Chaotic World Book

The next morning, Zhao Changhe looked at the steamed cornbread brought to him with speechless frustration and muttered resentfully, "This is breakfast? Even the inns along the road serve better food."

Luo Qi opened his mouth to speak but stopped. After last night's nonsensical conversations, Changhe went back to squatting in the horse stance for half an hour until he was too exhausted to stay awake. As soon as his head hit the desk, he was snoring vigorously, disturbing Luo Qi's sleep all night.

But his effort was indeed commendable.

Luo Qi didn't know whether to mock him for his overestimation of himself or to encourage him. He silently nibbled on the cornbread and said, "In the middle of winter, it's good to have anything to eat at all. Did you know how many people were drooling over the chicken legs we had last night?"

Zhao Changhe came to his senses. Whether this was a world governed by martial strength or one where only scholarship was valued, it was still modeled after an ancient world. Considering the agricultural productivity of ancient times, even landlords might not have had meat with every meal, let alone in these "chaotic times" where so many people were starving. To have enough food to fill his stomach upon waking was already pretty good...

With that thought, anxiety crept in. The nutrition required for cultivating the Blood Evil Skill was no joking matter, and cornbread alone wouldn't suffice. He wondered if there were any tasks available to obtain more food.

Would he really have to resort to robbery?

The discomfort wasn't limited to the cornbread; there were numerous other inconveniences.

For instance, behind the stronghold, there was a waterfall that formed a pool, which then split into a stream that flowed down the mountain. The view was actually quite nice. The day-to-day water needs were met by servants who fetched water from there... But no one would fetch water for washing up; it was meant for drinking. Who would brave the cold to jump into the pool for a bath? How to live in these conditions...

Luo Qi scratched an itch and complained as well, "I've never gone this many days without a bath... What a wretched place. The conditions at the Luo Family are coveted by many, yet here you are, a wanted criminal."

Zhao Changhe sighed, "Why bring this up again at such a time..."

Luo Qi turned his head away, ignoring him. He knew his complaints were unreasonable; it wasn't fair to blame Zhao Changhe for their predicament.

Actually, Zhao Changhe felt the same. His previous life of modern luxury now reduced to this sorry state, so he understood Luo Qi's irrational grievances all too well. If that blind man were in front of him now, Zhao Changhe figured he might just slap him.

He wondered how other bandit leaders could enjoy their lives... But he knew that such pleasure was reserved for the bandit leaders themselves, not the lowly foot soldiers.

"Enough talking, I'm off to practice," Zhao Changhe said without further ado. Keeping a firm grip on his cornbread, he headed straight to the Martial Arts Arena of the stronghold.

As a complete novice without any prior exposure to martial arts, merely reading a "secret book" wasn't enough to learn anything. He needed someone to answer questions and explain things; there were many terms he couldn't even understand. Luo Qi's connections and the Blood God Sect were different matters, and asking him would be futile.

Fang Buping, the Branch Leader, wasn't there to teach, but there were Dharma Transmission Deacons specifically tasked with instruction. He could go straight to them to learn.

Today, there was no snow. By the time he arrived at the Martial Arts Arena, many people were there practicing their skills, and Zhao Changhe noticed that they were all practicing saber techniques.

The voice of a Dharma Transmission Deacon echoed in the arena, "Though the saber is easy to use, it's not meant for hacking blindly! Look at this simple backhand slash, how many times have I told you? Don't overextend, or else you'll be full of openings and unable to defend in time. Zhang Quan! Look at how you're twisting your waist; is this how your mother dances at the harvest festival?"

Zhao Changhe carefully watched Zhang Quan, the trainee indicated by the Dharma Transmission Deacon. Zhang's backhand slash was extremely swift, looking as if anyone attacking from behind would be cleaved in two, yet he was being severely scolded.

The Dharma Transmission Deacon snatched Zhang's saber and said, "Let me demonstrate one more time, watch closely!"

He saw the Deacon slightly bend his knees, shuffle his feet with light steps, twist his waist, and with a flash of the saber light, the blade stopped steadily at a 90-degree angle behind him.

The saber seemed even faster than Zhang Quan's slash, yet it stopped solidly without advancing an inch further, as if there were a wall that halted the saber's momentum.

The Dharma Transmission Deacon shouted, "You mustn't exhaust your strength; only then can you maneuver freely. With such a strike, regardless of whether you achieve the desired effect, your strength is not spent, and you have the ability to follow through with another move!"

So that was it, so that was it.

How was I, in that dream, "suddenly" defeated?

Even the simplest martial arts have their intricacies, and if I had practiced such techniques before, even just the basics, perhaps the outcome would have been different…

"The purpose of 'Dream Entry' was to learn these things, wasn't it?"

After all the roundabout efforts, the training had finally begun… Although it might have deviated from the blind man's original intentions, perhaps that was a good thing…

But then Zhang Quan said, "However, Instructor, I didn't mean to use so much strength, but the technique requires the saber to be drawn quickly, and once it's fast, it can't be stopped…"

"You have to practice! Just for this turning back slash, how much force to use, where to stop, practice it a thousand times a day, and you'll get it!" The instructor's voice was still very loud, "Besides that, did you all understand the coordination of my waist and leg strength I just demonstrated? You're not practicing the horse stance and bow stance just for show!"

"Ah?" Zhang Quan scratched his head, "I, I didn't see clearly, could the instructor possibly demonstrate again…?"

"Hm?" The instructor glared with wide eyes.

Zhang Quan shrank back with a sheepish smile.

The other disciples, however, chimed in one after another, "None of us saw clearly, could the instructor demonstrate one more time…?"

The instructor shook his head, quite disappointed. It wasn't the first time he had spoken of this, everyone was as stupid as an ox, forgetting what they learned yesterday already, yet still they had the nerve to say they didn't see clearly.

He looked around the room, hoping to find someone who understood, when his gaze landed on Zhao Changhe, who stood at a distance lost in thought.

"That one, Zhao Changhe, right?" The instructor called, "What's with that look on your face? Did you understand?"

"Oh…" Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality, hesitated, and then stepped forward, "Let me try the saber?"

The instructor passed the saber over directly, but added a phrase, "Head up, chest out! Speak up! What are you whispering for, acting like you're from the Demon Sect? Are you testing to become a Scholar?"

Zhao Changhe twitched his cheek, "I joined the Demon Sect, isn't there something sinister about that…"

"Damn, you sure love to argue! You haven't even joined the sect yet, you're just a... forget it." The instructor stopped himself and waved his hand dismissively, "Anyway, speak up, didn't you eat?"

Zhao Changhe shouted, "Give me the saber to try out!"

The instructor was quite pleased and handed over the saber.

Zhao Changhe: "…"

What sort of person was this.

As he took the saber, it felt really damn light, probably only weighing about two or three kilograms... This was a regular saber, just like the one he used to kill Luo Zhenwu, not like the several dozen kilogram Broadsword from his dream, making him suspect such a saber simply didn't exist in reality.

When wielding the Broadsword, he had to throw all his strength behind it, it was impossible to control where the saber stopped, but it seemed manageable with this kind of saber. Zhao Changhe recalled the instructor's motion just now, the turning bow stance, "whoosh" went the saber in a quick backslash, trying to stop at the position the instructor stopped at just now, looking quite proper.

The instructor was slightly surprised, "Not bad insight! With such understanding, and a good body constitution too, how come you are just starting to learn martial arts, what a pity, what a pity."

Zhao Changhe handed back the saber and bowed, "Thank you for the guidance, Instructor."

"Your hand isn't steady enough, and the positioning isn't precise enough. That's what you need to practice… Here…" The instructor guided Zhao Changhe's hand, stopping it at a certain position, "Remember the feeling of this position, find it accurately, then swing the saber like this every day, as many times as you can. Only then can your saber strikes become faster and steadier over time. That is the essence of all martial arts in the world!"

Zhao Changhe sighed deeply, sincerely saying, "Many thanks, Instructor."

The instructor gave him a sidelong glance for a while, then suddenly turned and yelled to the crowd in the Martial Arts Arena, "What are you spacing out for? Go practice! Learn from Zhao Changhe! To resemble the real thing on the first try, do you have no shame? Still chopping like you're splitting rotten melons. None of you are allowed to eat today!"

A group of people glared resentfully at Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe tugged at the corner of his mouth. He feared the "learn from XXX" would offend all his peers on the very first day of joining.