My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Innate Skill

At Immortal Spring Manor, a hundred flowers vied for splendor amidst fluttering, colorful butterflies. A winding path snaked its way directly to the Lake Heart Pavilion.

Within the pavilion sat a Snow-clothed Woman before a White Jade Guqin. Her face was obscured by a light veil, and her slender, jade-like fingers plucked at the strings, sending one beautiful note after another echoing through the air.

On the lake’s surface, emerald ripples spread as dragonflies skimmed across the water. A waterfall cascaded down the mountain cliff like a bolt of silver silk, its splashing spray joining the music of the guqin to create an incredibly moving melody.

The music came to an abrupt halt with Ye Xing’s arrival.

The Snow-clothed Woman rested a jade-like hand on the White Jade Guqin, stilling the trembling strings. Her beautiful eyes turned to Ye Xing as her crimson lips parted slightly. ”Young Master Ye, I’m afraid I must trouble you again. For some reason, the MP3 player you gave me last time suddenly went silent while I was listening. Would you mind taking a look to see what’s wrong?” As she spoke, the Snow-clothed Woman retrieved an MP3 player from her sleeve.

”It’s probably out of batteries. Let me see!” Ye Xing took the MP3 player from the Snow-clothed Woman, flipped open the battery cover, pulled two new batteries from his pocket, and swapped them in. Then, he pressed the power button.

Accompanied by a distinctive startup chime, the MP3 player’s screen lit up once more.

”The MP3 player isn’t broken, it just ran out of power,” Ye Xing said with a smile, handing it back to the Snow-clothed Woman.

A hint of delight appeared in the Snow-clothed Woman’s eyes. She took the MP3 player from Ye Xing and asked quizzically, ”Out of power? I’m not sure what you mean by ’power,’ Young Master Ye.”

”You can think of ’power’ as a type of Energy,” Ye Xing explained. ”It’s just like how a Martial Artist needs to consume True Qi to execute Sword Techniques and Saber Skill. For the MP3 player to play music, it also has to consume energy.”

”I see.” The Snow-clothed Woman nodded. Then, her lovely Lieu Mei wrinkled slightly as she asked, ”But when we Martial Artists consume too much True Qi, we can replenish it by circulating our Internal Cultivation Methods or by taking a Great Returning Pill. If this MP3 music player runs out of power, how is it replenished?”

”You change the batteries! Just like I did. Put in two new ones, and it has power again.” Ye Xing said, ”I only have these two on me at the moment. In a couple of days, you can come to my home to get a few more as spares.”

”Yes, thank you very much, Young Master Ye,” the Snow-clothed Woman said gratefully. Suddenly, a glint appeared in her beautiful eyes. She studied Ye Xing for a moment, noticing the distinct rhythm of his breathing. ”Young Master Ye,” she asked in surprise, ”have you been practicing martial arts recently?”

”Haha, I have. It’s just that my aptitude is a bit lacking. I’ve been training for a month and still haven’t managed to produce any True Qi.” Ye Xing scratched his head in embarrassment. ”It’s a bit laughable, I know!”

”Young Master Ye, one must not be too hasty when practicing martial arts. The cultivation of Internal Cultivation Methods and breathing techniques requires gradual, steady progress.” The Snow-clothed Woman’s gaze flickered. She unfastened a small, exquisite bag from her waist, and then reached her jade-like hand inside.

Ye Xing’s eyes went wide with astonishment, his gaze locked onto the Snow-clothed Woman’s hand. He watched as she pulled an ancient-looking book from the tiny bag. That wasn’t the crucial part, of course. The crucial part was that the exquisite little bag was smaller than his palm! How could it possibly hold a book? Even if you crumpled the book into a ball, it still wouldn’t fit!

”This isn’t scientific!” Ye Xing’s expression was one of utter shock. ’Could it be the legendary Space Bag?’

”Young Master Ye, we Martial Artists typically begin our Cultivation in childhood. At that young age, the Innate Qi carried over from our mothers has not yet dissipated, so training then yields twice the results with half the effort. However, nothing is absolute. I happen to have an Internal Cultivation Method here that might be a good fit for you.” The Snow-clothed Woman offered the book to Ye Xing.

”Innate Skill!” Ye Xing’s gaze fell upon the two ancient, powerful words on the Secret Manual’s cover, and he couldn’t help but hesitate. ’I have a feeling... this is likely an extremely precious Profound-tier Manual.’ One had to understand that even a lower-grade Profound Tier manual cost over A Thousand Gold Coins, and it was the kind of item that had a price but was rarely available for sale. One would need to go through an auction house for even a chance to buy it.

”This Secret Manual is too precious. I can’t...”

”Please, Young Master, accept it. This Secret Manual is of no use to me, so there’s no point in me keeping it,” the Snow-clothed Woman urged. ”Your musical device has been a great help. By practicing the guqin pieces stored within it, my Sound Skill has improved tremendously. Please consider this Secret Manual a token of my gratitude. You must accept it!”

”Alright then. I thank you, Miss!”

After a slight hesitation, Ye Xing accepted the Secret Manual, *Innate Skill*. The *Basic Breathing and Exhaling Technique* was, after all, only Yellow Rank Lower Grade. Ye Xing truly needed a High-level Internal Cultivation Method; he wanted to become a Martial Artist as soon as possible.

”May I be so bold as to ask what grade this *Innate Skill* is?” Ye Xing asked, a bit embarrassed. ”And in your opinion, Miss, how long will it take me to become a Martial Artist?”

”The speed of one’s cultivation is influenced by three main factors. First, the quality of one’s innate constitution. Second, how high or low their Cultivation Level is. And third, cultivation resources. These resources include things like Elixirs, Demon Beast Meat, and a suitable Pocket World Blessed Land rich with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. You, Young Master, are currently in the Body Refining Stage. In terms of your Cultivation Skill, you now have *Innate Skill*. If you supplement your training with sufficient Elixirs and Demon Beast Meat... I believe you should be able to produce your first wisp of True Qi within seven days.” The Snow-clothed Woman pondered for a moment before speaking.

”Really? That’s fantastic!” Ye Xing exclaimed, overjoyed.