Chronicles of the Green Vine: A Mortal’s Path to Immortality

Zhang Ling sat in the inn room, contemplating the information he had gathered over the past few days. He reached into a bundle beside him and pulled out two books.

These were found on the Second Master of the bandits. One was a body technique manual, 'Light Spirit Steps,' and the other had no name.

However, the unnamed book contained insights into martial arts cultivation, including basic meridian charts and other knowledge. It also provided a clear classification of martial artist strength.

Martial artists were roughly divided into several levels. Third-rate martial artists could condense 'hard force' within their bodies. As for what 'hard force' was, simply put, it meant training the strength of the whole body to concentrate it and explode it from a single point.

Martial artists who cultivated hard force had increased qi and blood, and greatly enhanced strength. A single punch could leave an imprint on hardwood, making their power incomparable to ordinary people.

Second-rate martial artists could condense both hard force and soft force within their bodies. A punch could create an explosive sound in the air. These martial artists were already very strong, often capable of splitting stones with a palm strike.

First-rate martial artists took hard and soft force a step further, reaching the 'transforming force' stage. Force flowed through their entire body. These martial artists walked with a gust of wind, and could pluck leaves and fly flowers, or leave no trace on snow by mobilizing the force within their body.

Above first-rate experts, there was also the Innate Realm. This was the highest level for martial artists, possessing a strong body immune to all diseases. The force within their bodies had already fused into true qi, which could be released from the body, forming a protective aura on the surface. This was known as Innate罡qi.

The force around their bodies erupted, and their strength was rare in the world. It was said that the罡qi within their body could also injure people from a distance.

The book did not describe Innate Realm martial artists in much detail, only mentioning their great strength. News of Innate Realm martial artists had not appeared in the martial world for a long time.

And the martial artist force mentioned above had a common name: internal force.

In addition to the classification of martial artist strength, the meridians that martial artists opened up within their bodies also varied depending on the cultivation technique. It was inaccurate to simply talk about strength.

Martial artist cultivation progressed slowly, with many dangers in the process. Cultivation also required the aid of a large amount of medicinal materials. As the saying goes, 'Cultivating martial arts requires wealth.' Even if ordinary people had the techniques, they would find it difficult to achieve success.

Zhang Ling lay on the bed, closed the book, and thought about his plans. Bright City seemed peaceful, but the forces here were complex and mixed. However, he had decided to stay in Bright City for the time being.

He wanted to contact these martial artists to see if the energy within his body could also be cultivated.

However, Zhang Ling always felt that the energy within his body and the vines on his arm could not be resolved by cultivating martial arts. There seemed to be another mysterious realm that he had not yet touched.

With his current knowledge, he could only take things one step at a time. With these questions, Zhang Ling fell into a deep sleep.

…

Ha!

Huh!

In a martial arts training ground paved with bluestone, more than a dozen young men in black uniforms were practicing a set of boxing techniques, move by move.

Dragon-Tiger Fist was a set of thirty-six moves with fierce punches, and was the basic fist technique of the Dragon-Tiger Gate. After practicing a set of fist techniques, the young men were all flushed, and their qi and blood surged.

"Martial arts are not something that everyone can practice. Since you can come to the Dragon-Tiger Gate, it proves that you all have determination and perseverance."

An old man in a gray short shirt with white hair stood in front, his eyes flashing as he constantly sized up the young men.

"Today I will teach you how to condense the force in your body. If you want to practice hard force, you must be able to mobilize the power of qi and blood in your body."

"If you want to transport the power of qi and blood in your body, our Dragon-Tiger Gate's Dragon-Tiger Force is the best technique. You have been here for three months, and you must be familiar with the Dragon-Tiger Fist."

"Now I will teach you the mental method. As long as you practice diligently with the Dragon-Tiger Fist, you will be able to practice hard force sooner or later and become a third-rate master."

"Watch carefully."

The old man shouted loudly and demonstrated the Dragon-Tiger Fist in front of the young men. The boxing technique was powerful and heavy in his hands, completely beyond the reach of the young men.

Zhang Ling stood in the crowd and carefully observed the old man's movements. He had already memorized these movements, but the effect and power of the old man's punches had increased several times over.

The old man's surname was Li, and he was a martial artist of the Dragon-Tiger Gate. He was also the coach of these newcomers. Although the man was full of white hair, his strength was that of a second-rate master.

Li stepped in tiger strides, his fists fast and slow, and each move was extremely fierce. Wherever the fist wind passed, there seemed to be the sound of dragons roaring and tigers howling.

After practicing a set of Dragon-Tiger Fist, the aura on Li's body also increased a bit, watching the young men's minds being agitated one by one.

Then Master Li told them about the mental method of Dragon-Tiger Fist, which was a breathing technique. With the Dragon-Tiger Fist, it could condense the hard force in the body.

Under the guidance of Master Li, Zhang Ling and others re-practiced the Dragon-Tiger Fist, but with the mental method, everyone obviously felt the pressure. In one afternoon, no one completed a whole set of Dragon-Tiger Fist.

Cultivation emphasizes gradual progress. In the evening, Zhang Ling and others left the martial arts training ground one after another.

Zhang Ling walked along the street towards his residence. It had been half a year since he came to Bright City. After deciding to practice martial arts, he inquired about the way. Three months ago, he came to the Dragon-Tiger Gate, which was a martial arts hall, behind which was the Dragon-Tiger Escort Agency, a large escort agency in Bright City.

Most of the disciples recruited by the Dragon-Tiger Gate were to train talents for the escort agency. Of course, there were also some rich young masters who wanted to learn martial arts. It was impossible to learn martial arts here without money. It cost two hundred taels a year.

If Zhang Ling hadn't obtained the bandits' property, he wouldn't have been able to enter the Dragon-Tiger Gate to learn martial arts.

And those of them who came in with money could only be regarded as outer disciples of the Dragon-Tiger Gate. Apart from learning martial arts, the Dragon-Tiger Gate had no constraints on them.

And today Zhang Ling finally achieved his goal and obtained the mental method of Dragon-Tiger Fist. With this set of breathing methods, he could try to study the energy in his body.

When he practiced boxing with this set of breathing methods just now, the energy in his body also underwent some changes. With breathing, the airflow wandered in the body, although slowly, but there were some changes.

As for why he used the breathing method of this set of Dragon-Tiger Fist, Zhang Ling had no choice.

In the past six months, he had traveled all over the large and small shops and stalls in Bright City, but he had not found a martial arts secret book that could be cultivated.

What he could find were just some deceptive techniques. Those that were useful would not be sold.

As for the Light Spirit Steps in his hand, it was just a body technique. What was recorded on it were all the skills of moving and stepping, not internal force mental methods.

Those who could obtain martial arts secret books were all martial artists. Their exchanges were all in the martial arts circle. If they didn't enter this circle, they could only obtain techniques from other places.

The martial arts hall was the simplest and most convenient place. Although there would be no profound techniques and secret books here, it was enough to get started.

After all, he didn't have this kind of knowledge. Even if he had the techniques, he would be able to cultivate them. Without relevant knowledge, he would not be able to move forward.

During the three months in the Dragon-Tiger Gate, in addition to practicing Dragon-Tiger Fist, he also learned some martial arts knowledge.

Among them, there were a lot of records about human meridians, such as the Ren and Du meridians, the eight extraordinary meridians, and the twelve regular meridians. It also involved some medical knowledge, which was also one of his purposes.

Zhang Ling was thinking about learning martial arts while turning into a dark alley.

There were few pedestrians here, and there were some exquisite houses around. These houses were built luxuriously, but most of them were closed.

Zhang Ling skillfully walked to a mahogany house, pushed the door open, and saw a row of houses with seven or eight rooms, as well as some rockery, flowers, and other decorations. A long corridor led to the backyard.

This was the house he bought, which cost him five hundred taels of silver. Although it was a bit of a pain, the place was sparsely populated, and the nearby houses were mostly private houses of wealthy merchants in Bright City.

The wealthy merchants bought these houses mostly on a whim, or as a means of showing off their wealth. They rarely came here, so there were not many houses actually inhabited on the entire street.

Zhang Ling did not enter the house, but went directly through the corridor to the backyard. The area behind was larger, and the courtyard seemed very empty. Only a few bare iron cages were placed in a corner.