Qi Meridian! (Revised)

"Chirp~ (That? You don't know? I thought you humans all knew.)"

The Wind God Falcon said casually: "Chirp~ (It's not really a big deal. About a hundred years ago, a very weak human came to Ten Thousand Beast Mountain and did a... what's it called? Resource exchange? Yeah, resource exchange with the demons at the peak.)"

Ji Ruo was stunned: "So someone actually managed to establish a trade with demons..."

Given everything he'd experienced since crossing over, the people and events he'd encountered, Ji Ruo found this hard to accept.

"Chirp~ (Yeah,)" the Wind God Falcon said. "Chirp~ (I don't really like hanging around those guys at the peak, so I wasn't there at first. It was only after they'd already struck a deal that they notified me—told me not to casually go down to the foothills and kill humans anymore. As if I'd bother? I can't be bothered to kill. Humans hold grudges; kill one and a swarm comes after you. Annoying.

They called me over for some trivial nonsense like that, and it pissed me off so much I beat them up on the spot. After that, they rarely came looking for me.)"

"The foothill region."

Ji Ruo fell into thought. He felt like he was vaguely grasping something.

It seemed the area humans controlled was exactly the foothills.

A hundred years ago was precisely when the secret realm Martial Exam system was implemented!

High-level demons like the Wind God Falcon couldn't leave freely.

Because if they did, they'd inevitably attract a siege from countless high-level martial artists. Whether they could win or not was another matter—nobody liked asking for trouble!

Demons weren't united. If a Great Demon or Great Devil was besieged, other demons would most likely take the chance to carve up its 'assets.'

After thinking it over, Ji Ruo asked again: "Auntie, do you know the specifics of the deal?"

"Chirp~ (That weak human gave the guys at the peak some treasure, something that could control spatial power... and promised that as long as they didn't go to the foothills to kill weak humans, the humans wouldn't send powerful martial artists into Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. Basically, if a weak human like you died here, no strong human would come seeking revenge. That's about it.

You humans seem to treat the foothill region as a training ground—life and death up to fate.

Over the years, humans and low-level demons have both taken losses, but overall, more low-level demons have died.)"

"Chirp~ (But the guys at the peak think humans are stupid—sending them treasures and foolishly letting weak humans come in to die.

In their eyes, humans are just wasting their own strength.

They don't have to give anything except a promise not to go to the foothills, a place they barely visited anyway, and they get a free treasure. They're pretty happy about it.)"

Ji Ruo fell silent.

What was this? The truth behind the Martial Exam?

So the secret realm territory humans controlled was obtained through a deal like this...

He found it hard to accept.

"I never thought we humans would compromise with demons..." Ji Ruo said, his tone heavy.

"Chirp~ (Compromise?)" The Wind God Falcon gave Ji Ruo a strange look. "Chirp~ (As far as I know, you humans have never compromised!

Those fools at the peak might be smug about getting a treasure, but don't forget—the deal also came with a condition: if the guys at the peak don't break the rules, you humans won't send strong martial artists into Ten Thousand Beast Mountain...)"

Ji Ruo was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

The Wind God Falcon gave him a deep look: "Chirp~ (The way I see it, doesn't a deal require both sides to have theoretically equal strength?

Those high-level martial artists—even I get a headache just thinking about them...)"

Auntie Wind God Falcon's eyes turned wistful: "Chirp~ (A few hundred years ago, this Floating Island of mine was a whole continent. Back then, I took the floating continent out of the secret realm, and when I got close to human territory, some powerful martial artist punched the sky... After that, it ended up like this. So ever since I came back, I've never joined those peak guys' daydreaming parties.)"

"Hiss—"

Ji Ruo sucked in a sharp breath. Was the [Sense of Immersion] skill this strong? She'd actually tell him something like this?

"Auntie, is it really okay for you to tell me this..." Ji Ruo asked hesitantly.

"Chirp~ (I'm telling you this not because I'm afraid of humans, but because I don't want to cause trouble for myself...

Back then, I left the secret realm and roamed freely through the vast skies. I didn't know anything, and I scared some humans.

Then that martial artist chased me and beat me up for months... Ahem, anyway, it's not that I'm scared—I just find it troublesome.)"

She looked at Ji Ruo and said seriously: "Chirp~ (I won't hurt you, not because humans have some ability to sense whether a demon has killed before, but because I simply don't like killing.

My child was just born. Humans make so much delicious food and have so many fun-looking things. I want them to live happier lives. It's not that I'm afraid of humans, got it?)"

Ji Ruo smacked his lips: "Got it. I also think such a beautiful bird like Auntie must be very gentle."

Even as he said it, Ji Ruo remembered hearing a saying somewhere—

The more someone emphasizes something, the more they care about it.

"Chirp~ (Good, you understand. Now hurry up and roast it!)"

This Auntie Wind God Falcon seemed to be a chatterbox. Staring at the meat in Ji Ruo's hands, she said: "Chirp~ (I've tried talking to weak humans like you before, since you come every year.

Every time I saw you humans making something that looked especially delicious from afar, I couldn't help wanting to trade for it... I wanted to eat it too!

But you humans are too timid. Just seeing me was enough to scare you unconscious... Come to think of it, in over a hundred years, you're the first human who isn't afraid of me.)"

"Hehe, didn't I say it, Auntie? With how beautiful you are, how could I be afraid?" Ji Ruo chuckled.

If he'd been a little scared of the Wind God Falcon before, now Ji Ruo wasn't afraid at all.

This was just a homebody bird with psychological trauma from getting beaten up by a high-level martial artist!

"By the way, Auntie, since you said we humans never compromised and really do have the power to suppress those guys at the peak, then what's up with the recent changes in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain?"

"Could it be that those guys don't plan on following whatever trading rules there are?"

"Chirp~ (Not exactly. The ones on the mountaintop went mad some time ago and killed the Earth-Turning Dragon born in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain's vein, throwing the entire vein into chaos and messing up all the regions.)"

She glanced at the roasted meat in Ji Ruo's hand and said casually, "Chirp~ (Besides, having the ability to suppress something and actually being able to suppress it are two different things. For example, I could beat any single one of those guys on the mountaintop, but there's not just one of them.)"

Hearing this, Ji Ruo understood.

A gap in the number of combat units?

Liang Shixian couldn't understand the Wind God Falcon's words and asked in confusion, "Ji Ruo, what are you two talking about?"

He had already gotten somewhat used to Ji Ruo's inexplicable ability to communicate with monsters, and though he still didn't fully grasp the situation, Liang Shixian felt he had accepted the fact that he had somehow become an honorary member of the Wind God Falcon's family.

Ji Ruo said casually, "Nothing much. Auntie just said to roast faster—she's waiting to eat."

Liang Shixian: "...Ji Ruo, are you forgetting that I can't understand Auntie, but I can understand you? What deal? What guys?"

The skill [Sense of Immersion] never affected just a single target—it affected everyone nearby!

Ji Ruo gave an awkward smile. "Ahaha, really? That's awkward..."

Liang Shixian asked curiously, "Tell me about it."

Ji Ruo paused for a moment, then said seriously, "Class monitor, do you really want to know what 'those guys' refers to?"

Liang Shixian's expression instinctively turned solemn. "I do!"

"No regrets?"

"No regrets!"

Liang Shixian's heart grew heavy.

The more Ji Ruo acted like this, the more he felt that 'those guys' carried some serious meaning.

"Alright." Ji Ruo put on a face of utter seriousness and said, "'Those guys' is a personal pronoun!"

Liang Shixian: "???"

What the hell kind of personal pronoun is that!

After eating and drinking their fill—the two young Wind God Falcons had limited appetites and, being newborns, fell asleep right after eating.

As for the Wind God Falcon Auntie, Ji Ruo found it very difficult to fill her up, so she only got a taste.

Except for Rosie, who was still eating spirit fruits, Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian were also full and slowly practicing Martial Dao to refine the meat in their bodies.

"Class monitor, remember the rhythm of your breathing. Don't let it get messy. Make it a habit, even an instinct."

Ji Ruo practiced his punches while combining them with Total Concentration Breathing. Fine currents of electricity flickered across his skin—perhaps because the food he had eaten was too high-grade, he vaguely felt like he was about to open a Qi Pulse!

The Wind God Falcon watched the two of them train with curiosity. "Chirp~ (So this is your human Martial Dao? Though I've experienced it before... ahem, it's still hard to imagine how such simple movements can give you such powerful strength.)"

Ji Ruo chuckled and didn't explain too much.

In truth, these movements were just a way to get the body moving more comprehensively. The real wonder lay in the breathing method.

The arrival of the secret realm brought spiritual energy, but under normal circumstances, humans couldn't directly absorb and refine it.

They could only rely on daily activities and breathing to undergo a gradual, subtle strengthening.

But combining it with a special breathing method changed everything.

A special breathing method allowed humans to absorb the spiritual energy floating in the void to the greatest extent, refining the entire body through blood circulation.

The Martial Apprentice stage was the foundation of Martial Dao, consisting of nine levels. These nine levels were essentially a process of making the human body adapt to spiritual energy.

During this process, the body was strengthened in every aspect—flesh, blood, bones, tendons, everything.

Once the strengthening reached a certain level, one could attempt to open Qi Pulses. In Ji Ruo's understanding, opening Qi Pulses was somewhat like the 'piercing the bridge between heaven and earth' described in some wuxia novels from his past life.

In other words, what was called 'innate'.

A stronger ability to absorb, refine, and store spiritual energy allowed martial artists to transcend the ordinary. By using refined spiritual energy alongside their transformed flesh and bones, they could unleash various 'special effect martial techniques'.

So, it wasn't necessary to reach the ninth level of Martial Apprentice before attempting to break through to the Qi Pulse Realm—it was just that becoming a ninth-level Martial Apprentice gave a higher success rate for opening Qi Pulses.

'Total Concentration Breathing' was created by Ji Ruo by integrating all known basic breathing methods, combined with max-level comprehension and some concepts from the original work.

Though theoretically a breathing technique paired with swordsmanship, Ji Ruo had drawn on the strengths of cultivation-oriented basic breathing methods within the foundational framework.

It was neither like the original work nor like the basic breathing methods of this world that Ji Ruo had referenced.

Those basic breathing methods had been refined by humanity over thousands of years and were already close to theoretical perfection.

After Ji Ruo extracted their essence and combined them with a steady supply of high-grade monster beast meat and spiritual plants, a wondrous reaction occurred.

Liang Shixian's shock when he decided to hold the line, Li Nannan's sincere praise, the Wind God Falcon's psychological shadow, the yearning for powerful martial artists—

All these feelings converged in Ji Ruo's heart into a wondrous sensation.

Humanity had never surrendered!

Ji Ruo felt genuine joy.

This joy was like a spark setting the plains ablaze—first a single point, then spreading rapidly.

Ji Ruo felt that pure joy rising from the depths of his heart. Suddenly, his body trembled—power surged from the soles of his feet, climbing through his spine, layer by layer, refining itself. In a moment of spiritual clarity, he threw a straight punch brimming with intent!

Pop~

A faint sound, like a bubble bursting, rang in his ears. Then, a force both unfamiliar and familiar flowed unimpeded, pouring into Ji Ruo's body from the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head in a strange rhythm.

Rush~

Ji Ruo felt as if he could hear the sound of blood flowing within him, like a great river, surging endlessly!

"Hoo—"

Ji Ruo let out a long breath. A visible white mist, like a sharp sword, pierced through the shackles between the Martial Apprentice realm and the Qi Pulse Realm!

Years of 'subsistence-level' cultivation had left Ji Ruo's body incredibly 'starved.' These past few days in the secret realm, consuming high-grade ingredients one after another, gave his body a feeling of 'long drought meeting sweet rain.'

Add to that the intense emotions stirred up during this time—shock and joy, frustration and anger—all converging into a powerful will—

And so, a qualitative change!

Qi Pulse Realm, achieved!

Thanks to reader '人间不值得A' for the 500-point tip~

Thanks to reader 'Bu Bai Xiaojun' for the 1500-point tip~

Thanks to reader 'Yin Nanzhen' for the 500-point tip~