Chapter 11 Iron Mountain

Embroidered with a qilin on his wide cyan robe, with an iron ruler hanging from his waist, a chain wound around his arm, and a long saber on his back, he exuded a presence as heavy as a mountain.

It was unmistakably the attire of a fifth-rank constable from the Great Feng Empire's Six Doors.

"A fifth-rank constable from the Six Doors..."

Wei Yu's expression changed.

"The Six Doors."

The faces of the few remaining customers in the lobby also changed.

"Fifth-rank constable..."

An Qi Sheng's eyes flickered.

The Great Feng Dynasty had two major law enforcement agencies. The Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jin Yi Wei) supervised the world, while the Six Doors supervised the martial world. Both agencies were filled with experts and possessed immense influence.

Both agencies had nine ranks, corresponding to the nine ranks of martial artists in the Ever Floating World (Jiu Fu Jie).

Outer Refinement Threefold corresponded to ranks seven through nine, while Inner Refinement Threefold corresponded to ranks six through four.

Over time, the martial world of various countries gradually adopted this classification to distinguish between levels.

Only those who had mastered the Outer Refinement Threefold could be considered seventh-rank. The newcomer was fifth-rank, meaning he must have refined his internal organs and begun to touch the bone marrow, a grandmaster of great skill.

The newcomer clasped his hands in front of his chest and said in a deep voice:

"I am Tieshan, a fifth-rank constable from the Six Doors. I have come specifically for the case of martial artists being killed in various counties of Ronghua Prefecture. As the only survivor so far, Daozhang, do you really not know who attacked you?"

"Constable Tieshan."

An Qi Sheng stood up and cupped his hands:

"To be honest, this old Daoist was circulating my energy when the attacker suddenly arrived. Before I could stop, I was severely injured. I truly did not see the attacker's appearance clearly."

He was slightly surprised.

Tieshan's speed was quite fast. He had only settled in at the inn yesterday, and he had already come to his door this morning.

Tieshan moved his feet and came to the table:

"Daozhang, do you mind if I take a look?"

"Please, Daozhang."

An Qi Sheng nodded.

*Whoosh*

Tieshan's shoulders shook, and his large hand landed on An Qi Sheng's shoulder.

An Qi Sheng felt a heat on his shoulder as a stream of heat entered his body, instantly spreading throughout his limbs and bones.

"Oh? Great loss of essence, scattered internal energy, depleted physique..."

Feeling it slightly, Tieshan's eyelids twitched:

"Such heavy injuries, such ruthless methods!"

"Daozhang is injured so severely!"

Wang Bai's eyelids twitched.

Great loss of essence, scattered internal energy, and depleted physique were all extremely serious injuries on their own. To have all three was a miracle that he was still alive.

*Whoosh*

Tieshan withdrew his hand:

"I didn't expect Daozhang to be so severely injured."

"I'm lucky to be alive; it's already a blessing."

An Qi Sheng sighed lightly.

Coupled with his current appearance of white hair and being old and frail, it was pitiful.

Tieshan took out a jade-green porcelain bottle from his chest and handed it to An Qi Sheng:

"This is my Six Doors' secret wound medicine; perhaps it will be of some use."

"In that case, thank you, sir."

An Qi Sheng took the porcelain bottle and thanked him.

This was an unexpected surprise.

"Daozhang should not leave the city in the coming days to prevent being harmed."

Tieshan said, obviously aware of the burning of the Daoist temple.

After An Qi Sheng nodded, Tieshan cupped his hands in farewell. After turning around, he glanced back at Wang Bai:

"Remember that disaster comes from the mouth."

Wang Bai gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Wei Yu pulled on Wang Bai's sleeve, fearing that he would impulsively clash with Tieshan.

After Tieshan left, the atmosphere in the inn relaxed.

Wang Bai took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and also took out a porcelain bottle from his chest:

"Daozhang, this is a medicinal pill that my family formulated to nourish the body. Taking it might be helpful."

"You are too kind, young friend."

An Qi Sheng did not refuse and took the porcelain bottle.

"In that case, my brother Wei and I have other matters to attend to. Daozhang, please rest. I will be staying here for a few days. If Daozhang needs anything, feel free to come and find me."

Wang Bai cupped his hands apologetically.

An Qi Sheng smiled slightly, indicating that he didn't mind.

Wang Bai and Wei Yu paid the bill and left. An Qi Sheng ordered another table of food and instructed it to be sent to his room before turning around and going upstairs to his room.

Opening the door, Zhang Hao Hao and Jiang Ting Ting had just woken up and called out "Shifu" with sleepy eyes.

"Go wash up and don't get so dirty in the future."

An Qi Sheng admonished.

"We know, Shifu."

The two little ones then got up and got dressed.

An Qi Sheng ignored the two little ones, took out the porcelain bottles given by Tieshan and Wang Bai, opened them, and smelled them.

"Both are blended with highly nourishing herbs. The composition and methods are unknown, and the process seems complicated. I just don't know how effective they are."

An Qi Sheng poured out two yellowish pills and smelled them.

He knew very little about the herbs of this world. The only knowledge he had was obtained from the old Daoist's memories, so he naturally couldn't smell the ingredients of the pills.

However, they should be non-toxic.

But medicine cannot be taken randomly, so it naturally needs to be tested to know if it is okay.

With a thought, the light in his vision blazed brightly. An Qi Sheng had already entered a dream, with himself as the subject.

Testing medicine was best done on himself.

After a moment, An Qi Sheng opened his eyes, flicked his wrist, and swallowed the two pills into his stomach.

*Whoosh*

An Qi Sheng adjusted his breathing and once again circulated the Boy's Skill (Tong Zi Gong).

As his movements accelerated, strands of heat once again spread from his abdomen, and the pills he had swallowed also emitted strands of heat after digestion.

Joining the circulation of the Boy's Skill.

Gradually, he only felt his limbs become warmer and warmer, and more and more heat accumulated in his body. His face was gradually turning red.

If it were anyone else in this world, with more and more heat in their body, they would definitely stretch their muscles and bones to release the heat.

But An Qi Sheng, who had practiced internal martial arts for two lifetimes, subconsciously closed his pores.

With this closure, the heat in his body accumulated more and more, becoming hotter and hotter.

From the outside, his face was flushed red, like a boiled shrimp!

An Qi Sheng's breathing was slightly disordered, but he did not choose to release the heat.

His choice to practice internal energy did not mean he had abandoned internal martial arts.

On the contrary, he knew that even if internal energy was good, his body was still in a spirit-less land. His foundation was still internal martial arts.

*Whoosh!*

At a certain moment, An Qi Sheng suddenly jumped off the bed.

His eyes were tightly closed, as if he were asleep.

The rhythm of his breathing remained unchanged, but his movements were no longer the routines of the Boy's Skill.

He squatted without squatting, stood without standing, pushed forward with his left palm, and pulled back with his right palm, as if sealing and closing.

*Whoosh*

His movements were gentle and slow, his feet not lifting high, and as he pushed slowly, he seemed to feel the air flowing like water between his fingers.

He was already practicing Tai Chi!

In fact, as early as when he first came into contact with the Boy's Skill, he had thought about using internal martial arts to replace the many complex and useless movements of the Boy's Skill.

Internal martial arts had no precedent for cultivating internal energy, but that was because there was no spiritual energy in a spirit-less land.

It was not to say that the movement routines of the Boy's Skill were more effective.

On the contrary, in terms of pure physical exertion and combat skills, internal martial arts were already extremely excellent. Especially after the advent of artificial intelligence, many memory routines had already reached the peak of the human body!

It was just that he had never practiced internal energy before, so he did not dare to rashly try it.

But this second time, he planned to replace the many complicated techniques of the Boy's Skill with the boxing routines of internal martial arts!

As if sleeping but not sleeping, as if awake but not awake.

The spirit sleeps, but the heart does not sleep.

An Qi Sheng multi-tasked, and he relaxed his tired body and felt the changes in strength while in deep sleep.

And the body that had fallen asleep maintained the breathing frequency of the Boy's Skill unchanged.

He began to practice Tai Chi.

No,

It was not just Tai Chi, and it was not even limited to internal martial arts, or Great Xuan boxing.

Tai Chi turns to Baji, Xingyi turns to Bagua, Eagle Claw, Ancient Gate Mind Boxing, Xíngyìquán (Form-Intent Fist), Dragon Shape Fist, and even Muay Thai, Jujutsu, Sanshou, military combat skills...

The dozens or hundreds of boxing styles he had learned were all displayed on his body.

Once entering the realm of transformation (huàjìn), even if his body was different, his control and understanding of strength had not changed!

With a thought, his strength reached his entire body.

In a small room, within a small space, all kinds of boxing routines were displayed one by one!

"Sealing and closing is okay, wild horse parting mane is not okay, grasping the sparrow's tail is not okay, white crane spreads its wings, awkward step cannon fist is not okay, advancing crushing fist, chicken-shape four grasps, single palm change, double palm change are okay, the cupped fist of the Three Emperors Cannon Fist..."

An Qi Sheng's heart was like a bright mirror hanging high.

The coordination of various boxing routines and breathing frequencies were all reflected on it.

Not every boxing routine can induce internal energy and match the breathing rhythm, but dozens or hundreds of boxing routines include any action that the human body can make.

Corresponding one by one, An Qi Sheng gradually found his own unique internal energy operation routine.

"Perhaps, this is how martial artists in this world create cultivation methods..."

An Qi Sheng's heart rose with understanding.

In the subtle places in his body, the flow of heat accelerated, and more and more heat rose in his abdomen.

His hands, feet, limbs, torso, and even his internal organs and intestines, gradually became more and more powerful...

........

"Two taels of Chinese goldthread (chuānlián), three qian of dianthus (shízhú), six taels of dragon bones (lónggǔ), four *jin* of black nightshade (lóngkuí)..."

In Nanliang County's 'Lianghe Pharmacy', Zhang Hao Hao skillfully grabbed the medicine.

"Little customer, here's your medicine, 4.86 taels of silver, I'll round it off for you, just give me 4.9 taels."

The pharmacy clerk smiled and handed over the packaged medicinal materials.

"You can round it off like that?"

Zhang Hao Hao rolled his eyes and handed over the silver:

"Here are only 4.7 taels of silver, not a cent more."

"You said it yourself, let's just do it like that."

The clerk chuckled. He loved teasing this little guy.

These days, this little guy has spent more than thirty taels of silver buying medicine here, which is a big customer.

"I'm leaving."

Zhang Hao Hao picked up the medicine and walked out of the pharmacy in a puff of smoke.

*Whoosh*

The clerk tossed the silver, and his face changed. He trotted out of the pharmacy:

"This is not even 4.7 taels!"

"What did you say, let's just do it like that!"

Zhang Hao Hao didn't look back and ran faster.

"You little brat!"

The clerk stomped his feet and was about to go back when he was suddenly grabbed.

He was about to get angry when he met a pair of indifferent eyes, and the anger in his heart disappeared:

"Sir, do you want to buy medicine?"

Su Er was expressionless, grabbed the clerk, and asked coldly:

"Where does that child live? What medicine did he buy from you?"