Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought to yourself that you should have shut your mouth?
These past days there wasn't a moment that I didn't tell myself that I shouldn't have told the grandpa to train me 'now that I gain more benefits' or something…
Grandpa Long would train Li Huang so hard that I didn't think that there is a higher level to that training, but apparently, I was wrong.
The intensity of this training was so much that I wished for the past training to come back. I think that explains the level of shit that I went through.
You might think that I'm being a drama queen but let me tell you a bit about past days so that you know that my words are true…
Grandpa Long who was happy that I could train more went and made some preparations. After he came back he had a suit that was like one of those latex suits, if you know what I mean…
The moment I saw it I took out my defensive treasures out and got in a fighting stance.
"Don't take another step. What the hell is that in your hand?" I asked him sternly. I didn't want to have anything to do with that unholy thing and more so when the other person is also a male. I am as straight as Ed Sheeran is white.
"What the hell is wrong with you? This is a training suit." Grandpa Long was looking at me to check if I have hit my head somewhere.
I was dumbfounded. Why the hell did they create it this way.
"I have you know that I would put on my robes on them…" I told him to reassure myself but it backfired.
"Even if you didn't I would beat you until you put them on." He looked at me with disgust on his face.
"Hey, it was you who brought this unholy suit here, don't look at me that way!" I snatched the suit and went into the room and put it on.
After putting my robes on them I got out of the room.
"By the way, you didn't tell me, why do I even have to put these on?" I asked grandpa Long.
Grandpa Long just smiled and gestured me to start my spar with him.
At that time I shrugged it off, but I should have known better.
The suit was one of the most expensive training equipment in the world, if not the most expensive one.
The reason for it, is because of the runes that are carved on it. This suit can apply healing potions to the area that was hit and help you heal faster in training. You must be thinking that this was so kind of grandpa Long to do this, but let me remind you that he is the devil.
He didn't put healing liquid in the suit's storage. No, he put the herbal mix so that each time he hits me I get a dose of the mix on my skin that would strengthen my body but also would give me a shit load of pain.
Why didn't he give this suit to me from the beginning? Well, absorbing the herbal mix takes time, this is the reason that they use it in baths, where you can take your time. But as I have the special physique that Li Bao had, I can absorb it very fast and my genius (read psychopath) grandpa thought of this method to let me absorb it passively.
But there was a small thing that he didn't consider. This fucking hurts. I mean how the fuck am I to fight in this situation?
The first day I was just thrown away like I was a dodgeball ball. I couldn't do shit when my whole body was in pain.
On the second day, training started at 4 AM and my daily routine was changed to train, train, and train some more.
On the second day, I could at least control the trajectory of me getting thrown left and right. I was in such pain that even grandpa Long was second-guessing his training regime.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get away from this training because he found out that this training is effective. How? Well, my sorry ass broke through to the ninth stage of the Qi Gathering.
I would have never thought that I could be this heartbroken about something that others would celebrate.
Seeing that his method is working, grandpa Long continued my training and unbeknown to me he was adding more herbal mix to the liquid that would be applied to my skin.
Days passed and it was the fifth day. I think I have aged 50 years in these past days. The only high point in these is that I am not getting thrown away all the time now. I can defend myself in some of the attacks.
Of course, it is not like grandpa Long is using all his power. This is but a fraction of his powers but I can say that my technique has improved in this short time.
My improvements are also another factor that made this possible. As my cultivation stage is in the nervous system part, my reaction speed is improving exponentially and I can react to grandpa Long attacks faster and better.
As the day was about to end I felt that I am about to get past a bottleneck. I was so close to the Meridian Formation realm on this day that I could smell it.
When I felt that I am about to break through, I sat on the ground cross-legged. Although it was in the middle of our spar, I know that an old monster like grandpa Long could easily see that I am about to break through so he would stop the spar.
I wasn't wrong. Not only did he stop his attack but also activated an isolation formation so that no one can interfere with even spiritual sense and hinder my breakthrough.
He also activated a Qi gathering formation so that I can get more Qi in the shortest of times. Because we were fighting my Qi was not something that could be said to be in a good state so I sucked the Qi into my body greedily.
I could feel most of the Qi in my pathways for the first time, with this level of clarity. This was a sign that I am infinitely close to the Meridian Formation realm.
This is the realm where you have to create, or in better terms stabilize your meridians first and foremost and after that use them to make an internal formation that could help you in the future.
Stabilizing the meridians could be only done in this realm so you have to try to open the most that you can from your 108 meridians and use them to create a formation. The more meridians that you open, the more options you have for the internal formation.
The formations are created by strengthening the pathways between the meridians. They can act for defense, offense, Qi gathering, and many more things if you have enough stable meridians.
At this moment I could feel one of the meridians in my body. I tried to stabilize it but that is not something easy as you might think. The Qi is flowing in my body and I have to keep the size and form of the meridian stable for a period of time so that it take form and become a 'stable meridian'.
Minutes passed and beads of sweat gathered on my brow. But I didn't give up, if I fail this time, it would lead to some backslashes that, I don't have the time to be struggling with.
Suddenly I had a stroke of inspiration.
Using other pathways in my body I let a violent stream of Qi toward my palms. This way two orbs of Qi gathered on top of my palms. When the violent stream was controlled this way a steady stream of Qi was going in and out of my meridian so I could easily handle it and soon my first meridian was stabilized.
Opening my eyes, I saw grandpa Long looking at me.
"Old man, I think I deserve a vacation." I told him with a smile.