Chapter 30: Form Transformation, Nature Transformation!
The sky was slightly bright.
Hong Yuan had already set off.
This was already the morning three days later, with thin mist hazy, on the official road leading to Qingxu County, the road was pitted and uneven, with puddles in many places, quite muddy.
The sound of horse hooves went ‘clop clop’.
On the back of a horse with mottled fur, Hong Yuan held a wine pot in his left hand and a book in his right, reclining idly on the horse’s back.
His legs clamped the horse’s belly like iron hoops, his whole body rising and falling with the horse’s movement, seeming like he might fall and eat dirt at any moment, but actually steady as an old dog.
Setting off in such a hurry was naturally because he was rushing to attend a feast.
The saying goes, not being positive about attending a feast means there’s something wrong with your brain.
Hong Yuan’s brain was very healthy.
If it were taking a wife, the main feast would naturally be set at dusk, but Huang Guiling’s was taking a concubine, to avoid conflict with a proper marriage, the feast would be changed to morning or noon.
Most likely noon.
Hong Yuan had to hurry a bit earlier, or he would miss the chance to send family reunion to his good brother’s father and son, which would be too rude.
The horse under him was not a good horse, but it was steady and knew the way, so as the horse galloped, Hong Yuan flipped through the manuscript in his hand.
Of course, it was the one handed to him by Yang Erhu, True Man Li’s manuscript.
Over the three days, Hong Yuan had read it many times and could recite it fluently; now with nothing to do on the road, he opened it again to go with his wine.
“The way of the martial artist begins with body strengthening and blood nourishment, and obtains the force of hardness and softness.”
“Hard force is like gold and stone shattering, direct and straightforward, crumbling the dry and rotten. Soft force is like flowing water, long and continuous, deflecting or leading…”
Hong Yuan took a sip of wine; this manuscript was not hard to understand. When a martial artist first enters true force, the force is violent, exploding like thunder and fire, hard to control; this is hard force.
After prolonged cultivation, gradually taming the hard force, the force turns soft into a continuous force, ingenious force; this is soft force.
The second layer of force transformation, ‘freely control’, can also be called ‘mutual benefit of hardness and softness’!
“Former Master ‘Dragon Tiger’ said: Hardness and softness push each other to produce transformation…”
What transformation?
Of course, ‘microscopic level’!
“Force to microscopic level has many methods, such as spiral drilling through, striking empty space, penetrating bone to wound internals, flying fluff like needles… This is the ingenuity of force application, residing in one heart.”
Below these lines, there were large sections of small annotations, True Man Li’s gains from years of cultivation, explaining techniques and experiences like enduring force to enter force, mutual benefit of hardness and softness, and the like.
As well as various key points and personal experiences regarding microscopic level; in the end, True Man Li summarized microscopic level in one sentence:
Force like drawing silk!
Hong Yuan nodded; force is like a cocoon shell, if control over one’s own force reaches the level of drawing silk and peeling cocoon, naturally one can play tricks with force, producing techniques like flying fluff force, silk twining force, striking from afar, penetrating bone, and the like.
“This manuscript of True Man Li is the core secret transmission of Tiger Subduing Sect, and also what Dragon Subduing Sect and Meng Yue yearn for day and night.”
“What a pity!”
Hong Yuan sighed, a trace of regret on his face.
Tiger Subduing Sect inherits from Dragon Tiger Upper Man, and actually also has microscopic level methods.
After microscopic level, Tiger Subduing Strength can be transformed into ‘Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength’!
But what Dragon Subduing Sect does not know is that True Man Li died too suddenly, so the core secrets of ‘Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength’ were not passed down at all.
And the entire Tiger Subduing Sect was founded by True Man Li; he did not record the core secrets in writing, only oral narration, so with his death, the secret techniques of Tiger Subduing Sect at microscopic level were directly lost.
Hong Yuan felt only a little regret; after three days of studying this manuscript, he had already touched the membrane of ‘freely control’, just waiting for an opportunity to pierce it lightly and step in.
‘Microscopic level’ is indeed much more difficult, but with that annotation ‘force like drawing silk’, Hong Yuan believed that with his own root bone and comprehension, he could slowly penetrate it.
At worst, he could still seek microscopic level methods from other schools; the world is vast, with many methods, no need to stick to Tiger Subduing Sect’s force method to the end.
Hong Yuan’s gaze fell on the end, which was a passage of lament from True Man Li.
“Even microscopic level is merely transformation of force method, momentum transformation, form transformation! Former Master once said, above form transformation, there is still one transformation, called nature transformation!”
“Nature transformation is the beginning of supernatural power, incomparable to ordinary! Alas, never witnessed it in this lifetime, what a regret!”
Form transformation!
Nature transformation!
Beginning of supernatural power?
Hong Yuan stroked his chin in thought, his expression strange; this world wouldn’t really have sword masters, sword immortals, demons, ghosts, and the like, would it?
From Yangquan to Qingxu County Town was only forty or fifty li after all; even without galloping at full speed, Hong Yuan took just under an hour to see the outline of Qingxu County Town in the distance.
A slight regret was that along the way, he didn’t encounter any mountain thieves robbing or heroic rescues of beauties and such delightful things, but he did meet several groups of merchants heading to Huang Guiling’s celebratory feast.
The county town checks were lax; Hong Yuan paid a bit of entry fee and smoothly entered.
And just as Hong Yuan arrived at Qingxu County Town, in Yangquan County, Yang Family Martial Arts School, a group of several people swaggered in, ignoring the astonished gazes of the apprentices, heading straight for the main room.
The leader was that skinny little old man from Dragon King Society; only this time Young Master Hua did not come, with this little old man as the leader, wearing a high-quality silk clothing, seeming to have been promoted.
The whole person was much more flamboyant; before even seeing Yang Erhu, he already shouted loudly: “Is Museum Master Yang here? This little old man has come to visit again!”
In no time, Yang Erhu appeared with a cold expression, waving for the apprentices about to gather forward to retreat, and gloomily looked at the skinny old man: “Old Man Jia, what are you here for again?”
The Jia-surnamed little old man’s eyes narrowed into a line, chuckling: “Museum Master Yang, no need to be so unkind; we at least cooperated once…”
“Say what you have to say, no need for nonsense.”
“Museum Master Yang is straightforward.” The Jia-surnamed little old man still smiled and said: “It’s still Young Master Hua’s previous proposal; Museum Master Yang, please take action once, and the favor you owe us will be settled.”
“I never owe you anything; please leave!” Yang Erhu raised his hand to interrupt, pointing to the door.
“Hehe! Museum Master Yang, better take a look at the gift this little old man brought before replying.” Old Man Jia clapped his hands, and immediately a burly man leaped out from behind, holding a wooden box, and calmly presented it to Yang Erhu.
“No need, I can’t accept your gifts.”
Old Man Jia shook his head, stroking his beard with a smile: “This gift Museum Master Yang must see, or you might regret it too late; open it.”
He waved his hand, and the burly man moved his hands, opening the box and presenting the front to Yang Erhu.
Yang Erhu immediately smelled a pungent bloody stench, and then his pupils dilated; in the box were clearly three bloody fingers and a bloodstained cloth bandage.
Yang Erhu staggered back two steps; he was also a ruthless character with quite a few lives on his hands, so naturally not afraid of a few severed fingers, but these three fingers and that cloth bandage felt familiar to him.
The next moment, murderous intent surged on Yang Erhu’s face; he suddenly stepped forward, his cushion-like palm reaching out to lock the throat of the man holding the box!
This burly man was sturdy, but in Yang Erhu’s hand he was like a little white rabbit unable to move, lifted single-handedly by Yang Erhu and brought before Old Man Jia with a shake.
Old Man Jia met Yang Erhu’s terrifying gaze without fear, instead straightening his clothes and saying calmly: “Museum Master Yang, this little old man is of advanced age and not afraid of death, but you can easily kill me, yet once you act, it can’t be undone.”
Murderous intent rose in Yang Erhu’s eyes, but in the end he did not strike, saying coldly: “Where is he?”
“Museum Master Yang, rest assured; your friend is doing very well. But to see him, please go with this old man.”
Yang Erhu took a deep breath, glanced at the wooden box again, and slowly nodded: “Good!”
