Entering Meditation

For the next four or five days, Liu Yuanzhou went to Third Master's house twice a day, morning and evening, to cook for Miss Qin.

On this day, after finishing breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks but didn't leave. He crossed his legs and sat on the edge of the kang, saying, "Miss Qin, the meat I bought last time is all gone. I'll go buy some more later. Is there anything else you need?"

Miss Qin sat on the kang, put down the book in her hand, and pondered for a moment, saying, "Buy a piece of soap, and buy a few more handkerchiefs. Do they sell rice at the market?"

"It seems the grain store sells it. I'll buy some and bring it back," Liu Yuanzhou said.

"Is there enough money?" Miss Qin asked.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly replied that there was enough, and Miss Qin picked up her book and continued reading.

After a while, Miss Qin moved her gaze from the book, looked at Liu Yuanzhou, and said, "Is there anything else?"

Liu Yuanzhou said awkwardly, "These past few days, I've been insisting on practicing the Limitless Stance four times a day, but each time I can barely manage three sections. It's been more than four days, and I don't feel any progress. I just want to know, how long do I have to practice the stance before I can become a Martial Master?"

Miss Qin closed the book and put it aside, straightened her body, and said, "Originally, I was going to tell you these things after you had practiced the stance for a while, but since you asked today, I'll tell you now."

Liu Yuanzhou straightened up and moved closer to Miss Qin, looking at her.

Miss Qin continued, "I've already told you before that you can be called a Martial Master once your Kung Fu reaches the Ming Jin Realm, so how do you know when you've reached the Ming Jin Realm?"

" Ming means external, which means that Ming Jin actually trains external strength, hard strength, and fierce strength."

" Ming also has a layer of understanding. The Martial Classic says: 'The square is to correct its center, to make it whole.' Whole means zheng jin, the integrated power. Understanding this zheng jin means you've reached the Ming Jin Realm."

"As for what this zheng jin is, it's really hard to describe in words. You'll understand it naturally when you feel it."

"Generally speaking, if you can practice the stance for about twenty-five sections at a time, you'll be able to comprehend this zheng jin."

Liu Yuanzhou silently calculated that with one section of the Limitless Stance being half an incense stick's time, twenty-five sections would be twelve and a half incense sticks' time, about half an hour and a quarter of an hour. He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. He could only stand for less than two incense sticks' time now. When would he be able to stand for twelve incense sticks' time?

Thinking of this, Liu Yuanzhou asked, "How long does it take to practice the stance for twenty-five sections?"

Miss Qin glanced at him and held up two fingers.

"Two years?" Liu Yuanzhou said, not considering it too long, and he was overjoyed.

"No, about twenty years. Only by persisting every day, regardless of severe cold or scorching heat, can you have hope of achieving it," Miss Qin shook her head.

"Twenty years?" Liu Yuanzhou exclaimed. He knelt up, looked at Miss Qin, and his face was full of disbelief.

Miss Qin raised her hand and pressed down a few times, saying, "Sit down and let me finish."

Liu Yuanzhou slowly sat back, his heart ice-cold. "Twenty years, I could be holding my grandson by then. What am I going out to do?"

Miss Qin said, "You have to know that the further you get in practicing the stance, the harder it becomes. Especially after fifteen sections, each additional section is measured in years."

"And this twenty-five sections is a threshold. Once you cross it and comprehend the zheng jin, the sea will be wide and the sky vast, and you will have entered the Ming Jin Realm. Of course, this twenty-five is not absolute. It varies from person to person. Some people may comprehend the zheng jin at twenty sections, while others may only comprehend it at thirty."

Liu Yuanzhou's heart was completely cold, but he suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and he stared at Miss Qin, saying, "There must be other ways. Miss Qin, you're a Martial Master at such a young age. You couldn't have started practicing martial arts when you were two or three years old. Tell me quickly?"

"Hehe, of course there are. Otherwise, who would still be wandering the pugilistic world at seventy or eighty?" Miss Qin smiled.

Liu Yuanzhou's spirits immediately lifted.

Miss Qin said with a serious expression, "Enter stillness. As long as you can enter stillness while practicing the stance, you can greatly shorten this time. For example, if you can enter stillness every time you practice the stance from now on, then maybe you really can comprehend the zheng jin and enter the Ming Jin Realm within two years."

"Just entering stillness?" Liu Yuanzhou said in astonishment. He thought Miss Qin was going to say something about needing some heavenly treasures.

"Don't underestimate this entering stillness; it's the most important talent for anyone practicing martial arts. In this vast Jianghu, there are countless martial arts practitioners, but only one in a hundred ultimately becomes a Martial Master. Not everyone can persevere tirelessly for twenty years," Miss Qin sighed softly.

Liu Yuanzhou listened in silence. Would he be one of those one in a hundred? He perked up and asked, "How can one enter stillness?"

Miss Qin said, "Entering stillness is a deep state of meditation, where the consciousness is drawn inward, abandoning all distracting thoughts from outside the body. In this state, one can best comprehend the microcosm within the human body."

"To enter stillness, one must have a pure mind, without thinking or desiring. The consciousness should always be focused on one's own body, preferably forgetting things like breathing techniques and stance postures. Of course, to forget, your stances and breathing techniques must become instinctive to your body, otherwise, you're just practicing blindly."

"I can't say too much about entering stillness, as too much information might create a mental block in your mind, making it even harder for you to enter stillness."

Liu Yuanzhou listened and nodded, silently digesting Miss Qin's words.

That evening, after dinner, Liu Yuanzhou went to the open space by the riverbank. He adopted a stance and began practicing the Limitless Stance. After one cycle of breathing, he began to try to enter stillness, but it wasn't so easy. His thoughts were chaotic, his mind wandering like a restless monkey. The more he tried to quiet his mind, the more turbulent it became, to the point where his breathing technique was disrupted. Liu Yuanzhou stopped his practice, sighed, and walked home, thinking to himself, "I'm still too impatient. It seems I can't force my way into stillness. I should first make the stances and breathing techniques instinctive to my body."

In the following ten days or so, Liu Yuanzhou lived a simple life. He practiced the Limitless Stance for half an hour each morning and evening, and cooked for Sister Qin three times a day. If there were things to do at home, he would help out. His parents asked him what he was doing at Third Master's house all day, and Liu Yuanzhou said he was reading books and heating the kang for Third Master. Because Liu Da and his son had heard Third Master's instructions to Liu Yuanzhou on the day of his farewell, no one suspected him, and they were even very pleased. During this time, Liu Chuang and Zhang He came to find him to play, but he declined, saying he was busy.

During these ten days, Liu Yuanzhou steadfastly persisted in practicing the stance four times a day, each time for three cycles, without forcing himself, striving to make the breathing technique instinctive to his body. He only dabbled in entering stillness, so he made little progress, but he gained some insights into emptying his mind. He wasn't discouraged. Although he was sometimes impatient, he always reflected on himself, thinking that perhaps he didn't have the talent, which was beyond his control. All he could do was be diligent and persistent. Thinking this way, his heart gradually calmed down.

One morning, the sky was heavily overcast, and soon goose feather-like snowflakes began to fall in abundance.

Liu Yuanzhou braved the snow and entered Third Master's courtyard, only to see Miss Qin leaning against the doorpost, gazing blankly at the heavy snow. He greeted her and went to practice his stance.

After finishing his stance, Liu Yuanzhou stopped his practice, brushed the snow off his body, walked to the door, and asked, "Miss Qin, does it snow in the South too?"

After more than ten days of getting along day and night, the two had gradually become familiar with each other, and they often chatted about trivial matters when they had nothing to do. Liu Yuanzhou knew that Miss Qin's home was in Lingnan.

"We don't have such heavy snow there," Miss Qin said absentmindedly.

"Are you homesick?" Liu Yuanzhou saw that she seemed distracted and thought she was missing home.

"Home? If the sect counts as home, then I do miss it a bit. I didn't realize I've been out for so long," Miss Qin thought to herself, but said, "Hehe, I'm not like you."

After breakfast, seeing that the snow was still falling, Liu Yuanzhou didn't rush to leave. He vigorously added some firewood to the stove, and the fire roared, warming the kiln a bit more.

Liu Yuanzhou brewed a pot of tea and brought it to the kang table along with the teacups. He poured two cups of tea, handed one to Miss Qin, and said, "Miss Qin, tell me more about the Jianghu."

Miss Qin picked up the tea, took a sip, and frowned, "This tea is a bit bitter today." After saying that, she put down the cup.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly poured out the water in the teapot, refilled it with boiling water, and brought it to her, replacing her cup.

Miss Qin then began to speak, "I've already told you about the five most powerful sects in the world, respectfully called the Upper Five Sects. They are Taixuan, Mingyou, Donghua, Ziwei, and Changbai. Today, I'll tell you about some other sects. There are many of them, like the Guiyi Alliance, the Tianshan Sect, the Yanshan Sect, the Three Immortals Sect, and so on."

"The Tianshan Sect is located in the Tianshan Mountain Range in the Western Borderlands. This sect specializes in swordsmanship and is known as the Northern Sky One Sword. Its Sect Leader and the five Great Venerables are all top experts in the Qi Refining Realm..."

"The Guiyi Alliance, headquartered in Luoyang, under the Emperor's feet, has inextricable links with the government..."

"The Yanshan Sect is located in Yanshan in Jizhou. It is said that most of the disciples who come out of the sect join the army. They are most skilled in saber techniques and spear techniques, and are also proficient in battle formations..."

Miss Qin spoke eloquently, and Liu Yuanzhou listened with fascination, unaware that it was already past noon.

After lunch, Liu Yuanzhou walked out the door and saw that the snow had stopped. He stepped on it, and the snow on the ground was over his ankles. Liu Yuanzhou felt playful. He took a broom and gathered the snow in the yard to make a snowman. Miss Qin couldn't help but curl her lips when she saw it. In an instant, she seemed to think of something again, and her face darkened.

"Sigh." She sighed deeply, turned around, and walked into the kiln.