Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

At the ferry outside the city, passengers returned one after another, and the passenger ship slowly sailed away from the dock. In the cabin, Qiao Rui and Tian Jing sat opposite each other. Qiao Rui looked reproachful and said angrily: "You haven't practiced the move 'Tired Bird Returning to the Nest' yet, why did you use it? What if you hurt yourself?"

It turns out that "The Tired Bird Returns to the Nest" is a mysterious ancient sword move in the Yue Girl Sword. During the battle, the long sword is suddenly swung out, pulled by the internal force, and attacks the enemy from behind, making it impossible to defend against. This is already the prototype of the ancient sword art of controlling the sword with Qi.

This move requires the performer to have a meticulous control over the force and angle. It also requires at least twenty years of internal strength training to be able to perform it. Otherwise, if one is not careful, the internal force will backfire and damage the meridians.

Just now, Tian Jing's long sword was knocked away by Ma Pi Jin's bamboo stick. In a hurry, she let go of the sword and barely performed this move. The sword move was called Tired Bird, but it was actually fast and fierce. The long sword flashed past like lightning, automatically went behind Ma Pi Jin, and successfully killed him in one fell swoop.

Seeing Qiao Rui scolding her, Tian Jing just smiled shyly without further explanation, looking as if she was ready to be beaten and scolded.

Qiao Rui was helpless, for he knew very well that Tian Jing was worried about him, fearing that other troubles would arise over time, so he decided to end the battle quickly and risked using the "Tired Bird Returning to the Forest" move that he had not yet mastered, thus defeating the enemy in one fell swoop.

"Don't take risks in the future!" Qiao Rui frowned and said reproachfully.

"Yeah!" Tian Jing nodded softly, as obedient as a young wife who was used to being bullied.

Seeing her weak appearance of letting him beat and scold her, Qiao Rui smiled bitterly and shook his head, stopped talking, picked up a book and started reading quietly. Tian Jing saw this and did not disturb him, sitting cross-legged and practicing internal energy. For a while, the cabin was quiet and silent...

For more than a month after that, the two men did not leave the cabin or get off the boat unless necessary. Fortunately, the journey was smooth, and they crossed the Jingjiang River and the Xiajiang River, and passed through the Three Gorges without any danger, and even to Yuzhou.

They would disembark in Yuzhou, then take the land route via the Chengyu Ancient Road to Chengdu, and then take the Jinniu Road to Yaowang Valley.

Yuzhou is the gateway to and from the east of Sichuan and Shu. It is quite prosperous with many merchants and travelers coming and going.

It was early spring, the weather was still cold, and there was only a thin mist in the mountains outside the city. The streets in the city were lined with shops. Qiao Rui and Tian Jing came into the city together.

They found the Changyun Coach and Horse Company. Qiao Rui did not reveal his identity to the owner. He just booked a passenger carriage to Chengdu in the afternoon as an ordinary passenger. Then he randomly found a small restaurant, ordered two bowls of noodles, and waited quietly.

The restaurant was not big, with only seven or eight tables, but there were many heroes sitting there. These people were wearing all kinds of clothes and accessories, and their weapons were also strange. They spoke in a vulgar and wild manner and were quite noisy.

At this time, another person walked in from outside. He looked around and suddenly his eyes lit up. He walked to a table by the window, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Brother Bao, sorry for keeping you waiting!" There were originally three people sitting at that table. After this person said this, they sat down.

The man at the table whom he called Brother Bao saw the person coming and laughed, "Brother Zhou, you are indeed late for a long time. What is your punishment?"

"Brother Bao, thank you for keeping me waiting for so long. I should drink a penalty drink! A penalty drink!" Brother Zhou also laughed and asked the waiter to add more bowls and chopsticks, as well as some wine and food.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Brother Bao said, "The head of Shushan is recruiting disciples this time and has invited heroes from all over the world to watch the ceremony. If you don't go to such a grand event, it will be a great regret in your life!"

Brother Zhou readily agreed, and sighed slightly: "It's just that we are a small family and can't compare with those famous families. Without an invitation, we may have to go to the Tongtian Terrace."

"That's what we should do. Otherwise, if we let in all kinds of small things, it would lose our status!" Brother Bao disagreed.

"That's right!" Brother Zhou nodded and took a few big bites of food and wine. He wiped his mouth and asked in confusion, "Master Dugu of Shushan hasn't accepted any disciples for more than ten years. Why did he not only accept a last disciple this time, but also do it in such a grand manner? It's surprising."

"This time Shushan is recruiting disciples. Not only have all the heroes from the Central Plains gathered here, but I heard that even people from the martial arts forces on the border are coming too." Brother Bao said.

"Oh? The underworld forces in the border areas? What are they?" Brother Zhou asked curiously.

"I'm not sure about the details, but it's probably those people from the north, northwest, and southwest!" Brother Bao said disdainfully. People from the Central Plains have always looked down on the four barbarians in the border areas, and the same is true for the martial arts world.

"It's a big deal that the leader of Shushan accepted a disciple, but why did it cause such a stir in the martial arts world? Is there any secret behind it? Tell me quickly, you 'busybody'." Brother Zhou joked with a smile.

Brother Bao’s real name is Bao Datang. Because he is well-informed, he is called Bao Da Ting.

When Bao Da heard Brother Zhou's question, he put down his chopsticks and said with a smile, "There is no secret. I just heard that the disciple is a stunning beauty, who is beautiful, lively, cute and adorable, and has outstanding swordsmanship and extraordinary talent. She is deeply loved by Master Dugu, so he accepted her as his last disciple."

He paused, then lowered his voice and continued, "As for such a big fanfare, it's nothing more than wanting to show off their strength. The martial arts world has been turbulent recently, and various forces in the Central Plains and border areas are ready to make a move, especially the Beggars' Sect, which has been making frequent moves to recruit people. As one of the four great sects in the world, Shushan has always been aggressive and aggressive, so how can we be content to lag behind!"

Hearing this, Qiao Rui's heart was moved. Beautiful and smart? Cute and adorable? Excellent swordsmanship and extraordinary talent? Could the last disciple they were talking about be Liu Xinyue? Given Shushan's obsession with swordsmanship and its legendary tyranny, it was possible that Liu Xinyue was forcibly recruited by Shushan.

Just as he was about to think about it, the waiter brought over two bowls of steaming hot spicy noodles. Tian Jing pushed the fuller bowl in front of Qiao Rui and said with a smile, "Eat it while it's hot. After we finish eating, we can get on the road early!"

The noodles are both spicy and numb. It is very comfortable to eat a bowl of it in this chilly spring season. However, perhaps the chef's skills in the restaurant are not as good as those in the big restaurants. The taste of the noodles itself is not very good, even a bit weird, but it is not very obvious under the heavy spiciness.

After finishing the noodles, both of them were sweating profusely and felt warm all over. When they paid the bill and went out, the cool breeze outside blew on their faces. Qiao Rui couldn't help but shiver and felt a lot more energetic. He tightened his clothes and stepped forward, but he had only taken two steps when he suddenly felt a black screen in front of his eyes and almost fell down.

"What's wrong?" Tian Jing quickly supported Qiao Rui.

Qiao Rui shook his head and forced himself to open his eyes, only to feel dizzy and weak all over. "Drug?" He uttered the two words with difficulty, his body went limp and he completely lost consciousness.

"Brother Qiao!" Tian Jing didn't care whether her identity would be exposed or not, and shouted in a hurry.

She half-carried the unconscious Qiao Rui and wanted to return to the restaurant, but the limp body was very heavy. Tian Jing half-carried and half-dragged Qiao Rui backwards. After struggling for a few steps, she felt weak and her consciousness gradually blurred. She fainted.