In the 281st year of Daqing, the Qinghe Gang and the Baiyang Gang, a roving bandit force, became enemies.
[You went into battle, slashing thirteen men in a row, leaving you with numerous wounds and blood dripping profusely—if your Iron Body Technique were still perfect, your injuries would be half as severe.]
[In one year, the Iron Body Skill will be dispersed to a small degree. The Iron Body Skill level will be reduced to 50%. There is still one year left to disperse successfully.]
"Martial arts have two kinds of bonuses." Yunshou summarized based on the martial arts memories and simulations in his mind.
One is that after practicing this martial art, no matter how deep or shallow it is, your martial arts skills will improve at the same speed, and your foundation will be affected by the martial arts, becoming a little stronger than normal.
The other is the depth. A third-rate martial artist can also achieve "perfect martial arts", and a master of the generation can only be "beginners in martial arts". Depending on the depth, different martial arts will have additional enhancements with different effects, such as increased strength and greater agility.
In the 282nd year of the Great Qing Dynasty, your power completely dissipated. Although you are still a second-rate warrior, with a 141% foundation, approximately 17% (approximately 24%) has been transformed into the accumulation of Iron Body Gong. It is destined that only the remaining 83% (117%) of your non-attribute foundation can reach the first-rate level through the new practice.
Only 0.83% of the annual increase in foundation is sustainable, and the remaining 0.17% will become the fixed strength of the second-rate Iron Body Skill.
Your combat power has plummeted to the lowest point, equivalent to that of an ordinary second-rate warrior. In the past two years, your rank of "seventh in command" in the Qingqian Gang has fallen to "fifteenth in command."
"There are many turtles in shallow water, and this tiny little gang has created more than a dozen people." Yunshou was speechless.
In the 283rd year of Daqing, Zhu Baowen leisurely asks you, "Do you regret disbanding your power?"
[Thinking to yourself, I'm just increasing my lifespan and boosting my foundation, you didn't hesitate: "I have no regrets at all. I trust Master Zhu!"]
Zhu Baowen laughed heartily, pointed his finger at your brow, and taught you a passage from the Hun Yuan Jue.
[The "Hunyuan Jue" is a martial art. It cannot be used to practice martial arts or improve martial arts cultivation. However, its function is a top-notch auxiliary: it can dissolve the stagnant foundation! Allow the foundation that has been fixed by the scattered power to continue to improve!]
This is a magical skill beyond imagination. While the Iron Body Skill is just a common skill, not the best, the Hun Yuan Jue allows you to break free from your old skills without any setbacks and switch to a more powerful martial art at no cost!
You bowed deeply in the direction Zhu Baowen left. He waved his hand and disappeared from your sight in the blink of an eye.
[You never saw him again in the Hunyuan Shengmie Children's Martial Arts School, or even in the entire Qingcheng.]
[Thinking of the enemy at the gates five years from now, you're paralyzed.]
[Luckily, you still have five years. Qing and Wu haven't even declared war yet, so you have plenty of room to maneuver.]
In the 284th year of the Daqing era, you used the Hunyuan Jue to erase all traces of the Iron Body Technique. Now, 100% (143%) of your foundation is a pure foundation that can be infinitely improved. However, you are also a basic second-rate warrior without any skill attributes or depth bonuses.
You requested to learn the excellent martial arts "Water Dragon Kung Fu" from the gang leader Xu Ruohai.
Xu Ruohai: "Is this what you're dispersing your energy for? Well, if you want it so badly, I'll give it to you!"
Xu Ruohai was very happy because your dissipation of your power was equivalent to destroying your own potential, making it almost impossible for you to threaten him. Therefore, he was more generous and could win people's hearts more easily.
He announced that anyone who wanted to start over like you would be personally rewarded with the Water Dragon Skill – newcomers without prior martial arts skills would not be counted.
[But probably no one else would follow you and seek the technique. Although the Water Dragon Technique is slightly stronger than the Iron Body Technique, it is not much stronger. It is not worth sacrificing your foundation in exchange for it.]
[After entering the Water Dragon Technique, you will find that your skin has become smoother, and it seems that your wateriness has increased significantly.]
In the 285th year of the Daqing era, thanks to your persuasion and financial support, many of your acquaintances secretly left the Qinghe Gang and moved to towns further inland.
[Among them was even Old Man Wang. Thanks to your careful care as a member of the Qinghe Gang at the time, he lived a full decade longer than his original destiny would have allowed. It seems his death was likely the result of an accident or illness.]
[Three months later, the war broke out.]
In the 286th year of the Daqing era, you once again heard the legend of the formidable general on the front lines, possessing the "power of a dragon and an elephant."
You walk along the shores of Qinghu Lake. These days, the population of the fishing villages has dwindled significantly, as they've been forcibly conscripted and sent to the front lines. Even the Qinghe Gang has quieted down somewhat, with thirty of them enlisting.
[The Qinghe Gang is considered a semi-official force, so naturally they have to contribute during national wars.]
[You have achieved minor success in the Water Dragon Technique. You discover that your internal energy has gained a new attribute of flexibility.]
In the 287th year of the Daqing era, your martial arts cultivation, having stagnated for several years due to the dispersal of your energy, began to progress again. On this day, you finally completed the blood transfusion and flesh coagulation process. All that remained to become a first-rate martial artist was the release of your vital energy.
[A month later, at the Taoist Grandmasters' Conference, the Grandmasters invited by the Wu Kingdom were murdered in a pit, resulting in six deaths and three injuries.]
[The morale of the Qing army increased greatly, and they quickly counterattacked and captured another county.]
[You knew that the Grand Master of Wu Nation was about to be born, so you took the opportunity to flee far away, taking the money with you and leaving the Qinghe Gang, far away from Qingcheng.]
[Counting simulations, after four generations and decades of time, you are finally about to leave this small world!]
[A wider world, a broader arena, is waiting for you right in front of you! ]
Yun Shou let out a breath, "Finally, I've left the Novice Village. And indeed, as a second-rate warrior, I've already reached the standard of strength to roam the martial arts world."
Many ordinary people, except for traveling merchants, will only live in the same area throughout their lives, and their range of activities will not exceed a radius of 100 miles.
For a third-rate warrior, it is still quite dangerous to walk alone on this land. Bandits, robbers, and disasters brought by wind and rain are enough to destroy his life.
Most third-rate warriors are probably positioned as "guards", either responsible for guarding the homes of wealthy families, or responsible for escorting convoys, and they are group escorts.
Second-rate warriors, who possess the unique power of "internal energy", not only have their strength increased significantly, but the internal energy can also enable them to "force out toxins from the body" and "temporarily replenish endurance".
Internal strength, isn't it amazing?
Many sects and martial arts schools require their disciples to reach a second-rate level before allowing them to go out for training.
As for the first-rate warriors, they are already well-known "martial arts masters" or even "jianghu heroes". Their internal energy is transformed into energy that can be released outwards. They can walk on snow without leaving any traces and walk across rivers. Many famous first-rate warriors are in their thirties or forties and are already local celebrities!
"A martial artist, renowned throughout the city, capable of killing people from a hundred paces away with his powerful energy. He is unstoppable and can even take on established armies."
"A Grandmaster can establish his own sect, and his name spread throughout the world. He can walk through a hail of spears and arrows with ease, and demolish houses and buildings with a flick of his hand."
"Further up, there's the 'Supreme Grandmaster' who even the city walls can't stop, and there's Zhu Baowen, an even higher being..."