Chapter 5: The Three Realms of Martial Arts

"A big deal. I wonder if the legend of the red-tailed golden carp is true or not?"

Zhou Qingshan's eyes were filled with irrepressible excitement. He carefully placed the thumb-sized red-tailed golden carp into the water tank.

This is a spirit fish.

He once happened to see a fisherman catching some fish to sell in Black Cloud City, and it was purchased by a warrior from an aristocratic family at a sky-high price of fifty treasure yuan.

Fifty thousand coins!
It’s almost as much as Sheng Fengling’s income in half a year.

Obviously, in the eyes of warriors, this red-tailed golden carp is definitely worth more than fifty treasure yuan.

This red-tailed golden carp is the best supplement that warriors can use to condense their source blood, and is called the spiritual ginseng in the water.

It is said that it is also effective for higher-level warriors, and it can slowly nourish the body without the danger of taking stimulating drugs.

Even ordinary people can take it.

Such treasures could even offset most of the tribute, but Shengfeng Territory only had a small river, and the origin of the spiritual fish was unknown, so it was not easy to sell it.

"what?"

Zhou Qingshan once again held the fishing rod and went fishing, but this time he did not have the same 'mysterious' feeling as before.

"What's going on? It seems like fishing is no longer possible?" He frowned.

Zhou Qingshan did not give up. He kept fishing and stared at the water surface. After about ten minutes, there was no reaction on the water surface.

Some people just refuse to give up.

After waiting for about ten more minutes, there was still no reaction on the water surface, so Zhou Qingshan had to give up.

"This is my eleventh time fishing. Is ten times the maximum per day? I guess I have to try again tomorrow."

Putting away the simple fishing rod, Zhou Qingshan kept in mind the number of fishing times he had just gone through.

After all, this Yunding chess board doesn't have a long instruction manual like a game, and he has to rely on his own exploration and recording for everything.

After these ten times of fishing, Zhou Qingshan has mastered the rules of the rune [Fishing].

The information given by the rune [Fishing] in the mind, that one can fish all things in the sky with 'one's own power', is not false.

From the moment he needed to pull the rod, Zhou Qingshan realized that if he didn't have enough strength and the rod slipped out of his hand, the red-tailed golden carp would disappear.

The fish and shrimp caught during these ten fishing trips all required a bit of effort.

Even when Zhou Qingshan was fishing for the small shrimp, he felt a slight force pulling him, but pulling up the broken wooden board did not require much effort, and there was no such pulling feeling.

“I don’t know if it’s because of the difference between dead and living things, or if it has something to do with the value of fishing?” Zhou Qingshan made this judgment.

This is related to the value of the rune [Fishing].

Since you can fish out inanimate objects like 'wooden boards', you can naturally fish out other objects in this virtual world.

Some dead things are worth more than a 'spiritual fish'.

But if the pulling force was applied according to the value of the object being fished, Zhou Qingshan, with his weak strength almost like that of a child, almost lost his strength even when pulling a thumb-sized "spiritual fish".

It would be wishful thinking to fish for some martial arts skills, elixirs, or secret books on cultivating immortals.

Zhou Qingshan lay on the soft grass, feeling the tranquility and harmony brought by the Yunding chessboard, his thoughts floating in the breeze.

"Is the passage of time on this chessboard different from that outside? However, such a large space can be utilized."

He pulled up the grass beside him and twisted it gently:
"If this little grass can survive, planting other things shouldn't be a problem. We can go to Doctor Mo tomorrow to get some medicinal seeds for planting."

After a pause, Zhou Qingshan's eyes lit up when talking about farming, and he suddenly thought of something:
"If these ten acres of land can be used to grow 'spiritual seeds', wouldn't it be great?"

It is said that warriors in this world need to climb three levels. He has limited knowledge and only knows warriors in the first two levels.

This first heaven is divided into three realms.

In the realm of a strong man, one trains the skin and tempers the flesh.

Warrior realm, strengthening bones and changing blood.

Warrior realm, internal organs.

Practicing martial arts can extend one's lifespan. The Qi and blood can deeply strengthen the internal organs, which is the limit of human ability. One can live to the limit of the human body, which is 120 years old.

In this world where the average life expectancy is thirty to fifty years, what does it mean for a samurai to live to be one hundred and twenty years old?
Almost ten generations!
Ninety percent of the warriors in the world would be satisfied if they could reach the level of "samurai".

This second-level warrior is truly extraordinary. Zhou's father had seen the Lord of Black Cloud City take action in the battle array! The Lord of Black Cloud City held the spiritual weapon "Blood Drinking Knife" and slashed a hundred-meter-long knife in the air. The rocks shattered in an instant and a mountain-sized beast was beheaded on the spot.

This is the second level of martial arts, named - the realm of raising troops.

Qi and blood can stimulate the vast power of "spiritual soldiers". One person can defeat thousands of troops and slay demons. He can be a general when he goes out or a city lord when he stays on the ground.

This kind of combat power must be what Zhou's father was exaggerating.

Warriors at the level of Jin Yong and Gu Long are not enough. This high-level warrior is at least at the same level as 'Feng Yun'.

Of course, this power does not come out of thin air.

Warriors are human beings and cannot breathe in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth like cultivators.

Therefore, higher-level warriors need to consume more resources, and ordinary food cannot withstand their consumption.

A warrior at the level of a strongman needs half a cow to maintain his daily physical strength, which is equivalent to the food for more than ten people.

It would be even more exaggerated if you practice it.

Strengthen the skin and temper the flesh to move the qi and blood and increase strength. Generally, at this stage, people mainly take "blood-replenishing pills" and a little "exotic beast meat" as an auxiliary.

However, the 'blood-replenishing medicine' is a strong medicine and should not be taken too much. You can only take one pill every three days. This is equivalent to three days to practice standing meditation once and move the qi and blood once.

And 'exotic animal meat' is not available every day, and its price is sky-high.

How difficult it is to learn martial arts.

If you don't make progress, you will regress. If you don't take "big medicine" and "exotic beast meat" and rashly move your Qi and blood, you will ruin your body.

The saying that the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts is absolutely true.

The best food for warriors is 'spiritual seeds'!
By taking a most common 'spiritual seed', a warrior can stay awake for a day, it is easier to absorb and digest, and there is no resistance or toxicity from long-term medication.

If you take it with every meal, you can transport Qi and blood for cultivation every day, and your cultivation speed will improve by leaps and bounds.

However, these precious martial arts resources are all monopolized by Black Cloud City and the Spirit Weapon Family, and only a certain purchase quota is provided to their warriors every month.

If this world did not have this special "spiritual seed" resource, ordinary food would only require 10,000 warriors in the Hercules Realm to eat up Black Cloud City.

However, special resources such as "Spirit Seeds" can only be grown in the spiritual nodes of the Great Spirit Realm.

Shengfengling is just the smallest rural spiritual realm, and the spiritual energy node is less than half an acre of land, and can only grow some low-grade "big medicines".

"This chessboard on the top of the cloud may be the legendary paradise of the immortals. It should be able to grow spirit seeds. If I feed on spirit seeds every day to nourish my body, I may be able to condense source blood and enter the door of martial arts."

When he thought of this, all the worries in Zhou Qingshan’s heart disappeared, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.

"Gurgle! Gurgle!"

At this moment, my stomach suddenly made a loud protest.

Zhou Qingshan had no appetite yesterday, and he could only swallow a few mouthfuls of chicken soup before falling into a deep sleep again.

In addition, he was physically exhausted after a whole night of fishing, and when he took a break, hunger came over him like a tide.

Zhou Qingshan turned his head and looked at the red-tailed golden carp swimming in the water tank next to him, as well as the snow fish, which was considered a delicacy in the world.

"This 'spiritual fish' is not easy to sell, so I might as well eat it myself."

Zhou Qingshan did what he said. He entered and exited the world of Yunding chessboard with a thought, and took out a three-legged pottery jar and a stove from the house.

He cleaned the red-tailed golden carp, put it in a ceramic pot, added appropriate amount of water and salt, then covered the pot and let the flame slowly stew the fish soup.

Soon, an enticing aroma spread out, making people salivate.

Zhou Qingshan lifted the lid of the pot and stared at the blood-red exotic fish soup. He swallowed involuntarily, and the feeling of hunger surged from deep within his body.

He scooped up a spoonful of rich fish soup, blew away the heat, and carefully tasted it. The soup was warm and moist, slowly sliding down his throat, bringing a warm feeling from the inside out.

“It’s so delicious!”

You have to know that ordinary "big medicines" and high-quality foods such as exotic beast meat are all tiger and wolf medicines, which are difficult to digest for ordinary people who have not practiced martial arts, let alone Zhou Qingshan.

But the red-tailed golden carp was surprisingly gentle. After drinking it, the fish soup seemed to contain a very warm energy. He could feel a warm current flowing through his body, and even his body felt a lot more relaxed.

Zhou Qingshan had a great appetite and he devoured the fish soup and fish meat in the clay pot like whirlwind.

After eating and drinking, Zhou Qingshan fell into a hazy dream on the steps of the Yunding chessboard.

(End of this chapter)