Evelyn Spencer chatted with this senior brother for one or two hours. Seeing that it was getting late, and since Charles Bolton had set the rule that disciples must go to bed early and rise early, he reluctantly saw Clifford Bolton off.

He returned to his room and lay down, his heart slightly aflame with excitement, secretly thinking, “I’ve really struck gold!”

“So it turns out my teacher is quite renowned, and Patriarch Feng is an unparalleled master in the world. The Songyang Sect is even the top among the ten great sword sects.”

“With such a good master, as long as I work hard, won’t I surely become a young hero of the martial world in the future?”

“I just don’t know what powerful martial arts the Songyang Sect has, and whether they’re easy to learn.”

Evelyn Spencer had crossed over here as nothing more than a shop assistant in a big store, and usually had no contact with people from the martial world. He truly didn’t know who was respected in the jianghu, or which sects were the strongest.

During the few months he traveled the jianghu with Edward Miller, he always felt this master might slip away at any moment, so he seized every opportunity to ask about martial arts, never daring to waste time on martial gossip. After all, for him, learning martial arts was far more important than chasing rumors.

He had only ever met Frank Henry, Edward Miller, and now his new master Charles Bolton, plus a handful of other martial artists. Although senior brother Clifford Bolton had explained things to him, giving him a general idea, he was still quite confused, and the image of the jianghu in his mind was rough and simplistic...

Chapter 9: The Ziwu Classic

The next day, Evelyn Spencer got up early, found senior brother Clifford Bolton, took some tools for chores, and began cleaning the Taiyi Temple.

This Taiyi Temple was badly damaged, and only Charles Bolton and Clifford Bolton remained as master and disciple. Although both were skilled in martial arts, after more than a year of hard work, they had only managed to make the front part barely presentable, while the back was still in ruins, with hardly any intact buildings left.

Evelyn Spencer wanted to suggest spending money to hire people from nearby villages and towns to help, since he really wasn’t short on money. But his transmigrator’s instincts kicked in, making him feel there might be some deeper meaning to this—perhaps to temper one’s character, or even to use the chores as martial arts practice—so in the end, he kept his mouth shut.

After half a day of cleaning, Clifford Bolton took his junior brother to the main hall for a meal. Charles Bolton had already prepared the food, and the three of them ate a simple meal together. Then Charles Bolton led his two disciples to a side hall that was half tidied up, though the roof still let in some light.

Charles Bolton sat down on a meditation cushion and had his two disciples sit as well. Smiling, he said, “Since Yanwan just arrived, we won’t start any new lessons today.”

“I’ll go over the martial arts heritage of our Songyang Sect again, as well as the introductory Ziwu Classic!”

Evelyn Spencer immediately perked up, thinking, “I have to listen carefully to this! I wonder if I can take notes?”

“Since senior brother isn’t taking any notes, it must not be allowed. I’ll secretly jot things down later—studying will definitely be more efficient that way.”

Charles Bolton began to speak in a gentle tone: “Our Songyang Sect was founded by Patriarch Feng, a man of great learning and many extraordinary encounters. He passed down the Five Classics and Thirteen Supreme Arts, and a total of nineteen sword techniques, allowing disciples to choose their own path for cultivation.”

“In our Songyang Sect, everyone starts with the Ziwu Classic.”

“The human body has eight extraordinary meridians, twelve main channels, and thirty-six hidden channels. Each sect’s internal arts differ in which meridians they train first, which ones they emphasize, and which they ignore. The methods of cultivation vary greatly—some are rough, some are subtle, some are gentle, some are forceful, with endless variations of yin and yang, hardness and softness, smoothness and roughness, cold and heat—resulting in thousands of different internal cultivation methods in the world.”

Evelyn Spencer listened with his heart surging, thinking, “The concept of eight extraordinary meridians and twelve main channels exists on Earth too, though there are probably some subtle differences. But I’ve never heard of the thirty-six hidden channels—this must be the key to why martial arts in this world can produce half-foot sword auras, or even project them several inches into the air.”

Charles Bolton had no idea his disciple was thinking all this, and continued, “Most sects’ internal arts are quite crude, at most training a dozen or so meridians, and their achievements are limited. The Ziwu Classic, as the Songyang Sect’s introductory method, records the complete cultivation methods for the eight extraordinary meridians, twelve main channels, and thirty-six hidden channels. In other sects, it would already be a top-tier, sect-guarding internal art.”

Evelyn Spencer felt a slight shock in his heart, thinking, “The Hu family’s Thirty-Six Stances of Primordial Chaos each focus on a single meridian, but Edward Miller never explained in detail. So the Hu family’s internal art can’t train all the extraordinary, main, and hidden meridians either?”

Charles Bolton continued, “The Ziwu Classic is balanced and steady, not prone to mistakes, but it’s extremely slow to cultivate. Meridians that can be cleared in a few months with superior methods often take several times longer with the Ziwu Classic. Its greatest use is to test which meridians in a Songyang disciple are more open and which are blocked, making it easier to choose a main cultivation method.”

“That’s why everyone practices the Ziwu Classic to the first or second level, determines their own aptitude, and then switches to another method. Thanks to the Ziwu Classic’s assessment, Songyang disciples can choose methods that suit them perfectly, making their progress twice as fast with half the effort, and their martial achievements far surpass those of other sects.”

“As for me, after practicing the Ziwu Classic, I found I had great talent in the yang meridians, but progressed more slowly in the yin meridians. So after completing the Ziwu Classic, I chose the Xuan Yang Art. Once I mastered the Xuan Yang Art, the patriarch had me choose the Three Yang Qianyan Divine Skill and the Xuan Hao Divine Palm!”