Over the course of a month, Ye Qing had read through almost all the Meditation Methods preserved by Shrek.
Naturally, he encountered no obstacles. He had already read even Shrek's highest-level Meditation Method, after all, so the lower-level ones went without saying. He could browse them freely.
Yet while reading them, Ye Qing discovered something else.
The highest-level Meditation Method was not necessarily the most complex. Perhaps, taken as a whole, the Shrek Meditation Method he currently practiced involved the most meridians and allowed for the largest circulation cycle within his body.
But certain second-tier and even intermediate Meditation Methods were more complex in particular parts of the body.
For example, they might develop a particular limb more thoroughly, or use minor branches of the meridian network that the Shrek Meditation Method left untouched.
There were only two possible reasons why the Shrek predecessor who had "compiled" this Shrek Meditation Method had not made use of those meridians.
The first was surely that the gutted version of the Mysterious Heaven Skill had never included ways to circulate through those meridians. As a classic practitioner of the Douluo Continent's grab-and-use philosophy, that Shrek predecessor certainly would not have radically modified the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Perhaps, in their eyes, what Tang San had "created" was already perfect. Ordinary mortals like them could never surpass Lord Sea God, so they had never even tried to modify it, let alone restore what was missing.
As for the second reason, that was simple too.
Greater complexity did not necessarily mean greater quality. The more complex a Meditation Method was, the fewer people could learn it. That did not fit Shrek Academy's philosophy of "teaching and nurturing students." A Meditation Method that most people could successfully practice was a good Meditation Method.
Yet Shrek Academy had no complex Meditation Methods specifically intended for geniuses.
That was why Ye Qing considered the first possibility more likely.
For Douluo natives who struggled even with Self-Created Soul Skills, asking them to modify the Mysterious Heaven Skill that Tang San had gutted was rather asking too much.
Still, the meridian circulation routes covered by these second-tier and intermediate Meditation Methods, and even some of the lower-level ones, all helped Ye Qing to varying degrees.
This was what it meant to broaden one's horizons.
When all you had was a method for a grand circulation cycle, studying enough detailed circulation methods through minor branches would essentially allow you to deduce similarly detailed methods for other parts of the body.
For instance, if a second-tier Meditation Method covered areas of the left arm that the Shrek Meditation Method did not, he could use the left arm to work out the right, attempting to construct another cycle in his right arm using the same circulation pattern.
After all, aside from the internal organs, the human body's nerves, blood vessels, meridians, bones, and other such structures were basically symmetrical.
He only needed to copy and paste.
Although none of these Meditation Methods involved crucial areas such as the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Standard Meridians, they gave Ye Qing a deeper understanding of the routes Soul Power followed through the meridians.
As a tech-enhanced boy with two Ultimate Attributes, he naturally had no blocked meridians. It was simply that many of them had never been used or nourished by Soul Power.
While studying these Meditation Methods, Ye Qing would also frequently stop practicing his Shrek Meditation Method first, then use the second-tier, intermediate, and lower-level methods to open up and nourish those unused meridians.
Naturally, it was quite painful at first.
When Soul Power flowed through those undeveloped meridians, it felt as though an embroidery needle, or even a thick iron wire, was burrowing viciously through his flesh beneath the skin.
But as the saying went:
At first, the passage was narrow, barely admitting one person; after several dozen more steps, it suddenly opened into a vast expanse.
Each undeveloped meridian was like a delicate beauty with her clothes half undone, waiting for Ye Qing to remodel and favor her. Although nourishing and developing each hidden meridian did not increase his Soul Power, the improvement in his physical constitution was plainly visible.
Once he could link them together and finally open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Standard Meridians, completing the fullest possible grand circulation cycle within his body, his cultivation method would be complete.
Of course, when his control slipped, something like this could also happen...
Pfft-
A strand of Soul Power burst through a meridian, erupting into a tiny blossom of blood on Ye Qing's forearm. Yet he felt not the slightest ripple of emotion. Expressionlessly, he pressed down on the wound, while the Wings of Light behind him released their healing ability, repairing the ruptured meridian, skin, and flesh.
He had experienced this plenty of times. Over the past month, even if it had not happened a hundred times, it had happened at least sixty or seventy times.
Precisely controlling Soul Power to open up and nourish those hidden meridians was outrageously difficult.
If Ye Qing had not possessed a healing Soul Skill himself, he would never have dared to play around like this.
The Wings of Light absorbed the Golden Tree's extraordinarily dense power of light and life aura, then converted them into healing energy that showered down onto his arm. The injured area quickly returned to normal, without leaving even the faintest scar.
Those earlier experiences had greatly increased Ye Qing's tolerance for pain. Whether it was the stabbing pain of opening meridians or the agony of them bursting, neither felt much worse to him than a mosquito bite once had.
This was the most tangible effect of his improved spiritual power and willpower.
"Ah, progress is too slow." Ye Qing wiped the blood from his hand and sighed softly.
Aside from studying all those different Meditation Methods' meridian diagrams, he had spent the month doing nothing but aimlessly opening up and nourishing the hidden meridians he discovered.
Because he simply could not do anything else.
He had not managed to establish even a single additional Soul Power circuit on top of the Shrek Meditation Method. It remained exactly as it had been.
Then again, that made sense.
If he had made headway in just one month on the problem of the gutted Mysterious Heaven Skill, which no one on the Douluo Continent had solved in ten thousand years, would that not make all the continent's Soul Masters look like useless fools?
At that thought, Ye Qing felt much more at ease.
It's only been a month. What's the rush? Hadn't you already prepared yourself to grind away at this for a long time? Ye Qing silently reminded himself. The frustration that had begun to build over his lack of progress settled back into calm.
Yes, he could not rush. A cultivation method was the foundation of cultivation, not something he could complete overnight.
Making this much progress in a month was already quite good.
After calming himself, Ye Qing turned his thoughts to something else.
Since he could not add new Soul Power circuits to the Shrek Meditation Method, he might as well set that aside entirely and focus on developing his body's hidden meridians first!
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