Inner Family Skill, Five Elements Yuan Nurturing Skill

"My foster father." Chen Mo entered the study and bowed.

"What is it?" Sun Shouren asked with a smile, putting down the document in his hand.

He truly valued Chen Mo, his adopted son, now.

After all, Chen Mo was the only one of his many adopted sons still serving in the military. It was impossible for him not to value him.

"My child is currently cultivating the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist and is nearing the completion of the third level. However, for the past two days, I've felt that the circulation of my blood and energy within my body has been obstructed. Remembering your words, foster father, I dared not continue practicing and came immediately to seek your guidance."

Chen Mo stood up and spoke, his eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

"Oh!" Sun Shouren's gaze held a hint of surprise as he slowly stroked his beard.

"Follow me." He quickly left his desk and headed straight for the martial arts hall in another courtyard.

Chen Mo followed closely, stepping into the martial arts hall. Sun Shouren dismissed everyone else present.

In the vast martial arts hall, only he and Chen Mo remained.

"Come, let's see how much strength you have now." He gestured towards the stone wheels nearby.

The stone wheels in the martial arts hall were no longer made solely of stone. Some on the left and right sides had been replaced with heavier, but smaller, wrought iron.

This allowed for more precise weight calibration, enabling martial artists to more accurately gauge their own strength.

Chen Mo smiled and nodded, walking to the 900-jin stone wheel and lifting it with ease.

This was not difficult for him. Then came the 1,000-jin, and the 1,100-jin.

The third level of the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist could increase his strength by 600 jin. Coupled with his own inherent strength of over 500 jin, it amounted to a total of 1,100 jin.

Therefore, these were not too difficult for him. He approached the 1,200-jin stone wheel and made a slight attempt, eventually lifting it with great effort.

Seeing this, Sun Shouren quietly moved to Chen Mo's side, placing a hand near the stone wheel, ready to catch it at the slightest sign of trouble.

However, in the end, Chen Mo managed to lift the stone wheel completely over his head for fifteen breaths.

"Good. With this kind of strength, though not as good as mine in my prime, you could easily pass the xiucai examination. In another two years, passing the juren examination wouldn't be difficult either."

Sun Shouren's expression was quite pleased, and his gaze towards Chen Mo grew more satisfied.

That his adopted son could reach this level so early in his cultivation of the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist, while not surpassing him, was far better than many others.

This indicated that his talent was definitely not poor. With proper cultivation, he would undoubtedly become a fierce general on the battlefield.

"It's all thanks to your cultivation, foster father," Chen Mo said with a smile.

Although his strength might surpass that of many candidates for the imperial examinations, the civil service exams weren't just about brute force.

Stone lifting, archery, horsemanship, military strategy and theory, and martial arts combat were all part of the examination scope.

Passing wasn't about excelling in one area, but meeting the standards in all of them.

Due to undergoing Mortal Transformation twice consecutively, his talent was indeed quite good, but he had been practicing for too short a time.

Since joining the personal guard camp, even if he practiced continuously until the imperial examinations, he would have had at most half a year.

In contrast, candidates participating in the same imperial examinations had practiced for at least several years, or even decades. Even with Chen Mo's good talent and superior strength, it would be difficult to compete with them.

"Since you've been cultivating the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist and are now experiencing obstructions in your blood and energy circulation, you cannot continue practicing. Otherwise, you will only harm yourself. To continue cultivating, you must practice internal martial arts techniques," Sun Shouren said slowly.

"Please teach me, foster father!" Chen Mo quickly bowed.

"Rise quickly, my son!" Sun Shouren laughed heartily and helped Chen Mo to his feet.

"Sit first, I will teach you to calm your mind and circulate your energy, to sense the flow of qi," Sun Shouren said, sitting down cross-legged.

In the cultivation of internal martial arts, seated meditation was a crucial step. First, one must quiet the mind to sense the flow of qi.

Only by sensing the qi could one condense inner energy and officially begin cultivation.

Those with talent and comprehension could achieve this in three to five months, while those without might not gain anything even in three to five years.

For this reason, pure inner energy cultivators were becoming increasingly rare in the world. Besides financial limitations, the main reason was the sheer amount of time it consumed.

Martial artists who cultivated both internal and external arts, or purely external arts, were the mainstream. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists in the world were like this.

However, pure inner energy cultivators often grew stronger with age, and more importantly, had longer lifespans. If they achieved success in their cultivation, living to a hundred years old was not difficult.

As for external martial artists, even if they later switched to internal martial arts for health, most could not live past eighty.

"The internal martial art I am teaching you is called the Five Elements Yuan Nurturing Skill. Its purpose is to nourish the five internal organs, balancing the five elements within the body, so that you may cultivate Inner Breath," Sun Shouren said earnestly, explaining each word in great detail.

The Five Elements Yuan Nurturing Skill also had corresponding practice methods, but compared to the vigorous style of the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist, the practice methods of this skill were much gentler.

Furthermore, it required at least half an hour of meditation daily to calm the mind and sharpen the senses.

This was only the standard for beginners. As cultivation time increased, the time spent in meditation would also gradually increase.

Sun Shouren taught Chen Mo this skill almost hand-in-hand, fearing he might make any mistakes.

"From now on, you only need to focus on cultivating this skill. When you cultivate inner energy, it will signify that your five internal organs are harmonized, and you may then continue practicing the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist. Do not practice it again before then."

Sun Shouren's tone was slightly stern as he repeatedly instructed him.

"My child understands. However, does the Five Elements Yuan Nurturing Skill only have this one level? Is it considered cultivation once I sense inner energy?" Chen Mo's expression showed some confusion. He didn't lack methods for cultivating inner energy, but rather the application of it.

"Of course not. Unlike us external martial artists, it's hard to distinguish between high and low without fighting."

Internal martial arts practitioners, while the true gap isn't known until a fight breaks out, are still roughly categorized among themselves," Sun Shouren said, shaking his head slightly.

External martial arts, in essence, focus on improving a martial artist's strength and power, without any strict realm divisions. When two external martial artists meet, unless they actually fight, it's difficult to determine who is superior.

Even internal martial artists, despite having realm divisions, as long as they are still mortal flesh and blood, a single spear thrust can create a bloody hole. In such cases, the gap between realms isn't that significant.

As long as they make a mistake or are ambushed, even those with higher realms will meet their end.

"The first realm for internal martial artists is Sensing Qi, primarily focused on finding the sensation of Qi. You are currently in this realm.

After Sensing Qi comes Inner Breath. Martial artists accumulate inner energy in their dantian until it is completely full, which signifies the completion of this realm's cultivation.

Martial artists in this realm possess inner energy, but they often deplete it, and it takes more time to cultivate and replenish it.

The third realm is Channel Opening. True Qi circulates through the meridians, completing a cycle within the body. Once the inner energy in the dantian is exhausted, it will slowly recover on its own.

As for realms beyond this, they are too distant for you now, and you don't need to know about them yet.

You are just beginning your cultivation. First, you must achieve Sensing Qi, then cultivate Inner Breath, before you can start Channel Opening and practice the next level of the technique."

Sun Shouren spoke a great deal in one go, and Chen Mo listened very attentively.

"Then may I ask, Father, what should I do with my inner energy once I cultivate it?" Chen Mo continued to inquire.

"That's a complex matter. Tomorrow, go to my study, and I will give you the Five Elements Yuan Nurturing Skill. You can study it slowly then," Sun Shouren said with a smile as he stood up.

He had no intention of hiding anything from Chen Mo. Moreover, letting him see the subsequent cultivation methods now would also be beneficial for his future practice.

Internal martial arts are intricate and complex, far more so than external martial arts. Martial artists from major sects and prominent families often begin comprehending their techniques from the age of six or seven.

Even if they cannot cultivate, they must start comprehending early to avoid problems during practice.

Chen Mo had already started late. If he were to hide anything further, Chen Mo might not achieve much even if he managed to cultivate inner energy in his lifetime.

Although it's said that techniques should not be easily passed on, Chen Mo was not only his adopted son, but more importantly, this technique wasn't being passed on to him alone.

Several of his adopted sons and close nephews practiced this very technique.

If one person knows a technique, it's considered precious. But if twenty or thirty people know it, then the technique is no longer that valuable.

It's like the foundational techniques of many major sects and families. Since many people practice them, they inevitably circulate in the martial world.

It's just that to avoid offending the sects and families behind these techniques, practitioners usually wouldn't speak of it lightly.

"Thank you, Father!" Chen Mo bowed again in gratitude.

If external martial arts techniques could be obtained through ordinary people's efforts, offering them a chance to cultivate...

Then these internal martial arts cultivation methods were not something ordinary people could obtain through effort; each one was quite precious.