The entire Wudang Mountain is so vast that it's clear that Xiao Ning wasn't the only one sweeping; otherwise, it would probably take a month to sweep it all.
The plaza, stretching as far as the eye can see, covers an extremely vast area. The entire ground is paved with bluestone, making it a landmark building of the Wudang School.
This square was the area Xiao Ning was responsible for cleaning.
As the sounds of morning lessons echoed from within the Purple Cloud Palace, Xiao Ning remained calm and composed. Before acquiring the system, he might have envied the treatment of the formal disciples.
Now, perhaps he can set a small goal: to surpass Zhang Sanfeng, the Master Zhang, in martial arts.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the morning lessons of the Wudang disciples came to an end. After Xiao Ning finished sweeping up the fallen leaves and weeds in the square, he picked up his broom and returned to the backyard.
After having a modest breakfast in the kitchen, Xiao Ning returned to her room, having essentially finished her work for the day.
Although the Fireworker was just a menial servant, he still had a small room, though it was smaller and more remote than those of the formal disciples, because Wudang Mountain was vast and its disciples were few.
The Wudang School has only been established for a few decades and is far from its peak. Including its founder Zhang Sanfeng and the Seven Heroes of Wudang, it has only a few dozen formal disciples.
The number of fire-working Taoists was slightly larger, around a hundred, each with their own duties, maintaining the cleanliness of the entire Wudang Mountain in an orderly manner, and providing logistical support for the formal disciples.
Logically speaking, the entire Wudang Mountain should not need so many servants; half the number of people would be enough to complete the chores.
What puzzled Xiao Ning was why the Wudang Sect kept so many fire-crafting Taoists.
"Perhaps, the heroes of Wudang couldn't bear to see it..."
After a long time, reflecting on his own experiences, Xiao Ning had a sudden realization.
In the chaotic end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people were suffering and there were frequent incidents of Mongols harming the people.
When the Seven Heroes of Wudang traveled the martial world, they sometimes encountered survivors and brought them back to Wudang Mountain to settle them. As a result, the number of Taoist Fire Workers on the mountain was much greater than that of the formal disciples.
"Forget it, what do these things have to do with me?"
Shaking his head, Xiao Ning gave a wry smile.
Taking off his shoes, Xiao Ning sat cross-legged on the bed, gently closed his eyes, and began to organize the martial arts knowledge that had accumulated in his mind.
The Nine Yang Divine Skill is an unparalleled divine skill, divided into nine levels. Upon mastering it, it possesses numerous additional attributes, such as tendon and marrow cleansing; the generation of a misty purple aura; an incredibly fast and inexhaustible internal energy generation rate, allowing even ordinary punches and kicks to unleash tremendous attack power; unmatched defensive capabilities, automatically protecting the body and deflecting external attacks, resulting in an indestructible body; a significant speed boost for the practitioner; and it is also a holy scripture for healing, preventing all diseases and poisons.
Once its yang internal energy is fully unleashed, it can incinerate enemies into charcoal, and it can even specifically counter all cold and yin poison internal energies.
Once mastered to the ninth level, all martial arts techniques in the world can be picked up and used. In addition, the manual also includes skills such as bone shrinking, tortoise breathing, and wall walking.
Of course, such unparalleled skills are not without their flaws.
To reach the final level of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, one must break through dozens of mysterious barriers throughout the body. If one is not careful, one's true energy will leak out completely, leading to an unnatural death, like that monk Jueyuan.
Or, like the protagonist Zhang Wuji in the original work, he only truly mastered it through a series of coincidences in the enclosed space of the Qiankun Yiqi Bag.
After organizing all the knowledge of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Xiao Ning attempted to practice it for the first time in both his past and present lives.
"With every gesture, there must be direction in all directions. The initial movement is not entirely within one's control; one must carefully observe and adapt, yielding and extending without resisting or pushing back. Do not be self-willed. If the opponent has strength, I also have strength, but my strength precedes theirs. If the opponent has no strength, I also have no strength, but my intention still precedes theirs. Always be mindful, wherever you are touched, that's where your mind should be focused..."
After assuming the posture of "Five Hearts Facing the Sky," Xiao Ning's mind was filled with the mantra of the Nine Yang Divine Skill. He kept imagining the existence of internal energy within his body and circulating it throughout the body.
…
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ning opened his eyes.
"Is this... internal energy?"
Xiao Ning's face showed disbelief, and he muttered to himself.
He could clearly feel an extremely subtle aura constantly moving within his dantian, like a mischievous little sprite.
Not only that, Xiao Ning was surprised to find that his strength seemed to have increased a lot. He clenched his fist, and his knuckles slowly made a "crackling" sound.
According to the Nine Yang Divine Skill, there are thousands of martial arts schools in the world, each with its own level of mastery. However, in a common sense, they can be roughly divided into ordinary people and martial artists.
Mortals, as the name suggests, do not have internal energy. They have only learned some external martial arts techniques, such as Sanda and grappling from their previous lives. They may be able to defeat three or five ordinary people, but they can never be considered true martial artists.
A true martial artist must possess internal energy.
Among martial artists, based on the amount of internal energy and the number of meridians opened in their bodies, they are divided into nine levels from low to high acquired levels.
The first floor is the lowest, and the ninth floor is the highest.
Layers one to three represent the early stage of acquired constitution, layers four to six represent the middle stage of acquired constitution, and layers seven to nine represent the late stage of acquired constitution.
Song Yuanqiao, the leader of the Wudang Sect, is renowned throughout the martial arts world, thanks to his unparalleled cultivation at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm. This demonstrates the formidable power of a late-stage Acquired Realm martial artist.
As for the founder of the sect, Master Zhang, Xiao Ning guessed that he might have reached an even higher level.
At this moment, a trace of internal energy had been generated within Xiao Ning's body, officially marking his entry into the realm of martial artists.
"Truly worthy of being called an unparalleled divine skill! Terrifying indeed!"
Xiao Ning was overjoyed.
Although it is unknown how good this body's martial arts aptitude is, the fact that he has practiced the Nine Yang Divine Skill for only a short time has allowed him to step into the level of a martial artist.
The system's amazing capabilities are evident!
Without further thought, Xiao Ning once again focused all his attention on cultivation.
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Chapter 3 Yu Daiyan is deposed [New book seeking patronage!] (Revised)