Swords, magic, and martial arts

With each cycle of the Divine Illumination Technique, Luo De's internal energy grew stronger. After several days of practice, he had accumulated a considerable amount of internal energy.

This time, when he was practicing Shenzhaogong, he felt a kind of blockage, as if the number of lanes on the road had decreased and it had become congested.

Is this the bottleneck?

Could it be because the power level of this world is higher than that of ordinary martial arts worlds, and the surrounding elements—no, spiritual energy—are more abundant? Combined with my exceptional talent, this is why I've reached the bottleneck of Divine Illumination Skill level 1?

As Rhodes continued to circulate his energy while thinking about it, the feeling became more and more obvious. He felt his meridians swelling and aching quite badly, so he stopped.

Could it be that my meridians are too narrow, causing this situation?

Rhodes didn't know the answer. He wondered if he could consult Scholar Rakar tomorrow; perhaps something similar existed in the world. Even if not, the learned Rakar might have a way to solve his problem.

He lay in bed unable to sleep, and on a whim, he opened the martial arts system that he only used when handing over missions.

He clicked on the martial arts section and found a new in-game store, which wasn't there before.

Sinful Soul: 1 (Powerful)

Heroic Deeds Points: 1263

Seeing the two data points in the shop's sidebar, Rhodes concluded that the Soul of Sin must have been obtained from the priest he had killed.

Saving the innocent should be the points you earned from the innocent residents you saved last time.

He started checking how many points were needed for martial arts skills in the shop.

It turned out that martial arts skills could not be directly redeemed in the mall; instead, a lottery was required.

You need 100 chivalry points to draw a prize once, and what you get is entirely up to luck.

These thousand-plus points were earned entirely by luck. If you only get one chivalry point for saving someone, you might not get this many over the next few months.

The shop has several interfaces, including martial arts, equipment, elixirs, and miscellaneous skills.

He entered the martial arts lottery interface. Unlike the lottery wheel that you spin after completing a task, the lottery interface in the shop directly showed the results after clicking on it.

After he clicked the lottery button, the results were displayed.

Taizu Changquan (Emperor Taizu's Long Fist): Also known as Thirty-Two Postures Long Fist, it is famous throughout the world and is known as the "Mother of a Hundred Fists".

Luo De was speechless when he saw the result. Taizu Changquan had appeared twice before, and he hadn't chosen it. He didn't expect that he would have to learn it in the end. It seems that this martial art is really destined for him.

He pressed the lottery button again, and the result appeared in front of him instantly.

Golden Bell Shield: It is as if a golden bell covers the whole body, making it extremely difficult for external forces to break through the defense.

[Host has been found to possess the "Iron Shirt" ability. Should the "Iron Shirt" level be reduced by one, and "Golden Bell Shield" and "Iron Shirt" be merged into "Golden Bell Shield Iron Shirt"?]

Without a second thought, Rhodes chose "yes," since the martial arts skill slots were limited, and combining two martial arts skills into one would increase their power while only occupying one slot.

Furthermore, with a lower martial arts level, leveling up is easier and weekly tasks are more convenient.

Seeing that he still had an empty martial arts skill slot, Rhodes pressed the lottery button again.

Embracing the Original Essence and Guarding the One: Maintaining a clear and tranquil mind is to preserve one's essence, qi, and spirit, preventing them from being depleted internally or dissipated externally, allowing them to remain abundant within the body and become one with the physical form. Practicing this technique can prolong life and even lead to longevity and good eyesight.

After seeing this martial art, Rod wanted to try it out and decided to postpone the lottery draw for today, saving the opportunity for later.

However, this martial art seems to cultivate essence, energy, and spirit, which seems much more sophisticated than the methods used by mages in this world to cultivate spiritual power. I wonder how effective it will be.

Following the cultivation methods in the system, he began to cultivate the "Embracing the One" technique. He cleared his mind of distractions, adjusted his breathing, and with the help of the system, he quickly entered a state of tranquility.

He felt himself enter a strange state, neither asleep nor awake, feeling as free as if he were flying in the sky, and feeling as if he had become one with the heavens and earth...

When he came to his senses, it was already bright outside, and the warm winter sun shone on him, making his eyes look like gold.

Rhodes got out of bed. After sitting for a whole night, he felt fine except for a slight soreness in his buttocks and legs. He had been practicing the "Embracing the Yuan and Guarding the One" exercise all night and felt even better than if he had slept all night.

He decided that from now on he would replace sleeping with the practice of focusing on one's inner energy.

With a sudden thought, he used the only magic he had learned, gravity. He found that this time the gravity spell was faster, and the world he observed through his mental power was more detailed and intricate.

Before, it was like a nearsighted person without glasses looking into the distance through a hazy fog, but now it's as clear as a person with good eyesight staring at their own hand.

Unexpectedly, the effect of Baoyuan Shouyi on improving one's energy and spirit was so good that he decided to go to the courtyard to practice a few sets of Taizu Changquan before having breakfast.

Upon arriving in the courtyard, the temperature hadn't risen much with the approaching spring; it was still as cold as before. He took off his thick coat and began practicing Taizu Changquan (a style of Chinese martial arts) in the middle of the courtyard.

With each punch, his bones cracked and popped. After a set of punches, he was soaked in sweat and exhaled a breath of stale air, making a sound like a dragon's roar.

Before Rhodes noticed, the castle guards who were training with the instructor, holding longswords and shields, also stopped and watched him practice his fist techniques.

"What's wrong?" Rod asked, embarrassed.

"I gave them a short break, so everyone's watching you practice your boxing here. It's the first time we've all seen someone practice without a weapon. To be honest, your boxing style looks really impressive. Are you planning to train to the point where you can fight people bare-handed in a tavern?" the instructor replied with a smile.

The instructor then turned to the guards and shouted, "You've all rested enough, assemble now!"

Rod was speechless after hearing this.

Two people got into a fight in Nord's tavern and resolved the issue peacefully by fighting hand-to-hand. Neither of them used weapons and could only knock the other down with their fists. The loser was only embarrassed and it didn't affect him much.

They often find themselves punching someone to the ground in a pub one moment, only to be sitting down drinking together the next.

When irreconcilable conflicts arise, people usually choose to take their weapons and fight to the death outside the tavern. However, this rarely happens because both sides in a death match will pay a heavy price. The loser will lose their life or be on the verge of death, while the winner will be arrested by the guards and thrown into jail.

After practicing a few more sets of Taizu Changquan, Rhodes returned to the castle for breakfast. The castle guards usually lived and ate on the outskirts of the castle, while the lord and his guests lived inside the castle.

"Tomorrow morning at daybreak, we'll be heading south with Jon's family's caravan," Baron said to Rhodes as he approached.

Rhodes nodded and said, "My injuries have long since stopped affecting me."

Having reached a bottleneck in his cultivation of the Divine Illumination Technique, his injuries had almost healed. Even his charred right hand began to peel, revealing the fair and tender flesh beneath.

After finishing breakfast, Rhodes went to Rakar's room to ask him about his health and planned to keep his promise to teach him how to make dumplings before leaving...