Bestowing Skills and the Secret of Internal Arts

After finishing breakfast, Bai Xiwen brought Duàn Yì to his study. He handed him a diagram of human meridians and acupoints, drawn with red lines and black characters, and said, "Qi cultivation begins in the Dantian and gradually progresses through the circulation of meridians. Therefore, you must memorize this meridian and acupoint diagram until it's etched in your mind. Do not be careless, or you risk qi deviation and becoming crippled, or even death, if your qi goes astray in the future.

Meridians are divided into two paths: the twelve regular meridians, which are the three Yin and three Yang meridians of the hand and foot, and they serve as the primary channels for qi and blood circulation and internal energy in the future.

There are also eight extraordinary meridians: the Du, Ren, Chong, Dai, Yin Qiao, Yang Qiao, Yin Wei, and Yang Wei.

Within these meridians, there are countless acupoints distributed throughout the body. The 108 acupoints marked on this diagram are of utmost importance, so you must memorize them well."

Duàn Yì solemnly accepted the meridian and acupoint diagram. Although he longed for martial arts like the Ice True Qi, he understood the principle that haste makes waste.

Bai Xiwen waved him away. He estimated that after memorizing, Duàn Yì would need to forget and repeat the process several times before he could truly master the meridian and acupoint distribution. Even with Duàn Yì's intelligence, it would likely take three to five days, or even longer.

However, in less than an hour, Duàn Yì reappeared in his study. After paying his respects, he informed Bai Xiwen that he had memorized all the meridians and acupoint distributions on the diagram flawlessly.

"What? Are you joking with me? Duàn Yì, I know you yearn for martial arts, but you shouldn't gamble with your life."

Bai Xiwen looked at Duàn Yì, who appeared serious yet was speaking nonsense, and felt quite indignant. He himself, despite his exceptional talent and comprehension, had spent a full two days to memorize it. Was Duàn Yì even more capable than him?

"Whether I'm spouting nonsense or not, Brother Bai will know if he tests me,"

Duàn Yì said with a slight smile, his eyes shining with confidence, adding to his handsome features.

After returning to his room with the human meridian diagram, he hadn't immediately started memorizing. Instead, he first used his spiritual sense to enter the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts, to see if its unique properties could help him save time.

After all, strictly speaking, the human meridian diagram could be considered introductory knowledge for martial arts, and it might be recorded there.

As he had expected, on the third level of the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts, a bookshelf indeed held a secret manual titled "Compendium of Human Meridians and Acupoints."

With the boost from his exceptional comprehension, Duàn Yì memorized it immovably in just one hour. Upon returning to reality, this mental memory was retained, allowing him to turn the impossible into the possible.

Another contributing factor was that Duàn Yì's previous practice of Minor Capturing Hand had also touched upon the concepts of meridians and acupoints, saving him considerable time.

"Alright, then point out where the Fengchi acupoint on my body is located."

The Fengchi acupoint is located behind the head, on both sides of the large tendons, parallel to the earlobe. It is extremely hidden and difficult to remember, making it the perfect test.

Bai Xiwen walked up to Duàn Yì to test him. Duàn Yì then pointed directly at his Fengchi acupoint, accurately and without error, which greatly surprised Bai Xiwen.

After the Fengchi acupoint, Bai Xiwen continued to test Duàn Yì on about twenty more acupoints. All of them were in obscure and difficult-to-find locations, far less easy to remember and less conspicuous than acupoints like Baihui or Taiyang.

Duàn Yì did not disappoint him, delivering a perfect score.

Since he had memorized the acupoints, the meridians formed by their connections were naturally no challenge for him.

Bai Xiwen nodded inwardly. Although he hadn't had the chance to teach him yet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his student, like a renowned master producing a brilliant disciple.

Of course, there was also a faint pang of bitterness in his heart.

This young man was not only handsome but also so intelligent. Had fate bestowed all the good things in the world upon him? It truly was a case of comparing oneself to others leading to despair.

"Good. Since you have memorized it, I will now teach you the method of internal energy cultivation. Sit down first, and I will help you circulate qi through a cycle so you can remember the sensation of qi."

Duàn Yì sat down as Bai Xiwen instructed, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes closed.

When his back was pressed by a warm and powerful hand, he felt an extremely intense stream of energy emanating from it. It gathered at his lower Dantian, then circulated through the meridians.

After completing one cycle within Duàn Yì's body, this stream of True Qi slowly dissipated, leaving Duàn Yì in a state of daze.

"Was that intensely fiery, agile stream of energy Bai Xiwen's True Qi? It was so vast and yang, seemingly capable of shattering anything, and could easily tear my body apart. It's so powerful."

Besides recalling the path the True Qi had taken, Duàn Yì also speculated about its origin. Was it True Qi cultivated from the Invincible Treasure Mirror, or some other internal energy technique?

"Duàn Yì, do you remember that feeling?

This is me using my own cultivation to help you grasp the sensation of qi in advance. Then I will teach you the mental cultivation method for Ice True Qi. In short, it will take three days, or at most half a month, for you to get started and reach the first stage of internal energy cultivation, the Qi Sensing realm."

Duàn Yì stood up, savoring the magical sensation of True Qi circulating within his body. He was also curious about the mysteries of internal energy cultivation. Yuè Jiāo Nú had only briefly introduced it to him before, without much detail, so he decided to ask.

"Qi Sensing, in reverse, is the sensation of qi. This stage is very easy to pass, unless one has extremely poor talent. Even an ordinary person, with the help of martial arts mental cultivation, will eventually develop a sensation of qi and lay the foundation for cultivating internal energy.

Once you have the sensation of qi, the next step is to nourish it, transforming it from ethereal to substantial, and allowing it to grow stronger. This is the second level of internal energy cultivation, Qi Nourishing.

At this stage, True Qi can begin to exert its power, enhancing your eyesight, hearing, touch, and smell, increasing your strength, and fortifying your physique. Through special methods, you can also perform other martial arts, such as fist techniques, palm techniques, swordplay, and movement techniques, all of which possess power that ordinary people cannot contend with.

Furthermore, the power displayed will vary depending on the type of True Qi one nourishes. Your Ice True Qi has a significant advantage in this regard.

The third stage is Meridian Unblocking. As the name suggests, it involves using the nourished True Qi within your body to unblock the meridians. The twelve regular meridians of the human body must all be unblocked to achieve great success.

Only by unblocking the twelve regular meridians can you circulate True Qi through a cycle, comprehensively enhancing all aspects of your body's capabilities.

However, this stage is the most time-consuming. The speed of unblocking meridians varies from person to person. For example, those with narrow or blocked meridians will naturally be slower, as will those who practice inferior or mediocre internal energy techniques. There are many who remain within the Meridian Unblocking stage even after decades.

Some are born with all their meridians unblocked, requiring no Meridian Unblocking at all. Once their True Qi is successfully nourished, they can directly ascend, and their internal energy will advance rapidly during qi circulation. They are truly favored by heaven.

As for the subsequent Essence Condensing, it is when True Qi has accumulated to a certain extent after Meridian Unblocking and can no longer advance. One must then seek a qualitative breakthrough, attempting to compress and condense it into True Essence.

The stage of Essence Condensing can be considered a realm of True Qi, or the first stage of True Essence; it depends on one's perspective.

As for what comes after True Essence, you won't be able to access it for now, so there's no point in discussing it.

Moreover, if you are truly intelligent, you should understand that True Qi, True Essence, and even the True Core are essentially processes of accumulating and nourishing True Qi."

Bai Xiwen's explanation enlightened Duàn Yì considerably, providing him with a clear path for future internal energy cultivation, as long as he followed the steps systematically.

"However, I still have a question. Brother Bai, when martial artists fight, does the one with higher internal energy always win?"

He had asked Yuè Jiāo Nú this question before, and she had denied it. However, now that Duàn Yì understood the path of internal energy, he realized the vast differences between practitioners, prompting his inquiry.

Bái Xī Wén heard him, pointed at Duàn Yì, shook his head speechlessly, rolled his eyes, and said with amusement, "You, you, saying you have extraordinary talent isn't wrong, but you had to ask such a foolish question.

People are naturally different, their physiques are different, so how can internal energy cultivation be generalized even if the realm is the same?

Take you, Duàn Yì, for example. Your meridians are naturally tough and thick, not only allowing you to store more True Qi but also to withstand True Qi bursts far beyond ordinary martial artists. You are truly a prodigy.

As for those with naturally narrow, fragile meridians, even if they are in the True Essence realm and their internal energy is ten or even dozens of times yours, their sustained combat ability far surpasses yours, but their instant burst power can't compare to yours at all. The outcome naturally depends on your respective skills.

The division of internal energy realms is not more for martial artists to compare with each other, but to provide a clear and distinct reference for their own cultivation. You need to understand this priority. "

Bái Xī Wén had just circulated True Qi within Duàn Yì's body and was surprised to find that in addition to his strong foundation and exceptional aptitude, his meridians were also extraordinary. He could indeed be called supremely talented.

When someone like this cultivates, not only does their internal energy increase far beyond ordinary people, but their True Qi bursts and circulation speed also have great advantages, making them incredibly fortunate.

However, generally speaking, such people are rarely seen. Every time one appears, they are hailed as a prodigy.

Duàn Yì was overjoyed upon hearing this. Such aptitude must have come from Yán Fāngfēi's legendary martial arts talent, which was said to be rare once in a century. Yuè Jiāo Nú was indeed right.

Inheriting his father's looks and his mother's martial arts talent, Duàn Yì could be considered a model of eugenics.

Bái Xī Wén, who hadn't finished speaking, saw Duàn Yì seemingly deep in thought and continued, "You can think of internal energy as a person's strength. Just having strength without skill is useless.

Besides strength and skill, other factors that determine a person's ability include courage, decision-making during combat, reaction speed, and so on.

In short, don't ever mention using internal energy to classify someone's strength again; it's easy to be ridiculed.

Alright, I will teach you these things slowly in the future, so you don't need to worry too much.

Now, I will transcribe the cultivation method for Ice True Qi and the key points of Ice Divine Palm, along with the sword manual for Songshan Swordplay, and pass them to you.

When you return, you can read and study them. If you wish to cultivate, you must be cautious. If you don't understand anything, you must come and ask me. Don't be afraid of bothering me, understand?"

After speaking, Bái Xī Wén returned to his desk and began writing, his brush flowing across the paper, creating over ten pages of cultivation methods and essential techniques. In the Jianghu, these would be considered top-tier, potentially causing a sensation and even conflict.

As for the sword manual, it was placed in a brocade box in another corner of the study. The paper had turned yellow, likely from Bái Xī Wén's frequent perusal.

Duàn Yì reverently accepted the cultivation secrets and the sword manual, his heart filled with immense joy. With these, the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts would finally have a purpose, and he would undoubtedly become powerful in a very short time.