Ning Qi’s life gradually stabilized.
Since moving to his new residence, being close to the Scripture Pavilion made him flourish.
He practiced martial arts daily, and during his free time, he immersed himself in the Scripture Pavilion, voraciously absorbing its nutrients and transforming them into his own foundation.
Ning Qi felt as if he had divine aid when contemplating martial arts principles, even more so than before.
Due to Taoist Longshan’s instructions, the other senior brothers rarely came to disturb him, and Ning Qi enjoyed this. He didn’t feel bored at all; with his full potential perception, the joy of cultivation was infinitely magnified, allowing him to savor every moment.
Being alone pleased him very much.
It was much better than his previous life.
Moreover, his master and many senior brothers and sisters did not ignore him; they just didn’t visit as frequently as before, to avoid disturbing him.
Ye Qinghe was still the one who visited the most.
Whenever a senior brother went down the mountain, they would always bring gifts for Ning Qi, delivered by her. However, the variety of these gifts gradually unified, becoming mainly books.
The little junior brother loved to read, often staying in the Scripture Pavilion without coming down.
What made Ning Qi sigh secretly was that his eighth senior brother was not as close to him as before.
Later, Qin Yun came to Ning Qi’s new residence once, but stayed only briefly, spoke some words about cultivation, and then left, never to return.
They would only see each other during festivals when all the True Disciples gathered. Naturally, when they met, Qin Yun would still smile, and if he went down the mountain, he would bring books back for Ning Qi. However, there was a discernible sense of estrangement.
Ning Qi roughly felt.
The eighth senior brother seemed a little envious of him, perhaps due to his talent or the master’s favoritism.
He could only feel helpless; no matter how gifted he was, he couldn’t control other people’s thoughts.
He could only keep a low profile as much as possible.
He spent most of his time in the Scripture Pavilion and his own yard cultivating.
Occasionally, he would observe nature alone.
Slowly, this ninth disciple of the True Martial Sect became increasingly mysterious to many Outer and Inner Sect disciples.
In the blink of an eye.
Nearly a year passed.
Ning Qi was four years old.
In the Scripture Pavilion, a short figure in a white Taoist robe read the ancient texts with hands behind his back, muttering to himself.
"This Tiger Slaughter Fist is quite interesting. If one can grasp the intent of the Tiger Slaughter, it can captivate the heart and soul, making it a truly exquisite technique."
Ning Qi’s eyes showed slight admiration.
In the spin of his thoughts, he had already comprehended the Tiger Slaughter Fist, and even extracted its essence to integrate it into the True Martial Fist he created.
Stance Skill is a Body Tempering method. Although it includes attack techniques, it is somewhat inferior compared to martial arts that specialize in offense.
Therefore, in his spare time, Ning Qi practiced some offensive techniques, eventually creating this all-encompassing, unparalleled True Martial Fist, which could be deemed invincible in the Body Tempering Realm.
Although he sought the path of longevity.
He also needed Path Guardian techniques.
Otherwise, having only the realm but no protection would inevitably lead to being slain.
Fist technique, body technique, sword and blade techniques, he dabbled in them all, with his main practices reaching a realm unimaginable for normal people.
Over the year, he had grown immensely.
Reading the ancient texts every day, he had read at least one tenth of the Scripture Pavilion’s books, transforming them into his own foundation. In terms of martial arts knowledge, even Gang Essence Realm experts might not compare.
Ning Qi placed the Tiger Slaughter Fist manual back, stretched, and let his thoughts drift afar.
"In a year, I’ve already achieved Bone Refining Perfection. Thus, the Body Tempering Outer Four Realms are completely perfect. Now, with just one arm, I exert five thousand pounds of force, much more solid than my senior brothers’ foundations; when they reached this realm, it was only three thousand pounds."
"But this is still not enough; this is not the perfect foundation I envision."
"One year to achieve the Outer Four Realms; to achieve Inner Four Realms Perfection and then Unity of Inner and Outer, stepping into the Inner Essence Realm might take another two years, meaning at six, I would step into Inner Essence."
"Compared to normal people, this speed is already extremely fast, but I can be even faster."
Ning Qi’s gaze extended outside the pavilion.
In fact, a month ago, he could have stepped into the Refining Organ Realm, but he chose not to break through.
Sometimes, going slow is for the sake of speed.
"Over the past year, besides practicing martial arts, I spent much of my energy creating the Stance Skill. Perhaps due to reaching a limit, creating this Stance Skill took much longer than I expected."
"However, it’s almost there. The essence of Stance Skill holds no secrets in my eyes. After understanding over a hundred Stance Skills, in a few days, this Supreme Stance Skill will surely succeed!"
Ning Qi’s eyes were full of anticipation.
In his imagination, above the unparalleled Stance Skill lies the Supreme Stance Skill.
If he could succeed, he was confident that in a year, he would manifest Inner Strength and step into the Inner Essence Realm.
The difference would be great. This is also why he didn’t break through to the Refining Organ Realm for now; if he broke through in haste now, he would have to spend more time when recreating his foundation with the Supreme Stance Skill, but if he only redoes the Outer Four Realms, it’s much simpler.
"Observing the manifold phenomena of the world for inspiration; although the True Dragon is extremely powerful, ultimately it’s just one of the phenomena."
"If time can be saved, then it’s good to save some."
Ning Qi turned around and picked up a book beside him.
"Miscellaneous Records of Snow Plum Manor."
He gently caressed it but didn’t open it.
He knew what was written inside.
The chivalric tales of Young Master Ye Ning Ye and the Plum Blade Jiang Xuemei, founders of Snow Plum Manor.
And at the end was a brief sentence.
"In the twenty-seventh year of Yongxin, Snow Plum Manor was slaughtered by a mysterious force, leaving no survivors, to great sorrow."
This was brought back and placed in the Scripture Pavilion by the eldest senior brother during his travels two years ago.
Ning Qi took a slow breath.
"Back then, Lord Feng retreated because of the master, likely not having a realm higher than the Primordial Core Realm, most probably Gang Essence’s Second Realm Jade Liquid Realm."
"Gang Essence Realm has a lifespan of four hundred years; just hope you don’t get killed by someone else."
Ning Qi still wanted to tackle it himself.
He felt that when he reached the Gang Essence Realm, it shouldn’t be a big problem to crush that person.
Setting down the miscellaneous records, Ning Qi’s gaze turned outside the pavilion.
As expected, a familiar lazy voice sounded.
"Jiu, ready to depart?"
Ye Qinghe pushed the door open, with a look of "Of course, you’re here" on her face.
Looking at the vast sea of books in the Scripture Pavilion, she felt overwhelmed.
"You’re about to leave, yet you’re still here reading; might as well call you a bookworm!"
Ye Qinghe bent over, touching Ning Qi’s face with her jade green fingers.
Ning Qi habitually slapped her hand away, smiling as he said:
"Didn’t you just arrive?"
Ning Qi took the initiative to walk outside.
"It’s rare Jiu that you want to go out once, today, I, your senior sister, must take you for a proper tour, don’t sulk."
Ye Qinghe was getting excited.
Ning Qi shook his head and chuckled.
The Supreme Stance Skill he envisioned is related to the manifold phenomena of the world, typically only observing the clouds, snow, mountains, and waters in some safe places on True Martial Mountain. Recently, he felt the need for a catalyst, so he thought of walking to the outskirts of True Martial Mountain.
However, the outskirts of True Martial Mountain haven’t been cleared, inevitably there’s the flow of exotic beasts, so for safety, Ning Qi called on Ye Qinghe as a ready-made bodyguard.
He cherished his life, and didn’t assume that having reached Bone Refining Perfection made him invincible and able to roam freely; if he encountered a powerful exotic beast, he’d be doomed.
Unexpectedly, Ye Qinghe was more excited than he was.