96 The Path of a Grandmaster
The early morning sky was dark, and the air was cold and foggy.
In the clear mist, a burly man pulled his coat tighter and walked from the end of the street to a small roadside stall covered with a tarpaulin.
At one end of the stall was a big pot. The thick soup in the pot was bubbling and had a layer of oil floating on it. The fresh fragrance wafted into the air, making people salivate.
“A big bowl of mutton soup, two servings of meat, and three pancakes! Make it extra spicy!”
The man rubbed his hands, sat down at a table, and shouted impatiently.
“You’re a lucky man. You came here just in time for the first pot of soup.” The stall owner brought over the food and smiled warmly.
“I have to have a fresh bowl of piping hot soup to start my day!”
The burly man grinned. Without using a spoon, he raised the bowl to his mouth and took a big gulp. A few minutes later, he had finished his meal.
The burly man was naturally Jiang Ming in disguise. It had been half a month since the Wang family had fallen. Jiang Ming brought Miss Wang all the way to the north and finally settled down in the northernmost city under the jurisdiction of Great Cloud City.
Miss Wang had spent the past few days writing down the Wang family’s master-level martial arts techniques for him. Jiang Ming tested them out every day to ensure they were accurate.
He was not afraid that Miss Wang would play lie to him or try to hurt him. Even if she could practice these techniques, she was no match for him.
“There’s no problem with the techniques. It’s time to leave!”
Jiang Ming was not kind enough to take care of her. He had already done his best to get her here.
He finished the entire bowl of soup in one go and got another free bowl of soup from the stall owner. He licked it clean and paid for his meal.
The sky gradually brightened and the fog dissipated. There were more and more pedestrians on the street. Jiang Ming walked into a small alley and entered a narrow courtyard with only two broken houses.
In the courtyard, a woman wearing coarse clothes, with a sallow face and messy hair, was clumsily chopping firewood to start a fire.
Jiang Ming smiled. Miss Wang was really able to put down her pride and pretend to be poor. While he was practicing martial arts every day, she would pick up various life skills.
Jiang Ming did not waste time and said directly, “There’s no problem with the techniques. I’ll leave tomorrow. Your fate lies in your hands.”
Miss Wang’s body stiffened, but she nodded lightly and continued to practice splitting firewood.
* * *
He strode back into the house and tidied up the things that Miss Wang had written.
In the thick stack of books, there were not only martial arts techniques, but also medicinal formulas, martial skills, and other things. There was even information about the geography of Great Cloud City, the locations of gold and iron ore, the growth of rare medicinal herbs, and some historical records about Great Cloud City. All of these could be considered a first-class martial artist family’s treasure.
“Miss Wang has a good heart. She might really be able to rise again.”
The world was chaotic and it was difficult for women to survive, but sometimes, being a woman could help one succeed.
“It’s a pity that I only want to become an immortal and have no other life goals.” Jiang Ming shook his head.
* * *
At night, the weather was gloomy, and the dark clouds were getting heavier. It seemed that a heavy storm was coming.
Jiang Ming was bored, so he sat at the table and continued to study the Wang family’s master-level technique, the Four Harmonies Scripture.
This Four Harmonies Scripture was a fierce and domineering internal breathing technique. It combined four external combat techniques—the saber, spear, fist, and sword, to temper his body to enter the Dao Master realm.
Jiang Ming flipped to the last few pages and looked at the description of the Dao Master realm.
According to the records, Dao Masters had cultivation techniques. However, Grandmasters did not. It meant that a Dao Master could still cultivate according to the methods of their predecessors, but a Grandmaster did not have a cultivation method. It was all up to the individual to comprehend.
No matter how vigorous one’s blood Qi was, if one’s martial arts conception could not improve further, then one would never be able to break through to the Grandmaster realm.
The Grandmasters were the ones who founded sects. They were the ones who had to create new techniques to teach to martial artists.
“No wonder there are hardly any Grandmasters in the world—and even fewer Grandmaster families with a long history.”
Jiang Ming shook his head.
The wind outside gradually became stronger, whistling ferociously until lightning struck.
A sudden clap of thunder sounded, and heavy rain followed.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door. Jiang Ming frowned, placed the book down to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, and got up to open the door.
Miss Wang’s hair was wet, and her face was pale. She stood at the door with only a layer of thin clothes.
“The roof tiles fell off.” Miss Wang’s voice was as soft and timid.
Jiang Ming did not wait for her to finish; he pulled her into the room and closed the door with a bang.
The heavy storm continued to rage outside.