Chapter 4, Rank C Martial Skill: Seven Forms of Breaking Army!
Chu Han ran all the way back to an old and dilapidated residential area.
His home was located here.
Although the houses here were old, the rent was cheap, and those living here were all poor people from the bottom of society.
Passing through the corridor filled with clutter, he stopped in front of an iron door covered with various small advertisements.
He inserted the key and opened the door.
His home was very small; he could see everything at a single glance.
A part of the living room was partitioned off as his bedroom, with a narrow single bed pressed against the wall and several stacks of books piled at the foot of the bed.
The only window faced the wall of another building, so the lighting was extremely poor, requiring lights to be on even during the day; the kitchen and bathroom were squeezed into a corner, with outdated facilities.
Actually, when he was a child, before his father was injured, the family lived in a luxurious Martial Artist Residential Area.
After his father, Chu Zhan, was severely injured, the astronomical medical costs quickly drained the family's savings, and they sold everything of value, including that house.
Over the years, they had moved countless times, each residence more dilapidated than the last, and the environment worse each time.
In the past year, Chu Han's excellent potential had gained support from the school, which finally gave the family a chance to breathe.
But now, even the monthly scholarship was gone.
“Is that Xiao Han back?” a weak voice came from the inner room.
Chu Han restrained all his emotions and responded, “Dad, it's me.”
At this moment, only his father was home; his mother was still out working.
He pushed open the door to the inner room, where a haggard middle-aged man was leaning against the bed, covered by a thin quilt with patches.
He held a well-worn copy of the “Basic Illustrated Handbook of Exotic Beasts” in his hand, and half a bowl of dark medicinal liquid sat on the nightstand.
This was his father, Chu Zhan.
Chu Zhan used to be a somewhat famous Martial Artist in Jiang City, but now his Blood Qi had withered like that of an eighty or ninety-year-old man, with countless internal injuries; he barely maintained his life force with expensive Healing Fluid to prevent his injuries from worsening completely.
Seeing his son, a glimmer of light lit up in Chu Zhan's cloudy eyes, and he asked with an ill-concealed expectation, “You're back? Was today's Awakening ceremony successful? What was the result?”
His voice was somewhat hoarse, and his breathing was unstable.
Chu Han poured a glass of water for his father and said calmly, “I didn't awaken a talent.”
The room instantly fell into a dead silence.
The hope in Chu Zhan's eyes was instantly extinguished, replaced by deep despair.
Without an awakened talent, the future of his son and even the entire family became incredibly bleak!
But this emotion only lasted for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.
The muscles on his face twitched, and he quickly pulled out a comforting smile.
“It's fine. There are plenty of people who can't awaken a talent; it doesn't mean you can't live a good life. Don't lose heart, and don't put too much pressure on yourself.”
Chu Zhan tried to appear relaxed, but his voice became even hoarser.
He knew well that the pain and disappointment his son endured were a hundred times heavier than his own as a father!
He couldn't add any more pressure to his son.
Chu Zhan took a deep breath, changed the subject, and asked softly, “It's nothing if you can't become a Martial Artist. You can join the army or get into a liberal arts university; your liberal arts grades are also quite good.”
However, Chu Han said with determined eyes, “My goal has never changed. I will become a Martial Artist, take the Martial Arts Examination, and get into the best Martial Arts University! In the future, I will also help treat your illness.”
He paused, looked at his father, and said, “I will become strong enough and will definitely seek justice for you!”
Hearing the word “justice,” Chu Zhan's body suddenly trembled.
A series of complex expressions flashed through his eyes: shock, pain, fear... He immediately said anxiously, “What nonsense! My injury was an accident, no one else is to blame! Plan your life well and don't think about these useless things! Do you hear me?”
His reaction exactly confirmed Chu Han's suspicion.
Years ago, as an elite member of the Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall, his father Chu Zhan was severely injured by a powerful Beasts during a mission organized by the martial arts hall, nearly dying.
According to the martial arts hall agreement and federal laws, the martial arts hall had the responsibility for treatment and compensation.
However, the Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall later refused to pay most of the medical expenses using ridiculous reasons like “acting without authorization” and “exceeding the mission scope,” even trying to push all the responsibility onto his father!
Their family had no way to appeal and instead faced threats and suppression from the martial arts hall, eventually being kicked out with only a meager amount of compensation.
He had witnessed these things with his own eyes when he was a child. At that time, his parents thought he was too young to remember, but in reality, it was unforgettable for Chu Han.
“These debts, I will definitely get them back with interest!”
Hearing this, Chu Zhan sighed, “The matters inside are not as simple as you think, and the Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall is a colossus that you cannot deal with.”
Chu Han suddenly smiled, “Dad, although I didn't awaken a talent, I gained another Opportunity. Rest assured, my strength will definitely not be weaker than those who have awakened a talent!”
“You've had your own ideas since you were a child, and I can't change that. Since you want to become a Martial Artist, your mother and I will support you unconditionally.”
Saying this, Chu Zhan pointed to the nightstand, “There's a wooden box in the bottom layer of the cabinet. Take it out and open it.”
Chu Han immediately complied and took out a wooden box about twenty centimeters in size.
Then he opened it, and inside lay a small booklet.
“This is... a Martial Skill?!”
Chu Han's pupils constricted slightly as he saw several large words on the booklet: Seven Forms of Army Breaking!
“That's right. This is a C-rank saber-type Martial Skill: ‘Seven Forms of Army Breaking.’ It's also the only thing I can leave you,” Chu Zhan smiled.
“It's actually C-rank. This Martial Skill must not be cheap, right?”
Chu Han was tongue-tied; in his impression, the price of a C-rank Martial Skill was at least over a million federal currency.
Martial Skills, like talents and Cultivation Techniques, are divided from high to low into SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F-ranks.
A C-rank Martial Skill is already an extremely precious treasure that ordinary people can only dream of!
Its value far exceeded any Basic Fist Technique or movement technique he had learned before.
“Of course. I spent almost all my savings to buy this saber technique back then.”
Chu Zhan continued, “Of course, the basic requirement to Cultivate this Martial Skill is to Cultivate the Basic Saber Technique to Major Achievement. This is also why I had you Cultivate the Basic Saber Technique since you were a child. Without a Major Achievement-level Basic Saber Technique, it's impossible to Cultivate this Martial Skill.”
“And the reason this saber technique is ranked as C-rank is because it's extremely difficult to Cultivate, requiring the practitioner to have an extremely high Comprehension Ability of saber techniques. Therefore, very few people can Cultivate this saber technique to the 5th Move; I only managed to Cultivate it to the 4th Move back then.”
“If Cultivated to the 4th or 5th Move, the power of this saber technique is comparable to a B-rank Martial Skill. The 6th Move is even on par with an A-rank Martial Skill, and the 7th Move is said to be close to an S-rank Martial Skill, but almost no one can master it.”
“S-rank? The upper limit of this saber technique is actually so high!”
Chu Han was also greatly shocked upon hearing this, followed by wild joy.
Right now, what he lacked least was Comprehension Ability!
“Don't get happy too early. If the later Moves of this saber technique were really that easy to practice, it wouldn't be rated as C-rank,” Chu Zhan said.
Chu Han didn't mind, “My Basic Saber Technique has already reached Major Achievement; I can Cultivate it at any time.”
“Good, your talent is indeed much higher than mine, and I can't change that. If you can master the first Move of this Martial Skill, it will be enough to handle battles in the wilderness!” Chu Zhan said with a face full of relief.
What he didn't know was that after Chu Han obtained the Ten Thousand Times Talent, his Basic Saber Technique had already gone a step further, reaching the realm of Perfection.
He just hadn't told his father.
Chu Han couldn't wait to flip open the ‘Seven Forms of Army Breaking.’
After just one read-through, the contents were already memorized.
With the boost from the Ten Thousand Times Talent, the essentials of this saber technique were also completely understood.
Although he hadn't officially started to Cultivate yet, his understanding of this saber technique already surpassed his father's!
The core of the Seven Forms of Army Breaking is the force-exertion technique. The Moves are grand and bold, emphasizing an indomitable Aura and pursuing the power of the saber technique.
Therefore, the power of each Move increases exponentially, and the requirements for force-exertion techniques and control over the saber are also higher.
This was also the reason why the last few Moves were incredibly difficult to practice.
“Then I'll go Cultivate first.”
Chu Han went downstairs; not far from the residential area was an abandoned park, which had always been his private training ground.
He planned to Cultivate the Seven Forms of Army Breaking here.
Conveniently, there was still a Fine Steel Long Saber stored in the Lottery Space that could be used as a weapon.