Chapter 45: Guiding Qi
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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After familiarizing himself with his new ability for a while, Lin Xiu placed some loose silver and a dagger for self-defense in the space. Walking into the courtyard, he saw Sun Dali lifting stone locks.
From a certain perspective, the cultivation of Strength Mystical Arts and martial arts training shared similarities. Both tempered the physical body, though one increased Yuanli and the other cultivated True Qi.
If Sun Dali could enter the gates of martial arts, his future cultivation would yield double the results for the same effort. His Yuanli and True Qi would grow simultaneously with his usual training.
All he lacked was someone to guide him into the world of martial arts.
As his guard, Lin Xiu naturally hoped that Sun Dali would become as strong as possible. However, Sun Dali wasn’t a student of the Mystical Arts Academy and couldn’t enjoy the academy’s resources for free like Lin Xiu. He could only rely on outside avenues.
Lin Xiu returned to his room to fetch some silver, then walked back to the courtyard and said, “Dali, come with me.”
Juying Hall.
Juying Hall was a martial arts school located in the eastern district of the capital. To be able to operate such a school in the expensive eastern district, its owner must have some influence.
And that was indeed the case.
The owner of Juying Hall was an Earth Rank martial artist. Although his strength was only at the lower level of Earth Rank, it was equivalent to a Mystical Arts practitioner who had awakened their abilities five times. In his younger days, he had made a name for himself in the martial arts world. Later, he retired and, relying on his connections, opened a martial arts school in the capital, accepting disciples from far and wide. Now, he had firmly established himself in the capital of the Great Xia.
Besides recruiting disciples, Juying Hall also engaged in other businesses.
For example, they helped those who hadn’t yet cultivated martial arts to get started, but the price was hefty, not something an ordinary family could afford.
Each time they channeled a strand of True Qi into someone’s body, they charged one hundred taels of silver, and there was no guarantee of success. In the end, it might cost hundreds or even thousands of taels. Wasn’t this robbery? Lin Xiu thought, then remembered someone who was even more ruthless at “robbing,” so he stopped his inner complaints.
Rare things were precious. Just like how, in the entire capital, only he and Lingyin possessed Ice Mystical Arts. So, in the summer when ice was scarce, he could single-handedly control the price of ice in the capital.
Similarly, because martial arts was difficult to learn and cultivate, the number of martial artists was even smaller than that of Mystical Arts practitioners. High-rank martial artists were as rare as exotic animals. Guiding someone into martial arts required at least Earth Rank strength, and naturally, the bargaining power was in the hands of these high-rank martial artists.
As soon as Lin Xiu and Sun Dali entered Juying Hall, they saw a group of shirtless men.
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These men were burly, with bulging muscles, looking quite imposing. Every punch and kick they threw produced bursts of whooshing sounds, making Lin Xiu secretly marvel.
A strong man saw them and strode over, asking, “What are you two here for?”
Lin Xiu replied, “We’re here to ask the hall master to guide Qi.”
The strong man glanced at them and said, “Success or failure aside, each Qi guidance costs one hundred taels of silver. No bargaining.”
Lin Xiu nodded, “We understand the rules. We’ve brought the silver.”
The strong man looked at the wooden box Sun Dali was holding, jerked his head, and said to them, “Follow me.”
Lin Xiu and Sun Dali followed the strong man through the front hall and into the backyard of Juying Hall.
As soon as he stepped into the backyard, Lin Xiu’s eyelids twitched.
He saw a tiger lying in the middle of the backyard. The tiger was at least ten feet long, tall and mighty, and quite a sight to behold.
However, the tiger seemed listless, lying weakly on the ground, occasionally letting out pained whimpers.
The strong man noticed the change in Lin Xiu and Sun Dali’s expressions and sneered, saying, “Don’t be afraid. This is our hall master’s mount. If you don’t provoke it, it won’t attack you…”
Then, he walked to a well-built middle-aged man standing in front of the tiger and said, “Master, these two are here for Qi guidance…”
The middle-aged man’s attention was entirely on the tiger. He waved his hand impatiently and said, “Tell them to come back another day. I’m not interested today.”
The strong man, though helpless, could only say to Lin Xiu and Sun Dali, “As you can see, my master said he’s not interested today. Come back another day.”
Lin Xiu’s gaze was fixed on the tiger. At a certain moment, he suddenly said, “I can cure this tiger’s illness.”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man abruptly turned his head and looked at Lin Xiu, asking, “You can cure it?”
Lin Xiu nodded, “Based on my many years of experience treating animals, this tiger has a bone stuck in its throat. You just need to open its mouth and take the bone out.”
Sun Dali was confused. He had practically watched the young master grow up; where did he get “many years of experience treating animals”?
The middle-aged man was decisive. He straddled the tiger’s back, reached out with both hands, and forcefully pried open the tiger’s mouth. Although the tiger kept twisting and struggling, it was firmly held down by him.
The strong man peered into the tiger’s mouth and exclaimed, “Master, there really is a bone stuck there!”
With that, he reached into the tiger’s mouth and, after a short while, pulled out a broken bone from the tiger’s throat. With the obstruction removed, the tiger suddenly rolled over, breaking free from the middle-aged man’s grasp, and roared towards the sky, its roar filled with joy and relief.
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Overjoyed, the middle-aged man hurriedly said to Lin Xiu, “Thank you, young brother. I’ve been worried all morning, not knowing what was wrong with Ahu…”
Then, as if remembering something, he said, “Young brother, you’re here for Qi guidance, right? Come, come, let’s talk inside.”
After resolving the issue with his mount, the Juying Hall master became much more enthusiastic towards Lin Xiu. Back inside the hall, Lin Xiu just had Sun Dali offer the silver when the middle-aged man said, “It was just a small effort, no need for the silver. Consider it thanks for helping Ahu.”
Lin Xiu said embarrassedly, “How can I accept this…”
The middle-aged man waved his hand, “Why not? It wasn’t a big deal. I won’t take your silver until you successfully guide your Qi.”
Free was naturally the best. No one’s silver grew on trees. To be honest, Lin Xiu really enjoyed getting things for free.
How important it was to learn multiple languages! He had just saved hundreds of taels of silver…
The Juying Hall master stood up, took two steps forward, and said, “We can start now.”
Lin Xiu kicked Sun Dali, “What are you standing there for? Get over there!”
Sun Dali was stunned, “Young Master, is it me?”
Lin Xiu kicked him again impatiently, “If not you, then me? Are you protecting me, or am I protecting you?”
“Oh, oh!”
Only then did Sun Dali understand that the young master wanted him to learn martial arts. He had considered it before, but the cost of Qi guidance was too high, even selling himself wouldn’t be enough, so he had to give up.
The Juying Hall master patted Sun Dali’s body and praised, “You have a good physique for martial arts, it’s a pity you started so late…”
After speaking, he held Sun Dali’s wrist and channeled a strand of True Qi into him, saying, “Remember the path of this True Qi within your body, then try to retain it and guide it along this path…”
Sun Dali’s body was more than ten times stronger than Lin Xiu’s. Although Lin Xiu guessed that he would cultivate martial arts faster than himself, he didn’t expect him to succeed in guiding Qi on his first try.
Sun Dali successfully retained the strand of True Qi within his body. From now on, as long as he guided this strand of True Qi along a fixed path during training, it would continuously grow stronger. This was the path of martial arts cultivation.
Even the Juying Hall master was surprised. He couldn’t help but say, “In my lifetime, I, Chen Xiong, have guided Qi for no less than eight hundred people, but I haven’t encountered many who succeeded on their first try. Young brother, your guard has extraordinary martial arts talent…”
A significant difference between martial arts and Mystical Arts was that Mystical Arts abilities were bestowed by the heavens, while martial arts cultivation required guidance. Moreover, there was no correlation between Mystical Arts and martial arts. Someone with average Mystical Arts talent might have excellent martial arts talent, and vice versa.
Sun Dali’s success on his first try indicated that his martial arts talent far surpassed his Mystical Arts talent. It was just that he started a little late. If he had started twenty years earlier, he might already be an outstanding martial artist.
Chen Xiong was in a good mood today. He smiled at Lin Xiu and said, “Young brother, do you want to try as well?”
Why not take advantage of a free offer? Lin Xiu nodded and said shyly, “Then I’ll trouble Hall Master Chen. If anything happens to Ahu in the future, Hall Master Chen can feel free to come to me…”
Since Lin Xiu had said so, Chen Xiong couldn’t be stingy. He waved his sleeve and said, “Just for those words, young brother, you won’t be leaving today until you’ve entered the gates of martial arts…”
An hour later.
Lin Xiu and Sun Dali walked out of Juying Hall satisfied. Standing on the street, Lin Xiu clenched his fist, feeling a special power slowly circulating within his body…
Meanwhile, inside Juying Hall.
Chen Xiong sat in a chair, pale and weak. He tried to stand, but his legs gave way, and he fell back into the chair. He looked around and said irritably, “What are you standing around for? Help me up…”
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