Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

"Many of the shamans outside the Great Song Dynasty, the wilderness priests of the Far East, and the Native American shamans here absorb spiritual energy from the environment or plants and animals by maintaining the balance of nature or comprehending the way of nature."

"Those in the church receive spiritual energy from their faith and souls through devout faith, prayer, and rituals. Some of the most outstanding individuals can even draw spiritual energy from what is called heaven in another world..."

Zhao Hao was stunned: "Heaven? There really is a heaven?! Does that mean there's a God too? Is God really all-knowing and all-powerful? What about the Heavenly Court? Is there a Jade Emperor?"

Uncle Tie waved his hand: "Don't ask too many questions. Knowing too much won't be good for you now. I can only tell you that there was indeed a God in the past, but as for now, I don't know. There was also a Heavenly Court, and those gods and Buddhas in Buddhist and Taoist legends all existed, but they probably weren't what ordinary people imagine. The hundreds of years of spiritual dormancy have really covered up too many secrets..."

In Uncle Tie's view, Buddhism and Taoism choose the path of harmony between heaven and man, either by seeking externally from heaven and earth or by seeking within themselves, absorbing spiritual energy from the spiritual energy sea, which is the right path.

This is the proper path of cultivation for ordinary people. There are also unorthodox methods that involve borrowing the power of mysterious beings, or even strange creatures and gods. That's truly unorthodox!

Uncle Tie didn't say exactly how he used the power in such an improper way.

However, the heretical and unorthodox practices that Uncle Tie mentioned are nothing compared to this kind of improper behavior, which shows that this method is indeed very dangerous.

Zhao Hao also inquired about what the Sea of ​​Spiritual Energy was, but Uncle Tie didn't tell him. He only said, "You'll know after you awaken your Qi. Telling you now would actually harm your cultivation. In Buddhism, it's called the 'obstacle of perception,' meaning that knowing ambiguous information before reaching a certain level actually hinders your cultivation..."

Zhao Hao cultivated for a week without any significant reaction.

He patiently practiced his boxing, copied scriptures, and slept meticulously every day.

After all, he wasn't really nineteen; his mental age was already thirty, so he was still able to keep his temper in check.

He had never heard of any cultivation method that could be mastered in a week, which would only make Zhao Hao suspicious.

Uncle Tie has been observing Zhao Hao for the past few days and is very impressed with his humble and composed attitude.

On July 15th, Zhao Hao was copying scriptures in the shop when suddenly the copper bell on the door rang.

Zhao Hao looked up and saw a young man in his twenties from the Song Dynasty walk in. He had short, neat hair and a sharp nose, and judging from his gait, he seemed to be a martial arts expert!

"Welcome to Old Iron Antique Shop. How can I help you?"

The man laughed and said, "You must be Zhao Hao. I've heard my father mention you. My name is Ma Long, and I'm my father's son."

Zhao Hao was completely confused: Who is Dad?

At this moment, Uncle Tie heard the noise and came out from the back room, his expression serious, his beard bristling and eyes wide: "So you finally know how to come back?! All you do is fool around all day!"

Zhao Hao: ? ? ?

Uncle Tie saw Zhao Hao's bewildered expression and said, "This is my son, Ma Long. This is the Zhao Hao I told you about."

"Son?! Son?!"

It turns out Uncle Tie isn't a bachelor after all; he has a son!

Wait a minute? Malone? Dad? Something doesn't seem right.

At this moment, Uncle Tie asked curiously, "Are you surprised that I have a son?"

"No, no. But Uncle Tie, how come your son... oh, did he take his mother's surname? Uncle Tie, you're so understanding!"

Zhao Hao gave a thumbs up, feeling that Uncle Tie's move had completely stunned a group of veteran Weibo users!

One careless move, and he teleported away!

Uncle Tie rolled his eyes and said, "Who said my surname is Tie? My surname is Ma, and my given name is Tie!"

Zhao Hao:......Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

Uncle Tie's son, Ma Long, is a very nice person. He speaks with a smile, is very warm and approachable.

His English name is Jack, Jack Ma!

Great name! It's not too late to go back to the Song Dynasty and create the Forty Great Thieves!

No! It's the perfect time!

Zhao Hao quietly asked Ma Long, "Ah Long, you don't have a little niece, do you?"

Ma Long asked in surprise, "How did you know? My cousin Ma Xiaoyu goes to a boarding school and will be back for summer vacation. She's only 11 years old, but she's a little devil and quite difficult to deal with!"

Zhao Hao suddenly realized: "I was wondering why something felt off. You're Dad, Uncle Long, and Xiaoyu? I'm Black Tiger Afu!"

At noon, because Ma Long returned, the three of them had a very sumptuous meal. Stir-fried dishes with hot pot were absolutely delicious!

Ma Long has a huge appetite; he can eat even more than Zhao Hao, who is already a big eater.

Zhao Hao's food intake is enough for three people, while Ma Long's food intake is enough for at least five people!

In the afternoon, Uncle Tie hung a "Closed" sign on the shop door and led the two to the warehouse in the back, where an altar was set up.

Uncle Tie said to Zhao Hao, "Although Ma Long is disappointing, he still has some skill in boxing. We practitioners can't neglect physical training either. So, I brought him back to teach you some martial arts, so that it won't become a weakness..."

In the Taoist cultivation system, the body is of great importance.

Speaking of becoming an immortal, the kind of immortality achieved through physical transformation is not as good as ascension to the heavens, and ascension to the heavens is not as good as ascending to the heavens, which is to say, becoming an immortal through physical means.

The closer we get to modern times, the more difficult it is to cultivate ourselves due to the dormancy of spiritual energy, and the more we emphasize the "cultivation of both body and mind".

Unfortunately, Malone was never interested in magical cultivation; he was only interested in martial arts. And so he became a martial artist!

Actually, being a martial artist isn't so bad. At least during the period of spiritual energy dormancy, as spiritual energy becomes increasingly scarce and dormant, martial artists who utilize their own internal spiritual energy become more sought after. This is because most spells are no longer usable!

However, Uncle Tie was naturally disappointed that his son did not follow in his footsteps. Moreover, the period of silence had now passed.

Ma Long has practiced Xingyi Quan since childhood, especially the Dragon Form among the Twelve Forms!

Although he was very modest and said he had some experience, Zhao Hao was no match for him and was subdued within three moves!

It just feels like there's a kind of flowing energy in Ma Long's body. If you touch him, it feels like he's being sliced ​​off or bounced away. You can't really get a solid touch on him!

Ma Long's movements and footwork are incredibly agile and graceful; he can turn behind you in an instant with fluid movements!

However, Ma Long was also pleasantly surprised when he discovered that Zhao Hao was actually a promising martial arts talent!

"Zhao Hao, have you ever practiced boxing?" Ma Long asked.

Zhao Hao knew he couldn't hide it. Although Uncle Tie had practiced a few sets of boxing techniques, they were all for physical fitness. Overall, Uncle Tie was a Taoist priest or cultivator. Therefore, he wasn't at all aware that Zhao Hao possessed boxing skills.

But Ma Long is different. He's a pure martial artist, even a bit of a martial arts fanatic. He doesn't like practicing magic; he focuses solely on boxing.

So they immediately discovered that Zhao Hao had a foundation in boxing.

Zhao Hao replied, "I practiced a little when I was a kid, but I didn't really learn anything special. I just practiced the routines randomly..."

Malone nodded: "Yeah, the moves are a bit... a bit... a bit strange. But your foundation is very good, which makes things much easier!"

Zhao Hao: This is nothing! I haven't even used that move, Afu, to flatten Ma Long yet!

------------

Chapter 28 Li Zhenfan, a Talent Killed by Heaven

During his conversation with Ma Long, Zhao Hao learned about the current situation of martial artists in the Inner World.

As mentioned before, in the past two or three hundred years, psionic energy has been rapidly declining, and magic has begun to lose its effectiveness.

Therefore, the status of martial artists began to rise, and in the last hundred years, they have become the mainstream among extraordinary individuals!

However, even martial artists have their limits.

Those extraordinary individuals who cultivate physical abilities mostly store the generation and circulation of spiritual energy within their bodies, thus being less affected by external influences.

It is said that in the past hundred years, among the less than one hundred people in the Song Dynasty who advanced to the Bronze level, more than half of them were martial artists.

As a result, monks, Taoist priests, nuns, and folk sorcerers all knew a few martial arts techniques.

After all, magic is no longer effective, so we need some forceful means!

Centuries ago, monks, Taoist priests, and sorcerers, while not quite capable of causing upheavals, could certainly summon wind, thunder, fire, and lightning with a mere gesture. They were practically forced to transform from sorcerers into warriors!

Of course, the same is true in Europe.

The slumber of psychic energy allowed mages and witches to be easily wiped out, leaving only the knightly class of the Papacy barely maintaining their extraordinary power.

This is also the reason for the later witch hunts. Because the wizards and witches were all incompetent, and falling behind meant being vulnerable to attack.

Ma Long explained the current situation of martial artists in the inner world to Zhao Hao: because of the resurgence of psionic energy and the resurgence of the extraordinary, the path of martial arts has become awkward for the extraordinary, but it used to be very practical and sought after.

Because the spiritual energy of extraordinary individuals on the martial arts path mostly circulates within their bodies, it is consumed much less by the external world.

In an era where supernatural abilities were restricted, physical strength was the best means of combat. And he himself didn't understand those spells…

Uncle Tie added from the side: "The true qi of fist techniques was originally an unsuccessful attempt by the ancient Chinese masters to enable ordinary people to master spiritual energy."

"Generally, the spiritual energy of extraordinary individuals is dispersed outwards, interfering with the external world, while most martial artists can only cultivate true qi within their bodies and then gradually transform it into spiritual energy. It is condensed and contained, used to strengthen oneself, and to follow the path of one's own small world."

"That's a stupid method! If simply strengthening the physical body could lead to immortality, then dinosaurs would have ascended to the heavens long ago!"

Uncle Tie kept trying to prevent Zhao Hao from developing too much interest in martial arts.

His son is already a cautionary tale; we absolutely cannot let Zhao Hao be led astray as well!

……

During the break, Zhao Hao asked curiously, "Brother Long, who is considered the most representative martial artist nowadays?"

There is no first place in literature, but there is a second place in martial arts. This means that it is very difficult to determine who is the best in literature because the standards are hard to define.

But martial arts are different; the strongest is the one who is the most powerful. As for the second-best, even if they aren't killed, not many people will pay attention.

It's like how many people have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but none of them dare to claim that they are the greatest writer.

But martial arts are different. Whether it's wrestling or cage fighting, there's always a champion in the end. That champion is the world's number one!

Zhao Hao's question saddened Ma Long, whose low spirits were clearly visible.

Ma Long lowered his head, paused for a moment, and then said, "Now, no one can represent martial artists anymore. If it were ten years ago, there would still be..."

"Oh? Who is that?"

"It's Li Zhenfan!"

Ma Long looked up at the distant sky, his eyes filled with longing and a touch of nostalgia. This is rarely seen in a very cheerful person.

"Li Zhenfan is a martial artist and film star. A big star! He has a great influence all over the world and is a person who promotes Chinese martial arts worldwide. His ancestral home is Hong Kong..."

After Ma Long's narration, Zhao Hao roughly learned about Li Zhenfan's life.

Li Zhenfan was a martial arts prodigy, one in a century. Even more remarkable was that he was born in Hong Kong, one of the major trading ports of the Song Dynasty, and was exposed to both Eastern and Western cultures and philosophies from a young age. This laid the foundation for his later integration of Eastern and Western fighting techniques and physical skills, creating his own path as a martial artist.

He advanced to the Bronze level at the age of 25! This is an unprecedented feat in two hundred years! And it has become the goal of many martial artists!

Hundreds of years ago, when psychic abilities were normal, martial artists were at the bottom of the superhuman category.

Although they had a moment of triumph during the period of psychic dormancy, they still made no further progress! The vast majority could only struggle in the Black Iron realm, except that it was easier to make a living in the surface world.