“Eh? There’s actually also the ‘Wujing’ and ‘Daojing’, these two great books. I’ve admired them for a long time and always wanted to read them, but I could never find them, nor could I borrow them.”

　　William Grant was flipping through the books when he suddenly saw, in the most prominent position at the center of the bookshelf, two great tomes displayed—one was the ‘Wujing’, the other the ‘Daojing’.

　　Both books were massive, each consisting of dozens of thick volumes.

　　When William Grant saw them, he rushed over as if he had found a priceless treasure. He had long wanted to read these two great books.

　　Both of these books were compiled at the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty.

　　The ‘Wujing’ is a compilation of all the martial arts under heaven.

　　The ‘Daojing’ is a collection of all Daoist texts, compiled as a book of cultivation.

　　William Grant had read many scholars’ notes, which had described in detail the circumstances during the compilation of these two books. The Great Qian Dynasty collected books from all over the land, filling the entire national library, and there were thousands upon thousands of people involved in the compilation. Among them were famous martial arts masters, leaders of the Supreme Dao, Orthodox Dao, Fangxian Dao, and even some heads of Buddhist sects.

　　Unfortunately, just a few years after these two books were compiled, the Great Qian Dynasty immediately banned their printing, and at the same time collected all printed copies from the populace and burned them in one sweep. Anyone found hiding these books would be severely punished.

　　Afterwards, under the slogan of “rectifying people’s hearts and abandoning heretical teachings,” the Great Qian Dynasty repeatedly collected books from folk temples and carried out major revisions of the classics. But they never again revised books like the ‘Wujing’ or ‘Daojing’; instead, all the classics were about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, law, loyalty, and similar virtues.

　　As for the Daoist books and martial arts manuals collected from the people, they were all burned to ashes.

　　Moreover, the Great Qian Dynasty issued further orders strictly forbidding the private practice of martial arts among the populace and tightly controlling all temples and Daoist monasteries. Ever since the army wiped out the Great Zen Monastery twenty years ago, the dynasty’s control over civilian martial power reached its peak.

　　However, while the Great Qian Dynasty forbade private martial arts practice, it encouraged the royal family, nobility, and imperial clan to practice martial arts and archery. At the same time, it established the “Martial Hall” within the army.

　　Within the “Martial Hall,” martial arts were divided into strict ranks, even more rigorous than the imperial examinations. It was a path for martial artists to advance.

　　William Grant had read about these measures in some scholars’ notes, but he was not clear about the specifics of the “Martial Hall” in the army.

　　“To suppress military officers with scholars, yet secretly cultivate military officers to preserve national power; to collect books from all over the land and revise the classics; to keep martial power in their own hands, forbid civilian martial power, and develop official martial power—such methods truly turn the world upside down.”

　　Looking at the two books, William Grant was filled with emotion.

　　These two books are not so easy to come by. The Great Qian Dynasty has laws: anyone who copies or prints the ‘Wujing’ or ‘Daojing’ will, at best, have their whole family sent to forced labor and exiled three thousand miles; at worst, lose their head.

　　William Grant had long admired these two books, but with his status, it was impossible for him to see them.

　　If he were to keep these two books in the marquis’s residence, Mrs. Harris would immediately seize upon it as evidence against him, and that would be trouble.

　　“A scholar shouldn’t be powerless. Since the ‘Wujing’ is here, I must read it well and find one or two martial arts for self-cultivation.”

　　With this thought, William Grant opened the ‘Wujing’.

　　The ‘Wujing’ begins: The ultimate goal of martial arts is to strengthen the body and transcend life and death; it is by no means about killing or showing off. The world is like a sea of suffering, and the body is like a raft to cross it. If the body is strong, it can carry one safely to the other shore of suffering.

　　“Hm? Martial arts are for transcending life and death—then what is the purpose of immortal arts?”

　　William Grant wondered, and then opened the ‘Daojing’.

　　The ‘Daojing’ begins: The world is like a sea of suffering, and the human body is like a raft to cross it. Yet the sea of suffering is boundless, and the raft will eventually decay. Only if the soul is strong can one abandon the raft and, by one’s own power, swim to the other shore of suffering.

　　“So that’s how it is—two different cultivation philosophies, yet both make sense.”

　　As a scholar, William Grant naturally found it easy to understand the meaning of the texts.

　　After reading the beginnings of the ‘Wujing’ and ‘Daojing’, he finally gained a clear understanding of the two cultivation methods: martial arts and immortal arts.

　　The ultimate goal of both is to transcend life and death.

　　The world is a vast ocean.

　　Living in this world, the body is like a boat crossing the sea, while the soul and mind are like the people inside the boat.

　　Martial arts focus on cultivating the body; a strong body can carry a person safely across the sea of suffering.

　　Immortal arts, on the other hand, hold that the sea of suffering is boundless and the boat—the body—will eventually decay, so it is better to cultivate the soul directly, like learning to swim. That way, even if the boat is destroyed, the person will not drown.

　　William Grant continued reading and, comparing the two, found that martial arts cultivation is divided into seven levels: training the flesh, training the tendons, training the membranes, training the bones, training the organs, training the marrow, and changing the blood.

　　In the ‘Wujing’, these seven levels are described in detail.

　　Training the flesh: This is the foundation of martial arts—exercising the whole body so that the muscles become firm and full, reflexes are quick, and one can withstand attacks from two or three people. In the Great Qian Dynasty’s army, this level is called “Wusheng” (Martial Student).

　　Training the tendons: The tendons throughout the body become strong and flexible, explosive power is fierce, the body is agile, and one can withstand attacks from six or seven people. Such a person is called a “Wutu” (Martial Disciple) in the army.