Star Sky Professional

"Huff huff..."

In the White Deer Institute dormitory.

Xun Heihu got up and found himself still lying in bed.

Not far away, Zhao Daniu was grinding his teeth and snoring.

Outside, the moonlight was like water, a silver liquid pouring onto the ground.

"Was it a dream?"

Xun Heihu clenched the True Martial Talisman around his neck, suddenly got up quietly, and left the room.

"According to what that Artifact Spirit said, I entered the True Martial Talisman spiritually, and the outside felt like it was asleep, but everything I obtained inside the True Martial Talisman is real and genuine..."

Xun Heihu arrived in the courtyard and suddenly assumed a stance, practicing the White Deer Posture.

He had practiced this Pile Skill many times and was skilled and fluent.

But this time, there was obviously something different.

Under the moonlight, accompanied by the young man's breath, he could feel warm currents emerging from within his limbs and bones, then move throughout his body with his thoughts.

"I managed to control the force of Qi and blood... I did it!"

Xun Heihu was overjoyed: "In the True Martial Talisman, I just did some simple cultivation and directly had a breakthrough... the outside world also followed with a breakthrough. According to what the person claiming to be the Artifact Spirit said... as long as I train my Martial Arts to the limit inside the True Martial Talisman, proficiency will naturally accumulate, then a breakthrough?"

"Moreover, when cultivating in the True Martial Space, only one night in the outside world passes in ten days..."

His heart was incredibly excited; he couldn't fall asleep for half the night after lying back in bed.

Only when it was dawn did he fall into a deep sleep.

...

Inside the True Martial Space.

"Sure enough... I've entered again."

Xun Heihu looked at the figure on the steps, suddenly bowed respectfully: "Senior Artifact Spirit..."

"Hmm, it seems you've already verified it."

Fang Xing nodded: "Remember, don't disclose the existence of the True Martial Talisman to anyone, including your parents... or you'll bring about a catastrophic disaster."

"Yes."

Although Xun Heihu was young, he had heard storytellers talk about ordinary people who got a treasure map and their whole family was killed.

Although he didn't spend much time with his father, he still received a lot of lessons and teachings about handling affairs from him. Upon hearing this, he nodded quickly: "I won't tell anyone..."

"Very well, since that's the case, you can temporarily become the host of the True Martial Talisman. The True Martial Talisman has chosen you, hoping you will become an outstanding Martial Artist and even push Martial Arts forward..."

Fang Xing smiled and spoke: "With ten times more time than others and the aid of achieving breakthrough from reaching the peak, you will definitely stand at the summit of Martial Arts in the future, but to become the host of the True Martial Talisman, you must also make a pledge."

"What pledge?" Xun Heihu instead felt a weight lifted from his heart.

After all, finding such a divine item must come with a price!

Now, what remains is to see what the price is.

"The True Martial Oath: Eternally, being irreconcilable with Panwu."

Fang Xing solemnly said: "Just remember it, considering the current world, sensing Panwu is a big issue..."

Xun Heihu dumbly completed the oath, somewhat expectantly asked: "Senior Artifact Spirit... since you say the True Martial Talisman has many hosts, are there any Divine Skill Secret Manuals left?"

"Secret Martial Arts Manuals? Naturally, there are."

Fang Xing's expression was a bit strange: "But I can only teach you 'Primordial Martial', oh, which is what you call 'Ancient Martial'."

"Ancient Martial Arts? Instructor Xiong said Ancient Martial is already outdated, at best it can only reach the level of a middle third-tier Martial Artist, and requires consuming a lot of flesh and blood medicines... since Da Kang Grand Ancestor secured the world and eradicated Fierce Beasts, the number of Fierce Beasts has decreased again and again, now they are very rare, becoming Exotic Beasts."

Xun Heihu thought of the Ancient Martial-related matters and spoke.

After entering the White Deer Institute, besides practicing Martial Arts every day, there were also specially appointed scholars to teach this group of youths literacy and various knowledge and experiences about the martial world... to prevent training a group of wooden-headed people.

Therefore, Xun Heihu had some understanding of Ancient Martial.

"Correct, Primordial Martial is already outdated, but if you want to learn it, I have a copy of the 'World's Most Ancient Martial', created by the first Emperor of Da Xia - Mang."

Fang Xing said leisurely.

"Xia... Mang? Is he the Martial Emperor?" Xun Heihu widened his eyes in shock: "That is the ancestor revered by every sect in Jiuzhou during New Year, the ancestor of Martial Arts lineage..."

"Yes, precisely the Martial Emperor! Moreover, your instructor's description of Ancient Martial is erroneous. Although Ancient Martial trained to the peak is still inferior to new Martial Arts, it barely achieves the life force of the upper third tier... after all, Mang back then lived over three hundred years, if not for his damaged foundation, he should've lived to the limit of five hundred years, comparable to your new Martial Arts Grandmaster of the upper third tier..."

Fang Xing sighed.

The first generation pioneered despite difficulties, inevitably made mistakes and oversights.

Even if he saw them, to maintain the purity of Martial Arts, he couldn't point them out.

Mang was thus misled, otherwise living to the limit of five hundred years should be no problem.

Although... it's still very short-lived.

As for the few generations of Da Xia emperors that followed, they only knew to bitterly train following the predecessors' secret books experience, practically asking for trouble, trying to carve rotten wood!

"Upper third rank cultivation technique?"

Xun Heihu's eyes lit up: "I want to learn! I want to learn!"

He was very clear that his family spent five hundred silver to let him join the White Deer Institute, barely qualifying him to cultivate lower third rank martial arts.

Once he broke through inner strength and joined the Five Beasts Sect, he could then access middle third rank martial arts.

As for being able to cultivate upper third rank divine skill secret manuals?

Which one wouldn't cause a bloody storm if thrown into the martial world?

Even if it's ancient martial arts, he accepted it.

"Hmm, since that's the case, I'll pass on to you the Primordial Martial created by Xia Mang."

Fang Xing nodded indifferently: "I see the current martial arts proceed from exterior to interior, lower third rank bronze door, silver thread, golden silk... are all hard skills. Once you reach the seventh rank peak, it's the limit of hard skills, enabling an interior to exterior transition, birthing inner strength to take the interior path..."

"What you want to learn as 'Primordial Martial,' well, I'll call it 'Ancient Martial,' follows a different path, starting from physique. Although it has some omissions, it also has complementary wonders... learn as much as you can."

Xun Heihu was excited, then suddenly saw the figure shrouded in gray mist swiftly step forward and point a finger at his forehead.

"Ah!"

He cried out miserably, holding his head and falling to the ground, only feeling his head splitting painfully.

Suddenly, many memories appeared in his mind.

It was an image of a person dressed in animal skin practicing martial arts!

Sometimes, he even spiritually merged into that person's body, feeling the circulation of blood and the changes in various exertions...

That's why Fang Xing knew the ancient martial text used Da Xia characters, unlike the current ones, so Xun Heihu didn't need to learn a section of ancient language, instead letting Xia Mang directly impart it.

"Huff huff..."

Long after, Xun Heihu gasped heavily, rising to look at his own hands: "I... seem to be different."

Though he could grasp vital energy, he hadn't yet entered the rank, still young, his body undeveloped, his combat power akin to trash.

Yet now, he felt he instinctively understood many killing techniques, unconsciously choosing vital points when seeing a living target, even his intuition sharpened noticeably.

Of course, no matter how he improved, his expression towards Fang Xing in the gray mist only grew more reverent.

A keen instinct made him perceive the figure ahead practically as divine.

If a god descended, it would probably be akin to the aura of the artifact spirit before him?

"Ancient martial arts are outdated; in training, focus on new martial arts as primary, ancient martial as secondary."

Fang Xing said: "However, since ancient martial arts are reputed as 'the oldest martial arts under the heavens,' they still have some advantages, helping you solidify your foundation. If you cultivate one or several of the 'Twelve Body Variants,' it greatly aids your new martial training."

"Twelve Body Variants?"

Xun Heihu asked in confusion: "What is that?"

"You current new martial arts also emphasize inherent bones, didn't you touch the martial bone when joining the White Deer Institute?"

Fang Xing explained: "The so-called 'Twelve Body Variants,' you can view them as twelve top martial talent types, manifested through your ancestors consuming wild beasts and ingesting fierce beast blood, passed down through generations in the bloodline... By now entirely latent but still greatly aiding your martial training."

Latent means unlikely to grow scales or wings, but benefits remain.

Except for encountering a fervently ancestral bloodline individual, then scales might appear...

"I know."

Xun Heihu's eyes lit up: "Is it 'ape arms, wasp waist, mantis leg'?"

When he joined the White Deer Institute, he was found to have ordinary bones, yet he heard of another exam with a youth found to have the 'ape arms, wasp waist, mantis leg' bone structure, directly admitted to the Five Beasts Sect.

This was a treatment they'd only receive upon breaking through the sixth rank!

"Ape arms, wasp waist, mantis leg? Barely the lowest martial bone..." Fang Xing sneered.

Xun Heihu clearly sensed a trace of disdain.

He tried activating the ancient martial breathing skill, and, due to having grasped vital energy experience, quickly reached beginner level: "But... cultivating ancient martial arts requires consuming fierce beast flesh or medicine refined from fierce beast blood, which I don't have..."

This is also the downside of ancient martial arts; fierce beasts have become rare exotic creatures now, to kill one for meat is many times more expensive than taking copper-lead pills or Gold Mercury pills.

The head instructor told a tale of ancient martial decline, mentioning the She Family of White Cloud Mountain, inheriting ancient martial 'Double Snake Palm,' requiring devouring a fierce beast called 'Two-headed Horned Python,' but after the Da Kang Dynasty, the python gradually went extinct, with descendants merely eating a python with some Two-headed Horned Python bloodline, weakening the inherited martial arts.

By the time of Jiuzhou era, the She Family nearly couldn't find even Black Corner Python, almost subjected to extermination.

Later, the family head decided to fully adopt the Five Beasts Sect, with a grandmaster from the sect modifying ancient martial into new martial, converting family 'Double Snake Palm' into a style of 'Spiritual Snake Swimming Hand,' only then producing many inner strength experts, maintaining somewhat the family's name...

All ancient martial families faced this, switching to Xun Heihu is just crying...

"I have fierce beast flesh here."

Fang Xing chuckled softly, having Xia Mang collect various mutant flesh with plans not just for research but for storage: "Indulging you isn't quite possible, but to serve as a primer, leading you into cultivation isn't difficult..."