Lu Sheng hadn't seen anyone earlier due to the half-opened door. Now that the carriage had moved, he could see the scenery in the other corner of the courtyard from this angle.
The stone bridge and the scholar were in the other corner of the courtyard's interior.
The scholar stood there stiffly, unmoving. Only staring at the moving carriage.
Lu Sheng stared closely at the scholar as well. The man's clothes were tattered, old and filthy, as if they hadn't been washed for many days. There were even holes in them. His hair was disheveled as well. He stood on the stone bridge like a pillar, unmoving.
"No one's been in or out of this Manor for many days. There shouldn't be anyone living here. After all, if there's someone inside, what would they eat? "Duan Meng 'an couldn't see the scholar from his angle, so he continued to explain.
"But there's indeed someone. Isn't that …?" Lu Sheng pointed his chin at the Manor.
Duan Meng 'an hurriedly looked over as well.
Strangely, when he looked over, the scholar had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes. In that brief moment of distraction, he had exchanged a few words with Duan Meng 'an, causing him to be so distracted that he didn't notice when the scholar had disappeared.
"There's no one there? Young Master, don't scare me, "Duan Meng 'an's hair stood on end at Lu Sheng's words. He peered in through the door slit, but couldn't see anyone.
Lu Sheng focused for a moment.
"It's nothing. Perhaps my eyes are playing tricks on me."
The carriage slowly drove away. Lu Sheng kept recalling the scholar's appearance along the way. He had a nagging feeling that there was something off about him.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the Iron Mining Village.
The village was deathly still. The wooden houses were either open or closed, some of them creaking as they swayed in the wind.
As the carriage traveled between the houses, the originally strong men's expressions turned unnatural, feeling unaccustomed to the atmosphere.
The sky gradually darkened. Lu Sheng and Duan Meng 'an alighted from the carriage and found a few relatively intact wooden houses to stay in.
Some of these houses even had leaky roofs, making it difficult to live in once it rained.
The group of men each found a wooden hut to stay in. They used their own water sacks and dry rations to eat and drink for the night.
The wooden house that Lu Sheng lived in was relatively large. He ordered people to bring down a tent and a quilt from the carriage. After starting a bonfire in the house, he drew a pot of water from a nearby stream and boiled it. He threw in some dried meat and mushrooms. After simmering for a while, a pot of delicious mushroom and sliced meat soup was made.
The group of men squeezed together. Each of them had a bowl of mushroom and sliced meat soup. They ate it with dry rations. It was quite enjoyable.
However, Lu Sheng was not in the mood to eat with this group of men. He walked out of the wooden house and looked in the direction of the manor in the distance.
The moonlight shone down like a grey veil. The manor was located in a depression far away from the wooden house village. Under the moonlight, only a grey shadow could be seen faintly on the white walls.
Lu Sheng tightened his robe and frowned as he looked at the manor.
Duan Meng 'an walked out, a little tipsy.
"Young Master, why don't you go in and drink with your brothers?"
Lu Sheng shook his head slightly, "Have you arranged for our brothers to keep watch in the surroundings?"
"Don't worry, Young Master. It's already been arranged. Three of us will stand guard in three different directions. We'll take turns after we finish eating, "Duan Meng 'an was a former general under Wu San after all. These things were a walk in the park.
"We'll go check out the mines tomorrow. Then we'll go to the manor, "Lu Sheng slowly retracted his gaze and said calmly.
"Alright. The mines are right next to it. If it weren't for the fact that we can't hire miners now, we'd be able to produce quite a lot of iron every day, "Duan Meng 'an said with a tinge of regret.
"Oh right, what kind of martial arts do you practice in the sect?" Lu Sheng asked casually.
"It's the Bear-Wrestling Hand from the Martial Proclamation Library. The secret manual on the third floor …" Duan Meng 'an chuckled.
"Bear-Wrestling Hand? It sounds like it's based on strength? "Lu Sheng was rather interested in martial arts.
"That's right. I, Old Duan, don't have any other strong points except that I'm naturally stronger than most people. That's why I've chosen this as my main training."
With nothing better to do, Lu Sheng began to inquire Duan Meng 'an about other matters, all related to martial arts.
Duan Meng 'an was an old member of the sect. Unexpectedly, his questions surprised and delighted Lu Sheng. From Duan Meng 'an's words, he had a rough idea of the martial arts of the upper echelons of the sect.
The rest of the martial arts were within his expectations. From their descriptions, they were no match for the activation of his Blood Fury Skill.
Only the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master were different. According to Duan Meng 'an, every time these three made a move, they always had the effect of a hammer strike, and could resolve any problem in a short period of time. That was why no one had truly seen them go all out.
"Young Master, you now have the right to visit the Martial Proclamation Library and browse through the free manuals. My Bear-Wrestling Hand isn't that great for Strength Proficiency, but it's especially suitable for me, "Duan Meng 'an said with a smile.
"You're a smart one. You know what suits you the best." Lu Sheng smiled as well. "Bear-Wrestling Hand is also a free manual in the sect. But I've never seen this martial art before. Is it a hard body skill?"
"That's right. It's a hard body skill that specializes in training strength. And it doesn't require any medicinal cleansing. It's very simple, "Duan Meng 'an scratched his head.
"Oh? Can you demonstrate it to me? " Lu Sheng's eyes lit up. He had long wanted to learn hard body skills, but almost all hard body skills required medicinal cleansing. That was why he had never succeeded. To think that this Duan Meng 'an had actually learned a hard body skill that didn't require medicinal cleansing.
Duan Meng 'an did not mind at all. This martial art was free to the sect members anyway. Moreover, the person he was asking was his own boss, whose martial arts far surpassed his own. He found a withered tree on the spot and began to demonstrate the secrets and training method of his Bear-Wrestling Hand.
Lu Sheng inquired in detail, and very quickly mastered the Bear-Wrestling Hand.
There was only one level to this Bear-Wrestling Hand, and its training method was simple as well. One only needed to follow the mantra, adjust their breathing and posture, and visualize themselves as a bear. Then, they would continuously ram into the tree according to a certain rhythm and sequence.
The training method was simple. Lu Sheng himself went up to give it a try. No inner Qi, no excessive force, just a normal ram to the point where his skin hurt.
After practicing according to the mantra for a while, he could clearly feel his skin tingling and itching.
"Young Master is amazing indeed. Back then, this humble one had to study for many days to grasp the secrets. Young Master, you've grasped it in an instant," Duan Meng 'an flattered with a smile.
"This martial art is indeed simple, and the effects are not bad. The only difficulty is perseverance. To achieve full mastery, it'll take at least 20 years of hard work, "Lu Sheng felt that this hard body skill was a part of some other hard body skill, and was not complete. It was purely training strength and the toughness of the skin and flesh.
"However, there are a few points. According to the mantra, you should do it this way …"
He had practiced several martial arts to full mastery. Naturally, his insight was far superior to Duan Meng 'an's. After understanding this martial art, he was able to discern its core at a glance. He began correcting some of Duan Meng 'an's mistakes. With just a few pointers, Duan Meng 'an was enlightened and convinced.
At once, he tried to exert his strength and train according to Lu Sheng's corrected instructions. As expected, the results were much better than usual. At once, his admiration for Lu Sheng grew even greater.
As the two of them practiced martial arts outside, they soon attracted the attention of the rest of the men eating and resting inside. These men all practiced the Crimson Whale Saber Technique, which even the average sect member could practice.
Crimson Whale Saber Technique was the most basic saber technique in Crimson Whale Sect. On top of the basic saber technique, some moves that were more suited for killing were added.
After learning the Crimson Whale Saber Technique once, Lu Sheng turned around and pointed out the key points to the group.
After a night's worth of pointers, everyone went to bed.
Lu Sheng remained standing outside the wooden hut, watching as his underlings who had switched out for the night patrols moved the lanterns they carried.
Slowly, he adjusted the Qi within his lower body.
'Deep Blue.'
The interface of the Modifier immediately appeared. Inside, there were many small boxes, listing all the martial arts he had cultivated up to this point.
'Black Tiger Saber Technique: Level Four.
Blood Fury Skill: Level Four. Special Effect: Fire Poison, Ignite.
Black Tiger Jade Crane Skill: Level Three. Special Effect: Rapid Hemostasis, Recovery of Stamina, Tiger Roar and Crane Cry.
Yin Yang Attraction: Level Three.
Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Saber Technique: Level Three.
Precious Eight Steps: Level Three.
Double Rhombus Saber: Level Three.
Heart-Shattering Palm: Level Three. '
This row of martial arts completely reflected all that Lu Sheng had learned. All of them were of the highest level.
And now, at the very bottom of these martial arts, there were two additional skills.
'Bear-Wrestling Hand: Initiated.
Crimson Whale Saber Technique: Initiated. '
Lu Sheng silently pressed the modify button on the Modifier, then focused his attention on the option for Bear-Wrestling Hand.
'Upgrade Bear-Wrestling Hand to Full Mastery.'
The Modifier for Bear-Wrestling Hand blurred for a moment, then quickly cleared up again.
In the blink of an eye, Bear-Wrestling Hand went from Initiated to Full Mastery.
Lu Sheng could clearly feel the Black Tiger Jade Crane Skill inner Qi within his body beginning to deplete rapidly. The rate at which it was decreasing made him feel a little surprised.
'It's clearly just the lowest level hard body skill, about the same level as Wind Pursuit Saber Technique. How can it consume so much?' He felt the inner Qi rapidly being absorbed by his body. From a full one hundred percent inner Qi, it was reduced to fifty percent in the span of a few breaths, then thirty percent, twenty percent, ten percent.
At the same time, his skin began to toughen, and the muscles on his arms and waist rapidly bulged.
Lu Sheng could clearly feel that his body was undergoing an extremely obvious transformation in terms of strength.
'It's just a hard body skill …' He was a little surprised. He stood where he was until the transformation was complete. After the time it took for a joss stick to burn, he let out a long breath.
'Looks like hard body skills transform the body far more than other skills. Perhaps this is the reason why the expenditure is far greater than other skills.'
He stretched out his hand and clenched his fist. His body felt as though it was swelling up from within, like an inflated balloon. Even his innards felt hot.
Closing his eyes and sensing, Lu Sheng saw that Yin Yang Attraction inner Qi was being depleted rapidly. At the same time, the Black Tiger Jade Crane inner Qi that had been depleted earlier began to recover rapidly like a balloon.
From ten percent, it was restored to its peak one hundred percent in a few breaths. At this point, Yin Yang Attraction inner Qi had only been depleted by about half.
'So this is the greatest use of Yin Yang Attraction,' Lu Sheng was a little surprised, but then overjoyed.
'My strength has increased by about twenty percent. My skin has also become tougher.'
He drew the straight saber from his back and slashed it across the back of his hand. He did not use much strength, about the same as an ordinary person cutting meat.
"Crack."
A red mark appeared on his skin, but it did not break.
'It's just a hard body skill, and it's already so effective. This saber is a new one,' Lu Sheng was satisfied. 'When I'm done here, I'll go to the Martial Proclamation Library and look around. Perhaps I'll find some free martial arts that are useful to me,' his anticipation for Crimson Whale Sect's Martial Proclamation Library grew.
Lifting his head, Lu Sheng once again looked in the direction of the Manor. He could vaguely sense that something was hidden within.
He decided to stay here for a few days and investigate in detail.
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