Attempt

When Feng Xiu returned to the Grain Courtyard in Dendrobium Village, the night was already deep.

Xiang Geng went to arrange for the horses to be fed, while Feng Xiu entered the room, lit an oil lamp, and sat down at the table.

He had barely sat for a moment when footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Young Master, Master Zheng sent someone to deliver a letter today," Xiang Geng's voice rang out from outside.

Feng Xiu rose to open the door, took the letter, and sat back down at the table to unfold it.

The letter was not long; Uncle Zheng's handwriting was neat and seasoned, reporting the situation at the manor over the past two days in meticulous detail.

Everything was normal at the White Willow Village and the Hundred Dou Village Dark Canal, but at the end, Uncle Zheng added a brief note.

Han Che's methods were somewhat ruthless, and the Second Young Master could barely hold up; he had already shed a layer of skin.

After all, Uncle Zheng had watched the two of them grow up, so it was natural for him to be worried.

Feeling sorry for him?

I'd like to beat him to death!

If one counted the incident with Fish Mother, that was already two times he had taken a blade for him.

What kind of girl couldn't he find? Why did he have to mess with a married woman?

Feng Xiu sneered, then summoned Xiang Geng and told him to fetch paper and a brush.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote four large characters on the back of the letter.

[Increase the intensity.]

But after a moment's thought, feeling it wasn't satisfying enough, he wrote another line.

[Take the family whip and lash him hard for me!]

The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, every stroke exuding a sense of crisp decisiveness.

Once finished, he folded the letter and handed it to Xiang Geng.

"Have someone send this back to the manor first thing tomorrow morning."

Xiang Geng took it, acknowledged the order, and turned to leave.

The room fell silent.

Feng Xiu pulled the Bone Refining Claw manual from his robes and opened it under the lamplight.

He glanced over the training methods on the first few pages and moved on; using sand and stone to temper the skin, combined with medicinal baths for nourishment, the general path was similar to the Five Force Fist.

He flipped directly to the back, to the page detailing the concept of the Tyrant Fist.

Feng Xiu's current problem was that his means of engaging enemies were still too few. While the Vajra Finger Blade was certainly powerful and came with a near-unlimited supply of hidden weapons for sneak attacks, the Nail Bullet was, in the end, just a trump card. Even when fighting the five men in the forest earlier, Feng Xiu hadn't used it.

If the Tyrant Fist could truly be mastered, and if it were combined with the Five-Strength Internal Breath Method's way of exerting force...

He wouldn't dare say anything else, but at the very least, within the Body Refining realm, anyone who came at him would be finished in one punch.

"This method sets three Qi Locks within the human body, trapping blood and Qi in the dantian, forcing it to rise, gathering it in both arms, compressing it repeatedly, and then exploding it out in a single punch, multiplying the power."

Feng Xiu stared at these lines, lost in thought for a long while.

The concept of the Tyrant Fist was somewhat similar to the path of the Five-Strength Internal Breath Method, which used intent to coordinate with breathing to control blood and Qi.

But it was more ruthless; the Internal Breath Method guided the blood and Qi to flow in an orderly fashion, while this method directly locked the blood and Qi, compressed it, and then blasted it out in one go.

Feng Xiu closed his eyes, attempting to mobilize the blood and Qi within his body according to this concept.

In his dantian, that warm, surging blood and Qi moved slowly.

Feng Xiu shifted his intent, trying to construct the first Qi Lock above his dantian, attempting to trap the blood and Qi in his chest.

In an instant, the blood and Qi stalled, then violently rebounded.

Feng Xiu felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had been punched.

He opened his eyes and rubbed his chest.

"It doesn't work." Feng Xiu shook his head, but he was unwilling to give up.

He tried again, but it still didn't work.

The third time, the fourth time—every time, the result was the same.

"Blood and Qi are not dead objects; they have their own laws of movement. Forcing control will only lead to a backlash."

Feng Xiu put down the booklet and lightly rubbed his brow. The Tyrant Fist concept made sense in theory.

But the actual operation was not that simple.

He guessed that the person who left these notes had also been stuck here.

He thought for a moment, then rose and pushed the door open to go out.

The light was still on in Xiang Geng's room.

Feng Xiu walked over and knocked on the door.

"Eldest Young Master?" Xiang Geng opened the door, looking somewhat surprised. "It's so late, you haven't slept yet?"

Feng Xiu didn't stand on ceremony; he walked straight into the room, sat down, and handed the Bone Refining Claw manual to him.

"Take a look at the last few pages."

Xiang Geng took the booklet, flipped to the back, and studied it for a while by the lamplight.

After a long moment, he looked up, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"Qi Lock, locking blood and qi, compressing for a burst—this concept is wild, truly wild."

Feng Xiu nodded. "Do you think it's feasible?"

Xiang Geng pondered for a while, then said slowly, "It's difficult, extremely difficult. It's only suitable for Body Refining martial artists who lack sufficient blood and qi."

"Why do you say that?"

No sooner had Feng Xiu asked than he recalled the blood and qi backlash he had experienced, and he instantly understood what Xiang Geng meant.

"The more vigorous your blood and qi, the greater the backlash you receive; the inverse is also true," Xiang Geng explained.

"Eldest Young Master, this is a low-grade notion. Although it is a Body Refining martial art, it is too difficult. It is not suitable for you, and you must not practice it."

Sensing that Feng Xiu was somewhat tempted, Xiang Geng urged him again.

"Why?" Feng Xiu asked in surprise.

"Eldest Young Master, although you are currently only at the Body Refining stage, in time, you will inevitably break through to Blood Burning."

Xiang Geng didn't answer Feng Xiu's question immediately, offering a flattering smile before pausing to continue:

"The so-called Blood Burning realm is when the volume of blood and qi increases, then undergoes a qualitative change to form power."

"But every time you cultivate a new path, you must disperse the previous blood and qi force; only then can you cultivate a second path."

Xiang Geng explained.

"But this process leads to a problem: the second force that a martial artist condenses with their blood and qi will inevitably retain impurities from the previous level."

Feng Xiu was stunned; this was the first time he had heard such a theory.

"It's like if you cultivated Flame Force, but then wanted to cultivate Cold Water Force—you would necessarily have to disperse the blood and qi that was attuned to the Flame Force. But since blood and qi are deep-rooted, how could you ever disperse them completely?"

The martial arts theory Xiang Geng spoke of was solid and highly logical.

"The Blood Burning realm is also known as the realm of Force martial artists. You can cultivate multiple forces, but the impurities are hard to purge."

Feng Xiu was lost in thought.

"You mean the Blood Burning realm isn't about competing based on the amount of force one possesses?"

"Yes, exactly. Having more force is a good thing; it provides more means to deal with an enemy. For example, you might think I'm using Flame Force, but in the next second, I switch to Cold Water Force. In a life-and-death struggle, you would inevitably be killed in one strike. However, the more forces you master, the harder it is to clear the impurities."

Xiang Geng's mouth was getting dry, so Feng Xiu poured him a cup of tea.

After drinking it in one gulp, Xiang Geng continued:

"Because the human body only has one set of meridians and vessels connecting the whole body, merely divided into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians."

"When you disperse your blood and qi, the Cold Water Force will inevitably absorb some of the characteristics of the Flame Force."

"The meaning of cultivating multiple forces is not to let you wield two completely different forces at the same time. Eldest Young Master, what would you call that?"

Feng Xiu replied calmly, "A system. Integration."

"Right, that's exactly the logic."

Xiang Geng explained it very clearly: martial arts enter through force, and Blood Burning burns itself.

Only a system that is compatible with one's own body can improve combat effectiveness in the Blood Burning realm.

If one practiced a Piercing Force, after dispersing it, the subsequent choice of force method would necessarily be based on Sharp Force to enhance lethality.

"However, I have heard that some experts in the Jianghu, in order to cultivate other forces, will first undergo blood replacement to solidify their blood and qi before practicing force techniques."

"In this way, it does indeed slow down the accumulation of impurities," Xiang Geng added after some thought.

"This Tyrant Fist concept is good, but after practicing it, wouldn't the more blood locks you have, the more impurities you end up clogging?"

Xiang Geng had hit the nail on the head. With his level of expertise, he could indeed perfect the Tyrant Fist concept, but it was detrimental to the path of future advancement.

"It's fine, I'm just experimenting."

Feng Xiu respected Xiang Geng's opinion, but he still refused to give up.

Based on what Xiang Geng had said, an immature idea had indeed formed in his mind.

Talking about it is one thing, but testing it oneself is another.

Seeing this, Xiang Geng didn't try to persuade him further; in any case, once one reached the Divine Qi realm, the divine qi would purge all impurities.

Feng Xiu would understand in time.

Immediately, he stated his own insights directly, "Qi and blood are not stagnant water; they are living water. It is just like when you grab a handful of sand with your hand—the tighter you squeeze, the faster it leaks out."

"Furthermore, the three Qi Locks are each more difficult than the last. The first lock seals the Shanzhong point, the second seals the Zhongwan point, and the third seals the Dantian."

"You must force your Qi and blood to surge from the Dantian to your arms, all while having them repeatedly compressed by the three locks during the process. The level of control required is so precise that even a hair's breadth of error is unacceptable."

"Then what should I do?" Feng Xiu asked.

Xiang Geng pondered for a long while, his brows furrowed deeply. In terms of vision and insight, he was superior to Feng Xiu.

Suddenly, a train of thought seemed to emerge in his mind, only for him to overturn his previous conclusion in an instant, his words filled with contemplation:

"Young Master, stop trying to lock all three at once. Try changing the order."

"Change the order?" Feng Xiu was stunned.

"Correct. Use the Dantian as the core; once it is locked, do not compress it. Simply let the Qi and blood surge upward and see how far it can reach."

"Then, proceed by analogy. Repeatedly experiment, and once you have confirmed your limits, construct new Qi Locks directly at the corresponding meridians and acupoints."

"As for the Zhongwan and Shanzhong, there is no need to concern yourself with them anymore."

Feng Xiu froze, then immediately understood what Xiang Geng meant.

Stop pursuing compression for now, and focus only on the actions of locking and surging.

Feng Xiu closed his eyes and took a slight, deep breath. Coordinating his inner rhythm with his breathing, a powerful surge of Qi and blood was mobilized from his Dantian.

This time, he did not force a hard lock; instead, he tried to let the Qi and blood pause for a brief moment at the Dantian.

However, he paused for too long, causing the Qi and blood to rebound, and Feng Xiu felt a tightness in his chest.

Feng Xiu continued to experiment, but the second time he paused for too short a duration, rendering it completely ineffective.

On the third attempt, he found a bit of a rhythm, but he failed to control the release properly, causing the Qi and blood to surge off-course.

It was not until the fifth attempt that Feng Xiu finally found the right tempo.

It was not a stop, but a slowing down.

Under the guidance of his intent, the warm current of Qi at his Dantian suddenly slowed its flow.

Then, he abruptly released that holding force.

Like a compressed spring suddenly released, the Qi and blood surged upward with great force.

Following this, Feng Xiu opened his eyes, a flash of pleasant surprise in his gaze.

Xiang Geng watched him and smiled, saying, "Did it work?"

Feng Xiu nodded, "This is quite interesting."

Although he was still far from a true eruption of Qi and blood, at the very least, it proved that this line of reasoning was sound and appeared to be a viable path.

All that remained now was to slowly hone it.