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Chapter 11: 11

“In martial arts, rank one through three cultivates the body, and it is only by reaching rank four that one cultivates True Qi . ”

Jiang Yu was rather speechless .

Rank four?

He would have to eat all 99 cucumbers he had to reach that level .

It also meant four cucumbers per day, and even if he would steel himself and have one more for supper, he would need at least twenty days to reach rank four .

But most importantly, he was supposed to have cucumber every day—who could stand that?

16

“That said, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms inspired me . If it can be planted, other martial arts can be too . ”

Hence, Jiang He started browsing Baidu again .

It turned out that everything from Nine Yin Manual, the Nine Yang Manual, Wudang Sword to the Seventy-two Shaolin Supreme Moves were all available on the internet . There’s no telling which fool of a netizen uploaded them, not to mention that each one listed out every cultivation movement and essentials .

“But most of these cultivations need True Qi for energy, aside from rigorous, unreasonable kung fu . ”

Eventually, however, Jiang He decided on a rigorous kung fu: Indestructible Diamond, one of the Seventy-two Shaolin Supreme Moves .

1

“Indestructible Diamond requires cultivation of both outer and inner body, but it could be applied even in the absence of True Qi, and success means that your physical body would be unbreakable like a diamond, unaffected by fire or water…”

4

“There is a total of twelve styles of cultivation: starting position, meditation posture, raise both hands up, lower left palm level to navel, straighten right palm with fingers pointed at nostrils, squat slightly in horse stance, calm spirit, breathe naturally, concentrate on Cinnabar Fields…”

In the end, Jiang He couldn’t help bursting into laughter .

It was too funny .

The crazy netizens who had uploaded these cultivation manuals must have holes in their brain . Withered Tree Stretching its Roots, Qi Permeating the Cinnabar Fields, Cauldron Lifting Monk, Warrior’s Glare and whatnot were all written so vividly that Jiang He felt embarrassed copying it .

2

***

But even as Jiang He was copying down the art of Indestructible Diamond, he was not aware of what was going on outside .

To maintain calm amongst the citizens following the violent explosions, officials had issued a statement claiming that the military was undergoing training exercise in an uninhabited spot on Mount Dadong, that there was no need to panic .

The citizens were no fools, however, with news, media, and journalists having their own say .

“What training exercise would possibly need the detonation of such magnitude of explosive? According to my information, although the villagers near Mount Dadong had been relocated over the past few years, there are still shepherds in the area . Would such a violent explosion not affect those residents?”

“Furthermore…”

One particular journalist with a sharp tongue promptly targeted the leaders of the public security bureau and the regional government who had appeared to call for calm, asking, “There have been paranormal incidents across the globe recently, with eyewitness claiming they had spotted a sea monster over a thousand meters long in the Pacific, and a giant ape the size of a mountain at the Atlantic Ocean…”

2

The leaders did not answer the question, and soon left the scene .

***

Jinyintan Village .

“Phew~ I finally finished copying Indestructible Diamond!”

3

As he had done before, Jiang He crumpled the papers he copied the Indestructible Diamond martial art with into a lump and buried it down a hole with another pellet of nitrogen fertilizer .

Soon, a tree shoot grew .

But unlike the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the Indestructible Diamond shoot didn’t bear any flowers . Instead, golden bells appeared on each of the bald branches .

And in an hour, the bells grew from the size of a fingernail to the size of a plate .

Jiang He carefully plucked the ‘bells’ off the branches .

[Ding!]

[Farm points +100]

In his head, a System notification rang . [[A low-level martial art has been detected in the Host’s crops . Consume 500 farm points to learn?]

“Learn!”

[Farm points -500]

3

Wrooom!

The golden bell in Jiang He’s hand vibrated just then, and directly turned into a golden streak of light that tunneled within Jiang He’s body, leaving his mind dazed for a moment while complex, mysterious information poured into his head .

1

“This… is this the right cultivation posture for Indestructible Diamond?”

Jiang He was overjoyed, but that was not all .

Within his body, his muscles and bones were cracking in synchrony, just like the sound of cooked corn popping relentlessly at the stove . His skin, skeleton, flesh, and resilience were all rapidly increasing, and the entire process only stopped after five minutes .

Jiang He himself was left gaping .

“Does this mean I’ve already cultivated the art of Indestructible Diamond?”

“No, it wouldn’t count as mastery, but at least it’s an induction . ”

“And most importantly…”

He glanced at his System panel .

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Rank Two Pinnacle]

[Ability: None]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Initiate+)]

[Owned Land: 888m²]

[Farm Level: 1 (EXP 30/50)]

[System Backpack: 3 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 163]

2

“Initiate Indestructible Diamond actually gets me up from Quasi Martial Artist to Rank Two Pinnacle in one go?” Jiang He was rather surprised, but soon felt relieved .

In martial arts training, rank one, two, and three refines the body, therefore only requiring the cultivation of qi and blood to hone the physical, and was in fact a process that relentlessly breaks through the limits of the human body . Despite being only on induction-level, Indestructible Diamond elevated his physical aspects by a major leap anyway, which made it very reasonable for his cultivation to rise up to Rank Two Pinnacle .

“One martial art alone actually increased my EXP by ten points… eh?”

That was when Jiang He’s eyes found the [Martial Arts Cultivation] button .

It wasn’t there before, having suddenly appeared after he learnt Indestructible Diamond .

“What does that ‘+’ thing do?”

Jiang He gingerly poked at the symbol, and a crisp system notification rang in his head once again .

[Consume 1000 farm points to improve Indestructible Diamond up to Beginner tier?]

Jiang He did a double take, just before he became ecstatic .

“Does this mean I just have to work hard on my farm, thereby earning farm points to improve my martial arts cultivation up to mastery?”

“Oh!”

Holding in the joy in his chest, Jiang He merely shook his head and sighed . “But if that’s the case, there’s a lot less joy in cultivation…”

“Yip!”

Dumbo whined in a corner, rolling its canine eyes so high they were skyward and leaving only the whites of its eyes .

‘Just look .

‘Is that even a human talking?’

Jiang He nudged off Dumbo with his food, rubbing his hands as his enthusiasm went into a frenzy .

1

“It’s three now . ”

“I’ll have lunch, and then keep going . I’ll set a small target, and finish copying every single one of the Seventy-two Shaolin Supreme Moves by today…”

“No, wait! Copying is too slow . When I’m done eating, I’ll get to the village’s photocopy shop and print it out directly . ”

5

Jiang He still had some noodles in the house that he bought beforehand, and he only had to boil some water .

At the same time, he took out another cucumber and washed it and made some smashed cucumber salad .

Soon, he had a big bowl of noodles and a plate of smashed cucumber salad ready on his round table .

Reaching out with his chopsticks, he picked one cucumber and put it in his mouth .

Crunch, crunch .

As the cucumber went down his gullet, Jiang He’s face went green .

He could feel his qi and blood boil, and was left speechless .

“Can’t you let me have a meal in peace?”

Martial arts…

Rank three!