Qi Condensation

Zhuang Jin had just finished drinking the Qi Channel Opening Soup when he saw a middle-aged man enter the Training Ground. The man wore a gray robe, had short-cropped hair, and was of average height. His features were ordinary, yet he carried an indescribably capable, sharp aura.

His gaze first fell upon the man's legs. As expected of someone who practiced martial arts—his stance is different from an ordinary person's!

Then he looked at the pattern on the man's shoulder: two stripes.

He was unmistakably a Shen Family Two-Striped Servant!

The martial master walked to the edge of the Martial Arts Practice Field, gave Song Lan a slight nod, and drank the remaining two or three bowls' worth of Qi Channel Opening Soup from the wooden bucket she had served. He then wiped his mouth with his sleeve and walked to the center of the Martial Arts Practice Field.

Seeing this, Zhuang Jin recalled what Miss Yun had said before: "During the first Martial Student Recruitment, one martial student ate an extra half-bowl. The Martial Arts Instructor was there at the time, broke his arm, and threw him out." The corner of his mouth twitched. No wonder that martial student had his arm broken and was thrown out. So the leftover Qi Channel Opening Soup all belonged to the Martial Arts Instructor. Taking extra portions was like plucking fur from a tiger's back or digging earth from the Grand Duke of Jupiter's head—he was simply courting death!

He was not the only one who realized it. Many of the other martial students did as well, and they all cast strange looks at Qian Wende. As for Qian Wende himself, he was immensely grateful at that moment that Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei had stopped him earlier.

"Everyone, line up by height!" Ping Yongfeng shouted. Once the martial students had formed a square formation, he looked at them and introduced himself. "My name is Ping Yongfeng. You may call me Master Ping, or Instructor Ping!"

"Master Ping," everyone answered in unison.

"Mm." Ping Yongfeng nodded slightly and asked in a deep voice, "What do you think sets martial practitioners apart from ordinary people?"

"They eat a lot!"

"They're strong!"

"They have sharp eyes and quick hands!"

The martial students all spoke according to their own understanding.

"All of you are right! The root of a martial practitioner's superiority over ordinary people lies in Inner Breath, also called Inner Qi or Inner Force. Inner Breath circulates through the meridians and passes through Acupoints. These Acupoints are located throughout the internal organs, head, and body, granting martial practitioners keen hearing, sharp vision, swift reactions, and great strength!"

As Ping Yongfeng spoke, he went to the side of the Martial Arts Practice Field and flicked a wooden board into his hand with the tip of his right foot. He pressed his palm against it. No great force seemed to be used, but when he lifted his hand, a clear palm print had been left on the board.

The martial students' eyes widened at the sight, and many of them sucked in a cold breath.

So this is the extraordinary power of this world—Inner Breath? Zhuang Jin was equally shaken.

Satisfied by their reactions, Ping Yongfeng nodded. "In one month, anyone who can reach my level and leave a palm print on a wooden board will have entered the first realm of martial arts, the Qi Condensation Realm, and become a true martial practitioner. You will be allowed to remain and join the Shen Family! If you cannot do it, then go back where you came from!"

The martial students were still immersed in the might of martial practitioners, each one excited beyond measure. Naturally, none believed they would fail. One particularly bold martial student even asked, "Master Ping, you said the first realm of martial arts is Qi Condensation. What comes after Qi Condensation?"

"After that? Once one has opened the Twelve Principal Meridians in the Qi Condensation Realm, the next step is naturally Meridian Opening—the cultivation of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians!"

As Ping Yongfeng spoke, a look of yearning appeared on his face. But when he saw the martial students indulging in their own fantasies as well, he snorted coldly. "Enough dreaming about nonsense. Is the Meridian Opening Realm something you can covet? Even I am only a Two-Meridian Martial Artist."

At this, he paused and looked at them. "Do you think that is poor? A Formal Martial Artist is merely at One Meridian, and after breaking through once more, one becomes a Two-Meridian Martial Artist. Do you think a mere Second Meridian is nothing remarkable?"

He could belittle himself, but anyone with a little sense would not echo those words. Yet a forest was full of all kinds of birds; one blunt martial student truly seemed not to have caught on and nodded instinctively.

Ping Yongfeng's gaze instantly landed on him. The martial student shrank his neck in fright, staggered several steps back, and fell onto the ground on his backside.

The martial students burst into laughter.

Ping Yongfeng was not angry. "Laugh. Go on, laugh. Laugh while you still can, because later, you may not be able to laugh anymore."

The laughter in the field stopped abruptly.

Ping Yongfeng looked at them and gave a short laugh. "In the Qi Condensation Realm, each meridian is like a mountain range. How could a breakthrough be easy? If one's aptitude is insufficient and one gets stuck at a bottleneck..."

He shook his head and did not continue. A trace of bitterness appeared on his face, though it quickly faded. "Compared to cultivation after becoming a Formal Martial Artist, breaking through One Meridian and becoming a Formal Martial Artist is the easiest step. But even at its easiest, if two or three of you thirty manage it, you should count yourselves blessed."

"Do you know how many martial students remained from the previous two recruitments? In the first Martial Student Recruitment, only six out of one hundred and twenty succeeded. There were slightly more in the second, but only eight!"

Those words instantly dragged the martial students back to reality. Such a brutal elimination rate meant that more than ninety percent of those present were merely making up the numbers. Even the most confident among them could not help but feel nervous and somewhat dejected.

Fifteen or twenty to one?

Zhuang Jin was likewise startled by the number, but it only further ignited his fighting spirit. I made my way through such difficult circumstances before, step by painstaking step. So what if the elimination rate is high now? I need only give it everything I have and strive to rise above the rest! If I succeed, naturally that is best. If not, then I will either start over from the beginning or seek another path. I need only remain unyielding despite every setback!

Having come to a world with extraordinary power, he would never be content to spend his life as an ordinary man.

After striking at everyone's confidence, Ping Yongfeng felt much better. "Enough talk. To become a Formal Martial Artist and enter the Qi Condensation Realm, there are two steps. First: Grasp Blood Qi and refine Inner Breath. Second: Gather Inner Breath, break through the Martial Practitioner Bottleneck, and complete the circulation of Inner Breath through the first meridian."

"First, let us discuss the first step. How does one Grasp Blood Qi and refine Inner Breath? You have all drunk Qi Channel Opening Soup. It contains scraps of aged medicinal ingredients and is rich in medicinal potency. The Qi Channel Opening Soup itself also has the effect of squeezing out the body's potential. Your Blood Qi is at its peak right now. By combining it with Active Cultivation, you can draw in the medicinal power and attempt to Grasp Blood Qi, condensing a thread of incomparably pure Inner Breath."

"As for the second step, that is something to consider after refining a wisp of Inner Breath. This afternoon, I will teach you about the meridians and Acupoints."

"Now, I will teach you a set of Active Cultivation—the Black Fiend Stake Stance. This stance has a total of eighty-one movements. When practicing it, you must coordinate it with the techniques of exhalation and inhalation. Every movement must be accurate and in place, and the entire set must be completed in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea—not too fast, not too slow. Only then can you set your Blood Qi surging and attempt to Grasp it."

As Ping Yongfeng spoke, he began demonstrating on his own. While performing the stance, he taught the techniques for exhalation and inhalation, his movements flowing like clouds and running water.

The martial students all widened their eyes, staring without blinking and desperately committing everything to memory. Even their breathing unconsciously slowed.