Chapter 18: 《Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod》

  AnnouJust as how you may have noticed from the title, I've decided to keep the inal ese-style punctuation where and when it's used. I feel it adds a touch of authenticity and inality, as although there are many transted ese works, I haven't seen many use this. In fact, I don't think I remember any. Maybe some Korean/Japanese ohough.——Is it Imperial Heaven again?

  An Jing still remembered that the introductory literacy book at Hanging Fate Manor was the Imperial Heaven Scripture.

  This was not surprising, because “Imperial Heaven” represehe Old Heavenly Father—the overarg sky and all its ordained will. It was a widespread faith i and even Huaixu. Many cultural norms and ws i stemmed from its various references and interpretations.

  But this Imperial Heaven Scripture was not the same as the booklet he now held. The Imperial Heaven name had bee so ubiquitous that numerous martial arts and cultivatiohods i in one way or another, especially among various sects and cults.

  If the martial arts of Hanging Fate Manor all followed this style of ure, it implied that the force behind it might not be a single sect, but rather some kind ious anization.

  An Jing opehe booklet and read carefully, flipping page by page.

  The Medie Manor Lord just watched as An Jing read, every small rea.

  Only after An Jing finished reading did he speak. “Any thoughts?”

  “It’s both a and new.”

  An Jing pondered for a while before slowly replying, “The core ideas are very a, but the specific cultivatiohods are quite modern… Manor Lord, what we previously learned—Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi Stand Armor-Pierg True Force—were but parts recorded in this manual, correct?”

  The old man did not answer, so An Jing tinued, “This 《Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod》 is essentially divided into one main principle and four major ses.”

  “The opening portion is the general outline.”

  “The first se involves ‘visualizing’ the heavens—removing desire ahereby allowing Imperial Heaven to bestow Heavenly Fate upon one’s , cultivating one’s mind and spirit. It appears to be a fual secret art for those with a Heaven-Ordained Fate to nurture their spirit.”

  “The sed se is ‘Fag the Abyss’—nurturing qi through fearlessness.”

  “The third se is ‘Unifying the Spirit’—to exert force without doubt.”

  “The fourth se is ‘Mysterious Steps’—progressing onward with a mind free of fusion.”

  “That being said,” An Jing looked up at st, meeting the Medie Manor Lord’s gaze—who now wore a genuine smile, “Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi and Armor-Pierg True Force are precisely portioracted from ‘Fag the Abyss without Fear’ and ‘Unifying the Spirit without Doubt.’”

  “This 《Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod》 essentially means ‘without doubt, without fusion, without fear, free of self.’ And the words ‘Hanging Fate’ in our Hanging Fate Manor reflect that very cept—human life es from the earth yet hangs fated under heaven, and when heaven ah biheir qi, we call that being man.”

  “Man respond to all four seasons; thus heaven ah act as his parents… No doubt, no fusion; no fear, no self, quietly resonating with the four seasons. By using the a legends of Imperial Heaven as an analogy, this method guides people onto the martial path by blending the old with the new.”

  Finally, An Jing summed up his assessment: “It cultivates the spirit, nurtures qi, includes martial teique, and footwork. This is a genuine high-grade True Method. It leads directly to the 【Five Stages of Internal Fortification】—perhaps even to the 【Hundred Branches Martial Veins】*.”

  “Excellent.” The Medie Manor Lord now broke into a wide grin—the first time he had shown such genuine warmth sin Jiered the pavilion. “You read through it ond already grasp the method’s essence, and you’ve even developed your own ideas.”

  “You’ve probably noticed: Fag the Abyss, Unifying the Spirit, and Mysterious Steps help you break into internal energy, all the way to Internal Breath Like Tides—that’s what the instructors have been cultivating.”

  “If you awaken a Heaven-Ordained Fate, then you use the ‘no self, focused spirit’ teique to break into internal fortification.”

  At that, the Medie Manor Lord looked at An Jing with marked curiosity. “But why…did you say it’s a method that leads all the way to the ‘Hundred Branches Martial Veins’?”

  The Hundred Branches Martial Veins was a realm beyond the Five Stages of Internal Fortification Once a martial artist developed Divine Marvels throughout the body, they used those marvels as the foundation to refe themselves, opening up meridians in the body that ected heaven above ah below—the human martial meridians—aligned with the Three Powers of Heaveh, and Man. Su expert could dominate multiple cities.

  The Medie Manor Lord was quite curious as to how An Jing had arrived at that clusion.

  “It’s simple.” An Jing lifted the booklet, repeating what he had said earlier. “Man respond to all four seasons; thus heaven ah act as his parents… He who knows the myriad things is called the Son of Heaven.

  “Heaven ah—four seasons. Sihere are Imperial Heaven’s four seasons, naturally there must also be the four seasons of the Later Earth. The 《Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod》focuses on refining the spirit, nurturing qi, geing power, and footwork—though that’s already substantial, the true Martial Scripture likely goes further.

  “So I guess there must be a ‘Later Earth Method’ as well, probably focused on ‘Body Refi’—divided into aspects such as ‘Spirit Nurturing,’ ‘Qi Harnessing,’ ‘Unarmed bat,’ and ‘Armed Teiques.’”

  Uhe Medie Manor Lord’s astonished yet delighted gaze, An Jing pted for a moment before revealing his true jecture, “All these, taken together, are but the foundation. Imperial Heaven desds with Fate, nurturing the mind and spirit; Houtu shapes the body, f the vessel to cross the world.”

  “Just as ‘Heaven ah uheir qi, and from it es Man.’ Born of Imperial Heaven and Later Earth, man is called the Son of Heaven.”

  “When someone pletes both the Imperial Heaven and Later Earth methods, they form the special divine marvels and subsequently open their ‘martial meridians,’ being a ‘Son of Heaven.’”

  “That ‘Son of Heavehod’ would be the real beginning of a high-grade True Method.”

  With a whoosh, the Medie Manor Lord stood up.

  “You, you…”

  He raised a hand, pointing at the boy before him. Wrinkles on his aged face sed and tensed, and as he fixed his eyes on An Jing, a strange greenish light glimmered within them. “You actually figured all that out!”

  An Ji his gaze a like he was staring into fmes, a burni searing his eyes. The burniion was so inte forced him to close his eyes to avoid harm.

  This was one of the many 【Divine Marvels】 that only appeared after the Five Stages of Internal Fortification—【Fmes Within the Eyes】.

  An Jing’s suspis were thus firmed—this Medie Manor Lord’s prowess was i the internal fortification stage, perhaps at a fairly high level. Who knew what kind of Heaven-Ordained Fate he had awakened or how many marvels he had developed?

  “Splendid…”

  The Medie Manor Lord took several deep breaths to calm his swelliement. Sitting back down, he beamed at An Jing, his eyes alight. “Your prehension is extraordinary… You see the core of the method at a gnce. I didn’t believe someone like that existed, but here you are!”

  “Indeed.”

  The old man nodded, aowledging An Jing’s specution. “Imperial Heaven and Later Earth form a single whole. Besides the 《Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod,》 I also possess the 《Later Earth Spirit Harmonizing Mixed-in Body Cultivatiohod**》.”

  “No doubt, no fusion; no fear, his aligns with Imperial Heaven. No anger, no hatred; no desire, no attat—this corresponds with Later Earth. Practig both yields a plete foundation for strug one's martial veins.”

  “Only by awakening your Heaven-Ordained Fate and mastering both methods you truly step upon hteous path…”

  At this, the Medie Manor Lord lifted an eyebrow and looked at An Jing. “With your intelligence, I’m sure you’ve already guessed what kind anization our Hanging Fate Manor really is.”

  “Don’t worry.” He tinued, “With your talent, awakening your Heaven-Ordained Fate will be no trouble at all. Once you truly embark on this path, the Northern Patrol Envoy will personally escort you to the main mountain to teach you the Later Earth Body-Cultivatiohod.”

  “Thank you, Manor Lord!”

  An Jing did not say much more. Although his mind was full of questions—“Who is this Northern Patrol Envoy? What anization is this? I haven’t actually guessed it”—he still bowed in gratitude. The Deputy Medie Envoy stepped away from his seat and hahe Imperial Heaven’s Unified Spirit One-in Qi Cultivatiohod directly to An Jing. “o thahe rules are clear: if a talent like you could not receive the True Method, the failure would be mine.”

  The Medie Manor Lord even patted An Jing’s shoulder. Watg the boy’s calm, resolute face—showing no delight at all—he murmured with a touch of awe, “So steady. So posed. Were you born with this nature?”

  An Jing did not answer, only giving a slight smile. The Medie Manor Lord shook his head—perhaps half-smiling, half-sighing—and sighat An Jing could depart.

  Clutg the manual, An Jihe Medie Pavilion. Evening on them. He had spent quite some time leafing through the secret text, and the Medie Manor Lord’s willio wait that long showed just how highly he regarded him.

  The manual was her thior thin. It included maailed diagrams, carefully depig the human body—plete with muscuture and an youts—and eborating on the nuances of force application. Reading it oraight through flowed easily; there was nothing inprehensible for An Jing.

  His deepest doubts still tered on Hanging Fate Manor itself.

  “Northern Patrol Envoy... the 'main mountain'… This must be some major sect's headquarters. There aren’t many of those i , are there?”

  “Supreme Mystery and Supreme Purity; Star Exalted and the Sacred Dragon; Heavenly Will True Demon...”

  An Jing sifted through these possibilities, trying to recall which great sects or cults existed in the realm of Great . Yet he was not that knowledgeable about them, so he reached no definite clusion.

  “Could it be…?”

  Suddenly, he frowned, struck by an astonishing idea, and his eyes went wide. “No way… could it be demonic…”

  “Hey, Little An, aren’t you going to have dinner?”

  Just then, someone called out from behind. It othecary he knew, pushing a cart loaded with medial solutions out from the Medie Pavilion. Judging by the smell, it was the same liquid they drank along with the savage beast meat.

  He spotted the manual in An Jing’s hand and greeted him warmly. “If you hurry, you’ll still catch the food while it’s hot!”

  “Thanks, Master Wu.”

  That snapped An Jing out of his thoughts. Standing there in front of the pavilion was no pce to linger. He walked out of the Medie Pavilion alongside Apothecary Wu.

  However, when An Jing headed toward the dining hall, he noticed that Master Wu did not go the same way but turned in another dire.

  Someone else might not have given it a sed thought, but An Jing found it puzzling.

  Sihe medial solutions were ready, they would presumably be for people to e. While it might not be crucial that it be drunk immediately, it was usually served fresh. If Master Wu was ning it to the dining hall, then where was he taking it?

  Thinking for a while, An Jing densed his aura and followed Master Wu from a distance.

  Master Wu was not iernal energy realm—merely a mundane practitioner who knew some basic martial arts. He had no clue An Jing was tailing him. Acc to his own at, he was a “failed didate” from years past, possessing little martial talent but good aptitude for pharmacy. Thus he became an apothecary at the manor.

  That art of why An Jing found it hard to doubt the essential nature of Hanging Fate Manor—there were too many examples indig that “failures” did not all meet tragids. Many had found other roles here.

  In any case, Master Wu hummed softly as he pushed the medial cart toward the “Eastern Mountain Farmnds” located on the eastern side of Hanging Fate Manor.

  “Eastern Mountain Farmnds, huh… I’ve aken a look around there."

  An Jing watched Master Wu enter a lorail winding up in that dire, then turned back to head for the dining hall.

  At the hall, An Jing received another wave of cheers and gratutions. He really roper senior brother—no one had any pints.

  Smiling without any sign of odd behavior, An Jiurned all the praise and ate his portion of savage beast meat and medial brew as always.

  That restlessness or ess…he could now suppress them well, letting nothing show on the surface.

  Late that night, once everyone had fallen asleep, An Jing opened his eyes once more.

  (End of Chapter)

  *The more 'universally correct' transtion for Martial Veins would be Martial Meridians, but I felt like Martial Veins sounded better.

  **Again, depending on how often the full name of this teique is mentioned I may shorten it to "Later Earth Body Cultivatiohod."

  Mass release 1/2 is fihere will be another 15 chapters tomorrow, after which it'll be 2 chapters/day. As a side his chapter took quite a long time to transte. If you notiy gring insistencies iranstion, please point them out.