Yawen couldn't help but laugh at the way Leon looked, "Uncle, don't be like this. Just like Grandfather said, no one in the kingdom would dare to touch our Stark family. It's just our speculation, maybe the situation isn't as bad as we think."
Leon forced a smile in his heart. The situation was much worse than what Yawen could imagine, but he wouldn't burden her with telling her about it.
His gaze fell on Yawen's right hand, remembering his ancient beast - the Greedy Wolf Star, and its characteristics. His heart stirred, maybe he could use other means to help Yawen.
With this in mind, he immediately changed the topic, "Forget it, Yawen, let's not talk about these annoying things. Come, let's go to the pavilion and talk."
Saying that, he took the lead and walked towards a nearby pentagonal pavilion, sitting on a chair in front. Yawen followed in and sat opposite Leon.
Leon organized his thoughts, prepared his opening remarks, and said, "I heard you want to practice martial arts just now. What kind of martial arts are you learning?"
Yawen was taken aback. Why did Uncle suddenly switch to talking about martial arts?
But he still answered, "Nothing special, just some martial techniques taught at school."
Leon looked very interested and asked, "Oh! What kind of martial techniques?"
Yawen said, "Nothing impressive, just a few sets of Beastly Fist, Illusionary Martial Techniques, and Impact Cannon. Among them, except for the Impact Cannon, the Beastly Fist and Illusionary Martial Techniques can only be practiced after Greedy Wolf Star grows into a Armor."
Leon interrupted, "Yawen, have you decided to cultivate Greedy Wolf Star into an Armor? What does that have to do with Beastly Fist and Illusionary Martial Techniques?"
Yawen embarrassedly said, "Because everyone in my family uses Armor, I also want to cultivate Greedy Wolf Star into an Armor. As for those two sets of martial techniques, Beastly Fist is about how to unleash the power of the illusionary beast, and Illusionary Martial Techniques are special techniques for Armor, specifically for practicing how to turn Armor into a weapon. So I can only practice them after Greedy Wolf Star becomes an Armor."
"According to the teacher, if these two sets of martial techniques are practiced to perfection, they can unleash the power of the Beast Illusion Armor to 120% and simultaneously generate three or more weapons. Unfortunately, it is only possible to practice them when one's own illusion beast enters maturity."
As Leon listened, he became increasingly puzzled. "I mean, what martial techniques are you practicing? Not these illusion beast combat techniques."
Yawen was taken aback and said confusedly, "I am practicing these martial techniques! What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Leon slapped his forehead and sighed, "This is going to be difficult to explain."
"Forget it," Leon muttered to himself. "Let's start from the beginning. I just don't know if it will be useful."
Yawen couldn't hear clearly and asked, "What's wrong with you, Uncle Leon?"
Ignoring Yawen, Leon asked, "Can you tell me where the energy of the illusion beast comes from? I mean, after it reaches maturity."
Yawen frowned and said impatiently, "Uncle Leon, even a three-year-old child knows that it comes from the owner!"
Leon didn't let Yawen finish and continued to ask, "And where does the owner's energy come from?"
Yawen was even more puzzled and answered, "Of course, it's generated by themselves! Uncle Leon..."
Leon interrupted Yawen again and asked, "How does the owner generate this energy?"
Yawen struggled to come up with an answer, "It's... it's... it's..."
After a long time, Yawen couldn't explain it clearly.
Leon answered for him, "Is it accumulated through eating food normally?"
Yawen nodded hastily, "Yes, yes."
Leon shook his head and sighed, "This answer is not entirely correct, Yawen. You need to know that the human body is extremely complex. The production of energy is not only replenished through eating, but also through many other ways. The most obvious one is sunlight. People who have long been deprived of sunlight are prone to illness because sunlight is rich in heat and can warm the body, dispel the internal coldness, and allow the body to directly absorb energy from the sunlight."
Yawen seemed to understand but not fully, and listened as Leon continued, "In terms of proportion, the main source of energy is, of course, from digestion of food, and other sources are negligible. When these primary and secondary sources of energy are combined and subtracted from the body's own needs, the excess energy is what we call the energy that the owner can provide to the illusion beast."
Yawen finally understood what Leon was talking about, but still didn't understand what he was trying to do.
Leon smiled faintly and said, 'Providing these surplus energies to magical beasts can also be considered as making the most of them. Without magical beasts, what would happen to these energies? They would either go to waste or turn into fat in the body and make people obese.'
Yawen unconsciously nodded in agreement.
Leon continued, 'But Yawen, do you know that in this world, some people can use special methods to store these surplus energies in a unique form inside their bodies?'
'By utilizing these energies, they can do some extraordinary things, such as using them to accelerate healing when injured by directing the energy to the injured area in a special way, or releasing them in a specific form to neutralize external attacks.'
Upon hearing this, Yawen exclaimed with amazement, recalling that Leon had emitted a pale blue light from his hands earlier, which had neutralized the impact of Greedy Wolf Star's attack. Now he understood that it was the surplus energy that Leon had mentioned.
Leon nodded and said, 'Yes, I used that energy to neutralize the cannon attack just now.'
'This kind of energy has different names, such as "inner strength" or "qi" in martial arts, or "divine power" or "magic power" in magic. In fact, they all refer to the same thing, just with different ways of using and storing them.'
Yawen opened his mouth wide, listening as if he were hearing a myth.
But then he had another question, 'Uncle, if this thing is so useful, why did I only find out about it today from you?'
Leon smiled and said, 'Silly boy, do you think cultivating qi is easy? Can everyone do it?'
'It depends on talent and perseverance. Without talent, no matter how long you practice, it won't be effective. Without perseverance, trying to achieve instant success is impossible, especially when starting to cultivate qi, the progress is almost negligible. But if one gives up one day, all previous efforts will be in vain, so someone with poor perseverance can never achieve anything.'
Yawen was even more surprised upon hearing this. Leon continued, 'You're still surprised? Besides these conditions, practitioners of qi often have different requirements in different sects or schools. Some require good conduct, some require talent, and there are various standards. Therefore, those who successfully cultivate qi are very rare. But as long as someone cultivates qi, they often gain extraordinary abilities and achieve great accomplishments, like the ten famous masters on the continent who all possess qi or divine/magic power.'
Yawen listened as if he were dreaming, but he believed Leon's words wholeheartedly. He dreamed of one day being able to learn such marvelous qi."
Leon smiled and asked, "So, are you interested in cultivating qi?"
Yawen became excited when she heard this and exclaimed, "Uncle, will you teach me?"
Leon shook his head and said, "According to the rules of my sect, I can't just accept you as my disciple and teach you our qi cultivation methods."
Yawen couldn't help but feel disappointed, but Leon revealed a cunning smile and said, "Indeed, I cannot teach you our sect's qi cultivation methods, but our sect's rules do not prohibit me from guiding you on how to cultivate qi."
Yawen was taken aback and, seeing Leon's smile, couldn't help but chuckle and say, "Uncle, you are indeed talented and suave, I didn't expect you to be so cunning!"
Leon tapped Yawen's head and scolded, "You little brat, understand who I am doing this for!"
Yawen touched her head and flattered, "Yes, yes, Uncle, you are the smartest, and everything is for the sake of your nephew. Thank you for your hard work."
Leon burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Leon said, "Come on, Uncle will help you test your attributes first and see which direction you should cultivate in."
Yawen asked in confusion, "Uncle, do humans also have attributes?"
Leon said confidently, "Of course! You should know that everything in the world has its own attributes. Some are obvious, like magical beasts, which can only manifest one type of attribute, while others are not so obvious, like humans. At first glance, it seems that humans don't have attributes, but because qi cultivation involves various reactions in the body, it must be handled with care to determine the corresponding attribute to avoid conflicts between the body and the cultivated qi."
Yawen nodded, realizing that cultivating qi had some intricacies. Following Leon's instructions, she clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and relaxed her whole body.
She felt Leon's hand placed on her chest, and a strange heat flowed from Leon's hand into her chest, spreading throughout her body and making her feel warm all over.
Gradually, she seemed to see a bright light in front of her, but she couldn't tell what color it was. The light grew brighter and brighter, and her eyes could no longer bear it, causing her to make a soft groan.
When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a dazzling light, which gradually returned to normal. She then realized that Leon had already withdrawn his hand and was smiling at her.
After she had regained her composure, Leon asked, "So, Yawen, what color light did you see?"
Yawen hesitated and said, "Uncle, I couldn't tell. I only know that it was very bright, and my eyes couldn't bear it."
Leon smiled and said, "So, you have the Light attribute."
He explained, "The energy I infused into your body just now was my qi. Because your body has never been invaded by such refined qi before, your body's instinct will reject the foreign qi. Since your eyes have not been trained, when the qi in your body surges, you will be able to see the color of your qi. The color of qi for Wind attribute is cyan-green; Fire attribute is red; Water attribute is blue; Earth attribute is yellow; Dark attribute is black; and Light attribute does not have a color, but appears as a bright light."
Yawen nodded to indicate her understanding.
Leon then asked her, "After determining your attribute, the next step is to decide whether you want to cultivate internal or external martial arts."
"What's the difference between internal and external martial arts
Lyon explained, "The so-called internal martial arts focus on cultivating internal energy. As you practice for a longer period of time, your internal energy becomes deeper, and every move you make carries great power. On the other hand, external martial arts practitioners focus on practicing external techniques to achieve maximum power as quickly as possible, but the progress and power in the early stage may not be as fast or as powerful as internal martial arts. However, in the later stage, external martial arts may not be as powerful as internal martial arts. How to choose depends on your own preference."
Yawen asked eagerly, "Uncle, can't I practice both internal and external martial arts together?"
Lyon frowned and said, "There are people who practice both internal and external martial arts, but a person's lifespan is limited, and achieving success in cultivating internal energy is already difficult. It's very challenging to try to excel in both internal and external martial arts."
"However, regardless of internal or external martial arts, the foundation is the same. You must first cultivate your physical fitness before seeking further development. So I suggest you not rush to make a choice now, but focus on building a solid foundation first," Lyon continued.
Yawen nodded in agreement and asked, "Uncle, how should I start cultivating my internal energy then?"
Lyon smiled and said, "Don't be impatient. You need to first improve your physical fitness."
"You see, the human body is constantly consuming energy. So if your physical fitness is stronger and your body is accustomed to vigorous activities, you will naturally reduce energy consumption during daily activities compared to others. This way, you can store more energy, and having a strong and healthy body will also benefit you in cultivating internal energy, attacking enemies, and defending yourself."
Yawen nodded and said, "I understand."
Leon nodded and said, "It's getting late. As for how to enhance your physical strength, think about it yourself. For now, I'll teach you the basic breathing exercises."
After thinking for a moment, Leon continued, "In our sect, cultivating qi is divided into five steps: 'nourishing qi', 'gathering qi', 'practicing qi', 'transforming qi', and 'drawing qi'. Nourishing qi involves cultivating the source of qi and strengthening the qi within your body. Gathering qi is about collecting and storing the strengthened qi. Practicing qi is refining and purifying the stored qi. These three steps are the foundation of qi cultivation and can be considered as one step. Transforming qi is using qi in various forms, which requires application skills. Drawing qi is a personal experience, and I don't know much about it. If you can complete this step, you will possess incredible abilities."
"Now pay attention. I'll teach you some mantras, and you should practice them every day until the qi in your body stabilizes. Otherwise, you should not practice qi for less than four hours a day." Leon immediately taught Yawen a mantra and explained it in detail until Yawen fully understood.
The next morning, Leon bid farewell to Duke Lai and left the Stark family. Although Yawen was reluctant to part with him, he knew that Leon was going back to report to his grandfather, so he let him go.
After Leon left, Yawen began his qi cultivation practice.
Every day, Yawen carried a heavy backpack and ran continuously in the martial arts hall of the duke's mansion, doing physical training to strengthen his body.
During the physical training, he also used the special breathing techniques taught by Leon to eliminate most of the fatigue from the training and store excess energy.
At night, he spent six hours practicing the qi cultivation technique taught by Leon. After half a month, Yawen felt that he had made significant progress, especially in comparison to his previous sparring session with Naken.
One day, Yawen had just finished his physical training and was exhausted. He was looking forward to taking a shower and resting before continuing his qi practice. However, as soon as he walked out of the martial arts hall, he saw Naken standing outside, seemingly preparing to enter the training hall as well.
Yawen didn't want to pay attention to him and walked past him, but Naken seemed to sneer with the same malicious smile that Yawen hated.
He saw him respectfully bowing and asked, "Young Master Yawen, hello. Our mansion's servants have been saying that you have been coming to the martial arts hall every day and leaving exhausted. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems to be true. I wonder what incredible martial arts you are practicing?"
Yawen impatiently replied, "That's none of your business."
After speaking, he tried to leave, but unexpectedly, Naken moved and blocked Yawen's path with his burly figure.
He said, "Young Master Yawen, don't be like this. After all, we are friends. Can you tell me a little bit?"
Yawen pushed his hand irritably, saying angrily, "Get out of my way, don't bother me."
Surprisingly, Naken was pushed back two steps by Yawen's shove.
Not to mention Naken's astonished expression, Yawen was even more shocked. He felt that he didn't exert much strength, but he was able to easily push Naken, who was taller than him by a head. It was truly a pleasant surprise for Yawen.
However, on the surface, he still said indifferently, "Move aside, don't block my way."
After speaking, Yawen ignored Naken and left on his own, completely unaware of the envious and resentful expression on Naken's face behind him.
He never expected that Yawen, who he could easily manipulate just ten days ago, could now push him back with a single shove. Although Yawen wouldn't be his match if they really fought, the speed of his progress was astonishing.
Gritting his teeth, Naken thought to himself, "He is really practicing something. If he really succeeds, then I'll be in trouble."
A plan started to form in his mind.
After the incident with Naken, Yawen became even more confident in the breathing technique taught by Lyon.
Needless to say, he immediately increased the amount of practice on his own. The weight he carried on his back, originally 30 kilograms, increased to 50 kilograms. The practice time of the breathing technique increased from four hours to six hours. Although he slept less than three hours a day as a result, thanks to the Heavenly Heart Technique, he remained extremely energetic.