On the summit of Qunyu Peak.
“It seems Elder Qian isn’t planning to let my dear master off the hook for her debts, just a gentle reminder to stop borrowing.”
Li Mo gazed at the shabby arrangements at the peak, the corner of his mouth twitching.
A simple wooden cabin, with a few crumbling walls.
It’s like a post-disaster zone.
If it weren’t for this being the Qingyuan Sect, he would think it had just been attacked by a disaster beast.
“Master? Master?”
Li Mo shouted twice, but no one responded, so he pushed open the wooden door.
A wave of liquor smell hit him.
He spotted a woman sprawled across the bed, covered in a blanket, in a most undignified sleeping position, with glistening droplets trickling from her mouth.
“Master?”
“Hmm…”
The woman lazily hummed a couple of sounds, rolled over, and continued to sleep.
Li Mo was at his wits’ end and leaned closer to her ear, whispering:
“Elder Qian is here to collect debts…”
That was effective.
Shang Wu shot up, but upon seeing Li Mo standing in front of her, her drunken gaze turned suspicious and confused:
“Who are you?”
“I’m your disciple,” Li Mo replied with exasperation.
“Disciple… oh, I remember!”
Shang Wu scratched her head, as if trying to jog her memory, her eyes still hazy: “What do you want?”
Awake, but not quite there yet.
Li Mo hesitated for a moment and said, “After I joined the sect, shouldn’t you… teach me something?”
“That actually sounds reasonable.”
Shang Wu’s fragrant shoulders were exposed, seemingly unaware of how ungraceful her current position was.
She stood up, her palace attire hanging loosely, revealing half a shoulder, and was surprisingly taller than Li Mo.
“I was thinking of teaching you something yesterday.”
“Drunk or not, my memory is just awful.”
She frowned a bit in distress.
As soon as she finished speaking, a ‘pop’ sounded—the noise of a bottle being opened.
Shang Wu’s nose twitched, and she immediately became animated:
“Green Ant Brew? The special from the Ten-Mile Slope Winery, aged for five years, the color of amber—only then is it considered good stuff. Ten years is even rarer. Where did you get this?”
She snatched the wine jar from her unfortunate disciple and took a hearty swig, the liquid tracing an astonishing curve down her chest.
Your memory isn’t too shabby, after all.
Li Mo found it hard to look at her.
Shang Wu wiped her mouth and said:
“I remember now! Yesterday, I made a bet with that old ghost Han He.”
“How dare he say I wouldn’t teach my disciple; I took that lying down?”
Li Mo: “…”
What she said actually seemed quite reasonable.
Which teacher ever charged their disciple for lessons? Probably wouldn’t even get a ledger in return.
“He just pulled off a little win over Murong Xiao and thinks he’s hot stuff, ha!”
“So, I made a bet with him.”
“At the next Nine Peaks Martial Meet, if the disciples from Qunyu Peak rank higher, he’ll help me clear the debts of the Internal Affairs Hall.”
“What if you lose?”
“Lose? As my disciple, can’t you have a little faith?”
As she spoke, Shang Wu turned and rummaged through a box, pulling out a booklet.
With confidence, she declared:
“This is my exclusive secret technique; I’ll take you through the door today.”
Li Mo took the booklet and read the title:
“Fire Heart Lotus Method.”
Sounds impressive enough.
Plus, the system rated Shang Wu as extremely powerful.
Hmm, all those debts must’ve been racked up purely by her skills.
That Elder Qian gently reminding her to stop borrowing is already quite the indication of a problem!
Li Mo felt a bit more at ease and opened the booklet.
After reading through, he asked:
“Master, I had a part I didn’t quite get…”
“Zzzz… zzzz…”
“Master?”
Li Mo looked up.
To his surprise, the carefree beauty master had fallen asleep again, the wine jar mysteriously emptied.
Completely out cold, and no amount of pushing could wake her.
Sis, can you be a bit more reliable?!
“…….”
Just as Li Mo was filled with dark thoughts…
【Investment successful, investment: One jar of ten-year-old Green Ant Brew.】
【Reward processing…】
【Congratulations, Host, Reward: Ten-Year Martial Arts Insight!】
【Ten-Year Martial Arts Insight】: “Can be applied to any martial art, allowing the host to gain ten years of proficiency.”
Huh?
Ten-year Martial Arts Insight?
In terms of martial arts levels, they’re divided into six realms: Entry, Beginner, Small Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Perfection, and Transformation.
Even in the Jianghu, only a handful reach perfection, let alone transformation.
Take Li Dalong, for instance; he practiced the Wind Catching Palm for nearly twenty years and only achieved major accomplishment.
However, this also relates to personal comprehension.
Warm reminder: The upper right corner has options for “Switching between simplified and traditional,” “Adjusting font size,” “Reading background color,” and more functions.
Settings
Traditional Simplified
“Not to say I’m exceptionally gifted, but I’m somewhat clever.”
Li Mo simply bolted out of the room and sat on the ground.
With that thought, he focused all ten years of martial arts insight into the “Fire Heart Lotus Method.”
【Ten-year Martial Arts Insight successfully injected.】
【In the first year, you thoroughly deliberated the phrases in the “Fire Heart Lotus Method” and have begun experimenting—you have successfully entered the initial stage.】
【By the third year, you seem to have had an epiphany and discovered the essence of this method, bringing it to initial mastery.】
【By the ninth year, your “Fire Heart Lotus Method” has become increasingly proficient, reaching the realm of small accomplishment.】
【In the tenth year, you seem to touch upon a barrier, but ultimately, it’s still insufficient accumulation.】
In an instant, countless images flooded Li Mo’s mind. It felt as if he had truly devoted ten years to studying the “Fire Heart Lotus Method” and had successfully practiced it to the small accomplishment realm.
“Phew…”
“Ten years, small accomplishment.”
That thrilling surge of enlightenment made Li Mo feel like he was soaring among the clouds.
He could hardly wait to commence his first practice.
A thread of warmth rose from his Dantian…
And the surrounding flora started moving on its own, without the slightest breeze.
“For the first practice, if I can successfully open the meridians, that’ll count as a success.”
Li Mo centered his thoughts.
Inside the cabin.
The drunken Shang Wu suddenly frowned.
She mumble-snoozed:
“Unity of Man and Nature?”
“Who has such good luck…”
…….
Meanwhile, on the other side.
At the Qingyuan Main Peak, the training hall.
A few elders stood by, each able to see the disbelief in each other’s eyes.
What left them in shock was the girl sitting not far away, fully immersed in her own world.
At that moment, these old fellows, whose ages added up to over a century, were beginning to question reality.
Wondering if they had actually lived their lives as dogs in their earlier years.
“One day into the sect?”
Xue Jing murmured in disbelief.
“More accurately, it was fifteen minutes,” Elder Qian reminded, feeling a mix of emotions as he turned to ask:
“Han He, you practiced this Frost Seeking Method too; how long did it take you?”
Han He’s mouth twitched, and it took a long time before he managed to say:
“A month.”
Back then, Han He was young, freshly entering the Qingyuan Sect, and he distinctly remembered taking a month to get into the method and open his meridians, earning him the title of genius from his master.
Comparing this to the little girl before them…
As the elders spoke, the warm air they exhaled instantly turned to ice crystals.
“Talents arise generation after generation; our Qingyuan Sect is about to flourish!”
Xue Jing said solemnly.
His awareness was incredibly sharp.
When Ying Bing practiced, it seemed as if endless Taiyin power was flowing within her, ceaselessly.
Even though she was its owner, she couldn’t help but be hurt.
Taking yang-type herbs or pills could offer some respite.
It seemed that the pure Yang Pill he sold to Li Mo several days ago had opened her meridians.
Whoosh—
A light sound rang out.
The cold wind seemed to form a whirl around Ying Bing.
“She’s opened a meridian!”
Han He’s eyes widened.
He clearly sensed that the primary meridian within Ying Bing was now wide open.
“With this, she could have all twelve meridians opened in just a few days?”
That statement was only half true.
Ying Bing could indeed have all twelve meridians opened in just a few days.
But she intended to open far more than just twelve.
The elders of the Qingyuan Sect were ultimately limited by their perspectives.
The human body holds countless intricate channels; the main meridians far exceed just twelve.
For ordinary martial artists of Qi and bl**d level, even knowing their existence doesn’t equate to being able to open them; it requires exceptionally refined control.
But for her, that would be a piece of cake.
What Ying Bing aimed to do was to connect twenty-four main meridians, creating a grand circulation within her.
Once she entered the Internal Breathing Realm, her power would multiply tenfold or more!
“What a monster; we’ve totally overcomplicated things.”
Xue Jing wore a bitter smile.
The sect master was too busy, and specifically asked them three to teach Ying Bing, clarify her doubts, and avoid any one-on-one instruction in case bad habits crept in.
Now it was unnecessary.
Watching Ying Bing practice, they felt utterly outmatched.
“Keep an eye on this; I’m heading to Qunyu Peak.”
“Why are you going there? Bad luck.”
At the mention of these words, Elder Han He scoffed.
“Are you really okay with letting Shang Wu teach a disciple?” Xue Jing adjusted his robe.
Elder Qian took a deep breath:
“Brother Xue, you go. I fear it’ll be too late if you wait.”
