Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Gathering Storm

Snow caves, icy skies, the cold wind cuts like a blade.

This winter, the snowfall was especially heavy. At a glance, everything was blanketed in white. Gu’s Manor was almost devoid of activity, as most people stayed indoors to avoid the cold, minimizing any unnecessary outings.

The mountains were sealed by snow, and travel was difficult.

Gu Sheng no longer went into the mountains to hunt; instead, he focused on practicing Iron Stone Fist and archery at home.

For Gu Sheng, whose body was strong from initial martial arts training, even he felt a hint of chill in this icy world—let alone the ordinary tenant farmers.

Since winter began.

Gu Sheng had already heard multiple accounts from Gu’s Manor of people freezing to death or starving in their homes.

He fell into brief silence; if he hadn’t awakened his innate wisdom and the system panel, he would certainly have been among the frozen corpses this winter.

Exhaling heavily, forming a cloud of white mist in the air, he continued practicing Iron Stone Fist.

The fist techniques moved like a towering mountain, slow as solid stone.

Extracting stillness from slowness, carrying a weighty feeling like the mass of a mountain.

As of today, Gu Sheng was just one step away from breaking through to Small Success in Iron Stone Fist, with a proficiency as high as 99%.

His Power was improving, and the speed of tempering his skin membrane had increased by several percent, achieving remarkable results when combined with five monthly shares of Body Refining Ointment.

As his Power surged, his skin membrane began to show initial changes, already tougher than the average person, especially his fists and arms, which were even more so.

”Iron Stone Fist is considered a third-rate martial art not because its techniques lack ferocity, but because of its method of practice.”

”Third-rate martial arts can temper the entire body’s skin, but they have their focus. For Iron Stone Fist, the skin membrane of the fists and arms becomes significantly more durable—more than twice as resilient compared to other areas!”

”If it were second-rate martial arts, or even first-rate martial arts, the regions being tempered would be more comprehensive, potentially reaching a realm where the entire body’s skin membrane is uniformly refined. Unfortunately, martial arts of that level are far beyond my reach—not even Canghe County might have them.”

Gu Sheng had learned much from Gu Xiaojiang.

”If there’s a chance in the future, it would be best to address this flaw. While others lack the time to master multiple martial arts, I don’t have that concern. Even if I can’t obtain high-level martial arts, I can still learn several different third-rate martial arts with varying focuses to achieve the same effects—or perhaps even better!”

Thoughts churned in Gu Sheng’s mind.

Exhaling and retracting his fist, three feet of white mist shot out like an arrow, slowly dissipating.

He turned to practice archery.

He had already found the optimal way to pair archery training with Iron Stone Fist.

When Power consumption from Iron Stone Fist became excessive, archery served as a form of recovery. Meanwhile, after completing Iron Stone Fist training, the toughened skin membranes in his arms provided an advantage for archery practice.

Bending the bow and nocking an arrow, his eagle-like eyes were sharp and focused.

Swish!!

A sharp sound of air being pierced echoed out—an arrow shot forth like a meteor, accurately striking a grain of rice at an extreme distance, leaving only a thread swaying in the wind.

Arrow after arrow flew.

Gu Sheng was immensely focused; his progress in archery was astonishingly fast. Not only had training Iron Stone Fist not encroached upon his archery time, but it had instead accelerated his development.

Now, his proficiency had reached 43%!

At this rate, it was highly likely he would surpass the realm of Perfect not long after spring arrives—one to two months sooner than he had originally estimated!

He was increasingly realizing:

Practicing martial arts was not an exclusive trade-off; leveraging related skills could lead to twice the results for half the effort. Mastery of Power provided benefits for archery as well.

”Amazing! Asheng, your archery skills are truly breathtaking—I can’t understand how you’ve trained to this level. I’ve learned archery too, but I’m nowhere close to matching you.”

A voice filled with amazement echoed from a distance—it was Gu Xiaojiang.

Gu Sheng turned his head to look, unsurprised. Ever since he stopped training at the martial arts field, Gu Xiaojiang frequently came looking for him at this time. Gu Sheng replied with a smile:

”Each has their own strengths. For instance, your talent in martial arts is something I can’t hope to match.”

Gu Xiaojiang laughed heartily.

”Look what I’ve brought today.”

He raised a wine jar and some dried meat in his hand.

Gu Sheng’s brows lifted slightly.

”Demonic wolf meat and strong liquor—you sure are generous.”

This wasn’t the first time Gu Xiaojiang had brought demonic wolf meat over. Consuming demonic wolf meat provided significant benefits for tempering the skin membrane and also enhanced vitality and physical strength, surpassing the effects of Body Refining Ointment.

Gu Sheng knew this was Gu Xiaojiang’s way of looking out for him and silently acknowledged his goodwill.

Gu Xiaojiang laughed again:

”You’re the only one in the manor qualified for this; the rest aren’t worth sharing a drink with.”

Although Gu Sheng was not very talkative, his innate wisdom from a past life often allowed him to express profound insights, which deepened Gu Xiaojiang’s desire to befriend him.

Gu Xiaojiang felt that if he ever wanted to lead the Gu family to prosperity, someone like Gu Sheng would be critical.

Gu Sheng merely shook his head and smiled.

The two drank and conversed. Although Gu Xiaojiang was still young, he stood at the top of Gu’s Manor and had access to information Gu Sheng lacked.

”Asheng, things are chaotic in Canghe County—the winds of change are coming!”

Gu Xiaojiang spoke in a mildly drunken tone, his voice suddenly lowering.

Gu Sheng’s heart trembled as he looked at Gu Xiaojiang.

”I mentioned before, the magistrate, Lord Cao, and the county magistrate, Lord Liu, have always secretly been at odds. Recently, it seems something has happened to worsen their spat—they’ve completely torn off the facade!”

”The county magistrate oversees law enforcement and theft prevention within the county and commands many martial artists. Normally, he would be under the magistrate’s authority. But given the current state of affairs, you know how it goes—if the county magistrate harbors ambitions, conflicts are inevitable. Now, there’s no room for reconciliation!”

Gu Sheng frowned and said:

”If they’ve really turned against each other, the county magistrate, commanding the militia, might have an advantage—the magistrate might not be able to match him.”

Gu Xiaojiang swayed his head thoughtfully.

”Exactly. But our magistrate, Lord Cao, isn’t foolish. According to intelligence from the manor, he seems to have reached some sort of agreement with the Black Sand Gang. The Black Sand Gang has sided with him.”

”As for the smaller gangs, they’re aligning themselves as well. This year-end, Canghe County is bound to see rivers of blood before the ultimate ruler emerges.”

Gu Sheng took a sharp breath; he almost smelled the bloodshed in his imagination.

Such calamities were better to stay away from. Feeling uneasy, he asked:

”What’s the manor’s plan?”

”Don’t worry. You know the elders’ temperaments. They’re eager to stay far away from this vortex and have warned Uncle Jingang multiple times not to get involved.”

At this, Gu Xiaojiang burst into laughter, evidently recalling some awkward moments of Gu Jingang.

Gu Sheng sighed in relief—staying uninvolved was always good. What worried him was the possibility of Gu’s Manor overestimating their rank and getting involved in the wrong faction. If that happened, they might face total annihilation in the reckoning that followed.

If this refuge was destroyed, Gu Sheng himself would be dragged into disaster.

Abstaining from choosing sides meant avoiding blame as much as possible. Even if questioned afterward, the consequences would be minor—toil and hardship, rather than utter ruin. In fact, they might not even face interrogation, as Gu’s Manor was far from Canghe County’s capital—too distant for effective control.

Gu Sheng softly remarked:

”If the magistrate ends up victorious, it wouldn’t matter. But if Lord Liu triumphs, the Black Sand Gang, being the architects of his success, would probably make life even harder for us.”

”If you ask me, the best outcome would be mutual devastation. Once the Black Sand Gang is destroyed, life for everyone in the manor would surely improve.”

Gu Xiaojiang said indignantly.

Gu Sheng internally shook his head, realizing this was unlikely—this was a battle where both sides were irreconcilable. Even if one side was left battered, as long as they had time to recover, they would still loom as an oppressive force.

Without the Black Sand Gang, there would merely be White Sand Gang or Yellow Sand Gang to take their place.

The only real solution was to strengthen oneself as much as possible.

Suppressing the tension rising in his heart, he watched Gu Xiaojiang leave.

After consuming the demonic wolf meat, he felt energized and vigorous—the perfect moment for training Iron Stone Fist!

”Breaking through to Small Success—today is the day!”