Studying the Breath-Subduing Formula!

"...With inferior root bone, one's blood and qi are naturally weak and circulate sluggishly. Tempering the skin to the 'Oxhide' stage is already no easy feat. Reaching 'stone skin' takes several times the effort and resources. As for breaking through the blood gates...each gate is as difficult to breach as ascending to heaven."

"For the vast majority with inferior root bone, breaking through the first blood gate in their entire lives is already a stroke of luck. The second is almost hopeless, never mind the third or the 'iron skin' stage."

"Wang Kui spent a few years at the martial school. Breaking through the first gate probably exhausted what little talent and luck he had."

The limits of root bone were like shackles one was born wearing.

Inferior root bone meant an innately low ceiling for blood and qi, as well as poor circulation efficiency.

The difficulty of breaking through each gate increased exponentially. Wang Kui was a case in point.

Yet the corners of Li Xuan's mouth curled upward slightly.

Root bone? Shackles?

Those only applied to ordinary people.

He had his panel. He had points!

As long as he kept hunting, he could keep earning points!

Even his seemingly hopeless root bone-hadn't he just acquired the [Low-grade martial root bone (blue)] trait to supplement it?

Realms that took others years or even more than a decade of bitter toil to break through required only enough points from him!

Others were limited by their root bone, stuck before some barrier for their entire lives. But he could spend points to smash his way forward!

After breaking through to Oxhide, his attributes changed as well.

Li Xuan experienced his first explosive surge in attributes!

[Physique 1.3 (base value) -> 1.8]

[Dexterity 1.3 (base value) -> 1.8]

"They both shot up by 0.5! That's so much!"

Li Xuan sucked in a sharp breath.

He had yet to break through even the first blood gate, yet his attributes had risen so much that they already rivaled Wang Kui's, who had broken through one!

"Doesn't that mean...there can be differences between martial artists even in the same realm?"

In other words, once Li Xuan broke through the first blood gate, he would only be stronger than Wang Kui!

"Constable Wang's attributes were so high back then. What realm was he in? Could he have been in the body tempering realm?"

That gap was a little too vast!

"It looks like learning martial arts was the right path!"

Li Xuan was overwhelmed with excitement!

Seen in this light, the Martial Dao had an extremely high ceiling!

The later realms would surely bring more explosive surges in his attributes!

If he never learned martial arts and remained an ordinary person, how could he possibly compare with those people?

"One step at a time, one step at a time..."

Only after spending his points did Li Xuan take out the battered booklet, feeling both excited and apprehensive.

Three large, crooked characters on the cover came into view.

He gently opened the first page, and three large, crooked characters on the cover came into view.

"Breath-Subduing Formula!"

"The name does have a certain feel to it..."

He sat cross-legged on the earthen kang bed in the bean-sized glow of the oil lamp.

Taking a deep breath and clearing away stray thoughts, he began attempting to cultivate according to the "Basic Guiding Method" at the beginning of the booklet.

The first step was to regulate his breathing, sink his awareness inward, and perceive the elusive "qi sensation."

The booklet described it in mystifying terms: "Let mind and breath depend upon one another, guard spirit and intent within, and seek a stirring of primordial ancestral qi in the hollow aperture three inches below the navel."

Li Xuan focused and calmed himself, trying hard to breathe as described while keeping his awareness on his dantian.

Time trickled past. One incense stick's worth, then two...

He only felt his breathing grow increasingly erratic, while distracting thoughts kept welling up instead.

One moment he thought of the wild boar, the next of Wang Kui, and then he was mulling over his panel points again.

As for the supposed "qi sensation," there was not even a shadow of it. Apart from the soreness of sitting too long, there was nothing unusual below his navel.

Unwilling to give up, he tried to understand and imitate the postures illustrated in the diagrams.

Some were extremely awkward, requiring twists of the body that almost defied common sense.

At the same time, he had to match them with specific breathing rhythms.

He barely managed one posture, but before he could hold it for long, his whole body ached and his blood and qi churned. He nearly strained himself with a mistimed breath, frightening him into stopping immediately.

More than two hours passed, and he even refilled the oil lamp once.

Li Xuan felt dizzy and muddleheaded, his eyes dry and his temples throbbing. He was more exhausted than after a fight with a wild boar.

The "Breath-Subduing Formula (Incomplete)" still lay quietly open on his lap.

Yet he had not even touched the threshold of the most basic "qi sensation," let alone made any related text appear on his panel. Without getting a foot through the door, nothing would show on the panel.

"...Sigh."

Li Xuan let out a long, stale breath and rubbed his swollen-feeling temples, a wry smile appearing on his face.

"I really did take too much for granted. How could an internal cultivation method be so easy to master?"

"I only have inferior root bone to begin with, and my blood and qi already circulate sluggishly. Sensing something even subtler like 'inner qi' is probably more than ten times harder than practicing external fist and foot techniques. With no one to guide me, blindly puzzling over an incomplete method like this, I'm lucky I haven't suffered cultivation deviation."

He carefully put the booklet away. The little blaze kindled in his heart by obtaining a secret manual had been mostly doused by the cold water of reality.

The difficulty of internal cultivation far exceeded his imagination.

Still, the thought of giving up only flashed through his mind.

The Thunderclap Fist Stance was a secret teaching of the martial school. Passing it on privately was strictly forbidden, and the consequences of violating that rule were extremely severe. He dared not take the risk.

But this "Breath-Subduing Formula (Incomplete)" was different. Its origins were unknown, and no one knew about it.

If he could truly glean some understanding from it, even if it was only the simplest method of drawing in qi to nourish one's health...

Perhaps he could have his family practice it together, strengthening their bodies and giving them another means of protecting themselves in this increasingly chaotic world.

"I have my panel. That's my greatest support. Others can't master it because they're limited by their root bone, their comprehension, and the incomplete method. But I...as long as the panel recognizes it and displays it as a skill, no matter how harsh the entry requirements are, there'll always be a way to put points into it!"

Li Xuan reaffirmed his resolve. "But right now, I can't even find the door. It looks like burying my head in it and chewing through it on my own won't work."

Over the next few days, Li Xuan did not go into the mountains again. He devoted almost all his spare time to studying the "Breath-Subduing Formula (Incomplete)."

He read its words over and over, imitated its diagrams, and tried various combinations of breathing. He even tried sensing qi while his blood and qi were active after practicing the Thunderclap Fist Stance.

Yet reality dealt him another heavy blow.

His efforts seemed to accomplish nothing.

Several days passed, and he remained dizzy and bleary-eyed, his blood and qi unsettled. Never mind getting started-he could no longer even catch that faint initial "sensation of warmth."

The booklet seemed like a heavenly script. He recognized every word, yet strung together, their true meaning was difficult to grasp.

"No good, really-cart-making, door closed, come look..."

"...through."

Li Xuan sighed helplessly and rubbed his eyes, sore from excessive concentration.

"It'll soon be time to visit the martial school again. This time, I'll have to find a way to spend some money and get a chance to discreetly ask Senior Brother Zhao Meng, or another instructor who might have encountered internal cultivation, about the basics of 'qi sensation' and 'internal breath.' Even a few words of guidance might help me poke through this layer of window paper."

"But...I can't be too direct, or they might get suspicious."

While he planned his next visit to the martial school, the turmoil outside quietly spread to Li Family Village.

That evening, Li Zhong returned from outside the village carrying a large bundle of firewood on his back.

His elder brother was never good at hiding things. Instead of his usual honest, placid expression, he looked unsettled, his brows tightly furrowed.

He put down the firewood and lingered in the courtyard for quite a while. At last, Li Shan came out leaning on his crutch, glanced at him, and asked in a low voice, "Zhong, what's wrong? You look like your soul's wandered off."