Chapter 9: Breakthrough

Words : 1683 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 9 - 9: BreakthroughLi Gongpu once again visited Master Qian's residence, and after delivering the gifts and returning, he smelled a medicinal fragrance and saw Xu Qing practicing his boxing. Now, as evening approached, the setting sun stretched Xu Qing's shadow long. Looking at the shadow, it was like a crane dancing elegantly. The movements were graceful, as smooth and natural as drifting clouds or flowing water. Li Gongpu recognized these as the Crane Form postures, yet they were somewhat different from what he remembered. "Qing's movements are more standard than mine." A ridiculous thought popped into Li Gongpu's mind. He had taught Xu Qing the Crane Form just yesterday, yet today Xu Qing's movements were even more precise than Li Gongpu's. Even with ancestral blessings, this was still astonishingly impressive. Combining this with the current events and Xu Qing's strategizing, a certain thought that had died down flickered again. Could it be that Qing really was possessed by some evil spirit? "Uncle, you've returned," Xu Qing's voice arose next to Li Gongpu's ear: warm and steady, his gaze clear, showing no signs of evil spirits. "Mhm, Master Qian had held me back for a good chat again." Xu Qing chuckled: "You brought him silver; of course, he was enthusiastic." Li Gongpu: "Anyhow, this matter seems to be settled for now. By the way, the Crane Form you're practicing looks even more standardized than when I taught you." Xu Qing: "It was something I figured out on my own." "On your own?" Xu Qing did not intentionally hide anything and shared his insights on the Crane Form with Li Gongpu. He also mentioned his ability to stimulate warmth but did not disclose the information about the Soul Stabilization and the bronze mirror. Li Gongpu: "Can you naturally control that warmth?" "Yes." Li Gongpu's previous conjecture faded away, as he praised: "It's indeed the Xu Family's ancestral Kung Fu; even without the Breathing Skill, you can control that warmth." Searᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He now believed even more that it was Xu Qing's lineage that made him quicker to learn the Crane Form postures. Li Gongpu slightly regretted that although it was not good to train in martial arts too early, he could have passed on the Crane Form to Xu Qing a couple of years sooner. But at that time, Xu Qing was completely invested in his studies, and even if taught, he might not have taken it seriously. Besides, the Xu Qing then and the Xu Qing now were indeed very different. Xu Qing smiled and said: "After I practice for a while longer and figure it out, I'll see if I can reverse engineer the method to control the warmth and pass it on to uncle." Li Gongpu's eyes lit up: "Really?" He had practiced the Crane Form for half his life, and the breathing technique to control that warmth was one of his greatest obsessions. If he could learn its secrets, his excitement could hardly be overstated, truly embodying the scholars' saying of "Hearing the Dao in the morning, one can die content in the evening." "Qing is closer to you than your own nephew; could he be lying? Move aside, old Li, this medicinal cuisine is for Qing." It turned out that Xu Qing asked the Zhou Family to purchase ingredients for the Six Flavors Rehmannia Pills for him, but since the pill-making process was complicated and time-consuming, they simply made it into Six Flavors Rehmannia Soup. It was a medicinal cuisine with the same nourishing effects, suitable for drinking on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. People in his past life had enough nutrition, so it wasn't really suitable for them to consume Six Flavors Rehmannia Pills, but the Xu Qing in this life, whose body was underdeveloped, found it perfectly suitable. Xu Qing picked up the medicinal soup and drank it in one gulp. He had just finished practicing the Crane Form, and his body was producing warmth. As he drank the bowl of medicinal soup, the heat, under the sensing of his Divine Soul, not only didn't disperse but, in fact, grew stronger. Xu Qing quickly told Li Gongpu and his wife that he needed to guide the warmth, then returned to his cabin. Seated on the bed, Xu Qing used his intent to guide the warmth generated from the Crane Form into his limbs and bones. During this process, the medicinal properties also seeped into the warmth. After a good while, Xu Qing finally absorbed all of the medicinal properties and warmth. He was drenched in sweat, but he was spirited, and the sense of fullness in his body increased significantly. "The cultivation of this Crane Form truly needs to be combined with the medicinal recipe and Breathing Skill. Using the nourishing medicine recipe and Divine Soul Intent to guide the warmth, the effect is probably not inferior to the original complete Crane Form. This time it's equivalent to ten times the effect of before." He observed the bronze mirror again, and the text about Crane Form appeared: Crane Form (Incomplete): Beginner Level. With his "Absolute Focus" learning ability, Xu Qing resolved the issues of heat Guiding and medicine recipes, thus there was indeed no difficulty at all for him to reach the beginner level of Crane Form. In fact, not just Crane Form, but Xu Qing could also rapidly master other similar Kung Fu skills to strengthen his body, which wouldn't pose much difficulty either. Moreover, as his body became stronger and his stamina improved, the effect of "Absolute Focus" would also enhance accordingly. This was a positive cycle. Strictly speaking, the state of "Absolute Focus" was like a "Comprehension" cheat code for him. "It seems that cultivating Daoist Skill and enhancing the Divine Soul greatly assists in Martial Arts Training," Xu Qing realized. Even without the ability of "Absolute Focus", other people would find their Martial Arts Training greatly aided by a strengthened Divine Soul. For now, Xu Qing had only found the method of studying to nurture the Divine Soul to increase its power. He had a hunch that studying to nurture the Divine Soul could very well be a path of the Righteous Path. "Forget about cultivating the Divine Soul for now; after all, studying helps with advancing my secular status through the Imperial Examination, and it also nurtures the soul. This is a win-win situation," Xu Qing thought to himself. At the moment, he could completely rely on the help provided by the Zhou Family's support to initially use ten taels of Silver on nourishing medicine recipes to accelerate the progress of his Crane Form cultivation, aiming to push it to the limit, curious about the potential effects that would yield. However, he guessed that ten taels of Silver for nourishing medicine might not be enough. Indeed, Martial Arts Training was both exhausting and expensive. Fortunately, he had the bronze mirror to observe his progress. From what he could see, effort yielded rewards; training in Martial Arts was not just not exhausting, but rather it gave him the thrill of leveling up in a game. He even couldn't help but want to practice Crane Form again—it was somewhat addictive. "Forget it, I just Guided heat which was very draining on the spirit; better to study and nurture the soul first. Besides, I've mentioned taking the Imperial Examination, and neglecting my studies would cause unnecessary worry to my uncle and his wife," Xu Qing suppressed the impulse to train and picked up a scroll of "The Analects" to begin studying. One can grow tired of "University" day in and day out; starting with "The Analects" as an appetizer could be a good change. Of course, "University" had the best effect for nurturing the soul and its position as the main dish was unshakable. It's just that right after training, picking up "The Analects" to read, he always felt that the word "论" (discuss) was very much like "抡" (swing). The Master was very capable of fighting, and "The Analects" could aptly be called "Swing Analects." "Isn't it a pleasure to learn and practice what you learn?" "Shouldn't one reflect thrice daily on one's own behavior, to see if he has been unfaithful in his dealings, untrustworthy in his relationships, or unpracticed in his teachings?" "Not to be upset when others do not acknowledge me, but to be upset when I do not acknowledge others." "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." In the courtyard, Li Gongpu and his wife, who were talking, heard the sound of "The Analects" coming from the house. Li Gongpu chuckled: "Maybe little Qing is teaching me the principles of how to conduct myself." "I think your behavior is not as good as little Qing's," Mrs. Zhou glanced at him, took out a sachet of cloth, and whispered, "These are the leftover dregs from the medicinal cuisine; it's a pity to throw them away. Try eating some and see if it can be of any use to you." "Oh, this..." Just as Li GongPu opened his mouth, his wife stuffed a mouthful of medicine dregs into it. Not long after, Xu Qing heard inappropriate noises coming from next door, which indeed posed a significant challenge to his soul-nurturing effort. The tribulations of cultivation truly are everywhere. Keep it up! Xu Qing silently encouraged himself, calming his restless mind, reining in his wandering thoughts, and immersing himself in his own world. The bronze mirror showed changes accordingly. In the mirror, the words "Soul Stabilization" grew increasingly dark; when it reached a certain limit, it suddenly exploded into a cloud of thick ink, and then new text appeared: "Emerging from the shell." With a resounding boom, Xu Qing felt as though he had suddenly "flown" up!

Chapter 9: Breakthrough

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