Internal and External Techniques

The public security situation in this world was far more chaotic than in his previous life. Still, relatively speaking, the identity of a Martial Arts Student offered a certain degree of safety in the open.

As for the hidden chaos beneath the surface, that was beyond the knowledge of a mere student like him.

After the two returned to the grounds, they rested briefly before sparring for another hour or so.

Taihang Thirteen Palms, progress: 100%!

Internal Energy: 5 years + (points available)

Acupoints opened: None

Advancement Points: +1

This Advancement Point can be used to increase a certain amount of refined Internal Energy or open key acupoints throughout the body.

As the shifting light and shadow of the system panel changed, a new line of information appeared.

Zhao Rui was instantly overjoyed. It could actually increase his Internal Energy? If he secretly learned a hundred or eighty martial arts, wouldn't his cultivation become heaven-defying?

The future looked promising!

The moon hung over the treetops, and the evening breeze gradually turned cool. The already empty riverbank grew even more deserted. Seeing that it was late, the three tidied up, got on their bikes, and left.

The moment he got home, Zhao Rui eagerly burrowed into his room and checked the system panel.

Name: Zhao Rui

Age: 18

...

Techniques: Azure Cloud Palm (Proficient) +

Cloud Hand Plucks Stars (Skilled) +

Taihang Thirteen Palms (Proficient) +

Taihang Four Symbols Art (Copyable).

Why was there an extra Taihang Four Symbols Art? Wasn't that Cui Jian's internal cultivation technique?

After giving it some thought, Zhao Rui came to a rough understanding.

The martial arts of this world were divided into Internal and External Techniques. External techniques, as the name implied, were moves and forms—but not the empty flourishes from his previous life.

Pretty to look at but useless in a fight, without any real power.

The techniques of this life paired every move and stance with a specific method of circulating qi, driving the vast Internal Energy within the body outward to create force far beyond that of ordinary people.

Internal techniques, meanwhile, were inner-breathing methods that involved breathing and exhaling, circulating the heavenly circuit, opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and forming a cycle of Internal Energy within the body.

What such techniques produced was what people commonly called Internal Energy or true qi.

The deeper one's Internal Energy, the greater the power of the moves one unleashed.

Likewise, the more exquisite a move's circulation method, the faster it could output Internal Energy and the greater the amount it could release, making one's combat power stronger as well.

The two complemented one another; neither could be absent.

Some martial arts in this world possessed only moves and required one to learn other internal techniques to support them. Others had only internal techniques, with no specific moves.

Others still possessed both internal and external techniques, requiring no help from anyone else.

There was no inherent superiority or inferiority between them. It was simply a matter of whether something had been lost in a martial arts lineage—or had never been created at all.

The Azure Cloud Palm Zhao Rui was currently learning at school belonged to the type with only moves and no Internal Energy cultivation.

Cloud Hand Plucks Stars, the signature art he had learned from the martial arts school, came with its own internal qi-circulation method, called the Ethereal Divine Skill.

It counted as a martial art that cultivated both internally and externally.

As for where the name Ethereal Divine Skill came from, according to his Senior Brothers, Master had thought the old name, Cloud Qi Formula, sounded terrible and changed it himself.

Who knew whether that counted as betraying one's master and destroying one's ancestors?

The Taihang Thirteen Palms he had obtained from Cui Jian also belonged to this category. Its internal technique was called the Taihang Four Symbols Art.

Seeing that name, Zhao Rui understood. The panel most likely copied external techniques first, then chose the other party's internal technique afterward.

That was probably why the Taihang Four Symbols Art had appeared on the panel.

Having figured it out, Zhao Rui decisively added an Advancement Point to his Internal Energy.

Internal Energy: Six years!

Zhao Rui felt a wave of warmth sweep through his entire body, as though a master had poured Internal Energy into him from above. Strands of heat coursed through his limbs and bones.

As his body changed, the Advancement Point in his mind quietly vanished.

Only one year?

Zhao Rui was slightly disappointed, but it was only to be expected. In fact, it was already ridiculously heaven-defying.

How could anyone become fat in one bite?

Zhao Rui shook his head and smiled helplessly, feeling that he had been too impatient.

After adding the point just now, he had gained a general understanding of the panel's functions. This system panel could learn and copy other people's martial arts and mental cultivation methods, but it would most likely only reach the Proficient level at most.

And every time he finished learning a martial art, he would gain an Advancement Point. This skill point could be used to increase Internal Energy or open acupoints throughout the body.

He just did not know whether there were any requirements for the martial arts—whether any random martial art would grant him a year of Internal Energy cultivation.

He would have to wait until after the Gaokao and study that slowly.

Now that he understood the panel's functions, the stone hanging over Zhao Rui's heart finally dropped.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. The circulation methods and movements of the Taihang Thirteen Palms surfaced in his mind of their own accord.

After contemplating with his eyes closed for a moment, Zhao Rui's eyes snapped open. His feet flashed, his palms whistled like the wind, and his body shot forth with the savage force of a tiger descending the mountain.

"Thousand-Cliff Cloud Lock, Ten Thousand Ravines Hear Pines... Returning Dragon Breaks the Ravine, Silent Annihilation of a Thousand Mountains!"

As Zhao Rui unleashed the full palm technique, his momentum was as majestic as a mountain. Even if a mountain of blades and a sea of flames lay before him, they could not withstand the crushing pressure of his towering peaks.

It carried the flavor of breaking ten thousand techniques with a single force.

That ruthless sensation of charging forward without hesitation and crushing others with sheer momentum made Zhao Rui shout in delight.

No wonder Cui Jian fought like a madman, charging and smashing straight through everything. Once this martial art was unleashed, it felt damn good even to the user himself!

Unlike his Azure Cloud Palm, which drifted and shifted unpredictably, full of moves that used softness to overcome hardness.

The room was too cramped. After performing the set once, Zhao Rui still did not feel satisfied, so he ran outside to the small riverside woods beyond the residential complex and practiced it several more times to his heart's content.

He immediately felt refreshed and clear-headed, a smooth current surging through his chest that made him want to throw back his head and howl at the sky.

Fortunately, he held back that impulse in time, gathered his breath, and returned to the source.

After briefly regulating his breathing, Zhao Rui strolled home at an unhurried pace.

Ever since he had entered high school, his parents had rarely interfered with him. For one thing, he was sensible; for another, he practiced martial arts and was relatively independent.

So when they saw him rush out and then stroll back in, Zhao Jincheng and his wife did not say much.

The dull days before the Gaokao were boring yet fulfilling.

In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived. As a Martial Arts Student, he had one day off and did not need to attend class.

He could rest and recuperate, adjusting both body and mind.

Early that morning, while Zhao Rui was still practicing his morning exercises in the small woods, Bai Xuening called.

"Sun Boran is coming tonight. I've arranged to meet him at two-thirty this afternoon, so get ready."

The girl's voice was as pleasant as ever.

Zhao Rui asked in surprise, "You can contact him directly?"

"Didn't I tell you? My Master knows his Master, and we've known each other since we were little... Ah, anyway, just come with me. And don't tell anyone else!"

"No problem!"

Zhao Rui agreed with a smile. He had not expected the little girl to have connections like that.

After hanging up, Zhao Rui continued his morning practice. Progress in martial arts was a matter of accumulating steadily until one broke through. No matter how peerless a martial art was, reaching the realm of perfection still required diligent study and bitter training.

These past few days, he had spent every evening sparring with others—either going to the martial arts school to train with Third Disciple Brother, or sparring with Bai Xuening.

As for Cui Jian, there was nothing left to squeeze out of him, so he was naturally abandoned.

Because of this, Cui Jian pestered Zhao Rui for quite a while, accusing him of liking the new and discarding the old.

Now that he had Bai Xuening, he did not want Cui Jian anymore!

After saying that, Cui Jian got his wish and faced Bai Xuening in a match—then got beaten into a pig's head.

After these days of sparring, Wing Chun Inquiry had reached 80/100, while Cloud Hand Plucks Stars had reached 75/100. In another day or two, he would probably be able to copy them completely.

By then, his Cloud Hand Plucks Stars could reach the Proficient level, and his inner qi could be circulated through the Greater Heavenly Circuit.