173: Chapter 173 Ancient Martial Arts Library

Instructor Meng He looked at Wang Lin, his brows furrowing slightly. "You're saying we're playing house?"

"Isn't it? Only those who haven't awakened would choose the path of Ancient Martial Arts."

"What normal person would spend eight or ten years learning this stuff? With that much time, they could have leveled up their Superpower several times over."

As his voice fell, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence. Then, the expressions in everyone's eyes changed.

Anger. Genuine anger.

Because Wang Lin wasn't just insulting Ancient Martial Arts; he was insulting the entire Holy Court.

The sweat they had shed and the persistence they showed day after day had been reduced to 'playing house' in Wang Lin's mouth.

It had been reduced to 'a path only those who haven't awakened would walk.'

Those students who had originally been keeping their heads down lifted them now.

"What did you say?" A voice rang out from the crowd, deep and forceful.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

A young man walked out from the depths of the courtyard.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with a square face and thick, dark eyebrows. He was staring daggers at Wang Lin.

A dark blue belt was tied around his waist, signifying that he had been studying here for at least five years.

"My name is Huo Yan. I'm a junior. A student of the Ancient Martial Arts Training Hall."

"I don't care if you were introduced by Bishop Qin Cang, you must apologize."

Wang Lin looked at him and smiled. "I was speaking the truth. What is there to apologize for?"

Huo Yan clenched his fists. "You said Ancient Martial Arts is playing house?"

"I said that those who spend eight or ten years learning Ancient Martial Arts are playing house."

"Ancient Martial Arts itself isn't. But the efficiency is too low. With that much time, it's better to go awaken a Superpower."

"You..."

"Am I wrong?" Wang Lin interrupted him. "Cultivating a Superpower can show results in three years."

"And Ancient Martial Arts? Ten years? Twenty years? There are people here who have been practicing for five years, right? What level are you at? Can you beat an LV3 Esper?"

No one answered.

Because what Wang Lin said was the truth.

The cultivation cycle for Ancient Martial Arts is too long. Five years to get started, ten years to reach a small level of success, and twenty years to truly enter the hall of mastery.

As for Espers, the moment they awaken, they possess superhuman power, and three years of training is enough to reach the level of an LV3 or LV4.

This is also the reason why there are more and more Espers in this world, and fewer and fewer Ancient Martial Artists.

But facts are facts, yet some things shouldn't be said out loud.

Especially not in front of people who have dedicated their youth and sweat to Ancient Martial Arts.

Huo Yan's face was livid, but his voice remained low.

"If you don't apologize, then accept my challenge. If you lose, you must kneel and apologize."

Everyone's gaze fell upon Wang Lin.

Wang Lin looked at Huo Yan. "Just you? Forget it."

A flash of anger crossed Huo Yan's eyes. "Are you afraid?"

Wang Lin shook his head. "It's not fear. It's just pointless."

"Even your Holy Court's supernova, Lu Zhiyi, is no match for me. Let alone you?"

Everyone was shocked.

Lu Zhiyi. This name carried special weight within the Ancient Martial Arts Training Hall and everywhere related to the Holy Court.

A knight of the Holy Court, a trusted assistant to Bishop Qin Cang, and the senior sister of the Ancient Martial Arts Training Hall.

She was the goal and the role model for everyone here.

Her strength was on the same level as Instructor Meng He.

Some even said she had already surpassed Instructor Meng He.

And yet Wang Lin claimed that Lu Zhiyi was no match for him.

One student was the first to react, their voice filled with obvious disbelief.

"You're bragging, right?"

"Exactly," another person chimed in. "How could you possibly beat Senior Sister Lu?"

"Senior Sister Lu is a knight of the Holy Court. You're just a freshman who can't even use your Superpower properly—what do you have to win against her?"

"You don't even draft your lies before bragging."

Sounds of questioning rose one after another, but unlike the previous mockery, this time, there was a hint of unease in these questions.

"You say you beat Senior Sister Lu? When? Where? Who can testify to that?"

"There is no need to prove anything," Wang Lin's tone was indifferent. "And there is no need to prove it to you."

"If you don't believe me, go ask Lu Zhiyi yourself."

After saying this, Wang Lin didn't look at them again. He turned around and said to Instructor Meng He, "Instructor Meng He."

"I don't need you to teach me Ancient Martial Arts; I have my own path."

"You just need to tell me where the Ancient Martial Arts library is."

Instructor Meng He glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Follow me."

The Ancient Martial Arts library was behind the main hall. After passing through a short corridor and pushing open a heavy wooden door, they arrived.

Behind the door was a large room. The walls on all four sides were lined with bookshelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, densely packed with books.

Some were made of paper, some were bamboo slips, and some were even made of animal hide, looking ancient.

In the center of the room was a long table, on which sat a few lamps and a tea set.

Wang Lin stood at the doorway, looking at the room full of books.

Instructor Meng He stood at the doorway and said, "The basic theories of Ancient Martial Arts, blood energy circulation routes, various techniques, and weapon skills are all here."

"Take a look yourself. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."

With that, he turned and left.

Wang Lin stood alone in the library, his gaze sweeping across the bookshelves.

He didn't rush to flip through the technique manuals; instead, he first walked to the basic theory section.

Blood energy circulation routes. He pulled a book from the shelf and opened it.

The book contained diagrams of the human body's meridians, marking the routes and nodes for blood energy circulation.

Wang Lin looked through it once, his brows furrowing slightly.

It wasn't difficult.

These routes and nodes were not unfamiliar to him.

His Devouring ability gave him a perception of his body that far exceeded that of an ordinary person; he understood the basic principles of blood energy circulation as soon as he saw them.

What was difficult was the cultivation. Blood energy cultivation required accumulation day after day, year after year, and required constant circulation of blood energy, clearing meridians, and nourishing tendons and bones.

This was a long process.

Five years to get started, ten years to reach a small level of success, and twenty years to truly enter the hall of mastery.

It wasn't because you were stupid; it was because the human body's meridians and blood energy needed time to be slowly polished.

It was like a river; just because you dug the riverbed didn't mean the water would flow on its own.

You needed to let the water scour the riverbed bit by bit, making it wider and deeper.

This process could not be rushed.

Wang Lin closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

He didn't need to.

It wasn't because he didn't want to practice, but because he had a faster method.

Devouring. His Devouring ability could not only devour Superpowers but also blood energy.

In the Mist Forest, the Mist Beasts he had devoured—their life force, their blood energy—had all been absorbed into his own body.

Those things had been dormant within his body, like a pile of unlit gunpowder.

He didn't need to start cultivating blood energy from zero.

What he needed was to light it.

The Ancient Martial Arts blood energy circulation route was that match.

Wang Lin closed his eyes and, following the routes drawn in the book, tried to circulate the blood energy within his body.

A warm sensation rose from his dantian and flowed slowly along his meridians.

Like a sleeping river, it had been awakened.

Sure enough, he didn't need to spend eight or ten years accumulating blood energy.