Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

The next day, at the Suining Prefecture's Imperial Observatory's Judgment Hall and Armory.

Yi Yang stood in front of the armory gate and looked up at the old plaque above the door.

The characters on the plaque have been eroded by wind and rain for countless years, and the edges of the strokes are rough, but the structure still holds up.

At that moment, two guards stood at the entrance of the armory.

Yi Yang recognized them at a glance. The round-faced one on the left and the tall, thin one on the right were the same group of people he had met when he first came to the armory a few months ago.

At that time, he was still the patrol director, a position that was neither high nor low. Although the other party did not make things difficult for him, they did not show him any respect either.

But today is different.

Yi Yang was wearing the dark gray official uniform of a candidate chief inspector, with shoulder armor a finger's width wider and black iron buckles at his waist.

The attire was so distinctive within the Sky Patrol Bureau that even if you were illiterate, you could tell the person's rank just by seeing their clothes.

The round-faced guard spotted the figure first and reflexively looked up to question him, but when his gaze fell on the dark pattern on Yi Yang's shoulder armor, his mouth opened halfway and then stopped.

The tall, thin guard reacted faster, already bending down and saying:

"Sir...sir!"

The round-faced guard finally shut his mouth, then bowed and saluted, unsure of what to do with his hands.

Looking at their expressions, Yi Yang recalled what happened a few months ago and found it quite amusing.

However, he didn't show it on his face, but simply nodded and said:

"You two have worked hard."

"It's not hard at all!"

The round-faced guard rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with a smile, and said, "Sir, are you here today to choose a cultivation technique? Your subordinate will—"

"No need to trouble you, I can go up by myself."

Yi Yang stepped inside and said, "I'm here to check something."

The two guards stepped aside to make way, bending even lower than before.

Once Yi Yang's figure disappeared from the first-floor entrance, the round-faced guard straightened up and nudged the tall, thin guard with his elbow.

"Am I seeing things? A candidate for chief inspector?"

The tall, thin guard swallowed hard and said:

"You read that right."

"How long has it been? Last time he came, he was just a patrol captain, right? No, he was promoted to patrol superintendent later..."

The tall, thin guard shook his head, his tone filled with an indescribable feeling.

"Stop thinking about it, the more you think about it, the more outrageous it gets."

Yi Yang passed through the first three floors of the armory without stopping.

The armory has lower-level martial arts techniques on the first floor, middle-level techniques on the second floor, and higher-level techniques on the third floor.

But these things are no longer of any use to him.

He went straight up to the fourth floor.

The light at the entrance to the fourth floor was much dimmer. Two oil lamps hung on iron hooks on the wall, their wicks burning unevenly, one on and one off.

The old man guarding the fourth floor was still sitting on the wooden stool next to the entrance, with half a bowl of cold tea beside him, and he was flipping through some book.

Hearing footsteps, the old man looked up at the approaching person.

He saw Yi Yang, but did not get up or bow.

He simply closed the book, placed it beside his knees, glanced at Yi Yang up and down, and asked indifferently:

"You're back."

The old man spoke calmly, as if Yi Yang had just left yesterday and had returned today.

Yi Yang stopped, cupped his hands respectfully, and said:

"The old man has a good memory."

"I wouldn't say I have a good memory."

The old man's gaze lingered on Yi Yang's official robes for a moment, then he didn't say anything more, only asking, "How's your cultivation of that technique going?"

Yi Yang had already prepared his explanation.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on his face. He scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"Sigh, I overestimated myself."

He took out a scroll of silk from his bosom and handed it over with both hands.

"That's a bit arrogant. This thing has to be returned."

"The Mind Monkey's Guide to Guarding the Mind"

The old man took the silk scroll, glanced at it to confirm it was intact, and put it into the wooden box beside him.

His expression remained unchanged, and he nodded, saying:

"I knew it!"

The old man closed the wooden box, his tone carrying a hint of "I knew it."

"This cultivation technique has been sitting on the fourth floor for thirteen years, borrowed seven or eight times, and no one has ever mastered it. Even the Chief Inspector said there was something wrong with it back then. And you..."

He glanced at Yi Yang's face and swallowed back the rest of his sentence, "a sixty-year-old man."

"In short, it's not shameful to fail at training."

Yi Yang gave a wry smile in agreement.

The golden-haired ape in his mind was yawning, legs crossed.

The still image of "The Mind Monkey Guarding the Will" is partially completed, more than halfway through.

He was well hidden.

There's no need for anyone to know.

Yi Yang followed up the conversation, steering the topic toward his real purpose.

"Senior, how do I get to the fifth floor of the armory?"

The old man's brow twitched.

"The fifth floor?"

"I have been promoted to acting chief inspector."

Yi Yang patted the bronze plaque at his waist. "Vice Hall Master Pei said I have a chance to enter the fifth floor to select a true martial art. But from the outside, this armory only looks like a four-story building, and I can't find the way up."

The old man stared at Yi Yang for several breaths.

He brought the bronze plaque at Yi Yang's waist closer to the oil lamp for a closer look, and then took out a thin booklet to check the serial number.

After confirming that everything was correct, he stood up and kicked the stool to the side.

"Come with me."

The two walked through several rows of bookshelves on the fourth floor and came to the innermost wall.

This wall looks no different from the rest of the wall, with the same blue bricks and the same old gray color.

The old man pressed a spot on the third row of bricks, then took a token from his waist and stuck it on.

A muffled creaking sound came from the turning of a mechanism.

The wall split in the middle, revealing a narrow staircase.

The stairs stretched upwards, with a dim yellow light shining at the end.

"Let's go up."

The old man stepped back, gesturing for Yi Yang to go alone, and said, "The fifth floor is up there. Remember, you can only choose one, and you have half an hour."

Yi Yang bowed in thanks and stepped onto the narrow stairs.

There aren't many stone steps; about twenty steps will take you to the top.

Pushing open the wooden door, the layout of the fifth floor is immediately visible.

It was much smaller than he had imagined.

There were only six or seven wooden shelves on the entire floor, with a dozen or so booklets scattered around.

The lamps were always lit, and the oil in the copper cups was enough to last for several days, providing ample light.

Yi Yang walked to the first shelf, pulled out a book, and started flipping through it.

True skill.

That is indeed true skill.

He read through the books one by one. Some were about body refinement, some about cultivating internal energy, and some about specializing in speed.

Each of these items is something only those at the True Qi Realm can use, and their quality is more than one level higher than that of the fourth level.

But it wasn't what he was looking for.

There is nothing related to "Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise".

Yi Yang put the last book back on the shelf and tapped his fingers twice on the crossbeam of the wooden frame.

Should we pick one to practice with for now?

As he was thinking this, his peripheral vision caught sight of the depths of this floor.

There's something in front of the innermost wall.

Yi Yang walked over.

Deep inside the fifth level of the armory, there was actually an offering table.

The desktop is clean and dust-free, indicating that it has been cleaned regularly.

On the table stood a wooden sculpture, about a foot tall, depicting a human figure in a wide robe and sleeves, with his hair tied in a tall crown.

The wood carving was placed with its back to him.

Yi Yang went around to look at it from the front.

To my surprise, the wood carving had no face.

The area where the statue's facial features are located is a flat wooden surface, with nothing carved on it.

Yi Yang stared at the faceless statue for a long time.

On the fifth floor of the Sky Patrol Armory, there is a wooden sculpture without a face.

The whole thing is strange.

His gaze moved downwards, and he saw a thin book placed in front of the statue's feet.

The booklet was small, with an old silk cover and no writing on it.

Yi Yang pulled out the booklet and turned to the first page.

His hand stopped.

Qi and Blood Realm Chapter, Yi Wood Longevity Stance.

When these words came into view, Yi Yang's breath hitched for a beat.

He flipped to the back.

The Inner Qi Realm Chapter.

Further on.

True Qi Realm Chapter.

From beginning to end, from the Qi and Blood Realm to the True Qi Realm, all the content is covered in one book.

This is the complete version of "Yi Mu Health Preservation Exercise".

Yi Yang clutched the booklet and stood motionless in front of the offering table.

His brain was working at lightning speed.

Why is it placed here?

Why isn't the name of the exercise method listed?

Why is it placed at the feet of a faceless statue, like an offering?

If he hadn't practiced this technique, he would never have recognized what this booklet was.

Anyone who picks it up and examines it will only think it's an unknown martial art of dubious origin.

Yi Yang closed the booklet and tucked it into his chest.

Who cares why.

The most important thing is getting what you've been longing for.

The remaining questions will be investigated later.

He returned via the same route from the fifth floor.

At the bottom of the narrow staircase, the old man was still sitting on the stool, and he had been given a bowl of hot tea.

Seeing Yi Yang come down, the old man looked up at what was in his hand.

"Have you chosen?"

"I've made my choice."

Yi Yang handed over the booklet and said.

The old man frowned when he saw the cultivation manual that Yi Yang handed him and said:

"Why is it this kind of thing again?"

He put down his teacup, leaned over to take a look at the cover, and sure enough, there were no words on it.

"You..."

The old man, with an expression that was both helpless and amused, said:

"Why do you keep picking these weird and strange things? Last time it was that silk book that no one could master, and this time it's a book that doesn't even have a name."

Yi Yang smiled and went along with the other person's words:

"fate."

"What kind of fate is this?"

The old man waved his hand and reprimanded him rudely, "I've been guarding this armory for almost thirty years, and this nameless book has always been kept on the fifth floor. Because it's unmarked, it can't even be filed, so it can only be kept there separately."

He paused, then added a sentence.

"Someone else had chosen it before. Two or three candidates for chief inspector thought that an unnamed martial art might be some kind of hidden divine skill. They took it and studied it for a while, but couldn't cultivate anything from it, so they returned it."

"After that, no one else chose it."

Yi Yang carefully tucked the booklet into his pocket.

"That's perfect, it's a bargain for me."

The old man looked at him, his lips moved twice, but in the end he just shook his head, picked up his pen and wrote a record in the register.

"Fine, you can take it."

After signing the document, Yi Yang carefully placed the booklet close to his body.

When I walked out of the armory gate, the afternoon sun was at its zenith.

Yi Yang stood on the steps, squinting, and pressed his palm against the booklet on his chest through his clothes.

It's a thin book, but it feels incredibly heavy on my heart.

Yi Yang withdrew his hand and strode towards Youquan Division.

Who is that faceless wooden sculpture?

Songqing Daoren?

Or someone else?

Yi Yang couldn't figure it out for the time being, but he remembered what the statue looked like.

He wore a wide robe and long sleeves, his hair was tied up with a tall crown, and he had no face or eyes.

Some things can't be rushed.

What he needs to do now is go back and study this booklet from beginning to end, and then, with the resources at hand, push his cultivation to the True Qi Realm as soon as possible.

As for the secret behind that statue.

The truth will come out eventually.