Training in the Mountains

After walking through the mountains for two days, Chen Fan still saw nothing but dense, towering forests stretching endlessly before him. He could not help shaking his head in speechless disbelief. "For that temple to have been built in such a secluded, isolated place and still be discovered... this treasure must truly be extraordinary. The people seeking it must have quite a background as well.

Fortunately, all traces of the treasure had now vanished. Those treasure hunters would never imagine it was in my hands." The greatest uncertainty now was instead the master the monk had mentioned—the person who had brought him into the temple as a child and raised him. If that person returned, he would surely understand everything. Would someone then use him to track Chen Fan down?

Thinking of this, Chen Fan grew worried again. Even now, he could not recall a single thing from his past. Since he could not leave these deep mountains for the time being, and this place seemed extremely remote, no one should be able to find him unless they were targeting that temple. After all, even he himself had no idea where he was. He might as well find a place to rest properly and inspect the things he had brought from the temple.

Chen Fan came to a clear mountain spring, drank a few mouthfuls, and washed his face. Reflected in the spring water, he saw his own appearance clearly for the first time since losing his memory: fifteen. No wonder that old monk had been reluctant to shave my head. After a brief bout of narcissism, Chen Fan composed himself and sat cross-legged beside the spring. He decided to first look through the martial arts manuals he had found in the training hall.

Judging from what he currently knew and the battle scenes he had seen while unconscious, this world definitely valued martial strength. He was probably someone who had practiced martial arts since childhood. After all, those monks in the temple had practiced as well, and he had recovered on his own after being poisoned by something that sounded far from ordinary. He must have been a martial artist—he simply did not know what level he had reached.

Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Chen Fan opened the first manual, titled "Elementary Martial Arts Treatise." Calling it a martial arts manual would be less accurate than calling it a guide for beginners. But for the current Chen Fan, aside from still being able to read, everything else had to be learned anew. The book was not long, and he finished it in only half a day.

After reading it, he found it wondrous. The book stated that in this world, countless people practiced martial arts from childhood. Beginners were said to practice martial arts, while those who cultivated to a relatively profound level were said to discuss the Dao. Practicing martial arts and discussing the Dao? That was martial Dao. Why did this description not feel strange to him in the slightest? Could it be because he was learning it for the second time? According to the book, martial Dao was divided into three major categories and nine great realms: Internal Qi, External Force, and Soaring. Each category was further divided into nine levels.

Internal Qi was easy enough to understand. It meant cultivating internal arts, breathing in and out, merging the vitality of heaven and earth with oneself in some manner, cultivating Internal Qi, and storing that vitality within the body. The higher one's cultivation, the fuller the vitality within one's body and the deeper one's internal power.

External Force referred to external combat techniques, such as sword techniques, saber techniques, and staff techniques. External Force needed internal power to drive it, so External Force without internal power was useless. Yet internal power alone, without the corresponding External Force, could not display one's strength either. The two supported and complemented one another. The third category, Soaring, was the art of traveling through the air—in other words, the lightness skill spoken of by ordinary martial artists.

Soaring techniques likewise required the support of internal arts and corresponding Soaring techniques for cultivation. At profound levels, one could fly through the air for several hours without touching the ground, with both flight altitude and speed increasing alongside one's cultivation realm.

Each of the three great categories had nine levels. These had been gradually explored and summarized by predecessors throughout the ages, classified according to the effects a technique could allow its practitioner to achieve:

The first three levels of Internal Qi were the Qi Absorption Stage. At this stage, after cultivating according to an internal arts technique, a practitioner could absorb a small amount of the vitality of heaven and earth into the body and store it in the dantian. When facing enemies, they could release it through External Force techniques to attack. Internal Qi stored within the body could strengthen a practitioner's physique, prolong life, allow one to survive for many days without food or water by relying on the vitality of heaven and earth, and make one less susceptible to illness.

The fourth through sixth levels were Meridian Opening. Practitioners at this realm could circulate the vitality of heaven and earth they had absorbed through their meridians, open all the channels of the human body, and push their bodily functions to the utmost limit. At this point, they could abstain from food entirely, no longer needing to eat at all, and their lifespan would increase by more than two hundred years. They could also release External Force more freely and with greater power, though they needed External Force of an equivalent realm to unleash the full might of their internal arts.

The seventh through ninth levels were Spirit Wandering. Upon reaching this realm, a practitioner's lifespan could generally reach several hundred to over a thousand years. They could directly use the vitality of heaven and earth, attack without relying on External Force, though the power depended on the cultivation technique, directly use internal power to manipulate the vitality of heaven and earth to retrieve objects from afar, transmit voices across distance, and possess extraordinarily far-reaching perception. It was even said that those who cultivated to the ninth level could live forever without aging like immortals, and control everything around them as they pleased.

External Force also had nine levels. The first three were Mountain Cleaving. At this stage, practitioners could merely display strength greater than ordinary people's, but when paired with Internal Qi of the same realm, they could use weapons to cleave apart mountain rock. The middle three levels were Wave Severing. Practitioners at this realm could already manipulate the vitality of heaven and earth together with internal arts of the same realm, cleaving open a stretch of space across the sea with majestic force. The final three levels were Heaven Shattering. As the name implied, this stage possessed the force to shatter heaven and destroy earth; a single move could ruin an entire region. However, those who cultivated to this realm were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, because External Force had to be supported by internal arts of the same realm in order to be performed.

In this vast world, cultivation techniques emerged one after another. Based on the highest realm they could attain, they were divided into three grades. Low-grade techniques could only be cultivated from the first to third levels. Mid-grade techniques could reach anywhere from the fourth to sixth levels. Only high-grade techniques could allow practitioners to cultivate from the seventh to ninth levels. To reach the Heaven Shattering realm meant that a practitioner had to cultivate both high-grade External Force and Internal Qi techniques, and only by cultivating External Force beyond the seventh level could one attain Heaven Shattering. Yet high-grade techniques were exceedingly scarce. They were either held by renowned sects and great powers or existed only in legends, impossible to find no matter where one searched. Should a high-grade technique ever appear in the world, it would inevitably stir up a bloody storm.

Seeing this, Chen Fan could not help thinking of the book he had dug out from beneath the Buddha's foot in his pack. Could that be a high-grade technique? However, he did not rush to read it. This beginner's guide mentioned that while there was no rule forbidding the direct cultivation of any high-grade technique, most high-grade techniques required a sufficient foundation, or could only be cultivated starting from a relatively high realm. Very few high-grade techniques could be cultivated from the first level all the way beyond the seventh. Therefore, ordinary people generally began with low-grade techniques. Besides, even if his book was a high-grade technique, it would only belong to one of the three categories—Internal Qi, External Force, or Soaring. Having only one type of technique would not bring him much benefit at the moment.

Soaring was also divided into nine minor levels and three great realms, but the distinctions were comparatively vague. Although there were established Soaring techniques, in actual cultivation, practitioners could use their control over the vitality of heaven and earth to transform Internal Qi and cultivate a Soaring technique suited to themselves. Many were broadly similar, while many more were utterly beyond the ordinary. For example, air-travel techniques included flying directly through the air with one's own cultivation technique, or flying by controlling an artifact, such as a sword or shield. Some even controlled fans, zithers, and the like, though all of these belonged to artifact flight. Other practitioners flew by controlling beasts. In short, this world held countless strange and wondrous techniques, all created from one's own insights into controlling vitality. Yet every one of them was founded upon Internal Qi.

The first through ninth levels of Soaring were measured entirely by flight altitude and duration. The first three were Treading Waves, meaning one could only walk upon water without sinking. It did not sound particularly remarkable, yet most martial artists remained at this realm. Cultivating Soaring techniques consumed enormous amounts of internal power and time. If that same time were spent practicing External Force, the results would be obvious. Moreover, reaching the fourth Soaring level was extremely difficult. Since most people only remained in the Treading Waves realm, they might as well spend their remaining time cultivating External Force and Internal Qi, so they would at least have the strength to fight when facing enemies. It made sense when he thought about it. Who would abandon the cultivation of External Force to specialize in Soaring? Just to run for their life?

Chen Fan did not see it that way. He felt that Soaring was not only superb for escaping, but also looked incredibly cool and dashing. More importantly, it could preserve one's life. After all, nothing mattered more than staying alive. The fourth through sixth levels of Soaring were Mountain Ascending. Practitioners at this realm only needed to activate their technique to easily climb to a mountain peak, and could naturally leap down through the mountains as well. If he had possessed such ability now, he could have jumped straight down the mountain instead of wandering about here, lost and searching for a way out. Finally, the seventh through ninth levels of Soaring were Cloud Soaring. Practitioners could soar through the sky and continue flying so long as their internal power did not run dry. That was truly fantastical. It was said that practitioners capable of cultivating to Cloud Soaring were even rarer than those at Heaven Shattering, because not only were high-grade Soaring techniques scarcer, but creating one's own Soaring art required insight drawn from one's own Internal Qi technique and took far too much time. Soaring also needed Internal Qi of the same realm to support it. Thus, few were willing to give up cultivating External Force to cultivate Soaring, much less overcome the difficulty of reaching high levels, which far exceeded that of External Force.

Chen Fan took out the other two books. They were the techniques cultivated by the temple monks. One was called the "Golden Wheel Scripture," an Internal Qi technique, while the other was the "Golden Wheel Staff Technique." They appeared to be the ancestral techniques of Golden Wheel Temple. As the sky gradually darkened, Chen Fan did not hesitate. He picked up the Golden Wheel Scripture and began studying it. There were no lamps here, and he did not want to waste the nighttime. He would first see whether he could learn some method of cultivating Internal Qi. Perhaps he could use the night to cultivate and gain some insight, then uncover the secret beneath the Buddha's foot tomorrow during daylight.

The Golden Wheel Scripture was a low-grade Internal Qi technique, but it could be cultivated to the peak of the third level. If he later obtained a mid-grade technique, he could transition to it relatively easily and smoothly enter the fourth level. But there was no need to think that far ahead. Chen Fan slowly recited the cultivation formulas of the Golden Wheel Scripture, comprehending them as he began to practice. When he guided the vitality of heaven and earth into himself according to its methods and circulated it through his body, he discovered that the process was exceptionally smooth, without the slightest sense of obstruction. This had to be the Internal Qi technique he had cultivated for a long time. Yet his memories had still not returned, and for the moment he had no way of determining what realm he had reached.

Never mind. After circulating a few Lesser Celestial Circuits according to the opening sections of the Golden Wheel Scripture, he found that his vitality, energy, and spirit had visibly improved. The lingering discomfort from the poison had mostly vanished. Since it worked, he would continue cultivating through the night and see what happened. Perhaps some of his memories might return as well. Having made up his mind, Chen Fan took out the meager supply of dried provisions in his pack and stuffed a mouthful into his mouth. It seemed he was still far from the realm of abstaining from food.

Afterward, he sat in meditation and entered a trance. As the night deepened, he began circulating the Golden Wheel Scripture technique he had just understood. Internal arts could be cultivated at night, and entering meditation could replace sleep. Ordinarily, injured practitioners used it to mend their wounds and restore internal power. Even without injuries, cultivating this way was a means of increasing one's Internal Qi cultivation. So long as no one interrupted and caused one to go astray, there would be no problem. The mountains were silent and deserted at present, so Chen Fan cultivated with peace of mind.