Chapter 46: Inner Strength Fundamental Chart (Thanks to the Big Shots for Their Support)

Gulp!

The pill entered his mouth, faintly sweet.

Li Yuan only felt his mouth and tongue water; he held it for a while, then swallowed it down mixed with saliva.

Before long, a warm heat rose in his abdomen, as if he had swallowed a huge mouthful of chili peppers — this was his stomach receiving an intense stimulus.

"More than ten times stronger than the Zeng Xue Dan! No wonder Master said pills must not be taken in excess — too many will surely harm the stomach and intestines, and may even damage the heart…"

Li Yuan did not dare be careless; he took the opportunity to lift his hammer and stand in stance, assuming the 'Soldier Body Stance' — this was the fundamental stance work of the Soldier Dao Combat Hammer.

Both being stance work, this top-tier Wu Gong, ranked first among the five great secret transmissions of the inner sect of the Divine Weapon Valley, was far more complex than the Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer.

The moment he set up the posture, Li Yuan's whole body tensed; he felt like a wet garment being wrung dry of moisture, and his blood qi consumption skyrocketed.

"Stance work can also temper blood qi?!"

Li Yuan had not expected this either, but he quickly gathered his focus and laboriously, slowly formed the 'Soldier Body Stance', transporting his blood qi and digesting the heat current in his belly.

A pill is not an immortal pill.

Once swallowed it does not take effect immediately; rather, it must be slowly digested, using the transport of blood qi to nourish the viscera, ultimately achieving the effect of strengthening the body and growing the sinews and bones.

Normally, a single Leopard Fetus Tendon-Refining Pill would take more than half a month to digest, and that was under the condition of high-intensity body tempering every day.

"Hah!"

"Hoo!"

Without a matching breathing method, the stance work could still exert its effect; Li Yuan immersed himself in it, his chest rising and falling.

Of the twenty-four postures of the Soldier Body Stance, by the sixth Li Yuan was drenched in sweat, and by the eighth his body's blood qi was completely exhausted, his sinews and bones emitting a 'crack-crack' grinding sound.

"With my current physical strength and blood qi, standing the Bai Yuan stance for a whole day might not even exhaust it — this Soldier Body Stance…"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up:

"Practicing the Bai Yuan Hammer technique, I'd need more than twenty days to digest this Leopard Fetus Tendon-Refining Pill, but now, I'm afraid at most four or five days, maybe even faster — and this is only the stance work!"

Li Yuan grew even more eager, brimming with drive.

He discovered that the heat current within his body kept flowing toward his limbs and hundred bones, and even the blood qi that had stubbornly refused to move behind his knees began to probe toward his lower legs.

……

Li Yuan did not want to go out; it was only after noon, under Fatty Sun's urging, that he came out to eat a meal, then plunged back into his room to practice martial arts.

"This kid…"

Fatty Sun watched, his heart full of misgivings; gritting his teeth, he also ducked into his room to stand in stance, and very painfully ate a Zeng Xue Dan.

He had practiced martial arts for many years and rarely took pills — what difference was there between a bottle of pills for six taels of silver and robbery?

But during this period, he had quietly bought a few bottles.

"Practice!"

With pills to use and top-tier Wu Gong to practice, Li Yuan immersed himself, feeling his blood qi grow, wishing he could practice in one breath until his blood qi reached great completion.

But as evening approached, the startled cries from outside still forced him to come out.

"My brother-in-law is back!"

Li Yuan had only just opened the door when Fatty Sun shot out like the wind, nearly knocking Niu Gui, who was in the yard, flat on the ground.

"Master is calling for you — his injuries are very serious…"

Niu Gui rubbed his shoulder, which ached from the collision, his expression complicated as he said in a low voice, then turned and left.

"Injuries very serious?"

Li Yuan's brows knit tightly, and he strode toward the inner courtyard.

Soon, he learned just how serious the injuries Niu Gui had spoken of were.

The moment he entered, a piercing stench of blood rushed straight to the crown of his head, overwhelming even the smell of medicine that filled the room.

"Cough, cough cough…"

Tang Tong sat in a grand chair draped in a large gown; Yue Yue Yunjin and Wu Ming had arrived a step earlier, their faces overcast with gloom.

Fatty Sun was not there — no one knew where he had been sent off to.

"Master, your injuries?"

Li Yuan's heart turned cold.

The loose large gown could not block the stench of blood; he could even see the bloodstains on the clothing, the wound still bleeding continuously.

This was an injury so severe that even his qi and blood could no longer be controlled.

"Nearly died."

Tang Tong's voice was weak, his complexion sallow, and even his fierce gaze had grown turbid.

"M-Master, your wounds, th-that year nine…"

Yue Yue Yunjin's illness had not yet healed; startled now, he stammered as he spoke, and only Wu Ming's support kept him from collapsing to the ground.

"No one is born having fought a hundred battles; Yue Yunjin, you had never been through such a thing before, a moment of panic is unavoidable…"

Tang Tong sighed, a flash of disappointment passing through his turbid eyes, yet unusually he did not scold:

"Presumably you'll do better in the future?"

"This disciple has disappointed you, Elder."

Yue Yue Yunjin still fell to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Please go tend your wounds, I beg you…"

"Whether I tend the wounds or not is of little use."

Tang Tong tugged at his lapel — the knife wound was a full palm's width, his breastbone split open, and one could even faintly see his internal organs.

Wearing a second-tier inner armor, he still suffered such a severe wound?

Li Yuan drew a sharp breath, his heart pounding with shock.

A second-tier inner armor could withstand the forceful thrust and slash of a second-tier, that is, superior-grade, sharp blade; combined with Tang Tong's body tempered over several decades, he was actually injured to this extent?

"Master, who hurt you?"

Wu Ming's chest heaved.

"Qiu Long!"

That name flashed through Li Yuan's mind.

Within five hundred li of Gao Liu County, anyone with that kind of strength could only be the Poison Dragon of Divine Weapon Valley, the one who wields the Dragon-Subduing Blade.

He had once heard Zhang Ben mention that the Dragon-Subduing Blade was a top-grade weapon; repairing the broken blade alone had cost over a hundred taels of silver.

"That year, nine—"

Tang Tong tugged at the corner of his mouth and reached out to pick up two rolls of something like sheepskin from the table:

"Among the disciples of the inner court, there are indeed some who have reached Grandmastery in hammer technique and qi-and-blood, but those who truly have hope of breaking through to Internal Force are only the three of you…"

"Cough, cough!"

Blood welled at the corner of Tang Tong's mouth, but he pushed aside the flustered Yue Yue Yunjin and looked toward Li Yuan, who, though worried, remained very calm:

"Li Yuan, you are very good. Though your natural bone-structure is a bit lacking, you make up for it with high talent. Internal Force is within reach, and entering Divine Weapon Valley is also within reach!"

"Master, you should tend your wounds first."

Li Yuan could not bear it.

In the Weapon-Forging Shop, apart from Zhang Ben and Fatty Sun, only Tang Tong had looked at him differently.

"Not dead yet!"

Li Yuan reached out a hand but was glared back. Tang Tong shook the two sheets of sheepskin in his hand; on them were two paintings—one of an ape, the other of a green snake flicking its tongue.

"Root Diagrams!"

Wu Ming's body jolted, and the words escaped his lips.

Li Yuan had long since sensed the faint Bai Guang on the two sheets of sheepskin. Now, stepping a few paces closer, a glimmer of light surfaced in his eyes.

【White Ape Cloak Hammer Technique Root Diagram (First Tier)】

【A Root Diagram of Internal Force drawn on 'Bai Tan Spirit Sheepskin' by a martial artist at the Grandmastery realm of hammer technique. One who has reached Grandmastery in hammer technique and qi-and-blood may meditate upon it to grasp the mysteries of Internal Force…】

【Mastery Requirement: White Ape Cloak Hammer at Grandmastery】

【Mastery Effect: White Ape Cloak Hammer at Grandmastery, Ape Arms Bee Waist, White Ape Force】

Good stuff!

One White Ape Force, one Green Snake Force!

Li Yuan clenched his fist, muttering to himself—could this sheepskin really count as a 'weapon'?

Is it because it bears an inscription of a 'killing martial art'?

"These are the 'Root Diagrams of Internal Force' for the White Ape Hammer and the Green Snake Spear. They are treasures that can only be drawn by a martial artist who has broken through after cultivating a Wu Gong to the Grandmastery realm."

Tang Tong glanced at Li Yuan:

"Without this diagram, to break through to Internal Force, one would have to cultivate hammer technique to Perfection. In the two hundred years of the Weapon-Forging Shop, only a handful have had that ability."

Li Yuan lowered his head.

Until now, he had never even heard of such a thing.

Who could have guessed that, apart from being divided into stance work, practice method, breathing method, and combat method, the White Ape Cloak Hammer technique would also have a Root Diagram?

Or perhaps this is the true means of keeping the inner-court apprentices in check?

Does the Soldier's Path Combat Killing Hammer also have a Root Diagram?

"Entry, Proficiency, Minor Success, Major Success—Perfection goes without saying. Before Internal Force, qi-and-blood and Wu Gong have only these four levels…

And this diagram is usually passed down only after one has unified the six directions. Many of your senior brothers from earlier batches still haven't received the Root Diagram even today."

Tang Tong's spirits had improved considerably; he even staggered to his feet. The Grand Master's chair was covered in bloodstains.

Yue Yue Yunjin also struggled to his feet, his face full of worry.

"The three of you—Yue Yunjin has gone the furthest, Li Yuan the shallowest—but none of you have reached that stage yet, and you haven't been tested. By rights, I shouldn't show you this 'Root Diagram of Internal Force' at this time…"

Saying so, Tang Tong flicked his wrist, tossing the two Root Diagrams to Li Yuan and Yue Yue Yunjin respectively, then turned and sat back down, his heart falling silent.

Remember as much as you can…

(End of this chapter)