"Were you planning to test which cultivation art suited you?" Master Lin asked.
"Yes, Master Lin!" Jiang Liu replied promptly.
"Then go back and wait. I'll have someone deliver the testing cultivation arts to you." Master Lin waved his hand.
"Yes, Master Lin!" Jiang Liu bowed.
Not long after Jiang Liu returned to his small courtyard, a disciple from the Technique Hall arrived carrying nine testing cultivation arts for him.
Jiang Liu signed to confirm receipt and registered them on his Identity Jade Token. Only then did he accept the cultivation manuals. He would have to return them all a month later. The first rule of Fallen Blossom Gang's Training Hall was that cultivation manuals could not be passed on to outsiders. Anyone who violated this rule would have their dantian crippled, their meridians severed, and the manuals reclaimed.
First were the five Five Elements Heart Sutra manuals: Gold Spirit Art, Wood Spirit Art, Water Spirit Art, Fire Spirit Art, and Earth Spirit Art. Then there were Lightning Guiding Art, Frost Art, Thunderclap Art, and Wind Rise Art. They were all basic Yellow Grade, Low Rank cultivation manuals.
Jiang Liu stared at the manuals, at a loss where to begin.
Forget it. I'll cultivate the Five Elements Heart Sutra first. As for the Five Elements Spirit Arts provided by the gang, I won't cultivate those. Their level is too low, and they'd just waste my time. I'll try cultivating the lightning, thunder, ice, and wind attributes too and see whether any of them suit me.
Jiang Liu thought that, in any case, his cultivation-art proficiency could be merged, so it would not count as wasting time. He simply did not know whether the merged art would also carry the other attributes. When he recalled that Five Elements Fist carried Fierce Tiger Fist's tiger-intimidating attack, his heart surged with excitement.
Jiang Liu sat cross-legged and first guided his qi and blood from his lungs, sending it out along the Lung Meridian. It flowed along the Large Intestine Meridian, then successively through the Stomach Meridian, Spleen Meridian, Heart Meridian, Small Intestine Meridian, Bladder Meridian, Kidney Meridian, Pericardium Meridian, Triple Burner Meridian, Gallbladder Meridian, and Liver Meridian before finally returning to his lungs, forming a perfect Five Elements cycle.
After circulating it once, he sensed a single Essence Particle formed from qi and blood within his meridians. It seemed that opening a dantian required storing enough essence first.
This drop of essence was like a spark. From there, he would have to continue absorbing the free Essence Particles in the air.
Only after Jiang Liu completed a circulation of the Five Elements Heart Sutra did he realize that the five elements complemented one another. Of course, cultivating them separately was also possible, which was why progress would seem faster. The Five Elements Spirit Arts were precisely cultivation arts that circulated each element independently.
However, cultivating any one of the five elements alone would have its flaws. After all, martial cultivation was the process of tempering the body and evolving. The five elements corresponded to the body's five zang organs, so cultivating the Five Elements Heart Sutra tempered all the zangfu organs at the same time.
This was something one could only understand upon advancing to the Grandmaster realm. After all, Lin Hao was merely a Grade Five martial artist, and the Grandmaster realm was still far beyond his reach. It was perfectly normal that he did not know.
The reason the Five Elements Heart Sutra had no grade was mainly that its grade depended on how far one could cultivate it. That made it difficult to assign a fixed grade. It was unlike graded martial arts, which had a clear limit to how far they could be cultivated.
Without realizing it, Jiang Liu had already made the optimal choice. Otherwise, if he waited until he was preparing to advance to the Grandmaster realm before cultivating the other four elements, he would regret it to death.
With a thought from Jiang Liu, a deep-blue light screen appeared.
Auxiliary System: Name: Jiang Liu Realm: Martial Artist (Not Entry Grade 1/100) Alchemy (Beginner 45/100) Medical Arts (Not Initiated 0/50) Five Elements Fist (Perfected) (Trait: Qi and Blood Growth) Wandering Steps (Perfected) (Trait: Evasion) Heart Method: Five Elements Heart Sutra (Ungraded, Not Initiated 1/500) Cultivation Arts: None
I'll try circulating the other cultivation arts! Jiang Liu picked up Lightning Guiding Art and carefully flipped through it. "Ding! An ungraded, low-rank Yellow Grade heart method, Lightning Guiding Art, has been discovered. Record it?"
Yes! Jiang Liu clicked confirm. He then recorded the remaining three special-attribute heart methods one after another.
I'll cultivate Lightning Guiding Art once and see how it goes. He immediately circulated the heart method. A hot current of qi and blood rose from his lower abdomen, traveled along the Conception Vessel to the Governing Vessel, and formed a small cycle. A single Essence Particle formed from qi and blood existed within his meridians. Sure enough, it took only one-fifth the time required by the Five Elements Heart Sutra.
Next, he circulated his qi and blood according to Thunderclap Art's circulation method. A hot current of qi and blood rose from his lower abdomen, traveled along the Thoroughfare Vessel to the Girdling Vessel, and formed a small cycle.
Then, following Wind Rise Art's circulation method, he circulated his qi and blood. A hot current of qi and blood rose from his heels, traveled along the Yin Heel Vessel to the Yang Heel Vessel, and formed a small cycle.
Finally, following Frost Art's circulation method, he circulated his qi and blood. A hot current of qi and blood rose from his heels, traveled along the Yin Linking Vessel to the Yang Linking Vessel, and formed a small cycle.
Feeling the four additional Essence Particles in his meridians, Jiang Liu was filled with satisfaction. It seems I'm a genius! I succeed at cultivating every art on the first try. He had completely forgotten that the panel had directly stuffed the cultivation methods into his mind, and was taking all the credit for himself.
Could these five heart methods be cultivated separately, one by one? Could they be cultivated together?
Jiang Liu began testing them one by one. But saying it was easy was one thing; actually experimenting was another. Either the qi-and-blood circulation routes became chaotic, or the qi and blood went running wild in every direction. Jiang Liu ended up like a firefighter, his mind darting from here to there.
After experimenting for more than an hour, he had not succeeded even once. Instead, his qi and blood surged upward, and he spat out several mouthfuls of regurgitated blood.
I refuse to believe it's impossible! Jiang Liu hardened his resolve and muttered inwardly.
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