From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

The next day.

Chen Shi quickly finished his breakfast and went straight to the library.

The so-called library is a tall building in the northwest corner of the Marquis's mansion, which houses a collection of various books, said to contain 100,000 volumes, including martial arts manuals.

Servants of the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion can obtain a low-level martial arts skill for free by applying for it at the library.

"Huh? It's you, you blind fool."

As soon as they arrived at the foot of the library, they saw Lu'er walking over as well. Lu'er had a gloomy face and gave a cold snort.

"What are you doing here!"

"Brother Lu'er".

Chen Shi cursed his bad luck inwardly, but his face remained respectful and humble. After bowing, he spoke.

"I heard that servants in the Marquis's mansion can apply for a martial arts skill for free, so I wanted to come and see."

"You, a mere stable boy, want to learn martial arts?"

Lu'er couldn't help but laugh out loud, her face full of disdain.

"He went out with Second Master before, and now he wants to learn martial arts. He really is an arrogant brat!"

"I just came to check on things. If Brother Lu is alright, I'll go in."

At this moment, Lu'er was alone, so Chen Shi was not afraid of him and decided not to offend him again. After saying this, he walked into the library.

Lu'er gave a soft hum and stepped inside.

The library has seven floors. As a servant, unless the master grants special permission, one can only choose the lowest-level martial arts manual on the first floor.

"Greetings, Steward."

There was a small table by the entrance, where a middle-aged man sat; he was the steward in charge of organizing and recording the books.

The term "manager" refers to someone who oversees affairs in a particular area. The Marquis of Jing'an's mansion is large and powerful, and it has managers in various places.

As stewards, they were often first-class servants.

But the middle-aged man in front of him was different. He wore a blue robe, which indicated that he was not an ordinary servant, but a "retainer" outside the fourth rank!

That makes sense, as this library is far superior to places like the kitchen or farm, and the manager is certainly not an ordinary servant.

"Father."

Before Chen Shi could say anything, Lu'er called out and came in.

Father?

Chen Shi was immediately taken aback, and when he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, his heart skipped a beat.

This man was actually Lu'er's father.

"You've chosen the martial arts technique I want!"

Lu'er glanced coldly at Chen Shi, then turned to Jia Shun with a face full of excitement.

"It's already prepared for you."

Jia Shun smiled and took out a martial arts manual from the drawer.

"This 'Bull Strength' technique is a mid-grade Yellow Rank martial art, which can only be learned by clan members."

"Medium grade!"

Lu'er opened her eyes wide and took it with a face full of excitement.

Martial arts are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. We will not discuss the Heaven grade for now. The other three grades are further subdivided into three ranks: Lower, Middle, and Upper.

Both are in the Blood Nourishing Realm, which is the Yellow Rank martial art required to become a Ninth Rank Martial Artist. The higher the rank, the stronger the effect.

The lowest level can only train up to 400 jin of strength, while the middle level can reach 600 jin!

According to the rules of the Gu family, servants can apply for one lowest-level martial arts skill for free, which is the lower grade of the Yellow Rank. If it is a higher grade, it requires the master's favor.

Seeing Lu'er's joy, Jia Shun couldn't help but smile as well. He then made a note in the book next to him, writing down "Yellow-grade Iron Ox Strength".

If his master inquired about it afterward, he would say that he hadn't paid attention and had misread it.

Although it was against the rules, it was only a mid-grade martial art, not a high-grade one. They were servants, and Lu'er was Master Ze's personal servant. I thought that if they were reprimanded, they would at most have some of their monthly wages deducted, and that would be the end of it.

"By the way, Father, I should also pick out a good one for him."

After a moment of joy, Lu'er suddenly pointed at Chen Shi with a cold smile.

"No need for you to trouble yourself, I'll choose it myself."

Chen bowed and started to walk inside as he spoke.

Did I let you in?

Jia Shun's face darkened, and he reached out to stop her, then looked at Lu'er.

"who is he?"

"A mere stable boy, but what a great favor! He even went out on errands with Master Ze the other day."

"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? A mere riding slave dares to go out with the Second Master!"

Jia Shun immediately realized that this was the boy Lu'er had mentioned yesterday, and he looked at Chen Shi with a cold smile.

"What, you want a martial arts manual too?"

"According to the rules of the Marquis's mansion, every servant can apply for a martial arts skill for free."

Chen Shi spoke truthfully, neither servile nor arrogant.

Jia Shun is Lu'er's father, and he might interfere. At this point, Chen Shi could only use the rules of the household to pressure him.

As the saying goes, "Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water." Jia Shun was in charge of the library, and whenever any servant in the mansion wanted to apply for martial arts training, they had to give him a bribe before they could go in and choose.

Otherwise, Jia Shun would deliberately delay or give him a worthless martial arts manual.

"You're right. Okay, wait here, I'll go get you one."

Jia Shun sneered and stepped into the library.

A moment later, he took out a dusty book and tossed it to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi caught it and saw the words "Elephant King Stake" written on the cover.

A quick flip through reveals that the combination of text and graphics definitely indicates it's a martial art.

"...Thank you, steward."

After registering, Chen Shi tucked the manual into his pocket, said a few words, and quickly left.

According to the rules, he could choose a martial art on his own, but since Jia Shun was in charge of this place, how could he possibly let him choose for himself?

This "Elephant King Stance" is definitely not good, but if things get out of hand, even this book might be lost.

Chen Shi's only wish was to reach the rank of a martial artist and have a martial arts manual to practice.

"Father! How could you actually give him a copy!"

Watching Chen Shi's departing figure, Lu'er frowned and grumbled.

"These are the rules of the manor. If this really gets to the master, I won't be able to explain it."

Jia Shun said something indifferently, then gave a soft hum.

"I may give it to him, but what I give him isn't something you can just easily learn!"

"Could there be some hidden story behind this?"

"As far as I know, none of those who chose that secret manual in recent years have succeeded in mastering it! Even those who forced themselves to practice it lacked combat techniques, and it consumed ten times the energy of other martial arts!"

"Ten times? Doesn't that mean..."

"Hmph, let him practice. He'll be lucky if he doesn't get drained dry!"

Jia Shun's face suddenly darkened, and his eyes turned sinister.

Chen Shi had no idea about Jia Shun's scheme.

But he wasn't stupid; he suspected there might be something wrong with this martial arts manual.

Back at the stable, after finishing his work, Chen Shi leaned against the haystack and took out the book "Elephant King's Stable" from his pocket.

I didn't start practicing right away; I first went through the whole thing.

After reading it, Chen Shi couldn't help but frown.

Why are they all just basic stance training methods?

The so-called stance training involves a set of fixed standing postures used to strengthen the body and improve endurance.

The difference between a ninth-rank martial artist and an ordinary person lies in their strong physique, that much is true.

But the problem is, he only has stance training, not moves. How can he fight an enemy?

What's the use of having a strong physique if you can only stand there and take a beating?

Martial arts, like swords, spears, and halberds, are ultimately 'weapons' for fighting with others!

As far as Chen Shi knew, low-grade Yellow Rank martial arts all involved improving physical strength subtly while practicing combat techniques.

This Elephant King Stake is perhaps a bit too 'direct'.

"really."

Chen Shi sighed softly. Jia Shun, that bastard, was indeed up to no good.

"Let's give it a try."

Although he was annoyed, Chen Shi had no other choice at the moment.

Besides, he practiced martial arts to achieve a higher rank, so that, according to Cui Nong, he could stand out among the servants. As a servant of the Marquis's mansion, not a guard, he didn't need to fight with others.

In short, just keep practicing.

I got up and found a slightly open space, then began to practice according to the manual.

The book was thin, containing a total of nine stances. Chen Shi didn't think much about it and started practicing from the first one.

The first one is a lying posture, which isn't too difficult. It's somewhat like a baby curled up, only with slightly different limb extensions and hand and foot positions. Breathe naturally, but aim for a state of mental peace free of distractions.

After Chen Shi settled down, in order to achieve a state of mental clarity, he simply closed his eyes.

He lay there like that for an hour!

"No, I really can't practice casually!"

Suddenly snapping out of his daze, Chen Shi collapsed to the ground, his stomach rumbling loudly. He gasped for breath and muttered to himself.

I just finished breakfast, how come I'm so hungry? Practicing martial arts really does consume a lot of energy.

If he continues to train, he's afraid he'll ruin his body!