Chapter 117: Before Practicing, One Must Read Extensively

As Li Daniu led Ah Xing away from Ah Gui’s shop, the Landlady spoke up.

"Take care of the Axe Gang problem while you're at it over these next few days."

"No problem."

Li Daniu was not surprised by the Landlady’s request. In the film, even though the Landlady and her husband had already threatened Brother Sum to his face, they later proactively went to his casino, bringing along a large bell as a "gift." It was clear they were looking for trouble. This showed that the couple were not the type of pedantic people to let enemies live to cause them further headaches. They had simply arrived a bit too late that day, right when the Beast made his appearance.

Back at his own place, Li Daniu prepared to teach Ah Xing the Nine Yang Divine Skill. Although Li Daniu considered his own punching power to be no less than that of the Beast, he dared not beat Ah Xing half to death like the film depicted—what if he actually killed him? In the movie, Ah Xing was struck so many times by the Beast and not only survived but had his Ren and Du meridians cleared. Li Daniu had often complained about this; the protagonist's plot armor was simply too overpowered.

Because Ah Xing was illiterate, there was no hope of him comprehending the Nine Yang Divine Skill on his own. Li Daniu adopted the same method the Firework Monk had used on him: he would channel his own internal energy directly into Ah Xing’s body and guide it through the required circulation paths of the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

He had Ah Xing sit cross-legged on the floor, then sat behind him, pressing his palms against Ah Xing’s back to transfer a flow of internal energy.

Under normal circumstances, a person's meridians are blocked. Cultivating internal energy involves finding the "sensation of qi," fostering the first strand of power, and then using that energy to clear and widen one's meridians. The more meridians cleared, the greater the range for internal energy to circulate, and the faster it grows. It was like the old saying: if you want to get rich, build roads first. Meridians are the roads within the human body; once they are cleared, one can cultivate more energy.

Internal martial arts are graded based on two factors. The first is the efficiency of clearing and widening meridians. Some arts are like manual road construction—slow and narrow. Others, like the Nine Yang Divine Skill, are like fully mechanized construction; the quality, speed, and width of the paths are extraordinary. The second factor is the scope of the meridians involved. Some arts only target major meridians; they work, but the amount of energy is always just barely sufficient. The Nine Yang Divine Skill, however, involves almost every meridian in the body. It’s like having not just the main highways, but countless side roads as well, allowing the energy to circulate more vigorously. Over time, the gap between the two becomes immense.

Li Daniu’s task was to clear Ah Xing’s meridians while helping him memorize the circulation patterns for each level of the skill. This intuitive teaching method could turn anyone into a master of internal energy, provided they had a teacher who had already mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill and was willing to put in the grueling effort.

Given Li Daniu’s average talent, it had taken the Firework Monk over two months to help him reach the ninth level. While Li Daniu’s current energy was still not quite at the level of the Firework Monk, Ah Xing’s natural talent was leagues beyond Li Daniu’s—far superior even to Zhang Wuji’s. After all, Zhang Wuji couldn't heal his own injuries using his own power at such an incredible speed.

As Li Daniu’s energy entered Ah Xing, he felt something strange. Not only was the consumption rate of his energy extremely high, but most of Ah Xing’s meridians were already in a cleared state; only the acupuncture points between them remained blocked.

*Is this due to his natural constitution, or the Tathagata Palm?*

At first, Li Daniu was afraid of transferring too much energy and damaging Ah Xing’s meridians, but realizing Ah Xing could handle it, he increased the input. As he did, Li Daniu realized why his energy was being consumed so quickly: as his power flowed through, Ah Xing’s meridians were actively absorbing it, then automatically reinforcing and widening themselves.

*Does he have to be this monstrously gifted?*

Li Daniu felt a mix of envy and jealousy for a moment before focusing entirely on helping Ah Xing clear the remaining blockages.

An hour later, Li Daniu’s energy was completely exhausted. It had been a long time since he felt this drained. He let out a sigh, pulled his hands away from Ah Xing’s back, and began to meditate to recover. The Nine Yang Divine Skill’s recovery rate was second to none in the Jin-style martial arts world; within half an hour, Li Daniu felt replenished.

He opened his eyes to see Ah Xing also finishing his meditation.

"How do you feel?"

Ah Xing stood up and threw a few punches, which actually kicked up a noticeable gust of wind.

"Master, I can feel that energy you spoke of. It feels like my punches have more force now."

*He can already apply internal energy to his punches so quickly?*

Surprised, Li Daniu grabbed Ah Xing’s wrist to check his pulse with his own energy. He was instantly dumbfounded. Ah Xing already possessed a decent amount of internal energy, and the meridians that had just been cleared were now completely stabilized.

*It’s only been ninety minutes—has he already mastered the first level of the Nine Yang Divine Skill?*

When the Firework Monk had first cleared Li Daniu’s meridians, they had immediately blocked up again. It had taken three days of repeated clearing by the monk for the first level to stabilize. Even then, Li Daniu’s energy quantity was at the bare minimum. Yet, Ah Xing’s energy was already at a standard level.

"What’s wrong, Master? Did I do something wrong? I followed your instructions and the circulation route exactly," Ah Xing asked, worried by Li Daniu’s expression.

*It’s not wrong; it’s too damn right.*

Li Daniu barely suppressed an outburst. If the Firework Monk knew this, he would have died of laughter.

"It’s fine, everything is normal. Come, let’s continue!" Li Daniu didn't give Ah Xing a chance to rest. Relying on his own fast recovery, he prepared to teach him the second level. Ah Xing, naturally, was very cooperative.

This cycle repeated. Whenever Li Daniu’s energy was depleted, he would meditate to recover before helping Ah Xing again.

By dawn, Li Daniu finally couldn't take it anymore. He had exhausted his internal energy three times. The first time, it had lasted an hour, but by the third time, it was gone in just thirty minutes. Looking at Ah Xing, who had reached the third level, Li Daniu finally understood why some people disliked overly smart students—it made the teacher look bad.

"Cultivation requires a balance of work and rest. Take the day off, get used to the feeling, and we’ll continue tonight."

Ah Xing was as excited as a child with a new toy—except the toy was internal energy.

"Master, will this energy in my body... run out and be gone forever?"

"No. Once you reach the first level, your Dantian develops the ability to generate its own energy. It will slowly replenish itself to its proper level. If you want to speed it up, practice the mental cultivation method I taught you—circulate the energy through your meridians along the paths I showed you."

"That’s awesome! Master, what’s the task for today? Can we go find the Axe Gang?" Ah Xing felt his speed and strength had increased and was eager to test them out. The Axe Gang, being villains, was the perfect target.

"Not yet. You only have the energy; you don't know any actual martial arts moves. You don't know how to fight," Li Daniu shook his head. "Go find a tutor and learn to read first."

"Learn to read? Master, why do I need to learn to read to study martial arts?"

"You are practicing internal arts, not external ones. The mental methods involve more than just circulation routes. You need to read books. Otherwise, you’ll never reach the peak of this art."

Li Daniu lectured him righteously. He wasn't wrong, but that only applied to people with ordinary talent like himself. For a genius like Ah Xing, who could clear his own meridians just by practicing the Tathagata Palm, did literacy even matter? In the movie, he still beat the Beast senseless.

Li Daniu was just messing with him; otherwise, the kid would get too arrogant. As expected, Ah Xing’s face fell at the mention of books.

"Master, I heard studying is really hard."

"Would you rather have food, drink, and a place to read, or go back to starving and skipping meals every day?"

Ah Xing made an exaggerated expression. "Master, do you mean if I don't read, you won't give me food?"

"That’s a good suggestion."

"Master, isn't that a bit cruel?"

"Cruel?" Li Daniu chuckled. *No matter how monstrous your talent is, you’re still falling for my tricks, aren't you?*

"From now on, no food. Once you can recognize a hundred characters, I’ll give you money to eat."