My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 45: Chapter 43: Root and Leaf

”Starting today, I will teach you Martial Cultivation.”

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was already the seventh day of the new year.

The morning sun was rising, and the snow was still thick. A patch of ground had been cleared in Qin Fang’s small courtyard. Elder Wu stood in the clearing, speaking with a placid expression.

Qin Fang stood to the side, his eyes bright. He took a deep breath. ”Yes, sir!”

”You already know that the first three realms of cultivation are ’Mingjin,’ ’Anjin,’ and ’Huajin.’”

”These three are the initial realms of cultivation, also known as the ’Flesh Body Realm’ or the ’Mortal Martial Realm.’ The vast majority of Martial Artists in the world never advance beyond these three realms in their entire lives.”

”The core concept of these three realms is Refining the Body and unlocking its ultimate limits...”

Elder Wu spoke eloquently.

Qin Fang, however, was a bit baffled. He couldn’t help but interrupt, ”Master, does that mean... there are other realms above these three?”

’If there’s a Mortal Martial Realm...’

’...then naturally, there must be...’

’...an Extraordinary Martial Realm, right?’

Elder Wu’s brow furrowed slightly. He stopped speaking and looked at Qin Fang.

”You haven’t even begun your Martial Cultivation, yet you’re asking so many questions? On the path of cultivation, the greatest taboo is to aim too high too soon. Haven’t I told you this many times?”

Qin Fang froze, then said with some embarrassment, ”I’m sorry, Master. I... was just a little curious...”

Elder Wu snorted in annoyance, but after a pause, he relented. ”Of course there are. Further up is what’s known as the ’Divine Realm’... But the vast majority of Ordinary Martial Artists are stuck in the ’Flesh Body Realm.’ Many can’t even successfully cultivate the First Realm, the ’Mingjin Realm.’”

”Your natural Talent and constitution are average; only your comprehension is decent... My only expectation for you is to successfully break through to ’Mingjin’ within three years. That alone would satisfy me... The Divine Realm?”

As he spoke, he shook his head.

Clearly, he didn’t have high hopes for Qin Fang.

Qin Fang was taken aback, then scratched his head... ’This little old man is great in every way, except he can be a bit blunt sometimes.’

”Cultivation isn’t child’s play. The path of cultivation is a massive chasm with every step. Even Mingjin isn’t as easy to achieve as you think.”

”Take Wang Long, for example. He’s been cultivating for over a decade, and the Iron Tiger Gang provided him with immense resources. Yet, in all those years, he tried Breaking Through several times and failed every single one, stuck before Mingjin... That should tell you the path of Martial Cultivation is not as simple as you imagine.”

Elder Wu warned Qin Fang earnestly.

Hearing Elder Wu’s words, Qin Fang’s expression also grew serious.

He didn’t have a good frame of reference when it came to other people.

But Wang Long’s Physique had certainly left a deep impression on him!

...Even with a damaged brainstem, he could still unleash such terrifying combat power in an instant.

And yet, even someone like that hadn’t reached Mingjin...

It was clear that cultivating Mingjin was indeed not so easy.

”Yes, this disciple was wrong.”

Qin Fang took a deep breath, bowed in apology, and began to listen attentively.

Seeing Qin Fang’s solemn expression, now aware of the difficulty of cultivation and no longer frivolous, Elder Wu nodded. He continued, ”Don’t look down on the Flesh Body Third Realm. By tempering the body and nurturing abundant Qi and Blood, reaching Huajin would still make you one in a million.”

”First, let me describe the general characteristics of these three realms.”

”Unifying the body’s full power to unleash a distinct, ferocious external force. With every movement, there is Muscle and Bone Sound. Fists generate wind, and feet crack stone. This is ’Mingjin.’”

”Strength shifts from hard to soft, able to penetrate an object’s surface and strike its interior. It is silent and subtle, capable of striking a bull through a mountain, harming people unseen. This is ’Anjin.’”

”Control over one’s strength reaches a state of perfection, a seamless blend of hard and soft, perfectly fluid. The body is surrounded by a sensitive Qi Mechanism, so acute that not even a fly can land on you. This is ’Huajin.’”

”When you reach Huajin, your body’s Qi, Blood, and Spirit become solid and sealed, greatly slowing the aging process... A peak Huajin expert can live for up to two hundred years.”

Qin Fang’s eyes lit up as he listened.

Especially that last sentence. ’Huajin... live to be two hundred?’

It made his heart pound with excitement!

’Martial Cultivation...’

’...can grant long life?!’

”But cultivation is not easy. Cultivation methods are divided into two types. The first is the ’Root Skill.’ The second is the ’Leaf Skill.’”

”These are the ’Root and Leaf’ of cultivation.”

”The distinction between Root and Leaf... is just as the names imply.”

”If you think of cultivation as a great tree, the Root Skill is the foundation. Only by cultivating a ’Root Skill’ can you truly touch upon the path of Martial Arts... and develop powers like Mingjin, Anjin, and Huajin.”

”Leaf Skills, on the other hand, are techniques. They are the methods and skills for applying your power.”

”For example, the ’Darts’ you’re practicing now are a standard ’Leaf Skill.’ It’s an art. No matter how proficient you become, it’s still just a technique. It offers no help in ’Refining the Body’ itself.”

”However, on the path of cultivation, both Root and Leaf are crucial. Without a root, it goes without saying, you’d be empty and powerless. No matter how good your technique, your strikes would be painless and useless. But without leaves, with only a foundation, you’d be like a brute bull, unable to unleash your full power, ignorant of how to apply it. You’d be easily outmaneuvered and defeated.”

”Only by cultivating both Root and Leaf, using the root to grow the leaves and the leaves to protect the root, can one walk the true path.”

Elder Wu’s words made Qin Fang’s eyes shine.

’The way of Root and Leaf...’

’Use the root to grow the leaves, and the leaves to protect the root...’

The path of cultivation was slowly unfolding before him.

Qin Fang didn’t know what Realm or level of Cultivation Elder Wu had reached, but his teaching ability was clearly top-notch...

He first explained the keys to the three realms to Qin Fang in a way that was both deep and simple. This was like lighting the way for Qin Fang’s cultivation, allowing him to understand each step he needed to take.

”Today, I will teach you the Low Grade Root Technique: Wild Bull Qi.”

”Wild Bull Qi may be crude, but it is the best method for honing your will and understanding the subtleties of ’Whole Strength.’ Once you master it, switching to any Middle to High Grade Root Technique in the future will be twice as effective with half the effort.”

Wild Bull Qi!

Qin Fang’s eyes were bright.

”Root Skills are generally divided into two types: Pile Methods and Training Methods.”

”But your Physique is too weak right now to even attempt a Training Method, or you will only injure yourself... After you achieve Minor Achievement in the Pile Method, I will teach you more... For now, I will only teach you the Pile Method.”

”In the Pile Method, breathing is of primary importance.”

”Using a specific Pile stance and breathing rhythm, you must focus on feeling the connection of your muscles and the surging of your Qi and Blood to comprehend ’Whole Strength.’”

”Now, watch me perform the Standing Pile once.”

As Elder Wu spoke, he took off his cotton-padded jacket, revealing a set of tight-fitting martial arts attire underneath. His frame was thin and wiry, making him look almost withered.

Then, Elder Wu let out a light breath. He spread his feet parallel to each other, slightly wider than his shoulders, standing in a splayed-foot stance with his toes lightly gripping the ground.

His knees were slightly bent as if half-sitting. He hollowed his chest and rounded his back, meaning his chest was slightly drawn in while the muscles of his back fanned out to the sides.

He held his arms in a circle before him, as if hugging a large tree. His elbows pointed downward, palms facing each other, fingertips about a foot apart. His palms faced inward, forming the shape of ”bull horns.”

His chin was tucked slightly, and the crown of his head felt as if it were being gently pulled upward by a string. His gaze was level, his eyes focused.

”This Pile is called the ’Wild Bull Pile.’ Standing Pile is not just about the physical stance; it’s also about holding a ’Mental Pile.’”

”The so-called Mental Pile means that during this process, you use Contemplation to see yourself as a wild bull, horns pointed forward, unmovable in the face of any impact.”

Elder Wu spoke in a deep voice as he demonstrated the posture.

Then, his gaze sharpened. He said slowly, ”Next is breathing. Once you are in the Pile, use your breath to feel the Strength within your body.”

”Inhale through your nose—slowly, evenly, and deeply. At the same time, guide the breath down into your Dantian with your mind. Your entire body’s muscles should tense along with it, like a wild bull storing power.”

”After inhaling fully, hold your breath for a moment. This is the ’Power Storage’ phase. Keep your whole body tense and your Spirit highly focused, feeling the surge of Qi and Blood within you.”

”Exhale slowly through your mouth. Pay attention: as you exhale, you must maintain the Pile stance. Relax slowly, and with your mind, expel all the ’turbid qi’ and ’fatigue’ from your body...”

After detailing the key points, Elder Wu took a slow, deep breath through his nose.

The next moment, his withered-looking body actually began to slowly ’inflate.’ His circling arms seemed like a pair of bull horns, aimed forward.

”Pile Skill has three levels, corresponding to the Early, Middle, and Late Stages of Mingjin.”

”Its external manifestation is the ’Muscle and Bone Sound.’”

”The first level is the Skin Membrane Drum Sound!”

As he finished speaking, Qin Fang saw the skin and muscles on Elder Wu’s body begin to move on their own. The amplitude wasn’t large, but the frequency grew higher and higher.

Gradually, Qin Fang heard a series of THUMP-THUMP-THUMP sounds.

The sound was like the beating of a war drum, muffled yet shocking.

Qin Fang was dumbfounded.

...This wasn’t like the sounds from those martial arts videos he’d seen in his past life, which were made by ’stamping feet’ or ’slapping the body.’

This was a sound coming, genuinely and truly, from within the man’s body!

It was as if his master’s skin membrane had been stretched taut by some kind of power, forming a great drum.

But it wasn’t over. His master’s calm voice sounded again: ”The second is the Muscle-Bone Thunder Sound.”

As his master’s voice fell, the frequency of the vibrations in his body seemed to slow, yet they became more rhythmic. The next moment, a series of CRACKLING pops erupted from his bones. At first, it sounded like bones popping, but gradually, the frequency increased, turning into a crisp, explosive sound like a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning.

Qin Fang’s eyes went wide...

’A sound like that, coming from inside a body?’

’This...’

He was still in shock.

His master’s voice rose again: ”The third level is the Qi and Blood Tide.”

In the next instant, the frequency of his body’s vibrations changed again. The sound of popping bones faded, but his body seemed to expand slightly. Then, a WHOOSHING sound began to rise, growing louder and louder, making one feel as if they were suddenly standing beside a great river, watching a monstrous tide roll in.

The drumming and thunder hadn’t disappeared; they had merely merged into the sound of this great river, like a symphony that left Qin Fang completely stunned.

Then, in a daze, Qin Fang felt as if he could truly see an ancient bull standing tall upon a vast, untamed plain.

Savage, resolute, and powerful—it stirred the soul!

’So this...’

’...is Martial Arts?’