Trying

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

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

He had barely been seated when footsteps sounded outside.

"Young Master, Master Zheng sent someone with a letter today," Xiang Geng's voice called from outside.

Feng Xiu rose to open the door, took the letter, then returned to the table and opened it.

The letter was short. Uncle Zheng's handwriting was neat and seasoned, reporting every detail of the manor's affairs over the past two days.

Everything was normal with the Dark Canals in White Willow Village and Hundred Dou Village. At the end, Uncle Zheng added one more remark.

Han Che's methods were somewhat ruthless. The Second Young Master was having trouble enduring them, and a whole layer of skin had peeled off his body.

After all, Uncle Zheng had watched the two of them grow up. It was only natural that he would worry.

Feel sorry for him?

I fucking wanted to beat him to death!

And if Fish Mother was counted too, then he had already taken two blades for him.

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

Feng Xiu sneered, then summoned Xiang Geng and had him bring paper and a brush.

He immediately dipped the brush in ink and wrote four large characters on the back of the letter.

[Increase the intensity]

But after thinking it over, he still did not feel satisfied, so he added another line.

[Bring the family whip and flog him viciously in my place!]

The writing was forceful and vigorous, every stroke carrying a crisp, decisive air.

After finishing, he folded the letter and handed it to Xiang Geng.

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

Xiang Geng accepted it, gave an acknowledgment, and turned to leave.

The room fell quiet.

Feng Xiu pulled the Bone Refining Claw manual from his robe and opened it beneath the lamp.

He only glanced over the training methods on the first few pages before skipping past them. Using sand and gravel to temper the skin, supplemented by medicinal baths to nourish the body—the overall path was much the same as the Five Force Fist.

He flipped directly to the page containing the Tyrant Fist concept.

Feng Xiu's current problem was that he still had too few methods for fighting enemies. The Vajra Finger Blade was certainly powerful, and it also came with nearly limitless hidden-weapon ambushes.

But at the end of the day, Nail Bullets were only a trump card. Even when he had fought the five men in the forest before, Feng Xiu had not used them.

If the Tyrant Fist could truly be mastered, and paired with the method of exerting force through the unity of the five forces—

He dared not claim anything else, but at least within the Body Refining Realm, whoever came would be dealt with in one punch.

"This method establishes three Qi Locks within the human body, sealing the qi and blood within the dantian, forcing it upward, gathering it in both arms, compressing it again and again, then blasting it forth in a single punch. Its power will multiply."

Feng Xiu stared at those lines and pondered them for a long while.

The Tyrant Fist concept was somewhat similar to the Five-Strength Internal Breath Method, which used intent in tandem with breathing to control qi and blood.

But this was fiercer. The Internal Breath Method guided qi and blood through an orderly circulation, while this method directly locked it down, compressed it, and then detonated it all in one breath.

Feng Xiu closed his eyes and tried to move the qi and blood within him according to this concept.

At his dantian, that warm current of qi and blood slowly stirred.

With a thought, Feng Xiu attempted to form the first Qi Lock above his dantian, trying to seal the qi and blood in his chest.

In an instant, that current of qi and blood stalled for a moment before violently rebounding.

Feng Xiu's chest tightened as though someone had punched him.

He opened his eyes and rubbed his chest.

"No." Feng Xiu shook his head, but he was still unwilling to give up.

He tried again, but it still failed.

The third time, the fourth time—every attempt brought the same result.

"Qi and blood aren't dead things. They have their own laws of circulation. Forcing control will only make them backlash against the body."

Feng Xiu set down the manual and rubbed his brow. The Tyrant Fist concept made sense in theory.

But actual practice was another matter entirely.

The person who had left those notes had likely become stuck at this point as well.

After thinking for a moment, he rose and pushed open the door.

The lamp in Xiang Geng's room was still lit.

Feng Xiu walked over and knocked on the door.

"Young Master?" Xiang Geng opened the door, somewhat surprised. "You're still awake this late?"

Feng Xiu did not stand on ceremony. He entered, sat down, and handed him the Bone Refining Claw manual.

"Look at the last few pages."

Xiang Geng took the manual, flipped to the back, and read for a while by lamplight.

After a long while, he raised his head, surprise in his eyes.

"Qi Locks, sealing qi and blood, compressed eruption... this concept is wild enough."

Feng Xiu nodded. "Do you think it will work?"

Xiang Geng pondered for a while before slowly saying, "It's difficult. Extremely difficult. It is only suitable for Body Refining martial artists with insufficient qi and blood."

"Why do you say that?"

The moment Feng Xiu asked, he recalled the backlash of his own qi and blood and instantly understood what Xiang Geng meant.

"The stronger the qi and blood, the greater the backlash. And the reverse is true as well," Xiang Geng explained.

"Young Master, this is an unworthy fancy. Though it is also a Body Refining Realm martial art, it is too difficult. It does not suit you, and you cannot practice it."

Noticing that Feng Xiu was tempted, Xiang Geng tried to dissuade him again.

"Why?" Feng Xiu asked in surprise.

"Young Master, though you are only in the Body Refining Realm now, given time, you will certainly break through to Blood Burning."

Xiang Geng did not immediately answer Feng Xiu's question. He first smiled and offered the compliment, then paused before continuing.

"The Blood-Burning Realm is when the quantity of qi and blood rises to a certain level, then undergoes a qualitative change to form force."

Xiang Geng explained.

"But every time one cultivates a new force, one must disperse the power of qi and blood from before. Only then can one cultivate a second force."

Xiang Geng explained.

"But this process creates a problem: the second force that a martial artist condenses from qi and blood—

will inevitably retain impurities from the qi and blood of the previous stage."

Feng Xiu was startled. This was the first time he had heard such a theory.

"It is like cultivating a Flame Force. If you then wish to cultivate Cold Water Force, you must disperse all the qi and blood that accords with the Flame Force. But qi and blood are deeply rooted—how can they possibly be dispersed completely?"

Xiang Geng's martial theory was solid and highly logical.

"The Blood-Burning Realm is also called the realm of force martial artists. But while forces can be cultivated together, impurities are difficult to drive out."

Feng Xiu fell thoughtful.

"You mean that in the Blood-Burning Realm, it is not simply a matter of competing over who possesses more force?"

"Yes. Having more forces is a good thing, and it gives you more means to fight enemies. For example, you think I wield Flame Force—

but in the next instant, I switch to Frost Force. In a life-and-death battle, you would surely be killed in a single move. Yet the more forces one grasps, the harder it becomes to purge the impurities."

Xiang Geng's mouth had grown dry from talking, so Feng Xiu poured him a cup of tea.

After draining it in one gulp, Xiang Geng continued.

"Because the human body has only one network of meridians connecting the entire body. It is merely divided into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians."

"When you disperse qi and blood, Cold Water Force will also absorb some traits of Flame Force."

"The meaning of cultivating forces together is not to let you wield two utterly different forces at once. Young Master, what do you call this?"

Feng Xiu answered calmly, "A system. Fusion."

"Exactly. That is the principle."

Xiang Geng explained it very clearly. Once martial cultivation entered force, Blood Burning burned itself into being.

Only a system compatible with oneself could improve one's combat strength in the Blood-Burning Realm.

If one cultivated a Piercing Force, then after dispersing it, the subsequent force methods chosen would necessarily focus on Sharp Force, enhancing lethality.

"However, I have heard that some martial experts, in order to cultivate other forces alongside their current ones, first undergo blood replacement to condense and solidify their qi and blood, then cultivate the force methods."

"In that way, it does indeed slow the accumulation of impurities within the body," Xiang Geng added after some thought.

"This Tyrant Fist concept is good, but after practicing it, wouldn't more blood locks mean more impurities getting blocked?"

Xiang Geng had struck at the heart of the matter. With his ability, the Tyrant Fist concept could indeed be perfected, but it would not benefit the path of future advancement.

"It's fine. I'm only trying it out."

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 something was one thing. Testing it himself was another.

Seeing this, Xiang Geng did not try to persuade him further. In any case, once one reached the Divine Qi Realm, qi would purge all impurities.

Feng Xiu would understand in the future.

Then Xiang Geng directly voiced his own view. "Qi and blood is not stagnant water. It is living water. It is like clutching a handful of sand in your fist—the tighter you grip, the faster it leaks out."

"Moreover, there are three Qi Locks, each harder than the last. The first lock seals the Danzhong Acupoint, the second seals Zhongwan, and the third seals the dantian.

You must make the qi and blood rush from the dantian to both arms, while having it repeatedly compressed by all three locks during that rush. There cannot be the slightest error in control."

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

Xiang Geng considered for a long time, his brows tightly furrowed. In terms of knowledge and perspective, he was stronger than Feng Xiu.

Suddenly, a clue seemed to surface in his mind. In the blink of an eye, he overturned his previous conclusion and spoke as he thought aloud.

"Young Master, don't try to lock all three at once. Try changing the order."

"Change the order?" Feng Xiu was stunned.

"Yes. Use the dantian as the core. After locking it, do not compress it. Simply let the qi and blood surge upward and see how far it can reach."

"Then proceed from there, testing repeatedly. Once you determine the limit, directly form new qi locks at the corresponding meridians and acupoints."

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

Feng Xiu froze, then immediately understood Xiang Geng's meaning.

Do not pursue compression first. Pursue only the two actions of locking and surging.

Feng Xiu closed his eyes and took a slight deep breath. His intent worked in tandem with his breathing method, drawing a powerful current of qi and blood from his dantian.

This time, he did not force it into a complete lock. Instead, he tried to make the qi and blood pause slightly at the dantian.

But the pause lasted too long. The qi and blood rebounded once more, and Feng Xiu's chest tightened.

Feng Xiu continued trying. The second pause was too brief and had no effect at all.

The third time, he found a faint sense of the rhythm, but when he released it, he failed to control it properly, and the qi and blood surged off course.

Not until the fifth attempt did Feng Xiu finally find that rhythm.

It was not stopping.

It was slowing.

The warm current at his dantian abruptly slowed under the guidance of his intent.

Then he suddenly released that restraining force.

The qi and blood was like a tightly compressed spring suddenly released, violently surging upward.

Feng Xiu then opened his eyes, a flash of delight passing through them.

Xiang Geng looked at him and smiled. "It worked?"

Feng Xiu nodded. "Interesting."

Though it was still far from an eruption of qi and blood, it at least proved that there was nothing wrong with this line of thought. It seemed the path could be walked.

All that remained was to grind away at it slowly.