A Taoist Practitioner’s Martial Arts

Ashin ran over and treated my wound. Thanks to that, the blood flowing from my shoulder injury stopped.

“Thank you.”

“No, I’m the one you saved.”

After that, we skinned the White Wolf and removed its claws, and threw away the meat because it was apparently tough and tasted bad. There were many small carnivorous beasts on this mountain, so in three days it would probably be nothing but bones. By the way, those small carnivorous beasts were rats.

“Let’s go report this to one of Gyorei Cave’s elders.”

I said that to Ashin. If we encountered a yōma outside the demon realm, we were supposed to report it to an elder. When we went to Gyorei Cave’s Main Hall, we headed to Elder Tsuen.

When I knocked on the door, I heard a voice say, “Enter.” When we went inside, I saw Elder Tsuen, with his pure white hair, looking about sixty years old.

Elder Tsuen was a Taoist practitioner who had risen all the way to the rank of elder, so his actual age was easily over two hundred. Once Taoist practitioners surpassed a certain level, their lifespan extended. That level was reached when they graduated from the fifteen-tier Qi Refining Stage and entered the Spirit Formation Stage.

“We are the outer disciples Kou and Ashin. We came to make a report.”

“A report? About what?”

“On the way back from town, we encountered a White Wolf.”

When he heard that, Elder Tsuen furrowed his brow.

“And what became of that White Wolf?”

Ashin turned her gaze toward me.

“Kou defeated it.”

Elder Tsuen looked at me as if sizing me up. He was probably doubting whether a ten-year-old child could defeat a White Wolf.

“Do you have any proof?”

Ashin showed him the White Wolf hide that she had carried wrapped in a cloth. Since I was carrying my own load, Ashin had carried the hide for me.

“That pure white hide is without a doubt a White Wolf hide. Submit it as evidence.”

Elder Tsuen said that in a casual tone. Hearing that, I made a slightly troubled face. I had been planning to tan this hide and sell it.

I cut off just the head portion of the hide and handed it to Elder Tsuen.

“If it’s evidence, the head alone should be enough, right?”

Elder Tsuen looked at me coldly, but he did not complain. He had probably thought that if he pressed any further, it would become obvious that he was trying to confiscate the hide. The old man never let his guard down and gave no openings.

Starting the next day, the elder ordered the outer disciples to hunt yōma in the surrounding mountains. It became a large-scale operation with the inner disciples participating as well, and instead of a White Wolf, they discovered a pack of Stabbing Wolves, which the Taoist practitioners exterminated.

The White Wolf hide sold for six gold coins. After learning that amount, I was once again convinced that Elder Tsuen could not be underestimated. In any case, there was something I had realized while fighting the White Wolf.

Since I was still growing, I was weak. I needed something to make up for that. So I examined every scroll in the library. Then, I used my instantaneous memory ability to memorize the ones about immortal arts and martial arts that went beyond the basics. However, most of them were written in the Immortal Secret Script, so I had to translate them.

Translating only the titles first, they were: “Immortal Secret Script Grammar,” “Principles of the Immortal Path,” “Armor of Yōma,” “Layered Resonance Sword,” “Plum Blossom Spearmanship,” “Demonic Horn Warhammer Art,” “Vermilion Spirit Sword,” “Foundational Qi Combat Art,” and “Ogre King Battle Axe.”

There were also other works related to martial arts and the immortal path, but those were written in ordinary script and were standard martial arts. That did not mean standard martial arts were bad. It was just that such martial arts assumed human opponents. They would probably not be very useful in battles against yōma.

I intended to go a little deeper into the demon realm and search for the ingredients needed to make the Qi Prosperity Pill required to raise my qi level. To do that, I would have to defeat the yōma living there.

If I was looking for martial arts capable of defeating yōma, then it meant learning one of the martial arts I had listed earlier. There might have been even more amazing martial arts in the Main Hall library, but since I could not enter, there was nothing I could do about that.

I used the period when snow had piled up and outdoor activity was restricted to translate those books written in the Immortal Secret Script. First, I translated “Immortal Secret Script Grammar,” and after studying that, I translated the other books.

Thanks to that translation work, I became able to read sentences written in the Immortal Secret Script to a certain extent. As a result of the translations, I learned that four of them—Layered Resonance Sword, Plum Blossom Spearmanship, Vermilion Spirit Sword, and Ogre King Battle Axe—were difficult to master.

Three of them—Layered Resonance Sword, Plum Blossom Spearmanship, and Ogre King Battle Axe—were martial arts that used long swords, spears, and heavy axes, so they did not suit someone like me, whose strength and build were poor. And Vermilion Spirit Sword was a sword art that used spiritual power, which could only be used after a Taoist practitioner at the Qi Refining Stage advanced to the next stage they sought, the Spirit Formation Stage.

It felt strange that a manual for that kind of sword art was in the library used by outer disciples. It even felt malicious. It was like saying, “You won’t be able to master it anyway, but I’ll show you a high-class martial arts manual.”

“Principles of the Immortal Path” was a text needed to deepen one’s knowledge of the immortal path. It contained the knowledge inner disciples needed in order to advance from the Qi Refining Stage to the Spirit Formation Stage. And “Armor of Yōma” described how to make armor from parts stripped from yōma.

As a result of my investigation, I decided to study Foundational Qi Combat Art and Demonic Horn Warhammer Art. Foundational Qi Combat Art was a martial art that fought barehanded while enhancing the body with qi, and it seemed to teach the basic movements that formed the foundation of how Taoist practitioners fought.

I thought many people probably studied this Foundational Qi Combat Art, so I checked with Xiaotan the librarian, but his answer was that not many did. When I asked why, he said it was because yōma could not be defeated with barehanded martial arts.

“Is something wrong?”

Xiaotan asked that because I probably looked unconvinced.

“This Foundational Qi Combat Art is the foundation for fighting with qi. It seems inefficient to learn other martial arts without learning this first.”

Hearing that, Xiaotan made a troubled face.

“Is that really true?”

“I haven’t actually tested it, so it’s only a feeling.”

Xiaotan stared seriously at the manual for Foundational Qi Combat Art. While continuing to practice Shorinji Kempo and Meisen Swordsmanship, I began training in Foundational Qi Combat Art.

This Foundational Qi Combat Art pointed out that there were movements that obstructed the flow of qi. It seemed that if one strained awkwardly or had poor posture, the flow of qi would be hindered.

In Foundational Qi Combat Art, techniques like body checks were often used. There were many movements that used body weight and qi at the same time to inflict great damage on the enemy. They were powerful movements, but rather than being done through sheer momentum, they seemed to be precisely calculated movements that loaded qi and body weight into the attack.

“Yingjie, do you have a minute?”

Xiaotan called out to Yingjie, who was about to go into town.

“What is it?”

“Who exactly is Kou?”

“What do you mean?”

“The other day, we talked about Foundational Qi Combat Art. And then he told me he couldn’t accept that we seniors didn’t study Foundational Qi Combat Art.”

“If it’s Foundational Qi Combat Art, that’s the martial art for fighting barehanded, right? You can’t defeat yōma with that.”

“He says that Foundational Qi Combat Art becomes the foundation for how Taoist practitioners fight.”

“That’s a little hard to believe. So what about it?”

“I’m thinking of trying it out. Won’t you try it with me too?”

Yingjie tilted his head.

“Why me too?”

“If I do it alone, it could just mean it happened to suit my constitution.”

“I see. All right, I’ll go along with it.”

From that day on, Yingjie and Xiaotan began training in Foundational Qi Combat Art.