The sensation was akin to having eaten something hot in dead winter. Like a small sun burning all over your body, filling each cell with a comfortable warmth. It was a humorously beautiful sensation.
At the same time as he sensed it, black filth oozed out from different parts of his body, and Soha felt a light sensation all across himself. His head seemed as if it was spinning.
[All over your body, clogged meridians are opening up,] Emma said, enlightening him. [The dirty stuff that is jumping out of your pores is the thing that was clogging your meridians. These meridians are the source of Innate Qi inside you. You can sense these wellsprings, right?]
Soha took deep breaths and nodded. His body had grown damp with sweat, and he felt hot all over. At the same time, a sensation akin to a bull being trapped in a tight space inundated his senses, and he threw a punch at the nearby tree.
BAM!
It lost a patch of its wood and caved in slightly.
"STRENGTH!" he exclaimed. Then, calmed down just as quickly as if cold water had been doused over his head. Far from enough. Far, too far.
[Soha, I checked your body and realized what this Innate Qi, in essence, is. It more or less feels like nutrients people gain after eating food, but this is far more potent than nutrients and has a sort of enhancing power all throughout your body. In a sense, it makes wood as strong as iron. No wonder this makes people stronger.]
Nodding contemplatively, Soha walked inwards the jungle and, while at it, asked with a sigh, "Emma, am I a 1st Class Martial Artist now?"
[Yes, you are. But at the same time, you are the weakest 1st-class martial artist since you only have your Innate-Qi-Enhanced body and no weapons or fighting experience. And you don't have any External Arts either.]
With a stretch, the knuckles in his back loosened with a pop. His robes stank of a fishy odor, and they were now filled with sticky black spots. He felt wry at the stench.
"So what do I have to do to become a 2nd Class Martial Artist?" He really felt thankful to Emma. Really, going through all those details himself would have been a lot of trouble, and having her with him reduced a lot of his headaches.
[Normally, becoming a 2nd Class Martial Artist requires you to use your Innate Qi to the maximum potential by putting yourself in a deadly fight or something similar to attain enlightenment regarding how to channel Innate Qi throughout the body, from one Meridian to the other. By which, you can focus all your power on one part of the body, like your hand.]
A bit disgruntled thinking about some things, Soha questioned, "I don't have to do that?"
[No, most of the Technique you are practicing is based on the Heart Eating Cold Body Method, so by eating the living hearts of other people, which are a source of much Innate Qi, you are going to overflow your Meridians with Innate Qi, foreign as it may be, and that would help you easily learn how to channel it all over your body easily.]
"…How many hearts?"
[According to my calculation, somewhere around a hundred.]
"I see…" Soha sighed. "I should go and get the antidote for the week along with the External Arts."
***
By today, it had been exactly nine days since Soha's arrival in Qian Long. 6 days since he had drunk the poison. His complexion under the mask was green. His stomach was churning inside. With a feverish appearance, he entered the Li Clan walls through the back door and, as expected, met Li Yuntao.
The old man's face was rosier than the last time. Less yellow. His brown beard was as vibrant as the last time. The old man scrutinized him upon his entry and waited for him to get seated across the table before he opened his mouth.
"Give me your hand," The old man said calmly.
Soha stretched his hand out for the old man, and, with a smile, the old man's Innate Qi entered his body and checked around inside. Then, satisfied, nodded.
"Your Innate Qi is full of turmoil as a Demonic Practitioner's should be. It is impure, but your meridians are no longer clogged, so you can be proud that you are already a First Class Martial Artist."
Soha nodded, feeling slightly feverish. The poison was already kicking in.
The old man took out a small bottle of transparent but thick liquid and placed it before him.
"Drink this and grow lucid. I will give you the External Arts that are suitable for such impure Innate Qi."
Taking the antidote, Soha drank it with trembling hands and silently digested it for a long moment. Then, he said in appreciation, "Thank you, my lord."
"Li Clan doesn't treat its vassals wrongly," Li Yuntao spat. "Especially one as determined as you." In his mind, Soha had already sacrificed his manhood to achieve sensing Innate Qi and that was a very big sacrifice.
Taking out a book from the drawer beside him, he gave it to Soha.
"This book involves all of the External Arts that you can practice using your flimsy Innate Qi. They would require unique materials and training; check them, choose one, and return the book the next week you arrive."
Soha nodded, wondering whether he didn't need to drink poison again.
"That transparent liquid only suppressed the poison inside you. It didn't cure it. It will lose effect in around a week once more."
Soha bowed and left after reading the book. He knew what Art to train in.