Seeking Meridians, Setting Meridians, Opening Meridians

Shen Lin carried a bottle of good wine and a bag of fragrant roast chicken into the backyard of the County Office.

"Master Yuan, I've come to see you."

As soon as Shen Lin spoke, the old man, who had been lying on a bamboo chair basking in the sun, shot in front of him with a speed completely inconsistent with his white hair.

"Furong Brew?" He didn't care about his image, sniffed the wine jar in Shen Lin's hand, and said with intoxication, "Still a thirty-year-old vintage... Kid! What windfall did you get to be able to afford such good wine to find this old man?"

As he spoke, he looked up, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked at Shen Lin.

The old man was sent by the prefecture to guide Qiulin County's Constable in martial arts. Everyone in the County Office only knew that his surname was Yuan and that his strength was unfathomable, so they respectfully called him Master Yuan.

However, even this Master Yuan couldn't see Shen Lin's current martial arts realm.

After all, with the help of the System, Shen Lin had studied Qi and Blood Force for nearly a hundred years, and his control over it had reached a state of perfection.

Neither Prefect Hu before nor Master Yuan before him could see that Shen Lin was not just a simple Martial Artist at the moment, but a Martial Artist in the Opening Meridians Realm who had opened three meridians.

Shen Lin smiled slightly and slightly released the Qi and Blood Force within his body.

"Oh my goodness..."

This sudden release startled the old man so much that he spoke in his hometown dialect.

He widened his eyes and said in disbelief, "Although I knew your talent was good, how long have you been cultivating seriously to have already become a Martial Artist?"

"It was just luck." Shen Lin sighed and said, "I was facing a life-or-death crisis at the time, and I broke through for some reason."

Hearing this, Master Yuan seemed to recall something, his eyes dimmed slightly, and he nodded, "Indeed, there are great opportunities between life and death. Come, sit! Have a drink with this old man."

He led Shen Lin to a stone chair nearby, sat down, rubbed his hands, and solemnly opened the fine wine. He first took a deep breath of the aroma, then directly raised the wine jar and took a large gulp.

"Ha! Refreshing, come!"

Shen Lin took a sip and watched the old man unwrap the oil paper and eat the chicken. He wanted to ask something but finally closed his mouth and handed the wine jar over.

The old man said nothing, just drank and ate meat. In a short while, only a pile of chicken bones and an empty wine jar remained on the stone table.

"Hic!" The old man yawned with great satisfaction, his oily face looking a bit dazed. "You came to me for the next step of your cultivation, right?"

Shen Lin smiled, "Master Yuan, you see clearly!"

"You little brat, you're so cunning. If you didn't have something on your mind, why would you come to me with good wine and good meat?" He cursed and playfully, wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve, and said solemnly, "Alright, I'll tell you about the path of cultivation after becoming a Martial Artist."

Hearing this, Shen Lin's expression became more serious. He cupped his fists and said, "Master Yuan, thank you for your guidance, I..."

"Hey, hey, hey, stop it! Less nonsense, bring me more wine later when you have the time."

Waving his hand to interrupt Shen Lin's performance, the old man pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Martial arts cultivation, generating Qi and Blood Force to become a Martial Artist, that's just the beginning. You can't be too complacent! The road ahead will only get harder."

"After becoming a Martial Artist, have you practiced the Blood Battle Saber Technique again?"

Seeing Shen Lin nod, the old man immediately said, "Then you should have felt it too. When practicing martial arts, the Qi and Blood Force in your body will be stirred, and it will naturally flow. This is the key to reaching the next level, the Opening Meridians Realm!"

"Locate the meridian, fix the meridian, and finally break through the meridian!"

"Every time you break through a meridian, your Qi and Blood Force will double out of thin air."

Shen Lin thought of the three meridians he had opened and asked, "Does Master Yuan know how many meridians there are in the human body in total?"

"There are twelve in total!"

Hearing this, Shen Lin felt his head swell.

It took him over a hundred years of his lifespan to open three meridians. How many years of Demon lifespan would it take to open them all?

He had to get rid of demons as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, he asked, "Then do I just need to continue practicing the Blood Battle Saber Technique?"

"You can do that, of course. But..." the old man shook his head, "I don't recommend it!"

"The earliest Martial Artists did it this way, using martial arts to stir the Qi and Blood Force in their bodies to naturally open the meridians. But this requires extremely high talent and takes a very long time."

"For a low-level martial art like the Blood Battle Saber Technique, if you want to break through to the Opening Meridians Realm with it, even with your talent, it will probably take more than ten years."

You really think too highly of me.

Shen Lin couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew that even with the System's help, it had taken him twenty-eight years to break through from Martial Artist to Opening Meridians Realm.

"Then if I find some high-grade martial arts, can I..."

Before Shen Lin could finish his question, the old man interrupted, "Indeed! High-grade martial arts involve more meridians and make it easier to sense their location. But similarly, the time required to break through the meridians is the same."

Seeing Shen Lin's confusion deepen, the old man stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "For Martial Artists today, to reach the Opening Meridians Realm as quickly as possible, two things are needed."

"First, Meridian Opening Martial Arts! These martial arts have no offensive power, they are only used to stir the Qi and Blood Force in the body, allowing the Martial Artist to more easily sense the location of the meridians within the body."

"Second, spiritual pills and elixirs like the Meridian Unblocking Pill, which can greatly speed up the process of breaking through meridians."

At this point, the old man shook his head with some regret, "Unfortunately, both of these things are controlled by powerful aristocratic families, sects, and the imperial court's Demon Suppression Bureau. Outsiders cannot easily obtain them."

Shen Lin asked hesitantly, "Didn't you before..."

"Are you talking about the Meridian Unblocking Pill I obtained before?" The old man chuckled, "That was something I exchanged from the Demon Suppression Bureau with merit points after staying in Qiulin County for nearly twenty years. Do you think I have that much influence? Look at Sun Zhi, he has killed so many demons in the past few years, and only then could he exchange for the most basic meridian opening secret technique and Meridian Unblocking Pill from the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Hearing this, Shen Lin's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Head Constable Sun... exchanged for Meridian Unblocking Pill?"

"It should arrive in the next few days. That guy, how many times has he narrowly escaped death, and only then did he have hope of advancing further."

The old man sighed and looked at Shen Lin, shaking his head. "My entire knowledge is bound by oaths and cannot be passed on. Otherwise, I would have a secret meridian-opening technique to give you."

As he spoke, he pulled a tattered book from his embrace and tossed it over.

"This is a martial art I obtained from an enemy I killed back in the day. Take it and have a look. It's bound to be better than your Blood Battle Saber Technique."

Shen Lin took the book, his face beaming with joy.

To be honest, he didn't really care about that meridian-opening technique.

After all, with the System around, he believed that as long as the Demon's lifespan was sufficient, he would eventually figure out the location of the meridians in his body.

What he needed most right now was martial arts, and...

Meridian Unblocking Pill!