Grasping Qi and Blood, Meng Yue's Scheme

Amid the awed praise and flattery of the apprentices behind him, Hong Yuan turned back to the rear courtyard. Now that he had fulfilled a childhood dream, his mood was bright and cheerful, utterly carefree.

Only, for some reason, a faint phantom pain throbbed at the back of his head, making him sigh softly.

After these past few days of unremitting training, Hong Yuan's innate aptitude had strengthened by another trace.

Every increase in innate aptitude was all-around growth for the body, not limited to any single point or aspect; to a certain extent, it could even promote the growth of comprehension.

After all, essence, energy, and spirit complemented one another. When the qi was full, the spirit naturally grew abundant.

Hong Yuan's strength had risen by another large margin. Earlier, stirring the water bucket and tossing a stone ball of over fifty jin more than a zhang away had been nothing more than using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken; he had not used his full strength at all.

However, Hong Yuan could also clearly feel that the rate at which his innate aptitude was increasing was gradually slowing.

Two traces in the Jade Wutong Immortal Realm; when he first arrived at Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, just one day of training had added another trace; but this fourth trace had taken several days of training.

Presumably, raising his innate aptitude and even his comprehension in the future would only become more and more difficult. Relying on training alone was far too inefficient, and who knew how much time it would consume.

Hong Yuan had no extra time to waste. He had to reach the pinnacle of martial force and stand unrivaled in power and influence beneath the heavens within his lifetime. Only then could he open [Taisui Blessed Land].

"If I want to speed things up, training naturally can't be set aside, but I still have to bring in technology and the hard stuff!"

Hong Yuan thought to himself.

Technology: miraculous pills and medicines!

Hard stuff: tempering the fleshly shell and mind through life-and-death combat!

Just as he was thinking this, a line of tiny mosquito-like words appeared before Hong Yuan's eyes.

Persistent training has toughened the will... Stirring the water vat fulfilled a childhood dream, leaving the heart joyful and carefree; the mind has gained a slight measure of growth. Comprehension +1 wisp.

[Innate Aptitude: 4/100]

[Comprehension: 5/100]

A sudden warm current, like a trickling stream, slowly flowed into Hong Yuan's mind and rushed straight to the crown of his head. The stray thoughts in his mind instantly vanished, leaving everything empty, clear, and limpid.

Hong Yuan seized this opportunity. With a thought, he immediately entered a meditative state.

The practice of meditation could be done at any time as long as one wished; it did not require choosing a place, nor did it require maintaining any specific posture.

It was just that ordinary people were plagued by stray thoughts. If they wanted to enter stillness and meditate, they had no choice but to seek a comfortable, quiet environment, use the special postures of guiding arts to lead themselves in, and even bathe and burn incense before there was the slightest possibility of emptying their minds of distractions.

When merely entering stillness was already this difficult, then afterward, using meditation to sense the invisible and intangible qi and blood, and even giving qi and blood direction and form, was harder still—hard as climbing to the heavens.

But Hong Yuan's initial state had already been first-rate talent, and now that he had added five wisps of comprehension, he far surpassed the ordinary even more. Where his intent arrived, he swiftly entered stillness and returned to emptiness.

"Qi and blood... where are the qi and blood?"

The intent within Hong Yuan's void opened its "eyes." In an instant, he saw wisps of airflow moving through "his" five viscera and six bowels, his four limbs and hundred bones, winding like snakes, fine and dense as silk.

He saw them—far more clearly than any previous time.

Hong Yuan's mind remained peaceful. He did not grow excited or agitated because of it. His thoughts were like a clear spring, without a single ripple rising.

He imagined his intent as an invisible great hand and slowly reached out. The snake-like, silk-like currents first trembled, as if about to scatter and fade away, but in the end they were still fixed in place by that invisible hand.

The next moment, it seized them in one grasp.

Hong Yuan seemed to have found an interesting toy. He used the invisible hand formed from his intent to guide his qi and blood to flow in every direction—toward his fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, waist, organs, and legs. It was like commanding his own arm and fingers, moving entirely according to his will.

Grasping and controlling qi and blood—success!

"Huff... inhale..." Hong Yuan slowly breathed out and exhaled, then used the breathing method to drive his qi and blood. Very quickly, he entered the proper state.

Each breath and exhalation of the Tiger Roar Breathing Method was like issuing one command after another, directing the circulation of qi and blood.

The breathing method was the commanding center, and qi and blood were like soldiers.

For the breathing method to command qi and blood was like marching an army to war.

If he could successfully use the breathing method to twist the scattered qi and blood into one strand, sending all force to one place and transforming it into "true force," then that would be winning the battle.

If not, they would naturally be defeated remnants and routed soldiers, turning back to devour his own body!

"Should I strike while the iron is hot and directly attempt to enter force?"

Hong Yuan pondered it, feeling that his chances were not small.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Hong..."

Just then, a shout came from the front courtyard. A young man with a bulbous nose stood at the corridor entrance, peering inside.

Hong Yuan's train of thought had been interrupted, but he was not annoyed. This was not some mysterious and profound enlightenment where, once the opportunity passed, finding it again would be as difficult as a thousand trials and ten thousand hardships.

He had already grasped and controlled his qi and blood. Attempting to enter force was merely a matter of whether he wanted to or not.

Yang Lie had also reached this degree, but after more than ten years of training, he had only barely managed to grasp his qi and blood. That was why he did not dare easily step into the next stage, fearing that if he failed to enter force, his qi and blood would collapse and backlash, injuring his own body instead.

Hong Yuan had no such concern. He had only just grasped his qi and blood, yet his command over it was already far more practiced than Yang Lie's after more than ten years of cultivation.

"What is it, Junior Brother Li?"

Hong Yuan strode out of the corridor and into the front courtyard, looking toward the bulbous-nosed young man who had spoken. The man's name automatically flashed through his mind: Li Hai!

Li Hai came closer and said with a grin, "Senior Brother Hong, you've been at the martial arts hall for many days now and have done your utmost to teach us junior brothers. We can't go without showing our appreciation, so several of us fellow disciples discussed it and decided to host a meal tonight at Fortune Pavilion. We hope you'll do us the honor."

"You spent money to come to the martial arts hall, so teaching you is only right. No need to be polite. All right, go back to your training!" Hong Yuan waved a hand.

Seeing this, Li Hai hurriedly lowered his voice again and said, waggling his brows, "Senior Brother, after we've had a good meal, there's still something fun waiting. I hear the Warm Fragrance Pavilion has a new girl named 'Xiao Shuang.' Whether in looks or talent, she's no worse than the top courtesans of the prefectural city. With Senior Brother's ability, if you went, you'd surely be invited into her inner chamber and carry the beauty home."

"Oh? Is she truly that outstanding?" The Warm Fragrance Pavilion was the largest brothel in Yangquan County, and when Hong Yuan heard this, he seemed to become interested as well.

"Senior Brother definitely won't be disappointed if you go," Li Hai said at once. "Your junior brother dares to guarantee it. To be honest with Senior Brother, I secretly went once last month. I only saw Miss Xiao Shuang's figure from far away, and already felt my heart was about to melt."

"So, Junior Brother likes this Miss Xiao Shuang quite a lot?" Hong Yuan looked Li Hai up and down, somewhat surprised.

Li Hai's face reddened, and he stammered, "Well... well, everyone has a heart that loves beauty."

"Junior Brother, you've truly made me look at you with new eyes," Hong Yuan said, drawing in a breath.

"This... Senior Brother, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Hong Yuan looked at Li Hai, a smile on his face. "Junior Brother, you like that Xiao Shuang, yet you're asking me to go. If I really do carry the beauty home, what would you think?"

"This—Miss Xiao Shuang is, after all, only a brothel girl. Senior Brother need not have so many misgivings," Li Hai said.

"Junior Brother is truly open-minded. Very well, when I have free time in the future and go seek out Miss Xiao Shuang for some amusement, during that night of romance, I'll be sure to call Junior Brother to sing outside the door and add to the fun. That can count as letting Junior Brother have some sense of participation, and it will fulfill the bond between us senior and junior brothers."

Hong Yuan patted Li Hai on the shoulder, then changed tack. "But not these next few days. Go on back."

Li Hai's expression first stiffened. Then, hearing Hong Yuan refuse, he was just about to try persuading him again when Hong Yuan had already turned and gone back to the rear courtyard.

Li Hai could not help stamping his foot. He turned back to the training ground, his gaze shifting, and caught sight of Meng Yue in the corner, practicing against a jujube-wood post.

He quickly sidled up to Meng Yue. Before he could speak, Meng Yue's fists and feet were still striking the jujube-wood post as he lowered his voice and asked, "How was it? Did Senior Brother Hong agree?"

His words carried a faint urgency; it was just that Li Hai did not hear it.

If Meng Yue wanted to lure Hong Yuan out of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, he naturally would not do it personally, lest even if he succeeded in ambushing and killing the other man afterward, he would still give himself away.

But he had been practicing martial arts at the hall for nearly two years now, and had naturally gathered a few underlings. This Li Hai was one of them, though he did not know Meng Yue's specific identity.

Li Hai shook his head with a bitter face. "Senior Brother refused."

Meng Yue's expression darkened, but since his face was usually cold and stern to begin with, it did not seem abrupt. Instead, Li Hai asked, "Fortune Pavilion and Warm Fragrance Pavilion both cost quite a bit. Senior Brother Meng, why spend so much?"

"What do you know?" Meng Yue barked, frightening Li Hai into shrinking his neck.

Meng Yue quickly restrained his anger and forced down his fire. "We practice martial arts at the hall. Senior Brother Hong is Master's personal disciple, so naturally he'll also be the martial arts hall's inheritor in the future. Only by currying favor with him can we learn better martial arts..."

Not caring whether Li Hai believed him or not, Meng Yue waved him away. With a heavy stone pressing on his heart, he practiced for another little half hour, then left early and departed the martial arts hall.

He would have to think of some other way to lure that Hong Yuan out of the hall.