Xi Heng put the exquisite coin bag into his sleeve and walked towards the west of Jinshi City in the city, where there were many martial arts halls. In her previous life, she heard from the guests of the pharmacy that there were five major martial arts schools in Jinshi City, namely Jinsha Palm, Xiaoshisan Na, Qingsong Sword, Hongmen Fist, and Broken Jade Knife. These large martial arts schools have hundreds of disciples and are very powerful. After practicing martial arts in these martial arts schools and successfully entering the realm of martial arts, you can become a formal disciple. At that time, all the underworld and white world forces in Jinshi City will treat warriors politely because of their identities. If you want to learn martial arts from these masters, you only need to pay ten taels of silver and you can study in the martial arts school for two months. Among them, the price of the two martial arts that require practicing weapons, the Green Pine Sword and the Broken Jade Knife, has doubled - to twenty taels of silver. According to the martial artists who often come to the pharmacy to buy medicine, those who use fists and feet cannot beat those who use swords, so the price is doubled. Not only that, it is more difficult to practice sword skills than fist and foot skills, and if you don't master the energy of qi and blood, you are not a real warrior. Having skills but no strength will only help you deal with a few ordinary people.
Logically speaking, Xi Heng should directly find a type of martial art that is easiest to practice, first stabilize his physical weakness and then think about other things. However, those famous martial arts schools do not accept women. Xi Heng made many inquiries in his previous life and only then did he find out that there was only one martial arts school in Jinshi City that would accept women to learn martial arts, and only accepted women. It’s called, Red Line Sword Academy. Xi Heng looked up and saw a closed, faded red-painted door. On the door hung a gray-black plaque with three dark red characters "Red Line Sword" painted on it, the color of which looked like the residue of dried blood. An old woman was sweeping the dry leaves in front of the door with a broom, making a rustling sound and raising a little dust. As the girl approached, the old woman turned around and stared at her with a sharp gaze. "What are you here for?" "Xi Heng, a herbalist from Yaowang Mountain, comes here to learn martial arts from a master." Xi Heng, dressed in plain gray and white clothes, cupped his fists towards the other party. As he spoke, he took out a gold cake from the purse in his sleeve, which was enough for twenty taels of silver. The old woman seemed dazzled and didn't see clearly what Xiheng was holding. She continued, "Twenty taels of silver can be used to practice swordplay in the courtyard for three months." "It's ready." "Come with me." The old woman who was sweeping the floor put down the broom in her hand and let the fallen leaves that had been swept into a pile be blown away by the wind. The old man slowly pushed open the faded red painted door, as if a new world was opening before his eyes. Xi Heng felt hopeful. She could almost see a future free from illness and weakness. She took a deep breath and followed the old man slowly past the deserted training ground with few people, bypassed an elegant and tidy flower bed, and walked along the cobblestone road to a hall inside. In the hall, a woman with long hair was sitting cross-legged with her back to the door, and there were a few incense sticks in front of her with green smoke floating. "Hong Miao, this person comes to learn skills from me." The old woman said hoarsely. "Elder?" The woman looked back upon hearing the voice, stood up and turned around and said respectfully: "You are out again... Please take good care of yourself."
"What's the point of staying in the room all day like a dead fish?" The elder shook his head: "Make arrangements for this person, I'm going back." "Yes." The old woman glanced at Xi Heng one more time before turning around and leaving, leaving her facing the warrior named Hong Miao. "Xi Heng, come and learn from me." Xi Heng repeated. After the old woman left, Hong Miao returned to her mysterious and calm self and asked, "Why do you want to learn martial arts?" "I have a chronic illness. I must practice martial arts until I have mastered it before I can recover." Xi Heng replied. Hong Miao looked at Xi Heng carefully and gave him some advice: "Your steps are unsteady, you are weak and frail, and you are indeed suffering from an illness. It will be much more difficult for you to practice martial arts with this body than for ordinary people." "The twenty taels of silver you get from learning martial arts are enough for you to buy a house in a safe place in the south and live there for the rest of your life. You can also find some good medicine to prolong your life for many years. And you have a pretty face, so maybe you can meet some talented men and beautiful women who will pity and love you." "If you abandon these and practice martial arts today, you will probably gain nothing in the end. In addition, you will lose your energy and blood while practicing, which will shorten your lifespan. You may even go into shock and die while practicing martial arts." "You really won't regret it?" Her tone became serious. "No regrets." Xi Heng shook his head and said firmly: "I only want this glimmer of hope in this life." "Okay, you should be the one to practice my Red Line Sword." Hong Miao nodded with satisfaction: "The sword hall accepts you. Pay twenty taels of silver and learn martial arts for three months. During this period, you can eat and live in the courtyard. Do morning exercises at Mao time every day, and come to the canteen at Chen time to take soup and medicine to assist in sword practice. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you sword moves and sword styles." "Yes." …… Xi Heng paid the money and went to the library with Senior Sister Hong Miao, where he looked through a sword manual and the Red Line Sword Method. The secret is only half, and the rest is just a blank sheet of paper. After a quick look through it, Hong Miao found a meal card and handed it to Xi Heng, explained some of the rules of the Hongxian Sword Hall, and then led her to a residence next to the martial arts hall. "It so happens that a few new people have entered the Sword Academy these two days. You can live in this house with them." She pushed open the door and saw two women sitting in the hall, chatting about something. Seeing their senior sister coming, they stood up and saluted. "Well, you are both newcomers, so you can call each other senior sister and junior sister, and treat each other well." Hong Miao brought Xi Heng into the hall, introduced her, left after saying this. Xi Heng looked at the two women in the small house. The look of one of them made her feel more and more familiar. She gradually remembered that this person looked very similar to a guest she had seen in her previous life. It was he who gave her a elixir for clearing turbidity, and she had brought it into this world. "Hongji?" She said the name subconsciously. The woman in green on the left frowned slightly when she heard the title. Her gaze stayed on Xi Heng's face for a long time, her eyes fluctuating slightly, as if she was recalling when she had met this person before. "Who are you?" She couldn't remember. "Xi Heng." Xi Heng couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation for a moment, so he just said, "It's just that I met Senior Sister once on the road and heard her name."
"Oh?" The other party looked skeptical, but did not say much. He nodded as if he agreed with Xi Heng's statement, and introduced himself: "Yan Hongji, a native of Beijing." "Li Anxue." Another woman next to her, who was dressed in tight clothes and looked like a female knight in the martial arts world, said. Xi Heng bowed slightly and asked curiously, "I heard that the capital is the most prosperous city in the world. Why did you come to the south to practice martial arts, Senior Sister?" "The government worshipped Taoism and sought immortality. They were deceived by those Taoist priests and believed that the world was divided into yin and yang, with men as yang and women as yin. Martial arts were a way to cultivate yang, and women practicing martial arts would disrupt the principles of heaven and earth. So they issued an order to abolish all martial arts schools in the capital that allowed women to practice." She snorted coldly, "Nowadays, in the eyes of the people in the capital, women should study music and dance, make tea and arrange flowers, and at most learn some more arts such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I don't want to endure those rigid shackles and rules, so I left home and came to the south." Xi Heng hadn't responded yet, but Li Anxue, who was dressed as a female warrior, said sarcastically: "Oh, according to this logic, there are many scholars and officials in the world who are proficient in music and tea art. Why don't we abolish them? Either the government is just a bully, or he is just using the name to oppress us warriors." Xi Heng listened to these people talking and began to worry whether she could study martial arts peacefully in this life. In order to avoid imprisonment, she changed the subject: "Let's talk about something else... Where should I live?" Li Anxue glanced at Xi Heng and said nothing more. Yan Hongji pointed to the corridor behind the hall and said, "The two rooms at the back are empty. Choose one." "Okay." Xi Heng breathed a sigh of relief and ran inside. He opened the room and saw the simple home decorations, beds, quilts, chairs and tables. Maybe for other people, this room is just barely habitable, but for Xi Heng who has lived in a shabby tile house for several years, this is already a pretty good residence. The girl rummaged around the room and found some warrior uniforms made of nice fabrics in the low cabinet. She then tried to take off her simple gray clothes and put on these clothes. He put on a yellow and gray singlet and coat, slightly loose trousers and boots, and tightened the dark red belt around his waist to straighten his outfit. Xi Heng felt it fit him well. There is no problem except that it is a little loose between the neckline and the chest. She glanced down at her current outfit and could already sense some of the temperament of a female hero. "All she needs is a sword..." When Xi Heng looked around, a strange feeling emerged in her chest, forcing her to subconsciously cover her mouth and cough twice. The girl's relaxed mood was ruined by this cough. She looked at her palm, which was stained with a little blood. "Is my blood and qi out of balance again? It's too fast." She frowned slightly, picked up a rough towel and wiped it, then muttered to herself: "Practice martial arts as quickly as possible..." For her, nothing else is as important as learning martial arts. After all, everything can be done again, and there is no need to worry about missing anything. In this life, put aside all other things and concentrate on cultivation. …… At dawn the next day, the sky was just dim and there was no sunlight. In the empty sword training ground, Xi Heng, wearing a set of tight clothes found in the house, holding a simple wooden sword in his hand, stood with three other recent senior and junior sisters around him. Xi Heng had already seen two of them, and the extra one was a girl with long hair and an unmade-up face. She had been silent since her arrival. Before Senior Sister Hong Miao came to the sword training ground, Xi Heng talked to the girl with disheveled hair, but was ignored.
But Yan Hongji, who was standing by, introduced her: "Her name is Lin Ying. She doesn't like to talk. She lives across from your room." Xi Heng felt a little strange because she didn't hear any sound coming from the room opposite the door yesterday. How can it be so quiet... It's obvious that a room with wooden windows and doors has no sound insulation effect. However, even though she had doubts in her heart, she was not too curious. After nodding, she continued to calm her mind and wait before concentrating on practicing martial arts. The morning breeze was cold, making Xi Heng, who was already weak, look pale. After a while, Senior Sister Hong Miao came to the sword training ground steadily with a martial arts-like temperament. Standing in front of several newcomers, she didn't say much and started talking about martial arts. “Those who practice martial arts cultivate their minds, nourish their energy, train their muscles, bones and tendons, and elevate their spirits, souls and minds.” …… Chapter 4: Red Line Trial "No matter which martial arts you use, whether it's fists or swords, spears or halberds, if you want to enter the martial arts path, you need to cultivate a stream of qi and blood inside, and then refine it into a body of strength." The eldest sister said: “Qi and blood are not blood, but the vitality that surges in the dark when human blood circulates between the meridians.” "To master the Qi and blood, you need to practice the moves thoroughly, and then during the practice you can sense the changes in the Qi and blood in your body that you have long lost track of. This way you can feel the existence of the Qi and blood and control it." "When you refine the Qi and blood in your body to produce the first trace of strength, you are considered to have entered the martial arts world and are called a martial artist who has entered the realm of strength!" "After entering the state of strength, you can use the strength between the moves - use the body to move the hands, use the hands to lead the strength, the feet follow the hands, the two kidneys' qi roll, and the whole body's qi follows, like this!" As she spoke aloud, she walked alone to a huge rock with sword marks all over its surface. She made a palm with her right hand and turned it to her waist, and her feet suddenly moved. The palm of his hand struck the boulder, and after a thunderous roar, a spider-web-like crack appeared out of nowhere. Xi Heng blinked beside him. This senior sister doesn't look strong and the muscles in her limbs are just well-proportioned. But with just one palm, he could create obvious cracks on the solid stone that might not be created even with a hammer. "This world really does have extraordinary powers..." Xi Heng thought to himself. In her previous life, some warriors who often came to the medicine hall where she was, when they showed off their skills, were only able to smash a few bricks in a row, and were no match for the senior sister in front of them. Xi Heng glanced at the few new members around him and found that although they were also surprised, they were not as incredible as he was, so he put away his expression. "After entering the power, it is Ming power." Hong Miao dusted off her hands and continued, "Integrate the strength you have cultivated with your Qi and blood, and unify it with your body. You can release strength with every strike, and that is the small success of Ming Jin." “When Ming Jin is fully developed, you can increase your strength to a thousand pounds. When you reach this level, your body will be stable and orderly, your Qi and blood meridians will be in harmony, and you will no longer be troubled by common diseases. You can live a stable life by retiring from the world.” When saying this, the eldest sister deliberately glanced at Xi Heng. "After the Ming Jin is fully developed, you can go anywhere in the world. All major forces will compete to welcome you, and you can command thousands of troops when you go to the military."
The eldest sister looked at Li Anxue, who was dressed as a knight, and said calmly: "However, the world today is not stable. Even if a dark force warrior participates in a war to seize power, there is a high possibility that he will die." "..." "Hidden power?" Yan Hongji asked. "Ming Jin cultivates the skin and flesh, while An Jin is generated from the bone marrow, which is for training bones." The eldest sister said: "An Jin is deeper and higher. You haven't entered yet, so you don't need to know too much." After she finished speaking, she waved her hand and asked them to digest the food slowly. She then walked to the side, picked up a peeled bamboo tube beside the spring in the yard, filled it with spring water and drank it.
