the very least, it’s much better suited to me than the Azure Waves Clear Ripples that I’m currently using....”

As he spoke, he subconsciously shrunk down a little and glanced around, as if he was afraid of getting hit by someone out of thin air.

Situ Xiao chuckled softly.

Zhao Changhe cleared his throat and asked, “May I ask you for some advice on body tempering? Um, I don’t need you to tell me about the secrets of your sect, I just want some basic knowledge. “

Situ Xiao poured another bowl of wine and said casually, “Actually, you’ve already been tempering your body. The Vicious Blood Art is an external art, focusing on the power of your muscles, blood, and qi. I don’t believe that you have never soaked in a medicinal bath.”

“Is that it?”

“That’s just one direction of body tempering, and it is more on the offensive side. My sect’s method leans toward defense. You shouldn’t think that body tempering only refers to becoming impervious to weapons. It’s not that simple.”

“Is it possible to take both paths? For example, if I were to go and learn the Iron Shirt[1] right now, would that conflict with the way I’ve been tempering my body?”

“There would indeed be some conflicts. You can see it as different styles of body tempering molding the body in different ways,” said Situ Xiao after pondering for a moment. “If you want to pursue defensive capabilities for your body, there might only be two paths you can take.”

Zhao Changhe raised his bowl and clinked it with his. “Please enlighten me.”

“One is to attain the top-tier divine body of the previous era. I’m not sure about its specific name, but it definitely exists. That path is elusive and ethereal, so just consider it as mere hearsay. The second path is more feasible. When your internal cultivation reaches a certain level, you can learn a type of technique that creates a protective barrier of qi around your body. The drawback of this path is that the protective barrier cannot be sustained for long periods of time.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled and said, “As long as it’s possible, that’s good enough for me. Thank you for the advice.”

Situ Xiao added, “I would advise you to either reconcile with the Blood God Cult or find a way to eliminate them. This is because you’ve lost access to many of your possible subsequent cultivation methods after defecting from them. I don’t really know much about the vicious qi of the Vicious Blood Art, but just from what I know about body tempering, while it’s fine to rely on soaking in medicinal baths early on, you will inevitably require some special items later on. If you remain ignorant, how will you continue advancing?”

Zhao Changhe fell silent.

If he hadn’t used the marine clay and met Situ Xiao this time, he truly would not have thought about it—after all, it had been quite a long time since he had last soaked in any kind of medicinal bath. Now, he realized that there were countless and endless ways to advance in martial arts, and his own journey was just beginning.

The more he understood, the more he realized how far behind he was.

This was why it was difficult being a traitor. While others had several inheritances to pick from, he struggled to piece together even one.

Situ Xiao asked, “Why have you been staying in Langya all this time? There must be other matters for you to attend to, right? There’s no way you were just waiting for me, right?”

Zhao Changhe came back to his senses and said with a smile, “I’ve still got things to do.”

“Do you need help?”

“I would not want to trouble you with my matters...”

“Are you looking down on me?”

“Not at all,” Zhao Changhe lowered his voice. “The Wang Clan’s opposition has become evident, and other rebels are sure to communicate with them... The Wang Clan might not fancy the Maitreya Cult, but the Maitreya Cult certainly fancies the Wang Clan. I suspect that the Maitreya Cult’s envoys are about to arrive, which is why I’ve been waiting here, quietly watching the street. Once they arrive, I will strike. This involves power disputes, and I believe that being from a martial arts sect, you might not want to get involved in such things unnecessarily.”

Situ Xiao blinked, then scoffed, “And here I was wondering what grave matters you were concerning yourself about... Isn’t it just killing some dogs? Why don’t you have a guess as to where I was planning to go after leaving Langya?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “Were you planning to head north to Yanmen? Damn, I was thinking of checking that place out after finishing up here as well.”

Situ Xiao burst into laughter, slamming his bowl of wine down forcefully, causing the wine inside to splash around. “Damn, we really have similar tastes!”

As they laughed, a group of monks walked past outside.

Both men turned their heads simultaneously, their eyes gleaming.

1. This is a real-life set of kung fu exercises that supposedly train the body to sustain impacts in a fight. ☜