6kv Chapter 30 Turmoil and Calm
Chapter 30 Turmoil and Calm
The days after breaking through the triple level of strength seemed to be more peaceful than Chen Luo had expected.
Of course, the initial breakthrough caused some turmoil.
First, Li Jiangwei was surprised when registering the list. She had always had high expectations for Chen Luo, but she did not expect that Chen Luo could break through to the third level of strength in about a month.
"Chen Luo entered the academy in the 94th year of the Da Lin Xuanli era. In his first two years, he was lazy and complacent, but then he suddenly became diligent and made great progress. Within a year, he mastered the Nine Yang Strength technique, and in just half a month, he advanced to the second level of strength..."
She looked at the case file about Chen Luo's disciples, calculated the time, and added a sentence at the end: "Another month, minor success."
These simple five words not only surprised Li Jiangwei, but even Instructor Li couldn't help but smile and marvel repeatedly.
In his own words, "I never expected that such a once-in-a-century genius would emerge twice in just three years from our Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy."
The other person he referred to as "the two" was naturally Song Ruokui.
Chen Luo, still harboring a mix of curiosity and competitiveness, specifically asked Song Ruokui about the exact time it took to break through to the minor completion stage, and finally learned that it was twenty-nine days.
He spent thirty-three days, but narrowly lost.
At the same time, Chen Luo also learned that after Song Ruokui achieved minor mastery of the Nine Yang Force, she broke through to the fourth level of the Force in two months, the fifth level in three months, and the sixth level in three months, showing an astonishing speed of progress.
However, about two years have passed since she reached the sixth level of strength, and she has not made any further progress.
Chen Luo initially guessed that she might have hit a bottleneck, but later he heard that a year ago, several experts in the Inner Realm, including Instructor Li, had given her one-on-one guidance, but it was still to no avail.
Therefore, Chen Luo felt that what was trapping her was not just a bottleneck.
The news had already spread among the martial arts academy disciples. When they occasionally mentioned the once-famous Miss Song, their evaluation gradually changed from "exceptionally talented" to a sigh: "Miss Song, alas, she has faded into obscurity!"
Some disciples even compared Chen Luo to Song Ruokui. One was a brilliant talent who eventually faded into obscurity, while the other was the complete opposite, remaining silent until she made a stunning debut. This comparison undoubtedly inspired many disciples, who probably thought to themselves, "Chen Luo can make up for his lack of talent with hard work, what if I can too?"
Chen Luo didn't pay much attention to these comments, and as for Song Ruokui, even if he wanted to help her, he would have to wait until she broke through to the sixth level of strength.
Don't forget, even if Song Ruokui's cultivation level stagnates, she is still a master of the sixth level of strength. A slap with the combined force of her strength could kill Chen Luo, Zhou Xiaoliang, and Lu Qun all at once.
After mastering the Nine Yang Strength, Chen Luo did not choose to join the Mountain Guard, but instead naturally became an inner disciple of the Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy.
Chen Luo's mastery of the Nine Yang Strength in just one month surprised everyone, but no one was surprised that he didn't go to the Mountain Guard.
After all, going to the inner courtyard meant that his goal was the Qingyun Martial Arts School, and compared to the lofty Qingyun Martial Arts School, the Mountain Guard Division was always the second choice.
Chen Luo also felt a bit emotional about this, as the Mountain Guard Command had always been one of his small goals.
Before entering the inner courtyard of the martial arts academy, Chen Luo actually wanted to visit the Qingyun Martial Arts School to thank Pharmacist Xu again. He had even bought gifts, but in the end, he didn't make it.
There was nothing he could do. The two burly guards at Qingyun Martial Arts School would chase after him and beat him without saying a word whenever they saw him from afar. Even offering him money didn't work. It seemed they had suffered some hardship after letting him in last time.
Later, he managed to wait for several days in his spare time before finally managing to meet Pharmacist Xu's wife, the gentle and kind woman.
He learned that the woman's name was Gu Honglan. Madam Gu accepted his greetings but did not talk much with him about his previous request for medicine. She simply asked him gently how old he was, whether his parents were well, and whether he was tired from practicing martial arts... just like a close elder.
Despite their close relationship, Madam Gu did not ask him to thank Pharmacist Xu in person, simply stating that it was a small favor.
Chen Luo had no choice but to give up the idea of thanking Pharmacist Xu in person.
After entering the inner courtyard of Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy, the world seemed to become calm and peaceful.
At his request, Instructor Li would practice the Nine Yang Force Fourfold Force for him alone every noon. Relying on his keen insight and the blood and muscles he had developed through taking drugs, he practiced martial arts day after day, making rapid progress, but his days were still unremarkable.
After that beast roar, there was no more movement from the monsters in Nanshan. The Mountain Guards patrolled the mountain every day but could not find any results. The people of Qingshan County gradually relaxed and everything returned to normal.
Zhou Xiaoliang also successfully joined the mountain guard and, quite coincidentally, took over Liu Zhengshan's job as the guard of Xishan Pass.
Liu Zhengshan was promoted and became the deputy captain of a mountain guard squad.
This means that in the future, when Chen Luo goes up the mountain again, Zhou Xiaoliang will be the one checking his bamboo basket.
It's worth mentioning that there was still a little bone-tempering medicine left, which would hardly improve Chen Luo's abilities, so Chen Luo gave it to Zhou Xiaoliang and Lu Qun.
Zhou Xiaoliang probably didn't feel much pain during the medicinal bath because his bones and muscles were in relatively good condition.
Lu Qun's physique was only slightly better than Chen Luo's, and he actually gritted his teeth and endured the medicinal bath, which improved his physique and made him progress much faster than before.
Only Chen Luo knew the depth of the pain involved, so he couldn't help but admire Lu Qun.
The only other setback was that he heard there were problems with Huang Chen's marriage.
Huang Chen's fiancée, the daughter of Xu Dianli of the county government, is said to have met a handsome disciple of the Jingyi Martial Arts Academy on her wedding day. Since then, she has been absent-minded every day and even wanted to cancel the arranged marriage. Such a rebellious act is said to have made Xu Dianli sick with anger.
Chen Luo made a point of inquiring about Huang Chen, but found that Huang Chen seemed more relaxed and even had a smile on his face when talking about it, so he didn't ask any further questions.
The days passed by in the mundane practice of martial arts. Occasionally, in his spare time, Chen Luo would go to Li Jiangwei's office to borrow some scriptures about the Great Lin Dynasty to read.
However, there is very little recorded information. According to what he has learned over the past few days, the royal family of the Da Lin Dynasty is surnamed Huo, and there are thirteen prefectures in the country. Lan County is under the jurisdiction of Yan Lan Prefecture. Each prefecture, regardless of its size, has a free school, which is under the jurisdiction of the Da Lin Military Selection Office.
In other words, Instructor Li held an official position and was considered a formal official of the Military Selection Division.
Chen Luo was not clear about what other functions the Martial Selection Division had; he only knew that it was similar to the Education Bureau in his previous life.
In addition, he also knew about another institution on par with the Martial Selection Division, the Ceremonial Platform, which was the place that Instructor Li wanted Li Jiangwei to go to. It was said to be a place for learning etiquette, somewhat similar to the Ministry of Rites in ancient times.
Chen Luo didn't understand why a dynasty that prioritized martial arts would have a Ministry of Rites, which was even on par with the Martial Selection Department.
The days passed in this way, nearly two months later.
Zhengyang Martial Arts Academy, noon.
With a single punch, Instructor Li unleashed a torrent of powerful energy, the fourth level of the Nine Yang Force.
From Chen Luo's vertical pupils, a wisp of pale gray cyclone contracted and stagnated in a very short time, and during the process, it could even be seen that the cyclone was in a viscous state.
This is the mark of achieving minor mastery of the Nine Yang Force. The vortex of surging energy will be compressed to its limit, becoming a gray, semi-liquid state.
Of course, this can only be truly seen through the lens of observing small details.
"There is something I don't understand."
After Li Shen finished his punch, Chen Luo couldn't help but ask, "I've noticed that every time you throw a punch, it's always the shoulder that leads the movement, and the elbow doesn't generate any power from your feet, waist, or hips. Why is that?"
Based on his experiments over the past few days, when using the Nine Yang Force, if the footwork and waist and hips are coordinated, the Qi vortex will be more concentrated, and the explosive force will be greater.
But Instructor Li insisted on using his shoulders and elbows to generate power, never moving his feet or waist and hips. He had no choice but to follow along.
"You'll find out in time. For now, just follow my instructions," Instructor Li said calmly, without offering any further explanation.
Chen Luo nodded helplessly. There was nothing he could do; that was how Instructor Li's training was, and he had to figure out many of the key points on his own.
When Chen Luo was about to leave after the afternoon practice, he was stopped by Li Jiangwei in front of the Moon Cave.
Li Jiangwei, dressed in a simple gauze dress and with her hair styled in a pretty lily bun, smiled gently and said, "Chen Luo, I'm going to Mingtang Su this afternoon to buy some pastries. Would you like to come along and help me try them?"
"Maybe next time, I have an appointment later," Chen Luo politely declined.
"Alright, I'll leave when you have time." Li Jiangwei left, carrying the embroidered pouch.
After practicing martial arts these past few days, he not only got closer to Instructor Li, but also became much closer to Li Jiangwei because of the many times he borrowed books from her. She would occasionally invite him to go out for a stroll together.
As Chen Luo stepped out of the martial arts academy, a sudden gust of cool wind blew by, and he, who was used to wearing only light clothing, felt a rare chill.
He looked up at the sky; winter had arrived.