High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Basic Body Refining Technique: Great Success

”Teacher Han, I do have a few questions.”

”Speak.” Han Mo picked up his teacup, gesturing for him to speak freely.

”When I practice the Fire Forged Bone form of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, I feel my Qi and Blood burning my bones. It’s effective, but there’s always a lingering sense of agitation that’s hard to eliminate. I’m not sure if this is normal. How should I resolve it?”

Xu Wuyi asked his first question, the one that had been troubling him a little recently.

Upon hearing this, Han Mo answered almost without thinking, ”That’s because your internal fire is a bit too strong and hasn’t achieved a perfect cycle with the external energy. The Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace emphasizes using the Body as a Furnace to Melt All Things. This ’All Things’ includes external energy.”

”When you are practicing Bone Forging, try not to limit your intention to just within your body. Instead, let it spread out slightly. Imagine the pores all over your body opening, guiding the cool external air into you to create a convection with your internal fire. You don’t need to deliberately absorb energy. The key is ’Intentional Guidance.’ Establish a circulatory channel, and the agitation will naturally disappear.”

When Xu Wuyi heard this, a flash of insight seemed to strike his mind!

He had been so focused on the internal refining process that he had neglected to interact with the external environment.

Han Mo’s single piece of advice instantly enlightened him.

”I understand! Thank you, Teacher!”

He suppressed the urge to try it immediately and went on to ask two more questions.

Han Mo answered each one, his words concise and hitting the core of the issue. Often, with just a few phrases, he would illuminate the crucial points that Xu Wuyi had struggled to understand.

Regarding the use of Heart Fire, Han Mo offered specific advice, ”Heart Fire burns the spirit. Its strength lies in its unpredictability, in its ability to interfere with an opponent’s judgment.”

”But if your opponent’s spirit is resilient, or if they have protections, you must use it cautiously to avoid a backlash. Your Heart Fire is still weak right now. You can imbue your attacks with its essence to enhance their penetration and deterrence, rather than using it as a simple Spirit Shock. The effect will be much better.”

These answers made Xu Wuyi feel as if a fog before his eyes had been lifted, the path ahead becoming much clearer.

The short ten-odd-minute Q&A session was more fruitful than his own long periods of arduous self-study and exploration.

”Alright, that’s enough for today.” Seeing that Xu Wuyi had more or less asked all his questions, Han Mo set down his teacup and dismissed him. ”Go back and digest this properly, especially the fundamentals taught in class. A towering skyscraper is built from the ground up. The stronger your foundation, the farther you can go in the future.”

”Yes, I will remember your teachings, Teacher!” Xu Wuyi bowed respectfully again before leaving the bamboo house.

His consciousness returned to reality, but Xu Wuyi was still immersed in immense excitement.

Not only had he resolved several cultivation difficulties, but he had also received a promise of regular guidance from a Quasi-Grandmaster.

One had to understand that at the university, the personal guidance time of lecturers and professors was explicitly priced.

As long as the instructors were willing, they could post their availability on the intranet for students to purchase private tutoring, and payment could only be made with credits.

For a Quasi-Grandmaster like Han Mo, even if Xu Wuyi were to wager all the credits he had, he probably couldn’t afford more than a few private sessions, maybe not even one.

This was because tutoring from instructors of this caliber was never sold publicly. It was usually circulated and claimed internally among the upper echelons.

His thoughts settled. Without any delay, Xu Wuyi dove straight into the underground Cultivation Room.

The first thing he wanted to try was what Han Mo had described: during Fire Forged Bone, guide the external air to balance his internal fire.

He assumed a Pile Skills stance, circulating his Qi and Blood, and sank his intention into his body.

When the familiar scorching sensation began to rise in his bones, he no longer maintained a tight Introspection as he used to.

Instead, following Han Mo’s guidance, he slightly dispersed his intention, imagining his pores opening and guiding in the formless, intangible, yet life-filled threads of external energy.

At first, there was no obvious sensation. But as he continued to maintain this state of ’Intentional Guidance’ and adjusted his breathing to match, he gradually felt the lingering agitation deep within his bones truly begin to dissipate, as if blown away by a gentle breeze.

In its place was a gentler, more enduring heat, like a slow simmer. The tempering effect on his bones hadn’t weakened at all. On the contrary, due to the initial exchange of internal and external auras, it had become deeper and more uniform!

’It really works!’ Xu Wuyi was overjoyed.

Just a simple adjustment of his intention had brought about such a significant change.

’The guidance of a Quasi-Grandmaster is truly extraordinary.’

He focused his Heart and Spirit, completely immersing himself in this more efficient and comfortable state of cultivation.

Meanwhile, the answers to his other questions echoed in his mind, deepening his understanding of his own practice and his Cultivation Technique.

...

During the last week of September, an invisible tension filled the freshman area of Star Martial University.

The freshmen bustling around campus walked with a quicker pace than usual. The source of it all was the first monthly ranking rewards, which were to be finalized at the end of the month.

According to Star Martial University’s rules, before a student’s Life Energy Level surpassed Level 25, their ranking was determined entirely by their points from Rank Battles on the Battle Network.

The Battle Network and Star Martial University were basically one and the same. In fact, the Battle Network’s Rank point system was first used within Star Martial University itself.

Now, this ranking wasn’t just about face; it was directly tied to tangible resources.

For the vast majority of freshmen from ordinary backgrounds, the monthly Federation Coin scholarship awarded based on rank was crucial.

There were only fifty slots for the S-class reward, which granted a one-time prize of two million Federation Coins.

Xu Wuyi stood in the training grounds of his personal space, having just finished a round of Pile Skills practice for the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace. His Qi and Blood steamed around him, and the Heart Fire in his Dantian pulsed steadily, bringing a warm yet vigorous sense of power.

”Anna, pull up my current Battle Network Rank information and ranking,” he commanded with a thought.

A soft blue light converged, and a screen materialized:

[Current Rank: Third Rank (196 points)]

[Wins This Month: 47]

[Losses This Month: 2]

[Current Freshman Ranking: 6th]

The data was clearly displayed before him. Xu Wuyi’s gaze lingered on ”6th” for a moment, showing little emotion.

He had been stuck at the Third Rank for quite some time.

In nearly fifty battles, he had only lost twice.

Both of those defeats were against opponents who had just broken through to Fourth Rank, with Life Energy Levels that had crossed the Level 20 threshold.

Other than those two matches, he was nearly invincible at the Third Rank.

Whether his opponents were university students or Martial Artists already out in society, as long as they weren’t Official Martial Artists, he won with relative ease.

The solid foundation built by the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and his tough, tempered bones gave him an absolute advantage in fights against those of the same level.

Often, he only needed to seize a tiny opening to end the match with his unstoppable Power.

However, the gap between Third Rank and Fourth Rank was a massive watershed.

Once he stepped into the Fourth Rank, the matchmaking system would place him in a much larger pool, where his opponents would be exclusively Official Martial Artists.

He had attempted to break into Fourth Rank twice, and without exception, both attempts ended in crushing defeat.

”Sixth place...” Xu Wuyi muttered to himself.

This ranking was already well within the range for the S-class scholarship.

The top fifty students all received the S-Class reward; whether one was first or fiftieth made no difference in terms of the resources obtained.

This system had been in place for many years. The university was clearly aware that a great deal of luck was involved in the last few points of each Rank.

If Xu Wuyi fought a few more matches, he might be able to strategically lock his score at 199 points in the Third Rank to claim first place, but there was no point in doing so.

The university had long emphasized that student rankings were only for determining rewards and served no other purpose. They hoped students would avoid meaningless competition and engage in healthy rivalry instead.

’I wonder who those people are who are sitting on their scores?’ Xu Wuyi thought, then shook his head slightly.

He took one last look at the ranking data on the screen and decisively logged out of the Star Martial Battle Network.

...

Time always flew by when one was focused on cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another week passed, and Xu Wuyi once again appeared on time before the bamboo house at Lingyun Small Building - Jiasan.

This time, he was even more prepared, having carefully sorted through the new difficulties and vague insights he had encountered while practicing the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace over the past week.

Han Mo was just as he had been last time, brewing tea and waiting quietly.

He continued to answer Xu Wuyi’s questions with concise and thorough explanations.

After the Q&A session ended and his consciousness returned to the real world, Xu Wuyi didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. On the contrary, his spirit was full.

So, he went to the Cultivation Room to carefully digest what he had learned that day.

First, he practiced the Eighteen Beginner Forms of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace. His Qi and Blood surged, and the wisp of Heart Fire in his Dantian flickered, resonating with his Qi and Blood and his Spirit.

Next came his unwavering practice of the Basic Body Refining Technique.

At this stage, besides Xu Wuyi, probably very few people were still willing to practice the Basic Body Refining Technique.

Whether it was geniuses from Dongjiang Province like Shen Wei and Yu Peiling, or the prodigies from other provinces like Zhao Qingwei and Qin Rui, they all surely had more efficient C-level Body Refining Techniques.

For them, it was better to spend time on their Martial Arts than to spend several hours a day poring over the Basic Body Refining Technique.

After all, the slight boost it provided was less effective than a single bottle of Blood Circulation Potion.

But Xu Wuyi was different. He had never forgotten that at the very beginning of his Martial Arts path, the Basic Body Refining Technique was the only thing that had accompanied him through countless nights.

Even now, when the benefits from the Basic Body Refining Technique were no longer significant, and even its ”Hundred Chances of Enlightenment” rarely yielded anything new, Xu Wuyi still persisted in his diligent practice.

Just as he was cultivating with single-minded focus, deep within his sea of consciousness, the Bronze Ancient Volume that had been silent for so long suddenly trembled slightly on its own.

A set of data he had almost forgotten silently appeared and updated:

[Martial Arts: Basic Body Refining Technique]

[Current Realm: Great Success (0.1%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: Returning to Truth]

[Evaluation: Returning to the Essence, the foundation is complete.]

Xu Wuyi abruptly stopped his movements, a look of astonishment on his face.

’The Basic Body Refining Technique... has reached Great Success?’