Chapter 269 The Key to Breakthrough

Chapter 269 The Key to Breakthrough

Chapter 269 The Key to Breakthrough

"Come in." Zhao Duan collected his thoughts and said softly.

The door creaked open, and outside, the stepmother, wrapped in a windbreaker, holding a red lantern in her hand, with curly hair hanging down on her forehead, looked at him and said softly:
"I didn't dare to disturb you, but my aunt didn't eat when she saw you coming back...she asked the cook to make chicken soup."

Zhao Duan got up from the bed, cut off his complicated thoughts, and said with a smile:

"Where's the chicken soup? I'm hungry."

Russian qing.

In the dining room, Zhao Duan sat at the main seat, holding the spoon, drank a sip of soup, then scooped up the soft and tasty stewed chicken and ate it with relish.

Beside her, Eugene Hua was watching with a look of satisfaction:

"Slow down, there's more in the kitchen."

After Zhao Duan's practice, his appetite almost caught up with the empress. Fortunately, the Zhao family is now wealthy and powerful, so they can't go bankrupt from eating too much.

Eugene Hua was used to ordering the kitchen to always have food ready for Dalang to enjoy.

After eating three pots in one go, Zhao Duan felt his hunger subside and asked:
"Is anyone coming to see you this afternoon?"

Eugene nodded and said:

"Your subordinates came to say that Ma Dugong has taken charge of the follow-up. You don't need to worry about this matter anymore."

Hmm... cheap senior brother is still responsible... Zhao Duan nodded:

"anything else?"

Eugene Hua said again:
"Another eunuch came and told you not to go to the teahouse tomorrow and to wait at home."

Wait?

What kind of training is Eunuch Hai going to do again... Zhao Duan was puzzled and secretly thought that he could tell Eunuch Hai about his doubts tomorrow.

"Da Lang, are you worried about something?"

Eugene Hua was used to observing people's expressions and asked while biting her lip.

"It's nothing, I just can't find the key to breakthrough in my martial arts realm." Zhao Duan said while eating.

Then, he felt that it was unnecessary to talk about this topic with Eugene Hua, so he stood up, wiped his mouth, and said:
"It's all about cultivation, Auntie, don't worry about it. I'm going back to rest."

Mentally exhausted, he just wanted to have a good sleep.

——It’s strange that he didn’t feel tired after meditating in the palace for a whole night. I guess the empress helped him to regulate his body.

All I can say is that the old saying “work is less tiring when men and women work together” still makes sense.

Eugene Hua watched her stepson go back to the house, wanting to say something but stopping herself. She always felt that fighting and killing was too dangerous, and it was better to just be an official in peace.

On the other side, Zhao Duan walked along the corridor to the door of his room, but suddenly stopped.

In the dim light of the lanterns hanging under the porch, I looked out at the drizzling rain outside.

He saw a tree in the courtyard suddenly drop a wet leaf.

He suddenly stretched out his hand, snapped his fingers, and sent a drop of falling water towards the fallen leaf.

"Snapped."

The raindrops shattered, the fallen leaves tumbled, and fell into the puddles on the ground.

"It really doesn't work..."

He sighed softly, turned back to the house, and fell asleep.

……

There was nothing to say all night, and the next morning.

The rain stopped today, but the sky over the capital is still not clear.

Only through the cracks in the clouds did a little dim sunlight shine through.

After Zhao Duan finished his meal, he practiced boxing in the yard for a while. Then the doorman came to report that an old man was looking for him outside.

"Master Hai, why are you here in person?"

Zhao Duan walked out of the door, looking flattered.

The old eunuch in a dragon robe, still pretending to be a rich man, put his hands behind his back and turned away:

"Don't talk nonsense, just follow me. Haha, we won't go to watch the battle today. We'll take you to the street to relax."

Relax?

I’m not in the mood to relax with eunuchs… Zhao Duan complained, with a flattering smile on his face, and followed happily.

"How is it? What did you feel about your practice yesterday?" Lao Hai asked casually while walking on the street.

Zhao Duan said seriously:

"I was just about to ask you, Grandpa, I had a vague realization yesterday, but when I entered into meditation, there was no trace of it at all..."

"That's normal. Haha, it means you have touched the edge, but you are still a long way from crossing that hurdle."

The old eunuch was not surprised at all, "Wushentu, have you walked to the foot of that green mountain in the East China Sea? Have you seen Taizu attack the mountain?"

Zhao Duan said honestly: "I saw it."

He then briefly described his experience in the Martial God Map, where he followed Taizu into Qingshan Town and saw Taizu climb the mountain time and time again and be defeated time and time again.

"Yes, it's faster than we thought. Well, it's not surprising. You used His Majesty's seed, and the Qi in your body expanded. Your cultivation level has also increased. Correspondingly, the progress in the Martial God Map will also jump faster."

Eunuch Hai casually revealed important information.

So, the progress of the Martial God Diagram is not static... but it interacts with the physical body? Zhao Duan was stunned.

He had previously worried that he was cultivating the Martial God Diagram too quickly and might arouse suspicion.

But now it seems that I was just overthinking.

"Excuse me, sir, is what is recorded in the Martial God Map... true? When Emperor Taizu was young, he really went to Qingshan and was..." Zhao Duan asked curiously.

Eunuch Hai nodded, glanced at him, and said with a smile:

"Of course it's true, otherwise, how do you think Emperor Taizu could combine martial arts and magic?
Naturally, one must have a deep understanding of both, and Emperor Taizu was not a genius that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

That all-powerful cultivation was also acquired through hard work, one punch and one kick at a time. So why is it strange that he was defeated when he was young?"

He had a tone of admonishing the younger generation:

"The strength of Taizu does not lie in his invincibility, but in his heart of a king. When he was young, he measured the nine provinces with his own feet, traversing the desert and snowfields. Whenever he met a strong man along the way, he would ask for advice. It can be said that he was defeated all the way.

It was because he had been defeated by people of different heritages and methods that he had the accumulation of experience to create the 'Martial God' practice method."

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion:

"Emperor Taizu was defeated all the way? But I have never seen it in the Martial God Map..."

Eunuch Hai said with a smile:
"The Martial God Map does contain history that has happened, but we never said it was all history. You went in and only took a quick look. Do you really think you experienced it all?"

In other words, what Lao Xu left in the Martial God Map was an "edited" documentary, right?

The clips where he was beaten were all cut out... Only the scenes where he won and showed off were left...

No wonder he was always strong all the way from the desert to the East China Sea... until he arrived at the East China Sea, and was suddenly beaten into a pig's head...

Zhao Duan had a lot of complaints but nowhere to vent them.

Old Xu, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, is also a reserved and sultry guy!

Eunuch Hai continued:
"Unlike sorcerers who only mind their own business, warriors who want to become stronger cannot avoid fighting.

People who come out of Qingshan will look for strong people to fight with.

At the same time, the green mountain standing by the East China Sea has accepted challenges from warriors from all over the world time and time again over the past thousand years. This is the tradition of warriors.

Therefore, even if Chai Keqiao came to your door, Your Majesty could not convict him according to the law, just as no matter how famous Emperor Taizu was in Qingshan, the strong men in the mountain would not bully the weak.

Therefore, during the period of the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism, the city did not ban fighting and allowed people from all over the country to fight in the capital.

Therefore, even if Chai Keqiao was surrounded and beaten by the strong men in the army, as long as the worldly realm did not take action, it would not be considered a violation of the rules. "

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment and realized that the old eunuch was giving him a side reminder.

The tradition of warriors...

At this moment, he had a deeper understanding of the two challenges of yesterday.

In his opinion, it was a kind of "jianghu rule" that was a bit pedantic and inexplicable, but it had maintained the prosperity of martial arts for thousands of years.

At this time, the two came to a tavern.

I heard that there was a group of foreign warriors drinking, eating meat and chatting inside.

Zhao Duan noticed at a glance that one of them was the third-rate swordsman who was defeated in the "ring" outside the teahouse yesterday.

The man's wounds were still bandaged, but he was still holding the knife and drinking.

On the other side, an older swordsman came over, snatched the wine bowl, and scolded:

"So what if you were defeated? Did you become so depressed? Don't you know that you should recuperate and stop drinking?"

The young swordsman looked depressed and said bitterly:
"Master, I have practiced hard for so many years, but I still cannot defeat him. Now my bones are injured, and my future will be difficult..."

The old swordsman ripped open his clothes, showing the hideous scar on his chest, and cursed:

"Nonsense! I was almost cut in half back then, so what?
He went out to the snowy fields and chopped wood for ten years, honing his skills for ten years, while his master's old enemy soaked in the gentle countryside of Jiangnan and enjoyed himself for ten years.

If we meet again, won’t I kill him?

If you become depressed after this failure, why bother learning swordplay?

What kind of martial arts are you practicing? Pah! "

He turned and left, leaving the young swordsman in a daze.

"Let's go."

Eunuch Hai said calmly, leading the equally dazed Zhao Duan out of the tavern.

Next, the two of them walked through the crowd.

Every time I stop, I can always see some martial artists who are weak but tenacious.

In the past, such scenes were hard to find.

But at the moment when Buddhism and Taoism were competing against each other, there were too many similar scenes in the capital.

Zhao Duan saw a swordsman hiding in the alley and crying.

When spotted by the vicious dog, she stopped crying instantly and showed her fangs.

Seeing the gangster with a lame leg, punching the air again and again, his eyes were full of determination.

When he saw a female hero in the martial arts world being teased, he drew his dagger and chased the person, slashing him all the way. Even when he met the police, he did not reduce his ferocity in the slightest.

Before they knew it, they had walked to a shabby courtyard in an alley.

This is a small martial arts school. A young martial arts student is doing horse stance in the yard with a stone lock hanging on his arm.

An old man stood with his hands behind his back, holding a bamboo pole, and occasionally beat the boy, leaving bloody marks on his naked back.

The old man said coldly:
"When learning martial arts, what is the most important thing? Physical strength? Bones? Whether the family is rich? Or secret techniques? None of them are important!
The most important thing is the heart, the heart of a warrior!

The heart is fearless, even in the face of a tiger, dare to throw a fist! Even if defeated, never give up, do not hide! Do not avoid!
You also need brains. A brainless man will never achieve great things!

But if you only have brains, or if your brains are too good, you can’t accomplish anything! If you are sneaky and cunning, and don’t have the heart to hide and avoid, you are half useless! Do you hear me? "

The young men who were practicing martial arts in the courtyard kept silent and did not dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the old boxer in the martial arts school turned his head and looked outside the gate.

When he saw Eunuch Hai outside the door, his face changed and he was about to bow respectfully.

Eunuch Hai shook his head, and the old man stopped.

"Let's go."

Hai Gongsheng turned around and said lightly.

Zhao Duan stood there motionless, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter, with a sense of enlightenment in his eyes, and suddenly said:
"Father-in-law, let's stop here today."

The old eunuch in the dragon robe smiled and said, "Okay."

Zhao Duan turned around, whipped his horse as fast as he could, and rushed home.

……

After returning to the Zhao family, Zhao Duan pushed open the door of the study.

He knew that he had grasped the key inspiration.

(End of this chapter)