Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

"Master said that all martial arts lead to the same goal. In the end, they are all for the purpose of pursuing the ultimate truth of heaven and earth and thus becoming a Buddha. So, it doesn't make much difference what martial arts you learn. Just go with the flow. If I have time, I might as well study more Buddhist scriptures, and then I can realize my true nature and become a Buddha." Qiao Rui rolled his eyes and said helplessly.

"Amitabha, it is indeed so. Uncle Dingyi is indeed very insightful!" Wuwang agreed.

"Alas..." Qiao Rui sighed. Why are these old monks all the same?

"But before becoming a Buddha, I must have a way to protect myself, right? Senior brother, please tell me what top-level martial arts are suitable for me."

"You..." Wuwang shook his head and laughed. He already knew on that day in Shushan that Qiao Rui was doomed to love and had numerous love debts. It would be extremely difficult to ask him to let go of everything and practice Buddhism in peace. It would be better to help him improve his strength so that he could get what he wanted and overcome his love troubles as soon as possible.

The old monk did not say anything at the moment, but asked with a smile: "What do you think?"

Qiao Rui hesitated for a moment and said, "My Dragon Subduing Palm is indeed powerful, but the moves are not sophisticated enough and are a bit crude. It is only a top-level martial art.

So, can you please ask the senior monks of Bodhi Temple to study and improve my martial arts to the level of peerless martial arts, on par with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms? "

When he fought with Jia Renyi on the top of Mount Shu that day, he had witnessed the power and concentration of the authentic Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. If Jia Renyi had not been so skilled, he would have suffered a loss.

"You think too simply." Wuwang shook his head slowly. "Firstly, three top-level martial arts are not enough to exchange for the Bodhi Academy to tailor-make a peerless martial art for you. Secondly, how can a peerless martial art be created just by saying so? Any martial art, not to mention peerless, but top-level martial arts, or even advanced martial arts, requires dozens of years or even a lifetime of practice before you can occasionally obtain it. Can you afford to wait?"

"This..." Qiao Rui was speechless. If he waited in Shaolin for decades, the opportunity would be gone.

Seeing Qiao Rui's disappointed face, Wuwang comforted him: "You might as well get a top-level martial art with miraculous moves and practice hard day and night, and then verify it with the Dragon Subduing Palm. With your qualifications, you may gain something with time and effort."

"That's all we can do!" Qiao Rui sighed and asked, "Brother, do you have any good palm techniques to recommend?"

Wu Wang thought for a moment and said, "The advanced martial arts Vajra Palm that you have mastered has two related top-level palm techniques. One is the Power Vajra Palm, which further enhances the power of the Vajra Palm and makes it extremely powerful. The other is the Prajna Vajra Palm. Prajna means great wisdom. As the name suggests, the Prajna Vajra Palm retains the power of the Vajra Palm while improving the moves to be more magical and extremely profound."

"Brother, do you want me to learn the Prajna Vajra Palm?" Qiao Rui guessed.

"Good, good!" Wuwang nodded.

Although the Dragon Subduing Palm could not be upgraded for a while, at least it had a direction. Qiao Rui was happy and asked, "I wonder if I can exchange it for the Shaolin Nine Yang Gong?"

He still wanted to collect the Nine Yang Gong of the three schools of Shaolin, Wudang and Emei, and restore the Nine Yang Manual as much as possible, so as to greatly improve his internal strength.

"Sure!" Wuwang nodded. "You can use the extra merit points to exchange for some elixirs to assist in your cultivation at the Medicine King Hall. If you practice diligently, you will soon reach a higher level."

"Exchange for elixirs? Can't I exchange for a top-level martial art?" Qiao Rui was surprised. He could go to the Qingtianwei's base to buy elixirs. Why waste merit points on something that can be solved with money? Wouldn't it be better to exchange for a top-level secret book?

"Three for three, I'm afraid I don't have enough merit points, so I can only exchange three for two!" Wuwang smiled calmly, "Didn't Junior Brother Wuchen tell you that I'll get low in and high out?"

What the hell, he entered at a low level but came out at a high level. Qiao Rui was secretly complaining in his heart. Senior Brother Wu Chen from the Reception Hall looked like a great monk, but he acted like a cunning businessman.

"If I don't have enough merit points, I can go and earn them. Brother, can you recommend me another top-level martial art?" Qiao Rui made up his mind to learn another top-level martial art. Otherwise, why would he come to Shaolin?

You have already found a master, so you have a backer. What remains is to learn more skills. If you don't learn some advanced martial arts after joining Shaolin, how can you live up to the reputation of being the best martial art in the world?

Seeing that Qiao Rui was determined to do so, Wuwang did not try to persuade him. He pondered for a moment and then said, "The level of a person's martial arts is generally determined by three aspects: internal strength, lightness, and body movements. Since you have already chosen your internal strength, it will be useless to learn more. As for lightness..."

The old monk paused and said, "When we were in Shushan, I saw that you were swift and quick in your movements, and your advance and retreat were well planned. Your Qinggong was quite good. Is that also a top-level martial art?"

"It's a top-level martial art, and it's also one of the three martial arts I want to hand over to my sect in exchange for merit points." Qiao Rui said.

"In this case, you don't need to learn Qinggong anymore. When you travel around the world, top-level Qinggong is enough!" Wuwang nodded and smiled.

"Then learn another martial art move?" Qiao Rui asked.

"The martial arts moves are divided into fist, palm, finger, claw, kick, blade and hidden weapon. You have great attainments in palm and sword techniques. Since you have already chosen the palm technique, why not choose the sword technique now? It is worse than choosing other martial arts without relevant foundation." Wuwang said.

"Okay, it's up to you, senior brother." The old monk's analysis made sense, and Qiao Rui readily agreed.

"Have you heard of the Burning Wood Sword Technique?" Wuwang asked.

Qiao Rui nodded, "I think I've heard of it."

"The Burning Wood Sword Technique is a top-level martial art, one of the 72 Shaolin Kung Fu skills. Its moves are fierce and swift, extremely domineering, and driven by masculine internal force. The sword force is scorching and fiery. When practiced to perfection, the sword force can burn dead wood when it leaves the body. Its power is evident."

“But you need a good sword to fully unleash your masculine internal energy,” Wuwang explained.

"That's it!" Qiao Rui clapped his hands in praise, and made up his mind that after leaving Shaolin, he would go to Qingtianwei to see if there were any good swords. When he went down to Shushan, he had punished evil along the way and had accumulated a lot of merit points. If he took on a few more big tasks, he might be able to be promoted to Baiyu Qingtianwei, and then he would definitely find a top-quality sword.

“Okay, then let’s do this. You should copy out the three martial arts as soon as possible and I will submit them to Bodhi Temple for identification. During the waiting days, you can practice more basic Shaolin martial arts and accumulate more knowledge.” Wuwang suggested.

"Yes, senior brother!" Qiao Rui responded, and seeing the ready-made pen, ink, paper and inkstone in the room, he started to copy the secret book from memory.

After an incense stick of time, Wuwang put away the secret book and said with a smile: "Go find Yan Kuan. He lives in one of the two separate meditation rooms facing south. It's easy to find him."

Qiao Rui nodded, said goodbye and left.

After leaving the Prajna Hall, Qiao Rui came to the Zen room area. The Zen rooms in the four-courtyard area are slightly smaller than those in the three-courtyard area, but each room only accommodates two to four people, so it is still relatively spacious for an individual.

Rows of Zen rooms are built along the walls of the four-courtyard complex, facing east and backing west, in an orderly manner. Only the two rooms on the southernmost end face north and south, which are particularly conspicuous.

As Qiao Rui approached, the two rooms opened at the same time, and a person walked out of each room.

The three of them saw each other and couldn't help but pause, then their expressions changed slightly.

"It's you!"