The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

Considering that the street here is two-story, Ember estimates that the current foot traffic has more than doubled.

While Liyue is usually bustling, it would never see such a crowd at dawn.

Unfortunately, Dain couldn't see this lively scene; he ran away from Ember as soon as he came out of Bubulu.

It seems that the Lantern Festival isn't quite appealing to Dain.

Looking at the once bustling scene before him, Ember had a new question in his mind: Didn't Baishu say that the Lantern Festival was a rare free time for the people of Liyue? Why is everyone up so early?

But seeing the smiles on people's faces, Ember quickly found his answer.

When you're doing something you love, you don't care about so many things. Whether you're busy or not, whether you have enough rest time, those are things you only think about when you're working.

As I walked along the street, the shouts of vendors on both sides filled the air. The stalls were overflowing with a dazzling array of goods, almost too much to take in at once.

In the vast crowd, Yu Jin suddenly spotted a familiar figure. It was Dugu Shuo, whom he had once "sparred" with, a young man aspiring to become a great hero.

He was sitting on a stool at the stall, his eyes intently focused on something.

Yu Jin pushed through the crowd and walked over, only to find that the stall Dugu Shuo had mentioned was a book stall, and Dugu Shuo was holding two books in his hands.

One was the "Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guide" that Ember had given him before; the other was a book that Ember didn't recognize, and it seemed to be much thicker than the "Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guide".

"This kid loves studying so much?" Yu Jin was initially shocked, but then a sense of worry followed—if Dugu Shuo's IQ exceeds nine points as he studies, then his book will be useless!

……

But speaking of Gu Dushuo on the other side, does he like studying? The answer is, of course, no.

When he was studying at school, he was always thinking about how to sneak out to "practice swordsmanship" when the teacher wasn't looking.

As for why he started studying during the Lantern Festival, it's simply because his path to becoming a great hero has encountered obstacles.

"This character... is it pronounced 'ji'? When facing a mage, a ji is the opposite of a straight sword..."

After identifying the unfamiliar characters in the dictionary, Dugu Shuo pointed to the characters in the "Nine Wise Warriors' Code" on the other side and read them out word by word.

The obstacle Dugu Shuo encountered on his path to becoming a great hero was that he couldn't even recognize all the words in the book.

I have to say, this is a sad story.

"Hiss... So that's how it is? A halberd? It must be a weapon similar to a spear, right?"

"I never imagined that polearms could be used in this way; my thinking was too narrow."

Behind Gu Dushuo, someone else finished reading the densely packed small print in the book before he did.

"Alright, Xingqiu, stop looking! This must be someone's secret technique. Let's go, lest we cause trouble!"

A boy with light blue short hair was pulling on another boy with dark blue hair, looking guilty.

These are the Taoist priest Chongyun and the chivalrous hero Xingqiu!

Originally, Xingqiu and Chongyun wanted to take advantage of the Lantern Festival's night market to see if there were any new books available.

Unexpectedly, while there were no new discoveries at the bookstall, a fellow book lover made a great find.

"Hey~, no rush!" Xingqiu ignored Chongyun's actions, as he was now completely absorbed in the "Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Rules" in Dugu Shuo's hands.

Liyue was once home to numerous martial arts schools and a wealth of martial arts texts. However, people later discovered that twenty years of martial arts training was no match for a single punch from the Eye of God.

Thus, the martial arts sects that once stood tall on the land of Liyue gradually disappeared, eventually dwindling to a few scattered individuals.

Xingqiu himself is a martial arts enthusiast, and he also has an exceptional talent for martial arts.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have mastered all the martial arts of the Guhua School and thoroughly understood the Three Wonders of Guhua within four years.

However, after comprehending the three secrets of ancient Hua, Xingqiu was overjoyed, but he also gained some insights into the current decline of the martial arts world.

The three unique skills of the Guhua School are spear technique [Thrusting Bright Method], sword technique [Cutting Rain Method], and the dual skills of spear and sword [Generation and Restraint Method].

Over hundreds of years of transmission, these three methods have gradually become obsolete, and no one can inherit them.

However, Xingqiu had thoroughly understood it. The so-called spear and sword techniques were actually eye techniques.

The three unique techniques of Gu Hua do not explicitly mention the "divine eye" in any of their characters, yet each character subtly evokes it. All of their methods are built upon the foundation of possessing this "divine eye."

It's no wonder that the three wonders of ancient China have been obscured for centuries.

How few people possess the Eye of God? In the entire Liyue region, there are probably only a hundred or so. As for those who are truly devoted to martial arts, he is probably the only one.

With such stringent requirements for practitioners, it's no wonder that these three ancient Chinese arts have been lost.

In Xingqiu's view, situations like those involving the three masters of Guhua are quite common in the martial arts world.

Each sect uses the Eye of God as its core to develop its own techniques. These techniques are very powerful, but no one can learn them.

If the martial arts world had taken a different path back then, instead of focusing on how to enhance the use of the Divine Eye, it would probably be a completely different scene now.

Xingqiu sighed when he thought of this.

Then he looked down at the book again—because Dugu Shuo had turned the page.

Xingqiu was completely absorbed in the book. In the martial arts book written by the boy in front of him, he saw another path in the martial arts world.

That is to teach people how to become stronger step by step!

How should weapons be used? How should muscles be trained? What should be used to push one's limits...?

These books contain all sorts of methods to become stronger, and they're all explained in a very simple and easy-to-understand way. It's like... like they're teaching the readers as if they were idiots!

Xingqiu grew increasingly delighted as he read, and also developed a deep admiration for the author of the book.

They were able to explain profound and obscure martial arts techniques in such a vivid and even humorous way that even five- or six-year-old children could understand them.

The author of this book has reached a level of martial arts skill that even Xing Qiu cannot match.

This kind of person no longer needs divine intervention to prove themselves.

"So slow! Kid, can you speed things up?" Xingqiu was looking at a part that was going smoothly when he realized that the page stopped there.

Seeing that Dugu Shuo was still looking up words in the dictionary, he squatted down and urged Dugu Shuo to hurry up.

"Who are you? Don't disturb my path to becoming a great hero!" Dugu Shuo was startled when he saw someone grab his precious martial arts manual and immediately closed the book.

This is his precious treasure; it absolutely cannot be damaged in any way!

With this in mind, Dugu Shuo hugged the "Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Rules" in his arms even tighter.

This made Xingqiu even more anxious. He grabbed a stool and sat down next to Dugu Shuo, laughing, "Just like you, I want to become a great hero, a person who upholds justice!"

This left Chongyun, who was standing to the side, dumbfounded. He actually saw flattery in Xingqiu's smile.

Is this still the Xing Qiu he knows?

"Oh ho ho, I see! It seems we're kindred spirits!" Dugu Shuo was also very happy to hear this, because he had finally found someone whose ideals aligned with his own.

So, Dugu Shuo opened the book again and started reading with Xingqiu.

Seeing Dugu Shuo's uninhibited behavior, Chongyun pulled up a stool and sat down as well.

Soon, three young men, engrossed in martial arts, appeared in front of the small bookstall.

Chapter 362 The Hero and the Taoist Priest

2023-12-22

Even though the Lantern Festival has not officially started, the market is already packed with people.

The book stall, which usually receives few customers, has become bustling with people thanks to the seasonal convenience.

Countless tourists, with nothing else to do, would pick up a book out of curiosity, flip through it for a few minutes, then put it down and move on to the next stall that caught their attention.

However, among the moving crowd, there was a special trio who never left the bookstall.

"Shhhhhh!"

Xingqiu, itching to try it himself, picked up a wooden stick from the ground and began to practice the moves described in the book.

Although he had only just learned of this move, the sharpness emanating from Xingqiu's every move showed that he had already grasped some of its essence.

It can only be said that he truly deserves to be called a martial arts genius. While Dugu Shuo and Chongyun were still confused, Xingqiu had already started to get started.

"Who are you, kid? Don't wave my cane around like that! It can't withstand your abuse!"

The stall owner's aged voice came from behind. Xingqiu looked up and realized that the "wooden stick" he was holding was actually the old man's cane.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Xingqiu immediately stopped his attack and returned the cane to the stall owner with a forced smile.

He turned around, intending to return to his seat, when he felt something touch his feet.

Looking down, Xingqiu noticed that the cane he had just returned had rolled back to his feet.

If you calm down, you can still faintly hear snoring coming from behind you.

Xingqiu was initially puzzled as to how he managed to grab a wooden stick so easily, but now it seemed that the bookseller was simply too careless and hadn't properly stored his cane.

After tucking his cane into the interlayer of the recliner, Xingqiu finally returned to his seat.

He glanced at the "martial arts manual" in Dugu Shuo's hand and found that it was still the same page.

Xingqiu couldn't help but sigh; geniuses are always troubled.

Just as he was about to urge Dugu Shuo to turn the page, he saw the white-haired boy slam the book shut with a "bang".

Xingqiu thus learned the true name of this "martial arts manual".

"The Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guidelines? What a strange name." Xingqiu scratched his head. This name didn't sound like it was in Liyue's style.

But he quickly realized that although the book was also about martial arts, the writing style, the terminology, and the style of the martial arts were very different from those of Liyue. It was normal that it was not a Liyue product.

"I'm going to buy soy sauce, or my mom will spank me if I'm late." Dugu Shuo stuffed the books into the sack he had placed on the bookstall, looking like he was about to leave.

"and many more!"

Xingqiu stood imposingly in front of Dugu Shuo, blocking his path.

"What do you want to do?" Dugu Shuo looked Xingqiu up and down with a wary look in his eyes. Could it be that he had encountered a bandit?

Thinking of this, Dugu Shuo felt a surge of excitement. It seemed that his martial arts skills, which he had been diligently practicing for many days, would finally shine today—he completely forgot that with his current mediocre martial arts skills, he couldn't even stop his mother's "affection."

"Of course, I want to be your book friend!" Xingqiu rubbed his hands together, making people wonder if he had ulterior motives.

Indeed, that was the case. Xingqiu took out a secret manual from his pocket and showed it off in front of Dugu Shuo.

Have you ever heard of the Guhua School?