"Do you mean that I have unlocked one of those meridians?" Alexander questioned.
"That's correct," his father nodded happily. "To be precise, you have opened your Ren Meridian or Conception Vessel. It goes along the front side of your torso. Aside from special cases, everyone seems to be unlocking this meridian first."
His father seemed to be in a particularly good mood.
"The main advantage of an unlocked meridian is how it would allow your body to accumulate and balance energy by itself. As you might be aware, a lot of unfavorable conditions and sicknesses of one's body come from either some kind of deficit or overabundance in your body.
His father stroked his chin.
"An unlocked meridian can store vast amounts of energy and your body will be able to replenish whatever deficiencies may be in your twelve main meridians or vice versa."
"Twelve main meridians?" Alexander asked.
"You will learn about them later, now focus on the subject." His father ordered sternly. "For example, if someone has a deficiency in their Greater Yin Hand Meridian."
His father used his finger to draw an imaginary line on his body as he explained.
"They won't be able to breathe properly and thus experience symptoms like shortness of breath. A person with an unlocked extraordinary meridian would never experience such a situation. The more meridians you unlock, the stronger you will be. However, each consecutive unlocking would take more effort."
"More effort?" Alexander raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"
"Because your body gets used to the new stimuli. That is why it takes so much effort and concentration to open another meridian after the previous one. Anyway, let's focus on the important stuff."
He poured more wine into the cups.
"The reason I wanted to celebrate, is because, since my generation of martial artists, only a fraction of a percent of people have managed to enter the realm of Eight Pillars of Body Tempering. All those people are descendants of martial clans from all around the world." Alexander's father said matter-of-factly.
"They have the support of an entire clan's worth of resources, so in comparison, your talent should be better." A smug expression appeared on Alexander's father's face.
"Alright, I guess I am talented in martial arts. Still what use it is? One hit from PPG would still stun my nervous system. Also, meridians? How come I never heard about it in school biology lessons?"
"Because a way of acquiring superhuman power is closely restricted to government and influential families." His father explained. "Only very select individuals are allowed to study these skills openly. Only on rare occasions does anyone manage to break through the restrictions of the human body. Count yourself lucky for having such an awesome old man for a father."
Alexander could only roll his eyes. However, his father's words made sense. No one would just let everyone have this type of special knowledge.
"Okay then, so what do I do now?" Alexander asked.
"You need to continue practicing hard. If it was ancient times, you would have an easier time and be able to cultivate using Yuan Qi. But as time went on, the environment on the planet continued changing, so nowadays we can only cultivate by strengthening our life force, also known as Blood Qi. I will give you relevant information and manuals later, for today, you can take a rest. Ah, one more thing." His father went to his room and quickly returned with a small black box in his hands.
"I planned to give it to you later, but it would be better for you to have it sooner, considering your recent progress. You can treat it as a gift."
Alexander received the box and opened it right away. Inside the box was a smartwatch. With advancements in technology, smartwatches eventually filled the niche that smartphones existed in as a more convenient alternative in the second half of the 21st century. The one in the box looked sleek and simple, just like the one his father was wearing.
"Is it a military smartwatch? Won't I get in trouble wearing one as a civilian?"
"Not since you entered the Body Tempering Realm. Don't think about details like that."
"Dad, mine is perfectly fine, you shouldn't ha-"
Before Alexander finished speaking, his father slapped his shoulder.
"Just wear this one from now on. It also has a surprise you will find convenient in the future. Now go and have some sleep, you have school tomorrow."
Alexander could only listen to what his headstrong father said. After all, he knew he wouldn't win any arguments here. He sighed and left the room to go upstairs. He laid down and quickly fell asleep.
Alexander opened his eyes with the first rays of sunlight. He quickly washed his face and dressed up. He took his old smartwatch out of force of habit, but after a moment of hesitation put it back on the counter and picked up the new one instead.
He booted it up, but aside from an ordinary set of functions and several locked folders and empty-looking tabs, he didn't find anything else.
"Is it bugged? I'll have to ask dad about it."
He made his way to the kitchen. His father has already left for work, so after making himself some breakfast, Alexander decided to go to school a bit early today. He could take a relaxing stroll that way, instead of rushing madly.
Well, the relaxing stroll in his mind included some freerunning over rooftops of the neighborhood, but it beat going for the bus in Alexander's mind.