The martial dao academy officially embarked on the path of cultivation (a nearly six-thousand-word chapter)

Early that morning, all the students of Tianyang Martial Dao Academy gathered on the field.

The prospect of advancing a year brought anticipation and excitement, along with a trace of fear.

They were excited that they could finally learn internal arts, like elementary school children who had only just learned addition and subtraction getting to learn multiplication and division in their second year.

Their fear was that they might not be able to learn...

Of course, some students were still very confident.

"Just you wait. I'll definitely surpass you!" Liu Che stood not far away, staring fixedly at Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, and the others, especially the top three. His eyes all but spat fire.

Liu Sidao and the others stood together, chatting and laughing. The sight made Liu Che's teeth itch.

"Hey, Brother Dao, Liu Che's looking at us over there." Yin Tianqi lifted his chin.

Liu Sidao smiled without betraying anything. Beside him, Xiao Yan said, "Actually, someone like Liu Che could turn out pretty well with some teaching, if he came to his senses."

Murong Xue, standing nearby, asked, "And if he doesn't?"

"Then he'll be ruined. He's too extreme." Liu Sidao's father was a head constable. In the past, when he had nothing to do, Liu Sidao had visited the government office and watched his father catch thieves, so he understood more about human nature than the others and had seen more of the world.

"He really is too extreme." Ma Shou stretched.

"He wants to fit into the group, but he won't accept being beneath anyone. He won't even accept being equals. He only wants to be the boss," Liu Sidao said, hitting the nail on the head. "That's why he insists on being president of the Heavenly Dragon Association and making all of us submit to him."

"Sigh."

The others all sighed, not because they felt it was a pity, but simply because he was too annoying.

There were also some softhearted students who feared he might stray down the wrong path.

Some people's personalities were extremely difficult to change.

Everyone said children were innocent, but children could be stubborn, too.

Before long, over twenty teachers arrived at the martial training ground, led by Zhang Qingyuan.

"Good morning, Headmaster."

"Headmaster, sir!"

"Headmaster."

The students greeted him, and Zhang Qingyuan responded to each of them, very approachable.

"Classes, assemble!"

At Lu Guying's command, the students lined up by class.

Zhang Qingyuan looked around and smiled at them. "Students!

"With the end of our three-month foundation stage, we now move on to our second stage of cultivation.

"Starting today, you will officially set foot on the path of martial dao.

"Now, will the second-year teachers please stand before their respective classes in turn? I'll introduce them one by one!"

The students craned their necks curiously, looking eagerly at their new teachers.

"Guo Lingjun, homeroom teacher for Class One!"

"Cai Denglang, homeroom teacher for Class Two!"

"Ren Huan, homeroom teacher for Class Three!"

"Chu Yunshen, homeroom teacher for Class Four!"

"Zhou Lei, homeroom teacher for Class Five!"

"Yun Qingqiu, homeroom teacher for Class Six!"

"Gao Yuan, homeroom teacher for Class Seven!"

"Xu Taosen, homeroom teacher for Class Eight!"

"Wang Yipeng, homeroom teacher for Class Nine!"

"Huang Shixiu, homeroom teacher for Class Ten!"

The ten teachers took their places in turn. Zhang Qingyuan continued, "First of all, second-year cultivation requires you to develop internal force. I already explained this at the start of the term.

"Developing internal force proves that you've entered the next stage and become second-year students!

"Some people will go through this process faster than others!

"Those who develop internal force will receive specialized guidance from the teachers of their respective classes in the second-year teaching group.

"Students who are a little slower needn't worry. Take your time practicing in the first year to avoid the possibility of Qi deviation.

"Now, let us invite Teacher Yun Qingqiu, head of the second-year teaching group, to explain the fundamentals of internal arts!"

A rustle swept through the crowd...

Yun Qingqiu stepped forward and smiled faintly at the students.

The students in the classes below felt as though they were basking in a spring breeze. Their teacher was so good-looking!

Good-looking, yet resolute.

The scar at the corner of her eye added a few more touches of a heroine's bearing.

The students of Class Six, in particular, felt pride well up in their hearts when they saw that their homeroom teacher even held an official position.

Yun Qingqiu took a step forward, standing before two thousand students.

She stood straight, her gaze clear and bright. Far from detracting from her appearance, the scar at the corner of her eye lent her a tempered resolve and a sense of trustworthiness.

She took a deep breath, trying to relax.

What she was about to say was the theory of internal arts widely accepted throughout the martial world.

It was just that no one had ever put it this way before.

Since coming to Tianyang Martial Dao Academy, her discussions with the other second-year teachers over these past days, together with the headmaster's summaries, had made the theory of internal arts easy to understand.

She had spent several days memorizing this script, and had gone over it again and again in her mind last night.

This was her first time teaching disciples this way. She had never tried it before.

Yun Qingqiu exhaled. Her voice was clear and resonant, not loud, yet it reached every student's ears distinctly.

"Hello, students. I'm Yun Qingqiu. Over the coming year, the other teachers and I will lead you through the gates of martial dao."

She surveyed the crowd, looking at those young faces full of longing and a little bewilderment, and smiled faintly.

She remembered her own days as a disciple.

Back at Emei, the elders had always taught her with stern faces.

Who would have thought there would be so many rules here?

Teaching with a smile...

She continued:

"I know that many of you are curious about internal force, and even find it mysterious and beyond your reach.

"Today, I want to tell you that internal force doesn't come from nowhere, nor is it something vague and intangible."

She paused, then asked a question. "During the three months of foundation training you just completed, have you ever experienced something like this?

"When you put everything into throwing that final punch, when you gritted your teeth and finished that last weighted run, at the moment your body was most exhausted and your strength nearly spent, did a faint warm current or a strange sense of fullness suddenly well up deep in your lower abdomen or throughout your limbs and bones, making you feel you could hold on a little longer?"

At this question, many students below the platform looked thoughtful and nodded in recognition.

Those who trained especially hard, such as Liu Sidao, Ma Shou, and Sun Xiaohu, nodded instinctively.

They had indeed experienced this, but had always attributed it to breaking through their limits or to an illusion.

Yun Qingqiu took in their reactions and said with certainty, "That's right. That warm current, that unusual sensation, is the embryonic form of Qi sense.

"It isn't an illusion. It truly exists!"

Her voice rose a little, carrying the conviction of someone revealing a truth. "The original source of what we martial artists call internal force comes from our very selves!

"From our daily tempering, from the surging of our blood and Qi, the friction of our sinews and bones, and the gathering of our will!

"It is a pure energy stirred from the source of our life through physical exertion pushed to its utmost!"

She paused, then continued, "In ancient times, our forebears discovered this power as well.

"But at first, they didn't know how to control or preserve it. It was like..."

She offered a vivid comparison. "Like when we strain to lift a huge rock and need to hold a breath in our dantian. Once our strength runs out and that breath escapes, our strength disperses too.

"The same was true of our forebears!

"They could sense this Qi during a burst of exertion, but couldn't retain it. They could only let it disperse within their bodies as their physical strength recovered.

"Yet there were always dazzling talents unwilling to settle for that!"

A measure of reverence entered Yun Qingqiu's tone. "After countless generations of observation, experimentation, and drawing conclusions, they finally worked out a method!

"How to guide it with the mind and coordinate it with a particular breathing rhythm, carefully gathering this easily dispersed sensation of Qi produced during bursts of exertion, channeling it through the meridians like streams flowing into rivers, and finally drawing it into the dantian beneath our lower abdomen for storage.

"The methods of gathering, storing, and later circulating and using this energy are what we call internal arts!"

She solemnly gave the definition. "The dantian is the storehouse where we keep internal force. The meridians are the roads along which internal force travels to every part of the body."

"When we fight someone," Yun Qingqiu demonstrated a simple punch, "we can draw internal force from the storehouse and instantly send it along those roads into our fists and feet, making us faster, stronger, and quicker to react!

"That is how internal force is used in combat!"

Seeing the students' eyes grow brighter and brighter, she knew they had gained an initial understanding, so she concluded, "So, students, there's no need to imagine internal arts as something excessively complex or profound. Their starting point is the Qi sense you've already experienced for yourselves.

"What you'll learn next is how to use specific mental formulas and breathing methods to actively stimulate and capture this Qi during your daily cultivation, and ultimately draw it into your dantian to make it your own.

"This process requires patience, concentration, and, above all, persistent practice.

"Some will be faster and some slower. That's perfectly normal.

"Remember, don't chase quick progress or rush ahead recklessly. You must follow your teachers' methods strictly. Otherwise, one wrong step could damage your meridians. That is what we commonly call 'Qi deviation.'"

Yun Qingqiu swept her gaze over the crowd one last time, her eyes full of encouragement. "The path of martial dao already lies beneath your feet.

"This first step is to sense and control your own power.

"I believe every one of you can do it!

"Now, your class teachers will teach you the specific internal cultivation methods. Listen carefully, commit them to memory, and then go and feel that power sleeping within your bodies!"

When she finished speaking, the entire field fell silent for a moment, then erupted into lively discussion and exclamations of sudden understanding.

"Holy shit! So that's how it works!" Li Goudan slapped his thigh. "I knew it! Whenever I was completely exhausted before, my belly would always feel warm. I thought I was hungry!"

"I always felt that strength was useful!" Sun Xiaohu smiled guilelessly, feeling he had found his direction.

Liu Sidao and Ma Shou exchanged a glance, each seeing understanding and eagerness in the other's eyes.

Even Xiao Yan, who had been somewhat downcast all this time, clenched his fists now, hope rekindling in his eyes. So internal force wasn't so far beyond his reach after all.

Yun Qingqiu's words were like clouds parting to reveal the sun, clearly showing every student the road ahead. Their fear of the unknown dispersed, replaced by intense anticipation for exploring the mysteries within themselves.

"Good!"

Zhang Qingyuan called out.

The students instantly fell silent!

Zhang Qingyuan said, "Next, we'll give you a choice between two cultivation methods.

"The first is the Nine Yin Manual, which produces yin-attribute internal force.

"This cultivation method is divided into the internal art and the Tendon-Changing and Bone-Tempering Chapter.

"Once you develop Qi sense, you can first try practicing the Tendon-Changing and Bone-Tempering Chapter to adjust your innate constitution.

"After that, try practicing the internal art of the Nine Yin Manual.

"The Nine Yang Divine Skill originally had no bone-tempering chapter, but our Teacher Chu Yunshen is exceptionally gifted and brilliantly intelligent. He created the Nine Yang Bone-Tempering Chapter to complement the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

"Likewise, once you develop Qi sense, you must first practice the bone-tempering chapter.

"Of course, neither of these two cultivation methods can be called superior or inferior, stronger or weaker.

"But everyone's constitution is different, and so is the internal force attribute that suits them.

"All things are divided into yin, yang, and the five elements.

"If you initially choose Nine Yang and find practicing it uncomfortable, find a teacher immediately and switch to Nine Yin.

"Or if you practice Nine Yin and something feels wrong, you can switch to Nine Yang as well.

"But remember, don't switch blindly. You need to find your homeroom teacher or Teacher Gu Qianshan and have him give you professional guidance.

"Does everyone understand?"

"Understood!" the students shouted in unison.

As the teachers looked at Zhang Qingyuan, their admiration deepened.

Even the most formidable sect wouldn't let outer disciples practice cultivation methods like these.

They wouldn't even get a choice.

There was only one standard outer disciple cultivation method, without even a proper name. It would simply be called something like a certain sect's Basic Outer Disciple Internal Art.

If you could learn it, you could learn it. If you couldn't learn it well, you lacked talent.

Those with talent entered the inner sect, where specialist teachers provided specialized guidance in cultivating specialized internal arts.

Those without internal force could more or less head down the mountain and venture into the jianghu.

So what breadth of spirit did it take for Tianyang Martial Dao Academy to offer new students two obviously excellent internal arts as their foundation?

These two martial arts might not count as particularly powerful among upper-tier sects.

But among middle- and lower-tier sects, they could serve as a sect's defining art.

Most importantly, they even included bone-tempering chapters. Those were the real treasures.

"Now, homeroom teachers, take your students to cultivate internal force.

"Anyone who develops internal force within three days will automatically enter the second year.

"Those who don't develop internal force needn't worry. Spend more time tempering your sinews and bones in the first year, then keep trying.

"Every student who develops internal force will automatically enter the second year. Report to your class teacher to cultivate!

"Of course, those who develop internal force shouldn't grow complacent. Any students who feel they still haven't mastered the basic moves should go back to their first-year teachers and practice!"

"Yes, Headmaster!"

Zhang Qingyuan nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Also, if there really are students born with blocked meridians or problems with their dantian who cannot cultivate, don't worry.

"Our Tianyang Martial Dao Academy will soon introduce a range of subjects, including carpentry, smithing, medicine, arithmetic, and literature.

"Those who still cannot develop internal force after six months can choose another subject and learn a trade to support their families.

"These subjects are free and aren't included in the tuition fees."

"Long live the headmaster!"

Countless students who had worried about being unable to advance shouted in unison.

Most of them were ordinary people, children from the countryside. Hadn't they come here precisely to learn skills and rise above the crowd?

Even if they failed to learn martial arts, learning a trade would at least give them something to show for it when they went home.

Of course, children from wealthy families had no such worries. If they failed, they could just pay tuition and study for another year.

If they truly lacked the talent, they would simply have to go home and inherit the family business.

The homeroom teachers led their respective students to find spots on the training grounds and sit cross-legged.

Each student received a sheet of paper listing the fastest cultivation methods, distilled from the general principles of various internal arts manuals.

It was Zhang Qingyuan who had named this basic cultivation method-the "Tianyang Origin-Nurturing Skill"!

Fortunately, even the students who had previously been illiterate could now read, so they had little trouble with it. More importantly, it was written in plain, accessible language.

After the teachers explained a few more precautions, the students began cultivating cross-legged.

The entire training ground gradually fell silent. Some students sat cross-legged, while others stood in prescribed postures. Following their teachers' guidance, they adjusted their breathing and tried to use their minds to sense and capture that faint, elusive sensation of Qi within their bodies.

Liu Sidao's and Ma Shou's classes were not far apart. Both boys possessed steady dispositions and exceptional talent.

After listening to Teacher Yun Qingqiu's clear explanation of profound principles, they already understood the essence of internal power. Their minds were perfectly clear now, without a single stray thought.

Liu Sidao closed his eyes and focused, recalling that trace of warmth in his lower abdomen when he had exhausted his strength earlier. Following the cultivation formula, his breathing gradually grew long and rhythmic.

Within just three to five breaths, he clearly felt extremely faint warm currents seeming to stir throughout his limbs and bones with each inhalation and exhalation. As though drawn by something, they slowly gathered toward the dantian in his lower abdomen.

At first, there were only wisps and threads, but they soon became distinct, as though a warm lamp had been lit in his dantian. His mind remained as still as an ancient well. He simply followed the method, patiently guiding and gathering them.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and looked toward Ma Shou nearby, just as Ma Shou looked his way.

They exchanged smiles and lifted their chins. Everything went without saying.

They had succeeded. The seeds of internal power had taken root in their dantians, the process as smooth and natural as breathing or drinking water.

Feeling the changes within his body, Liu Sidao thought, So this is what fucking internal power is. Damn!

Nearby, Liu Che had been watching Liu Sidao and Ma Shou out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing them open their eyes so quickly, with relaxed smiles still on their faces, he felt an inexplicable flame of anger flare up inside him.

Why could they do it so quickly? I'm no worse than they are!

He roared inwardly, forcibly suppressed his agitation, and drove the cultivation method even harder, trying to catch the sensation of Qi faster.

Yet the more anxious he grew, the more tangled his thoughts became. His breathing quickened too, leaving him unable to sense anything unusual at all.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples, and he clenched his teeth.

His homeroom teacher, Cai Denglang, noticed his unsteady breathing. Passing beside him, he lightly patted his shoulder and said quietly, "Calm your mind. Focus your spirit. Neither arrogance nor impatience."

A gentle presence flowed into him, soothing his restless thoughts somewhat.

He took a deep breath, stopped paying attention to anyone else, and devoted himself to gathering his thoughts.

His talent was considerable, after all. Once he calmed down, the familiar warmth he had felt after pushing past his limits during earlier training gradually emerged.

He guided it with the utmost care. Although the process took an incense stick's worth of time longer than it had for Liu Sidao and the others, he ultimately succeeded in drawing his first wisp of internal power into his dantian on the morning of the first day.

He let out a long breath and looked toward Liu Sidao with a hint of smugness, only to discover that the other boy had long since entered meditation again, seemingly nurturing his newborn internal power. No one paid any attention to whether he had succeeded.

That diminished the little sense of accomplishment he had just gained, leaving it all feeling rather tasteless.

With a muffled snort, he resumed cultivating as well.

By comparison, most of the students progressed far more slowly.

Li Goudan strained until his entire face turned red and felt as though his stomach was about to cramp. Apart from wanting to fart, he had caught no sensation of Qi whatsoever. He kept muttering, "What's going on? I did what the teacher said! Where's the warm Qi? Where'd it go?"

Zhao Ling'er had decent talent and a relatively calm mind. She could vaguely sense what seemed to be a slightly cool current flowing inside her, but it was like a mischievous little fish that she simply could not catch, much less draw into her dantian. Her anxiety brought sweat to the tip of her nose.

Shi Tiezhu's simple mind, on the other hand, helped him make fairly good progress. Though slow, he could already faintly sense the direction of the flow, but he was quite clumsy at guiding it.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, was facing the first hurdle on his cultivation path. He worked harder than anyone, knew the cultivation formula backward and forward, and maintained a breathing rhythm that was not the slightest bit off.

He could sense that there truly was energy within his body, even more clearly than most people could. But whenever he tried to guide it toward his dantian, he felt a faint sluggishness in his meridians, as though the passages had yet to open fully. This made his internal power gather exceptionally slowly, nowhere near the effortless way things fell into place for Liu Sidao and the others.

Watching his classmates around him reveal delighted expressions one after another, he inevitably grew anxious, but could only force himself to think:

Deep accumulation leads to a powerful surge. Xiao Yan, you can't rush! The teacher said some people were fast and others slow!

He took a deep breath, cast aside distracting thoughts, and continued with tremendous perseverance, washing through bit by bit and guiding that faint internal power. The process was slow but steady.

Whenever he grew anxious or dejected, he recalled his ex-girlfriend's face, and his resolve firmed once more!

Across the training grounds, the two thousand students wore all manner of expressions.

Some had their brows tightly furrowed, some were drenched in sweat, and some were already smiling.

The very first day of internal arts cultivation laid bare the differences in their talent and temperament.

On this path of martial arts, some began on a smooth road, while others struggled with their very first steps. Regardless, the seeds had already been sown. All that remained was for them to take root and sprout in the days ahead, each revealing its own towering potential.

Zhang Qingyuan stayed with the students for the entire day. That evening, he entered the Scripture Pavilion alone.

Watching the students pour out their youth had suddenly stirred his own interest.

Damn it, I need to work hard too!

Using cheats might be fast, but if I worked hard on top of using cheats, wouldn't I just take off?

Mostly, the students' atmosphere had rubbed off on him. Zhang Qingyuan was fired up!