Chapter 155 - 131: Martial Arts Realm (2)
But with Chubby here, no one dared to act out. Every single one of them was on their best behavior.
"Hah! I thought it was something serious, but it’s just this? Simple. You can just ask my cousin. She’s from a prestigious family and knows way more than any of those Martial Masters out there."
Hearing Fang Yue’s words, Bai Xingqiu immediately puffed out his chest and declared with confidence.
Fang Yue was slightly taken aback by his words.
Before coming, he really hadn’t considered this possibility. He thought Chubby would either introduce him to a famous Qi Sensing Martial Master or take him to read some relevant books.
He never would have guessed that Chubby would want to introduce his cousin.
’This guy is really sparing no effort to push his cousin on me.’
But this time, it would be difficult to refuse.
"Trust me, you can’t go wrong. Having my cousin clear up your questions will be countless times better than those Martial Masters out there, I guarantee it. Of course, you can also take this opportunity to get to know my cousin better and foster some feelings."
"First time strangers, second time friends. A few more visits, and you two are guaranteed to hit it off."
Chubby chattered on with extreme enthusiasm.
For a moment, Fang Yue felt that Chubby would be a natural at running a pyramid scheme.
"In that case, I’ll have to trouble you, Bai."
Fang Yue cupped his hands and said with ’utmost sincerity’.
"Good, that’s more like it." Bai Xingqiu laughed heartily, then directly ordered the Shopkeeper to close up for the day.
In his words, business could wait. Introducing Fang Yue to his cousin was the top priority.
Fang Yue shrugged. He didn’t feel he was that important at all.
He had no choice but to follow Chubby out.
~~~~~~
「The Bai Family’s detached courtyard.」
It was located in a corner of Shanyang Prefecture. The environment was quiet and secluded, surrounded by a vast bamboo forest.
They had to walk for several hundred zhang before they could even see the courtyard within.
To be able to spend the money to plant such a large bamboo forest in a place like Shanyang Prefecture, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, spoke volumes about the Bai Family’s wealth and status.
And this was only the Bai Family’s detached courtyard, not their main residence.
With Bai Xingqiu leading the way, Fang Yue naturally encountered no obstacles. The two of them soon entered the courtyard.
"At this hour, my cousin should be in the backyard."
As they entered the courtyard, Bai Xingqiu’s expression started to look a little unnatural. Sweat even began to bead on his chubby face.
Chubby, who had been slowly leading the way, first fell into step beside Fang Yue, and then eventually dropped behind him.
It was unclear what he was afraid of.
"Bai, is it the heat?"
Fang Yue didn’t know what Chubby was so nervous about, but that didn’t stop him from teasing him a little.
"It really is hot. Spring has just begun, so why is it already so warm? It must be because I walked too much today."
By now, the two had almost arrived. They just needed to pass through the moon gate ahead to enter the backyard.
At this moment, Fang Yue could faintly hear the explosive sound of fists tearing through the air.
"Fang, we’re here. You go in first, you go in first." Chubby stood before the moon gate, constantly wiping sweat from his face, not daring to take a single step forward.
"Is that you, Pang? Why are you standing outside instead of coming in? Oh, you brought a guest today, Pang. Don’t just stand out there, come on in."
Her voice was like a mountain spring, clear and melodious.
Just from hearing her voice, Fang Yue could easily imagine that the speaker was a woman like a forest sprite.
"We have a guest today. Don’t worry, I won’t hit you."
Chubby didn’t dare to speak. He hung his head and walked toward the moon gate, but not without pulling Fang Yue along with him.
It was as if doing so gave him a sliver of security.
They walked through the moon gate and around a corner, and sure enough, they saw the woman who had spoken.
The young woman was standing there gracefully. She wore moon-white martial attire that revealed her slender, elegant figure.
Her expression was calm, as cool and distant as a lotus, yet as radiant as a peony. These two contrasting feelings coexisted within her.
"Cousin, this is Fang Yue. He came to ask for your guidance on some questions about Martial Arts."
Chubby said cautiously, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Chubby’s behavior truly surprised Fang Yue, who was standing beside him.
He looked at the young woman before him again. She was coolly, dazzlingly beautiful. He couldn’t see anything fierce about her at all.
’She’s not some kind of terrifying beast, so how could she scare Chubby this badly?’
’Could it be just as she said earlier? Does Chubby get beaten up often?’
"Oh, uh, I just remembered! A new batch of tea just arrived at the shop, and a major client has been waiting for days. I can’t stay long, I’m leaving now."
Finally, Chubby turned around and, without giving Fang Yue a chance to react, scrambled away in a panic.
"My name is Bai Jin. My cousin said you wanted to ask some questions about Martial Dao cultivation. For my cousin’s sake, I can answer three of your questions. Go ahead."
Bai Jin smiled faintly and added, "If it were anyone else asking, they would have to withstand three of my moves first."
Fang Yue was surprised by her words. He hadn’t expected the young woman to be so direct before he’d even spoken.
He really couldn’t see what was so terrifying about her that she could scare someone with a thick-skinned, shameless personality like Chubby so badly.
Fang Yue shook his head. Remembering the reason he came, he immediately asked, "In Martial Dao cultivation, after Marrow Transformation, how does one achieve Qi Sensing? What realms lie beyond Qi Sensing? What kind of cultivation did the Ancient Qi Cultivators practice? And do immortals exist in this world?"
Hearing Fang Yue’s questions, Bai Jin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned and walked toward a nearby room.
"Follow me."
「A moment later.」
In the courtyard’s study, Fang Yue was avidly reading a book titled *Great Wei Martial Chronicles*.
This book must have been published by the court of the Great Wei Dynasty, but for some reason, he had never seen it for sale in the markets.
The book didn’t contain any cultivation methods. Instead, it described the various realms of Martial Dao cultivation and the conventional methods for breaking through.
’I see. So Secret Medicine is meant to supplement a certain type of energy that the human body lacks, allowing a person to gain immense power through cultivation.’
’The Four Martial Arts Gates are Whole Force, Skin Grinding, Bone Forging, and Marrow Transformation; completing these four makes one a Martial Artist. After that, Qi Blood Derivation leads to Qi Sensing and the generation of Inner Qi, at which point one can be called a Martial Master. Following that, by refining Inner Qi into the body and reversing yin and yang, one reaches the Innate realm and can be called a Martial Arts Grandmaster.’
Fang Yue quickly finished reading the thin volume. He now had a general understanding of the Martial Arts Realm questions that concerned him.
Just as he’d suspected, the method for breaking through to Qi Sensing described in the *Great Wei Martial Chronicles* was exactly the same as what that person he’d met before had told him.
One had to use a matching Secret Medicine and undergo Refinement at a specific time and in a specific environment. The surging Qi and blood would then generate Qi, which would be drawn into the Dantian and circulated throughout the body via the meridians.
But the Qi he had cultivated himself was indeed different. Only a small amount of his Qi remained in his Dantian; the vast majority of it dispersed into his flesh and blood.
It was truly different from what was described in the book.
’Did I really practice it wrong?’
"Then what is the cultivation method of the Ancient Qi Cultivators?" Fang Yue continued to ask.
That person had said he was following the path of the Ancient Qi Cultivators and that no one without supreme Talent could practice it.
If this cultivation path was viable, then it wasn’t necessarily impossible for him to follow it.
After all, as long as he lived long enough, his Talent and aptitude would continuously improve. He might eventually be able to meet the requirements.
"Ancient Qi Cultivators? That’s a cultivation Technique from before the Great Wei. It focuses on tempering the body with Qi, and it’s difficult to succeed in without supreme Talent."
Bai Jin immediately began to explain.
Before the Great Wei, Cultivators called themselves Qi Cultivators. Qi Cultivation was arduous, and only a small fraction of those with supreme Talent could practice it.
The first emperor of Great Wei was one such Qi Cultivator. Lamenting the difficulty of cultivation, he created the Secret Medicine Martial Dao. It flourished and developed, and with it, the first emperor overthrew the previous dynasty and established a new one.
Today, although the methods of Qi Cultivators haven’t been banned, they have been shelved. Only those with truly supreme Talent would even attempt them.
If someone without sufficient Talent were to practice this method, their cultivation path would be like sailing against the current. They would face an enormous hurdle when trying to achieve Qi Sensing, making it extremely difficult to break through.
"Then what are Elemental Stones?" Fang Yue asked his next question.
He had been able to cultivate a faint trace of Inner Qi and reach his current level precisely because of the Elemental Stones.
And then there was the Earth Element True Skill. Could there be a problem with this Cultivation Technique as well?
’Is it not one of the currently popular Qi Sensing Cultivation Techniques?’