Chapter 77: Martial Arts Manuals
“Martial arts manuals?”
Arriving at a small stall covering about two square meters, Zhou Ming’s gaze was instantly drawn to the many books laid out across it.
Just like the other buyers nearby, Zhou Ming didn’t care about appearances and simply crouched down to take a closer look.
Unlike the books stored in the Qinshan Library, most of the ones here were related to hunters.
Explanations of shooting techniques, trap setups, wilderness survival, which materials from Ferocious Beasts were valuable, how to dismember their corpses, how to skin them…
Although these were all basic books, they covered nearly all the essential knowledge required for venturing into the wilderness—skills every hunter needed to master.
Anyone who thought that grabbing a gun and wearing combat gear made them a hunter was gravely mistaken. Even those “dancing on the knife’s edge” had plenty to learn.
A hunter without proper preparation was nothing but prey waiting to die.
However, compared to those, the martial arts manuals were far more eye-catching to Zhou Ming, since he already had plenty of the former at home.
“Young man, interested in these three martial arts manuals?”
The stall owner—who looked to be in his thirties and had a somewhat honest appearance—was sharp-eyed, seeing through Zhou Ming’s thoughts at a glance.
“A bit. After all, the feeling of fists meeting flesh is a man’s true romance.”
Facing the stall owner’s inquiry, Zhou Ming replied with the kind of reasoning typical for his age.
“Haha, you’re not wrong. Even I still love that feeling.”
“Want me to give you an introduction?”
As a stall owner, he didn’t forget his duty. Seeing that Zhou Ming was interested, he immediately began to promote his wares.
“Sure.”
Having wandered around for a while, Zhou Ming didn’t mind taking the time to learn about something that genuinely caught his interest.
“Then I’ll start with the first one on the right.”
Perhaps because these three martial arts manuals were the most valuable items at the stall, they were placed carefully at the owner’s feet.
Pointing at the first manual, the stall owner began his practiced explanation.
“This one’s the traditional Iron Thread Fist. Its movements are broad and forceful, overwhelming opponents with momentum. It’s excellent for tempering one’s muscles and bones.”
“But as you know, no matter how well one practices martial arts, getting close to a Ferocious Beast is just asking for death. Usually, only gunners who handle heavy weapons find this useful.”
“Practitioners of the Iron Thread Fist are strong and sturdy—able to wield heavy machine guns. Even Apprentice Beast Tamers would rather avoid fighting them head-on.”
The stall owner’s introduction was thorough, but Zhou Ming shook his head, uninterested. It didn’t match his combat style at all.
Seeing his reaction, the stall owner didn’t insist and moved on to the next manual.
“This one’s Weapon-based Martial Arts—‘Thirteen Forms of Battle Blood.’ It’s a path of reckless slaughter. The techniques are savage and purely for close-quarters killing. I figure you wouldn’t be interested either, right?”
The man seemed quite perceptive. He didn’t over-pitch his goods—after explaining, he could already tell Zhou Ming wasn’t into it.
Such weapon-based martial arts were only useful for those planning to become Phantasmal Tamers or Beast Knights. After all, who would bother engaging in melee combat under normal circumstances?
If even Ferocious Beasts couldn’t be cut down easily, let alone humans—why use a blade when one could use a gun?
At least the Iron Thread Fist could help with wielding heavy firepower. The Battle Blood Thirteen Forms, however, were purely for surprise melee attacks.
“Boss, just tell me about the last one.”
Having found the first two unsuited to his style, Zhou Ming’s patience was wearing thin.
“Alright, you might find this last one interesting.”
Seeing Zhou Ming’s impatience, the stall owner got straight to it. Judging by his tone, this one might actually pique Zhou Ming’s interest.
“This last martial arts manual—‘Beast King Body’—was created after the founding of the Blue Star Alliance. It’s what we call ‘New Martial Arts.’”
“New Martial Arts?”
Hearing the term, Zhou Ming’s curiosity was piqued.
“Yeah, New Martial Arts—because it strengthens practitioners using the genes of Ferocious Beasts. It’s completely different from traditional martial arts.”
“Ferocious Beast genes? How’s that any different from Genetic Potions?”
If this New Martial Arts was truly powerful, Zhou Ming figured he would’ve already heard about it. Moreover, anything involving genes made him frown slightly.
After all, meddling with one’s genes could easily turn someone into something neither human nor beast.
“This New Martial Arts and Genetic Potions are completely different. The latter forcibly alters your genetic structure in a short time through drugs, granting temporary power.”
“But New Martial Arts uses martial techniques to gradually absorb a Ferocious Beast’s essence, improving the body bit by bit, until eventually breaking through the limits of human physiology.”
Zhou Ming was surprised—the stall owner actually seemed well-versed in this topic, even explaining the distinction between Genetic Potions and New Martial Arts in detail.
“New Martial Arts must have flaws too, right?”
Rather than being drawn in by its potential, Zhou Ming asked calmly.
After all, if it truly could break human limits, it would have long become a transcendent path like that of Beast Tamers.
“You’ve got sharp eyes, young man.”
The stall owner gave a thumbs up, clearly impressed.
“New Martial Arts is indeed powerful, but since it uses Ferocious Beast genes as a power source, it naturally suffers from their influence.”
“At first, it’s fine. But as strength increases, practitioners become irritable and violent—eventually losing their sanity and falling into complete madness.”
“No way to fix it?”
Zhou Ming had expected physical issues, not mental ones.
“There are. Two ways, in fact.”
“What ways?”
The stall owner didn’t hold back and continued his explanation.
“The first way is to overcome it through sheer willpower. But such people are extremely rare.”
Zhou Ming nodded in agreement. Even he only considered himself determined—having a will of steel was still far beyond him.
“The second way is simpler. A Beast Tamer’s Spiritual Power can suppress the side effects. The stronger one’s body through New Martial Arts, the more Spiritual Power they’ll need to stabilize it.”
That part made Zhou Ming puzzled. If so, New Martial Arts should have already spread among Beast Tamers. Even if high-ranked Tamers didn’t need it, Apprentice Beast Tamers were notoriously fragile.
But Zhou Ming wasn’t one to overthink things. If he couldn’t figure it out, he simply asked.
“The reason’s simple. First, New Martial Arts is still young—mainly developed by a few bases in the western regions of the Alliance, so it hasn’t spread widely.”
Zhou Ming nodded at that. Though Qinshan Base bordered the Northern Wilderness and the Endless Forest Sea, there were rarely any encounters with other races. Compared to the western bases that often fought against them, Qinshan Base could indeed be described as peaceful.
While Zhou Ming was lost in thought, the stall owner continued his explanation.
“The second reason is…”