Chapter 10: Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi, Armor-Pierg True Force

  A few months after being the aowledged Senior Brother, An Jing and the other boys and girls finally begarue training of Hanging Fate Manor.

  It was not just a matter of physical ditioning anymore—Hanging Fate Manor started teag real “martial teiques” and “mihods.”

  At the start of Great ’s martial path y internal energy, but before officially being a martial artist of internal energy, there were three barriers a trainee had to pass.

  The first barrier was called Heart: stay fearless in the face of danger; remain unfling even when bdes are pressed against you.

  The sed barrier was called Body: possess ample physical strength, capable of delivering a thousand punches without tiring.

  The final barrier was called Teique: you must ho least one skill to plete mastery, achieving seamless fluidity so that a hundred or even a thousand moves flow naturally from it.

  Only whe, Body, and Teique were all attained could you unleash a blow that activated the power of your entire body, allowing you to prehend “internal energy.”

  The Body barrier was easily overe through diligent training. Disciples of Hanging Fate Manor came from various pces, each carefully chosen, so none cked the necessary aptitude. With gradual progress, everyone could succeed sooner or ter.

  The Heart barrier required sparring practice—training until one’s mind became calm and one’s spirit focused; until a fist reached your face without you so much as blinking; until searing pain shot through your head a you did not lose posure.

  Ever sin Jied eleven people in a row, daily sparring oraining grounds had bee routine. Although no one dared challenge An Jing again, the other four who got to eat meat every day were stantly challenged, rotating that privilege every ten days.

  Their teique sharpe a rapid pace.

  The final barrier, Teique, was the hardest. It needed ceaseless training night and day, plus ialent and inspiration, to fuse “Heart” and “Body” through teique, then grasp “Innate One Qi” and transform that Qi into internal energy.

  What allowed An Jing to domihe other disciples was the fact that his “Body” and “Heart” had already passed their barriers—only his “Teique” still cked full iion, though his progress was still well ahead of the rest.

  Moreover, this “Teique” was not just about skill with the hands—it included knowledge of one’s bodily apertures and internal ans.

  How could anyone hope to wield Innate One Qi and cultivate internal energy if they did not even know all the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the major acupoints in the body’s circutory pathways, or uand the five viscera and six ans?

  That was why Hanging Fate Manor had tinued making disciples read and write: one needed some learning to master martial arts as well.

  The mihod taught by Hanging Fate Manor was called “Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi Stance.” Practitioners stood atop a stake with eyes covered, visualizing a deep, dark chasm while trolling their muscles and internal ans, remaining unafraid and unmoving, unwavering and unshaken.

  Although not sidered a top-tier mihod, it was far more plete than the rough mental cultivation teiques passed down by many martial families, and it helped one solidate vitality, focus the spirit, and refine bodily strength.

  The martial teique taught was called “Armor-Pierg True Force.” In esse was merely a method of geing power—but An Jing, upon learning it, was surprised to discover it art of a superior ia was the power-exertioion of a high-level orthodox style.

  Armor-Pierg True Force required bining will with power. The braver you were and the more you charged ahead without hesitation, the greater the explosive for that instant. Once fully mastered, it could pierce armor and break steel. With plete mastery, it could even be used to break through into “internal energy.”

  Both Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi Stand Armor-Pierg True Force focused on cultivating a resolute aermined spirit—eling one’s energy in a single burst with all-out iy. It ath of life-ah struggle, exging life for life.

  Coupled with Hanging Fate Manor’s self, An Jing was more vihahat this pce was very likely a training base under some great power or major sect, meant for raising assassins or deathsworn warriors.

  He had been somewhat suspicious before, but never so certain as he was now.

  From An Jing’s perspective, mastering Fag the Abyss to Nurture Qi Stance was incredibly easy. During that year of fleeing from the Northern Frontier, he had faced death several times, each step practically taken on the very brink of the abyss, so his mi fit this method perfectly. He soon grasped it pletely.

  Many of the other Children of Camity had simir experiences, so they also learhe mihod quickly. At most, a few of them who were slower at reading needed someone else to expiext before they uood.

  Perhaps this mihod had been provided specifically for these “surviving refugees.”

  As for Armor-Pierg True Force, it was more difficult.

  An Jing picked it up fairly quickly—soon enough he could apply it smoothly to all kinds of ons, releasing force up to forty or fifty pert greater than usual in a single explosive moment. However, very few could match his pace ress; the majority did not even reach the entry level.

  As Senior Brother, An Jing was willing to help the other children with their difficulties.

  For instance, he offered tips on training, methods of easing fatigue, and insights into martial teiques—often expining in more detail than some of the lecturers or instructors.

  Under his guidance, Zhang Ying, Gu Yeqi, g Linzu, and the others soon mastered the mihod; g Linzu and a few ifted individuals even grasped Armor-Pierg True Force.

  While the rest had yet to master it, they all gained some enlighte. They knew An Jing was not deceiving them or withholdis. He was genuinely sharing his own experieheir gratitude and trust in him grew stronger.

  From then on, quite a few children sought him out to fide their worries—mostly the sort of imaginative, sensitive troubles uo kids entering their teenage years: missing their hometoarents, feeling like mere specks of dust in a vast world, and so on.

  An Jing found it somewhat exasperating, but he was still willing to take the time to listen, responding like an older brother to reassure them.

  As a result, not only his own dormmates but even children from other dorms, boys and girls alike, came to respect him sincerely and regard him as a brother.

  Being so respected and well-liked truly was a source of happiness.

  Moreover, teag others also required him to gain deeper uanding of the knowledge he was imparting.

  An Jing discovered during his expnations that he himself might have relied too heavily on natural talent when it came to martial teiques—he had learhem by pure instinct, but his thought process had been unclear. Teag his younger brothers and sisters served as a ce for him to review the essentials and fully master these mihods and martial teiques, progressing from “profit” to truly “well-ied.”

  Around that same time, Hanging Fate Manor dismissed its first group of elimirainees.

  “Some of them didn’t meet the requirements of our Hanging Fate Manor. They failed during the past half month of training.”

  That was the expnation given one m by a physi from the Medie Pavilion when people asked.

  About thirty people were gone from the manor. It was enough for everyoo notice, but not enough to shock them too badly.

  Most of those eliminated were the ones whose stamina fell short or whressed very slowly in their martial teique. This made perfect sense and matched most people’s assumptions.

  They were eliminated, but presumably her they nor the others found it surprising.

  An Ji much the same.

  But with his keen powers of observation, he did notiething odd.

  Although “odd” might be putting it strongly… It was just that on the day those children were dismissed, An Jing did not recall hearing any carriage leaving the manor.

  Hanging Fate Manor was deep in the mountains, and every few days goods would be brought in on carts. If a group of people had to leave, they would likely also depart by cart. Yet for several days before and after, no cart arrived or left, and none of those dismissed children were seen in the manor.

  Still, it did not seem like a major issue.

  While he had initially doubted the trustworthiness of Hanging Fate Manor, over the past while An Jing had personally experiehe manor’s treatment: there was meat to eat, plenty of food, and pared to the war-torn Northern Frontier, it ractically paradise.

  Though the instructors aurers could be strict, they treated the childrely overall.

  An Jing also got along well with a few of the instructors; sometimes they even brought little snacks to share. They were stern during training but would talk about their own experiences from back when they first trained, o was break time.

  Because of that, An Jing did not dwell on it.

  After all, nobody had yet seen those five children who might have awakeheir Heaven-Ordained Fate either.

  Hanging Fate Manor was huge, with maricted areas. Perhaps those five kids lived in some other part of the manor, and the ones who were dismissed might also be waiting in a differeion.

  Before he k, half a month had passed again.

  (End of Chapter)