Realm-Hopping Martial Master
Chapter 45 - 44: The Child with Gold in the Noisy Market

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: The Child with Gold in the Noisy Market

Ripples gently spread across the lake’s surface. The small boat sped forward. A figure, like a galloping horse with water splashing in all directions, left a white trail behind.

The photographer had never imagined such a sight, his mouth agape, eyes wide open, his heart beating rapidly. Yet his hands held the camera steady, subconsciously recording everything.

With a long howl, he came walking on water. This is real filming, not the trickery of wires?

Jiang Shu, still on the lake, was unaware of the shock in the hearts of those on the shore. His breathing was tight, his legs moving at an extreme frequency. With his vital energy circulating fully through his body, his speed had already surpassed that of the fastest sprinters in the world, allowing him to catch up to the slowing boat in just a few steps.

Before his body fully submerged, he forcefully inhaled, stepped back onto the boat, and with that momentum, walked on water for several more steps before leaping up and landing steadily on the shore.

The entire process took but a few breaths, and the lake water had soaked his socks.

But Jiang Shu didn’t care. He stood on the shore and called out to the still-dazed photographer, "Did you get that on camera?"

"Ah? Oh! Got it, got it."

Quickly clicking save, the photographer looked towards Jiang Shu, his eyes now filled with deep self-doubt.

After all these years in the business, he thought he had seen enough! He had been there when a kung fu superstar leapt down from a ten-story building. That moment left a deep impression on him, but in his mind, it was still something within human capability. After all, for the actors, it was more a matter of daring than ability. Safety measures could be arranged, and camera angles could be chosen. But what was he seeing now? A man walking on water? This wasn’t about daring anymore. This was about *ability*! Could this be Martial Arts?

The photographer’s eyes glazed over involuntarily. When Xia Country promoted Martial Arts, he had paid attention, but he had only ever thought that Martial Arts was the kung fu found in movies—just techniques for fighting which, even at their best, could be overpowered by a brick. But clearly, real Martial Arts were nothing like what he had understood. The miracle of walking on water was just what he could see. What about what he couldn’t? A high school student could do this much. What about those who had trained in Martial Arts for many years? He dared not imagine!

"I’ve filmed everything I needed to. Is there anything else that needs to be captured? Let’s shoot it together."

Seeing everyone awed into silence, Jiang Shu knew he had passed this test. He relaxed and spoke up.

"Jiang Shu... What you did just now... Did you walk on water to come back? Has your Martial Arts reached such a Realm?"

Ye Zhenzhen looked at Jiang Shu, her voice trembling, her words slightly stuttered.

She knew Jiang Shu was incredible. But walking on water, what kind of sorcery was that?

"What are you thinking?" Jiang Shu shook his head. "You’ll see when you watch the footage later. I stepped on the boat once for support in the middle; without it, I would have sunk long ago."

This was his first experiment, but also today’s test, letting him know that in the early stages of Martial Arts training, humans are still just humans. After stepping on water for only a few steps, his whole body began to sink. If it weren’t for being prepared, kicking out at the boat, and using the boat to push off again, he might have only taken a few steps before his knees were already submerged. To truly walk on water, at the very least, one would have to become a Martial Artist. Masters of Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength could, by releasing their energy, likely traverse several dozen meters using lightweight water floating without any issues.

"That’s still terrifying..." Ye Zhenzhen murmured before her excitement surged, asking, "Jiang Shu, can a mastered Horse Stance really do that?"

She had just reached the entry-level of the Horse Stance in a dozen days. Did that mean she could reach small success in a month, and Great Success in a few more? If she had known about this earlier, her motivation for Martial Arts would have skyrocketed! Then, sitting on a yacht in front of her friends, she could put on quite a show! She thought to herself, feeling incredibly smug.

"That’s unlikely." Jiang Shu looked at Ye Zhenzhen, who didn’t know what she was feeling smug about, and said tersely, "My Horse Stance has reached Perfection."

In fact, even if Ye Zhenzhen’s Horse Stance reached Perfection in the future, she still couldn’t achieve what he had done today. After all, his foundation had already been switched to the "Three Methods of Cultivation and Training" from the Famished Tiger Martial Arts School. Horse Stance is, after all, just a training method.

When Xia Country was promoting Martial Arts, it had long laid out and calculated everything. Even if someone wanted to use their Horse Stance skills to break the law, what could they achieve with a practice that involved only training methods and no combat techniques? A weightlifter, when entering a boxing ring, may not necessarily defeat an average boxer. A Martial Artist who has perfected the Horse Stance possesses at most nine hundred jin of strength. In hand-to-hand combat, he indeed has an absolute advantage. But what about when faced with machinery, or even guns and cannons? The sole purpose of the Horse Stance is merely to sense and circulate one’s vital energy, achieving a full circulation throughout the body. To learn the true Martial Arts of Xia Country, one could only enroll in an academy or enlist in the military, thereby being subject to Xia Country’s constraints.

After spending another two days finishing the Martial Arts promotional film, Jiang Shu bid farewell to Ye Zhenzhen and departed. He traveled from Xia Country to the Da Jing Dynasty.

「Pingling County.」

Jiang Shu walked out of the small courtyard and headed straight for Zhou Family Restaurant. After more than half a month, word of mouth had thoroughly established the restaurant’s reputation. Before noon, both the private rooms and the main hall were already packed. Outside, there were even customers waiting in line. In addition to exporting salt and MSG, over this period, Jiang Shu taught Zhou Yang many small but useful pieces of knowledge: for example, how to increase the restaurant’s ’table turnover rate,’ and the importance of freeing up an area to act as a ’parking lot.’

"Brother Jiang!"

The sharp-eyed waiter immediately spotted Jiang Shu’s arrival and quickly reported to Zhou Yang. Before long, Zhou Yang hurried over from inside the restaurant. In the more than half a month since the restaurant had become extremely popular, his Martial Arts training had completely stalled. He no longer attended the Famished Tiger Martial Arts School; the ten taels of silver he paid merely kept his name on the roster. Every day, he helped out in the restaurant. To him, now, there was no one more admirable than Jiang Shu!

"Brother Jiang, heh, let me tell you about our restaurant’s accounts these past few days." Pulling Jiang Shu, he went directly to the vacant private room specially reserved in the restaurant. Zhou Yang’s plump face was all smiles—the salt and MSG had already given him a huge surprise. And the business theories Jiang Shu provided afterward were even more earth-shattering: table turnover rate, a parking lot, and the membership system he had mentioned just a few days ago! He had only implemented it for two days, and his restaurant’s account was already overflowing with who knows how much genuine gold and silver. Zhou Yang felt that if Jiang Shu weren’t practicing Martial Arts and instead went into business, all the money in Pingling County would probably end up in his pocket!

"Brother Jiang, it’s truly a pity that you practice Martial Arts."

Unable to hold back another sigh, Zhou Yang poured tea for Jiang Shu and said, "Brother Jiang, I think you might as well come work in our restaurant. We’re swamped. With your help, our Zhou Family Restaurant business would flourish several times over! With Elder Qiu backing us, if we team up, we can definitely rival any of the major families in the county!"

Zhou Yang looked at Jiang Shu, his eyes full of fervor. What was the use of practicing Martial Arts anyway? Below the Bone Forging Realm, ordinary Skin Grinding Realm practitioners were merely retainers for large families. And the Bone Forging Realm was exceedingly difficult to achieve. In the entire county, countless apprentices had been accepted as formal Disciples by the martial school masters. They were indeed all capable of reaching the Skin Grinding Realm, becoming true Martial Artists. But how many of them had reached the Bone Forging Realm? Below the Bone Forging Realm, in Pingling County’s inner city, before the major families, they were nothing more than slightly larger ants. In his view, instead of practicing Martial Arts, Jiang Shu would be better off staying by Elder Qiu’s side and fostering a good relationship with him. With Elder Qiu around, the Zhou Family Restaurant business would always thrive.

"Zhou Yang, you’re delusional."

"Martial Arts is the foundation."

"Do you know that if Martial Artists don’t reach the Refining Internal Realm, their vital energy begins to decline after the age of forty? How do you think Elder Qiu’s current state compares to a genuine Late Stage Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist in their thirties or forties?"

Jiang Shu shook his head. "The Zhou Family, with Elder Qiu, can rely on his remaining influence. But what if Elder Qiu is no longer around? A child carrying gold through a bustling market—when the major families see that, what will they do? If you want to sustain the Zhou Family for a lifetime, you can only practice Martial Arts yourself and reach the Bone Forging Realm yourself. Along the path of Martial Arts, one may receive help for a time, but one cannot always depend on others."

Those words were like a bucket of cold water splashing over Zhou Yang, and he suddenly snapped to his senses. The immense wealth had made him lose sight of what truly mattered; even the Martial Arts, crucial for his standing, had been neglected.

Seeing that Zhou Yang was receptive to advice, Jiang Shu nodded. "Last time, you told me the Yao Family will hold a birthday banquet in about half a month. The gifts at the banquet will definitely include the Luo Family Medicine Shop’s Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine. How is your investigation into that matter progressing?"

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