From a martial arts disciple to a god through countless trials and tribulations

Chapter 16: The End in Sight

The next day, early in the morning.

The sun rose from the distant sky, and golden light burst out, melting the coldness of the mountains.

“Long…”

A faint ape-like roar emanated from the body of the human figure sitting cross-legged in the small room, deep and majestic.

Chen Xuan was concentrating on practicing the little white ape's magic tricks.

A stream of snow-white immortal energy was swirling within his body, traveling at high speed along a unique trajectory. Occasionally, a sharp golden-white light would emanate from it, stirring up some mysterious power, but it would quickly die out...

"This trick is so difficult to learn?"

Chen Xuan opened his eyes in vain and frowned. This was the first time he had come into contact with this kind of thing, so he spent half the night thinking carefully. Only after he felt he had fully understood it did he start practicing with full confidence.

I thought it was a natural thing.

But reality dealt him a heavy blow, and his magic tricks progressed extremely slowly, barely reaching the basics.

"No wonder the great monk practiced hard for several years but still couldn't enter the door, and finally ended up crying in the rain."

Chen Xuan muttered to himself, thinking for a moment, and muttered: "The problem lies in the qualifications of my body... my talent is not enough."

He always believed that he was a genius, but at this moment, he began to doubt himself.

He had clearly understood the trick thoroughly and knew how the immortal energy flowed through the meridians in his body, but his body was unable to react in time and could not resonate in time, resulting in slow progress of the trick.

"If my physical aptitude is up to par, I only need to perform this little white ape trick once to successfully master it..."

Chen Xuan vaguely sensed the limits of this body's aptitude: "Ten days, at least ten days, before I can master this trick."

There is no doubt that he is still a genius far superior to the big monk and the fat yellow man. He mastered a magic trick in ten days, which is a jaw-dropping feat no matter where he is.

But it stopped there and couldn't go any further.

If his physique and aptitude were not holding him back, he could definitely do better!

Chen Xuan pushed the door open and looked up at the sky. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of melancholy in his heart.

"Is this the pinnacle of my talent..."

He practiced martial arts in Liuzhen for three years, and everyone thought he was a genius. He could master any boxing style after seeing it only once.

But at this moment, his aptitude, which he had once been so proud of, gradually seemed insufficient when faced with the magic tricks in the Qi training realm...

Chen Xuan felt a sense of disappointment in his heart. This wasn't frustration, but rather a clear understanding...

Practicing Qi is a longer journey than practicing martial arts, but with my own qualifications, I am afraid I will not be able to reach the end, and one day in the future I will completely stop moving forward.

"Wang, Immortal Wang... I have collected all the items from the four Qi practitioners. Please see if you can find any use for them."

In the yard, a middle-aged man with a broken leg named Chen Ganshui walked forward with a pile of objects in his hands, looking a little scared.

Chen Xuan took a quick look and saw that the weapons of the Zheng and Tu brothers, the Pudao, the jade Buddhist beads in the hands of the monk, and the silk robes had also been stripped off...

"Where are the bodies of the four people?" Chen Xuan asked.

"We moved outside the yard. Some people are in poor health and can't put it together anymore..."

Chen Ganshui answered in a low voice, then secretly glanced at the young Qi practitioner's appearance. He felt vaguely familiar and his voice was similar.

But they are not the same person. The Qi practitioner in front of him claims to be surnamed Wang.

The young man who had left the village three years ago and resolutely walked hundreds of miles into the wilderness must have died somewhere long ago...

Yesterday, this immortal named Wang went on a killing spree here, just like a ghost or god. He could never be the sunny young man of the past.

"Oh."

Chen Xuan nodded, then drank the breakfast porridge brought by the young woman in one gulp. He stood up and said, "Move them to the village entrance and hang their bodies under the tree. There's no need to bury them."

"what……"

Chen Gan Shui was stunned.

Chen Xuan had already walked outside. When he reached the door, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly turned around and said:

"If anyone has any objections, tell him to come to me."

……

……

After a while.

Chen Xuan walked into a wealthy family, found Chu Huogun, and asked directly:
"How long did it take you to practice magic?"

The three members of the Chu family were having breakfast. Chu Huogun chewed his grains, glanced at Chen Xuan, and said proudly:
"After I passed away, I learned the Little Firebird tricks passed down from my ancestors. I mastered them within half a year, shocking half of Red Crow City. Who wouldn't call me a young genius?"

"Is this considered genius?"

“…Xiao Wang, you are so rude!”

Chu Huogun suddenly became anxious and glared at Hu, saying, "In my time, apart from a handful of geniuses who could reach the level of 6,000 jin, who could compare to me? Even that cunning old man from the Li family was beaten by me when he was young!" Recalling his youthful glory, he wanted to brag about it, but was rudely spoken to by the arrogant young man, which made the old man very unhappy.

Chen Xuan pulled out a small bamboo chair that was not even knee-high and sat down. He moved closer to the dining table and asked again:
"What about those geniuses? How long did it take them to practice their tricks?"

Chu Huogun recalled for a moment and replied unhappily, "It's only been a few short months. Humph! Xiao Wang, although I admit that your talent is a notch higher than mine when I was young, you're not necessarily as good as those people!"

Those people were the pride of their time. Chu Huogun was just one step behind when he was young, but because of this one step, he was left far behind in the rest of his life...

"It also……"

Chen Xuan scratched the back of his head and wanted to say that it was nothing, but looking at Chu Huogun's angry expression, he thought better of it.

The gap between geniuses is sometimes far more exaggerated than the gap between ordinary people and geniuses.

It was clear in his mind at this moment that even though his aptitude had its limits, he was still far ahead of anyone in the Red Crow City area and was not inferior to anyone else.

"There may be ways to improve one's aptitude... When I first wore the feather robe, my body underwent a thorough cleansing of my essence and marrow, and my aptitude increased significantly."

Chen Xuan muttered in his heart, and his confidence increased greatly. Then, he stared at Chu Huogun and whispered:

"Mr. Chu, I have a treasure and want to exchange it with you."

Chu Huogun rolled over from the dining table with his ears pricked up.

"What baby?"

"trick……"

Chen Xuan whispered a few words, and Chu Huogun's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to the girl beside him and said, "Qingling, go get some paper and pen from your bag. Your little grandfather has something good for me."

"Ah, Xiao Wang, Grandpa?"

Chu Qingling blinked her peach blossom eyes and was confused. How did Brother Xiao Wang become her grandfather?

Isn’t this generation too confusing?

Chu Huogun urged him repeatedly, "Go quickly, go quickly! Xiao Wang is my good brother and very powerful. Yesterday, he displayed his might and suppressed a group of villains. Such a man is a true hero. Of course, he should be treated as an equal to me!"

After a moment, Chen Xuan's brush moved swiftly, and he drew half of the Qi-moving diagram of "Little White Ape's Magic Tricks".

"Should I change it?"

Chu Huogun asked in a low voice: "Where did this trick come from?"

Chen Xuan explained, "A few years ago, I met a monk in the mountains who taught me the Qi training method... I'm a mountain cultivator with limited knowledge, and I don't know what's good or bad. After interacting with you these past few days, I've gained a lot of experience, and now I realize that this might be the legendary magic trick..."

Chu Huogun was stunned: "Last time you said you were a Taoist priest..."

"...Are you changing?"

"……Change!"

Chu Huogun had no reason to refuse. He had worked hard for generations in a small family to acquire a magic trick, which he usually kept hidden as a treasure. But at this moment, someone brought another magic trick to his door. Unless he was stupid, he would not give it up.

Not long after, Chen Xuan learned Chu Huogun's "Little Firebird Trick" which was a technique for cultivating the Fire Virtue and Red Qi.

"Xiao Wang, you are really my lucky star. Every time I see you, good things happen!"

Chu Huogun was in a very good mood. The first time they met, they roasted a fire in the heavy snow and ate meat. The second time they met, he saved his life. Now, when they met for the third time, he gave him such a big gift. How could he not be happy?

Afterwards, he took the initiative to tell Chen Xuan some cultivation experience: "The five elements are mutually restraining and mutually reinforcing. This fire refining true gold will cause great conflicts. If you want to cultivate white qi and red qi at the same time, you must be prepared to retreat when you encounter difficulties..."

The red qi of the fire virtue seeks to "burn the mountains and boil the sea, and eliminate the three thoughts."

The Golden Virtue and White Qi seek "the Great Dao is like the sky, and all things are one sword." Some Buddhists, sword officials, and some martial artists like to follow this path of Qi training.

Those who practice red qi tend to have hot tempers, seeking revenge and unwilling to suffer any loss. On the other hand, those who practice white qi tend to be cold and aloof, even to the point of being paranoid, and once they make up their minds about something, they will never turn back.

The former thinks that the latter has a dead face all day long and has no humanity. The latter does not have so many emotions, but if provoked, he will directly start to kill.

From this we can see that red Qi and white Qi are difficult to be compatible.

"I have a sense of propriety."

Chen Xuan nodded. He already had a clear understanding of his own qualifications. He believed that he would be able to go further than the "geniuses" in Red Crow City who were hesitant to do so... He could spend three years practicing the basic boxing skills of the secular world, so why would he be afraid of these difficulties?

Afterwards, he returned the favor by telling Chu Huogun some of his superficial insights into the little white ape's tricks.

He quickly left here and returned to his residence, where he carefully studied two different types of magic tricks. In the end, he decided to practice the little white ape magic trick first and began to practice in seclusion.

But that very night, chaos suddenly broke out in the courtyard.

"Hoohoo!"

Under the cover of night, a bronze horse with a crooked mouth and slanted face broke into the quiet courtyard, jumping around anxiously and calling out loudly to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan pushed open the door and walked out. He first asked the Chen Ganshui family next door, who had been woken up, to stay indoors. Then he asked the bronze horse, "I told you to hide outside the village. Why did you show up here? All the Qi practitioners saw you."

"Hoohoo!"

Bronze Horse didn't care about all that. She raised her hooves and told Chen Xuan impatiently that something big had happened outside!!!

(End of this chapter)