Taking the Pulse (1)

"Class one."

"Class three."

"Class four." Lorist looked at the noble youths in front of him, dressed in finery but with pale faces and vacant eyes, and shook his head. Another spoiled brat, who had already depleted his body at such a young age. He looked sturdy, but his Vital Energy was severely damaged internally. Without a period of rest and nourishment, he wouldn't be able to awaken Battle Qi. No wonder the list said his first Battle Qi Enlightenment attempt failed.

"Go get the paperwork done. Your body is actually quite depleted. You should understand this yourself, right? Do you often feel chest tightness, get easily breathless when exerting yourself, sweat easily, feel fatigued and weak after even slightly strenuous exercise, and have a poor appetite? Do you also often have nightmares?"

"Huh? How did you know?" The noble youth looked shocked. It was incredible. This legendary instructor Locke, with just three fingers on his arm, had accurately described his physical condition in such a short time, even knowing about his frequent nightmares. He hadn't even told his family.

"Heh heh, engaging in romantic affairs too early at a young age can damage Vital Energy. As long as you strictly follow the rules we've set for the next six months, I guarantee you'll awaken Battle Qi. Don't worry about your first failure. Go to the side and let the other instructors examine you again," Lorist said gently.

The noble youth stood up, bowed excitedly to Lorist, and then withdrew.

"Next."

"Class one."

"Class one."

"Class two."

In the spacious grand hall, four long tables were arranged on the left side. Lorist sat behind the first table, on which rested a small leather pillow. Lorist had the new students, who were lining up in a long queue, place their hands on the pillow for him to take their pulse. If he were wearing a white coat, it would look exactly like a street clinic offering free consultations.

At the three tables next to him sat instructors Anfia, Marlin, and Hughes. Lorist often had the new students whose pulses he had taken go to the other three instructors for further examination. The three instructors also took pulses of the new students, just like Lorist. Instructor Anfia was focused, Instructor Marlin scratched his head and ears, and Instructor Hughes was deep in thought.

Behind the four of them stood a dozen or so Silver and Black Iron instructors. A female Black Iron instructor held the student roster and made annotations after Lorist announced the assigned class. Several instructors were curiously taking their own pulses, muttering to themselves. Another dozen or so instructors were on the right side of the grand hall, processing paperwork and distributing student uniforms, washbasins, bedding, and other living necessities to the newly assigned students. The twenty-four newly appointed instructor assistants were the busiest, not only maintaining order but also escorting the new students who had completed their paperwork to their assigned class dormitories, politely answering the myriad questions from these curious new students along the way.

The sound of the class bell echoed through the academy. Lorist stretched and said to the new students queuing in front of him, "Alright, that's it for the morning session. We'll resume at two in the afternoon. Everyone remember your numbers, and don't be late."

The queuing new students dispersed reluctantly, grumbling incessantly about things like reaching the end of the line just as time was up...

"How many are left for the afternoon, Instructor Krisha?" Lorist asked the Black Iron female instructor holding the student roster.

"One hundred and six," the female instructor replied.

"Hmm, we're finally almost done. I'm so tired. Let's speed things up this afternoon. Once all the students have been assigned to classes, our instructor group needs to have a meeting to discuss the handling of each class and the appointment of responsible instructors," Lorist said, turning to instructors Anfia, Marlin, and Hughes, "What about you three? What have you gained these past three days?"

"I can't differentiate them. They all feel the same to me," said Instructor Marlin.

"That noble youth just now, his pulse was weak and felt unstable, and a bit rough. It wasn't like the students assigned to Class One, whose pulses are strong and firm, and whose arms feel smooth when pressed, with clear pulse beats. That noble youth, though he looked strong, his pulse disappeared when you pressed too hard; only when you pressed lightly could you feel it. Instructor Anfia, though her words were a bit jumbled, Lorist knew that after a year of study and practice, she had made initial progress in pulse-taking.

"You're absolutely right. That noble youth's body was depleted by female relations, his Vital Energy is damaged, outwardly strong but inwardly weak. This manifests in the pulse as you described. The dozens of students assigned to Class Four this time are mostly noble children. Their physical problems are largely similar: they experienced romantic relationships too early in their youth and were undisciplined, leaving them all severely weakened. How can they awaken Battle Qi if their Blood Essence isn't flourishing? Therefore, their diet and lifestyle must be strictly controlled." Lorist greatly admired Anfia's progress.

"Chief Instructor Locke, I can indeed feel the difference in the new students' pulse beats, but I can't differentiate them as subtly as Instructor Anfia," said Instructor Hughes.

"Actually, Instructor Hughes, I'm already surprised that you've started to feel a difference in just three days. Instructor Anfia began learning last year and has only now achieved initial mastery. Pulse-taking is actually very simple: calm your mind, be meticulous, and then practice a lot. The more you take pulses, the more you'll naturally understand. With so many new students this time, if you find a hundred students each day to take their pulses, and focus on differentiating the subtle differences in each student's pulse, you can even compare them to your own. By the end of this Battle Qi Enlightenment Class, you might even surpass Instructor Anfia," Lorist said with a smile.

"As for the rest of you, if you're interested, you can try it too. If you have any questions, you can ask me. As long as you master pulse-taking, you can understand the students' physical condition at any time and know when their Blood Essence is at its peak. Only then can we ensure a 100% success rate when having them awaken Battle Qi. This is why I can help all students awaken Battle Qi," Lorist said to the Silver and Black Iron instructors behind him.

Some instructors were eager to try, while others thought about it, then looked at Instructor Marlin. They figured that even Marlin, a Gold instructor, was clueless after three days, so pulse-taking wasn't as simple as it sounded. They shook their heads, indicating they weren't interested in learning.

Back when Lorist was first assigned by the academy to teach a Battle Qi Enlightenment Class, there were only seventeen commoner students. At that time, the theory of bloodline inheritance was prevalent, believing that the awakening of Battle Qi was mainly due to the magical beast factors inherited in the bloodline. Descendants of ancestors who had been Sword Saints had a greater chance of awakening Battle Qi, so the proportion of noble children awakening Battle Qi was much higher than that of commoners.

Lorist scoffed at this theory, considering it pure nonsense. Based on his own experience cultivating Blazing Flame Battle Qi, he believed that Battle Qi cultivated the bloodline, so the awakening of Battle Qi must also be related to Blood Essence. As long as Battle Qi awakening occurred when everyone's Blood Essence was at its peak, the success rate would significantly increase. Whether Blood Essence was abundant or not was related to a person's physical health and nutritional status.

The higher proportion of noble children awakening Battle Qi was likely due to their living environment. They consumed more nutrients, had stronger bodies, and flourishing Blood Essence, thus a higher success rate in awakening Battle Qi. Lorist observed and gathered information, finding that those noble children who failed to awaken Battle Qi were not due to diluted bloodlines, but rather to decadent lifestyles and lack of self-discipline. Every one of them was a debaucher. This further solidified Lorist's views.

As for why the proportion of commoner students awakening Battle Qi was low, it might be due to malnutrition. They had scrimped and saved just to afford tuition, and their physical condition was poor. Without adequate nutrition, their Blood Essence naturally wouldn't be abundant, so how could they awaken Battle Qi? Lorist made a bold hypothesis, wanting to see if his idea could hold true, and thus used the seventeen commoner students from his first teaching assignment as experimental subjects.

But how could he understand these students' physical conditions? Lorist thought of the traditional Chinese medicine passed down in his previous life. Although he hadn't studied medicine thoroughly with his grandfather as a child, he had learned to take pulses by being around him. While he couldn't distinguish internal injuries or hidden ailments, he could tell whether the body was healthy and if Blood Essence was abundant. This was enough for Lorist's application.

As Lorist suspected, the pulse-taking results showed that most of the seventeen commoner students were malnourished. This was easily manageable. Lorist recalled the basic training for new recruits when he was in the army; after three months, those sickly city boys became full of vigor. However, there was a problem: how to provide these students with sufficient nutritional supplements? These students from commoner backgrounds couldn't afford extra nutritional fees.

Work-study it was. Although these commoner students hadn't awakened Battle Qi, they could still do chores like sweeping, carrying trash, washing clothes, shopping, watering flowers, and feeding fish. Lorist haggled with the academy's administrative staff responsible for miscellaneous affairs for a long time and took on a large number of long-term chores for these commoner students. The wages were pooled together, and Lorist planned to provide dietary supplements for these students.

In Galintea, doctors were apothecaries, and their specialty was making potions to cure all ailments. Although many potions used herbs, the raw materials for potion making mostly came from magical beasts themselves. While he had memorized a few tonifying recipes from his previous life, Lorist couldn't find the necessary medicinal ingredients in Galintea. He could only use his knowledge of Magical Beast Lore and Apothecary, combined with the recipes from his previous life, to research and devise a nutritious daily meal plan.

After more than three months of physical training and nutritional supplementation, all seventeen commoner students awakened Battle Qi, greatly surprising the academy. Thus, at the start of the second academic year, Lorist was again assigned by the academy to teach a Battle Qi Enlightenment Class. This time, it was more normal. The thirty-one students had not been pre-selected by other instructors, and they varied in age, background, and status. Lorist once again employed his secret weapon, pulse-taking, and provided different training based on the students' varying physical conditions. Within one semester, all thirty-one students awakened Battle Qi, another complete success.

This time, the academy was not just shocked; they suspected Lorist had mastered some secret to awakening Battle Qi. So, in the third year, the academy assigned Lorist a Battle Qi Enlightenment Class with as many as fifty-nine students. Among them were over ten noble students who had come by reputation, including three students who had previously failed to awaken Battle Qi. For this, the academy assigned five instructors, led by Instructor Anfia, as Lorist's assistants, hoping to understand the reasons for Lorist's success.

The situation of these fifty-nine students was more complex than in the previous two terms, especially the noble students, half of whom were physically weak. The three students who had failed to awaken Battle Qi were even worse off; they looked like they were about to suffocate after just running two laps around the training ground. Lorist truly admired their courage to attempt awakening Battle Qi.

Considering the physical condition of these noble students, Lorist believed that simple dietary supplements wouldn't have much effect on their bodies; the damage was too severe. Since these nobles had plenty of money if nothing else, Lorist collected another nutritional potion fee. He collaborated with the academy's potion laboratory, using the blood of several magical beasts and some tonic herbs to produce a batch of potions to supplement Blood Essence and enhance Vital Energy. He had those noble students take them daily, supplemented with some physical training, and monitored their physical condition through frequent pulse-taking. When their Blood Essence was abundant, he had them awaken Battle Qi, and it was indeed successful.

During this process, Lorist did not keep the method of pulse-taking a secret. He openly demonstrated it to instructors like Anfia, even clearly explaining that understanding students' physical conditions through pulse-taking was the reason for his success, and enthusiastically taught them how to take pulses.

Lorist didn't believe these instructors could learn pulse-taking immediately. It looked simple, but in his previous life, how many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine spent years learning from their masters through direct instruction before mastering pulse-taking diagnosis? Even doctors trained in medical schools, who understood the principles of pulse-taking, could they actually take pulses for patients? Without direct instruction and practical insight, it was impossible to learn. Like foreigners studying traditional Chinese medicine in his previous life, how many Caucasians could actually take pulses and diagnose patients?

Lorist grew up by his grandfather's side, an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, in his previous life. After more than a decade of studying martial arts and medicine, he had only then grasped a superficial understanding of pulse-taking. He didn't believe that he, with his limited knowledge, could make these instructors truly understand what pulse-taking was. The facts proved him right. The other four instructors soon gave up, including Lorist's good friend, Instructor Yuri. After Yuri's Battle Qi advanced to the Silver Rank, he was officially hired by the academy as a riding instructor and was also transferred to be Lorist's assistant this time.

Only Instructor Anfia persisted. She believed what Lorist said: the more you take pulses, the more you'll naturally understand the differences in the pulse. It is said that after the semester ended, she continued to take pulses at home, targeting her husband, Instructor Krudd, herself, and her two children. In the end, her family members would flee at the sight of her wanting to take their pulses.

The students in the third year's Battle Qi Enlightenment Class all awakened Battle Qi, a result that earned Lorist the Battle Qi Gold Instructor badge. Combined with his Swordsmanship Gold Instructor title, he became a renowned dual Gold Instructor at Dawnlight Academy.

Last year, Lorist signed up for an expedition to the Ruins Archipelago and did not teach the new semester's Battle Qi Enlightenment Class. This year is his fourth time teaching. The total number of students is eight hundred and seventy-nine, all of whom came because of Lorist's reputation as a Battle Qi Gold Instructor, and even paid double tuition.