Chapter 8: The Book of Chaotic Times

Chapter 8: The Chronicle of Troubled Times

Along the road these past few days, Zhao Changhe had been asking Luo Qi and several members of the Blood God Cult indirect questions to grasp some basic common knowledge. This foundational understanding was actually somewhat close to the conventional perceptions of his original world; martial arts were similarly divided into internal and external disciplines. As the saying went, "internally train a breath of Qi, externally train the muscles, bones, and skin." No matter which one a person cultivated, once they reached a certain level, they gained the qualifications to attempt opening the mystical dark passes of the human body.

If one possessed enough fortuitous luck, practicing both internal and external disciplines concurrently was certainly an option, and it was said that opening the body's dark passes this way would be easier and one's combat power would be greater; among the world-renowned masters, there was none who did not cultivate both internally and externally.

External martial arts were not as profound as internal ones, but they likewise contained many specialized methods. For instance, even to learn something like the Iron Sand Palm, you had to know what kind of iron sand to use, what manner to train in, what medicines to steep your palms in, and so forth, as well as the forms, routines, and techniques for exerting force; ordinary people would not even have the fortune to learn these. Anyone who had learned even a bit of it could barely be called a "hero of the rivers and lakes," serving as the very foundation of the vast martial world.

In truth, even those who practiced internal styles needed to build a foundation through the horse stance and the like, which also fell under the scope of external martial arts.

Internal arts were even harder to come by, often remaining closely guarded secrets and the very foundation upon which sects were established. It was not that others did not wish to possess wondrous internal strength, but rather that there was simply nowhere to seek it. The Luo family possessed an internal school of learning, its core technique divided into nine layers; as long as one finished practicing them, they could presumably break through the nine levels of the dark passes. Yue Hongling recommending that Zhao Changhe learn martial arts at the Luo family estate was indeed a good place intended for the sake of his future prospects.

The ragged outer-disciple mental cultivation technique currently in Luo Qi's hands was of course of no great use, and it remained unknown whether there would be an opportunity to obtain the genuine article in the future.

Looking at this template, this world seemed rather low in martial fantasy, making Zhao Changhe constantly feel as though something was amiss...

And the Blood Fiend Technique was an extremely typical external martial art.

It did not cultivate internal breath; even if one practiced it until death, there would be no such thing as internal dark force or transferring internal energy to heal others... yet this did not mean it was a hard-body external style either; what it cultivated was blood-qi.

The Blood God Cult believed that the blood within the human body contained immense energy and fiendish aura; when the veins surged and boiled, drawing this fiendish aura into the muscles and bones could unleash an extraordinarily ferocious power. And if one practiced it to its depths, it could also trigger chaos and conflict within an enemy's bloodstream, causing the blood vessels throughout their body to burst open and lead to death, a manner of dying that was exceedingly brutal, making it a very typical demonic art.

Practicing this art naturally came with certain prerequisite requirements; since it relied upon one's own blood-qi as a basis, young and fierce men were naturally preferred, as the more robust and powerful a youth was, the more abundant his qi and blood would inherently be.

Compared to the bottom-tier populace of this world who were generally malnourished and lacking food and clothing, Zhao Changhe was of course richly nourished, tall and stalwarthly built, having been an athletic champion back at school; he was by nature a fine crucible for practicing external arts.

The Blood Fiend Technique suited him well, perhaps even being the technique that best fit his current situation; it neither required practicing from childhood nor involved any profound comprehension, and it could also lay a foundation for cultivating the Blood God Technique in the future, which was the true, supreme art that combined both internal and external disciplines...

Although it would very likely carry some drawbacks, such as potentially overdrawing the body's potential according to this kind of trope... yet demonic arts basically all had drawbacks, just as orthodox Daoist sects basically all progressed slowly; wanting a matter that satisfied both sides? That would require a true divine technique that only a protagonist was qualified to practice.

Zhao Changhe suddenly thought of Yue Hongling; was she a protagonist?

He let out a self-deprecating laugh and continued flipping down.

Opening the main instructional text of the Blood Fiend Technique, the very opening clearly stated that one should still first temper their muscles and bones, as well as practice basic skills like the horse stance and bow stance, even drawing a few diagrams. It was just that these illustrative diagrams differed somewhat from the normal bow stances and horse stances known previously, perhaps constituting the specific, essential points that established the circulation of qi and blood for this art.

It fell a bit short of the feeling of some mysterious and law-bound method he had imagined, but Zhao Changhe instead felt it was somewhat realistic; wasn't it just like this when You Tanzhi obtained the Muscle Changing Scripture or the Divine Foot Scripture? After thinking for a moment, he simply left the table and, directly matching the movements in the diagrams, began to squat into a horse stance.

Since he had decided, he would do it.

Leaning against the head of the bed, Luo Qi sized him up with some surprise.

This capacity for action was rather interesting... he only wondered how long the man could endure?

In truth, Zhao Changhe could not endure for very long during this single attempt alone; those who had never squatted in a horse stance or bow stance truly could not appreciate that sensation of being so sore and weak after just a few minutes that they absolutely could not hold on, a matter that could not be accomplished overnight and required days and months of accumulation to forge a stable lower body, immovable as a mountain.

Just as Zhao Changhe was about to reach his limit and prepare to sleep, a streak of light suddenly flashed through the pitch-black night, as if a page of a book was slowly unfurling in the sky above, the dense packing of golden characters upon it so piercing that it made one unable to open their eyes.

Zhao Changhe looked outside in consternation: "What is this? Why can I see things in the sky even while inside the room?"

Luo Qi said in wonder: "You haven't seen it before?"

Zhao Changhe's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly covered it up: "In the past, I always saw it from outside; I have never viewed it from within a room."

"Whenever there is a change on the Rankings of Troubled Times, the Heavenly Dao will lower a record for the multitudes to reverently listen to; it can be seen from anywhere," Luo Qi explained casually, no longer able to remain lying down as he got up, went outside the room, and raised his head to look at the sky.

The Rankings of Troubled Times? What on earth was that?

Zhao Changhe looked up for a while until the piercing sensation vanished, and he could finally see the characters clearly: "Late tenth month, light snow. Yue Hongling pursued Xue Canghai for a thousand li, fighting outside Wenshan City; Xue Canghai took the disadvantage and fled."

"Changes to the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

"Second on the Hidden Dragon, Yue Hongling!"

"The Setting Sun and Crimson Plume, unbindable by any tether."

Zhao Changhe stood dumbfounded; what was this? A server-wide announcement in a game?

Just a moment ago he was still thinking whether a low-martial setting was a bit off; what kind of bizarre world had he crossed into?

Luo Qi let out a faint sigh from the side: "Yue Hongling... defeating the ninth layer of the dark pass with the eighth layer; she is indeed a favored child of heaven, incomparable to ordinary people."

Zhao Changhe asked: "Who is Xue Canghai? The ninth layer of the dark pass? To be challenged across tiers and turn out this weak, and it was even Yue Hongling who took the initiative to hunt him down."

Luo Qi glanced sideways at him: "He is none other than Sect Master Xue of our Blood God Cult."

Zhao Changhe: "!!!"

"How about it?" Luo Qi found it somewhat amusing: "You went through thousands of hardships just to mingle for a chance to enter the cult, only to find out that the sect master actually cannot even beat the Yue Hongling who brought you into the manor; what are your feelings?"

"It's nothing, I already knew the Blood God Cult wasn't anything that impressive..." Zhao Changhe steadied his mind and said in a low voice: "In truth, a faint sense of unease on her behalf has instead arisen in my heart; to be this dazzling at such a young age makes it very easy to incur jealousy."

Luo Qi found it even more amusing: "You are uneasy on her behalf? Uneasy about what?"

"For instance, regarding those roster rankings, I heard she was fifth before, right? Now she is second, and the original second has been squeezed down to third; will that person be unconvinced in their heart, and will they seek trouble with her? And as for Sect Master Xue being challenged across tiers, having this publicly announced for all the world to see is far more severe than an ordinary loss of face, isn't it? It will probably mean an endless vendetta."

Luo Qi finally burst out laughing: "You, a low-level bandit who has only just begun practicing the Blood Fiend Technique, are worrying about a woman who can defeat your sect master? Is it because she is beautiful?"

Zhao Changhe kept a stiff face: "She is my benefactor; without her striking a blow, I would have already died in Zhaocuo."

In truth... did Yue Hongling pursuing Xue Canghai for a thousand li also have something to do with Zhao Changhe? Did she think Zhao Changhe had died at the Luo Family Manor and that she had harmed him, or did she already know that Zhao Changhe was the killer and came to the door to ask for a clear explanation? Zhao Changhe was not that narcissistic and dared not be certain.

Luo Qi also thought of this layer; no longer teasing him, he said lazily: "Your worry makes sense, of course... so why do you think a perfectly fine ranking roster would be called the Rankings of Troubled Times? This thing itself is a source of disaster and chaos; how many conflicts have arisen because of it."

Zhao Changhe's heart stirred, and he turned his head to look at him: "So the so-called Chronicle of Troubled Times..."

Luo Qi nodded: "This thing is divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings along with the Hidden Dragon Ranking; all of them added together constitute the Chronicle of Troubled Times."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

No wonder when he said he had not seen it before, Luo Qi had that look like he was staring at an alien.

This kind of server-wide announcement—as long as someone was a living person of this era, how could they possibly have not seen it! Although the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings were a bit cliché...

He gave two dry coughs to cover it up: "So this is the Chronicle of Troubled Times; if you had said it was this earlier I would have known, I came out from a mountain ravine and hadn't heard the alternative name you folks use."

Luo Qi accepted this explanation readily enough, as that was what he had believed in the first place. He did not dwell on it either, laughing as he said: "Since you've seen it, is this not a miracle? What doubt can there still be that there are gods in this world?"

Zhao Changhe fell into deep thought and remained silent.

Modern people had seen and heard much, so their train of thought would not be like that of the natives. In his eyes, this might not necessarily be a god; for instance, the game world he had thought of earlier was one possibility. This possibility could not be guaranteed yet, and there were plenty of other possibilities.

Even if there truly were a higher-dimensional being operating all of this, that thing might not necessarily be called a god.

The calm face of the blind woman floated up in Zhao Changhe's mind, casting a bit of gloom over his heart. If she was truly this formidable, how was he supposed to go back...

Luo Qi said in wonder: "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh." Zhao Changhe snapped out of it and casually found an excuse: "I was thinking that Yue Hongling is only at the eighth layer of the dark pass, yet she can defeat someone of the ninth layer, and you guys weren't all that surprised; are challenges across tiers seen as very commonplace to you all?"

Luo Qi sneered: "The stages of cultivation are nothing more than greater strength, agile reflexes, and sharp ears and eyes; they indeed offer a major advantage in a fight, but they do not represent a guaranteed victory. Otherwise, why would people bitterly practice swordplay and sabreplay, honing their actual combat abilities? Speaking of which, Luo Zhenwu claimed to be at the third layer of the dark pass, yet didn't he still die by your hands? The number of tiers you leaped across was what one could call immense."

"He wasn't invulnerable to blades and spears either; what's so strange about him being caught off guard and killed. Right, can someone like me not get onto the ranking? Because I'm too low-level?"

"The Chronicle of Troubled Times does not look at level; it looks at battle achievements. No matter what your cultivation is, if you can have a striking battle achievement, you might be recorded, especially on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, which emphasizes potential and performance even more. It's just that yours didn't count as a battle at all, so the Chronicle of Troubled Times wouldn't react; if you had truly hacked Luo Zhenwu to death in the midst of a battle, I reckon you really could have made the ranking..."

"So that's how it is..." Zhao Changhe stroked his chin: "Then does throwing lime to blind someone during the course of a battle and killing them count?"

"As long as you are in the midst of a battle, no matter what means you employ, it all belongs to a kind of combat experience and combat wisdom; being able to use the weak to defeat the strong is your own capability. The heroes of the rivers and lakes think this is underhanded, yet the Chronicle of Troubled Times recognizes it... as the saying goes, the movements of heaven follow a constant course, existing neither because of a legendary sage king nor perishing because of a tyrant."

Zhao Changhe: "?"

"What? What's with that expression of yours?"

"How do you people have the names of those ancient figures?"

"...What do you mean your people and our people? You can hear about them even coming out from a mountain ravine, so why can't I have heard of them?"

"No, this... forget it." What a haunted world this was; he wondered if there were any history books in the mountain fortress, he ought to find one to flip through and look at sometime.

Luo Qi said, "What, from your tone, you're quite interested in making the rankings?"

Zhao Changhe had no desire to compete for rankings; he was only trying to understand the world's structure. But since Luo Qi asked, he had to go along: "Who doesn't have a craving to see their name on the list? It's such a show-off, isn't it..."

Luo Qi patted his shoulder with a smile: "Ten on the Heaven List, thirty-six on the Earth List, seventy-two on the Human List, and no cap for Hidden Dragons under twenty-five. Keep at it, Zhao Changhe, my friend—you only started horse stance at nineteen."

Zhao Changhe gave him a sidelong glance and suddenly laughed: "You're smiling more and more now. Is this your true self?"

Luo Qi's face instantly stiffened, and he huffed off to bed.