Meridian-Seeking, Meridian-Setting, Meridian Opening

Shen Lin carried a jar of fine wine and a bag of fragrant roast chicken as he entered the county yamen's rear courtyard.

"Master Yuan, I came to see you."

The moment Shen Lin spoke, the old man who had been lounging in a bamboo chair beneath the sun shot to his feet and darted before him with a speed utterly unbefitting his head of white hair.

"Furong Brew?" Without a care for appearances, he pressed his nose to the wine jar in Shen Lin's hand and sniffed deeply. Intoxicated by the scent, he said, "And thirty-year-aged stuff at that... Boy! What windfall did you strike to be willing to buy such good wine for this old man?"

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at Shen Lin with evident surprise.

The old man had been sent by the provincial capital to instruct the Qiulin County runners in martial arts. Everyone in the county yamen knew only that his surname was Yuan and that his strength was unfathomable, so they respectfully called him Master Yuan.

Yet even Master Yuan could not see through Shen Lin's current martial realm.

After all, with the system's help, Shen Lin had studied Blood Qi Power for nearly a hundred years. His control over it had already reached perfection.

Neither County Lieutenant Hu nor Master Yuan had realized that Shen Lin was no longer merely a Martial Artist, but a Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artist who had opened three meridians.

Shen Lin smiled faintly and released a little of the Blood Qi Power within his body.

"Good heavens..."

The old man was so shocked that his hometown dialect slipped out.

His eyes widened as he said in disbelief, "I knew you had talent, but how long has it been since you officially began cultivating? You've already become a Martial Artist?"

"Just luck." Shen Lin sighed. "I was facing a life-or-death crisis at the time, and somehow, I broke through."

Hearing that, Master Yuan seemed to recall something. His gaze dimmed slightly as he nodded. "Between life and death, there are indeed great opportunities. Come, sit! Have a drink with this old man."

Leading Shen Lin to a stone chair nearby, the old man rubbed his hands together and solemnly opened the fine wine. He first took a deep breath of its fragrance, then lifted the jar and gulped down a mouthful.

"Ha! That hits the spot. Here!"

Shen Lin accepted the wine and took a sip. Watching the old man unwrap the oiled paper and dig into the chicken, he had intended to ask something, but ultimately kept quiet and passed the wine jar back.

The old man said nothing either, focusing only on drinking and eating meat. Before long, the stone table held nothing but a pile of chicken bones and an empty wine jar.

"Burp!" After a thoroughly satisfied belch, the old man, his face gleaming with oil and his eyes slightly unfocused, said, "You came to see me because you want to know about the next step of cultivation, right?"

Shen Lin smiled. "Master Yuan sees all!"

"You little rascal, your mind's full of tricks. If you didn't have business with me, why would you bring good wine and meat to see me?" After laughingly scolding him, he wiped his mouth with his filthy sleeve and said solemnly, "Very well. I'll tell you about the path of cultivation after becoming a Martial Artist."

At those words, Shen Lin's expression turned more serious. He cupped his fists and said, "Master Yuan, for the kindness of clearing up my doubts, I..."

"Hey, hey, hey, stop right there! Cut the nonsense. If you mean it, bring me more wine in the future."

With a wave of his hand, he interrupted Shen Lin's performance. After pondering for a moment, the old man said gravely, "Martial cultivation only begins when you give birth to Blood Qi Power and become a Martial Artist. You must not grow too complacent! The road ahead only gets harder and harder."

"After becoming a Martial Artist, have you continued practicing the Blood Battle Saber Technique?"

When Shen Lin nodded, the old man immediately said, "Then you must have felt it too. When practicing martial arts, the Blood Qi Power within your body is stirred and begins to flow on its own. That is the key to reaching the next realm, the Meridian Opening Realm!"

"Meridian-Seeking, Meridian-Setting, and finally Meridian-Breaking!"

"Every meridian you break open doubles your Blood Qi Power out of thin air."

Thinking of the three meridians he had opened, Shen Lin asked, "Master Yuan, do you know how many meridians there are in the human body?"

"Twelve in total!"

Hearing that, Shen Lin felt his head begin to swell.

Opening just three had cost him over a hundred years of Demon Lifespan. How much Demon Lifespan would it take to open them all?

He had to get to demon-slaying as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, he asked, "Then do I only need to keep practicing the Blood Battle Saber Technique?"

"You can do that, of course. But..." The old man shook his head. "I don't recommend it!"

"That was indeed how the earliest Martial Artists did it. They used martial arts to mobilize the Blood Qi Power within their bodies and naturally break open their meridians. But that requires extremely high talent, and it also takes a very long time."

"With a low-level martial art like the Blood Battle Saber Technique, even with your talent, it would probably take more than ten years to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm."

You truly think too highly of me.

Shen Lin could not help sighing inwardly. Even with the system's help, it had taken him twenty-eight years to go from a Martial Artist to the Meridian Opening Realm.

"Then if I found some high-grade martial arts, would that mean..."

Before Shen Lin could finish, the old man cut him off. "Indeed! High-grade martial arts involve more meridians, making it easier to sense where the meridians are. But similarly, the time needed to break them open remains the same."

Seeing Shen Lin's confusion deepen, the old man stopped keeping him in suspense and said directly, "For Martial Artists today to reach the Meridian Opening Realm as quickly as possible, they need two things."

"First, Meridian-Opening martial arts! Such martial arts possess no killing power. Their sole purpose is to mobilize the Blood Qi Power within the body, allowing Martial Artists to sense the locations of their internal meridians more easily."

"Second, miraculous pills such as Meridian-Opening Pills, which can greatly speed up the process of breaking open meridians."

At this point, the old man shook his head regretfully. "Unfortunately, both of these are controlled by powerful aristocratic clans, sects, and the Demon Suppression Division. Outsiders cannot obtain them easily."

Shen Lin hesitantly asked, "Didn't you previously..."

"You mean the Meridian-Opening Pill I obtained before?" The old man chuckled. "I stayed in Qiulin County for nearly twenty years before I had enough merit points to exchange for it from the Demon Suppression Division. Do you think this old man has that much influence? Look at Sun Zhi. Only after slaying so many demons over the past few years was he able to exchange for the most basic Meridian Opening Secret Art and a Meridian-Opening Pill from the Demon Suppression Division."

Hearing this, Shen Lin's eyes lit up. "Sun... the head runner exchanged for a Meridian-Opening Pill?"

"It should arrive within the next few days. That fellow escaped death time and time again before finally gaining hope of taking another step forward."

After sighing, the old man looked at Shen Lin and shook his head. "Everything I know is bound by an oath that forbids me from passing it on. Otherwise, I do have a Meridian Opening Secret Art I could give you."

As he spoke, he took a battered old book from his robes and tossed it over.

"I obtained this martial art from an enemy I killed back then. Take it and have a look. No matter what, it's stronger than the Blood Battle Saber Technique."

Shen Lin caught the book, his face filled with delight.

To be honest, he did not care much about that Meridian Opening Secret Art.

With the system, he believed that as long as he had enough Demon Lifespan, he would eventually figure out the locations of the meridians within his body.

What he needed most now was martial arts, and...

Meridian-Opening Pills!