Chapter 67: Chapter 67: I Could Do It Too
"Oh, what’s the matter?"
Hearing this, Yi Qianchi became somewhat interested.
"It’s about the Realm, and of course, I wouldn’t ask for nothing in return. If Landlord Yi is willing to answer, this tiger skin will serve as my gratitude."
Chen Mo unwrapped the bundle from his back and took out the tiger skin.
"Is Mr. Chen encountering a bottleneck?"
Yi Qianchi didn’t even glance at the tiger skin but gleaned some information from Chen Mo’s words.
The fact that he could subdue himself with one move indicated his strength surpassed his own.
And now he’s asking about the Realm, could it be that he’s about to break through to the Eighth Grade Realm?
A seventeen-year-old Eighth-Grade Martial Artist.
Yi Qianchi pondered in his heart.
"You could say that." Chen Mo nodded slightly.
Yi Qianchi sat down.
Chen Mo sat down across from him.
Yi Qianchi said leisurely, "The path of martial arts is divided into First to Ninth Grades, which are further categorized into Upper, Middle, and Lower Three Grades; Ninth to Seventh Grades are Lower-Grade Martial Artists, Sixth to Fourth Grades are Middle-Grade Martial Artists, and Third to First Grades are Upper-Grade Martial Artists."
"What constitutes a Lower-Grade Martial Artist?" Seeing Yi Qianchi willing to explain, Chen Mo promptly sought his guidance.
"A Lower-Grade Martial Artist, apart from having slightly more strength than ordinary people, is still very similar to an ordinary person in all respects, experiencing birth, old age, sickness, and death, and can be wounded by swords and arrows. As long as one acquires a cultivation technique, has daily soups and meat to supplement, even the most common of common people, if they work hard, can cultivate to the Seventh Grade Refining Organ Realm..."
These are just common knowledge and not considered precious, so Yi Qianchi shared them without reservation as a matter of convenience.
"And what about Middle-Grade Martial Artists?" Chen Mo asked again.
"That is a great chasm, many martial artists spend their entire lives unable to reach it. Lower-Grade Martial Artists, if not vigilant enough, could even be killed by ordinary people. But Middle-Grade Martial Artists are quite different..."
Yi Qianchi took a sip of tea and continued, "To become a Middle-Grade Martial Artist, one must first absorb a breath of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. This Qi could be the Grass and Wood Spirit Qi that is emitted after absorbing the essence of Heaven and Earth from the mountains, or it could be the Little Qing Spirit Qi refined from mountain Spiritual Qi, or the ray of Solar Purple Qi at sunrise, or even a Thunderbolt from the sky shrouded by dark clouds..."
Thus, a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist is also referred to as Qi Refining."
"Oh."
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo was immediately intrigued and hurriedly asked, "Are there different levels of these Innate Spiritual Qi?"
"Of course there are. The highest quality is undoubtedly the Taiyin and Taiyang, the evening glow at sunset, or the Dragon Qi from the depths of the Earth Vein. The lowest is the Grass and Wood Spirit Qi, Little Qing Spirit Qi, etc. These Innate Spiritual Qis can be sensed and absorbed with a casual breeze or in a mountain wilderness, and most Qi Refining martial artists in the world absorb this kind of Spiritual Qi.
The strongest ability of a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist is to mobilize the absorbed Innate Spiritual Qi in the body for combat, rendering them immune to swords and spears. Just think, how can a small breeze compare to the great sun in the sky."
Yi Qianchi took another sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued, saying things the other didn’t understand in front of someone stronger gave him an inexplicable thrill:
"However, Low-grade Innate Spiritual Qi also has its advantages, namely, it is extremely easy to replenish. Once depleted, you can recover by diving into a forest. In contrast, Taiyin and Taiyang are only present during full moons and sunrise, so the Fifth Grade Qi Absorption Realm allows one to expand the Dantian to absorb more Innate Spiritual Qi to withstand the depletion."
Yi Qianchi smiled, placing the teacup down while continuing under Chen Mo’s curious gaze: "But as for those high-quality Innate Spiritual Qis, we need not dream about them. Only with top-tier cultivation techniques can one perceive and absorb them, and such techniques are only in the hands of Royal Relatives and thousand-year-old Noble Families. Ordinary Qi Refining techniques simply can’t perceive the superior Innate Spiritual Qis; without perception, how can we talk about absorption..."
"Without perception, how can we talk about absorption?" Chen Mo glanced at his system panel and took a quick look at the cultivation technique section.
Absorbing a breath of Innate Spiritual Qi can break through a tier.
Plus, the system had sensed those Innate Spiritual Qis before.
Although he didn’t have a Qi Refining technique, he had the system.
He could still absorb them.
After understanding all this, Chen Mo’s mind was greatly shaken; in this chaotic world, things were finally getting interesting.
"Landlord Yi, what about the Upper Three Grades?" Chen Mo asked again.
"I don’t know." Landlord Yi shook his head, then looked intently at Chen Mo, saying, "If Mr. Chen agrees to marry into the Yi Family, I can pass on the Qi Refining Chapter to you."
Chen Mo didn’t even know the basic understanding of martial artist realms, suggesting a very low origin, yet he had impressive talent, becoming a martial artist at such a young age, making him worth recruiting by the Yi Family. Yi Qianchi didn’t believe he wouldn’t be tempted by the Qi Refining Chapter.
Had it been before, Chen Mo might have entertained some thoughts about this marriage, but at this moment, he had none.
"Thank you for your kindness, Landlord Yi, but Chen isn’t blessed enough for it." Chen Mo declined politely.
Yi Qianchi sighed and had to give up.
Chen Mo gave the tiger skin as a token of gratitude.
But Yi Qianchi wouldn’t accept it.
Insisting on giving it, Chen Mo had his own scale; even though what Yi Qianchi said was merely common knowledge to him, it helped him greatly, and he felt obliged to show his gratitude.
Besides, it had been agreed upon earlier.
Yi Qianchi still didn’t take it but offered five taels of silver to buy it instead, saying, "What I just said, consider it building goodwill with Mr. Chen."
Chen Mo acknowledged the favor and left.
However, he didn’t leave the county town right away.
Instead, in a tavern opposite the government office, he found a corner and sat down.
He drank wine while observing the various people coming and going.
He wanted to see what the strongest person in the county was like.
The people coming in and out of the government office were constables and other officials, mostly ordinary people.
If they were martial artists, the red numbers on their foreheads didn’t exceed 60.
Seeing it was almost time for the city gates to close.
"Tap-tap-tap..."
A squad of soldiers came jogging from a distance.
A sedan chair landed in front of the government office.
Shortly, a middle-aged man dressed in official attire embroidered with a fierce beast pattern, with a scholarly demeanor, walked out of the government office.
Chen Mo recognized the attire as that of a Seventh-Grade official, presumably County Magistrate Chang.
Looking at him, the County Magistrate Chang had a red number of 107 on his forehead.
Beside County Magistrate Chang was a fully armed General dressed in Bright Armor, with a hand resting on the hilt of his military saber, scanning the surroundings. He had a red number of 115+18 on his forehead.
Under the guard of soldiers, County Magistrate Chang entered the sedan chair and left the government office with his entourage.
Chen Mo’s gaze fixed on the General’s back.
"Is he the strongest person in Pingting County? Is he just like this?"
A persistent thought emerged in Chen Mo’s mind: "I can do it too," and it was strong.
This thought gave him a sense of fear.