Great Heavenly Circulation

The Art of Yasheng was originally devised as a means for common laborers in ancient times to protect themselves.

In ancient times, craftsmen worried that wealthy households might refuse to settle their wages after a job was done, or use their power to bully them and dock their pay. So they came up with a few little tricks to use in construction.

Once used, these tricks could disturb a household's peace and unsettle its six kinds of livestock. After the methods became widespread among craftsmen, employers had to think twice before bullying them, and the craftsmen's basic dignity gained considerable protection.

At first, these methods had nothing to do with religion or tales of ghosts and gods. Almost all of them were simple and easy to use, requiring only a few simple props. But as masters and revered practitioners refined and developed them through successive dynasties, constantly adding details, the power of the Art of Yansheng grew enormously.

Mr. Mengfei discovered that the spell cast on Jiang Kui's family was a super-invincible, mixed-and-enhanced version of the art. It included not only the rudimentary Art of Yansheng, but also the Art of Jianzitou from Nanyang and the Art of Gu from the Southern Frontier.

Jiang Kui had always worried that the man would return for revenge, but Mr. Mengfei told him to set his mind at ease. An ordinary Art of Yansheng spell could be broken simply by finding the object used to cast it, but the objects used in the complex spell on Jiang Kui had been refined by the spiritual power of the person who practiced this evil art, and each held a fragment of the practitioner's spirit.

Once the objects had been deep-fried in hot oil and thrown onto a road for passing vehicles to run over, even if the practitioner survived, he would have a hard time harming anyone again.

And that was indeed what happened. The Fujian developer had expected Jiang Kui to contact him again, but several months passed without a word from Jiang Kui.

Uneasy, the Fujian developer went looking for the practitioner he had hired, only to find that the man had vanished without a trace long ago. The developer knew someone in the Jiang family had died, and with the practitioner gone as well, he knew things were bad. He abandoned his plan to buy the Jiang family's ancestral land.

Seven years passed, and the Jiang family remained safe and sound. Their lives gradually improved as well.

At the time, Jiang Kui had insisted on thanking Mr. Mengfei. After learning that the Jiang family possessed a unique skill, Mr. Mengfei asked Jiang Kui to teach it without reservation to any disciple he took in the future. With no way to repay the life-saving favor, Jiang Kui agreed without another word!

That was how Su Ziyang had come all this way to study.

After hearing Mr. Mengfei's story, Su Ziyang understood how it had all come about. The Jiang family and Mr. Mengfei had such deep ties.

Su Ziyang was also struck once again by Mr. Mengfei's vast knowledge. If he had encountered something like that himself, he would most likely have been at a complete loss. It seemed he had a heavy burden and a long road ahead!

By the time Mr. Mengfei finished the story, it was nearly midnight.

"Let's practice!"

This was the second time Su Ziyang had practiced with his master, following the first time Mr. Mengfei had led him through the exercises.

Back then, Su Ziyang had been fresh out of the thatch and hadn't noticed much. Now, with Mr. Mengfei standing beside him, those seemingly light and effortless movements left him stunned.

Su Ziyang felt the Qi inside him churn ceaselessly with his master's movements. Mr. Mengfei's aura enveloped him completely, and a warm current of Qi swirled constantly around each of his acupoints.

Su Ziyang immediately realized this was a golden opportunity to improve, and began practicing alongside his master.

Ten minutes later, Su Ziyang's back was soaked with sweat. Although his yang energy usually rose like steam when he practiced, he had never felt anything so intense.

Warm currents washed through his meridians again and again. Su Ziyang felt his dantian slowly swell, and the Qi within it, which had once resembled a small ball of water, had now gathered into a little pond.

Half an hour later, Su Ziyang felt his dantian swell and bulge, seemingly unable to hold any more Qi. But he suddenly realized that he couldn't stop moving, and could only continue following his master's exercises, practicing them over and over.

After another half hour, Su Ziyang's entire body had turned red like a boiled crab, and the swelling throughout his body was unbearable.

Su Ziyang wanted to ask his master to stop, but he could no longer speak. Saliva poured from his mouth as though a faucet had been turned on, and he had to swallow quickly to keep from choking.

Mr. Mengfei paid no attention to Su Ziyang's condition and simply continued his slow movements. As time passed, Su Ziyang found that the saliva he swallowed had begun to taste sweet, and it gradually formed a cycle with the Qi gathered in his dantian.

The Qi rose like steam along the governing vessel, rushing straight into his upper dantian. It then cooled inside his head, became saliva, and was swallowed again. The sweet saliva he swallowed rose once more like steam.

The cycle repeated, and Su Ziyang's consciousness grew hazy. He felt all his external senses disappear, while his body became transparent. His white bones gave off a faint glow, and his internal organs were clearly visible. As the water and Qi continued to circulate, the white bones vanished, and so did his organs. Su Ziyang felt as though his entire body no longer existed, leaving only an extraordinarily clear consciousness suspended in midair.

He had no idea how much time had passed when a rooster crowed outside.

Su Ziyang's muddled consciousness cleared in an instant. Outside, it was already broad daylight.

Su Ziyang opened his eyes again and looked around, finding that the whole world had changed. Objects of every shape and kind glowed, and silvery-white particles filled the air.

"Focus your mind and gather your spirit!"

A shout rang out beside his ear.

Su Ziyang quickly closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. His breath gradually steadied. When he opened his eyes, everything had returned to normal.

"Master!" Su Ziyang looked at Mr. Mengfei, who was sitting nearby, and saluted him with cupped fists.

"Haha, what you just experienced was the realm of Great Heavenly Circulation. I may not be able to supervise your practice every day, so last night, while the moon was full on the fifteenth, I forcibly helped you break through to Great Heavenly Circulation! This will save you a great deal of trouble, but remember, you must practice even harder from now on. You still have a long road ahead! Don't become enamored of the sights of your current realm!" Every word Mr. Mengfei spoke struck like thunder.

Su Ziyang had never understood why his master's voice had that effect. Now that he had advanced directly to Great Heavenly Circulation, he knew it was produced by gathering cultivated Qi in the throat. If he wanted to, he could do it now as well.

"I will heed your teachings, Master!" Su Ziyang nodded respectfully.

Knock, knock, knock! Someone was at the door.

"Breakfast is ready!" It was Auntie Jiang's voice.

Master and disciple hadn't slept all night, but Su Ziyang felt more alert than he ever had, as though he had always lived in a fog before.

"You seem a little different today than you did yesterday!" Jiang Tian said, staring at Su Ziyang as he ate the bun in his hand. Seeing Su Ziyang today, Jiang Tian kept feeling that he was very different from yesterday, though he couldn't say exactly how.

Uncle Jiang Kui didn't say anything, but he too felt that Su Ziyang was a little different.

After breakfast, it was time for lessons again.

Mr. Mengfei was an eccentric man. He had asked his disciple to learn the Jiang family's Spiritual Pivot Acupoint Striking Method, yet he himself did not listen to Jiang Kui's instruction.

While Su Ziyang studied, Mr. Mengfei took Jiang Tian off to the mountain behind the house to have fun.

"Have you memorized the formulas I taught you yesterday?" Jiang Kui usually looked very amiable, but whenever he began teaching, he seemed like a different person, stern and serious.

Su Ziyang nodded. As he was now, he couldn't claim to remember everything at a glance, but he could commit something to memory after looking at it once or twice.

"Actually, the key to kung fu is practice! As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. There's the accuracy of your strikes and the force behind them, but most important is whether you can channel Qi into your fingers when you strike, achieving an effect that sheer strength alone can't produce!" As Jiang Kui spoke, he sank into a horse stance and gently thrust his fingers at the air in front of him. Su Ziyang actually heard a whoosh as they cut through the air.

"Whew... so fast."

Making that kind of sound required not only strength, but tremendous speed.

Looking at Jiang Kui's fingers, Su Ziyang thought that true masters really did live among ordinary people. A master like him wouldn't necessarily lose to a professional fighter.

"Uncle Jiang, this must be the result of many years of practice, right? There's no way I can reach your level in a day or two. I'm afraid I may never achieve what you just did." Su Ziyang knew Jiang Kui's skill could not have been forged overnight. Only Jiang Kui himself knew how much hardship and suffering he had endured along the way.

That was what kung fu was all about!

"Take your time practicing. All I can do is tell you everything I'm able to teach you, how it's practiced and how it's used!" Jiang Kui's words were very fair.

When he finished, he fetched a wooden stool from inside the house. A cushion sewn from coarse cloth was tied to it.

"I made this for my Jiang Tian when he was practicing. It's coarse cloth on the outside, with salt and some Chinese medicinal herbs inside. Every day, you have to jab it with your fingers. Once you've poked through the outer layer of coarse cloth, you can consider yourself to have mastered the basics!"

Su Ziyang watched Jiang Kui explain and demonstrate, his fingers going thump, thump against the slightly springy cushion. Just listening made Su Ziyang hurt.

After demonstrating a few times, Jiang Kui gestured for Su Ziyang to practice.

Su Ziyang imitated Jiang Kui's movements, curling his fingers into an eagle claw and grabbing at the cushion. Thump! In an instant, Su Ziyang felt as though his fingers were about to break.

"Damn it!!!" Su Ziyang blurted out.

"Hahaha!" Jiang Kui burst out laughing. "Everything has to be done step by step. You should start with a force you can handle. You can't get fat in a single bite. You really are an earnest kid-you actually put your strength into it. Take it slowly! Again!"

Su Ziyang could only grit his teeth against the pain and continue imitating Jiang Kui's movements, grabbing at the cushion. This time he used much less force, and it felt bearable.

Watching Su Ziyang's earnest manner, Jiang Kui couldn't help nodding!

Su Ziyang spent the whole morning learning the basic training methods and some basic acupoint-striking techniques from Jiang Kui. At that point, Jiang Tian and Mr. Mengfei came strolling back.

When Jiang Tian saw Su Ziyang diligently grabbing at the coarse-cloth cushion, he gave him a thumbs-up. Mr. Mengfei nodded, patted Su Ziyang on the shoulder, and gestured for him to keep practicing.

Then the two of them took Jiang Kui inside to drink tea.

Su Ziyang alone was left in the autumn wind, grabbing at the cloth sack, thump, thump, thump...