Late Second-rate

"Finally, it was done!"

Feeling the Inner Force coiling within his Dantian—similar to Inner Qi, yet seemingly different in essence—Gu Han finally let out a long breath, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Ever since he had been forced to flee Treasure Pearl Temple all those years ago, Gu Han had entertained the idea of creating an Internal Cultivation Method.

Three years of contemplation!

Three years of research!

Six years of simulation!

Finally, in the twelfth year, he experienced a sudden enlightenment and gained some clues as to how to create this technique, sketching out a rough beginning.

Then, after decades of unceasing day-and-night research and study, he had barely managed to create this Internal Cultivation Method.

As Gu Han pondered, information regarding Internal Cultivation Methods from the Yue Kingdom of the main world immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Within the Yue Kingdom, Internal Cultivation Methods are divided into four major tiers: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Heaven Tier methods are generally created by Innate Masters, who stand at the pinnacle of martial arts. Their power is boundless and their mysteries unparalleled, so they are also known as Innate Cultivation Methods and Sacred Martial Arts.

"Earth Tier methods are a great deal weaker. Most are created by First-rate Masters capable of True Qi Manifestation. Yet, within the vast Yue Kingdom, they could still be considered divine techniques and secret manuals, enough to serve as the foundation upon which many great Lineages stood.

"As for Profound and Yellow Tier methods, they are relatively low-grade techniques, generally created by Second-rate Martial Artists.

"Profound Tier methods are still considered superior products among those created by Second-rate Martial Artists. Their creators are generally peak Second-rate Martial Artists, or even Half-step First-rate Martial Artists who have hopes of reaching the True Qi Manifestation realm within their lifetimes. They can barely be considered decent.

"But Yellow Tier methods are utterly commonplace. They are merely created by ordinary Second-rate Martial Artists. If cultivated to great mastery, they can still allow one to break through to True Qi Projection and reach the Second-rate realm, but their strength would be extremely weak.

"Forget fighting opponents above one's level—even against any martial artist who cultivated a Profound Tier method, without formidable martial techniques in hand, one would be utterly unable to contend with them.

"Such people rank at the bottom among Second-rate Martial Artists. At most, they can only bully ordinary Third-rate Martial Artists at the Inner Force level.

"They might even be defeated by Third-rate Martial Artists from powerful families with deep backgrounds, those carrying Earth Tier or even Heaven Tier cultivation methods and martial techniques, becoming a stepping stone for another's fame throughout the land.

"What a miserable end!"

Gu Han reckoned that the Internal Cultivation Method he had created was likely a pitifully weak Yellow Tier internal art, perhaps even slightly inferior to the methods created by many martial artists who had spent years immersed in the Second-rate realm in the main world's Yue Kingdom.

Though Gu Han thought this, he did not feel inferior to anyone.

After all, how many other methods could those Second-rate Martial Artists in reality reference when creating Internal Cultivation Methods? And how many did he have?

It could be said that his predecessor, who had only completed the martial arts foundation-building of reality and learned a single Vajra Body Refining Fist before being exiled—

Compared with the natives of the Yan Kingdom, aside from knowing that Internal Cultivation Methods existed and possessing some common knowledge about Inner Force, he was not much better than them at all.

Yet now, relying on those things alone, Gu Han had still forcibly created a genuine Internal Cultivation Method. He had accomplished what even the legendary Patriarch Bodhidharma had failed to achieve. How extraordinary was that!

Besides, a weak cultivation method did not mean that his strength was weak.

With that thought, Gu Han's mind stirred. The newborn Inner Force within him and the Inner Qi that had long accumulated to its limit immediately surged and roared. Then, they underwent a strange fusion, forming a new energy that far surpassed either Inner Qi or Inner Force.

At last, it continuously slammed against the meridians throughout Gu Han's body.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The incomparably powerful new energy coursed through Gu Han's meridians, surging like great rivers beneath his control as it traveled along its predetermined route.

Within the human body were the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Main Meridians. Each one opened would greatly increase a martial artist's internal strength and enhance his power.

If any one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was opened, one could achieve True Qi Manifestation and advance to the First-rate realm. Opening any one of the Twelve Main Meridians was somewhat inferior, but it still allowed one to achieve True Qi Projection, sever flowing water with a sword, and become a Second-rate expert standing above tens of millions.

Thus, the cultivation and internal-strength enhancement process of First-rate and Second-rate experts was, in truth, a process of continuously opening meridians.

Only by constantly clearing their meridians could martial artists grow ever stronger.

And Gu Han was currently undergoing precisely such a process.

Buzzz!

The air trembled, emitting faint hums. Inside the thatched hut, Gu Han sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, directing the newborn energy within his body to strike at the Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner Meridian among the Twelve Main Meridians.

Boom!

It was as though the sound of enormous waves crashing against a dam rose from the void. Under the assault of Gu Han's new energy, the blockage within his Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner Meridian was instantly blasted open.

Compared with other martial artists, Gu Han's breakthrough was as easy as eating and drinking. In the blink of an eye, the entire meridian had been cleared, and he officially became a Second-rate Martial Artist.

At the instant Gu Han's Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner Meridian was opened, an invisible layer of Inner Force abruptly emerged outside his seated body, projecting several feet outward and killing every fly that passed around him. They fell to the ground with soft patters.

"Not a feather may be added; not even a fly may land!"

This was a metaphor from Treatise on Taijiquan, written by Taiji grandmaster Wang Zongyue. It described the highest realm of Taiji cultivation, an exaggerated term for when one's bodily senses became supremely keen and reached a state of emptiness, agility, and spirit.

Of course, in the novels Gu Han had read in his first life, many authors also frequently used this phrase to describe masters at the Hua Jin level of traditional martial arts, expressing the profound subtlety of their trained force and highlighting their power.

Yet now, illusion had become reality.

After Gu Han reached the Second-rate realm, scenes from those novels had truly appeared in reality.

Moreover, compared to Hua Jin masters who could merely ensure that no feather was added to their bodies and no fly landed upon them, Gu Han's True Qi Projection was clearly even more formidable.

It did not only work upon his body. Even within three feet beyond it, he could achieve the same effect—like a miniature domain, terrifying beyond measure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The powerful new energy rampaged through Gu Han's body like an invincible divine dragon, intent on crushing every obstacle before it!

One meridian after another was opened, while the aura Gu Han emitted continued to grow stronger.

Until...

More than ten breaths later, the steadily rising aura around Gu Han abruptly withdrew. His bones and muscles erupted with a series of crackles, and he slowly rose to his feet.

At this point, Gu Han had opened seven of the Twelve Main Meridians, with only five remaining unopened. His internal-strength realm had directly entered the late Second-rate stage!

It could only be called ascending to heaven in a single step!