"Besides that, the progress of the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist..."
Wei Tu's gaze shifted as he looked at another line of writing engraved upon his Golden Purple Destiny.
"Tiger Crane Double Form Fist (94/100): Practice seven times a day, and it will be completed in three years."
"Yesterday, the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist's progress was only at 72%. Today, after the Health Cultivation Technique reached completion and gave birth to internal qi, it leapt straight to 94%, increasing by 22%..."
"This means the time needed to perfect the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist will also be shortened to under three years... It can reach full mastery in two and a half years..."
Wei Tu thought to himself.
Compared to cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique, the time saved in cultivating the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist was immediately apparent.
Three years had been shortened to two and a half years—a full sixth less.
"Master said that the internal qi produced by External Martial Masters, born from the outside and entering within, is far fiercer than the internal qi of True Internal Martial Arts Techniques. One strand is worth ten strands cultivated through a True Internal Martial Arts Technique..."
Thinking of this, Wei Tu once more sensed the few strands of internal qi within his meridians. Slowly circulating them, he guided them into the meridians of his hand.
Next.
He fixed his eyes ahead, a sharp gleam flashing from them. His right hand suddenly clenched into a fist, then he threw it forward with all his strength.
There was a thunderous boom.
Dust flew up before Wei Tu.
A fist mark half an inch deep was instantly embedded in the earthen wall of the small courtyard.
Yet Wei Tu's fist was still two inches away from the wall.
"Is this the Qi Strike rumored about by people of the jianghu?"
"I can... use it now too..."
Wei Tu looked at the scene before him, breathing heavily as he gulped down fresh air.
That single punch had nearly squeezed every last bit of strength from his body, wringing him dry.
Yet his heart was filled with immense joy, for though this punch seemed simple, its significance to him was extraordinary.
First, it proved that Martial Graduate Dan had been right. The internal qi cultivated by External Martial Masters was indeed far fiercer than that of Internal Martial Masters.
External Martial Masters were no weaker than anyone else!
As far as Wei Tu knew, without more than a decade of meditative cultivation, an Internal Martial Master simply could not unleash Sealed Fist Energy.
Second, this Sealed Fist Energy proved that he had truly stepped onto the path beyond the ordinary.
His previous Stance Training and physical strength could all be touched and felt. But the Internal Energy now born within him was different—it was something that had existed only in the mouths of ordinary people.
"The County Yamen has not yet received the military order to destroy Wu Yun Tower. There is still time. I should first make a trip to Sanyuan Township and tell Master about my current realm..."
Wei Tu pondered.
He guessed that Martial Graduate Dan possessed a True Internal Martial Arts Technique, one specifically meant to cultivate the Internal Energy forged by External Martial Masters.
Back then, his Martial Ancestor, Golden Saber Hero Shi Ming, had died suddenly after failing to break through to the Innate Realm.
Without a subsequent cultivation method.
Golden Saber Hero Shi Ming would not have been able to attempt a breakthrough into the Innate Realm either.
The next day.
Early in the morning.
Wei Tu went to the Auxiliary Army Office to request leave, then rode a horse toward Sanyuan Township.
He knocked open the gates of the Dan Residence. After explaining why he had come, a maid led him into the sitting room of the second courtyard to wait.
Before long, Wei Tu heard a bout of coughing from outside.
He hurriedly rose and walked out. Taking Martial Graduate Dan from Madam Shan's hand, he supported him into the sitting room's seat of honor.
Wei Tu's face showed surprise as he looked toward Madam Shan beside him, his gaze filled with inquiry.
More than a month ago, when he had brought gifts to visit Martial Graduate Dan, Martial Graduate Dan's health had indeed declined somewhat compared to several years earlier. But he had been no different from any other healthy elder of the same age.
He had been nowhere near the point of needing someone to support him.
"Five days ago, when Master was out riding for leisure, his old injury flared up. He fell from his horse and was seriously hurt..." Madam Shan pressed her lips together as she explained to Wei Tu.
"It is nothing, just a minor ailment."
"Rest for a few days, drink some medicinal soup to nourish the qi and blood, and I will be fine." Martial Graduate Dan sat with his cane, waving a hand to indicate that Wei Tu need not worry.
At this moment, Madam Shan stepped forward and draped a robe over Martial Graduate Dan's shoulders.
"Wei, what brings you here this time?" Martial Graduate Dan took a sip of hot tea, moistened his throat, and asked with a smile.
Ordinarily, Wei Tu would not come to see him this early. He always came after noon, usually carrying two gifts in his hands.
Today, Wei Tu had come racing over on horseback at daybreak, disturbing his rest. He must have had some important matter to discuss.
"This matter..." Wei Tu's voice sank slightly as he swept a glance over Madam Shan and the several maids serving in the sitting room.
Seeing this, Martial Graduate Dan immediately understood. He gave a light cough and had Madam Shan and the maids withdraw.
A short while later.
Only master and disciple, Wei Tu and Martial Graduate Dan, remained in the sitting room.
"This disciple came to find Master because, while practicing yesterday, this disciple finally entered the legendary... Qi Sensing Realm..."
Wei Tu spoke.
"What? The Qi Sensing Realm?" Martial Graduate Dan, who had been drinking tea, revealed a stunned expression. He stared intently at Wei Tu for a few moments. "Is what you say true? The Qi Sensing Realm?"
He had practiced martial arts for decades, yet even now, he had not produced external-training internal qi by moving from outside to within.
And now Wei Tu, who had practiced martial arts for only five years, was telling him that he had entered the Qi Sensing Realm...
How could Martial Graduate Dan not be shocked?
"Master, please look." Wei Tu did not waste words. He looked at the teacup on the tea table beside him, then followed the method from the previous night and punched toward it.
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out.
The teacup standing on the tea table was immediately shattered into four pieces by Wei Tu's Sealed Fist Energy, ruined beyond recognition.
"Sealed Fist Energy..."
"This is Sealed Fist Energy..."
Seeing the punch Wei Tu had thrown, Martial Graduate Dan muttered to himself, unable to regain his senses for a long while.
After a moment, Martial Graduate Dan composed himself. Looking at Wei Tu, a trace of appreciation appeared in his eyes as he sighed. "This Sealed Fist Energy—I only saw your Martial Ancestor use it back then. After thirty-nine years, I never expected to see this Sealed Fist Energy again in you..."
"I can more or less guess why you came. You wish to ask how your master's next step upon the Martial Way should be cultivated?"
Martial Graduate Dan smiled and exposed the reason Wei Tu had hurried to seek him out.
"Master's eyes are sharp."
Hearing this, Wei Tu did not argue. Instead, he offered Martial Graduate Dan a compliment.
The earlier one practiced martial arts, the better; delay was ill-advised.
Wei Tu guessed that Governor Wang's dispatch of troops to attack Wu Yun Tower would happen within the next month or two. If he did not seize the time to increase his strength, was he supposed to wait until he reached the battlefield to throw his life away?
At present, his use of the internal qi within his body was still rudimentary. If he could receive Martial Graduate Dan's guidance... his strength would surely increase again within this short span of time.
These were all foreseeable matters.
"When your Martial Ancestor left in those days, he did indeed leave your master a secret manual, one for cultivating the internal qi produced by External Martial Masters like you and me..."
Martial Graduate Dan rose with his cane and motioned for Wei Tu to follow him.
Not long after.
Inside the living quarters.
Martial Graduate Dan glanced at the former Master's memorial tablet on the altar table. After lighting an incense stick and bowing three times, he took down the tablet and snapped it in two with force.
Inside the tablet lay a thin sheet of silver paper. It was five inches long and two inches wide, engraved with the body's acupoint circulation and every meridian...
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