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

half a month later.

At 11:45 AM, in a small courtyard in Yunwen Town.

Jiang Yuexin and Yang Hui had already fallen asleep. Yi Yang sat alone by the well in the backyard, with half an old straw mat under him and six empty medicine bottles around him.

He had taken the Dewy Sunflower that Zhou Jiang had sent two days ago, and its extremely pure medicinal power was still surging in his body. Combined with the pills he had bought for three thousand taels of silver, and the reckless standing meditation, medicinal baths, and pill swallowing he had done for the past half month, he had finally pushed the progress of the fifth level of the Yi Wood Nourishing Life Technique to its limit, inch by inch.

A line of small text appeared before my eyes.

[Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise Level 5: 49920/50000]

Eighty o'clock.

It's just 80 points short.

Yi Yang exhaled a breath of stale air, stuffed the last pill into his mouth, cracked the shell with his teeth, and poured the bitter liquid down his throat.

He could perform the starting stance of the Yi Wood Longevity Stance with his eyes closed: arms outstretched, knees slightly bent, spine straight, and blood and qi flowing through the meridians along a fixed route.

The medicine entered the body and clashed with the blood and qi, making the chest and abdomen feel like a pot of boiling water.

All five internal organs felt hot at the same time.

Yi Yang clenched his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulged, and beads of sweat dripped down from his hairline, onto the straw mat, leaving dark little dots.

Progress is accelerating.

49940, 49960, 49980, 50000.

It's full.

In that instant, all the blood and energy in my body seemed to be twisted into a rope by something, rushing into the depths of my bones.

Yi Yang's spine emitted a series of dense cracking sounds, from the tailbone upwards, segment by segment, as if someone were hammering from the inside out.

It doesn't hurt.

It's bloating.

The gaps between the bones are filled with scalding hot blood and qi, and every inch of bone is being washed, polished, and reshaped.

The marrow fluid boiled.

Yi Yang braced himself on the ground with both hands, digging his ten fingers into the cracks between the bricks, his fingernails flipping outwards halfway, leaving ten white marks on the brick surface.

A series of extremely fine and dense crackling sounds emanated from within the bones, like popping beans or raindrops hitting a tin roof during a downpour. These were the sounds of old bone being shattered by the flow of qi and blood, and new bone rapidly solidifying under the nourishment of qi and blood.

Marrow cleansing.

Blood transfusion.

A layer of grayish-black mucus began to seep from Yi Yang's skin, with a pungent, fishy odor. It was the waste that had accumulated deep in his bone marrow for sixty years and was being flushed out by his blood and qi.

Mucus oozed from his forehead, neck, arms, and back, covering him completely and turning him into a mud monkey.

Sweat and mucus mixed together, running down the contours of his body and soaking into a large, dark patch on the straw mat.

Yi Yang's breathing became rough and heavy, and his chest heaved so much that his ribs could be heard cracking.

I don't know how much time passed.

It might be half an incense stick, or it might be a full incense stick.

The popping sounds in the bones gradually subsided, and the rushing of qi and blood changed from violent to gentle, like waves after the tide recedes, licking the beach one after another.

Yi Yang opened his eyes.

The small print in front of me refreshed.

[Sixth Level of Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise: (0/100000)]

[Realm: Sixth Level of Qi and Blood - Marrow Cleansing and Blood Transformation]

He clenched his fist.

The sound of my joints is completely different from before.

It wasn't a crisp cracking sound, but a muffled buzzing vibration, a sound like metal striking metal resonating from the fist, causing the tendons from the wrist to the forearm to resonate as well.

Yi Yang stood up, his whole body as if decades of rust had been drained away, from his bones to his flesh, from his internal organs to his meridians, he felt incredibly clear.

He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread open, closed, and then spread open again.

The force transmitted through the palm was a whole level faster than when I was at the fifth level of Qi and Blood – not just a little faster, but twice as fast. The moment the intention moved, the force arrived, and the delay in between was compressed to almost imperceptible.

Speed ​​too.

Yi Yang lightly touched the ground with his toes, and silently floated three steps away.

float.

It's not running, it's not jumping, it's floating.

The contact between the soles of my feet and the brick surface was so light that it was no different from a cat's paw skimming across water.

He looked down at the back of his hand. The veins and wrinkles were still there, but the skin underneath had a moist sheen, not the rosy glow of a young person, but the warm, smooth texture of an old tree root soaked in beeswax.

Where's the hair?

Yi Yang touched the ends of his hair—most of it was black. There were still some white hairs, but they were mixed in with the black hair, so if you didn't look closely, you would only think that he was a middle-aged man in his early fifties with a few white strands.

The body of a sixty-year-old is actually functioning like that of a forty-year-old.

The six levels of Qi and Blood, the marrow cleansing and blood replacement, truly live up to its name.

Yi Yang squatted down by the well, drew a bucket of water, washed off the black slime covering his body, and changed into an old set of clothes.

Leaning against the stone wall of the well platform, I looked up at the sky. The moon was half-hidden by clouds, revealing only a crescent of cold light.

At sixty years old, one's Qi and blood are in their sixth stage.

What do these four words mean in Yunlin County?

Yi Yang closed his eyes, recalling the power structure of Yunlin County he had seen before. Ultimately, it was a system of ranking based on the size of one's fist. Those at the Inner Qi Realm were the strongest in the county, but the sixth level of Qi and Blood was the true dividing line.

Among the three great families—Zhang, Wang, and Li—the number of their direct line elders and core retainers who reach the sixth level can be counted on two hands. These people are the treasures of their families and are not taken out to show off casually.

Only those at the level of deputy leader and various hall masters from the three major gangs—Red Tiger Gang, Black Knife Gang, and Sanyuan Society—are qualified to meet the sixth level of the threshold.

In major martial arts schools, only the headmasters are at the sixth level.

In other words, the sixth level of Qi and Blood is the entry ticket to the high-level circle of Yunlin County.

Below the sixth level, no matter how powerful one is, there is a huge difference between them and those at the sixth level. Yi Yang previously thought that he, at the fifth level, could compete with those at the sixth level, but it seems that he had not considered things thoroughly.

As for the Inner Qi Realm—

When Yi Yang thought of the indiscriminate crushing aura that Qi Shujian had exuded when he rode past on his strange beast horse, he felt no fear, only clarity.

The Inner Qi Realm is another world.

The gap between the sixth level of Qi and Blood and the first level of Inner Qi is not just a hurdle, but a chasm. To cross it, one needs aptitude, comprehension, cultivation techniques, elixirs, and good fortune—all are indispensable.

Many seasoned masters at the sixth level of Qi and Blood have squatted before this insurmountable barrier for over a decade or two, never managing to cross that threshold until their deaths.

Mu Fenghai is a living example.

But Yi Yang wasn't afraid. What others struggled to overcome in twelve years, he had sixty times the blessing of destiny.

As long as there are enough resources and enough time, the internal energy realm is not a problem.

The problem is resources.

The progress pool jumped from 50,000 to 100,000, and the consumption of pills would be extremely high. The reason for the rapid progress this time was thanks to Zhou Jiang's precious medicine.

The batch of belongings that Zhou Jiang sent over was almost empty.

There wasn't enough money, not enough elixirs, and even less access to distribution channels.

We need to find a way.

Yi Yang narrowed his eyes as he thought about the quarterly assessment of the Sky Patrol Division tomorrow.

Those who rank high in the assessment not only receive rewards and elixirs, but also get to choose their jobs. Good jobs mean good pay, and good pay means a continuous supply of resources.

He wants to compete, but he can't reveal all his cards.

Revealing the fourth level of Qi and Blood is enough; the sixth level should be kept hidden.

Yi Yang yawned, tidied up the empty medicine bottle and dirty clothes, and went back to his room to sleep.

Tomorrow will be busy.

……

The next day, at Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Yunlin County, the training ground of the Xuntiansi (Observatory of Astronomy).

The drill ground was two hundred paces from east to west and one hundred and fifty paces from north to south, paved with bluestone slabs. At the four corners stood iron flagpoles ten feet high, and the red flag with black stripes of the Sky Patrol Division fluttered in the morning breeze.

In the center of the field, a four-foot-high wooden platform was erected. The platform was covered with sand, which was then flattened and sprinkled with water. It was not slippery when stepped on and did not raise any dust.

The platform is big enough.

Even if a hundred people stood on it, it wouldn't be crowded.

The area around the training ground was already packed with people.

On the Sky Patrol Division's side, the patrol guards and their captains from each branch stood in square formation on the north side. Their uniforms were all dark gray, with swords at their waists and long and short weapons mounted on the weapon carts behind them.

The south side is occupied by disciples from various martial arts schools.

The Lei Yun Martial Arts School's group was the most eye-catching, a dozen or so people all dressed in black uniforms with gold trim, and wearing bronze badges with thunder patterns around their waists. Leading them was Liao Xu, whose expression was calm. The bandage on his left arm had been removed, but faint traces of new flesh were still visible at the cuff. Yi Zhanzhi stood half a step to his right, his back ramrod straight, chin slightly raised, his gaze sweeping across the entire area with the composure befitting a genius.

Seven or eight people came from Tieming Hall, five from Cangyun Hall, three from Baihu Martial Academy, and a few other small martial arts schools gathered about ten people here and there.

In total, the martial arts school has at least forty or fifty people.

The side corridors on both sides of the drill ground were even more lively.

Behind the carved railings sat prominent figures from Yunlin County: wealthy merchants, powerful clans, and managers of collateral branches of aristocratic families. The table was laden with tea and snacks; some were fanning themselves, while others were cracking melon seeds. Though they smiled, their eyes were constantly scanning the room.

These people paid a lot of money to get seats to watch the game.

Ordinary people?

A dozen or so armed guards stood at the entrance, making it impossible to squeeze in.

Practicing martial arts is a game for the rich.

Exotic beast meat, medicinal herbs and pills, cultivation techniques and secret manuals—which of these doesn't cost a fortune? For a martial artist at the first level of Qi and Blood to go from beginner to established, it costs at least a hundred taels of silver. By the third or fourth level, the cost is in the thousands of taels.

Nine out of ten of the people on the training ground came from prominent families or families with some wealth.

The remaining 10% of students from poor families are mostly just there to make up the numbers.

Go up on stage, take a couple of punches to gain some experience, and be grateful if you can get a reward.

Yi Yang stood at the end of the celestial patrol formation, his old blue robe covering his official attire, his back bent, without a fan, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

Zhao Gang squeezed next to him; the wound on his left arm had mostly healed, but the dark circles under his eyes hadn't disappeared at all.

"Look at the high platform directly in front of you." Zhao Gang's lips barely moved, but his voice leaked out from between his teeth.

Yi Yang had already seen it.

A five-zhang-high viewing platform was erected directly north of the drill ground.

Five seats are set up on the platform.

The chair in the center was empty, its back carved with the crimson emblem of the Sky Patrol Bureau with black patterns. Qi Shujian wasn't there, but the chair was there, indicating that he had authorized this assessment.

The first one on the left is a thin man in his forties, with an iron cane across his knee and a cold expression.

Chen Wuyai.

He is at the first level of the Inner Qi Realm, with the Qi Sea initially formed, and is Qi Shujian's right-hand man.

This person is the chief examiner today.

Sitting on the right was Song Tiecheng, another deputy director of the Sky Survey Division.

What caught Yi Yang's attention were the two people in the far right seats.

Two monks.

They were all in their thirties, wearing grey monk robes, with shaved heads and clean faces.

One was tall and thin with prominent brow bones, his hands clasped together on his knees, his eyes closed as if in meditation; the other was stocky with a round face and broad shoulders, a slight smile on his lips, looking down at a roll of names in his hands.

Zhao Gang leaned closer and whispered, "See those two bald guys?"

Yi Yang nodded: "I don't know him, but to be able to sit on the same stage as Chen Wuyai, he must be someone important."

Zhao Gang rubbed his fingers together and lowered his voice even further: "I've inquired. Last night, someone saw them following the Sky Patrol Division's convoy into the city. It was quite a grand affair, with guards in front and behind them. The horses came from the direction of Suining Prefecture."

Suining Prefecture.

Yi Yang's fingers twitched inside his sleeve, but he didn't reply.

At this moment, Chen Wuyai stood up on the high platform.

The iron rod struck the table once.

boom.

A dull metallic clang rang out from the platform, and the aura of the Inner Qi Realm martial artist spread outward with the strike of the staff. The whispers of hundreds of people in the training ground were silenced by the single blow, and the sound of the iron rings at the top of the flagpole clashing could be heard.

Chen Wuyai scanned the entire room, his voice not loud, but every word reached the ears of everyone present.

"There are three things I want to say about this quarterly review."

He held up one finger.

"First, the winners of the assessment will receive a reward of pills and silver, as is customary, and will not be elaborated further."

Erect the second one.

"Secondly, those who perform exceptionally well in this assessment may be directly granted the position of Acting Patrol Supervisor or above, subject to the approval of the Director. Regardless of background or seniority, only strength matters."

A commotion broke out on the field.

Directly granted a high-ranking position.

What does this mean? It means that as long as a martial arts disciple fights hard enough, he can go from being a wandering swordsman today to wearing the official robes of the Sky Patrol Bureau tomorrow, managing dozens of people under his command, and receiving a salary and elixir supplies from the imperial court.

This road didn't exist before. After Qi Shujian arrived, the rules changed.

After the commotion subsided, Chen Wuyai and the others raised their third finger.

"third."

He turned his head and nodded slightly to the two monks on his right, his tone becoming more solemn.

"We are fortunate to have two eminent monks from Jinyang Temple in Suining Prefecture to observe this assessment."

The moment the words "Jinyang Temple" were uttered, the reaction on the training ground was more than ten times greater than before.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in uproar.

Jinyang Temple – one of the most prominent sects in Suining Prefecture.

With a profound heritage spanning hundreds of years, the sect boasts more than one elder at the Inner Qi Realm, and even some beyond it.

For martial artists in a remote county like Yunlin, Jinyang Temple is like a cloud overhead—you can see it when you look up, but you can't reach it when you reach out.

Chen Wuyai raised his hand to quiet the crowd, and the scene barely quieted down.

"The two eminent monks are here to select an outer disciple for Jinyang Temple."

He paused for a moment and continued, "The age limit has been relaxed to under forty years old. The top four in the assessment will be eligible to participate in the competition."

These words shattered the silence of the training ground.

The martial arts school students were the first to be hit by the explosion.

"Jinyang Temple! Heavens above, Jinyang Temple is recruiting disciples!"

"This is a major sect; resources are plentiful once you're inside. Reaching the Inner Qi Realm is not just a dream!"

"Under forty... I'm thirty-seven this year, I still have time!"

"What's wrong with becoming a monk? It's just shaving your head. In return, you gain access to the cultivation techniques and elixirs of major sects. Do the math and see if it's worth it?"

"What a bargain! It's fucking a bargain! Hair is nothing, I can get a shave right now!"

Yi Yang stood at the end of the formation, his lips twitching. Being a monk might not sound respectable, but can respectability put food on the table?

In this world, the Inner Qi Realm is the ceiling that most Qi and Blood Realm martial artists in Yunlin County can never reach in their entire lives.

Entering Jinyang Temple is like obtaining a ticket to the Inner Qi Realm.

Even if you're just an outer disciple, even if you only have a slight chance, it's still a million times better than toiling away in the county town until you die.

Chen Wuyai turned to the two monks, put his hands together, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, masters."

The sturdy, round-faced monk put down the register, stood up, clasped his hands together in return, and smiled gently with a deep voice.

"Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk Jingyuan has come on the orders of the abbot of the temple. Please do not stand on ceremony, and go ahead and do as you please. We will only observe and not comment."

He didn't say much, but his words carried great weight.

All eyes were fixed on the high platform, burning with desire, greed, and eagerness.

Chen Wuyai withdrew his gaze and slammed his iron staff down again.

boom.

"The assessment begins."