I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 23 Actual Combat
The Falling Leaf Spear Technique only provides a very brief description of the Unity Realm, stating that it is the unity of body and mind, strength and energy, and technique and body, no longer bound by form, with each move possessing immense power.

If a martial artist who has achieved secondary blood coagulation can enter the realm of "unity of skill", he may even be able to overcome the physical gap caused by blood coagulation and contend with some beings who have achieved tertiary blood coagulation!

This gap is undoubtedly a qualitative change.

Wu Ming now has a clear understanding of martial arts. For example, he has progressed from one blood clotting to two blood clotting, which slightly increases his strength. The greater transformation lies in the toughness of his skin membrane, giving him greater endurance and resistance.

When fully armored, a martial artist with secondary blood coagulation and mastery of skills can generally only deal with three or four individuals with primary blood coagulation and similar mastery of skills. Any more than that, and it becomes difficult to confront them head-on.

However, the three clotting events were different.

After three blood clotting processes, the blood and qi are tempered throughout the body through the meridians, which not only further transforms the muscles but also begins to penetrate into the fascia of the limbs, greatly enhancing explosive power and entering a completely different realm.

Even if ten martial artists who have achieved the second stage of blood coagulation join forces, they cannot defeat a master who has achieved the third stage of blood coagulation. This is why once someone achieves the third stage of blood coagulation, their status and position will undergo a dramatic change.

Among all the major powers, only those who have achieved three blood coagulations can gain recognition.

but,
If one's skills can reach the 'Unity Realm', then even if one has only achieved the second stage of blood coagulation, one can contend with the third stage. However, according to Wu Ming's understanding, even those who have achieved the third stage of blood coagulation rarely reach the 'Unity Realm' in their skills.

Wu Ming didn't think for too long before quickly gathering his thoughts. Whether it was the third time he could coagulate blood or the unification of skills, it was still a long way off for him. The path of martial arts required taking one step at a time and forging ahead with determination.

I sensed the state of the blood and qi within my dantian.

After nine consecutive days of cultivation, Wu Ming also cultivated nine strands of blood energy, which he then incorporated into his dantian. This strengthened the blood energy within his dantian by nearly one unit, but he was still far from achieving the second stage of blood condensation.

Based on Wu Ming's perception and rough judgment, given his current diet and training methods, even if his spiritual strength is extraordinary and he can reduce unnecessary blood loss through subtle perception, it would probably take at least a year for him to accumulate enough blood to meet the standard for secondary blood clotting.

To speed up this process, one needs to eat better or have better nutrition.

But that requires money.

A large amount of silver.

"Having mastered the shaking spear technique and entered the realm of freehand fighting, I am now qualified to take on some jobs that can earn money and improve my diet a little. However, before that, it would be best to practice more in actual combat... Being able to fight and actually fighting are not quite the same."

Wu Ming pondered this in his mind.

The martial arts academy of the Seven Martial Alliance is actually a very suitable place for practicing martial arts. In the courtyard next door, there is a spacious training ground where many young martial artists go in to spar and exchange techniques almost every day.

In reality, it's very difficult to take the step from freehand fighting to mastery through sheer hard work alone. What's required is a solid foundation in actual combat. Even a freehand fighter can learn a few moves by practicing a classic like the "Falling Leaf Spear Technique," but being able to use a few moves, or even all of them, doesn't mean they've reached the level of mastery.

Connected.

To truly master a technique, one must train to the point where, in actual combat, no matter the situation, one's form remains intact and one can always flexibly utilize all techniques.

It's like mastering the essence of "shaking spear power"—you have to thoroughly practice this technique of applying force so that you can use it at any time. The same applies to reaching a higher level of mastery; you have to practice each move to the bone and develop muscle memory that allows you to use it freely in actual combat.

"call."

Wu Ming let out a breath, walked to the water vat in the distance, drank some water, washed his face, and after a short rest, he picked up his ox-tendon spear and left the training courtyard, heading towards another courtyard to the north. Passing through the circular stone archway, he was greeted by another open space, divided into seven or eight sections. Some were dirt ground, some were wooden platforms, some were made of solid blue bricks, and there was even a shallow pond.

Scattered groups of people were gathered in the several separate areas.

"it is good!"

Suddenly, cheers rang out.

Wu Ming glanced to the side and saw two young martial artists fighting in the nearest arena. One of them was wielding a large knife and used brute force to overpower the other's sword, finally sweeping his leg to knock him to the ground.

Among the onlookers, someone noticed Wu Ming approaching and immediately looked over with a smile.

"Wu Ming? You're here too. Planning to practice your skills as well?"

The speaker was Chen Gui.

Over the course of seven or eight days, Wu Ming and Chen Gui had several interactions and became quite familiar with each other, with less formality required between them.

Given Chen Gui's family background—a wealthy family in the city—he wouldn't normally need to join the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance. However, he has three older brothers whose martial arts aptitude is all higher than his. He only has 'lower-upper' aptitude. Although he is well-fed and clothed at home, he has no status and will not be able to inherit the family business in the future. At most, he can only inherit a shop.

Chen Gui, being young, was naturally unwilling to accept this situation, so he took the initiative to leave home and join the Seven Martial Alliance. He wanted to rely on his own abilities to make friends with a group of people, hone his martial arts skills, and build a family business based on his own abilities, so that his family could see his capabilities.

"Let me consider."

Wu Ming walked to the side, greeted Chen Gui, and then looked at the two people practicing in front of him.

Chen Gui took the initiative to approach, grinned, and said, "I told you long ago that you can't practice martial arts by just learning the moves. Moves are static, but people are dynamic. You have to practice in real combat to develop real skills. Otherwise, no matter how well you practice your stances, when it comes to a real fight, you might fall short here or there. Come on, let's go get a leather armor. I'll spar with you today."

Among the group of young martial artists who recently joined the Seven Martial Alliance, Chen Gui has gotten to know quite a few people, but if he had to say who he values ​​most, Wu Ming would be number one. On the one hand, Wu Ming's 'below average' aptitude, although not qualified to enter the inner hall, is top-notch in the outer hall. He can easily achieve two blood coagulations, and even if his comprehension is poor, his skills will eventually reach the level of mastery.

of course,

If it were only these things, it wouldn't be enough to make Chen Gui value them so much. After all, he comes from a wealthy family, and his father and grandfather were all experts who had achieved the third level of blood coagulation. One of his older brothers was also in the inner hall of the Seven Martial Alliance. The main reason was that after many contacts with Wu Ming, he discovered that Wu Ming not only had good talent in martial arts, but also had unique insights into business.

A few days ago, when the two were having dinner together, Wu Ming casually mentioned things like 'productivity,' 'supply and demand,' and 'market,' which surprised him greatly. Although he had a vague understanding of these concepts, he knew that he came from a wealthy family and had been involved in various businesses since childhood, while Wu Ming came from a poor background. It was quite remarkable that he had figured these things out on his own. If he could become Wu Ming's deputy in the future, he would definitely be able to help Wu Ming build a great business.

After all, in this world, only those who are both strong and shrewd can earn money while standing tall.

"Okay, let's practice then."

Seeing that Chen Gui's hospitality was hard to refuse, and since Wu Ming also wanted to practice his combat skills, he immediately borrowed a set of leather armor and put it on. The leather armor was covered with various sword and blade marks, making it a 'severely battle-damaged' version, but it was not broken, so it still provided protection.

Even with swords and knives unsharpened, wearing a leather armor would mean that even if someone made a mistake and couldn't dodge in time, the martial artist's strong physique would only result in minor injuries.

(End of this chapter)