6. Warrior

The heat flow grew increasingly intense. Starting from the lower abdomen, it spread throughout the entire body, reaching every limb and bone. Before long, his whole body felt scorching hot.

His flesh and bones were generating heat. If the warmth previously lingering in his lower abdomen had been a mere spark, it was now a flickering candle flame. It was an incredibly comfortable and soothing sensation.

"As expected of a premium tonic; the efficacy is truly remarkable. This silver was well spent!"

Xie An even felt a twinge of regret for not investing in himself sooner. Practicing longevity techniques with such aid easily doubled his progress. With this thought in mind, Xie An hurriedly pulled up his attribute panel:

[Five Animal Frolics: Elementary (69/100)]
[Remaining Lifespan: Four Years]

In the past, it would take an entire day of grueling effort to gain a single point of progress. Now, combined with the Vitality Soup, he had gained two points in less than two hours. It was nothing short of miraculous. Moreover, long after finishing the soup, the heat flow within him had not dissipated; he felt as though he were full and unable to digest it all at once.

Xie An felt that the benefits he gained from practicing the longevity technique far exceeded those of others.

"I must continue practicing the Five Animal Frolics to keep increasing my lifespan and strengthening my physique. Compared to this, everything else is trivial."

Xie An calmed his surging emotions. Although he had achieved much in recent times, he was well aware that in this chaotic world, he remained weak. The most important thing to do now was to keep working hard and grounding himself.

The proficiency of the Five Animal Frolics grew steadily. The Tiger, the Deer, the Bear, the Ape, the Bird... The complex movements were performed smoothly by Xie An, becoming increasingly lifelike. It was as if he had transformed into the five animals themselves: sometimes a fierce tiger descending a mountain, sometimes a bear shaking a tree with its paws, sometimes an ape climbing a crag. When a young deer waded through a stream, or a bird darted through the forest...

Unknowingly, a month passed.

At dawn, with the autumn dew as cold as ice, Xie An practiced the Five Animal Frolics bare-chested in his room. The tiger, the giant bear, the nimble ape, the stream-side deer, and the flying bird—every variation was executed with natural grace. His body was coordinated, blending movement and stillness, with every gesture carrying a fluid aesthetic.

Suddenly, he thrust out a crushing punch, the swift and fierce fist compressing the air with a sharp "crack."

"Even a strapping man of thirty wouldn't have my strength. If I keep practicing, I truly wonder what level I might reach."

Only when he was utterly exhausted did Xie An stop, collapsing onto the floor, panting for breath. He pulled up the Daoist Talisman panel:

[Five Animal Frolics: Integration of Motion and Stillness (13/100)]
[Note: Master the Integration of Motion and Stillness to increase lifespan by ten years.]
[Remaining Lifespan: Seven Years.]

***

After more than two months of arduous training, he had finally moved beyond the "Elementary" stage and entered the "Integration of Motion and Stillness."

Seven years of remaining life completely freed Xie An from the anxiety of dying of old age. He ate well and slept soundly. What pleased him even more was that his previously shriveled and wrinkled skin had regained its luster and suppleness, and his body now sported streamlined muscles that could rival those of a man in his thirties.

The heat flow in his lower abdomen was more profound and powerful; his body was brimming with strength and his blood and qi were abundant. Just yesterday, Xie An had lifted a stone lock weighing a staggering three hundred catties!

"With a punch like this, killing a gaunt youth would be effortless. Even if I encountered a full-grown man, I could beat him to death with a flurry of fists."

"It's just that the progress has slowed down again..."

Xie An realized that the further he progressed in the Five Animal Frolics, the better the results, but the greater the difficulty. Even with the assistance of the medicinal tonic, it was nowhere near as fast as before. Fortunately, Xie An kept a level head and was not eager for quick success.

"My physique is now more robust than it has ever been. I should be able to find a martial art focused on combat to practice, right?"

While longevity techniques could extend life and strengthen the body, they were not combat arts. No matter how healthy his body was, if he didn't know how to fight, he would only be "fat and weak" when facing a true martial artist or a vicious ruffian from the underworld. Moreover, a long life didn't mean he couldn't die. Even if he could achieve immortality through longevity techniques in the future, if he lacked the strength, he would still be beaten to death if he accidentally offended a powerful person.

To have a foothold in this chaotic world, one had to practice martial arts. Although Xie An had never practiced, he had been a transmigrator for thirty years and had some understanding of the martial path. Even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

Martial artists were divided into five basic levels: Skin Refining, Flesh Refining, Bone Refining, Organ Refining, and Blood Refining. After mastering Blood Refining, if one could temper internal energy, they were considered a qualified Internal Energy Martial Artist. Above the nine levels of internal energy, reaching a state of harmony between heaven and man, one could be called a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

A Grandmaster was the highest level Xie An knew of. Qingwu County was a small place, to say nothing of the Wuqiao Town under its jurisdiction. For Xie An, who had never left Qingwu County, gathering this much knowledge was no small feat.

"With my current physical strength, I should be quite a fighter among ordinary people. But against a true martial artist, I would still have no resistance."

"If I could become a martial artist in the future... I would be an elite in Wuqiao Town. I might even be able to move into the county seat..."

Xie An was filled with wonderful expectations for the future. However, putting it into practice was difficult. If he were under twenty, the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall would certainly scramble to recruit him with a body like this; they might even waive his tuition. But he was too old. Throughout history, society had never been kind to the elderly.

"There is one month left of the three-month deadline given by Master Li. There is plenty of time. I'll go buy the tonic first."

Practicing without the tonic was too slow; the loss outweighed the gain. Xie An hurriedly finished his breakfast, dressed, and slipped out.

***

He ran into Zhang Bing on the way.

"Master, you look much younger..."

Zhang Bing was startled when he saw Xie An's appearance. For some time, Zhang Bing had considered himself the shop's manager, barking orders at the clerks and basking in the limelight. He hadn't visited Xie An in the back courtyard, truly believing the old man was on the verge of death. He hadn't expected his master to not only be energetic but to look younger as well!

"I've been in a good mood lately, and I feel more spirited. Go back to your work."

Xie An replied indifferently and walked away. By now, Xie An no longer cared about this treacherous apprentice. His mind was entirely focused on his training. Once the month was up, he would deal with this fellow.

...

"My word, Brother Xie, did you eat a divine herb? You really look much younger."

Chen He was astonished when he saw Xie An. Being a martial artist himself, he had also practiced longevity techniques in his old age, but to little avail. Seeing the changes in Xie An deeply stirred him.

"Give me three doses of Vitality Soup." Xie An had finished the tonic he bought previously half a month ago and had come once in between. This was his third purchase. Money was flowing like water. If practicing a longevity technique was this expensive, he couldn't imagine the cost of practicing martial arts.

Chen He weighed the herbs and said, "There's no big discount this time. It will be three taels of silver."

"Fine."

Xie An paid the silver readily and handed Chen He an additional two taels. "By the way, Manager Chen, has that longevity instructor you mentioned arrived yet?"

Chen He didn't take the extra two taels, instead handing Xie An a wooden plaque. "He has. He's giving lectures in the back courtyard of the martial arts hall. Just take this plaque and go in."

"Manager Chen, about this silver..."

"Regarding that jade ruyi last time, I went to a large pawnshop in the county seat, and it sold for twenty taels as expected. The shop's accounts have to be balanced, so I couldn't give you too much of a discount. Consider these two taels for the lecture as a drink on me, Brother Xie."

"Manager Chen is generous."

Xie An took the silver and the wooden plaque, turning to the entrance of the adjacent Chen Family Martial Arts Hall.

"Stop!"

A burly man in a red short shirt, carrying a blade, reached out to block Xie An, exuding a strong sense of oppression. If it were before, Xie An would have felt intimidated facing such a bull-like man wielding a blade at such close range. Now, he merely looked at the man and thought to himself: it should only take seven or eight punches to knock him down, right?

Although he thought this, Xie An remained humble in his demeanor, taking out the wooden plaque and handing it over. The man with the blade checked the plaque and looked at Xie An with great surprise. "Follow me."