Chapter 14: Qi

## The Mortal World

Yang Zhen strode powerfully, his presence alone commanding respect. As his tiger-like gaze swept across the courtyard, it immediately fell silent.

"You!" Yang Zhen pointed at the official disciples. His voice, like a booming bell, made the roof tiles rattle. "Go quickly and fetch your horses. Head to the training ground outside the city. Today, I will assess your martial arts."

The group of youths scattered immediately. Qin Sang, still bewildered, was approached by a tall, slender youth who pulled him by the arm. "Little brother," the youth said, "why don't you ride a horse with me? My name is Huang Chen. What's your name?"

Huang Chen was the oldest among them. Seeing that the others were also pairing up, Qin Sang followed Huang Chen. "My name is Qin Sang, Elder Brother Huang," he asked, "where are we heading?"

"The martial arts training ground is outside the city," Huang Chen replied. "We'll need to ride the escort agency's horses to get there."

The Wuwei Escort Agency was located in the southern part of Sanwu City, and its training ground was built just outside the south city wall. Since Qin Sang didn't know how to ride, Huang Chen took him along.

The two rode side by side, galloping towards the city gates. Upon reaching the South City Gate, they saw a contingent of imperial soldiers, clad in gleaming armor, standing solemnly. The soldiers had sealed off the gate, allowing no commoners to pass, and a large crowd was bottlenecked at the entrance.

Everyone had no choice but to dismount and lead their horses. After asking around, they learned that the King of Zhenshui was scheduled to visit Baoguo Temple today to offer incense and pray for the Holy Emperor, and his ceremonial procession had already departed from the royal palace.

Baoguo Temple was situated on Luoma Mountain, west of Sanwu City, about fifteen li away. However, the South City Gate was considered the main entrance, and important ceremonial events like this procession were required to depart from it.

They squeezed into the crowd and waited patiently for a while. Soon, they heard gongs and drums signaling the procession's approach. Before long, the King of Zhenshui's procession emerged from the inner city. Flanked by elite soldiers both front and back, the dozen or so exquisite chariots in the center were concealed by thick curtains. It was impossible to tell what the occupants of the royal carriages looked like.

Curious, Qin Sang stood on his tiptoes to get a better look.

As the opulent procession exited the city gate, both sides of the main road were crowded with makeshift shelters for refugees.

It was then that Qin Sang noticed the guards of the Prince's carriage wore cloth armor with the character ‘Zhen’ on their backs. Regardless of color, style, or even font, it was exactly the same as the characters he had seen on Bai Jianglan and his companions. The only difference was that Bai Jianglan and his group had worn short jackets that day with the character ‘Dong’ on their backs.

Witnessing this, Qin Sang's heart stirred. He turned to Huang Chen and quietly inquired.

Huang Chen, suspecting nothing, whispered, "Brother Qin, you might not know this, but those aren't ordinary imperial soldiers; they are the Prince's personal guards. According to the ancestral system of the Great Sui Dynasty, a prince is permitted to form his own personal guard of five hundred men, essentially his private army. These princely guards are either selected from the military or recruited from martial arts experts, and every one of them is a highly skilled elite. They typically guard the royal palace and only accompany the Prince, a prince's son, or a princess when they travel. It's not just the King of Zhenshui; other princes also have similar personal guards. The ones you saw before were likely the personal guards of the King of Dongyang."

Qin Sang was thoughtful.

He recalled Water Monkey mentioning that there were eight princes in the Great Sui Dynasty, and indeed, one of them was the King of Dongyang, the current emperor's full brother. Though Water Monkey seemed careless, he was actually very discreet and hadn't let slip any secrets.

Bai Jianglan was actually the commander of the King of Dongyang's personal guards, a status even higher than Qin Sang had imagined. That mysterious young lady, he mused, was likely either the prince's lover or his daughter.

Once the Prince's procession had passed, everyone was allowed to proceed. After leaving the city, they galloped for a short distance. They then turned off the main road onto a small path, entering the mountains, and soon arrived at a mountain villa. Huang Chen told him it was also property of the escort agency.

Within the villa, there was a large, flat training ground.

The youths lined up on the training ground. Yang Zhen separated them, and those like Qin Sang, who were only learning one martial art, amounted to three others, so they stood together.

Yang Zhen first finished assessing his regular disciples, allowing them to practice on their own. He then walked over to teach martial arts to the four of them.

The other three already had some proficiency, and Qin Sang's skill was the weakest. He felt that Yang Zhen wasn't particularly invested in teaching him.

However, the money was not wasted. Yang Zhen certainly lived up to his good reputation. He taught the 'Fuhu Long Fist' diligently and conscientiously, and he told Qin Sang that he could come every day from now on until he had mastered it.

In a single day, Qin Sang learned the complete latter seven stances of the 'Fuhu Long Fist' from Yang Zhen.

What surprised him, however, was that the first three stances of the 'Fuhu Long Fist' taught by Yang Zhen were significantly different from those taught by Bai Jianglan. While the movements themselves were identical, Yang Zhen's instruction lacked many crucial details compared to Bai Jianglan's.

These details, in particular, had a significant impact on the power of the stances.

This feeling was even more profound for Qin Sang, especially since he had been practicing the first three stances for so many days.

Yang Zhen's reputation was excellent. For such a common boxing method, he wouldn't likely withhold anything. Therefore, the disparity must lie in their individual abilities.

It was said that Yang Zhen's martial arts skill could rank among the top ten in Sanwu City. He wondered if Yang Zhen possessed inner energy. Could it be that Bai Jianglan was a top master?

Regardless, the money had been spent, and the boxing method had to be learned. He decided to try to understand the latter seven stances based on Bai Jianglan's guidance for the first three.

The mountain villa of the Wuwei Escort Agency was not far from Qingyang Temple. Qin Sang went to learn martial arts every day and quickly mastered the 'Fuhu Long Fist'.

However, he still frequently visited the villa to listen to Yang Zhen's disciples exchange martial arts insights. He also heard many anecdotes about the martial arts world from them and learned to ride horses and shoot arrows.

It was the bright month of March, a time of lush growth and birdsong.

In previous years of disaster, by this season, refugees would have already returned to their hometowns to sow seeds. This year, however, rumors spread that the northern rebellion was worsening, with beacons of war rising everywhere, and refugees were still continuously migrating south.

Human-made disasters were proving worse than natural ones.

The 'Youming Scripture' showed no progress. Despite Qin Sang repeatedly telling himself to be patient, he couldn't sit still any longer. He could only attribute the stagnation to his own lack of effort, so he began to meditate and cultivate all night long, almost to the point of madness.

During the day, he still had to practice boxing, recite scriptures, and help the old Taoist priest. This meant he was almost constantly busy all day. Fortunately, meditation also helped restore his energy, so he didn't feel particularly tired.

Moonlight shone into the stone house as Qin Sang stared blankly out the window. The bright moon hung like a wheel in the desolate night sky. A meteor streaked by, falling beyond the distant mountains, into the boundless vast world.

After six months of effort, including nearly four months of fruitless meditation, the 'qi' mentioned in the scripture finally appeared within his body!

What people fear most is not persistence itself, but persisting without seeing any hope.

But the moment the breakthrough truly arrived, he knew all his efforts were worthwhile.

As he truly felt that trace of slightly cool 'qi', Qin Sang felt as if he was in a dream.

That 'qi' was as thin as a strand of hair, darting erratically in his Dantian like a mischievous child. Qin Sang tried to "catch" it to examine it closely, but found it impossible.

The 'Youming Scripture' stated that one could only 'introspect' after breaking through to the second layer of the cultivation method. For now, the only thing he could do was carefully guide the 'qi' into his meridians, following the prescribed cultivation route.

After several circulatory cycles, nothing unexpected occurred. Qin Sang relaxed, just as he was about to ease his mind and fully dedicate himself to cultivation. Unexpectedly, a terrifying, sharp pain suddenly erupted within his meridians.

Qin Sang's entire body trembled, and he suddenly curled into a ball, letting out a painful groan. His clothes were immediately soaked with cold sweat.