Chief Instructor Peng was grinning at Cao Yun's answer. It was very rare for such a young disciple to be able to perform this special technique of 'Coiling Turtle'. Even the 'The Turtle Swims Through the Canals' technique was seldom used on first-years. From all he could remember, in the forty years he had been working in the outer sect, this had never happened. Moreover, the quick answer from Cao Yun proved that he was the kind of character to be grateful to the Wubei Sect.
The Wubei Sect wasn't training the elite of the Hongchen Kingdom just out of the greatness of their heart. Even if their first rule stated that mankind had to be protected over everything else, this didn't mean that there was no conflict. Of course, the demonic cultivators were a problem, but there were also internal struggles of power. By welcoming and training the young generation, the Wubei Sect made sure to have roots everywhere in the Hongchen Kingdom. This created a strong feeling of all mankind toward them and made sure that they would stay the most prestigious martial sect the same way the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute was the most prestigious alchemy institute.
All these political intrigues were not completely invisible to Cao Yun. However, all the members of his family had a good opinion of the Wubei Sect. And since his arrival, despite the incidents with the demonic cultivators and Chief Elder Bian, Cao Yun was clearly receiving a lot of benefits from them. It wouldn't be correct for him to forsake them if they were in need one day and he had the ability to help them.
Chief Instructor Peng was rather excited to help Cao Yun. He knew that the boy would become a great character in both the Wubei Sect and the Hongchen Kingdom. And he would be a part of his tale.
"I'll directly explain to you this secret technique. In theory this is nothing special, I'll simply send my own Qi in your body to temper your meridians. Even though your Lower Dantian is full of it, your Qi is still insufficient to properly strengthen your meridians and vessels. This is why it takes between one to two years for most cultivators. They also need to absorb a bit more Qi along the way to supplement their training. Moreover, I'm almost a Spirit Warrior, which means that my Qi is denser and with a purer quality. This way, I'll be able to use more of it to help you while avoiding many injuries you could induce yourself.
"This technique is called 'The Snake Invades the Shell'. I'll send my Qi through several points both in the extremities of your limbs and your Ren Mai, the Conception Vessel. Those are called the Four Ancestral Courts and the Seven Former Mansions. It's important that you relax yourself as much as possible. As you can't open and close your acupoints voluntarily yet, if you try to oppose my Qi, you will hurt yourself. The best way is to visualize my Qi entering your body as a stream of water. The mantra for this technique is 'The source of water gushes from the earth. It crosses the gate and gathers in the well. The well overflows into the river and flows to the sea. The sea sinks into the universal ocean.'
"Water is my Qi obviously. The earth is the contact between my body and yours. Your acupoints are both the gate and the well. The river is your meridians, the sea your vessels. And finally, the universal ocean is your entire body."
Chief Instructor Peng took out a large sheet of paper from one of his cupboards. When Cao Yun looked at it, this was only a painting. Clearly the master painter had an extraordinary brush and even though the painting looked simple, it also seemed real, even more real than reality itself. The master painter had caught the true essence of its subject. The subject was the mantra Chief Instructor Peng had just quoted. Immediately, thanks to his explanations, Cao Yun was able to see that even though this painting depicted the cycle of water through the inlands into the vast ocean, it was really representing the human body.
"Focus on this image and on the mantra. The best would be to harmonize the mantra, the image and your sensations. As you're more sensitive to the Qi around you, you should be able to perceive mine gathering just over your acupoints before it goes inside. Just like before, do not focus on the Qi itself, but contemplate the sensation. And once my Qi is attacking your meridians from the inside, it's natural for you to feel fear or anxiety, do not try to chase them away. The more you resist, the more tense your body will get. Just picture the flow of water and let your worries flow with them. It's very important, your emotions will cause Qi to stagnate and cause damage. And the more you try to oppose them, the more your body would tense.
"So you should have understood that you need to trust me completely. Are you ready to do that?"
Cao Yun had never really talked much with Chief Instructor Peng. During their trainings, he had no time for it. And after them, he was too tired to. However, he really had a good impression of the man. This didn't mean though that he fully trusted him. Sadly, there were demonic cultivators within the Wubei Sect and anyone could be a spy for them. Pondering over it for a few seconds, Cao Yun finally accepted.
"Chief Instructor, I'm sorry if I hesitated..." Cao Yun cupped his fists and bowed. "I'll trust you."
Chief Instructor Peng answered by laughing it off. "I understand. I understand." He obviously knew what had transpired with Luduo Bu, Lu Meihan and worse, with Chief Elder Bian. Thus, he didn't reproach his suspicion to this disciple.
Cao Yun took off his shirt and rolled up his pant legs. He then sat cross-legged on the floor. Over him, Chief Instructor Peng stood with both palms directed toward him. They were extremely close to each other. If Chief Instructor Peng wanted to, he could touch Cao Yun's body, but there was no physical contact.
Cao Yun began to feel a warm sensation floating around both his legs and forearms. It then spread all over his skin, but stayed on the surface. Gradually, it increased as Cao Yun circulated his mind cultivation to relax as much as he could. His mind went over every fiber of his body to contract them and then relax them even further. Many small tensions disappeared and the warm sensation intensified. Chief Instructor Peng felt all of it. When he was satisfied with Cao Yun's relaxation, he began to concentrate his Qi on seven points in each of the lower parts of his four limbs. These were the so-called Seven Former Mansions as they were taught in 'The Snake Invades the Shell'.
Cao Yun felt the energy cross over, very slowly, into his body. Naturally, some tensions arose and a beginning of panic began to swell in his body. No matter how much Cao Yun was relaxed, this was an instinctive reaction. He thus focused on the mantra and, using his 'Shen Visualization', he imagined his body as if it was the painting he had seen. Chief Instructor Peng was surprised by the speed at which Cao Yun let go of his defense. Then, he kept on sending his Qi further and further.
He also sent his Qi through four points along his Ren Mai, the vessel going from the perineum to the mouth, passing through the navel. These four points were called the Four Ancestral Courts in 'The Snake Invades the Shell'. It greatly increased the quantity of Qi he could inject into Cao Yun's body. This Qi circulated in all of his vessels and meridians, avoiding to cross into either of his three Dantian.
The process quickly turned from inducing panic in his body to a pleasant sensation through his entire system. It then spread to his vessels and finally to his entire body. There was a bit of discomfort, but nothing too painful. The session lasted for at least two hours. Once it was over, Chief Instructor Peng slowly retracted his Qi and Cao Yun felt that his own Qi was being sucked in by the depression from his Lower Dantian. He could feel his vessels and meridians able to resist even more pressure than before. When Chief Instructor Peng finally retracted his Qi through the Four Ancestral Courts and Seven Former Mansions acupoints, Cao Yun felt, for the first time ever, his acupoints opening and closing. It was a very faint sensation as he hadn't learned to control them. However, it was a first step. Opening and closing one's acupoints was the goal of the 8th-grade Mortal. Through this training he would be able to gain a small idea of the sensation. This was a priceless benefit.
"Good. It was only the first session. And yet, you were extremely receptive. This kind of session is very taxing on your fragile acupoints. So we can't perform more than one of them by month. However, I'd say that in five or six sessions, you should be able to break through." Chief Instructor Peng was truly excited when he said that. "This kind of speed is seldom seen. In my experience, I only remember one disciple who was as fast as you, maybe even a bit faster. But he was an alchemist and he relied on many pills. However, contrary to what you could expect, his cultivation was still pretty stable. But, never mind. You should go rest for now. During our next public training, you'll only work on strengthening your muscles, your tendons and your bones. You should already be stronger than a normal 7th-grade Mortal, but you can go even higher. Don't let yourself be limited by the common ranges. Even though it's said that a 7th-grade Mortal can only lift between 500 and 1,000 dan, I know some of them, especially among the blacksmiths, who can lift more than 4,000 dan just before they break through to 8th-grade Mortal."
Cao Yun thanked his instructor and left. Becoming an 8th-grade Mortal before the end of the year was impossible, but he would achieve this breakthrough next year, before even turning 18. While most disciples were only able to become Mortal Warriors by the end of their five years, Cao Yun had good hopes of becoming one during, or even before, his fourth year.
-
In the following days, the news of Cao Yun's breakthrough spread through all the faction leaders, especially Chan Weifeng and Long Jian. The most excited of them was Long Jian. He had been wanting to fight against Cao Yun for a long time. As he was going to leave the sect at the end of the year, he would have to wait at least two years for Cao Yun to be a fourth-year and have a chance of fighting against him. However, if he was too weak, he could not enjoy the fight at all. As such, Long Jian asked for his sister to come and see him.
"What do you want? You're still obsessed with Chen Guo? You should get rid of your obsession in Mu Hue's embrace, it would be more pleasant I'm sure..."
Long Jian got flustered when he heard such brazen words. "You...! What would you know of this kind of pleasure, eh?"
"Well... More than Sister Mu knows I think."
Long Jian erupted from his seat. "You little brat! You know nothing of the affairs between man and woman." He then paused. "Or maybe... I know you spend a lot of time time with a young array formation master. Could my wild animal of a sister have finally found love?"
Just as he finished his sentence, a foot came crashing down on his. "I'll show you who's the wild animal! If you don't take Sister Mu, I'll do it in your stead!"
"You little... !"
They kept on fighting for a while until someone knocked on the door.
"Faction Leader, this is Mu Hue. I have some matters to discuss about your succession."
Indeed, Long Jian would leave the Wubei Sect in less than three months. And he needed to make sure that his succession in the Purple Northern Cloud Faction was well prepared. He had received this faction from another disciple and intended to make it prosper even after his departure.
Long Jian put his clothes back in order and told her to come in. Mu Hue saw a lot of chaos in the room, then she noticed Long Huafang. The siblings had once again fought. It seemed to happen more and more often. Mu Hue smiled when she thought that the girl had finally reached this rebellious age.
"Mu Hue. I don't see what you find attractive in this moron! However, I understand why you want to become a monk rather than to stay with him, hmph!"
Even though Long Huafang was harsh, Mu Hue knew it came from the fact that she didn't want to see her brother suffer.
"Junior Sister Long, this has nothing to do with Faction Leader Long. Just as he is following his Dao Heart and will join the military, I'm following my own inspirations. Isn't that what all cultivators are yearning for?"
The tumultuous girl didn't know how to argue with Mu Hue who was always calm. "You're just wasting your youth!" She spoke as if she was an old man and was ready to leave.
"Wait, Sister. About Chen Guo? I want to fight him! Tell him that before the last challenges of the year, I want to duel him. I'll restrain my cultivation and won't use Qi Manifestation. There is no bet or anything. I just want to test out his ability. If he indulges me, I'll gift a high spirit stone to him."
"You really are shameless. A fifth-year, a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior, the Faction Leader of the Purple Northern Cloud Faction and you want to fight against a first-year?! Well, I'll convey it to Chen Guo."
-
In the Red Cliff Faction residence, Chan Weifeng was thinking about Cao Yun too. In the beginning of the year, he had been convinced that he would always ever want to fight against Long Jian and no one else. They were rival as faction leaders, but they were also both from the same province and wanted to join the military. However, Cao Yun had proved worthy of his notice fairly early. And the fact that he did not partake in a single duel since his first one against Luduo Bu had increased Chan Weifeng's frustration. He couldn't see how good he was. However, he wasn't as bold as Long Jian and didn't think about such a duel with him, yet.