Meridians?

In Dorm Seven, Xiao Wu grabbed Jiang Jiu's hand, her fingertips sliding lightly across his palm and arm.

"I've taken a look today; I can teach you some advanced knowledge now."

"Circulate your soul power along this path. Don't rush, take it slow."

After Jiang Jiu memorized the basic route, Xiao Wu had him feel the flow of her own soul power firsthand.

Jiang Jiu placed his hand into Xiao Wu's.

It was still a soft, smooth sensation, but as Xiao Wu began to circulate her soul power, it felt as if nothing had happened, yet simultaneously as if something were different.

"Now, try moving your hand," Xiao Wu continued.

When Jiang Jiu tried to pull his hand away, Xiao Wu's hand felt light as a feather, offering no resistance whatsoever. Yet, her hand remained in the exact state of contact as before, even when her arm twisted into an awkward angle as if it were nothing.

Xiao Wu could apply this peculiar adhesive effect to her entire body; once someone was stuck to her, breaking free wouldn't be so easy.

This binding force was a technique, and beyond that, there was a method of resilience that Jiang Jiu could feel whenever he tried to grip her tightly.

"Alright, Xiao Jiu, you try?"

The two shifted back to the position where Xiao Wu placed her fingertips on Jiang Jiu's hand.

"Your soul power needs to travel through these points in an orderly fashion," Xiao Wu whispered softly.

Jiang Jiu attempted it, but after a moment, he frowned.

As the saying went, precise control of soul power was no easy task.

He could currently gather the soul power in his body to wherever he wanted—like concentrating a mass of it into his feet to increase his running speed, or into his hands to strike harder while smithing, or even to a spot about to be hit to strengthen his defense—but such applications of soul power were actually quite crude.

The soul power circulation routes involved in Xiao Wu's Soft Technique were far more intricate.

The practical effect of such rhythmic, specialized circulation routes was naturally incomparable to simply gathering soul power.

"Hmm, was I being too impatient?" Xiao Wu scratched her head, looking a bit troubled.

To her, the soul power circulation techniques inherent in the Soft Technique were as natural and effortless as breathing; perhaps for Xiao Jiu and the others, it really did require time to learn and adapt.

"Just keep trying, practice makes perfect," Jiang Jiu didn't expect to succeed on the first try.

Compared to others who started with nothing but a diagram and had to rely entirely on self-study, he was already much better off; at least he had a patient teacher by his side to guide him.

"That's true. But Xiao Jiu, don't practice alone, okay? There is still some danger involved."

"I'm not stupid."

The next day, Jiang Jiu's running schedule reached the tapering and recovery phase.

Although he felt fine in terms of energy and nerves, especially with his sleep quality remaining perfect, he still rigidly stuck to his planned schedule; managing fatigue was never a bad thing.

"So fast today?" Xiao Wu walked over, carrying her bag.

Having seen Jiang Jiu run thirteen kilometers before, she naturally felt that his workout ended quickly today, as he had only run five.

However, five kilometers was five kilometers, and the necessary stretching still had to be done. Xiao Wu giggled and began to move her hands and feet over him.

"Feels good, right?"

"Yeah."

At this point, Jiang Jiu couldn't be bothered with shame anymore.

Good results were one thing, but Xiao Wu's stretching not only helped him recover faster but also contributed significantly to improving his flexibility.

On the other hand, Jiang Jiu had grown somewhat accustomed to it; habit had become nature, and he might as well enjoy it.

After getting used to the stretching, he actually felt like something was missing if he didn't do it.

However, Jiang Jiu soon discovered that he wasn't quite as adapted to everything as he thought.

"Why are you following me in?"

Xiao Wu, who usually waited outside the men's bathhouse, followed Jiang Jiu inside as if it were nothing.

"Well, um, I reflected on things last night and realized that I've been a bit derelict in my duties as a teacher," Xiao Wu said with a straight face.

"And what does that have to do with you following me into the bathhouse?"

"Shouldn't you have asked me where I was derelict first?"

Jiang Jiu grabbed Xiao Wu by the shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her toward the exit.

"Hey, I'm being serious!" Xiao Wu kept looking back, though she didn't resist his push.

She only hit the brakes when they reached the door.

"Xiao Jiu, I'm here to teach you about the meridians!"

As Xiao Wu's words fell, the two came to a stop.

"Xiao Jiu, I've discovered that your understanding of meridians seems quite lacking. But, I suppose that's my fault as your teacher?"

"Meridians?"

"Exactly!"

Xiao Wu actually found it quite strange; the academies that cultivated Spirit Masters never seemed to mention anything about meridians, as if they didn't even understand them as well as she, a transformed spirit beast, did.

"You know how to do this?"

Jiang Jiu felt like he had just asked a redundant question.

If it were merely simple physical combat, one could rely entirely on raw physical stats, but for Xiao Wu's "spirit body techniques," it was impossible to perform without understanding the mechanics of meridians.

"That's exactly what I was pointing out yesterday."

"Does it need to be taught in a bathhouse?"

"The learning effect is better without clothes."

"..."

"Wait until I'm done washing."

Pushing Xiao Wu out, Jiang Jiu rinsed the light sweat from his body.

Meridians?

It felt like reaching middle school only to discover he had never learned the multiplication table.

For spirit power cultivation, one only needed to meditate.

In combat, Spirit Masters relied on spirit rings; being able to unleash spirit skills was enough.

Meridians were something that, at times, truly seemed "insignificant."

However, those who climbed to the pinnacle of the Spirit Master world surely wouldn't lack knowledge in this area, or at the very least, they would know how to utilize it.

"Can I come in yet?" Xiao Wu's voice arrived right on cue.

"Come in."

"Heehee. Ahem, hmm." Xiao Wu adjusted her expression from a grin to a serious look, though the mirth in her eyes refused to fade.

Re-entering the bathhouse, Jiang Jiu stood with his back to her, his skin still glistening with water.

Xiao Wu blinked, then considerately walked around to face him.

"Let's begin," Jiang Jiu said calmly.

As long as he maintained an atmosphere of academic inquiry, it surely wouldn't be too awkward.

"Oh, oh." Shifting her attention away from Jiang Jiu's lower regions, Xiao Wu set aside her curiosity, reached out, and touched his chest.

Jiang Jiu: "?"

"Here, here, and here."

Xiao Wu's fingers traced a path from his chest, slowly moving toward the inner side of his arms.

This time, she used both hands, touching both sides of his body simultaneously, finally reaching his thumbs.

"There is a major spirit power circulation path here." Xiao Wu had truly set aside her playfulness this time.

Jiang Jiu nodded, attempting to circulate his spirit power along the trails left by her fingertips.

This time, it was much smoother than the convoluted route he had tried yesterday.

The difference between basic and advanced usage was clear.

"How is it?"

"Very smooth."

"It really had to be taught this way." Xiao Wu nodded, looking quite pleased.