Chapter 38: Making a Big Show (Sixth Update, Sixth Update)

  Chinese martial arts have a long history and are profound, but as time goes on, there are fewer people who truly master them. There are four reasons for this.

  Here is the translation:

  Firstly, each school and sect kept their skills to themselves, passing them down only to males and not females, and only within their inner circle, resulting in a break in transmission. Secondly, the development of firearms weakened the power of martial arts, leading to a lack of enthusiasm for practicing martial arts. Thirdly, due to the societal values of later generations that emphasized wealth and pleasure, people were unable to persist in practicing martial arts, which is extremely arduous and something ordinary people cannot endure. As for the fourth reason, it is also closely related to changes in public security. In ancient times, people practiced martial arts for three reasons: self-defense and physical fitness, upholding justice, and seeking a livelihood. However, in later generations, as long as you used your fists to hit someone, it was considered wrong, so the practical application of martial arts decreased significantly, leading to its decline.

  Of course, this is only for the majority of people. For those like Jiang Xia who come from a family of soldiers and have inherited a thousand-year-old sect, the inheritance of martial arts is indispensable.

  Martial arts can be divided into four major realms: one is to cultivate and absorb energy, two is to open the Ren and Du channels, three is to possess strength that can lift a tripod, and four is to return to simplicity and authenticity.

  Cultivating internal energy can be said to be the entry point of martial arts, and when both the Ren and Du channels are open, the true energy within the body can circulate on its own, then one can be considered a master. Jiang Xia himself was already a master with both Ren and Du channels open, he suspected that the black-clothed person was also someone with both Ren and Du channels open, but in terms of actual attainment, the black-clothed person might still be more formidable.

  The four major realms are just a large boundary range, and the ancient martial artists divided each realm into nine levels to refine the realm, and they used "Ding" to divide the levels.

  The Qi boundary is called "Small Ding Power", which is divided into 1-9 levels of "Small Ding Power". The Ren and Du boundaries are called "Medium Ding Power", also divided into 1-9 levels. As for the Ti Ding boundary and Gui Zhen boundary, they are respectively called "Large Ding Power" and "Giant Ding Power", each with nine grades.

  Jiang Xia knew he was a three-star master in the realm of Ren Du, but the black-clad man opposite him could force him back seven steps with one palm and almost cause internal injuries, which meant that at least he had to be a seven-star master.

  The gap between the two was huge, and Jiang Xia knew he couldn't win, so his mind was only thinking of dragging it out as long as possible until the guards from the mountain villa arrived to help.

  But this thought had just risen when Jiang Xia secretly said that something was wrong, the true energy in his body actually started to become chaotic again. Damn it, what's going on here? Isn't this trying to take someone's life at this time?

  Jiang Xia's heart was racing, but he forced himself to appear calm and composed as he spoke to the black-clad man: "Friend, although you are a master of the Seven Cauldrons, I have at least reached the Three Cauldrons realm. You can't possibly kill me in such a short time. I don't know why you want to kill me, but I ask myself if I've ever done anything wrong. Perhaps our grudge is just a misunderstanding. My guards will arrive soon, and I respect you as a hero, so I won't make things difficult for you. Leave now."

  After speaking, Jiang Xia faintly waved his hand at the man in black.

  The man in black looked at Jiang Xia with a slight hesitation, seeing that Jiang Xia's expression was firm and he had already stated his own martial arts realm, it seemed that he had already made up his mind. Moreover, the man in black had also heard the sound of dense footsteps approaching, as well as someone shouting: "Quick! Protect Master Jiang!"

  The man in black slightly furrowed his brow, he was sent to take Jiang Xia's head, the person who gave him the order was the most respected person in his life, and the man in black had never doubted that person would make a mistake. However, from Jiang Xia's performance just now, the man in black felt that Jiang Xia was not a great evil person, he solemnly made a fist and bowed to Jiang Xia, then turned around and left. Jiang Xia watched as the man in black walked to the wall, then his body suddenly rushed over, his toes lightly touched the wall and flipped over the high wall out of the yard.

  It wasn't until he saw the man in black leave Jiangxia that he finally felt relieved, and only then did he realize that his back had been soaked through long ago.

  "Old Jiang!"

  More than a dozen guards from the carefree mountain villa rushed over to surround Jiang Xia, asking in unison: "Master Jiang, are you alright? Are you injured, Master Jiang?" "Master Jiang, where's the assassin? Where did the assassin go?"

  Jiang Xia stood with his hands behind him, raised his head and puffed out his chest, saying calmly: "The assassin has been chased away by me. The mediocre power of the Seven Middle Tripods also dares to come and assassinate me, truly reckless. If not for Heaven's kindness, I would have made him lose his life here!"

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia walked away with a calm and carefree expression, heading towards his own room.

  The guards watched Jiang Xia's back as he left, their faces filled with a mixture of shock and awe. Jiang Xia walked slowly, so they could still hear the whispers behind him: "Wow, the master of the Seven Middle Cauldrons was actually chased away by Master Jiang! Doesn't that mean Master Jiang's martial arts realm has already surpassed the Seven Middle Cauldrons?" "A true master indeed, I never thought Master Jiang was a top-notch expert." "Seven Middle Cauldrons? Ha! My master practiced for over 30 years and only reached the Nine Small Cauldrons realm!"

  Hearing the whispers of the guards, Jiang Xia's mouth curled up into a smug smile as he walked step by step to his own room. He pushed open the door and struck a pose, pretending to be a master. Unfortunately, overdoing it would lead to retribution - as Jiang Xia carelessly tripped on the doorstep.

  The guards heard the sound and looked over, seeing Jiang Xia hastily getting up from his seat. The guards exchanged glances, all of them wondering in their hearts: "Will a master who has surpassed the Seven Tripod Cauldron be tripped by a threshold?"

  Right away, Jiang Xia shouted in anger: "I said it before, this threshold is too high, tomorrow find someone to flatten it!"

  "Bang!" As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xia slammed the door shut.

  Li's Study

  Li Dongyang's long desk was covered with a sheet of pure white Xuan paper, and he held a brush in his hand, his eyes slightly closed, slowly adjusting his breathing.

  Calligraphy is a profound and subtle art, a beautifully written character does not necessarily represent the person's high calligraphic attainment. The beauty of calligraphy lies in its meaning, rather than its form. Through a piece of calligraphy, it can reflect the mood and atmosphere of the person who held the brush at that time, this is what makes good characters.

  Li Dongyang was a person who loved calligraphy. At this moment, he closed his eyes to calm his mind and adjust his breathing, just to eliminate distractions and bring his state to the best.

  Suddenly, Li Dongyang opened his eyes and saw that he was writing four big characters on the rice paper with a brush. These four big characters were written in one breath, and when you look at them, you get a strong sense of grandeur, it's clear that Li Dongyang's calligraphy has already begun to show the style of a master.

  Look at those four words again, and they are indeed "cruel and ruthless"!

  "Knock knock knock." A steady and moderate knocking sound, neither loud nor soft. The person outside the door hadn't even announced who they were, but Li Dongyang had already guessed who it was from the knocking sound.

  "Is it you, Yang? Come in."

  "Creak..." The door to Li Dongyang's study was pushed open, and a man in black clothes, Jun Yang, walked into the room. His ancient long sword hung at his left waist.

  Junyang bowed to Li Dongyang, "Sir, Junyang has failed."

  Li Dongyang looked up at Jun Yang with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He thought for a moment before nodding slightly and asking, "Is he skilled in martial arts?"

  "Hmm." Jun nodded his head, "Both Ren and Du are unobstructed, the boundary of San Zhong Ding."

  Although it was just a brief encounter, Jun Ye had a very accurate grasp of Jiang Xia's martial arts realm.

  Li Dongyang furrowed his brow slightly after listening to Jun Yang's report. He walked to the window of the study with his hands behind his back, looked up at the bright moon in the sky and seemed to be talking to Jun Yang, yet also seemed to be muttering to himself.

  "Not long after you left, I received a message that the mastermind behind the Huafang Pavilion was actually Liu Jin. Now that I hear from you that Jiang Xia has martial arts skills, I think I understand. This person is ingenious and skilled in sensual pleasures and extravagance. If my guess is correct, he should be someone cultivated by Liu Jin of the Eastern Depot."

  "Someone from the Eastern Depot?" Lord Yang's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and he felt a pang of regret in his heart. If he had known that person was from the Eastern Depot, he would have risked his life to take his head off earlier. Lord Yang was confident that within fifty moves, he could definitely take Jiang Xia's head.

  In fact, he didn't know that it wasn't necessary to use fifty moves; previously, he only needed one move to kill Jiang Xia.

  Li Dongyang sighed deeply, "The eight tigers bring disaster to the country and harm the people, confusing the emperor's mind. If we don't eliminate them, it will not be enough to bring peace to the country."

  Leopard house.

  Zhu Houzhao was in high spirits today, so he hadn't gone to sleep yet even though it was late at night. Instead, he called Liu Jin and Zhang Yong over, adding Cai Ning to the group, and the four of them played mahjong together.

  There was a rumor that this mahjong was invented when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, regardless of whether this rumor is true or not. However, during the Ming Dynasty, the popularity of mahjong was not high. But since Jiang Xia taught Zhu Houzhao the modern rules and gameplay of mahjong, Zhu Houzhao became immediately addicted.

  Late at night, he played with Zhang Yong, Liu Jin and Qian Ning, which was enough to show his love for mahjong.

  However, playing mahjong with Zhang Yong is different from playing with Jiang Xia. When playing with Jiang Xia, Jiang Xia's mind is set on winning, so it's common for Zhu Houzhao to lose. But Zhang Yong and the others are different, all three of them are extremely cautious, they can't win Zhu Houzhao's money, but also can't let him feel that they are intentionally letting him win, so this game of mahjong is extremely hard work for the three of them.

  "Got it! A perfect match, hahaahaha..."

  Zhu Houzhao pushed the card away, threw his head back and burst out laughing. Zhang Yong and the others whispered in a voice that Zhu Houzhao could just hear: "The emperor is really lucky, I almost messed up, what a pity."

  Qian Ning handed over the silver tickets he had lost count of how many times to Zhu Houzhao, counting them out as he spoke: "Your Majesty's luck is so good today, you must have encountered some joyful event? I've managed to save a bit of silver, and now it's all gone."

  Qian Ning's voice was soft and gentle, giving off a somewhat androgynous feel. As Zhu Houzhao's adopted son, he referred to himself as "child".

  PS: Finally updated the sixth update, feeling like I've exhausted myself. Fortunately, I fulfilled my promise. Once again, happy Dragon Boat Festival to everyone! Da Ming Emperor needs your support, and so does Old Tiger. Hope book friends can give us a boost, let Old Tiger go further, and let Da Ming Emperor go further, thank you all...