Chapter 45: The Scripture of Peace and Pure Desire!

In the seventh month of the two hundred and forty-second year of the Demonic Qing Royal Calendar, Li Chang'an reached the age of nine.

Exactly one year had passed since the Taiping Rebel Army retreated into the wild forests to wage guerrilla warfare.

During this past year, Li Chang'an had finally completely digested and absorbed the martial arts manuals salvaged from the depths of Lake Tai!

Aside from his own martial prowess predictably skyrocketing, he had poured his heart and soul into innovation, taking a step beyond the "Taiping Body-Forging Divine Art" to create a brand-new manual named the "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture!"

In addition to encompassing the physical refinement methods of the original art, this new scripture incorporated a set of mental mantras that Li Chang'an had devised through half a year of intense contemplation, utilizing his heaven-defying innate comprehension.

The mantras possessed the efficacy of clearing the mind, nurturing the spirit, and accelerating the drawing of Qi into the body!

Of course, clearing the mind and nurturing the spirit were merely secondary effects; the true significance lay in how chanting the mantras silently could drastically quicken the efficiency of drawing Qi into the body!

Even in Li Chang'an's own estimation, this was absolute stroke of genius, worthy of being recorded in the grandest strokes.

Not long after this manual was introduced, it ignited an explosive wave of discussion within the ranks of the Rebel Army.

One must remember that the original "Taiping Body-Forging Divine Art" Li Chang'an had first distributed was already considered an unparalleled, legendary martial art to the rebels—the kind of supreme technique one only ever heard of in martial arts fiction!

Yet the newly released "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture" was even more mind-blowing, possessing the power to actually accelerate the speed at which they drew Qi into their bodies...

It was virtually identical to the mythical, immortal arts of legend!

However, because most members of the Rebel Army possessed quite limited knowledge regarding the grand path of martial arts,

the majority of them, after practicing the art, merely sighed in awe of Li Chang'an's sheer brilliance before returning to their routines, lacking the depth to realize its true implications.

Yet, when Lü Changning and Wang Su, both possessing a profound understanding of martial arts, beheld the contents of the "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture," the shock in their hearts was no less than a category-twelve tsunami!

—For since ancient times, martial arts had always been a privilege enjoyed only by a select few.

The imperial civil examinations might still allow a scholar from a humble family to rewrite his destiny through sheer diligence and late-night study.

But the path of martial arts, by its very nature of possessing an 'exorbitantly high threshold,' offered almost zero possibility for an ordinary person to break through social strata and achieve a reversal of fortune.

To become a true martial artist,

one first had to possess the innate ability to perceive the vital energy of heaven and earth.

Secondly, one required the guidance of a famous master, only then standing a chance to ascend higher by standing on the shoulders of their teacher.

Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teacher!

The importance of a master on the path of martial arts was even greater than in the imperial examinations.

This was also the primary reason why Wang Su often lamented and felt it a tragic pity that Li Chang'an had not been born into a better era!

Though he himself possessed strength bordering that of a Martial King, he seemed utterly insignificant when placed before a once-in-a-millennium monster like Li Chang'an.

He was fundamentally incapable of guiding Li Chang'an's future path, let alone helping him ascend to greater heights.

Yet now, Li Chang'an had completely shattered this age-old axiom through two mere martial manuals!

If it were just the single "Taiping Body-Forging True Scripture," Wang Su and Lü Changning would have still praised him endlessly, calling Li Chang'an a heavenly talent for lowering the threshold for ordinary people to practice martial arts, but they could have at least understood and accepted it.

However, the "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture" was an outright shameless act of cheating.

Because this manual could accelerate the efficiency of drawing Qi into the body through a unique mental mantra; this single attribute alone could be hailed as an epoch-making feat on the path of martial arts!

One must understand that in their long-held concepts, the efficiency of a martial artist drawing Qi into their body had always depended entirely on innate talent.

A martial artist with good talent would naturally draw Qi faster.

A martial artist with poor talent would naturally draw Qi slower.

While high-level manuals could also accelerate this efficiency, they merely did so by optimizing the internal circulation pathways, allowing the vital energy to enter the body and merge into the dantian with as few preparatory cycles as possible!

The difference between a top-tier manual and a trash manual lay precisely in how many cycles were required to integrate the energy into the dantian.

There had never been a manual like the "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture" that directly accelerated a martial artist's Qi-drawing efficiency from the very root source!

It was like two grandmasters engaged in a duel.

You exchange a palm strike, I exchange a fist, both locked in close-quarters combat within the same paradigm of understanding, when suddenly a special forces soldier bursts from the nearby bushes, pointing a machine gun at them and letting loose a relentless barrage.

It was simply... unbelievable!

Wang Su, in particular, had barely finished reading the "Taiping Pure Desire True Scripture" before he began practicing and verifying it without a moment's rest; a few days later, he was shocked to discover that his Martial King realm, which had long been stagnant without a single clue, had actually begun to loosen!

At this moment, Wang Su finally understood why Li Chang'an had been so brimming with confidence and high spirits half a year ago.

Such talent was indeed something an era could never confine.

On the contrary, the era itself would likely become nothing more than a background canvas, serving to accentuate his matchless, soaring renown!

...

With both martial manuals and actual combat experience at their disposal, the combat effectiveness of the Taiping Rebel Army grew higher and higher.

Correspondingly, the pressure weighing upon Ha'erchi grew heavier by the day.

Ever since they vanished into the wild forests, the Rebel Army was like fish returning to the ocean, or water blending into water; Ha'erchi had dispatched scouts time and again to locate the rebel headquarters.

Yet the Rebel Army shifted their encampment every ten to fifteen days, making it impossible to pin down their exact location.

The two Grand Flag Officers of the Fengzhou Prison Bureau had also taken action multiple times, and on one occasion had even successfully located Li Chang'an, but Li Chang'an's combat power proved to be terrifyingly monstrous.

Fighting the two of them alone without showing the slightest hint of disadvantage was one thing, but he even possessed enough spare strength to attempt to leave both of their corpses behind!

Following that battle, both officers were thoroughly shaken.

They were originally outstanding figures among Martial Kings, yet before Li Chang'an, they seemed like mere clay chickens and pottery dogs, completely incapable of withstanding a single blow.

It could be said that in all their long years of life, they had never witnessed a Martial King of the same realm whose combat power was distorted to such an unreasonable degree!

Upon their return, neither dared to easily approach the Rebel Army's mountain strongholds ever again.

Beset by difficulties on both fronts, Ha'erchi was stunned to find himself backed into a dilemma where advancing or retreating was equally impossible; despite commanding vast numbers of troops, he felt as though he were trapped within a giant ball of cotton, unable to exert any of his strength.

He could only garrison the walled cities, guarding against the rebels' intermittent harassment and plundering.

After such days dragged on for an entire year, Ha'erchi himself and the Demonic Qing court finally reached the absolute limit of their patience.

The Emperor personally issued an edict, mobilizing several surrounding major provinces to assemble a grand army of three hundred thousand elite troops; combined with logistics and various local auxiliary forces, they boasted a total of one million men, marching into Fengzhou in the ninth month of that year.

Evidently, the imperial court had lost all patience.

They intended to rely on absolute numerical superiority to brutally level the wild forests where the rebels hid, erasing every last discordant element from existence!

At the same time, specifically targeting the anomaly that was Li Chang'an,

a mysterious band of figures hailing from the Royal Court silently and stealthily arrived...

Just as Li Chang'an was reviewing his troops and preparing to relocate their camp once more,

several miles away, a few gaunt figures completely enveloped in black robes gazed from afar into the depths of the wild forest, and one of them spoke: "The 'fortune' of the Central Plains' martial arts has not been severed; this land still teems with bursts of brilliant talent!"

Another figure, whose eyes were ancient and cold, let out a chilling laugh that sounded like a night owl crying in the dark: "This brat must be the one destined by fate whom the Grand Ancestor prophesied; kill him, and we can end all trouble once and for all!"

...