A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Guan Luoyang followed Qiu Di to visit various places, but before he could even react, Qiu Di became impatient.

"Alas, Brother Guan, you've come at the wrong time. The earthquake hasn't been over for long, and there's hardly anything to see around here now."

Qiu Di complained for a moment, then suddenly thought, "Oh, right, you're a martial artist, let me take you to Senri-in Temple."

The two of them went straight down the back of the mountain.

Despite being called Sennichiin, when you get there you realize there's no walled courtyard at all; it's just a flat, rammed earth plot of land with the words "Sennichiin" written on a wooden sign.

On the flat ground were weapon racks, stone locks, millstones, wooden stakes, archery targets, and scarecrows, each occupying a place, clearly a training ground.

On the nearest wooden shelf hung dozens of heavy, dark vests.

Guan Luoyang took two steps closer, reached out and pinched it, and knew that it was a vest made of thick leather filled with iron sand, worn to train strength. The vest weighed at least fifty pounds.

Under the wooden frame, there were stacks of iron tiles with holes in them, through which thin ropes could be threaded and tied to the calves and thighs.

Qiu Di, standing beside her, said with a smile, "How about it? This place suits your taste better than those high walls and statues from before, right?"

"Ha, that's not bad, but aren't you all supposed to be studying magic? Why are you practicing this too?"

Guan Luoyang walked over to the stone locks. Several stone locks were placed together, and an iron chain extended from each stone lock. At the end of the iron chain was a ring the size of a finger.

He slipped the five rings onto the five fingers of his right hand, raised his arm, tightened the iron chain, and pulled the five stone locks up together, causing them to sway and collide with each other, making a muffled sound.

"what?"

Guan Luoyang's right wrist showed a slight bulge of veins; the weight of the five stone locks was much greater than he had expected.

Moreover, it is several times more difficult to hook a heavy object with your fingers than with your palm.

"These stone locks are filled with lead, each weighing over 300 jin. If you pull them with your fingers, wow, only Master in the entire Tianzun Temple can practice like that."

Qiu Di exclaimed in surprise before continuing, "A sorcerer practicing martial arts... that's a long story..."

According to Qiu Di, in ancient times, those who studied magic looked down on martial arts.

The sorcerers of that time believed that those who practiced martial arts would toughen their bodies and sweat profusely, but in the end they could only earn a living by physical labor. Occasionally, a few would make a name for themselves on the battlefield, but they would eventually accumulate hidden injuries and suffer in their later years.

With just a few spells, one can alter a person's fortune, bring them wealth and prosperity, promote them to high positions and have many children, or bring them bad luck and misfortune. Even more ruthless individuals can use witchcraft and sorcery to kill or take lives, or use feng shui and burial techniques to wipe out an entire family. They don't even need to meet the person in person to cause them to die without having any descendants.

With such abilities, they are revered as living gods wherever they go. Those with more skill can rise to high positions and serve emperors, living a carefree life.

In addition to enjoying themselves, they could even communicate with spirits and gods, command beasts, and seek immortality.

But when the world was in chaos and war, those who only learned magic and looked down on the physical body were cut in two by a single slash when faced with a fast horse and a long sword. There was no room left for them to set up an altar and perform magic.

Therefore, especially in the last hundred years, the orthodox schools of Taoism and Buddhism have also attached great importance to this, requiring students to not only learn magic arts but also to diligently train their muscles and bones, to cast spells quickly, and to move nimbly.

Those evil sorcerers are the most extreme; some of them even use demonic and ghostly witchcraft, poisonous curses, and skin-changing techniques to drastically alter their physical bodies.

Guan Luoyang asked doubtfully, "Learning both magic and martial arts, isn't it easy to be distracted and neglect everything?"

Qiu Di said, "The cultivation of magic is closely related to mental cultivation. People who have mastered magic are more likely to enter a state of concentration, and when they learn martial arts, they are naturally more likely to develop real skills. Besides, martial arts are ultimately an auxiliary skill for us, and we never thought of developing martial arts to be more advanced than magic."

Guan Luoyang's expression shifted slightly: "So, if someone is skilled in martial arts and wants to learn magic, can they achieve twice the result with half the effort?"

Qiu Di hesitated for a moment, then said truthfully, "That's not necessarily true."

Guan Luoyang: "Why?"

Qiu Di cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and slowly paced around, mimicking how his master had explained things to him back then.

"The essence of magic is borrowing power. Those who practice magic cultivate their minds to a certain state, and then use strict rituals such as incantations, tools, patterns, and hand gestures as a medium to borrow a corresponding power from the unseen world, such as the celestial and terrestrial spirits, the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars, or the essence of ghosts and gods."

"To allow a certain magical power to remain in the body, one must have a sufficient understanding of that power. For a normal person, even if they want to understand the most basic type of ghost-controlling magic, they must first thoroughly read hundreds of Taoist books, memorize them for five years, and then practice them for three years before they can barely touch the threshold."

"Confucius read the Book of Changes so many times that the leather straps binding the bamboo slips broke. If we really want to learn magic, we should be no less diligent in this regard. After studying a brand-new Taoist book, the pages will be so wrinkled and rolled up so many times that the thickness of one side of the page will often appear to be several times greater than the spine."

This is troublesome.

Guan Luoyang's understanding of the Azure Bird's Yuan Qi was almost zero, yet this power still remained within his body. Judging from the Englishman's condition, perhaps the upper limit of this Yuan Qi would slowly increase over time.

In other words, the Azure Bird's primordial energy and the magic power of this world are likely not the same thing, so even if one tries to learn the laws and scriptures here, it probably won't be of much use.

It seems that if we want to make greater progress in a short period of time, we need to focus our energy on boxing and martial arts.

As Guan Luoyang bent and stretched his elbows to forge the stone locks, he said, "I'm not very knowledgeable. I've never seen bone-strengthening medicinal baths before. Daoist Jiuhe promised a medicinal bath, but I'm afraid those few pills won't be enough, will they?"

"The pine wood can only be considered a catalyst... Hey, why do you care about that? Anyway, the little guys are already sorting the herbs. In seven or eight days, they will definitely have all the herbs ready, and then we can cook you up."

The autumn flute made the hero smile.

Although the Taoist secret medicines are very beneficial to kung fu, one must reach a certain level of skill before they can be used. Qiu Di and his fellow disciples also tried medicinal baths. At first, they could manage to endure it, but later they all screamed like pigs being slaughtered.

Guan Luoyang feigned a sigh: "It seems that the cost of a medicinal bath is beyond my current ability to repay. If I cannot repay it, I will feel uneasy. If there are any exorcising demons or fighting zombies again, you must take me with you so that I can lend a hand."

Just then, the sound of gongs and drums clearing the way came from the front of the mountain.

Qiu Di, out of curiosity, went around to take a look for a while, and then returned to say, "It seems there's been some trouble at the Commander's residence. They sent someone to invite Master over, and my Uncle-Master left earlier. Your medicinal bath will probably have to be postponed for another two or three days."

Guan Luoyang didn't care. He found many useful tools in the Thousand Days' Courtyard easy to use. He played with stone locks, lifted millstones, and practiced footwork on sharpened bamboo stakes until his hands and feet were warm and his whole body was slightly sweaty. Only then was he satisfied.

It was already sunset when Qiu Di took him out for dinner. Halfway through the meal, a carrier pigeon flew into the room.

A yellow talisman was tied to the pigeon's leg, and a line of small, hastily written characters in cinnabar were on the back of the talisman.

"Qiushi is in grave danger! Master and Uncle-Master, come immediately upon receiving this message!"