Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 47 - 45: Torrential Rain Spear Technique, Grade 8 Martial Art!
The bustling Qingyun City gradually faded under the setting sun.
An elder, with white hair but a youthful complexion, first tidied his attire before walking into Yunhe Clinic with a medicine basket on his back.
"Master, you’re back!"
Hearing the commotion outside the house, the little doctor ran in and, upon seeing the visitor, her large eyes curved into crescent moons with a smile.
Pharmacist Lin smiled and stepped forward, but noticed that his apprentice glanced behind him several times, with a fleeting moment of disappointment flashing across her face.
This trace of doubt magnified when Pharmacist Lin entered the clinic’s study. He noticed signs that the medical books on the bookshelf had been perused recently, and several obscure medical books were placed on the desk, including one about Gu Poison.
"Xiaoyue, did anything happen at the clinic this month?"
"Master..."
Xiaoyue bit her lip lightly, her fingers twisting the hem of her skirt as she recounted the incident of using the Silver Needle Sealing Meridians to drive out poison for Su Mu, and inviting Su Mu to Qingshui Town.
"This young man you mentioned... Master didn’t encounter him, but I suppose he was merely delayed on the road and should be back in a few days."
Pharmacist Lin, noticing Xiaoyue’s worry, offered a comforting word before his expression turned stern and his tone shifted. "Reckless, didn’t I tell you, Xiaoyue, not to treat people without permission? It’s one thing for minor ailments, but daring to treat Gu Poison directly?"
At this point, Pharmacist Lin spoke with severity, a chill running through his heart.
When he heard from Xiaoyue that the Gu Poison could corrode silver needles, his entire body couldn’t help but shiver. Such ferocious Gu Poison was something he had never witnessed.
Yet, amidst his concern, the pharmacist also felt a sense of delight. He had not taught Xiaoyue much medical skill, only literacy, allowing her to read medical books freely, occasionally offering explanations when she asked questions.
The Silver Needle Sealing Meridians was one of Pharmacist Lin’s ancestral medical skills. That Xiaoyue could now perform it independently on others was a delightful surprise for him.
"Xiaoyue, go fetch the silver needles and show me how you apply them."
"Okay, Master."
The little doctor responded with a smile, detecting an undisguised joy in her master’s tone.
With each needle applied, Pharmacist Lin nodded slightly. When all the needles were set, his stern expression completely eased, recognizing that although Xiaoyue’s technique was somewhat unpolished, it was error-free.
At that moment, Xiaoyue suddenly asked a question.
"Master, do you think the Silver Needle Sealing Meridians could be stolen by others?"
Pharmacist Lin was taken aback at first but responded without hesitation, "It’s very difficult. The foundation of any silver needle technique requires familiarity with human acupoints, meridians, and so on. Then there’s the method of needle application and the technique of unblocking meridians, none of which can be easily learned by mere observation. Even a slight mistake can’t be afforded; the form is easy to learn, the true intent is hard to grasp."
"But nothing is absolute, exceptionally gifted individuals might have a slight chance... yet I have never seen such a genius. If such a person indeed exists, it would be a stroke of destiny."
"Xiaoyue, tell Master, after I taught you the silver needle technique, how long did it take for you to gain confidence in applying it to others?"
Xiaoyue’s eyes spun thoughtfully, "A year... or maybe half a year?"
Half a year?
This time it was Pharmacist Lin’s turn to be astonished. He knew the girl had some talent in medicine, but he hadn’t realized he had underestimated her aptitude.
The next day.
The wooden sign, which had hung outside the clinic for over a month, was taken down, and Yunhe Clinic reopened for business, attracting a constant stream of patients.
However, Pharmacist Lin quickly noticed that every morning, noon, and evening the girl would sit on a small bamboo stool by the bamboo gate, gazing intently at the bustling street.
...
Meanwhile, the youth who had spent several days wandering around Qingshui Town began to feel disheartened.
"Before heading back, I should first check my possessions."
During this time, though he hadn’t found the pharmacist, he encountered several bandits. The outcomes for these individuals were obvious: each was sent directly to reincarnation by Su Mu. Naturally, their belongings became part of Su Mu’s assets.
"There’re five taels of silver in the money bag."
"This one has three taels."
In the inn, Su Mu quickly checked the finances, frowning slightly, "For bandits, especially one who was a respectable Refining Power Martial Artist, to have a mere five taels of silver— it’s enough to make one go beg. They might as well find a job at a market."
Dumping several money bags, after a quick count, there were a total of twenty-five taels of silver coins on the bandits over the past few days.
However, these were just appetizers. The real main event was the spoils from Zhao Xuan, the Black Tiger Gang Leader, and the black-armored strongman. Su Mu was busy searching for Pharmacist Lin these past days and had no time to inspect what articles they had.
Su Mu first took out the package from the black-armored strongman. Judging by the contours, it seemed like a book.
"Could it be that spear technique?"
Currently, Su Mu’s expertise was all in fist techniques and body techniques; he lacked a handy weapon martial art. The refined iron whistle stick in the hands of the black-armored strongman posed a significant threat to Su Mu that day, directly forcing Su Mu to utilize his Double Bird Stacking.
Upon untying, what met his eyes was a hardcover book with an intricately designed cover, the title in bold brush strokes read "Torrential Rain Spear Technique."
"It’s indeed a spear technique!"
Su Mu’s eyes brightened, and he immediately explored it with slightly hurried breaths.
"The rain pours, continuous and unending... Martial arts spread across the Southern Border, akin to swift hurricane rains, Ninth-Grade Martial Arts."
After quickly skimming through, Su Mu felt a hint of disappointment. Currently, all his martial arts were Ninth-Grade, and he had anticipated this spear technique to be of the Eighth-Grade.
"But it’s still fine. This Torrential Rain Spear Technique is swift and fierce, with spear movements aiming to suppress the enemy at the beginning, quite suitable for me."
Su Mu decided to cultivate this spear technique and, upon his return this time, could craft a spear.
Besides a secret manual, the black-armored strongman’s package also had a blueprint, fixed his gaze, Su Mu found it labeled as the weapon blueprint for the Torrential Rain Spear.
"What a pity. This Torrential Rain Spear should be matched with this spear technique."
Su Mu sighed deeply; the blueprint was stained with blood, leaving only about thirty percent of the details intact, only usable as a preliminary reference.
After examining the items from the black-armored strongman, Su Mu quickly retrieved two more packages, both looted from Zhao Xuan’s residence.
Compared to pills and the like, Su Mu was more interested in martial arts secret manuals. However, more powerful as the black-armored strongman might have been, his secret manuals were Ninth-Grade. Su Mu wasn’t harboring much hope for Eighth-Grade manuals anymore.
Opening the package and casually pulling out, he discovered an ancient-style thread-bound book with a yellowed cover.
Upon seeing this secret manual, Su Mu got a gut feeling; he realized the manual from Zhao Xuan’s residence seemed similar to the Tiger Subduing Fist manual, differing significantly in style from other manuals.
"Vajra Body? Could it possibly be martial arts from Vajra Temple..."
Su Mu swiftly browsed through the secret manual; with each page he turned, his eyes grew brighter, even revealing a touch of fervor. Before long, Su Mu gently shut the manual, exhaling lightly.
"This ’Vajra Body’ is an improvement on the Ninth-Grade Martial Arts Golden Bell Shield, employing Strength Tempering Body and Hard Refining Cover to be impervious to blades and guns... originating from Vajra Temple, it’s an Eighth-Grade toughening martial art!"
Eighth-Grade Martial Art?!
Su Mu’s face showed surprise and disbelief; he hadn’t been holding any expectation, yet Zhao Xuan unexpectedly presented him with a delightful surprise. The ability to recognize Vajra Body’s origins in Vajra Temple stemmed from its mentioning the possibility of using Tiger Subduing Fist and Golden Bell Shield as a foundation to cultivate Vajra Body more easily.
"First was ’Tiger Subduing Fist,’ now ’Vajra Body’... could it be the Black Tiger Gang has ties to Vajra Temple?"
As for why Zhao Xuan hadn’t cultivated this Vajra Body, Su Mu guessed it might be too challenging. Just looking at the cultivation method detailed within the manual, if not on the manual, Su Mu might have mistaken it for a torture procedure.
The cultivation methods seemed exceedingly torturous.
Later, Su Mu assessed the remaining items from Zhao Xuan; five boxes of White Jade Barbarian Bone Ointment for Bone Forging, five bottles of Blood-Strengthening Pil to aid in boosting Qi Blood, and a bottle of Antitoxic Medicine.
Yet the stack of silver notes of varying denominations summed to less than two hundred taels, totaling only one hundred and fifty-three taels of silver, even less than Wu Heng, below Su Mu’s expectations.
"Being the best in Qingshui Town, the Black Tiger Gang Leader, the only one in the Eighth Grade Bone Forging Realm, turned out to be so impoverished... most of the money was probably spent on buying ointment; evidently, Bone Forging is rather costly."
"But these silver coins are actually not important; if this soft armor were taken to the black market, it might be sold for a high price."
This soft armor’s material remained unknown; Su Mu tried slashing it with a bandit’s blade soldiers, not to mention breaking through the defense of this soft armor, even leaving marks on it with normal weapons proved extremely difficult.
"No wonder Zhao Xuan was fearless enough to directly receive my Tiger Subduing Fist in the Perfection Realm; the value of this soft armor is probably no less than an Eighth-Grade Martial Art... thus Zhao Xuan isn’t quite that poor."
Bitterly ridiculing in silence, the youth concealed the inner armor with clothes, donned his backpack, and quickly left the inn.
"Let’s go back."
...
