Realm-Hopping Martial Master

The night was like mist, enveloping the entire Yongning County town.

All around was silence, only the sound of the watchman gradually spread through the streets and lanes.

A gentle breeze came. Jiang Shu sat with his eyes closed, his mind filled with memories of the Forbidden Technique he had seen in the Danxia Chamber of Commerce's treasury.

It must be said, the Danxia Chamber of Commerce truly deserved to be a major force in the province. Their actions always displayed grandeur. It was a Forbidden Technique that countless Martial Artists at the Blood Exchange Realm dreamt of, and he had acquired it so easily.

Jiang Shu muttered to himself. Forbidden Techniques are divided into Ancient Forbidden Techniques and Modified Forbidden Techniques. Ancient Forbidden Techniques originate from ancient times when Martial Artists' Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts were not perfected; the Blood Exchange Realm was the limit of a Martial Artist's physical capabilities. Moreover, weapons were extremely difficult to forge, making it nearly impossible to defeat Mutant Beasts of the same realm.

Ancient Forbidden Techniques involve refining Mutant Beast Essence Blood, emulating its strength, and controlling its spirit. Once cultivation is successful, a Martial Artist's body becomes as powerful as a Mutant Beast's—their strength, defense, and speed all increase manifold. However, the dangers of practicing Ancient Forbidden Techniques are also extremely high. If a Martial Artist's spiritual power is insufficient, they are likely to suffer a backlash from the Essence Blood. At best, they would experience a decline in vitality and spiritual damage, losing all hope of ever reaching the peak of Martial Arts again. At worst, they would be directly influenced by the spirit of the Mutant Beast, losing human rationality. The name "Forbidden Technique" also comes from this. Later, generations of Martial Arts masters improved Ancient Forbidden Techniques over time, so that one only needs to burn Essence Blood to enhance combat power.

The one I've obtained now is, naturally, the Modified Forbidden Technique. At the entry-level, just by burning Essence Blood, one can increase combat power by fifty percent. For Martial Artists of the same realm, an increase of fifty percent in combat power can decide everything. What's more, when the cultivation of a Modified Forbidden Technique reaches Perfection, combat power increases twofold. A Blood Exchange Realm Martial Artist who has a Perfect Level Modified Forbidden Technique can easily slay three Martial Artists of the same realm! That is the might of a Forbidden Technique.

Zhao Chengxuan was only at the entry-level. If he had truly cultivated it to small success, for me to defeat him so easily on the arena by relying solely on my fists would have been far from enough.

The Modified Forbidden Technique, compared to the Blood Explosion Pill, is more compatible with Martial Artists, increases combat power more, and lacks such strong side effects. But compared to Ancient Forbidden Techniques, it is vastly inferior. No matter how strong a Modified Forbidden Technique is, it only increases combat power by two times. When facing a Mutant Beast of the same realm, if one doesn't possess extremely strong Middle Grade Martial Arts and weapons, it's basically a dead end.

Ancient Forbidden Techniques are different. Any Ancient Forbidden Technique, when cultivated to Perfection, allows one to battle a Mutant Beast of the same realm using only their physical body.

It's just that, with the development of the era, and the gradual maturation of Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Cultivation Techniques, and Martial Arts, Ancient Forbidden Techniques were slowly phased out. Only the imperial court and some hereditary noble families that have existed for hundreds of years still possess such treasures.

In the Da Jing Dynasty, where Martial Arts flourished, each province had Detachment Realm experts. Even powerful Sixth Rank Mutant Beasts would be surrounded and killed by several Detachment Realm experts. In the Da Jing Dynasty, Mutant Beasts were not seen as a threat but rather as materials for Artifact Refining and Alchemy.

With no external threats, and considering the intense spiritual power required for the cultivation of Ancient Forbidden Techniques—Martial Arts involved Body Refinement, Qi Refinement, and Spirit Refinement. Only upon reaching the Detachment Realm could one truly cultivate spiritual power. For Martial Artists below the Detachment Realm attempting to cultivate Ancient Forbidden Techniques, typically only one in ten would succeed.

The extremely low success rate, coupled with the development of Martial Arts, Elixirs, and weapons, meant the number of Martial Artists practicing Ancient Forbidden Techniques naturally dwindled.

After the recent battle at the Zhang Family, for Jiang Shu, the greatest gain was not his fame in Yongning County town, nor his acquisition of the Modified Forbidden Technique at the Danxia Chamber of Commerce, but instead, it was learning about the existence of Ancient Forbidden Techniques.

Upon stepping into Core Strength, where his essence, energy, and spirit would converge, he was absolutely confident he could top the Little Dragon Tiger List. But if he advanced to the Acupoint Passage Realm, the advantage brought by Core Strength would gradually diminish. At that time, if he mastered an Ancient Forbidden Technique, he could undoubtedly make it onto the Da Jing Dynasty's Dragon Tiger List, and possibly even continue to reach the top. After all, compared to the Martial Artists of the Da Jing Dynasty, with his cultivation in the Martial Arts of the Two Realms and memories from two lives, his spiritual power was already unknowingly much higher than that of his peers. Ancient Forbidden Techniques were extremely dangerous cultivation methods for the Martial Artists of the Da Jing Dynasty. For him, however, that might not be the case. Moreover, on Xuanxing, countless Secret Realms emerge endlessly. If I master an Ancient Forbidden Technique, perhaps I could directly traverse a Heaven and Earth Secret Realm.

I wonder how Mom, Dad, and Little Dumpling are doing.

He couldn't help but think of home. Unlike before, this time, he was destined to stay in the Da Jing Dynasty for a long time.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Shu continued to cultivate.

Four Symbols True Strength tempered every bit of his marrow.

His cultivation of the Modified Forbidden Technique was another step closer to the entry-level.

That day, during the encirclement by the troops, he had avoided battle, utilizing the Two Realms Shuttle.

The next time he returned, he was determined to possess a power that would astonish all the Martial Artists of Fusang, and even the Fusang Army.

The moon dipped in the west, and the sun rose in the east.

Day after day, Jiang Shu diligently practiced in the courtyard. He had endured solitude when he first touched upon Martial Arts, let alone now, after years of practice.

Even now, as his name resounded throughout Yongning County town and countless invitations were delivered to the courtyard gate, he declined them all.

Wine, women, and wealth—none could sway his heart dedicated to Martial Arts.

「Three days later.」

Entry-level achieved in the Modified Forbidden Technique.

「Ten days later.」

Middle Stage of the Blood Exchange Realm.

「Another five days.」

Dream Sleep Elixir achieved small success.

"Young Master Jiang," a voice called out, "the person you asked us to keep an eye on seems to be on his way to the south of the city now."