Chapter 18: The Depth of Power

  "You're halfway through learning martial arts, and there's still a lot you don't know." Lü Yuèyáo saw the confusion on Lü Yáng's face and explained, "What I said earlier about fifty years refers to the division of a cultivator's power by the ancients. If a martial artist spends a year cultivating without rest, day or night, without eating, drinking, or sleeping, their physical strength, blood, and spirit will all increase. The amount of this increase is called one year of cultivation."

  "When a martial artist's kung fu reaches a high level, when the strong inner breath is accumulated in the dantian, they can expand the dantian to hold more inner breath. This is like the growth rings of a tree, constantly growing out layer upon layer of spiral patterns outside the dantian..."

  As she spoke, her right hand began to move lightly in a circular motion, tracing out a rounded trajectory in the air.

  Lü Yang's gaze was drawn to her, listening to her talk about the principles of practicing martial arts and cultivating one's body, as well as measuring one's realm.

  "The martial path of cultivating the body is just like the immortal path that defies heaven and changes fate, both are cultivation methods that contend with heaven for life. So, it's necessary to use years of age to measure the depth of one's power. I said earlier that you still need to practice for 50 more years to satisfy me, because you've only just broken through to the middle stage of martial arts, where all the qi and blood in your body have transformed into internal energy, equivalent to about 10 years of power. However, achieving the later stages of perfection requires 60 years of power, which is a difference of 50 years. If you don't encounter any extraordinary opportunities, you'll only be able to reach it through solid and bitter practice for 50 years. But martial arts cultivation is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you'll retreat. If you can make bold progress, achieving several years' worth of power in one year isn't impossible, but if you slack off and waste your time, you'll gain nothing and even regress."

  "Don't underestimate these measuring methods, which have both movement and stillness. In reality, they are the essence of yin and yang, and the foundation of martial arts. Only by clearly understanding measurement can martial arts be called martial arts; otherwise, it's just empty and vague theory that can't be seen or touched. In ancient times, sages who didn't understand the principles of cultivation and didn't have any internal power were able to grope out methods for measuring the realm of martial arts. Afterward, the ten great realms of acquired mastery were distinguished, and some people with superior intelligence immediately had an awakening and stepped onto the path."

  "There are actually so many doors and paths! The head of the Wu Tang didn't mention it!" Lü Yang exclaimed in shock.

  Only now did he realize how big a mistake it was to think that martial arts could be learned by stealing.

  Only those with deep roots and a strong foundation are qualified to secretly learn martial arts.

  It's fortunate that he has been secretly listening to the principles of martial arts over the years, and now with Fourth Miss's detailed explanation, everything is clear. Suddenly, there's a feeling of hearing one lecture being better than reading books for ten years.

  "Annual rings... power... " Lv Yang muttered to himself, "So that's it. I've always felt that after reaching the fourth heaven of martial arts, it's the middle attainment realm, and can't be measured by simple muscle strength anymore. It feels strange, but I wonder how Xian divided them, and it turns out it's based on the depth of one's power."

  "I secretly practiced the Supplementing Heaven Technique, and imperceptibly transformed the essence, blood, and energy I had accumulated in the past into internal breath. One day, I suddenly broke through to the Fourth Stage of the Acquired Realm, and possessed ten years' worth of cultivation. These accomplishments were all based on my previous accumulation, not obtained out of thin air!"

  "That's right, accumulation is indispensable." Fourth Miss said, suddenly turning the conversation around, "However, if you haven't broken through to the fourth stage of acquired skill, grasped the subtlety of divine intent, and strengthened your body, you will be restricted by your innate talent and foundation. At most, it would be equivalent to a few years of cultivation, unable to continue increasing, unless you transform into inner energy, then you can break through the restriction and continue to increase."

  "Beyond the fourth level of divine realm, power can no longer be measured by simple brute force, but by gongli (mastery), which is both the foundation of internal martial arts and the root of superior martial way."

  "In the ten major realms of post-heaven, the first realm is to practice skin, the second realm is to practice tendons, and the third realm is to practice bones. These are the foundational practices for martial arts and physical cultivation, focusing on the strength of the four limbs and tendons. Typically, one would start with opening the 4th, 6th, or 10th bow, as a way to gauge progress. On the battlefield, if you see soldiers who can open the 10th strong bow, they are the elite of the bone-refining realm. However, in this vast world, there are exceptions everywhere, and some people with extraordinary physical gifts may possess superhuman strength, even without any martial arts training. Although their physical strength is impressive, it's still just brute force. Only when one reaches the fourth realm of acquired divine intent, enters the middle stage of martial arts, and cultivates internal energy, can they embark on the path of cultivation."

  As if to prove her words, Lü Yuèyáo glanced around and suddenly walked over, stopping in front of the five stone locks that Lü Yáng used for training.

  The five stone locks here were discovered in the corner of the yard after Lv Yang moved in, and it seems that among the previous owners who lived here before, there were also martial artists with martial arts skills.

  These stone locks were all carved from solid and heavy bluestone, each with a different weight. Some weighed 120 catties, some 240 catties, increasing in sequence, the largest one weighing as much as 600 catties.

  Under Lü Yang's astonished gaze, Lü Yuexiao stretched out a slender and white jade finger, curled up her fingertips, and hooked them onto the handle cast from fine steel.

  "What is this for?" Lv Yang wondered in his heart.

  Just as Lü Yang was puzzled, Lü Yu Yao suddenly hooked her jade finger and lifted the stone lock that weighed over 600 catties without any visible effort.

  "Didn't you see clearly? When I lifted the stone lock, it wasn't just my physical strength, but more importantly, it was also my mental power and inner energy." Lü Yuèyáo said to Lü Yáng as if she had done something insignificant.

  "This..."

  Lü Yang's heart skipped a beat.

  "This Fourth Miss's martial arts abilities are truly unfathomable."

  The stone lock has multiple layers, and Lü Yang has tried it before. Even if he has now broken through to the fourth layer of the acquired divine realm, he would still need to muster his energy and strength to lift it up. It's absolutely impossible for him to do it as easily as Fourth Miss, who can lift it with just one finger, as if it were light as a feather.

  Lü Yang thought to himself, if he were to do it himself, he could probably lift the stone lock, but using just a few fingers to forcibly hook up the stone lock would inevitably cause his fingers to ache and even get injured.

  Although this action is simple, it can be seen that the fourth miss not only has divine power, but also has exceptionally tough tendons and bones, compared to her, one's own tendons and bones are much inferior.

  "The human body's secrets are unfathomable, and now that you've started practicing martial arts, you should understand this. However, what I'm showing you now isn't anything significant; a true master possesses the power of dragons and elephants." Lü Yuexiang's voice drifted over as she pondered to herself.

  "Dragon Elephant Power?" Lü Yang's heart skipped a beat.

  "The dragon is a substitute for the horse, and the elephant is a symbol of strength. The power of the dragon and the elephant is actually just using one finger to tame a fierce horse, because the dragon can transform into a horse, and the two are connected, so that degree of strength is also called the power of the dragon and the elephant."

  Lü Yu-Yao explained.

  "A single jiazi, sixty years of pure and refined effort, a total of 3,600 jin, 108,000 pounds of strength, can only be achieved by pointing at the horse with a single finger. This represents the acquired perfection in martial arts, which is the limit of human physical ability. Of course, the depth of one's skills and the realm of martial arts are not directly related, but generally speaking, the longer one practices, the deeper their skills become, and their realm naturally rises. A martial artist who has cultivated for more than sixty years, if nothing unexpected happens, usually reaches the realm of acquired perfection. Therefore, possessing the strength of a dragon or an elephant can also be seen as a direct way to judge whether someone has reached the realm of acquired perfection."