Urban Martial Saint

Old Madam Shen is considered a top-level master in Neijia Kung Fu. She is very knowledgeable about Neijia Kung Fu. Inner Strength is different from External Skills; to practice Inner Strength, not only must one be exceptionally gifted and physically fit, but crucially, Inner Strength is a process of accumulation that requires time to develop.

Ordinary people require at least a year from starting Breathing and Meditation to feeling their Internal Breath. Ye Qing, however, felt his Internal Breath in just two days, which is why Old Madam Shen finds it so remarkable. Anyone else would find it incredible too.

”At first, I thought it was impossible, but it’s a fact, it really happened,” Shen Tianjun paused and said, ”Moreover, have you noticed that Ye Qing’s Inner Strength is actually quite strong?”

”Right, I wanted to mention this too,” Old Madam Shen quickly said, ”From starting Breathing and Meditation to now, it has been less than half a year, how has your Inner Strength become so strong?”

”I... I don’t know either...” Ye Qing shrugged. He genuinely didn’t know.

Old Madam Shen looked over at Shen Tianjun beside her; she knew asking Ye Qing was pointless, she might as well see how Shen Tianjun explained it.

”I’ve been pondering over this all along, and only after hearing the sound of him clashing with Helian Tiehua today did I finally understand everything,” Shen Tianjun looked at Ye Qing and said, ”The current Inner Strength you possess and everything that’s happening to you can be explained by only one thing.”

”What explanation?” Ye Qing and Old Madam Shen asked simultaneously.

”This explanation is...” Shen Tianjun took a deep breath and said, ”Northern Fist King Li Sange transmitted all of his lifelong Inner Strength into your body!”

”Ah?” Ye Qing and Old Madam Shen exclaimed again simultaneously; this statement is just too shocking, isn’t it?

”It’s the only explanation,” Shen Tianjun said, ”Just now, you didn’t hear his fierce roar, which was on par with Helian Tiehua. Such Inner Strength cannot be cultivated in less than decades; Ye Qing’s half-year of practice certainly couldn’t produce it. Ye Qing’s Inner Strength is at least that of a Five Uniques. Yet, how many Five Uniques are there in the world? If Li Sange hadn’t transmitted his lifelong Inner Strength into him, how could he possibly have the power to compete with Helian Tiehua?”

Old Madam Shen slowly nodded; this explanation made sense.

”Impossible, right?” Ye Qing’s eyes widened and said, ”Third Master Li, he... he transmitted all of his Inner Strength into me? Why wasn’t I aware?”

”Of course, you weren’t aware,” Shen Tianjun said, ”Li Sange’s Inner Strength is fierce and domineering; an ordinary person simply cannot withstand it. Therefore, before transmitting Inner Strength, it’s necessary to use Ice Silkworm Wine to cool the body while simultaneously anesthetizing it, thus minimizing the pain. You mentioned earlier, when you were sleeping at Li Sange’s place, you felt extremely hot; that was Li Sange gradually transferring his Inner Strength into your body. However, at that time you were anesthetized by Ice Silkworm Wine, so you couldn’t open your eyes, but you mistakenly thought it was because of the heat.”

Ye Qing took a deep breath and said, ”Is that really the case? But with my meridians obstructed, what’s the point of having Third Master Li’s Inner Strength transmitted to me?”

”If I’m guessing correctly, you actually have congenital meridian obstruction!” Shen Tianjun said, ”In fact, people with congenital meridian obstruction cannot practice Inner Strength at all!”

”Is that so?” Ye Qing said, ”Then... then what’s Third Master Li’s reason for transmitting Inner Strength to me?”

”This is the crucial issue,” Shen Tianjun said, ”You know, cultivating Inner Strength involves widening the meridians and unlocking all acupoints and meridians in the body. As the Internal Breath becomes stronger, the meridians need to be wider and wider. If the meridians aren’t wide enough to handle the surging Internal Breath, it will lead to meridians bursting, which is terrifying. Imagine, a lifetime of Li Sange’s Inner Strength entering the body—who can withstand it? Any other person would be overwhelmed by the Inner Strength.”

”Then... then why am I okay?” Ye Qing asked incredulously.

”The issue lies with your congenital meridian obstruction,” Shen Tianjun said, ”Your congenital meridian obstruction means that even with Inner Strength transmitted into your body, it cannot surge through your meridians, preventing the meridians from being ruptured. Despite this, Li Sange took no chances; he divided the Inner Strength into many parts, separately storing them within the meridians in your body so that each part of the meridians bears minimal pressure, hence why your meridians weren’t ruptured.”

”I see!” Old Madam Shen realized but then felt puzzled again and said, ”But what’s the use of this? With his congenital meridian obstruction, although he can carry so much Inner Strength, once it’s internalized, it’s sealed within him and can’t be used, isn’t this simply wasting all that Inner Strength?”

”I don’t know,” Shen Tianjun shrugged and said, ”Maybe Li Sange was taking a gamble. After all, your Life Grid is unmatched, perhaps you may have an opportunity to unlock all your meridians, allowing you to unleash Li Sange’s Inner Strength once again and revive Li Sange’s former prowess.”

”Is that so?” Old Madam Shen looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Is there a way to unlock all his meridians?”

Shen Tianjun shook his head and said, ”Shijia and I tried, it took a lot of effort to clear the meridians in one of his arms. Later, he consumed over a hundred Ziyu Chenxiang Pills and cleared the meridians in his other arm, but that’s the limit of my abilities. If you want to clear all the meridians in his body, only Ning Qianshu and Bai Li Xi might be able to do it.”

”That’s basically nothing,” Old Madam Shen said. ”Finding Ning Qianshu is as good as suicide, and Bai Li Xi hasn’t been seen for how many years? Do you think he might still be alive?”

”However, it’s not entirely hopeless,” Shen Tianjun said. ”Earlier, when he heard Helian Tiehua’s long howl, his internal strength was stirred and a spontaneous force of resistance was generated. This shows his internal strength can be activated at any time. I think, if we could find a few peak masters to work together, perhaps we could clear all the meridians in his body and unleash all this internal strength.”

”Well, that’s just perfect,” Old Madam Shen said. ”Helian Tiehua and Prince Nalan are both here, can’t the three of you join forces and see if it works?”

”No!” Shen Tianjun decisively shook his head and said, ”Helian Tiehua is fine, but Prince Nalan is too cunning and untrustworthy. Ye Qing’s matter must not be known to him, or who knows what he might do. Also, this matter can’t spread, otherwise, Ye Qing will surely be in trouble.”

”That’s true,” Old Madam Shen nodded, ”In that case, let’s keep this to ourselves, otherwise, it would cause trouble.”

Ye Qing was listening to the conversation between Shen Tianjun and Old Madam Shen, still in a state of confusion. All he knew was that he had all of Northern Fist King Li Changqing’s internal strength in him, which was quite astonishing to find out. No wonder he was able to cultivate such strong inner strength in such a short time, it was because Third Master Li had left it in him. He had no idea about it before. Now knowing this, he felt a sense of poignant sorrow, understanding that Third Master Li had given everything to nurture him.

”Right, and about the Seven-Star Ancient Sword,” Shen Tianjun continued, ”I was wondering why it was that when Brother Li San returned the Seven-Star Ancient Sword to the Huangfu Household, no one in the Huangfu Household could make it recognize a master. Such a famed instrument only recognizes someone new if the current master dies. And the recognition isn’t easy. But when Ye Qing got the Seven-Star Ancient Sword last time, it recognized him right away, I was puzzled then. Now thinking about it, it makes sense. The internal strength in Ye Qing’s body was Li San’s inner strength, which the famed instrument responded to. The Seven-Star Ancient Sword only recognizes Brother Li San’s internal strength, probably thinking Ye Qing was Brother Li San, so it recognized him as its master.”

”Yes, that’s definitely it!” Old Madam Shen nodded repeatedly.

Hearing about the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, Ye Qing suddenly remembered something and quickly said, ”By the way, Senior Shen, do you know about the seven gemstones on the hilt of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword?”

”Seven gemstones?” Shen Tianjun asked in surprise, ”What about them?”

Judging by Shen Tianjun’s reaction, he probably didn’t know the secret of the seven gemstones. Ye Qing quickly explained the secret within the seven gemstones, and after listening, Shen Tianjun’s eyes widened, clearly astonished.

”Did you just say the shadows cast by those seven gemstones form a swordsmanship technique?” Shen Tianjun asked incredulously, ”Could you demonstrate this swordsmanship for me?”

”The swordsmanship is easy to practice, but coordinating it with the stepping technique is difficult,” Ye Qing said. ”The stepping technique is very peculiar, I’ve been practicing it for several days, it’s very useful in actual combat.”

”Really? Show me a couple of steps,” Shen Tianjun urged.

Without delay, Ye Qing demonstrated the steps he had mastered.

Shen Tianjun watched Ye Qing’s stepping closely and as Ye Qing executed the steps, Shen Tianjun’s expression turned into one of extreme shock.

”This... this is the position of the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper!” After a while, Shen Tianjun exclaimed.

”Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper?” Ye Qing was surprised and asked, ”What is the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper?”

”The positions you stepped into are the positions of the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper,” Shen Tianjun explained. ”Did you find this stepping technique particularly difficult to practice?”

”Yes!” Ye Qing nodded quickly, ”I remember all the positions perfectly, but it took several days just to practice these three steps. I can’t apply the others and have no idea why.”

”That’s exactly right!” Shen Tianjun nodded again and said solemnly, ”These are the positions of the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper. Without understanding Tai Chi Bagua Qimen Dunjia, even remembering all the positions clearly, it would be impossible to master them!”