Moves

Li Ye knew about the Second and Third Realms as well; teachers at school and people online talked about them all the time.

The Second Realm was the Break Through Realm, where one condensed qi and blood to break open the Mystical Gate. The Third Realm was the Kaiyuan Realm, where only by fixing the Three Origins could one commune with the divine.

Yet even martial arts teachers spoke of those realms with a yearning tone, let alone Li Ye, who had still been painstakingly cultivating his qi and blood and thinking about breaking through Dragon Gate back then.

The martial arts teachers were only at Dragon Gate themselves. Talking about such things was like a group of high schoolers grandly discussing how to become postdoctoral fellows. It simply was not realistic.

"Every shortcut will have to be paid back before Break Through. Only by practicing martial arts step by step can you break open the Mystical Gate."

Xu Yanwu did not say much more to Li Ye. He only said, "If possible in the future, it would be best to condense this martial art twelve times in one go. It will benefit you. I'll teach you the Foundation Building Technique now. It's relatively simple, an upgraded version of the Guiding Method. Memorize the circulation route."

Compared to the Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate, the Foundation Building Technique truly was simple. Its circulation route was not nearly as complicated. Starting from the perineum, one route went along the abdomen, past the navel and chest, to beneath the lips. The other ran up the spine from the back all the way to the back of the head. It then completed a circuit before finally converging at the waist.

"The Ren and Du Meridians, together with the Belt Meridian, condense qi and blood and carry it throughout the body, strengthening your qi and blood. You can feel it, can't you? Compared with our martial art, the Foundation Building Technique is simpler, but when it comes to increasing qi and blood, its effects are still considerable."

In his view, since Li Ye could learn the Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate, the Foundation Building Technique would surely be child's play. No matter how ordinary his aptitude was, it should still raise his qi and blood by quite a bit.

As for Li Ye, he did not really feel like talking.

After circulating it once, the increase in his qi and blood was almost imperceptible. There was not even any need to quantify it.

Although the Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate had declined, its gains had not been small either. The Foundation Building Technique, on the other hand, was perfectly normal. His qi and blood did not decrease, nor did he feel any discomfort. It was simply pure circulation, tempering himself and transforming qi and blood.

But it was of no real use to Li Ye.

On one hand, he felt awkward about his aptitude. This normal martial art seemed unable to raise his qi and blood as much as eating did.

On the other hand, he was fortunate to have obtained a top-tier martial art. Its requirements seemed high, but for Li Ye, breaking the deadlock would not be that difficult.

Having learned the Foundation Building Technique, it was time to learn moves.

Without another word, Xu Yanwu picked up a controller and pressed it. On the right side of the courtyard, twelve cylindrical iron posts suddenly rose side by side, ascending from low to high.

The gaps between the iron posts were extremely narrow, clearly not wide enough for a person to pass through normally. The height differences between the posts also did not seem like something one could jump across under normal circumstances.

Xu Yanwu said, "First, train your footwork. Your goal today is to circle the posts. Try to move around them without obstruction. If your body does not touch the posts, you'll have succeeded."

Li Ye tugged at the corner of his mouth and stepped forward to test it. He confirmed that the gaps would only let him scrape through sideways, and he had to stay pressed tightly against the iron posts. Plenty of obstacles had also risen from the ground below, forcing him to make broad movements to step over them.

He looked at Xu Yanwu. It was a wasted look; his master had the expression of a stone-faced man.

Gritting his teeth, Li Ye charged forward and slipped sideways through the first row of iron posts.

He did not get his entire body wedged between the iron posts. He had practiced obstacle vaulting at school before, so he had some experience. Still, he could not avoid scraping against the posts.

"Think about how it felt when you circulated your technique and apply it. Draw in your chest and abdomen more. Don't make your steps so rigid; be lighter and more nimble."

As Xu Yanwu watched Li Ye weave through the posts, he began giving targeted adjustments.

"I told you to be nimble, not to jump. That is not how you clear the obstacles underneath. Keep your center of gravity steady. Control your legs."

"Qi and blood, qi and blood! Control your qi and blood! Don't rely on brute force. You're at Dragon Gate, not an ordinary person! Why are you still using ordinary methods?"

"Make it smoother. It doesn't matter if you fall. Isn't it just a collision? Don't be afraid. How can you understand what it feels like to fall if you never fall? Remember that feeling, so that when you fall again, you can glide along the ground before getting back up!"

"Don't be bound by the form of the movements. You may not have seen a dragon, but you've seen a snake, right? Just slither. Loosen your body more. Even if you break yourself, I'll treat you. Bend backward!"

"I didn't tell you to twist. I told you to become lighter. Forget it. Rest for ten minutes. I'll explain the key points."

All morning, Xu Yanwu continuously corrected Li Ye's movements, having him make adjustments as he circled the posts and crossed the obstacles. Naturally, he fell more than once and slammed headfirst into the iron posts.

But his progress was also rapid. Li Ye truly was a genius in this regard. He had been somewhat clumsy at first, but after practicing a few more times, he became adept, gradually growing more precise.

By noon, a group of people arrived carrying food boxes and filled the stone table with dish after dish, the portions even larger than breakfast.

"Eat it all. Even if you stuff yourself full, eat it all."

Xu Yanwu said, "Your appetite needs training too. Otherwise, when you reach the later stages, your qi and blood will not be able to sustain your circulation."

Li Ye had absolutely no objections to that.

Training his appetite was great. One had to train one's appetite more, otherwise how could he rightfully become a big eater? Especially with such high-quality ingredients, Li Ye's heart would ache if he ate even a little less.

Still, he paid close attention to his methods. To avoid trouble, he basically kept himself to his breakfast intake, then slowly finished everything while pretending to struggle. He even loosened the restrictions of his authority, allowing his stomach to truly swell until his abdomen looked bloated, making it obvious that he had overeaten.

After lunch, Li Ye circulated his technique once more, then continued circling the posts.

It was not until five in the afternoon that Xu Yanwu told Li Ye to stop.

"Come inside."

He entered the house first and gestured for Li Ye to follow.

This was Li Ye's first time seeing the interior of the house in the courtyard. From outside the courtyard, he could only see the glass sliding doors and the luxuriously decorated reception room beyond them. Only after passing through the reception room could one see the living room.

Xu Yanwu led Li Ye around the living room and into a bathroom. A spacious bathtub had already been filled with steaming green liquid.

"Submerge your entire body. Every strand of hair needs to soak in it."

After saying that, Xu Yanwu left.

Li Ye was familiar with this: a medicinal bath.

He swiftly stripped naked, glanced at the bruises covering his body, shook his head with a smile, and climbed in.

So in the end, the body still had to suffer.

The moment he entered the medicinal bath, Li Ye let out a comfortable breath. The water was warm, yet soaking in it gave him a clear, penetrating sensation. The exposed skin outside the water even felt cool. The bruises and injuries caused by nonstop training eased considerably at this moment.

It was more advanced than the medicinal baths at the martial arts gym.

Then a second thought surfaced in Li Ye's mind.

Could this thing be drunk?

A medicinal bath was, after all, a "soup" made by mixing medicinal herbs with hot water. Logically, it fell within the range of his authority's influence.

But after that thought passed through Li Ye's mind, he discarded it.

He had not sunk that low yet.

After soaking for half an hour, Li Ye rose again and felt refreshed from head to toe. Lifting an arm to look, he found that the bruises from falling throughout the day had already vanished.

"What extravagance."

Li Ye sighed as he left the bathroom and returned to the courtyard.

Food had once again been laid out on the stone table.

This time, the portions were not as large as lunch. There were only ten dishes.

"Eat well in the morning, eat your fill at noon, and eat little at night. But even this little must be refined enough."

Xu Yanwu sat on a stone stool and said to Li Ye, "Eat all of it."

Seeing that there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks on the stone table, Li Ye asked, "Master, aren't you having any?"

"These were prepared for you. I'm just an ordinary person. Ingredients of this grade can no longer replenish me."

Xu Yanwu said expressionlessly, "Enough. Eat it. Come again tomorrow, and I'll teach you Lightness Skill."

"Master, I haven't finished learning yet."

"As long as you have the method right, that is enough. I do not have much time. If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask Pan Zhengyang."

"Is there something important? I'm not in a hurry here. If necessary, I can stay enrolled in the martial arts track through my senior year and learn martial arts properly first. I heard Martial Arts Students are quite free." Li Ye said.

"No."

Xu Yanwu paused, then looked directly at Li Ye. "I'm simply about to die."

Li Ye's hand froze midway through eating. "Huh?"

"Yes, I'm about to die. Hidden injuries left from my early years cannot be cured. I'm lucky to have held on until now."

Xu Yanwu said calmly, "Before dying, finding a successor is not bad either."

Li Ye was silent for a while, then picked up another dish and continued eating. "Can I ask what happened?"

His expression was equally calm, neither sorrowful nor melancholy.

Xu Yanwu nodded and suddenly asked, "Do you know the Noble Families?"

"I only just came into contact with them. I heard they are quite famous in Ningjiang. Are Noble Families the kind I'm thinking of, lineages hidden behind the scenes and manipulating the mortal world?" Li Ye said as he ate.

"They are not as formidable as they were in ancient times, but they are still lineages that have accumulated and been passed down, so they retain some influence."

Xu Yanwu said, "Thirty years ago, my heart was too soft, so I gave them an opportunity for revenge. They scattered all the qi and blood in my body and turned me into a cripple."

"Did you take revenge?" Li Ye asked.

"Reduced to ash and smoke, but it no longer matters."

Xu Yanwu sighed. "When trouble came, my first instinct was to reconcile with others. I only thought that years of martial training were not easy, and that preserving one's cultivation to fight demons was the proper path. But just because I thought that way did not mean everyone else would. Pan Zhengyang is better than me in this regard. You should learn from him, not from me."

Hearing this, Li Ye's thoughts stirred. "How does Director Pan usually handle things?"

A smile appeared in Xu Yanwu's eyes. "He used to kill people. Now he kills their entire families."

"No one holds him accountable?"

"As long as your position is righteous enough. Besides, once people are dead, what is there to hold accountable?"

"What realm is Director Pan in?" Li Ye asked again.

"The Third Realm."

"I understand." Li Ye said thoughtfully, "I won't learn from you."

"That would be for the best."

Xu Yanwu said, "Eat."

Soon, Li Ye finished dinner, bid farewell to Xu Yanwu, and rode away on his little electric scooter.

He did not head home right away. When he was almost home, he parked the scooter and called his family.

"Mom, I'm not coming back tonight. Something came up at the bureau where I'm working part-time, and I'm going to follow along and learn. They've arranged a place for me to stay tonight."

After finishing the call with his mother, he hailed a car and headed straight for the rental apartment.

There were still ten tons of rice there that he had not dealt with. It was time to digest them.

And as for qi and blood, he now had a new idea.