Chapter 11: Practicing Martial Arts Is So Easy |
A stick of incense later.
Daoist Longshan left with a complicated mood.
Both joyful and defeated.
Joyful because this disciple truly had a natural martial body—no matter what he said, the boy grasped it instantly, learning one thing and understanding three more. Some of the insights Ning Qi mentioned were things he hadn’t even thought of himself.
Having such a monster under his tutelage was naturally a good thing.
But that’s also where the frustration came in.
When the disciple is too monstrous, the master ends up under tremendous pressure. In just a short while, he already felt mentally drained.
If this kept up and the boy asked something he couldn’t answer—wouldn’t that destroy his authority?
That thought alone—
“Master, you haven’t taught me the other stance techniques yet?” Ning Qi clearly wasn’t done yet. What Daoist Longshan didn’t know was—Ning Qi had already held back a lot. Otherwise, it would’ve been even more shocking.
If anyone else had said that, Daoist Longshan would’ve scolded them: “Biting off more than you can chew!”
But now, hearing his little disciple’s voice behind him, a headache hit him.
Teach more?
If he kept going, he’d be the one breaking down first!
“Let your senior brothers and sisters teach you.”
Leaving those words, Daoist Longshan’s figure instantly vanished into the distance.
Watching his Master’s slightly panicked retreating back, Ning Qi shook his head helplessly.
“Am I really that scary...”
He might’ve underestimated the shock a true prodigy could bring. Although he’d always seemed bright and mature over the past three years, this was the first time his martial comprehension truly shone through. If he’d known, he would’ve held back even more.
Then a grin spread across his face. He looked endearingly at Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi beside him.
“Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother...”
Both of them shivered at the same time and looked at each other in unison.
“You go first?”
“You’re the eldest, you go first.”
“Bullsh*t. You’re younger, so you go first.”
“F*rt! Just now it was Master who went first—are you saying you’re older than Master?”
Watching the two senior brothers argue till they were red in the face, Ning Qi sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Stop arguing—do it together!”
Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi exchanged glances.
“Is that even possible?”
“It’s fine, I can follow along.”
Ning Qi’s eyes sparkled. He didn’t want to waste time.
Now that he had started down the martial path, especially after attaining a profound level in the Bi’an Stance, he already had many insights into martial arts.
“Then... let’s try?”
The two hesitated, then began demonstrating and explaining together.
Another stick of incense later.
The two watched Ning Qi’s retreating figure and began to question life.
“Did you just teach the Qiuniu Stance?”
“Duh. Didn’t you just teach the Baxià Stance?”
“So... did Little Junior Brother learn them both at once?”
“Seems like... and pretty fast too.”
They stared at each other, both seeing the pain in the other’s eyes.
They were like brothers in suffering, ready to cry into each other’s arms.
Fast?
That was an understatement!
He was lightning fast.
Compared to Ning Qi, they felt like all their years of training had been wasted on a dog!
“Little Junior Brother is just not human!”
Luo Wentian sighed, a bitter smile on his face.
Xiong Shi looked the same.
Facing a freak like this—it was just too soul-crushing.
Now they finally understood the looks others had given them in the past.
“But still... it’s a good thing.”
Despite being struck down, their hearts were filled more with comfort than defeat.
...
Ning Qi skipped away happily.
Today had been incredibly rewarding.
Master had taught him the Bi’an Stance. Senior Brother had passed on the Qiuniu Stance, and Second Senior Brother had passed on the Baxià Stance.
He had now acquired three of the Nine Zhenwu Stances.
“Only the Chaos-Wind, Pulao, Fuxi, Chiwen, Suanni, and Yazi stances remain.”
“Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother really only taught me the stances they specialized in, claiming they weren’t proficient in the others and might lead me astray.”
Ning Qi shook his head and chuckled.
That reason wasn’t wrong—but most likely, they just didn’t want to be traumatized by him any further.
Or maybe... they wanted the other senior brothers and sisters to experience the same “pain.”
In short, they wanted to spread the suffering.
Ning Qi could only shrug.
Nothing he could do—he’d already tried to tone it down.
But no way was he going to pretend to be average when he wasn’t.
Especially not in front of his closest people.
“Next up—train while mastering the remaining stance techniques.”
Ning Qi made up his mind.
Just cultivating the Bi’an Stance wasn’t enough.
Even though it was a top-tier stance technique, he wanted to create one that suited him even better—so he could temper his body faster and build a stronger foundation.
In the past, without any martial foundation, going from nothing to something took time. But now, going from something to more—was way easier.
In fact—
While learning the three stance techniques just now, he’d already had many flashes of insight.
And he’d discovered something else.
“These three stance techniques all have their own advantages, but... there seems to be something common among them?”
Ning Qi became intrigued.
He recalled Daoist Longshan’s bold claim that the Nine Sons of Zhenwu could fight even a Martial Saint—maybe this commonality was the key.
Back in his quarters.
With no one to disturb him, Ning Qi could finally go all out.
He started with the Bi’an Stance.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
Even before he moved, there was already a fierce and majestic aura—like a young Bi’an in human form.
If Daoist Longshan saw this, he’d scream “Monster!”
The Bi’an’s Divine Essence!
And that wasn’t the end.
Ning Qi performed the stance over and over. The small courtyard echoed like a roaring beast.
He had already reached the level of perfect divine comprehension—the highest level of the Bi’an Stance.
Luckily, the residences of True Disciples were far apart. Otherwise, if the Outer or Inner Sect Disciples had come near, there would’ve been chaos.
The more Ning Qi trained, the more excited he became.
Sweat steamed off his body. His skin reddened. His membranes pulsed like a mouse darting under the skin.
Clearly, the effects of skin refinement were intense.
There were eight stages of body tempering, and every one was hard to achieve.
Take the Skin Refinement Stage—there were levels: Ox Hide, Stone Hide, Iron Hide, and Jade Hide.
Ordinary folks could spend years stuck just in this stage, possibly never progressing past even one minor level.
But Ning Qi felt—
He’d reach Ox Hide in just a few days.
“Martial arts... really aren’t as hard as Third Senior Sister made them out to be?”
Ning Qi thought.
If Ye Qinghe knew what he was thinking, she’d probably choke on her own spit.
Who the h*ll reaches the peak of a top-tier stance technique just after starting martial arts?!
The higher the stance level, the better the body tempering results.
If you’re blasting at full power from the start—who the heck can keep up with that?!
Ning Qi, of course, had no clue.
Once he got bored with the Bi’an Stance, he switched to the Qiuniu Stance.
Not long after—
Qiuniu’s Divine Essence awakened, and he mastered it completely.
Then came the Baxià Stance.
Ning Qi carefully analyzed the unique aspects of all three stance techniques.
Only when his body began to feel stabbing pain did he stop, immediately taking a medicinal bath.
Lying in the tub, Ning Qi touched his skin, now far tougher than before, and felt thoroughly satisfied.
“Martial arts... are easier than I thought.”
The road of martial cultivation had opened up before him.
When he eventually stepped into the Heaven-Man Realm or even reached Martial Saint, with a long lifespan, he’d have plenty of time to seek the path to immortality.
As for revenge—once he was strong enough, that would be an easy task.