59: Chapter 59 Points Redemption Again: Basic Footwork and Healing Ointment

The moonlight in the training hall had just passed the seventh fist print on the wooden dummy when Chen Wu's tactical tablet suddenly lit up with a bronze light. The icon of the Global Martial Arts System spun in the center of the screen, and the points page that popped up after clicking displayed a glaring number: 785,000—this was the reward automatically settled by the System after the Africa Rainforest Incident, nearly ten times more points than the last time he earned from breaking bricks.

"The Point Shop has updated with rare items." Lin Mo's fingertips slid across the light screen. The items on the virtual shelves were refreshing at a rate of three per second, mostly thread-bound ancient book fragments labeled "Traditional Martial Arts Secret" and special medicines for "Qi Energy Catalysis." "But the redemption conditions are strange; one must simultaneously satisfy 'Tomb Guardian Certification' and 'Special Incident Response Department Collaboration Record.'"

The moment Chen Wu injected his Qi Energy into the tablet, the light screen suddenly split into two parts. On the left, a phantom of a thread-bound ancient book emerged, the four characters for "Basic Footwork" on the cover glowing with a blue-gold light, with the required points for redemption marked in the bottom right corner: 500,000. On the right was a simple porcelain bottle, the label "nine-turn soul returning ointment" carrying a faint medicinal fragrance, with a redemption price of 285,000, exactly exhausting all his points.

"This footwork isn't right." Grandpa Wang suddenly leaned toward the light screen, his tobacco pipe pointing at the dark patterns on the ancient book's cover. "It looks like the basic 'Stamping and Grinding Step,' but the cloud patterns in the corners hide variations of the 'Nine Palace Steps.' I saw a similar manual in Beiping in 1947; it was an Imperial Guard training method passed down from the palace."

A prompt box suddenly popped up on the tablet: "Tomb Guardian exclusive Qi Energy detected. Unlock hidden annotations for 'Basic Footwork'?" Just as Chen Wu's fingertip touched the confirmation key, a blue-gold energy stream spread along the screen. The projection of the ancient book suddenly flipped open, and his grandfather's handwriting emerged on the blank pages: "Footwork is like the roots of a tree; it seems simple, but it secretly hides vitality."

The encrypted channel of the Special Incident Response Department lit up at the same time. The Chief of the Execution Division sent a short message with an attached yellowed file recording the 1987 Qinling Ancient Tomb Incident: "Your grandfather used 500 points to redeem the same ointment back then to heal a team member burned by Shadow Beast toxins." The bronze seal at the end of the text was identical to the pattern on the porcelain bottle's label.

Chen Wu's gaze fell on the redemption countdown in the lower right corner of the light screen. There were 17 minutes and 32 seconds left before the rare items were removed from the shelves, but the additional condition suddenly popped up by the System made Lin Mo gasp: "A 'Qi Contract' guarantee is required; if the redeemed items are used to harm society, one will suffer a tenfold Qi Energy backlash." This carried the same binding force as the Special Incident Response Department's 'Qianji Lock.'"

"Redeem." Chen Wu's Qi Energy condensed into a taiji diagram on the confirmation key. The moment the blue-gold energy stream merged with the light screen, the bronze statue in the training hall suddenly shot out two beams of light, falling onto the wooden dummy and the offering table respectively—the physical forms of the ancient book and the porcelain bottle were slowly condensing from the light, the Qi Energy fluctuations between the pages resonating perfectly with his grandfather's diary.

When the thread-bound copy of "Basic Footwork" landed on the bluestone slab, the stirred Qi Energy caused ripples across the blue bricks of the entire training hall. The moment Chen Wu flipped to the first page, countless blue-gold specks of light suddenly flew out of the pages, forming a three-dimensional footwork diagram in the air—within the seemingly simple trajectory of the "Stamping and Grinding Step," nine different variations were actually nested, like a continuously blooming lotus.

"This isn't Basic Footwork; it's the general outline of the 'Nine Transformation Steps.'" Grandpa Wang's tobacco pipe traced the footwork trajectory on the ground. When it overlapped with the diagram formed by the light specks, the blue bricks suddenly revealed the same patterns as the Qinling Ancient Tomb. "My Master said back then that a true expert can perform thousands of variations from simple footwork, just like water dripping through stone—it seems repetitive, but each landing point is actually different."

As soon as Chen Wu's foot stepped into the first node of the diagram, the wooden dummy began to rotate automatically. The originally fixed dummy body turned into nine movable targets, each corresponding to a position on the nine-palace grid. When he moved according to the rhythm of the "Stamping and Grinding Step," the targets' speed suddenly increased, forcing him to use the variations in the diagram—only then did he discover that within the seemingly plain footwork lay the secret to instantly switching between offense and defense.

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly connected to the shared library of the Global Martial Arts System. The "Basic Footwork" redeemed by other Martial Artists on the screen were all ordinary versions; only Chen Wu's copy displayed the words "Tomb Guardian Exclusive." "The System log says this is automatically adapted based on Bloodline genes." The boy enlarged his grandfather's annotations and found miniature peace lock patterns hidden in the gaps between every line of text. "Your grandfather knew long ago that you would redeem this."

The black sedan of the Special Incident Response Department stopped at the alley entrance again. This time, the Chief of the Execution Division brought a bronze compass, its scales corresponding perfectly to the diagram of the "Basic Footwork." "The Minister said this is the 'Bugang Compass' unearthed from the Qinling Ancient Tomb in 1987." She placed the compass in the center of the footwork diagram, and the blue-gold light specks suddenly resonated with the bronze scales. "Used in coordination with the footwork, it can sense Qi Energy fluctuations within a three-mile radius."

When Chen Wu finished the first round of the "Nine Transformation Steps" according to the diagram, the compass needle suddenly spun frantically. When his foot landed on the "Li Position" node, the needle pointed to the southeast corner of the training hall—buried under the blue bricks there was a metal object with Qi Energy fluctuations similar to the equipment of the Gray Shadow Organization. Lin Mo dug into the ground with a tactical dagger and found a miniature eavesdropping device, the chip inside still slightly hot.

"The Grey Shadow people have been monitoring us." The Section Chief's fingertip tapped lightly on the compass, pulling up the signal source of the bug. "But they don't know that this footwork comes with an anti-reconnaissance function." She looked at the blue-gold traces left by Chen Wu's footprints on the blue bricks and suddenly understood his grandfather's intention—the most basic things often hide the most exquisite defenses.

Grandpa Wang suddenly began performing taiji within the footwork diagram. The old man's Cloud Hands formed a wonderful resonance with Chen Wu's Stamping and Grinding Step. When the Qi Energy of both men converged at the central node, the blue-gold light specks suddenly exploded into a sky full of stars, forming a complete star map on the training hall's dome—each star corresponded to a footwork variation, as if his grandfather was silently guiding him from the heavens.

The moment the porcelain bottle of nine-turn soul returning ointment was opened, a scent mixed with ambergris and mugwort flooded the training hall. Tiny blue-gold particles were suspended in the dark green ointment, rotating slowly under the moonlight. Upon contact with the Qi Energy in Chen Wu's palm, the particles suddenly burst, releasing an energy fluctuation identical to the heart fragments of the Tomb-Guarding Beast.

"This ointment is mixed with 'Dragon Blood Jade' powder." Grandpa Wang used his fingertip to take a bit of the ointment and sniffed it at the tip of his nose. "In 1950, while suppressing spies, I was struck by a similar poison. An old doctor of traditional Chinese medicine took three years to formulate the same ointment. It's just that his medicine didn't have this blue-gold Qi Energy, so it was ten times slower to take effect."

A video request from Li Meng suddenly popped up on the tablet. The boy in the hospital room was holding his swollen arm toward the camera, the red string of his peace lock blackened by the Shadow Beast's toxin erosion. "The doctor says the toxin has already invaded his Meridians; if this continues, he might need an amputation." Elder Zhou's voice was filled with anxiety, and the monitor in the background was emitting a piercing alarm.

Chen Wu's Qi Energy wrapped around the ointment, spreading along the frequency band of the video signal. When the blue-gold energy stream made contact with Li Meng's arm, the dark green ointment suddenly turned transparent, seeping into his body along the lines of his skin. In the monitoring footage, the black spots on the boy's arm receded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the red string of the peace lock glowed with golden light once more.

"I feel a warm current moving through my Meridians." Li Meng's voice was full of surprise. He could clearly "hear" the process of the toxins being encased and expelled by the ointment. "It's like countless little hands are pushing those black things outward." The monitor in the hospital room suddenly returned to normal, and all indicators on the screen returned to the safe range.

A short message from the Minister came through the encrypted channel of the Special Incident Response Department. Attached was a field record from the 1987 Qinling Ancient Tomb: his grandfather was holding a team member eroded by toxins, the porcelain bottle in his hand identical to Chen Wu's. The annotation on the back of the photo read: "Nine-turn soul returning heals not only the body, but also the heart."

Chen Wu's Qi Energy suddenly discovered something unusual in the ointment. The core of the blue-gold particles actually encased extremely fine Tomb-Guarding Beast scale powder—this explained why the ointment could neutralize Shadow Beast toxins and proved that the Special Incident Response Department had long mastered the techniques of balancing the Tomb-Guarding Beast against the Shadow Beast, they just had never made it public.

Lin Mo's tablet connected to the genetic database. The comparison showed that the blue-gold particles in the ointment had a certain complementarity with the Grey Shadow Organization's Genetic Medicine—this meant the nine-turn soul returning ointment could not only detoxify but perhaps also reverse the side effects of genetic modification. "If mass-produced, we could save all the modified humans controlled by Grey Shadow." The boy's fingertips calculated rapidly on the screen. "But it would require a large amount of Tomb-Guarding Beast scale powder."

Grandpa Wang suddenly brought out a tin medicine box from the inner room. The glass jars inside were filled with various dried herbs, the writing on the labels already blurred, but Qi Energy sensing showed that several of the herbs were identical in composition to the nine-turn soul returning ointment. "During the 1968 'Down to the Countryside' movement, I gathered these herbs on Changbai Mountain." The Mars in the old man's tobacco pipe flickered. "Back then, I didn't know they could be used to make such a miraculous ointment; I just thought they were ordinary hemostatic grass."

As the ointment was nearly used up, a new porcelain bottle suddenly appeared on the offering table in the training hall. Blue-gold light overflowed from the bottle's mouth, resonating with the Qi Energy of the "Basic Footwork"—this was a reward from the Global Martial Arts System. Because Chen Wu used the ointment to save Li Meng, it triggered the "Tomb Guardian Benevolence Clause," and the System automatically replenished a bottle of nine-turn soul returning ointment.

In the training hall late at night, Chen Wu practiced the Nine Palace Steps according to the "Basic Footwork" diagram, the blue-gold trajectory beneath his feet perfectly overlapping with the scales of the bronze compass. When his foot landed on the "Kan Position" node, the compass needle suddenly pointed northwest—the Qi Energy fluctuations there carried characteristics of both the Grey Shadow Organization and the Special Incident Response Department, clearly indicating a conflict had occurred.

"It's a stronghold in Europe." Lin Mo enlarged the real-time monitoring on the tablet. Grey Shadow's Shadow Warrior squad was besieging a secret base of the Special Incident Response Department. The leader was using an imitated "Cross-Strike" to attack the fortifications, and the base's energy shield had already developed cracks. "Their footwork has shadows of 'Basic Footwork,' but the variations are very stiff, as if they were forcibly imitated."

Chen Wu's Qi Energy spread along the compass, drawing a footwork cracking diagram on the light screen. When the Special Incident Response Department members moved according to the diagram, the Shadow Warriors' attacks suddenly all missed—within those seemingly perfect imitated movements lay fatal flaws that only someone who truly understood the essence of the footwork could discover.

"Use the nine-turn soul returning ointment to treat the wounded." Chen Wu transmitted the coordinates through the encrypted channel. The blue-gold energy stream encased the porcelain bottle like a meteor streaking across the virtual map. "Tell them that the ointment not only detoxifies but can also temporarily neutralize Shadow Beast toxins if applied to weapons."

In the monitoring footage, the Special Incident Response Department members applied the ointment to their daggers, and the blades originally eroded by Shadow Beast toxins suddenly glowed with golden light. When a dagger slashed through a Shadow Warrior's protective suit, the toxins inside the opponent exploded as if meeting their nemesis, and the dark green blood splattered on the ground was purified into harmless water vapor by the blue-gold Qi Energy.

Grandpa Wang's tobacco pipe tapped on the footwork diagram. The old man suddenly began performing the "Military Boxing" of his youth, and within the seemingly simple steps, the nine-palace variations of the "Basic Footwork" were perfectly integrated. "Look," his feet stepped out a rhythm on the blue bricks, "no matter the style of boxing, they are all connected at the Foundation. Just like this ointment and footwork, one heals and one defends; they complement each other perfectly."

The points page of the Global Martial Arts System suddenly refreshed. Chen Wu's account gained an additional 200,000 points, and a System prompt displayed: "Due to the creative use of redeemed items, the 'Legacy Gain' effect has been triggered." The icons for "Basic Footwork" and nine-turn soul returning ointment on the light screen lit up simultaneously, and a new redemption option appeared beside them: "Tomb Guardian Exclusive Set (1,000,000 points required)."

Chen Wu's gaze fell on the new fist print on the wooden dummy. Within the blue-gold Qi Energy, there was both the agility of the footwork and the gentleness of the ointment, just as his grandfather had said: "True power should be like a Crushing Fist breaking bricks when it needs to be hard, and like ointment soothing a wound when it needs to be soft." Under the moonlight of the training hall, the pages of "Basic Footwork" turned automatically, and the porcelain bottle of nine-turn soul returning ointment emitted a faint medicinal fragrance, their Qi Energy intertwining into a silent song.

Another message came from the Special Incident Response Department, this time sent personally by the Minister: "In 1987, your grandfather said that the best Legacy is not something to be hidden away, but to let useful things shine where they are needed. This footwork and ointment are more valuable in your hands than in a warehouse." The bronze seal at the end of the text had an additional blue-gold border compared to before.

On Lin Mo's tablet screen, the Global Qi Energy Monitoring Map was undergoing changes. More and more blue-gold light specks began to move according to the trajectory of the "Basic Footwork"; clearly, other Martial Artists were learning this footwork through the shared library. Meanwhile, the formula for the nine-turn soul returning ointment was circulating in encrypted form among the circles of modified humans, like a seed quietly sprouting in the darkness.

As the first ray of morning light pierced through the window lattice, Chen Wu finished the last node of the Nine Palace Steps. The blue-gold trajectory beneath his feet and the bronze compass formed a complete taiji diagram, with the porcelain bottle of nine-turn soul returning ointment placed in the center like a Sea-Settling Needle guarding the balance. He knew that what he had redeemed with points were not just two items, but the wisdom left by his grandfather—true traditional martial arts are never Secret Manuals for self-admiration, but practical arts that can save people in times of danger and defend oneself in times of peace.

Just like the medicinal fragrance and the footwork's Qi Energy permeating the training hall at this moment, they seemed ordinary, yet they were invisibly guarding the peace of countless people.