Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 187: Chapter 144: High Tier Martial Skill! Special Level Mastery

It had been a week since he returned from South City.

The Divine Martial Society had ultimately paid up.

It was said that after Elder Peng woke up, he listened to Liu Qing and Shi Lei’s report with a livid expression. He remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a single word: ”Pay.”

Wan Ze didn’t ask exactly how much they paid.

He only knew that after Zhai Yu left the Sheng Family’s residence that day, he paid a visit to the Divine Martial Society. Soon after, word came to Dragon Eagle... that the matter was settled.

Wan Ze was also credited within Dragon Eagle for his part in this.

This morning, Situ Bai had someone call him over.

”You handled the South City affair well.” The old man sat in a grand chair, holding a teacup, his face wreathed in smiles. ”The Divine Martial Society has admitted defeat. They’ve given us a share of the mining rights, and the Ming Family now owes us a favor. As for the Sheng Family, they should know how to act from now on.”

Wan Ze stood before him, nodding without speaking.

Situ Bai glanced up at him and smiled. ”Don’t be nervous. I didn’t call you here for a lecture. You did a great job in South City... I originally thought that kid from the Sheng Family would fight you, but I miscalculated. Beating up two guys from the Divine Martial Society is far more persuasive than dealing with the Sheng Family. By the way, I have something for you.”

He picked up a thin booklet from his side and tossed it to Wan Ze.

Wan Ze caught it and looked down.

The cover bore four words... *Wave-Treading Shocking Swan*.

”This is a High Tier Martial Skill from our Dragon Eagle. It specializes in the lower body. Once you’ve mastered it, your Body Technique will rise to a new level, and the power in your legs will double. You brought honor to Dragon Eagle on your trip to South City. This is your reward,” Situ Bai said with a leisurely smile after taking a sip of tea.

Wan Ze opened the booklet, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed text and diagrams.

*”Wave-Treading is a Body Technique, emphasizing fluid Step Technique, like walking on waves...”*

*”Shocking Swan is a Leg Skill with ferocious power, striking like a startled swan in flight. The two are two sides of the same coin. Master it, and you can both pursue and kill...”*

After a quick read-through,

the interface in front of him updated.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Wave-Treading Shocking Swan]

[Skill Beginner Level Requirements: Practice the Body Technique 3 times]

...

’It worked!’

Wan Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

Situ Bai spoke slowly, ”This Martial Skill is perfect for the Refining Viscera Realm. Once you’ve trained your lower limb strength, your qi and blood will flow more smoothly, which will also benefit your future Refining of the Five Viscera.”

Wan Ze closed the booklet, looked up at Situ Bai, and clasped his fist in his palm. ”Thank you, Master.”

Situ Bai waved his hand dismissively. ”Nothing to thank me for. You earned it yourself.”

He paused, then added, ”This thing isn’t easy to practice. Don’t rush it; take your time. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask your Brother Zhai. He’s practiced it before.”

Wan Ze nodded.

The sunlight was just right as he walked out the door.

His steps were a little lighter than when he had arrived.

’*Wave-Treading Shocking Swan...*’

’This is a High Tier Martial Skill.’ Wan Ze smiled. ”What a great name!”

...

「In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.」

The sun shone brightly.

A backyard in the Dragon Eagle compound.

”Ready?” Zhai Jia rotated his ankle.

Wan Ze nodded, sinking his hips and lowering his stance. He brought his arms up before him in a defensive guard.

The next second, Zhai Jia moved.

His figure blurred, and in an instant, he was in front of Wan Ze, a roundhouse kick sweeping out so fast its path was nearly invisible.

Wan Ze raised his arms to block.

”BAM!”

A muffled thud exploded outwards.

A tremor ran through his arms, and the impact blasted a ring of fine dust from the ground beneath his feet.

’Such heavy force!’

The impact surged through him like a tidal wave, one ripple after another, making his arms numb and his chest tight.

Wan Ze had just stabilized himself when Zhai Jia’s second kick arrived.

Another roundhouse kick, from the exact same angle.

Wan Ze blocked again.

”BAM!”

This time, he took a step back.

”BAM! BAM! BAM!”

Under the furious storm of attacks, Wan Ze blocked again and again.

After a final axe kick from Zhai Jia,

Wan Ze could no longer hold his ground and was forced back.

He stumbled back five or six meters before managing to stop himself.

Once steady, he shook his numb arms, gasping for air.

Zhai Jia did a backflip and landed gracefully, not even the hem of his clothes out of place.

But as he looked at Wan Ze, his eyes were smiling, filled with genuine admiration.

”Not bad at all. I just threw twelve kicks with at least fifty percent of my strength, and you took them all without falling... When I was your age, I wasn’t nearly this capable.”

Wan Ze shook his head and smiled wryly. ”Don’t flatter me, Brother Jia. Fifty percent of your strength was enough to push me this hard. I wouldn’t have stood a chance if you’d gone all out.”

Zhai Jia waved his hand. ”That’s different. If I still couldn’t knock you around after practicing for nearly ten years more than you, I might as well just go die of shame.”

He took two steps forward, rolled his shoulders, and smiled again. ”Now it’s your turn to attack, and I’ll defend. Let me see your offense.”

Wan Ze nodded. ”Alright.”

He took a deep breath, steadying his rhythm.

He stomped his foot and shot forward, throwing a punch straight at Zhai Jia’s chest!

Zhai Jia sidestepped and effortlessly parried the blow.

Wan Ze’s second punch immediately followed.

Zhai Jia deflected it again, pushing it down with his other hand.

The third punch.

The fourth punch.

The fifth punch...

”THUD THUD THUD! THUD THUD THUD!”

Wan Ze’s fists fell like raindrops, each punch faster and heavier than the last.

Every punch carried a ferocious momentum.

The force of his fists made the air whistle and crackle.

Zhai Jia stood his ground, his feet barely moving.

He raised an arm, blocked.

He raised an arm, blocked.

Every parry was perfectly timed and impossibly precise.

Wan Ze’s fists landed on his arms, making dull thudding sounds, but he just couldn’t break through that line of defense.

In a flash, dust and dirt filled the air of the courtyard.

Wan Ze’s assault grew fiercer, his breathing more ragged.

Sweat poured from his brow, but he had no time to wipe it away, only continuing to punch, punch, punch.

Fifty punches.

A hundred punches.

Two hundred punches.

Zhai Jia remained in place the whole time, using only his arms to block, without taking a single step back.

Until the three hundredth punch fell...

Wan Ze finally stopped.

He took two steps back, placed his hands on his knees, and gasped heavily for breath, beads of sweat dripping from his chin to the ground.

Zhai Jia stood in the same spot, his expression calm, his breathing perfectly even.

He looked down at his own forearms, which were red and faintly bruised.

”What a little monster.”

He muttered under his breath.

Wan Ze caught his breath, straightened up, and looked at Zhai Jia. ”Brother Jia, is the gap between the Late and Early Stages of the Refining Viscera Realm really this big?”

Zhai Jia smiled.

He walked over and patted Wan Ze’s shoulder. ”What did you expect? You think Refining Viscera is just Refining Viscera, that the early, middle, and late stages are all the same?”

He then pointed to a large bluestone foundation block in the corner of the yard.

”See that stone? A Blood Tempering Realm Martial Artist could crack it with a full-power punch. An early-stage Refining Viscera expert could shatter it. A middle-stage expert could break it into fragments. A late-stage expert could pulverize it to dust.”

Wan Ze looked thoughtful.

Zhai Jia continued, ”Do you know what ’Refining Viscera’ refines?”

Wan Ze nodded. ”The Five Viscera and Six Bowels?”

”Correct, but there’s more,” Zhai Jia said, sitting down on a wooden stool and gesturing for Wan Ze to do the same. ”I’ve said before, Refining Viscera is divided into three stages... Inner Strength, Breathing, and Strengthening the Foundation.”

”The first stage... Inner Strength, is mainly about strengthening the organs themselves, making the Five Viscera and Six Bowels tougher so they can withstand stronger impacts of qi and blood. Look at those who haven’t even reached the Beginner Level of Refining Viscera; if their qi and blood surge even a little, they’ll start coughing up blood... That’s because their organs are too fragile and can’t take it.”

”Then comes the second stage... Breathing. The organs begin to generate vitality. What is vitality? It’s the ability to self-heal. Someone in the Refining Viscera Middle Stage who suffers internal injuries will recover much faster than someone in the early stage. For the same kind of organ damage, an early-stage person might need three months to recover, while a middle-stage person would be fine in about a month.”

Raising a third finger, Zhai Jia continued, ”Then you reach the third stage, Strengthening the Foundation... At this stage, the organs and the qi and blood completely merge, forming a complete cycle. At this point, your qi and blood are endlessly generated, and things like Endurance, explosive power, and recovery will all go up a level. I’m currently stuck at this threshold; I haven’t completely crossed it yet.”

Wan Ze listened intently, nodding from time to time.

Zhai Jia lowered his hand and added, ”The order of Refining Viscera also matters... first the Six Bowels, then the Five Viscera. So you see, you can’t just refine blindly; there’s an order. If the order is right, you’ll get twice the result with half the effort. If the order is wrong, at best your progress will be slow; at worst, you’ll damage your very foundation.”

Wan Ze was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, ”Brother Jia, what step are you at now?”

”Me?” Zhai Jia thought for a moment. ”Of the five viscera, I’ve completely refined the kidneys, lungs, and liver. The heart is half-refined, and I haven’t started on the spleen. Once I finish the heart, I’ll begin Strengthening the Foundation.”

Then he smiled and patted Wan Ze’s shoulder. ”You’ve just entered the Refining Viscera Realm, so first solidify the refinement of your six bowels. If the six bowels aren’t stable, everything after is a waste. Also, don’t rush your progress. Impatience is the biggest taboo in Refining Viscera. The organs aren’t like skin, flesh, and bones, which can grow back if injured. Once they’re hurt, it’s an internal injury, which is a huge pain.”

Wan Ze stood up and nodded solemnly. ”I’ve learned a lot. Thank you, Brother Jia.”

Zhai Jia waved his hand. ”Your foundation is good. Take your time, there’s no rush.”

Wan Ze nodded.

The two then parted ways, and Wan Ze turned and went into his room.

Before closing the door, he glanced at his interface.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Divine Martial Twelve-Ring Leg] (Basic Mastery)

[Skill Intermediate Requirements: Perform this Leg Technique 500 times] (400/500)

...

[Illustrated Guide: Wave-Treading Shocking Swan] (Beginner Level Mastery)

[Skill Basic Requirements: Practice the Body Technique 100 times] (66/100)

...

With a clear idea of his goals, Wan Ze focused and began to train.

「Ten minutes later.」

Divine Martial Twelve-Ring Leg successfully reached Intermediate Mastery, granting a 0.01 increase to his Agility Attribute.

[Skill High Level Requirements: Perform this Leg Technique 1000 times]

Another ten minutes passed.

Wave-Treading Shocking Swan successfully reached the Basic level, granting a 0.01 increase to his Agility, Endurance, and Coordination Attributes.

Among Wan Ze’s six attributes, Power was still far ahead of the others. Having already reached 2 points, it had now climbed to 2.01 after these days of hard training.

Next was Physical Strength... 1.94.

In contrast, Intelligence, Agility, and Endurance seemed to be lagging behind.

Fortunately, both Divine Martial Twelve-Ring Leg and Wave-Treading Shocking Swan could provide Strengthened Lower Limb Strength and increase Agility, so he ignored everything else and buried himself in his training.

「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」

[Illustrated Guide: Divine Martial Twelve-Ring Leg] (Special Level Mastery)

[New Effect: Agility +0.05]

[Skill Ultimate Requirements: Perform this Leg Technique 100,000 times, and consolidate Leg Momentum.] (0/100,000)

...

[Illustrated Guide: Wave-Treading Shocking Swan] (High Level Mastery)

[New Effect: All Attributes +0.03, Agility Attribute bonus +0.05, Coordination Attribute bonus +0.05]

[Skill Special Level Requirements: Practice the Body Technique 100,000 times and perform one Extreme Evasion.] (0/100,000)

...

Wan Ze let out a small sigh of relief.

Having trained these two Martial Skills to this point, he began to slow down.

The requirements for the next level were not something that could be completed in ten or twenty days; even if he squeezed every minute out of his day, it would take several months, or even half a year, to have a chance.

It would be much faster to find new Martial Skills and stack Attributes.

He took a moment to feel the changes. After leveling up these two Martial Skills, his control over his legs was on a completely different level.

’Every movement precise, every angle perfect... I suppose I’ve finally reached that level.’

Wan Ze thought for a moment. ’In a real fight, Step Technique and Leg Technique are one and the same... I think I can now manage to throw a kick without any tells.’

”BUZZ BUZZ!”

Just then, his communicator vibrated.

A rough, heavily accented male voice came from it, though it sounded somewhat cautious. ”Are you... Mr. Tan?”

”Yes, that’s me.”

Wan Ze replied without missing a beat, ”Have you arrived?”

”Yes, I’m right at...”

”Wait for me. Ten minutes.”