Chapter 5: Improvement, Refugees

Within his breathing rhythm, the light filling his body seemed to transform into internal qi.

It was a layer of cool internal qi.

A continuous sense of qi seemed to arise from a certain spot in his abdomen, and, following Zhang Jian's control, the meridians recorded in the Nurturing Origin Health Preservation Classic trickled forth.

Encounter mountain, open mountain.

Encounter water, build bridge.

Each blocked meridian, under the flow of cool internal qi, became completely unobstructed.

"Heavenly Pool, Jade Mansion, Divine Altar..."

The meridian map he had memorized rose three-dimensionally in Zhang Jian's mind, yet his heart was filled with great astonishment.

Zhang Yi had mentioned it.

Sensing qi is the first gate; after the first trace of internal qi appears, one is considered to have entered the door. Next comes the painstaking work: following each school's meridian‑clearing secrets, one clears the meridians one by one, eventually forming the heavenly circulation, internal qi forming a cycle, allowing it to continually condense.

Accumulated water forms a depression.

This too is the destiny merit of an internal refinement martial artist.

This process is a lengthy process.

Many internal refinement experts get stuck at this step, unable to pierce the heavenly circulation for a long time, and thus cannot develop notable combat power.

This process may take as little as a few years, or as long as several decades to complete.

But Zhang Jian felt it, with each inhalation and exhalation.

The hundreds of subtle meridians recorded in the Nurturing Origin Health Preservation Classic, driven by breath, surged forth with internal qi; the internal qi, once mere threads, now rolled within his body like beads.

The three‑dimensional meridian map within his body seemed to light up completely, producing a peculiar effect.

At this moment, Zhang Jian's eyes faintly flickered with what seemed like red fire‑thunder leaping and shaking.

With each breath, it was as if he were forcibly drawing some stray force from heaven and earth, but the certain apertures and valves on his body, lacking the know‑how to open and close them, prevented him from drawing it in.

Yet at this moment it was also extraordinarily terrifying.

Zhang Lu stood to the side, staring at Zhang Jian's opened eyes, and seemed to feel a heat rising from within his heart; startled, he instinctively lowered his head, almost thinking his body was engulfed in flames, about to be scorched unconscious.

After a while he finally came to his senses, slowly scanned his surroundings, and only when he saw he was unharmed did he let out a breath of relief.

"The heavenly circulation is completely unobstructed, the cycle has begun—I never expected to break through to the Strengthening Body stage so quickly!"

Zhang Jian sensed the rich internal breath flowing freely within his body, and a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

He raised his hand, and a faint jade‑like light appeared in his eyes, allowing him to see the rich internal breath condensed beneath his flesh and blood.

Body refinement has five stages: training the bones, changing the tendons, washing the marrow, refining the organs, and becoming a grand master.

Internal refinement also has five stages: sensing qi, strengthening the body, nurturing essence, attaining the innate, and becoming a grand master.

The two are largely similar, but those who follow the internal refinement path possess little combat power in the sensing‑qi stage.

But upon reaching the Strengthening Body stage, one begins to possess a degree of self‑defense ability.

When one's internal qi completes the heavenly circulation and flows without cease, that is the Strengthening Body stage.

Zhang Jian could clearly feel the surging, vigorous health‑preserving internal breath within his body.

This internal breath continually circulates through the five viscera and six bowels, tempering them; like fine spring rain moistening from the organs outward, it truly nourishes the person.

However, his health‑preserving internal breath carries no attribute, so its destructive power is lacking.

Yet it is clearly distinct from the sensing‑qi stage.

In the sensing‑qi stage the heavenly circulation cannot be unobstructed; it merely means somewhat better spirit and slightly greater strength, and compared to body‑refinement experts, one has little capacity to resist.

Those at the Strengthening Body stage already show faint signs of the extraordinary; as they continually nourish the five viscera and six bowels with internal breath, the organs become stronger, the limbs light and agile, the ears sharp and eyes clear, the internal breath circulates, and the breath can be sustained a little longer.

But the ability to actually form lethal power still resides in the Nurturing Essence stage.

Zhang Jian's eyes revealed a fierce brilliance.

Completing the sensing‑qi stage in a single day gave him great confidence.

Next, for the Strengthening Body stage, one only needs to continually circulate the internal breath, temper the five viscera and six bowels, while opening more of the great heavenly circulation meridians and apertures; eventually the internal breath grows strong enough to burst out of the body, forming external qi release, and that counts as success.

In martial arts, this is actually a process from inner to outer, ultimately achieving unity of heaven and humanity.

Zhang Jian felt that this process should proceed quickly for him.

Because after eating the fire apricot, he felt as if the firelight within the fire apricot pierced his physique; his body contained little impurity, the blocked meridians had already been opened, and all that remained was to familiarize himself with the opening and closing of the meridian 'gates'.

"One fire apricot has brought me such great benefit; it seems I ought to find a way to visit the ancestral hall more often, to pull wool—no, to pay respects to the ancestors!"

Zhang Jian's heart was not without eagerness.

After thinking, Zhang Jian went again to see his family's old man.

"Father, I have heard that the vicinity of Phoenix Yang Prefecture has suffered a severe drought for months, and refugees are heading toward Phoenix Stream; I wish to set up extensive porridge sheds outside the city to aid the people, contributing my modest strength."

Zhang Yi looked at Zhang Jian before him, found it a little strange, but still nodded.

The Zhang clan is one of the most prominent local families, controlling dozens of caravans; its wealth needs no explanation, and setting up porridge sheds is hardly a major undertaking.

"Well, Father will have the steward take care of this! You don't need to go!"

"Recently, bandits have gathered among the refugees near Phoenix Stream County; your fourth uncle is suppressing them, and it's not safe! If you go out, remember to bring the household guards and farmhands."

Zhang Jian nodded at these words; nowadays the world is not a prosperous flourishing age, and after several moving changes of power, the Great Qian's national strength has begun to decline.

Refugee bandits are not few in the four directions.

Zhang Jian naturally would not be careless.

Zhang Yi looked with some satisfaction at his eldest son before him; the eldest son was clever, had early on earned official rank, and moreover possessed a rare reverent heart—this truly made him an excellent heir.

Setting down the ledger, his expression gained a hint of concern, and he continued:

"I've heard you recently found a sworn brother to begin martial training? Martial practice is a good thing, especially in such an age, but don't force yourself; if you truly cannot, you must know when to let go."

"In today's world, the path of the civil examinations is the proper way; no matter how strong an individual martial artist's power, it remains limited, for the heavens and earth are vast and the unknown myriad; see how the civil officials of the Great Qian have always held the mainstream, and you will understand the reason!"

Zhang Jian nodded at the words, but his mind was preoccupied.

The Zhang family helped set up porridge sheds to aid refugees from all directions, and Zhang Jian once again turned his focus to cultivating his internal breath.

He continued to progress swiftly; in roughly three days he felt his internal breath overflow, the minor and major celestial circuits fulfilled, only a step shy of breaking through his internal breath bottleneck, and his qi strength began to emanate outward.

But at this stage the Nurturing Yuan Health Classic had reached its limit, offering no further guidance.

"A eunuch?"

Zhang Jian carefully read through the Nurturing Yuan Health Classic, but found no further breakthrough method.

The cultivation method in this volume is indeed a health-preserving practice...