Yu Chenshuo, courtesy name Jiutian, styled Xinghe. In the first year of the Duangong era of the Great Song Dynasty, after more than fifty years of cultivation, he achieved mastery in martial arts, attaining the Nine Dragons Bodyguard technique. He intended to advance further to the Dragon Transformation state, but recklessly suffered a Qi deviation and perished on Mount Hua!
Yet, fate is a strange weaver. I, a martial man, never believed in the bizarre powers of gods and ghosts, but the marvels of this world surpass all expectation.
Waking from a dream, it was as if an age had passed; my soul had returned, inhabiting the body of a three-year-old child! Reborn into an imperial household, I was given the name Jian Xing! ...........
The familiar block characters before my eyes nearly struck me dumb!
It wasn't just me; even Mo Hui and Mo Cha beside me wore expressions of utter stupefaction, their gazes fixed solely on me.
“Marshal, what were you just reciting?” Mo Cha asked, startled.
There was no such thing as the Chinese language in this world, so even if I uttered the characters from the blue book, they couldn't comprehend a word.
I never imagined that in the Marfa world, I could still see the square characters that haunt my soul. Furthermore, this ancient, blue hardcover book turned out to be the autobiographical manuscript left by the First Generation Dragon Shadow, Jian Xing himself.
“It’s Hanzi!”
“Hanzi!” Mo Hui looked utterly bewildered.
But I couldn't bother explaining to them; I continued turning the pages of the book in my hands.
Although the text was written in archaic, obscure classical Chinese, as a university student from the modern era, I could easily understand everything recorded within.
One could say this was a diary left behind by the First Generation Dragon Shadow.
Just as I suspected, this legendary First Generation Dragon Shadow was also a transmigrator from my own world. The difference was that this predecessor came from over a thousand years ago in China—specifically, the first year of the Duangong era of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Through the records in this book, I finally understood what kind of person the First Generation Dragon Shadow truly was.
Simply put, this First Generation Dragon Shadow was a grandmaster of martial arts from the early Northern Song Dynasty.
His name was Chen Shuo, courtesy name Jiutian, styled Xinghe. In his fiftieth year, he finally mastered a profound martial art called the Nine Dragons Bodyguard. While attempting the final stage, the Dragon Transformation state, he unexpectedly suffered a Qi deviation and died on Mount Hua.
As a martial artist, he originally dismissed beliefs in spirits and deities, yet what happened to him left him dumbfounded.
It felt like waking from a deep sleep; every detail of his former life was vivid, but astonishingly, he found himself a three-year-old child, moreover, one born into royalty, given the name Jian Xing.
Thus began this senior’s strange journey of transmigration.
Retaining his memories from his previous life, coupled with his prior experience in martial arts cultivation, this reborn predecessor displayed prodigious martial talent from a very young age.
By the age of thirty, he had mastered the Nine Dragons Bodyguard from his former life. Not only that, he integrated it with the special battle qi cultivation system of the Marfa Continent, elevating the power of the Nine Dragons Bodyguard to an even higher level.
With his three-foot Qingfeng sword, he triumphed across the entire realm.
In that era, apart from the continent’s strongest—the Phoenix Sky Warrior—no one could stand against him. Of course, by then, the First Generation Dragon Shadow was already sixty years old!
However, this book's records only documented his life up to the age of forty, abruptly cutting off thereafter.
Therefore, the subsequent experiences of the First Generation Dragon Shadow past forty remained unrecorded.
It was clear that this book was penned while the First Generation Dragon Shadow was traveling and training across the continent. It’s just a mystery why such an important private diary was lost and ended up in the hands of Mo Hui and Mo Cha.
According to historical records, the First Generation Dragon Shadow, due to some unknown reason, nearly annihilated the Fengmo Empire in a fit of rage. If not for the subsequent Orc invasion forcing the Holy Word Magic Luo Alliance to halt hostilities, the Fengmo Empire would have long been destroyed by him.
Naturally, all these events occurred when the First Generation Dragon Shadow was sixty.
It’s evident that when he wrote this book, the First Generation Dragon Shadow was still in the phase of roaming and training; his martial arts were not yet perfected. At the very least, his most famous technique, the Nine Heavens Star River Sword Art, was not documented here.
Of course, besides his life story, the book also preserved the core of his internal cultivation method: the Nine Dragons Bodyguard. This was the reason for my ecstatic joy.
The so-called Nine Dragons Bodyguard was, in fact, an extremely profound internal art from ancient China, whose most conspicuous feature was its extraordinarily perverse defensive capability.
This was precisely why the First Generation Dragon Shadow could withstand direct confrontation with the Phoenix Sky War God, who was clad in Phoenix Sky Demon Armor, relying solely on his formidable physical body without wearing the Heavenly Demon Battle Armor.
Consequently, in that era, the First Generation Dragon Shadow’s Nine Dragons Bodyguard was dubbed the Bodyguard Divine Shield by the rangers of the time!
It was only then that I suddenly recalled: didn’t Hot Blooded Legend also feature a miraculous passive defensive skill called Bodyguard Divine Shield?
Mentioning Bodyguard Divine Shield, I suddenly remembered that Tong Lei also cultivated a profound defensive battle qi, named Bodyguard Divine Shield. I wonder if that Bodyguard Divine Shield is the same as this Nine Dragons Bodyguard.
It seems I must ask Tong Lei about this when I have the chance.
Thinking this, I casually turned to the next page!
What greeted me was the cultivation method for the Nine Dragons Bodyguard!
The Nine Dragons Bodyguard consisted of only nine diagrams, yet each diagram contained peculiar lines, respectively representing different routes for circulating energy.
Beside each diagram were annotations in Hanzi, marking the order of internal energy flow and intensity, among other details.
The first diagram was relatively simple, but the subsequent ones grew increasingly complex.
According to the First Generation Dragon Shadow’s description, the battle qi of the Marfa Continent was essentially the same energy as ancient Chinese internal arts.
However, due to some unknown reason, cultivating in the Marfa Continent was far easier than in ancient China.
This allowed the humans of the Marfa Continent to easily generate astonishingly powerful battle qi energy using very crude and simple circulation methods.
Perhaps for this very reason, the methods these people used to manipulate battle qi seemed unbelievably simplistic—like child's play—compared to the dazzlingly complex internal energy circulation pathways of ancient China.
In comparison, the existence of the Nine Dragons Bodyguard was like a cheat code. It was no wonder the First Generation managed to cultivate shocking levels of battle qi energy on the Marfa Continent based on the principles of this technique, thus becoming an unrivaled powerhouse of that era.
Reading this, I couldn't help but be greatly astonished. So, the so-called battle qi was actually the same nature of energy as ancient Chinese internal arts!
It was just that cultivating in the Marfa World was significantly easier than cultivating in ancient China.
It seemed that as long as I mastered the cultivation method of the Nine Dragons Bodyguard, even if nothing else, the defensive power alone would be enough to contend with the Phoenix Sky Warriors.
With this thought, my whole body couldn't help but surge with excitement.
Damn it, for the past six years, the most troublesome thing was this fragile body of mine; it was so weak that several severe injuries nearly cost me my life.
Even now, I still vividly remember the time in the Phantom Realm’s Netherworld Sanctuary, when I was gravely wounded and almost died.
During the Battle of Mancheng, I was impaled by Mo Luo Yinfeng's spear, left unconscious, nearly leading to the total annihilation of the Black Flag Army.
And in the Fengyi Hall of the Fengmo Imperial Palace, fighting the Thunder General, I was severely injured and remained in a coma for a full fourteen months.
All of this was due to the insufficient physical toughness of this body; once wounded, recovery was agonizingly slow.
If I could learn the Nine Dragons Bodyguard—the Bodyguard Divine Shield—then none of this would happen again. I would never have to worry about being wounded by others.
This was practically a defensive skill tailor-made for me by the heavens.
“Heaven aids me indeed.” Thinking this, I could no longer suppress myself and burst into a loud, wild laugh toward the sky.
“Marshal, what exactly is written up there?” Mo Hui asked anxiously.
“This book is a manuscript left by the First Generation Dragon Shadow, recording an extremely profound method for circulating battle qi,” I stated seriously.
“The First Generation Dragon Shadow!” Mo Hui exclaimed in shock.
“And what kind of battle qi circulation method does it record?” Mo Cha asked curiously.
“This battle qi circulation method, you two should have heard of it as well,” I said in a low voice.
“What is it?” Mo Hui pressed.
“The Nine Dragons Bodyguard,” I stated solemnly.
“Nine Dragons Bodyguard.” Mo Hui and Mo Cha looked puzzled.
“It has another name: Bodyguard Divine Shield,” I enunciated slowly.
“Ah!” The two exclaimed in shock. “The Bodyguard Divine Shield, the First Generation Dragon Shadow’s strongest defensive skill?” Indeed, as a peerless expert famous throughout history, the signature techniques of the First Generation Dragon Shadow—the Dragon Shadow Sword Art: Nine Heavens Star River, and the Bodyguard Divine Shield—had long become the most influential martial techniques on the entire continent for centuries. It was no wonder Mo Hui and Mo Cha were so astonished.
“Exactly,” I continued. “If I’m not mistaken, you two must have managed to cultivate your current battle qi control skills by circulating the battle qi within your bodies according to the routes shown in these few diagrams, right?”
“Yes,” Mo Hui replied. “We only practiced the first two diagrams. The routes on the remaining seven diagrams are too numerous and complex; we never figured out the sequence, so we dared not practice them.”
“It’s a good thing you didn't mess around,” I added. “Otherwise, if the sequence was wrong, you might have suffered a Qi deviation and lost your lives.”
“That was close,” Mo Hui and Mo Cha instinctively wiped cold sweat from their brows.
“Hehe, don’t worry. Leave the rest to me,” I said seriously. “I’ll keep this book for now and study it for a while. Once I understand it, we can cultivate together.”
“Whatever the Marshal says,” Mo Hui replied with a dry laugh. “Besides, this is an relic of the First Generation Dragon Shadow. As a disciple of the Dragon Shadow Villa, this book rightfully returns to its master. It should stay with you from now on.”
“Haha, you clever boy!” I was greatly pleased. “Don’t worry, you won't miss out on any benefits. After all, you found this book. When the time comes, I’ll translate a copy just for you.”
“Thank you, Marshal,” the two were overjoyed.
They left the hall cheerfully, while I held the secret manual and began my careful scrutiny.
According to the book’s records, the Nine Dragons Bodyguard was divided into nine layers.
If one managed to reach the final layer, the Dragon Transformation state, they could attain an indestructible, diamond-like body.
However, achieving these nine layers was no simple feat.
Even with the memories of two lifetimes, it took the First Generation Dragon Shadow until he was thirty to master the Nine Dragons Bodyguard. Although I consider my comprehension outstanding, I couldn't claim to be comparable to that peerless powerhouse renowned through history.
And now, it seemed that apart from the first diagram being relatively simple and intuitive, the remaining eight diagrams were extremely complex, with varied and numerous prerequisites for cultivation.
Just looking at them gave me a headache.
Moreover, the obscure classical Chinese text was an added vexation. It was only at this moment that I truly appreciated the preference of ancient Chinese seniors for writing succinctly or even pretentiously.
Of the nine diagrams, I could only decipher the first three. The rest, I couldn't make sense of immediately.
Of course, I knew that cultivating such a skill couldn't be rushed. It had to be done step by step.
Setting aside my thoughts, I calmed down and began practicing according to the first diagram.
Using intent to guide Qi, using Qi to transform form, using form to manifest spirit.............
I followed the diagrams, recited the incantations, and guided the flow of battle qi within my body! ..........
When I opened my eyes again, it was already dawn, yet it felt as if only a short while had passed. I didn't sense anything particularly extraordinary within my body; it seemed no different than before.
However, my mental state was inexplicably superb, as if I had just woken from a long, deep sleep. All the muscles in my body felt taut, brimming with a sense of power. As for the battle qi, there was still little change.
I knew that this first diagram represented the most fundamental part of the Nine Dragons Bodyguard. Its most apparent effect was to strengthen the body's physiological functions, preparing the physical structure to adapt to subsequent battle qi cultivation.
The second diagram involved a slightly more complex circulation route for battle qi. Of course, ‘simple’ was relative to me, as I could read the textual annotations and practice according to both the notes and the illustrations.
If one couldn't read the text and only practiced based on the images, it would be far more challenging.
It was only then that I couldn't help but exclaim how Mo Hui and Mo Cha were truly geniuses among geniuses, managing to deduce the battle qi circulation routes purely from the images without reading any text.
Although I don’t know the exact process they went through, it was certain that Mo Hui and Mo Cha must have conducted numerous trials to deduce the Qi circulation paths depicted in the diagrams before they could barely master the second level.
However, I did not rush into cultivating the second diagram so quickly. After all, the book explicitly stated that cultivating the Nine Dragons Bodyguard must be a gradual process, and one should never be overly hasty—especially for someone like me with inherent weaknesses and a fragile body. Only after the physical strength meets the standard can one proceed to the next stage.
So, I stopped there!
I would practice the remaining parts slowly later!
Closing the book, I swung my legs off the bed.
It seemed it was time to consult with Jiu Yao Chong Yang about the Demon Extermination Plan I had been brewing for so long.