The next day, Lin Ze got up early.
He began his morning practice.
In the broad, quiet courtyard, Lin Ze's figure darted and shifted.
His blood and qi surged with every punch and kick, while Inner Breath raced through his meridians and acupoints with each inhale and exhale. Every movement brimmed with surging power.
Today's morning practice was different from usual.
Normally, after practicing his forms for a while, he would feel tired as his strength ran low.
But today, the more Lin Ze practiced, the more invigorated he felt, as though his body had an endless supply of energy.
As time passed, he could clearly feel the Inner Breath within him gathering in ever greater amounts.
If his Inner Breath before had been a tiny spring, now it had become a stream.
With every inhale and exhale, the stream coursed through the Twelve Principal Meridians in his body, passed through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and finally returned to his Dantian Qi Sea, completing a full Greater Celestial Circuit.
With that, the fist technique Lin Ze had practiced for over two years officially advanced from a level of slight proficiency to one of consummate mastery.
"So I've opened my meridians?"
Lin Ze stood still, contemplating the changes in his body.
In the martial arts system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the first step in cultivation was called Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Origin.
That meant laying the groundwork for martial arts through regular exercise and nourishing foods and medicines.
Next came the actual practice of martial arts. Though every school had its own methods, they could all be summed up as tempering the body, bolstering one's blood and qi, awakening a sense of qi, and refining Inner Breath—thereby officially crossing the threshold into advanced martial arts.
Then, one used Inner Breath to circulate through the body, nourish the meridians, unlock the body's potential, and increase Combat Power.
Martial artists who hadn't cultivated Inner Breath and knew only a few basic techniques were considered third-rate at best. Those who possessed Inner Breath were sure to have vigorous blood and qi and well-practiced forms, enough to take on several opponents at once. In the martial world, they could at least be considered third-rate.
Once one had accumulated enough Inner Breath to circulate throughout the body and nourish and open the meridians of the Greater Celestial Circuit, one could certainly be considered second-rate.
At twelve, Lin Ze had begun using the scientific body-conditioning methods of the Main World to keep fit, building himself a strong physique. That, too, had been a process of Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Origin.
After that, he practiced fist techniques for two and a half years. As his forms grew polished and his body grew stronger, he gradually cultivated Inner Breath.
Now, after a further period of accumulation, it wasn't surprising that he had reached the Vein Opening stage.
"I can eat more nourishing food for a while."
After contemplating the changes in his body, Lin Ze made up his mind.
Having Inner Breath circulate throughout his body wouldn't increase his Combat Power by all that much directly, but it had greatly unlocked his physical potential. For a while, his body would enter a period of rapid growth, constantly drawing in nourishment to strengthen itself.
At a time like this, eating plenty of nourishing food was just the thing.
"Besides, I need to find a martial art of a higher caliber."
"I don't have enough money yet to tempt one of the great sects that possess Superior Martial Arts. But before then, I should at least figure out what I'm working toward."
As he left the courtyard where he practiced martial arts, Lin Ze let several maids carefully wipe away his sweat while he pondered.
Based on what Lin Ze knew of the martial arts system in the Great Zhou Dynasty:
Before Vein Opening, having a martial art of a higher caliber made some difference, but not all that much.
After all, even if you had an unrivaled divine art, you still had to start by Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Origin, cultivating Inner Breath, and opening all your meridians.
But after Vein Opening, one had accumulated enough Inner Breath to cultivate more challenging internal methods, allowing one to refine essence into qi and build up Inner Breath much faster.
You might build up your power using the crude breathing method that came with a second- or third-rate fist technique, while someone else used an advanced method.
Even if you were exceptionally talented and could accomplish in a day what took an ordinary person two or three days, someone cultivating with an advanced method could achieve in a day what took an ordinary person five or six days—or even a dozen.
At first, the gap might not seem all that great. But as time went on, the difference in the power they accumulated would grow vast as the heavens and the abyss.
With all the firearms from the Main World at his disposal, Lin Ze wasn't aiming to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
But he knew that martial strength was what kept him alive and secure.
Wasn't the reason the local officials and powerful families had treated him as an honored guest the moment he arrived in Fengping County that he had displayed the Combat Power of a first-rate expert?
He didn't need to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, but he did need to make sure that if a true master ambushed him, he could react and strike back at once.
That was why cultivating Superior Martial Arts was essential.
After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Lin Ze felt ravenous.
First, he slurped down two big bowls of mutton noodles. Then he ate two jin of mutton with cucumber, along with more than a dozen large meat buns.
He'd eaten so much, yet his stomach didn't feel the least bit full. As soon as the food entered his stomach, it was rapidly digested.
At the end, he drank a big glass of honey water and finally felt satisfied.
He could clearly feel the food being digested, warmth spreading through his body with the flow of blood and qi, and strength filling him from head to toe.
After reaching the Vein Opening stage, his physical potential had been unlocked. His body was constantly drawing nourishment from food to build up its vitality, energy, and spirit.
"There's nothing especially urgent to do today. I was already thinking of looking for a way to obtain Superior Martial Arts, so I may as well go take a look around the docks."
After breakfast, Lin Ze met with the "Wang Po" who had come to arrange a match for him.
As he'd expected, she told him that the match was with the County Magistrate's eldest daughter.
Once he agreed, the matchmaker would report back to Madam Li at the County Magistrate's home. She would also help Lin Ze prepare the auspicious gifts required for the proposal. Once everything was ready tomorrow, he could take the gifts to the County Magistrate's home and propose.
The coal mine was still in its early stages of construction. Unless something unexpected happened, he only needed to inspect the results in three days. Lin Ze himself had nothing to do for now.
So, he decided to look into how he might obtain Superior Martial Arts.
He didn't try to find a way in town because Fengping County held no secrets from him.
The most sophisticated martial art in the county was the Crane Step Tiger Form Fist he currently practiced.
Back when he'd wanted to learn about society in the Great Zhou Dynasty, he'd even used drones to spy on the affair between the wife of a wealthy household and her lover, so he'd heard a thing or two about it.
Under the circumstances, if Lin Ze wanted to obtain Superior Martial Arts, his only option was to take a look around the docks.
The docks outside Fengping County's western gate often saw boats passing through from all over. Among their passengers were sometimes martial artists from famous sects.
If he could make the acquaintance of a disciple from one of the Great Sects of the Martial World or a Martial Arts Holy Land, that connection might get him an introduction—and perhaps a chance to learn Superior Martial Arts.
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