Chapter 7: The High Martial World

  "Just took your pill." Tang An ran a few steps, arrived in front of the little girl, and said with gratitude. But unexpectedly, the little girl had a cold face, only glanced at Tang An lightly and started coughing again: "It's nothing. This pill, I was originally going to throw it away. However, I saw that you have no martial arts foundation, not even any internal energy cultivated, yet you still came to participate in the assessment... If it weren't for me... Never mind, consider this as repayment for that bottle of honey water. I don't like owing others favors." After finishing speaking, the little girl turned around decisively, walked away with small steps, and ignored Tang An, leaving with her head held high.

  Tang An looked at her with a mixture of annoyance and resignation, watching as she spoke in an overbearing and pretentious manner, her mouth pursed in distaste.

  After a while, his stomach growled loudly.

  Tang An looked up at the sun and thought it was time to go back for lunch. He patted his slightly empty stomach, just about to leave. But suddenly, he felt all his energy being drained away, his legs couldn't stand still, and with a "thud", he sat down on the ground. The other kids heard the noise, turned their heads around, saw a chubby kid sitting stupidly on the ground like a round ball, and burst out laughing.

  Tang An's mouth twitched awkwardly: "I didn't expect the side effects to be so intense. Can't even move a single finger, is it really that serious?"

  Three days later, Tang An trudged wearily into the "Shu Mountain Association" with his own bundle slung over his shoulder.

  He hobbled through the gate with his sore legs, muttering to himself: "Next time I'll never take medicine randomly again. The 10-minute effect actually made my whole body ache for three days..." But thinking about saving 1000 taels of silver and not losing face, it was worth it!

  In the courtyard, a group of children were already waiting, each with a radiant and enthusiastic expression. After all, they were all winners who had passed the assessment in the past three days, so it was natural for them to look proud!

  "Hurry up and line up, newcomers come here to get your stuff! No dawdling allowed! If you don't make it to the mountain dojo by noon, you'll be canceling lunch!" Someone shouted from afar, and the originally idle little brats suddenly swarmed towards the center like flies. Hungry stomachs aren't something to play with!

  Everything was packed into a bundle, neatly stacked, so it was picked up quickly, and soon it was Tang An's turn. Tang An weighed the bundle. It was light as a feather, with only a few sets of clothes inside.

  "Huh? It seems like there's another book? Could it be a martial arts manual?"

  Tang An thought of this, his heart was greatly moved, and he immediately walked to one side to start untying the bundle. He quickly turned out all the things to check. Two sets of clothes, with a small black sword embroidered on the cuffs and collar, were the symbolic things of Shu Mountain Sword Sect. Except for these two sets of clothes, Tang An indeed found a blue-covered book at the bottom of the bundle. Although it was only a few thin pages, it made Tang An feel like he had gained a treasure!

  No mistake, it's really a martial arts secret book!

  White background with black characters, on which were written a few large words "Shu Mountain Inner Strength Mind Method First Three Layers" in a flying dragon and dancing phoenix style, causing Tang An to be unable to resist giving it a big kiss.

  Turning over page one, page two, page three... all the way to the tenth and final page, Tang An read through it in one go, thinking as he looked.

  "It is said that by cultivating this mental method, ordinary people can develop a sense of energy within three months and enter the 'First Realm of Heaven and Man, Cultivating Energy for Health', allowing them to possess 100 catties of strength. No wonder the outer sect disciples of Mount Shu have to take a test after entering the sect for three months. If they still cannot lift a 100-catty boulder by then, it is clear that they are not suitable for cultivating internal energy. Because if one has been tempered since childhood, lifting a 50-catty stone lock is no big deal, and there are many people with exceptional physical talent. However, in the Jianghu world, even if you have innate divine strength, if you cannot cultivate internal energy, you will not be able to reach the realm of a top-notch expert. After all, a top-notch expert is a monster who can burst out 5,000 catties of strength in an instant! 5,000 catties of strength - that is no longer a realm that humans can achieve with just their physical body!"

  "The first realm of the heavenly man, practicing qi and nourishing life. Once you've cultivated a sense of qi, you can start cultivating internal power. The internal energy circulates through the meridians, complementing the nourishment of the muscles with medicine, naturally achieving the effect of nourishing life. In the martial arts world, those with deep internal power live long lives. When internal power reaches a certain level, it even has the ability to slow down aging. A sixty-year-old who looks like they're in their thirties is not uncommon among high-level practitioners."

  "Hmm? It's also said that if one has a strong innate talent, they can reach the Second Realm of Heaven and Man, Washing the Marrow and Felling the Classics, and change their physical constitution with just these three layers of mental techniques. Upon reaching this realm, those who were originally weak will have all their illnesses eliminated and their bodies will be at peace. Those who were originally strong will have their meridians expanded, and their internal energy will flourish!"

  "So that's it! No wonder those who have achieved success in cultivating internal energy rarely get sick unless their internal organs are injured. It turns out that the second realm of Tian Ren has such an effect. The second realm is so powerful, what about the third realm of Tian Ren? What about the fourth realm?"

  "In my original world, only the most powerful martial arts manuals had the effect of washing the marrow and changing the bones. But in this world, just reaching the second realm can already change one's physique? This is a bit too overpowered, isn't it?"

  "The Ten Realms of Heaven and Man, why is it called 'Heaven and Man'? Is it just because every time you ascend to the next level, your martial arts skills become higher? No! It shouldn't be that simple. The Ten Realms of Heaven and Man, in my understanding, should be that every time you ascend to the next level, your strength will surge forward, completely bridging the gap between heaven and man! And yet, ascending to each level is as difficult as reaching the heavens! If someone truly reaches the tenth realm, they are no longer an ordinary person, but a true Heaven and Man!"

  Thinking of this, Tang An's blood was boiling with excitement! This world doesn't seem to be a purely martial arts world! At the very least, it should be a legendary high-martial world. Moreover, it has been developed for a long time and has its own perfect system. It's not like Jin Yong or Gu Long's world where the masters reach the peak and then live in loneliness like snow! This world has no peak!

  Since there is a tenth level of the heavenly human boundary, then someone must have reached this boundary before. Why did he only divide it into the tenth level? What kind of scenery is above the tenth level? Is it really the realm of immortals?

  It's very likely!

  Tang An's face had already turned red with excitement at this thought.

  But after a while, he still suppressed that strong excitement. Thinking about these things so early on is a bit too far-fetched. He's just a young kid who hasn't even reached the first realm yet, and the road ahead is still very long...

  Tang An opened the "Shu Mountain Inner Work Heart Method" and quietly read it, then felt the movement of his dantian according to what was written on it.

  He closed his eyes, and all his spirit was concentrated in his dantian. Before long, the dantian became warm and a thread of air flow appeared, circulating round and round in the lower abdomen...

  "Ding~ System Prompt: Host successfully cultivated Mt. Shu's Inner Strength Mind Method, entered the First Realm of Heaven and Man, currently at the initial stage."

  "Ding~ System Prompt: The host's current reputation value is 0. Completing system tasks not only rewards you with system-gifted items, but also earns corresponding reputation values. Please review carefully. PS: When the reputation value accumulates to a certain degree, you will receive unexpected gifts or tasks from the system."

  Come back at night and write another chapter. This chapter is purely a transitional chapter.