Marquis Jiange's Residence, inside a dim room, lit with a candle.
"That trash has been hiding inside the book chamber for the entire day?" Ning Qianwu sat in an armchair made out of jade. He gently caressed the two lines of moustache above his lips, his gaze was filled with thoughts.
Ning Han said, "Yes father. I found it strange as well. I expected Sicken Ning to try and kill me and Wang Yunchong when he was resurrected. I even made preparations for it, but he seems to have forgotten that we killed him. Furthermore, he spent the entire day in the book chamber, reading."
Ning Han was Ning Qianwu's son. He was eighteen years old and, based on their family tree, Ning Xiaochuan had to call him
Ning Han had been behind the Ning Xiaochuan's death. He had purposely baited Ning Xiaochuan into going to the brothel and even orchestrated the clash between him and the rich youngsters. Ultimately, Ning Xiaochuan died after taking a punch from Wang Yunchong of Marquis Tianxiang's Residence.
This incident had been forcefully buried away by the few rich youngsters as had they announced to the public that Ning Xiaochuan died out of anger after failing to win over the prostitute.
Since he was the one who had raged himself to death, it was only natural that nobody else would be blamed. After all, any evidence had died along with him.
However, who would have thought that Ning Xiaochuan would come back to life?
That day, Ning Han and Wang Yunchong were extremely anxious. It was not like they were afraid of Ning Xiaochuan going all out against them. After all, he was just a helpless sick man. What they were afraid of was Ning Xiaochuan making a report to the Elders in the Marquis' Residence.
Once things grew large, many people would naturally get involved.
However, Sicken Ning had decided to stay inside the book chamber for the entire day and study instead. This move threw everyone else off and even the cunning and strategic Ning Qianwu could not understand the situation.
Ning Qianwu pondered for a long time and said, "I've already informed the Elders at the Marquis' Residence. Even if that trash were to make a report, it shouldn't be much of an issue. What's important is that we've got to make sure we didn't leave any evidence in the brothel. You must make sure all eyewitnesses will never speak of this incident."
"Understood!" Ning Han had a cruel look in his eyes.
…
It was already night time and yet Marquis Jiange's Residence was still brightly lit.
The sound of swords clashing against one another could still be heard from the arena as, even in the middle of the night, the disciples were busy mastering their swordsmanship. Their swords 'wooshed' as they were swung about. When the disciples were tired, they would sit in the chair just beside the arena and female servants would come over to give them a massage and wipe away their sweat.
The courtyard was relatively quiet. Although there were four servants here along with Ning Xiner and Ning Xiaochuan, it still could not compare to the hustle and bustle in the other part of the residence.
According to what the book stated, Qi was everywhere and only those who possessed the Combat Atrium could sense its existence.
They could absorb the Qi into their bodies and store it in the Combat Atrium.
As blood flowed through the heart, it would transport the Combat Qi to every part of the body. This would enhance a person's bones, tendons, muscles, and organs, pushing one's physique to the very top, far surpassing any commoners.
Ning Xiaochuan planned to use the book as a reference and follow its training regime.
First was getting into position. To absorb Qi from the environment, one needed to enter a state of neglecting everything around.
Ning Xiaochuan closed his eyes. An hour later, he felt a faint flow of Qi entering his pores. It felt like countless tiny needles mixing into his blood. If felt like the blood within his body had started to boil as it was trembling endlessly.
A day later, the Qi entered his heart and was stored in the Combat Atrium.
The Combat Atrium was like a bright nebula hidden at the center of the heart, spacious and occupied with a densely-packed gas. The Combat Qi in his blood gushed into his Combat Atrium, pushing about the Qi that was already inside the Combat Atrium chaotically.
The amount of Combat Qi in his body had increased.
Ning Xiaochuan could feel that the blood in his body was now flowing faster. His heart rate and body were enhanced accordingly and the speed at which he absorbed Heaven and Earth Qi increased over time.
This continued on as his blood circulated throughout his body thirty-six times.
"Boom!"
Ning Xiaochuan's heart jolted greatly as the Heaven and Earth Qi gushed into his pores with vigor.
The Combat Qi in his Combat Atrium had doubled.
It was Qi at the realm of Stage Three!
"This martial art is extremely easy to learn. It took me less than an hour to raise it to another realm." Ning Xiaochuan felt physically incredible and mentally energized. He did not have any difficulty cultivating it.
Qi was divided into nine stages.
The Three Beginning Stages, obtaining strength by condensing Qi.
The Three Intermediate Stages, releasing Qi to encase his body.
The Three Advanced Stages, manipulating Qi to be as strong as swords.
Ning Xiaochuan's Qi was currently at the realm of Stage Three. If he reached the realm of Stage Four, he would be able to release Qi through his pores and cover his skin.
This Qi would be as strong as armor in terms of defense and no sword would be able to pierce through it.
When used offensively, the Qi could be as sharp as a sword and one swing would be able to cut down a thick tree.
Ning Xiaochuan was unaware of the reason he was able to cultivate at such speeds. It was all thanks to the Old Marquis. The Old Marquis had been nourishing Ning Xiaochuan's heart using Combat Qi for the past decade and the majority of it had been stored in his blood. As Ning Xiaochuan practiced further, said Combat Qi would be released from his blood.
It was also because of this that his Qi had reached Stage Two without having to do anything but sleep for a night. Hence, it was only natural that he was able to reach Stage Three this easily!
The amount of Combat Qi spent by the Old Marquis was more than enough to turn a normal martial artist into the best in the world. What Ning Xiaochuan activated earlier was just a small portion of it. As his Cultivation increased over time, he would be able to release the Combat Qi faster.
Obviously, Ning Xiaochuan would never have been able to obtain this power had he not fixed his own heart.
"Qi Cultivation is quite fascinating. I'm able to absorb Qi into the Combat Atrium through my blood. I can also draw Qi out from the Combat Atrium into my blood to nourish and enhance my body."
Ning Xiaochuan noticed something rather interesting. Once the Combat Qi started flowing throughout his body, blood flow would increase as well.
It took three minutes for an average man's blood to fully circulate throughout his body.
However, Ning Xiaochuan's Qi had reached Stage Three. If he were to intentionally Cultivate it, his blood would only require two minutes to complete a cycle through his body.
This meant that he could achieve sixty cycles in just two hours.
On the other hand, an average man could only achieve forty cycles in the amount of time.
"According to the book, my body will change if I manage to finish ten cycles in just one minute. I'll ultimately surpass the body of a mortal and obtain the Divine Martial Body. The strength I would be able to exert isn't something that can be imagined by the average joe. Amazing!" Ning Xiaochuan was incredibly interested in learning martial arts.
He had read Wuxia novels in his past life. Those who were incredibly skilled in martial arts could cultivate their Dantian and Meridians. However, he knew that that was all bullsh*t. He had dissected countless bodies and had never seen any Meridians in his life. It would be weird if a human body possessed Dantian.
However, hearts and blood circulation really did exist. Blood obviously existed as it was in every inch of a human's body. If Combat Qi was hidden within blood, then it was possible that Combat Qi could cover the entire body, causing it to evolve and change.
"Creak!"
Ning Xiner had just returned from her training in the arena. She decided to enter when she saw Ning Xiaochuan's place was still lit. Her delicate and beautiful face was revealed and she seemed about to scold him. "Brother, your body is very weak. Why aren't you resting?'
"Ahh! I'm researching how to cultivate Combat Qi." Ning Xiaochuan smiled.
Ning Xiner asked, "You borrowed a book about martial arts from the book chamber?"
Ning Xiaochuan nodded as he picked up the book "Heaven and Earth Qi" from the table and said, "This one."
Ning Xiner was silent for a brief moment before she spoke, "That's not a book about cultivating martial arts. It's just a book describing Heaven and Earth Qi. Anybody can buy that book for a measly five bucks on the street."
"Ah! This isn't a book about cultivating martial arts?" Ning Xiaochuan scratched his head. If that was not it, then why was he able to feel Heaven and Earth Qi by following the steps in the book? In fact, he had even absorbed Heaven and Earth Qi into his body.
Ning Xiner said, "That's because those poor citizens can't afford to obtain the real cultivation method. Hence, all they can do is rely on the basics cultivation methods provided by the book "Heaven and Earth Qi". The only problem is that the cultivation rate is incredibly slow and it would take a few decades for one's Qi to reach Stage Three or Stage Four."
"That can't be right! I find the information in this book quite interesting and traditional. It must have been written by a master," Ning Xiaochuan said.
Ning Xiner responded, "Of course it was written by a master. Why else would it have spread to the public? The only problem is that the book is too simple. I've been able to read the book with my eyes closed ever since I was six years old. Brother, you don't know the wonders of techniques since you've never learned martial arts before. For example, take our Marquis Jiange's Residence's Heart Furnace Scripture. It uses the heart as a furnace and blood as fuel. We're able to convert our blood into Qi."
"Once your Heart Furnace Scripture reaches Stage One, your rate of absorbing Combat Qi is ten times greater than Heaven and Earth Qi at Stage One."
"Once your Heart Furnace Scripture reached Stage Two, your rate of absorbing Combat Qi is twenty times greater than Heaven and Earth Qi at Stage Two."
"This is the true worth of a Scripture Technique. The Heart Furnace Scripture and Heaven and Earth Qi are worlds apart."
Ning Xiaochuan felt that the Heart Furnace Scripture was an extreme path. Though it was indeed a Scripture Technique and its Cultivation rate may be much quicker, it certainly was not the original path and was not as traditional as Heaven and Earth Qi.
Hence, he decided to not learn the Heart Furnace Scripture, choosing instead to focus on Heaven and Earth Qi so that he could communicate with nature. If the human heart was a furnace, did that not mean that Heaven and Earth were also gigantic furnaces?
Ning Xiner knew that Ning Xiaochuan had a weak physique and it would be impossible for him to cultivate any Combat Qi. Hence, she said nothing more. Would a man who could not learn anything know the difference between Heaven and Earth Qi and the Heart Furnace Scripture?
Ning Xiner was worried about Ning Xiaochuan's health. She feared that he would continue reading late into the night. As such, she forced Ning Xiaochuan to go to bed and would only leave to her room when he shut his eyes. As she returned to her room, she sat in her bed and started moving her blood, cultivating the Heart Furnace Scripture to produce Combat Qi.
Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan did not go to sleep. Instead, he lay in his bed as he felt the Qi between Heaven and Earth. The Qi became active as they entered into his pores, entering into his bloodstream and gathering in his Combat Atrium.
His heartbeat strongly as a blood-red shortsword levitated just below his left ventricle. It blinked as the fine Sword Qi slowly entered his bloodstream.
…