"Turns out these foxes invited me here not only for teaching but mainly for classifying the books. For future ease of reading. Who would have thought that coming to the Western Mountain to keep vigil for my mother and study for peace, I'd encounter such a thing. That woman Yuanfei actually took out the red gold coins from the imperial palace. What's the relationship between her and the foxes? This matter is so mysterious and confusing. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse." Classifying the collection of books is a huge task. Many wealthy families with thousands of volumes of books often invite experienced scholars to categorize them. Although Hong Yi has read many tales of fox spirits, most of them were about passionate fox maidens and talented scholars. But when he actually encountered such a thing himself, he felt that these foxes were not as simple as just reading and cultivating. The not-so-simple thought originated directly from the red gold coins from the imperial palace that Yuanfei had. However, these were all aimless speculations. The most urgent thing at present was to study. So many books really excited Hong Yi, who relied on borrowing and copying books to read. "Sir, have a good rest. These days, if there's nothing else, you can stay in the secluded valley. All the tea and meals will be provided by me." Elder Tu saw Hong Yi flipping through the books one after another and nodded in satisfaction. "Then I'll start classifying and organizing the books tonight," Hong Yi said. "Alright, Xiao Sang, Xiao Fei, Xiao Shu, prepare supper and tea for the sir." "Chirp, chirp." Several cheerful fox cries came from outside. "I need to go do my meditation and cultivation practice. If sir needs anything, just give an order. Although the children outside can't speak yet, they can understand the language." After giving this reminder, Elder Tu staggered out. Hong Yi's attention was now fully on the books in the stone chamber. As soon as Elder Tu the fox left, he immediately walked around the room, his eyes scanning for the books that interested him. "There are really all kinds of books in this stone chamber, especially those on martial arts and Taoist cultivation." About half an hour later, Hong Yi roughly walked around the entire stone chamber and discovered that a large part of the collection in this stone chamber was on martial arts and the rest were Taoist cultivation books. It was truly a vast sea of knowledge. "Eh? There are even the two major books, The Military Classic and The Taoist Classic. I have long desired these two books and have always wanted to read them, but I could never find them or borrow them." While Hong Yi was browsing, suddenly, he saw two large books prominently placed on the bookshelf in the center. One was The Military Classic and the other was The Taoist Classic. Both books were large volumes, each consisting of dozens of volumes. When Hong Yi saw them, he pounced on them like finding a treasure. He had long wanted to see these two major books. Both of these books were compiled at the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty. The Military Classic is a book that collects martial arts from all over the world. The Taoist Classic is a cultivation book that collects Taoist works from all over the world. Hong Yi had read many scholars' notes and had once described in detail the circumstances when these two books were compiled: The Great Qian Dynasty collected books from all over the world, filling the entire national library. At the same time, tens of thousands of people were involved in compiling the books, including many famous martial arts experts, leaders of the Supreme Taoism, Orthodox Taoism, Fangxian Taoism, and some heads of Buddhism. Unfortunately, just a few years after these two books were compiled, the Great Qian Dynasty immediately prohibited their engraving and printing. At the same time, the already printed books were collected from the people and burned all at once. Anyone found in possession of these books would be severely punished. After that, the Great Qian Dynasty, under the slogan of "rectifying people's hearts and discarding heresies," repeatedly collected books from temples and revised the classics many times. But they never compiled books like The Military Classic and The Taoist Classic again. Instead, they all focused on books about righteousness, loyalty, and etiquette. And all the collected Taoist books and martial arts books in the folk were burned to ashes. Moreover, the Great Qian Dynasty issued an order strictly prohibiting private practice of martial arts in the folk and strictly controlling temples and Taoist abbeys across the country. Up until twenty years ago, after the army wiped out the Great Chan Monastery, the control of folk military force by the Great Qian Dynasty reached its peak. Although the Great Qian Dynasty prohibited private practice of martial arts, it encouraged the nobility and the imperial family to practice martial arts and horseback archery. At the same time, a "Martial Arts Hall" was established in the army. In the "Martial Arts Hall," there was a strict hierarchical division of martial arts, even more rigorous than the imperial examination. It was a way for martial artists to advance. Hong Yi had read a little about this series of measures in some reading notes, but he was not clear about the specific matters of the "Martial Arts Hall" in the army. "Suppressing military officers with scholar-bureaucrats, yet secretly cultivating military officers to preserve the national military force, collecting books from all over the world, revising the classics, controlling the military force in their own hands, prohibiting folk military force, and developing official military force. Such means are truly unpredictable." Hong Yi looked at the two books and felt extremely emotional. These two were not so easy to see. According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, anyone who copied or engraved The Military Classic and The Taoist Classic would be punished. At the lightest, the entire family would be sent into exile for three thousand miles. At the worst, they would lose their heads. Hong Yi had long desired these two books, but with his status, it was impossible for him to see them. If he had collected these two books in the marquis's residence, he would immediately be caught by Lady Zhao and get into trouble. "Scholars can't be weak and powerless. Since there is The Military Classic here, I have to have a good read and find one or two sets of boxing techniques for self-cultivation." With such thoughts, Hong Yi opened The Military Classic. The beginning of The Military Classic stated: The ultimate goal of martial arts is to strengthen the physical body and transcend life and death, not for killing and showing off strength. The world is like a sea of bitterness, and the physical body is like a raft crossing the sea. If the physical body is strong, it can carry people safely to the other side of the sea of bitterness. "Eh? If martial arts is for transcending life and death, then what is the purpose of immortal arts?" Hong Yi thought to himself and opened The Taoist Classic. The beginning of The Taoist Classic stated: The world is like a sea of bitterness, and the human physical body is like a raft crossing the sea. However, the sea of bitterness has no bounds, and the raft will eventually decay. Only when the spirit is strong can one abandon the raft and swim to the other side of the sea of bitterness with one's own strength. "So that's it. Two different cultivation principles. But both make sense." Hong Yi was a scholar and naturally could easily understand the meaning of the words in the books. After reading the beginnings of martial arts and Taoist classics, he finally had a clear understanding of the two cultivation methods of martial arts and immortal arts. The ultimate goal of both is to transcend life and death. The world is like a vast ocean. People living in the world are like ships crossing the sea, and the spirit and thoughts are the people inside the ships. Martial arts focus on cultivating the physical body. A strong physical body can carry people safely across the sea of bitterness. While immortal arts focus on the fact that the sea of bitterness is boundless and the physical body of the ship will eventually decay. It's better to directly cultivate the spirit, just like making a person proficient in swimming. Even if the ship is destroyed, the person won't drown. Hong Yi continued to read and compared the two. He found that the cultivation of martial arts was divided into seven levels: training the muscles, training the tendons, training the membranes, training the bones, training the internal organs, training the marrow, and changing the blood. In The Military Classic, detailed descriptions were given for these seven levels. Training the muscles: It is the foundation of martial arts. By exercising the whole body, the muscles become firm, full, and responsive, capable of resisting the attack of two or three people. The "Martial Arts Hall" in the army of the Great Qian Dynasty calls this level "Martial Student". Training the tendons: The tendons of the whole body become strong and flexible, with fierce explosive power and agility, capable of resisting the attack of six or seven people. Such people in the army are called "Martial Apprentices". Training the membranes: The skin membranes of the whole body become firm and can resist attacks. When exerting force, the human skin becomes as tough as cowhide and can defeat more than ten people when surrounded. Such people are called "Martial Warriors". Training the bones: The bones of the whole body become hard, with strong penetrating power, and the body becomes more agile and has stronger resistance to attacks, capable of resisting dozens of people. Such people are called "Martial Masters". Training the internal organs: By breathing and exhaling, the internal organs become strong, the breathing is continuous and far-reaching, and the physical strength is long-lasting. One can almost resist a hundred people. One can walk as fast as a galloping horse and jump as nimbly as a flying bird. Such people are called "Innate Martial Masters". Training the marrow: The cultivation of boxing and martial arts has reached deep into the marrow. Such people are called "Grand Masters". Changing the blood: After the marrow becomes strong, through cultivation, the blood in the whole body is renewed. It is said that training the marrow is like frost and training the blood is like mercury. One undergoes a complete transformation and washes away the impurities. Such people can resist hundreds of people. They are the saints in martial arts. "Martial Student, Martial Apprentice, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Innate, Grand Master, Martial Saint! Such detailed divisions. I wonder if they are the same as the divisions in the imperial examination, such as student scholar, provincial graduate, and metropolitan graduate? The Great Qian Dynasty was founded on martial arts, but they have really put in a lot of effort. This is unknown to scholars. Even the number of people one can resist is estimated. It seems that they have been strictly practiced in the army. But even the saints in martial arts still seem unable to transcend life and death. There seems to be a feeling of unfinished business." Hong Yi couldn't get enough of reading. At the same time, a strange fear arose in his heart. It was the fear caused by the precise control of human martial power by the Great Qian Dynasty. Such a powerful martial power control system. A promotion path that is even more rigorous than the imperial examination. Hong Yi knew that the ten-person and hundred-person enemies mentioned were not ordinary civilians but trained soldiers. After reading the beginning of The Military Classic, Hong Yi finally understood how strict the control of martial power by the Great Qian Dynasty was and how much effort they had put in! "Eh?" While reading, Hong Yi suddenly discovered that there were annotations in the interline of the main text of The Military Classic. Apparently, they were added by the reader himself. "Those who practice martial arts without understanding the key points cannot ultimately achieve sainthood in the physical body nor understand the mysteries of the physical body. The acupoints and orifices of the human body are like the stars in the sky, where the gods of heaven dwell. If someone can understand and cultivate these acupoints and orifices to correspond with the stars in the sky, then with a simple gesture, they will have boundless power. They can capture dragons and throw elephants, just like the fusion and transcendence of the Yang Spirit in Taoism, reaching the realm of human immortality. Annotated by Master Yin Yue on the Mid-Autumn Festival in the thirtieth year of the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty." Apparently, this paragraph of text was annotated by a monk named Master Yin Yue from the Great Chan Monastery. The meaning of this paragraph of text is not profound. It means that apart from the muscles, tendons, membranes, bones, internal organs, marrow, and blood of the human body, there are many acupoints and orifices, like the stars in the sky, where the gods dwell. After cultivating these acupoints and orifices, one can have boundless power with a simple gesture. The physical body becomes immortal, which is called human immortality! "Human immortality!" "The highest realm of martial arts is human immortality?" Looking at this annotation, Hong Yi thought to himself, "My father, Marquis Wu Wen, was once able to shoot consecutive arrows with a nine-stone bow when he was young. I wonder what level that was?" "It seems that I need to practice martial arts. A scholar without the strength to even hold a chicken is not a good situation. Although civil officials control the government in our Great Qian Dynasty, to truly receive a title of nobility, one still has to rely on military achievements. If I learn martial arts, pass the metropolitan examination, and enter the army, my status will be high. If I make military achievements and receive a title of nobility, then my mother's status will not only be that of a lady but that of a noble... The status will be much higher than that of Lady Zhao..." After reading the beginning of The Military Classic, Hong Yi thought of practicing martial arts again. In fact, Hong Yi did not not want to practice martial arts, but he really did not have the conditions. He could not afford to hire a martial arts teacher and did not have the money to buy bows and horses for practicing horseback archery. Fortunately, the imperial examination has now abolished horseback archery. Otherwise, he would have no chance to succeed in his entire life. However, he did know that if he practiced martial arts well, passed the metropolitan examination, and was both literary and martial, his status would be very high after entering the army system of the Great Qian Dynasty. If he made military achievements, he would receive a title of nobility. If he was lucky, his mother's status would be conferred as "noble" by the imperial court. The status of "noble" is much higher than that of "lady". It is the highest title of honor bestowed by the imperial court to noble families. In the residence of Marquis Wu Wen, only the late Lady Hong, the mother of Hong Xuanji, was "Lady Cian". "I must strive for the highest title for my mother. However, the cultivation of martial arts is not something that can be achieved overnight. It's not urgent for now. Let's first look at the cultivation of the spirit and soul of immortal arts. I wonder what the difference is?" Hong Yi opened The Taoist Classic again. Sure enough, just as the fox Elder Tu said, the cultivation in The Taoist Classic was divided into ten levels: calming the mind, leaving the body, night wandering, day wandering, manipulating objects, manifesting form, possessing, seizing the body, thunder tribulation, and Yang Spirit.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.