Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

The next day.

Suishan Old Forest.

Gu Shuxian raised his hand axe high, aiming at a branch as thick as an arm from a withered old pine tree in front of him.

He chopped down hard!

Click!

With a crisp snap, the wrist-thick branch broke off at the base, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

The broken branch somersaulted twice in the air, flew two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) away, and crashed to the ground with a thud, scattering a patch of withered leaves.

What used to require at least seven or eight chops can now be accomplished with just one axe stroke.

Gu Shuxian remained expressionless.

But his heart was not at peace.

Hulao Pass!

Breaking through four realms in succession!

He even thought it was a cheat code for a sneaky, developmental playstyle, and was mentally prepared to play it safe for decades.

Why did they suddenly pull this stunt?

The sudden turn of events completely disrupted Gu Shuxian's rhythm.

To be precise, an insatiable greed arose in his heart!

book!

He wants to read!

Gu Shuxian wished he could throw away all his wood-chopping tools right now and immerse himself in his books.

Thud!

Gu Shuxian chopped the old pine tree with his axe, clenched his fist, and let out a long breath.

Stay calm, you must stay calm.

Think about it, think carefully, what was the source of the unique change in the Langhuan Shouqi yesterday?

It is a book of unparalleled brilliance!

Can other books do that?

Obviously, it can't.

As for so-called unparalleled masterpieces... even in my previous life, there were at least hundreds of millions of books, but it's hard to say whether more than a thousand could truly be called that.

In this ancient world with its limited access to information, finding this extraordinary book would be quite difficult.

Moreover, the Great Yan Dynasty prioritizes military strength over literature, a national policy that has been in place for over three hundred years!

In this context, who would bother to compile lists like, "If you don't read these ten volumes in your life, you've lived in vain," "If your family possesses this collection, your descendants will surely produce scholars," or "The shopkeeper highly recommends it; even the top scholar would fall silent after reading it"?

Don't be anxious, this matter can't be rushed.

We should stick to the original plan and just wait it out for now.

"Now that I have reached the Meridian Opening Realm, according to the rules of the Miscellaneous Service Hall, if a miscellaneous disciple can reach the Inner Breath Realm, he can become an outer disciple. However, Langhuan Pavilion cannot go with me. For me, staying in the Miscellaneous Service Hall is far more beneficial than becoming an outer disciple!" Gu Shuxian thought to himself.

Moreover, internal martial arts have different attributes!

Vajra (metal), Purple Cloud (wood), Mysterious Yin (water), Pure Yang (fire), Returning to Origin (earth), Hunyuan (complete).

Five elements and six types.

They are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining.

The Hulaogong (Tiger Prison Skill) cultivates Vajra internal strength, while the Suishan Sword Sect's techniques are based on Zixia (Purple Cloud).

He simply couldn't explain the source of this internal energy!

"Furthermore, the techniques are mutually exclusive, so the Suishan Force cannot be practiced at the moment."

Sui Shan Jin is a martial art practiced by the Sui Shan Sword Sect for its menial disciples. It belongs to the Zi Xia school. Those who master it have a long and continuous aura and are as light as a swallow. They can cultivate it to the Inner Breath Realm.

Jin Gang Ke Zixia.

You can't practice martial arts blindly.

Especially techniques with mutually restraining attributes.

In mild cases, it can cause internal energy disorder; in severe cases, it can endanger one's life!

It's simply unrealistic to think that you can use the Zixia internal force of Suishan Jin to disguise your Hulao Gong internal force.

However, that's not entirely the case.

Metal generates water, and water generates wood.

If one can find a profound Yin-based martial art to harmonize with it, then the Suishan Strength can still be practiced.

The awkward thing is, even leisure books are hard to find for Gu Shuxian, let alone cultivation techniques?

"Don't rush, focus on the present. The most important thing today is to chop more firewood to earn money. Only with money can we find books to read!"

There are many types of odd jobs, such as farming, sericulture, animal husbandry, and cleaning.

Gu Shuxian's residence, Jiazi Courtyard, belongs to the firewood yard, which is responsible for wood-related work such as logging, chopping wood, making charcoal, and delivering firewood.

There is a daily quota for logging in the mountains, which is two loads of firewood, totaling 100 jin (50 kg).

For each load exceeding the quota, an additional five copper coins will be given, with a maximum limit.

Unlike usual, Gu Shuxian felt like she had inexhaustible energy today, easily filling a basket with branches.

No wonder I often heard in my past life that after gaining superpowers, you had to go and do manual labor.

Look at my terrifying Meridian Opening Realm strength, how much firewood do I have to chop every day!

Gu Shuxian propped up the heavy basket and nodded in satisfaction.

Turn around and look for nearby companions.

You have to save face everywhere.

Trees near the Suishan Sword Sect cannot be cut down, as it would damage the sect's image.

In addition, large and good trees should not be cut down; the target for firewood is basically miscellaneous wood about the size of a bowl.

The firewood field is extremely far from the sect. To find miscellaneous wood, one has to venture deep into the mountains and forests. Once you're deep in the forest, you're bound to encounter some ferocious wild animals.

Although the sect regularly patrols the mountains to monitor and clear out wild animals in the surrounding area, who would want to risk their life?

For these menial laborers, sticking together was essential.

If you're alone in the forest and get eaten by some wild animal, no one will know.

Before long, Gu Shuxian found his three companions in a tall cedar tree.

These three men belonged to the same room, Jia-9, and were Zhang Tieniu, Li Dashuan, and Wu Shuisheng.

Around fourteen or fifteen years old, they are all in the flesh-refining stage.

Or rather, those selected to go up the mountain to cut down trees must have reached the Flesh Refining Realm.

They abandoned their logging work, clung to the tree trunks, sat on the thick branches, and stared blankly into the distance, looking as if they had lost their souls.

Gu Shuxian sighed, naturally knowing what he was looking at.

Here.

They were able to secretly watch the inner disciples practice their skills.

For the disciples who were doing odd jobs, the outer sect allowed them to travel around freely thanks to the wooden plaques given to them by the stewards.

Those who are inside the sect will probably never know what it's like inside.

It's understandable that the three of them were so curious.

However, they have been here to "learn from others" for some time now, and their enthusiasm has not waned.

Gu Shuxian wasn't particularly interested. Although he claimed to be learning from the masters, he was actually quite far away and could only see tiny black dots of inner disciples practicing, which was meaningless.

Its only function is to provide psychological comfort.

"When do you think we can become inner disciples?"

Wu Shuisheng, sitting on a branch, couldn't help but say.

"Disaster!"

Li Dashuan retorted, "We apprentices who do odd jobs have to chop firewood on weekdays, repair and maintain tools in the shed when it rains, deliver charcoal and keep watch at the firewood yard on snowy days, and help with the harvest during the busy farming season. We're never free all year round, so how can we have time to practice our skills!"

"If only I could have become an outer disciple back then, I could practice every day and only have a few things to do occasionally. Sigh, I always feel that when my aptitude was tested back then, I was just a little bit short of becoming one..." Zhang Tieniu said enviously.

"If my family had been rich, I could have gotten in through a donation."

"Ha, if I had money, I'd eat five taels of silver worth of Inner Energy Pills like they were food, and I'd develop Inner Energy sooner or later!"

"In the end, it all comes down to us being poor and lacking talent."

"That's not how you say it. Our talent is already good enough. You know, many menial disciples can't even reach the Body Refining Realm."

Gu Shuxian leaned against a tree, listening to the three chatting idly.

He used to have the leisure to wait for them, but today he couldn't contain himself.

The firewood yard said it would charge five coins per load of dry firewood if the quota was exceeded, but in reality, the daily demand was limited, and if you went late, you wouldn't earn those few coins.

The menial disciples didn't receive any regular salary either; after all, in those days, having a safe place to live, work, and food was already a great blessing.

Although each load of five coins is little, it is a rare source of income for me at present.

Gu Shuxian waited a moment longer, then finally couldn't help but speak:

"Brothers, the amount collected at the firewood yard today isn't much. If we go too late, we won't make any money. Let's hurry up."

The three people in the tree heard the sound and looked down.

Zhang Tieniu scratched his head, "What time is it? Let's watch a little longer..."

"Yes, Shuxian, it's rare to have such a sunny day, and the training over there is quite lively. It's not too late to stay a little longer," Wu Shuisheng added. "Besides, if we can learn something from it, wouldn't that be better than working ourselves to death for a few coins?"

What can you learn from just a few tiny black spots?

Gu Shuxian frowned, about to offer further advice.

Li Dashuan looked him up and down, and said in a somewhat impatient tone:

"Hey Gu, when you first came to Room 9, you were such a quiet guy half a month ago, how come you're causing so much trouble now? First you offended Wang Biao, and today you're nagging us like it's our life! If you want to leave, leave on your own, don't spoil our fun!"

"That's fine then, senior brothers..."

"Hey! Da Shuan, what kind of filthy talk are you spouting!" Zhang Tieniu glared at him, then looked at Gu Shuxian with a smile.

"Shuxian, don't take it to heart, but to be honest, it's still early. Why don't you come up and sit for a while? You can make money anytime, but this kind of opportunity doesn't come often!"

"Yes, Shuxian, we came together, so let's go together. If you walk alone in the forest and run into some wild boar or bear, it won't be easy to deal with!" Wu Shuisheng also advised.

Gu Shuxian remained silent for a moment, his thoughts racing through his mind.

He knew, of course, that Wu Shuisheng meant well, and that it was extremely dangerous for someone to wander alone in the deep mountains and forests.

However, things are different now.

As the saying goes, great skill breeds great courage.

He considered himself to possess the power of the Meridian Opening Realm, capable of splitting rocks with a single palm strike and leaping up to ten feet in a single bound.

If you really encounter some kind of mountain tiger, and the two sides are facing off, just wait for it to leap up, and then you can directly use a crossbow to block it!

Having dodged its fatal pounce, the beast's vulnerable spot will now be exposed. If you seize the opportunity to quickly attack its weak point in the lower abdomen, the little tiger should be easy to take down.

Thinking of this, Gu Shuxian cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for the reminder, senior brothers, but I'll take my leave now."

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the firewood shed.

Li Dashuan snorted coldly:

"Alright, you've got guts. Just don't get carried off by wolves, or we'll have to collect your corpse!"

"Tsk, what did you say! Hey, Shuxian, wait a bit longer, let us watch a little longer..."

Zhang Tieniu looked somewhat anxious, but he was also reluctant to leave the inner gate in the distance. He glanced at Gu Shuxian and then at the inner gate, but as the figure gradually disappeared into the depths of the forest, he finally couldn't bear to climb down from the tree.

Wu Shuisheng sighed and said, "Da Shuan, why are you being so harsh today?"

"Ha, what kind of good guy are you pretending to be now? Why didn't you speak up for us last night?" Li Dashuan sneered.

"Besides, I'm doing this for your own good. That kid Gu offended Wang Biao. Wang Biao may not be much, but he's from the same hometown as Senior Brother Zhao!"

"Have you all forgotten how that kid left House No. 9?"

"Even if we unite and aren't afraid of Zhao Kui, why should we do this for a kid who's only been here for half a month?"

"Senior Brother Zhao has been forging his bones for many years and his cultivation level is higher than ours. If he's in a good mood one day, he might be able to give us some pointers... Tie Niu, Shui Sheng, don't you have a few key points you can't figure out? Don't you want to know?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tieniu and Wu Shuisheng were speechless.

Disciples who perform menial tasks have little time to practice, and when they do, they usually practice together. Under these circumstances, only a few lucky ones can occasionally receive guidance from senior brothers from the outer sect, while the others can only practice in silence.

If Zhao Kui, who has mastered bone forging, could guide them, their progress would definitely be much smoother.