"The path of Internal Energy Cultivation lies in sensing Qi Flow, developing Qi Sensation, storing Qi in the Dantian, then Refining Essence into Qi, circulating the Qi through the Heavenly Cycle, and ultimately forming Internal Family True Qi. The Three Rivers Heart Method begins with the Three Yang Meridians..."
Steward Li patiently explained every word and sentence of the first three levels of the Three Rivers Heart Method to everyone. He did not care whether they understood and simply taught it all first. He also forbade interruptions. Earlier, one boy had failed to understand and interrupted with a question, so he had been sent to the corner to bask in the sun.
Thus, even though most of the boys could not understand a word, they endured it for now and listened until he finished.
Of course, Lin Xiao did not have this problem. His true body had already cultivated Internal Energy, and it was an extraordinary technique of the Three-Star High-Grade level. Compared with the merely One-Star High-Grade Three Rivers Heart Method, it was countless times stronger.
Unfortunately, the requirements of the extraordinary technique his true body cultivated were too high. Back then, he had only forcibly entered the threshold with the help of an Origin Power Crystal supplied by his family. Now that he had descended into this unknown little world, there was no Origin Power Crystal to lay his foundation, so he could not cultivate it.
"I have imparted the heart method to you all. Remember, you must not pass it on to outsiders. If there is anything you do not understand, each of you has three chances to ask me. Now go practice on your own."
After finishing his explanation, Steward Li simply waved his hand and left. He had no patience to remain there any longer.
Dozens of boys wore deeply troubled expressions. Most of them came from ordinary backgrounds, and some were orphans. How could they understand anything about meridians, acupoints, or the routes for circulating energy? To them, Steward Li's words had been like listening to a heavenly book—they had understood nothing. The group gathered together and chattered:
"What do we do? I didn't understand a single sentence."
"Me neither. I only understood one sentence, but I don't know what it means."
"I understood three sentences, but I can't connect them together."
"I understood everything in the first level."
Everyone turned to look at the boy who had spoken. He was rather handsome, with skin fairer than that of all the other boys, clearly showing that he came from a decent family. With a trace of pride on his face, he said:
"My name is Lin Yiqing. My grandfather once passed the Child Scholar examination and taught me how to read. I remember everything Steward Li said."
"Wow!"
Other than Lin Xiao, all the boys looked at him with solemn respect. In ancient times, scholars held a higher status than everyone else. Even without passing the Child Scholar or Xiucai examinations, merely knowing how to read could land someone a job with enough food and drink.
The envious and admiring gazes of the boys gave the fair-skinned Lin Yiqing an immediate sense of superiority. Facing everyone's flattery and being addressed as senior brother, he was, after all, only twelve or thirteen years old, with an unsettled temperament. Before long, he became so carried away that he could barely tell which way was north.
Lin Xiao merely smiled as he watched. He had no interest in such trivial glory. With this time, he might as well study and train hard to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.
Steward Li soon noticed the change here. After learning that Lin Yiqing could read, he was quite surprised. After thinking it over, he took him away, taught him the entire three-level heart method, and had him memorize it before sending him to teach the boys. As for himself, he became a hands-off manager.
In the days that followed, aside from cultivating Internal Energy every morning, they practiced martial techniques. The cafeteria provided large chunks of meat and big white steamed buns until they were full.
With a plentiful supply of meat, all the boys began growing rapidly. After a month, those who grew fastest were nearly a head taller than they had been before. Even Lin Xiao had grown around ten centimeters over the month and was now roughly one hundred sixty-five centimeters tall. This body was only fourteen, so there was still room to grow.
After a month, Lin Xiao had cultivated all three saber techniques to the second level. He had not used Potential Points to raise them, relying solely on his own talent. Compared with the other boys, who were all still at the first level—with the slower ones having only just entered the threshold—his progress was far ahead.
After all, his true body possessed cultivation and a certain amount of experience. Naturally, he progressed faster than ordinary people when practicing these low-level martial arts.
However, after a month, his Three Rivers Heart Method was still only at the first level. Lin Xiao clearly sensed that this body's aptitude was somewhat poor, and experience could not make up for that.
Fortunately, he possessed an attribute-point allocation ability. For now, he would not raise it. He would wait another month and see. If it was still this slow, he would have to consider using Potential Points to forcefully raise it. After all, one of the boys had already cultivated the Three Rivers Heart Method to the second level, which had caught Steward Li's attention.
That person was Lin Yiqing. His aptitude was indeed quite good. In only one month, he had cultivated the Three Rivers Heart Method to the second level. With everyone praising and flattering him even more enthusiastically, his pride grew further. He had now begun faintly treating himself as the leader of all the new recruits, ordering the others around from time to time.
Because of this, Lin Xiao had a minor conflict with him. As an outstanding new recruit second only to Lin Yiqing, he was not afraid of him. He simply pretended not to hear Lin Yiqing's commands, which irritated Lin Yiqing. Yet there was nothing he could do, so he began disliking Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao, meanwhile, had not taken the matter to heart at all. This month, he had been fretting over something else: he did not know where the Potential Points on his status panel came from. After an entire month, the number had not increased at all. Aside from the seven points he had started with, it had not changed in the slightest. This meant that neither the energy gained from eating nor practicing martial arts produced Potential Points.
Unable to figure out their source, he did not dare use the remaining Potential Points recklessly, lest they ran out and he be unable to find the source for a long time.
Thus, whenever he had free time, he tried all sorts of things that might possibly produce Potential Points. For example, showing off and shocking the other boys, secretly picking up Steward Li's teapot—which looked as though it had been used for years yet had been polished until it gleamed—or beating up whichever boy he disliked and making that person hate him. None of it worked.
He had tried nearly every method that novels from his previous life suggested for obtaining Potential Points. Next, the only thing left was killing monsters. That was the most likely way to obtain Potential Points.
But he would have to wait another two months. New recruits of the Great River Gang like them had to train for three months before being assigned elsewhere. Only one month had passed so far.
Lin Xiao could do nothing about it. He could only wait obediently and cultivate diligently.
Before he knew it, three months had arrived. He had also grown into a one-hundred-seventy-centimeter-tall youth. Together with the other boys, who were of varying heights but not far apart, he stood in the center of the training field where they had spent three months. Steward Li stood before them with his hands clasped behind his back, while several burly men in tight-fitting outfits stood behind him.
His gaze swept over the boys, whose vitality and spirit were utterly different from three months before. He nodded in satisfaction and said:
"Three months have passed. It is time for us to part."
He pointed vaguely at the four burly men in tight-fitting outfits behind him and said:
"These are brothers from the four halls of our gang. Once you leave, you will join one of them. I will call out your names now. Those whose names are called will be assigned to their respective halls."
He pulled a yellow sheet of paper from his robes, glanced at it, and began calling out:
"Zhang San, Bright Saber Hall."
A boy just slightly taller than Lin Xiao stepped forward and went to stand behind one of the burly men in tight-fitting outfits.
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