From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Steward Chen, what kind of classic text are you looking for? Tell me, and I might be able to find it for you."

Inside the library, as Chen Shi flipped through one book after another, Feng Luyao asked a question with a smile.

Chen Shi has been coming for several days in a row, spending at most two hours and at least half an hour each day, and has almost searched through all the books on the first to third floors.

Not simply looking through martial arts manuals, Feng Luyao couldn't help but wonder what Chen Shi was looking for.

"Mr. Feng, do you know which books are related to formations? Oh, and also the historical records of the Marquis's mansion, the earlier the better."

Putting down the thick book in his hand, Chen Shi asked a question.

The head steward of a noble household holds a high position and wields great power, earning tens of thousands of taels of silver a year, which is already the pinnacle of life for most people.

Chen Shi was not an ambitious person, but he could not remain in this position of steward forever.

They might not even last long.

Gu Hanying is deeply in love with him, and Chen Shi cannot betray her. He must marry Gu Hanying, and it must be a grand wedding with eight sedan chairs and proper rites.

The steward could not marry the young lady; Sun Bingyi had already proven this with his life.

If you want to marry Gu Hanying, the only way is to stand out from the crowd and achieve great success!

A man's success depends on two things: money and power.

For the Marquis of Jing'an's family, no amount of money mattered; after much deliberation, they decided that the only option was to embark on an official career.

Although Chen Shi was intelligent, it was a bit too late for him to start studying for the imperial examinations now.

By comparison, joining the army would be more suitable.

According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, any sixth-rank military officer certified by the imperial court can serve as a general in the army! This is not a sinecure like the seventh-rank military lieutenant, but rather a position with real power, allowing them to lead troops.

The saying goes, "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers." To achieve great deeds on the battlefield and be ennobled is by no means an easy task.

But for Gu Hanying, no matter how difficult or dangerous, Chen Shi would go without hesitation.

He had met Gu Hanying again at Yongqiu Mountain and learned about her situation and feelings, and had already made up his mind.

After all, how could he, a grown man, let Gu Hanying, a woman, bear the pressure alone?

But before that, the hidden dangers left by the Chi Dragon on him and Gu Hanying must be dealt with!

As the manager, your authority increases, and the things you can access also expand significantly.

Chen Shi first carefully searched all the storerooms in the mansion, but found nothing. This made sense; these storerooms were for storing ordinary everyday items, so how could they possibly contain a dragon-shaped array diagram?

Immediately afterwards, Chen Shi went to the library, hoping to find some clues among these books.

But after searching for several days, they still found nothing.

"Formation formations? Heh, Steward Chen certainly has a wide range of interests. As for the Marquis's mansion's past records, there are quite a few."

Feng Luyao smiled and thought for a moment.

Then, from the first floor to the third floor, he took out a stack of books one by one, and placed them in front of Chen Shi.

"So many? Thank you, Mr. Feng!"

Upon seeing these books, Chen Shi was first taken aback, then his face lit up with joy, and he immediately expressed his gratitude.

The array diagram is of great importance, and Chen Shi doesn't want people to know that he is searching for it. However, he only asked Feng Luyao to help find relevant books, so it shouldn't reveal anything.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Shi sat down on the spot and began to peruse the books one by one.

About an hour later, five books were selected.

There are so many, it's impossible to read them all in a short time. I'll just pick out the ones that might be useful first.

The three books are related to battle formations, and the two books record old stories of the Marquis's mansion. The contents are complicated and may contain clues about the Chilong Cave formation diagram.

Of course, it's only a possibility, and the probability isn't very high.

"I'll take these five books back and take a look, then return them in a few days."

"Can."

Feng Luyao nodded, then smiled and waved.

"No need to register anymore."

Thank you.

Chen Shi thanked him again, took the book, and left.

As the steward, he oversees the entire government and seems to have a lot of affairs to attend to.

In reality, there are people in charge of each part of the Marquis's mansion. The huge mansion is like a machine. As long as everyone is in their own position, it can operate normally.

As the manager, my job is to ensure that everyone is in their positions and fulfilling their basic functions.

Therefore, there aren't actually many things to do on a regular basis.

Of course, if something unexpected happens, or if there are extra tasks like handling the funerals of Gu Chengen and Gu Chengze, the steward will be much busier.

Furthermore, if the master and mistress had any important matters, they would sometimes send the head steward.

For example, the search team that lasted for thousands of years was led by Sun Bingyi, who served as the chief manager.

But overall, the manager has a relatively relaxed schedule.

Still no.

In the Lijin Hall, there were five books brought from the library, two of which had already been read, but there were still no clues about the formation diagram.

Chen Shi sighed and tossed the book aside.

Then he stood up, calmed his mind, and began practicing the Elephant King Stance.

The key to advancing from the seventh rank to the sixth rank is a divine body.

Chen Shi now possesses the withered wood divine body. As long as he channels all his blood and energy into it, nourishing the divine body with the blood and energy, and tempering the blood and energy with the divine body, after a certain period of time, the divine body and blood and energy will complement each other, and he will naturally advance to the sixth rank.

However, this shows that the spirit and blood are actually complementary.

Simply put, the more abundant the blood and qi, the faster the divine body is nourished, and the higher the level of the divine body, the higher the degree of blood and qi tempering.

Chen Shi practiced the Elephant King Stance, condensing divine power into an elephant embryo, making his blood and qi far more abundant than that of ordinary martial artists.

However, compared to that, the withered wood divine body is only of the upper-level warrior rank, which is too mediocre.

The sixth rank, as the beginning of transcending the mortal realm and entering sainthood, is similar to the ninth rank; it is a foundational stage. To advance using a withered wood divine body would be a waste of talent and self-destruction.

Unless absolutely necessary, Chen Shi still intends to focus on condensing the Elephant King Stake to correspond with his divine body before advancing further.

Only in this way can one go further and higher on the path of martial arts.

However, to condense this divine body, the Elephant King Stake must be advanced to the Profound Rank.

Chen Shi had already begun to intensify his practice, and after breaking through to the late stage of the Condensation Realm, he devoted almost all his time to cultivating the Elephant King Stance, but his progress was still slow.

As a top-grade martial art, the Elephant King Stance is already difficult to cultivate, and it is even more difficult to advance it to the Xuan level.

"Phew!"

After cultivating for an hour, Chen Shi let out a long breath and stopped.

Although there has been no significant progress, their resolve remains unwavering.

No matter how difficult it is, once Chen Shi sets his mind on something, he will accomplish it step by step.

They don't care how much time or cost it takes.

In fact, it was precisely because of this kind of mindset that he was able to master the Elephant King Stance.

"I wonder if there's a faster way."

After taking a nourishing pill, Chen Shi sat down to rest, lost in thought.

According to his plan, it would be best to break through to the sixth rank this year, at which point he could resolve the problems left behind by Chilong and then directly join the army.

But at the current pace, it's unlikely to happen this year, let alone next year or the year after.

"Ask her."

If there truly is a way to accelerate the cultivation of the Elephant King Stake, Zhe Liu might know.