Chapter 23: Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants

  Martial arts is a path that involves postnatal (tempering the body, tempering the bones, tempering the skin), prenatal (cultivating qi), and then the foundational stage of separating heaven and man.

  Only when one has reached the foundation-building period can it be said that they have truly broken through the barriers of martial arts and reached the stage of enlightenment!

  The so-called "Tao" is nature, it's the truth in the universe. All things have a principle to follow and a truth to see, but most people know this principle yet can't see this truth, they can only use their heart that understands this principle to feel the truth.

  So, when a Qi Gong practitioner breaks through the bottleneck and reaches the foundation-building period, he is no longer called a martial artist, but rather someone who has come to understand the natural principles and see the "true" essence of all things. Therefore, cultivating the Tao is also known as cultivating truth.

  In martial arts, there is a set of methods for determining strength, known as "ten horses, ten elephants, and ten dragons".

  For example, the Refining Body stage is the first stage of martial arts entry, and the highest can reach one horse's strength. In other words, you can have the power and explosive force of a horse, and in ordinary people, you can defeat three or four with one, which is not a problem.

  When reaching the Bone Forging stage, one layer of Bone Forging is equivalent to the strength of a horse. By analogy, when reaching the highest tenth layer of Bone Forging, one would possess the strength of ten horses, which can be considered as a mid-tier expert!

  As for the stage of refining skin, the skin and flesh are consolidated, ordinary weapons such as knives and guns are ineffective. It is possible to directly break through from the power of a horse to the power of an elephant. Refining one layer of skin is equivalent to fifteen horses' strength. And reaching the highest level of acquired mastery, refining five layers of skin will cause a qualitative change in strength, transforming it into elephantine strength. The pinnacle of acquired mastery can possess four or five elephants' strength, for example, the leader of Chu's end was such a master!

  But if one truly reaches the Innate Realm, it's even more formidable. The power surges forward violently, and at its peak, can reach the strength of one dragon or even two dragons. As for the high-level cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, they can break through to the Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants, possessing boundless power!

  This is merely a physical strength assessment!

  At the foundation-building stage, apart from having a massive physical body, one can also convert innate energy into spiritual energy, possessing magical powers. At that time, flying with a sword in hand, killing people with treasures, and beheading someone thousands of miles away are all effortless feats.

  From the ordinary to the sacred, from martial to the way, it is like this.

  Chu Hao's past life, although he didn't have a spiritual root and disdained cultivating martial arts, was still extremely clear about these things. At this moment, he had broken through to the fourth layer of Bone Tempering, his strength reaching five horses' worth of power, one horse more than ordinary fourth-layer Bone Tempering warriors.

  That's the benefit of this body!

  Suppressing the urge to let out a loud roar, Chu Hao was clear that although his strength and cultivation had made a breakthrough at this moment, he was still unable to contend with the white-clothed woman and Xiao Bai's face, let alone the forces behind them.

  Now that the medicine had taken effect and dissipated, Chu Hao was covered in sweat and had a faint stench on him. He turned around and took a bath before walking out of his room. Looking up at the sky, he saw that Xiao Si hadn't returned from shopping yet. After a moment's contemplation, he headed towards the eastern wing of Lingyue Manor.

  Just as he arrived at the entrance of Lingyue Garden, a burst of laughter came from inside. Chu Hao slowed down his footsteps and stood outside the courtyard to take a peek. Inside, Lin Yue'er was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard with her maid Xiaodie and two or three other maids from the mansion, chatting about something. The warm sunlight cast a gentle glow on Lin Yue'er's face, which wore a pure and innocent smile. Her bright eyes sparkled as she spoke in a melodious voice that was like the tinkling of silver bells, leaving Chu Hao momentarily stunned.

  It was also the first time he saw Lin Yue'er smile so happily.

  Just as he was stunned, several maids in the courtyard had already discovered him. They exclaimed and hastily stood up from their stools, then walked to Chu Hao's front with small steps, saluting: "Young Master Wang."

  Lin Yue'er and Xiao Die remained still, but the former saw Chu Hao, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes without any concealment. Then, on her youthful face, which was full of vitality, immediately returned to a calm and serene expression.

  Chu Hao couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart. After letting the maids retreat, he walked in and looked at Lin Yue'er and her servant's vigilant eyes. He stood still and said, "Xiao Si said you had something to find me about. It's been a few days since we last met, are you missing me?" As he spoke, he smiled at Xiao Die and said, "Good morning, Miss Xiao."

  The little butterfly pouted and didn't answer.

  Lin Yue'er was somewhat enraged, but still suppressed it and said: "The fabrics, satins, and jewelry you sent over, I don't want any of them. Don't bother Young Master Wang with such trivial matters again."

  To be honest, after so many days, Lin Yue'er had also given up on whether she could leave this place. But if she were to serve the young master, she would rather die than do it, and as for Chu Hao's sweet words, she simply didn't deign to accept them.

  "What's wrong? Don't you like it?" Chu Hao was taken aback, then smiled and said: "As long as you like it, Xiao Wang can get any jewelry for you, and Xiao Wang can also do anything for your clothes."

  "It's unnecessary," Lin Yue'er said coldly: "I don't care about the things you give me."

  The little butterfly said on the side: "Our young lady is the third miss of the Smoke and Rain Jewelry Store, and has seen countless jewels. Young Master Wang, I beg you to spare our young lady!"

  Chu Hao only then remembered that Lin Yue'er was still the daughter of a merchant family. Indeed, as the young lady of a jewelry store, she should have been somewhat immune to jewelry by now. At this moment, however, another thought arose in Chu Hao's mind.

  Lin Yue'er still had some skill, but she was only a sixth-level martial artist in the Refining Body stage. She should have just been casually practicing her physical training during her free time. That night, being tied up and sent to her own bed was also because of this reason that the guards were worried and took such measures.

  Since Lin Yu'er was born into a business family, she must have been influenced by it since childhood and should have some knowledge of business. Now that he himself is not convenient to appear in public as the young master, but can let her appear in public as his representative!

  Chu Hao thought that this was a great joy in his heart, and for now the most crucial thing was how to gain Lin Yue'er's true trust and how to make her show up. In the Cloud Sky Empire, men were superior to women, so it wasn't quite suitable for women to show up, but although Lin Yue'er had a strong personality, she also knew what was proper and had her own way of thinking, which Chu Hao could take advantage of.

  These few ideas flashed through Chu Hao's mind quickly, and it was just a flash of inspiration. To become a complete plan, further consideration is still needed. However, at present, what is most needed is to make Lin Yue'er thoroughly believe in herself and be willing to do things for her.

  He waved his hand to stop Xiaodie from speaking, and then smiled at Lin Yue'er, saying: "You've been in the Wang Mansion for several days now, do you miss home?"

  Lin Yue'er glared at Chu Hao, this was undoubtedly exposing her scars, she suddenly gasped: "What do you say? If it wasn't for you, this rascal, this scoundrel, this rogue... I... I..."

  Chu Hao's head ached at once. Lin Yue'er was a woman with a bad temper, and she had grievances against him, making it really hard for him to deal with her.

  "Alright, alright. I've got an idea. Let's make a bet. You can choose what we're betting on, anything you want. If you win, I'll let you go free. But if you lose, you have to do something for me, and you have to put your heart into it."

  Lin Yue'er was shocked upon hearing this, she never thought that Chu Hao would say such a thing. She looked at him incredulously and asked: "What do you mean?"

  "That's what I meant!" Chu Hao exclaimed, "Although I've had my fair share of misdeeds in the past, when it comes to making bets, I've always been a man of my word. The question is, are you brave enough to make this bet with me? Don't worry, what I'll ask you to do won't be against humanity, the empire, or society."

  Lin Yue'er stared at Chu Hao for a long time, thinking that since she was already in the Wang Fu, she might as well take a chance and try to leave. After all, this young master was just a useless playboy, what could he possibly do? She raised her white chin proudly and said: "Alright, I agree! But what exactly is it that you want me to propose?"

  "This is naturally!" Chu Hao saw Lin Yue'er agree, and his heart was overjoyed. He smiled slyly and said: "I'll say it first, we won't compare the length of our hair or the size of our chest muscles. As for other things, think quickly about what you want to compare."

  "You! Shameless!" Lin Yue'er's beautiful eyes widened in anger, and she stomped her foot. Thinking that she had the chance to leave this terrible place, Xiao Die also became excited along with her mistress. She secretly took a glance at Chu Hao, thinking that this young master seemed not so bad after all, just a bit rough around the edges, but somehow more special because of it.

  Lin Yue'er had no idea what her maid was thinking, she was racking her brains for the test, while Chu Hao sat down on the stool with a calm expression, and picked up the teacup that Lin Yue'er had drunk from earlier to take a sip.

  Lin Yue'er's face turned red with anger, but then her eyes sparkled and a smile played on her lips as she gazed at Chu Hao with disdain. "Well, Young Master Wang," she said, "why don't we have a poetry competition, you and I? What do you say?"

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  The second update is at dawn, rushing to make some clicks, and there's still no recommendation for next week. I still have a lot of drafts on hand, so if you can see this chapter, it should be to your liking. Collect one, vote for it, and if it makes the new book chart, there will be an explosion.