Wu Ming's Path to Transforming Strength

Jia Qingshan had once told him that the prerequisite for getting started with the Banda Secret Essentials was a pure mind.

But after studying it for so many days, Wu Ming felt that might not be the case. Mainly because he did not believe Earth's current martial arts manuals could be so mystical.

It was only a force-generation technique, yet it was tied to one's state of mind.

Even the Ninefold Thunder Blade, the culmination of the Energy Lock concept, did not have such demanding requirements.

Therefore, Wu Ming believed that as long as he could understand the essence of the secret art, he could successfully cultivate it without meeting the prerequisite of mental purity.

"According to the manual, the core of an Energy Lock lies in the word 'lock.'"

"By cutting off several force-generating points in the body, force could be temporarily held at different nodes. Then, at the instant of exertion, the nodes could be opened, gathering all the force in one place and creating a fiercer burst."

Wu Ming pondered the many key points of the Banda Secret Essentials. Earlier, he had tried intercepting the flow of force according to the manual's records, but the results had been poor.

Although the flow of force did slow somewhat as it passed through those nodes, it was only by the slightest amount. It was nowhere near enough to truly cut it off.

He knew full well that he could not achieve a pure mind. If he cultivated step by step, it would take at least half a year to refine the first node, which was only equivalent to stacking one layer of Hidden Strength.

That was nothing but painstaking grinding. With that time, if Wu Ming continued studying Internal Martial Arts, he might even raise his Hidden Strength burst to more than three times its current power.

Moreover, the Energy Lock technique had another drawback: its nodes were spaced too far apart.

The three major force nodes recommended by the Banda Secret Essentials were the lower abdomen, chest, and throat. The manual claimed that nodes in these three locations were easier to refine to completion.

But the problem was that force had to travel from the lower body to the upper body while being stopped three times along the way. The process took far too long.

Could you believe that a normal Three-Lock Realm yoga master needed two or three seconds of charging just to stack force once, and had to remain completely undistracted throughout the entire process?

That was practically impossible in real combat. No wonder Jia Qingshan had said that Master Lei Xiao was not good at fighting.

"I have to find another path!"

Wu Ming thought to himself, Since I already know the principle behind Energy Locks, there's no need to cultivate according to its requirements. I can create my own Hidden Strength stacking technique based on my circumstances!

First was the selection of force nodes. If he wanted speed, they could not be too far apart.

The fastest option was to place every node along his arms. That way, they could be connected in an instant without affecting practical combat at all.

Besides that, the way of refining the nodes also had to change.

The method recorded in the Banda Secret Essentials mainly relied on extremely focused willpower, somewhat similar to the theory of consciousness influencing genes.

Through meditation, one gathered all thoughts of the mind and concentrated them on a certain part of the body to exert influence. The more focused those thoughts were, the faster the nodes could be refined.

That was precisely why the Banda Secret Essentials required cultivators to have pure minds. Such people had no distracting thoughts, making it easier for them to focus their will during meditation. Naturally, they could comprehend the Energy Lock technique at a tremendous pace.

Wu Ming simply had too many thoughts in his head, resulting in terrible meditation effects and naturally slow node-refining efficiency.

So he prepared to change methods. Rather than influence his body on a mental level, he would directly alter it on a physical level, allowing his body's instincts to adapt to those nodes.

Simply put, he would use precise control over force to construct force nodes at the cellular level.

However, this path was truly too difficult. Even for Wu Ming, it was almost sheer fantasy.

The limit of what Hidden Strength could accomplish was merely controlling deep muscles and fascia, mobilizing areas that ordinary exertion could not reach. It was considered "muscle-level control."

To construct nodes at the cellular level, he had to extend his control over force into every individual cell. That already fell within the realm of "cellular-level control," something only legendary Transforming Strength masters could achieve.

Wu Ming had certainly not broken through to the Transforming Strength realm, but he had his own special method.

There were two major difficulties in controlling cells: perception and manipulation. Coincidentally, he had a way to solve both.

Thanks to the Virus Controller talent from back then, his Spiritual Force possessed cellular-level observation, directly solving the greatest problem of perception.

And as long as he could observe them, he could rely on the precise control of the Hidden Strength realm to slightly influence the movements of certain cells. That barely counted as half of cellular-level control.

This was already the method Wu Ming considered most suitable for himself.

Thus, he locked the door to the projection room from the inside to prevent anyone from disturbing him midway, then went over and sat down in a chair.

After doing all that, he did not hesitate. He directly focused his Spiritual Force on a certain node in his right arm, amplified his perception, and carefully observed the condition of the cells around it.

After completing that step, Wu Ming began cautiously exerting influence on the cells within his observation range.

Sure enough, with the control of the Hidden Strength realm, he could alter the trajectories of the cells. The changes were simply too subtle; without the assistance of Spiritual Force observation, he would never have noticed them at all!

"Wait, if that's the case, can I also improve my control over my body this way?"

Wu Ming thought to himself, If one day I can control every cell in my body, wouldn't that mean I've entered the Transforming Strength realm?

At that thought, excitement immediately surged in his heart. That was Transforming Strength—its amplification could reach dozens of times at a whim. How could the upper limit of a Hidden Strength stacking technique possibly compare?

Of course, the current Wu Ming could only say that he had found a cultivation path suited to himself. Whether this path could truly lead to the Transforming Strength realm still required practical testing.

Therefore, he did not abandon his research into Energy Locks. After all, studying this technique itself was an ultimate form of tempering his control over force. The two did not conflict.

Even if this path ultimately proved impassable, as long as he mastered multiple Hidden Strength burst techniques, he would not lose out.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Wu Ming no longer hesitated and began earnestly constructing his first force node.

He still amplified his perception, then moved cells again and again, as though building a miniature sluice gate within his bloodstream.

The process was tedious and meticulous, but Wu Ming relished it, because he could clearly sense that with every successful movement, his control over force was becoming increasingly refined.

Over time, not only would he be able to cultivate to Dark Force Completion faster, but he would also take the most crucial step toward the legendary Transforming Strength.

Time quietly passed, and several hours went by in the blink of an eye.

Under the effects of cellular-level manipulation, his research into Energy Locks progressed rapidly. Before he knew it, the node on Wu Ming's arm had already begun to take shape.

At this rate, in no more than three to five days, his first force node would be fully formed.