Chapter 3

The Condensation and Refining of Essential Qi

It was almost noon of the second day by the time all medicinal properties of the Marrow-cleansing Pill were thoroughly refined.

Lu Ming did not sleep a wink the entire night, but he was not sleepy at all. On the contrary, he felt refreshed and full of strength.

One Marrow-cleansing Pill completely transformed him. Lu Ming’s body was stronger than an ordinary young man, his meridians were also no longer blocked and was full of flexibility and vitality.

It was just that there were layers of thick, sticky grime on his body from the impurities that were purged out of him, and it was very uncomfortable.

A thought came to mind and Lu Ming was back in his room.

He carefully opened the door and walked out to find Li Ping and Qiu Yue gone – probably out to buy food.

Lu Ming went towards the well in the yard, stood by it, and drew water to rinse the grime off his body. After a change of clean clothes, he immediately felt pleasantly refreshed in both body and mind.

Soon after, Li Ping and Qiu Yue came back. They saw Lu Ming and stared at him in surprise.

At that moment, Lu Ming looked robust, which was far from his usual sickly and feeble look. No wonder they were surprised.

“Ming’er, are your injuries better?” Li Ping asked as she carefully inspected Lu Ming.

“Yeah, Young Lord, you look a little different than usual,” Qiu Yue remarked while she innocently blinked.

“Mother, I don’t know why but after being injured this time, I was able to cultivate a bit of Essential Qi out of the blue after practicing the Qi Condensation Art last night. I’m feeling a little better as a result of that.” Lu Ming chuckled.

“What? You were able to cultivate Essential Qi, Ming’er?” Upon hearing what Lu Ming had to say, Li Ping was ecstatic. Her eyes brimmed with happy tears.,.

Lu Ming did not tell Li Ping anything about the Supreme Shrine since there were Divine Level martial arts techniques in it and if word got out, all three of them would be in big trouble.

Changes happened to his body after he devoured the Marrow-cleansing Pill. If there was no explanation, Li Ping and Qiu Yue would definitely notice something amiss, so he revealed a small part of it – he managed to cultivate Essential Qi.

“Ming’er, that’s great, that’s great!” Tears of excitement welled up in Li Ping’s eyes.

Although it was just merely cultivating Essential Qi and was a far cry from competing against a Blood Meridian Martial Artist or even being associated with an Ordinary Martial Artist, she was still so glad for Lu Ming.

“Young Master, you’re going to have to protect my Lady and me next time then.” Qiu Yue chirped while beaming with joy.

Li Ping and Qiu Yue got to cooking and in no time, delicious aromas filled the air around them. The three of them sat down together gleefully for a simple meal of a meat dish with two vegetable dishes.

“Ming’er, you’re still not well. Have more meat to help repair your body,” Li Ping said as she vigorously filled Lu Ming’s bowl with meat.

“Mother, Qiu Yue, you two eat too,” Lu Ming replied.

Ever since news went out six years ago about Lu Ming’s father, Lu Yuntian’s murder, both Li Ping and Lu Ming’s living conditions deteriorated over the years. Since the allowances given by the Lu Tribe decreased over time, it was a rarity to have a meat dish.

Even so, Li Ping and Qiu Yue would give up their portions for Lu Ming, especially Qiu Yue who was going through puberty without sufficient nutrients, resulting in her looking more frail than she would have been.

For martial artists to practice their art, they would require a large amount of strength and energy and therefore would be more particular with what they ate.

Lu Family’s martial artists with awakened blood meridians were not just eating the meat of the ordinary beasts, instead, they ate the meat of demonic beasts. Other than that, the highly talented ones consumed a daily dosage of Dragon Tiger Pills – a type of pill refined from adding the blood and powdered bones of demonic beasts to countless valuable herbs.

The Dragon Tiger Pill contained a tremendous amount of refined Qi that could strengthen not only martial artists’ muscles, bones, meridians and organs, but also be converted to Essential Qi to aid and improve one’s cultivation.

Nutrients obtained from the way Lu Ming was eating was far from sufficient.

“Ming’er, you’ve already cultivated Essential Qi, and these dishes are far from enough. I have eight Dragon Tiger Pills here with me, take them with you, use them for your cultivation.”

Li Ping took out a bottle meticulously and handed it to Lu Ming.

Dumbfounded, Lu Ming did not expect Li Ping to possess eight Dragon Tiger Pills. “Mother, Dragon Tiger Pills cost a hundred silver taels each, where did you get so much money?” Lu Ming asked doubtfully.

“I have my ways, of course! Initially, I bought it for you to improve your health and physique. It came at just the right time, since you’re able to cultivate Essential Qi now.” Li Ping smiled.

“Young Lord, my Lady sold her Dragon and Phoenix Bangles for eight of these Dragon Tiger Pills,” Qiu Yue added, as if she could not take it any longer.

“Qiu Yue!” Li Ping chided, as though to rebuke Qiu Yue for revealing too much. “Ming’er,” she continued, “don’t worry about it, go ahead with your cultivation. As long as you can cultivate Essential Qi, and be strong and healthy, what is a pair of Dragon and Phoenix bangles compared to that?”

“Mother…”

Lu Ming felt a lump in his throat as he clenched the bottle of Dragon Tiger Pills tightly in his hands.

The Dragon and Phoenix bangles were a token of love from Lu Yuntian to Li Ping all those years ago. Lu Ming knew how much those bangles meant to Li Ping, and she sold it for the sake of his health.

‘Mother, take my word for it, I’ll be a powerhouse, and I’ll protect you with my strength. I won’t let anyone upset you.’ Lu Ming silently vowed in his heart, his gaze determined and unwavering.

After the meal, Lu Ming went back to his room with the Dragon Tiger Pills clutched in his hand, and headed toward the Supreme Shrine.

Upon entering the Supreme Shrine, Lu Ming fixed his eyes on the second platform beyond the ninety-nine steps and there was a dark bronze box, similar to the one he saw on the first platform.

If the first black steel box held the First Stage of the True War Dragon Technique, the Flame Dragon Fist, the Dragon Serpent Steps and the Marrow-cleansing Pill, what could be in the second box?

Fueled by immense curiosity, Lu Ming made his way towards the stairs.

As he was about to ascend to the second platform from the ninety-ninth step, he realized he could not, no matter how much he tried to. There was an invisible force preventing him from doing so.

“Could it be from my lack of a certain level of cultivation?” Lu Ming retreated dejectedly.

He sat in a Lotus Position, took out a Dragon Tiger Pill, popped it into his mouth, and started cultivating.

As he swallowed the Dragon Tiger Pill, he felt a burning sensation along his spine which swiftly became a vortex, absorbing the medicinal properties of the Dragon Tiger Pill as a whole. Then, he felt waves after waves of pure energy coming from his spine.

“So fast?” Lu Ming was first astonished, but euphoria quickly came after.

It usually took a day or two for ordinary people to completely refine the medicinal properties of a Dragon Tiger Pill, but he refined it completely almost instantly.

All thanks to that growing blood meridian.

What a phenomenal sight! This growing blood meridian not only had a Second Level blood meridian like rate of absorbing spiritual energy, but it could also refine pills at an alarmingly fast rate.

“Alright, let’s start the opening up of meridians.” Right away, Lu Ming calmed his state of mind and started operating the True War Dragon Technique toward opening up the first of three Man Meridians.

Surges of energy controlled by Lu Ming hammered towards the first meridian.

Boom! Boom!

It sounded like deafening roars were emitting from within his body, and one by one, the acupuncture points opened up.

When he needed more energy, Lu Ming would swallow another Dragon Tiger Pill.

Just like that, he managed to refine all eight of the Dragon Tiger Pills completely when evening came, and from it, he opened up all three Man Meridians.

The opening up of one’s meridians was separated into different parts – beginner, mid and top.

Opening up the first three Man Meridians were known as the beginner Novice Realm; the next three Land Meridians were mid Novice Realm…

The state of opened meridians were known as the foundation of martial artists, and it was also the easiest.

Undoubtedly, the level of difficulty was different for everyone. For a normal Blood Meridian Martial Artist, it could take up from a month to a year for all nine meridians to be opened up for sure.

However, it was not the same for Ordinary Martial Artists. Some took a lifetime to open all nine meridians, some probably died knowing they could never achieve it.

For the likes of Lu Ming who opened up three meridians within an afternoon were few and far between. If news got out, it would certainly blow their minds away.

This, True War Dragon Technique and the growing blood meridian with phenomenal characteristics were tightly entwined.

The True War Dragon Technique, a Divine Level martial arts technique partnered with the growing blood meridian that could refine pills instantly contributed to such a miracle.

Lu Ming felt the True War Dragon Qi coursing in all three meridians, and he was filled with delight and enthusiasm.

After dinner, Lu Ming quickly entered the Supreme Shrine again and started his cultivation.

He was currently cultivating Flame Dragon Fist.

A martial arts technique was an attacking technique derived from the combination of Essential Qi flowing in and through one’s muscles and bones.

Different martial arts techniques required a different flow of Essential Qi in and through one’s muscles and bones, hence why different martial art techniques had different effects, ways of forming, and wielded drastically different power.

All these required one to have an intense level of control over the usage of Essential Qi and one’s body that could not be achieved in a short span of time. Without years and years of practice and honing such techniques, it was nearly impossible to perfect any type of martial art technique.

As the martial art technique and the powers it wielded increased in levels, it demanded a higher control of one’s body and the Essential Qi in it.

Lu Ming positioned himself and began cultivating.

There was chanting coming from the palace above him, and it cleared his mind immensely. Some insights for Flame Dragon Fist flashed continually across his mind.

He willed the flow of Essential Qi towards his feet, and allowed it to control the muscles and bones of his feet.

“Ha!”

Lu Ming emitted a soft cry and stepped forward. Strength surged from his feet into his lower back and spine, with a twist of the spine, like a humongous dragon, a bigger surge of strength gushed from his waist towards his hands.

Boom!

Lu Ming threw a punch and the amount of energy that exploded shook the air around with its roar.

“First Glance of the Pathway!” Exhilaration flashed before Lu Ming’s eyes.

The cultivation of martial art techniques, depending on its level of comprehension and practice was divided into six stages.

First Glance of the Pathway, Modest Achievement, Outstanding Dexterity, Mastery of Technique, Perfect Divine-like Usage, and One with The Martial Art.

Six different stages that were necessary to take one step at a time and it was almost impossible to accomplish in just a mere stroke. The higher the grade of the martial art technique, the harder it was to go up to another stage.

Lu Ming never would have thought that he could achieve First Stage (First Glance of the Pathway) in his first time cultivating the Flame Dragon Fist.

This was an Inferior Yellow Level martial arts technique and for the ordinary, it would take at least a few months to grasp its basic concepts and principles.

‘The chanting from the palace was a huge aid in my cultivation of martial arts technique,’ Lu Ming thought as he looked at the palace that was beyond all those steps.

He deduced that the most important factor of his exponential speed in cultivation was the chanting and his power of understanding, which he did not think was weak. Now that there were such amazing results, Lu Ming naturally worked harder in his cultivation.

His process of opening up meridians slowed down drastically without the Dragon Tiger Pill.

Lu Ming was still able to open up the fourth meridian, entering into mid Novice Realm.

He was also able to unlock the Second Stage of comprehension and cultivation of the ‘Flame Dragon Fist’ technique – Modest Achievement.

However, the blood meridian had yet to be fully grown. It was still in an almost stagnant growth phase.

Lu Ming retreated from the Supreme Shrine and walked out his front door with a smile, only to see a red-eyed Qiu Yue coming back from the outside.

“Young Lord, could you ask my Lady to come back, please? She’s been kneeling at the Li’s for a few hours now,” Qiu Yue pleaded, almost in tears.

“What? What’s going on? Let’s go.”

Lu Ming and Qiu Yue rushed out the door.

On their way, Qiu Yue filled Lu Ming in on what happened.

Ever since Li Ping knew that Lu Ming could cultivate Essential Qi, she was very happy.

To cultivate and learn martial arts, its methods and cultivation techniques were needed, so Li Ping thought of borrowing a few types of martial arts cultivation techniques from the Lu Family Library for Lu Ming but the guardian of the Lu Family Library was the First Branch Elder’s man, and shunned Li Ping with a mere “Lu Ming is trash”.

With no way around it, Li Ping paid Lu Chuan and the First Branch Elder a visit, and kneeled to beg them but to no avail. They did not even spare Li Ping a martial arts technique of Unqualified Level.

Out of wits, Li Ping went back to the Li Family, hoping to obtain a martial arts technique from them.

The Li Family, a small tribe in Fiery Wind City, Li Ping’s maiden home which was under the leadership of Li Ping’s eldest brother, Lu Ming’s uncle.

Lu Ming’s uncle denied Li Ping’s request with the excuse of Lu Ming being a Lu Family descendent, therefore it was not appropriate for the Li Family to lend an outsider their martial arts technique.

Li Ping did not know what to do next, but to kneel pleading at the main hall of the Li Family home in hopes of getting just one martial arts technique.

“Damn it!”

Lu Ming roared in his heart as the flames of anger engulfed him.