People can't suppress their feelings for too long. Suppression inevitably breeds resentment. As the saying goes, "Love while suppressing your feelings leads to perversion." Since transmigrating, I've lived cautiously. Although I've fallen in love, I've kept it all bottled up! This pent-up feeling is unbearable!
With a flick of his finger, he pierced through the protective aura of bloodlust, his figure leaping with joy as a bronze sword appeared in his hand, its unique radiance of righteous energy slashing at the fleeing figures.
The West Market was always a bustling and crowded place. When the Six Doors launched their big operation and suddenly besieged the brokerage firm, there were quite a few people watching the spectacle outside. Although they were quite far away, the sudden attack still caused chaos and left a mess behind.
With no enemies in sight, Qin Mu flicked his wrist, sheathed his bronze sword, and was about to turn back when a bolt of lightning suddenly appeared.
Lightning is extremely fast; how could one possibly dodge it? In his haste, Qin Mu could only circulate his spiritual energy to protect his body.
With a thud, Qin Mu fell to the ground. He felt his body tremble and his whole body shudder involuntarily.
"Someone's attacking!" A thought flashed through Qin Mu's mind. He forced himself to concentrate his mental energy, and a secret scroll appeared, conjuring a golden platform that protected him.
"Brother Qin!" Xi Junmai arrived quickly with his men and stood guard below the stage. He rushed up and squatted down in front of Qin Mu, his face filled with anxiety as he asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Qin Mu had recovered by now, shook his head slightly, and slowly stood up.
Qin Mu scanned his surroundings. There was no one around, except for people secretly watching from inside the shops in the distance.
"Have you arrested everyone yet?" Qin Mu asked.
"We're arresting them!" Xi Junmai replied.
"Yes! Follow the rules." Qin Mu nodded slightly.
The people working at the brokerage firm were quickly arrested, and dozens of men and women were indeed rescued from inside.
"Mr. Xi, buy it!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"There's another gambling den. Take some men and raid it."
“Yes!” Xi Junmai glanced at Qin Mu with concern and agreed.
After making the arrangements, Qin Mu led his men back to the Six Doors. Just as Xi Junmai had worried, he was not as stable as he appeared. That sneak attack had injured him, and the injury was quite serious.
The power of lightning is undeniable, even though it wasn't lightning emitted naturally by heaven and earth. Qin Mu sat down cross-legged, his lips twitching involuntarily.
Upon examining his inner self with his divine sense, Qin Mu discovered that several blood vessels in his body had ruptured, but fortunately, they were being protected by spiritual energy and were slowly repairing themselves.
That bolt of lightning also shocked his internal organs, causing him great discomfort.
Qin Mu circulated his spiritual energy to nourish his body, and after a while, he finally exhaled a breath of stale air.
"What powerful lightning force!" Qin Mu said, still shaken, as he opened his eyes.
Having undergone a divine baptism, refined by medicinal herbs, and aided by the Body Tempering Pill and the Yuchi family's Body Tempering Technique, Qin Mu was confident that his physical body was no weaker than that of martial artists of the same realm. Unexpectedly, he couldn't defend against this sneak attack. If his internal organs hadn't also been strengthened by the Five Elements Pill, his injuries would have been far more severe.
After thinking about it, Qin Mu understood. The strength of the lightning attack lay in its penetrating power, which was why the spiritual energy in the rush couldn't defend against it.
However, this sneak attack also served as a reminder to Qin Mu that there are many people in this world who are stronger than him, and their methods are varied and unpredictable, so he cannot be careless.
If I hadn't charged forward alone, I wouldn't have been ambushed, and I would at least have been able to react in time.
That bolt of lightning belonged to a spiritual energy cultivator, whose strength shouldn't be too high, otherwise there wouldn't have been only one bolt.
He would go into seclusion to cultivate, and he could also master the techniques recorded in the Seven Arts of Yin Fu. Qin Mu made up his mind.
After stabilizing his injuries, Qin Mu gave some instructions and then went to visit his teacher, Li Gang. It was good to have a teacher who could answer his questions.
"The power of thunder cannot be unleashed by humans; it requires spiritual energy hand gestures combined with runes, belonging to Taoist techniques. The power of thunder is difficult to control, consumes too much spiritual energy, and the runes are not easy to create. To unleash consecutive palm thunderbolts is no easy feat," Li Gang explained.
Qin Mu then understood why he had only been hit once. This special attack method could only have the longest range of lightning power. If other methods were used, the sneak attack would become an open attack, which also showed that the person who launched the sneak attack was not very strong.
Spiritual energy cultivators use spiritual energy techniques in a way that is not so simple. It is not easy to truly harm a cultivator of the same realm. After all, they are both cultivators. Attacks can break through defenses. If it is close combat, it is easier to deal with, but ranged attacks are always like a rootless duckweed. Attacks are not as good as defenses.
“With your current cultivation level, you should be able to comprehend the secret technique. Once all twelve meridians are open, you will naturally be able to unleash its power,” Li Gang continued.
"Teacher is right. I originally intended to lay a solid foundation and wait until all my meridians were open before delving into further comprehension," Qin Mu nodded.
“Although the power of the secret technique is not great in its early stages, it’s always good to get familiar with it sooner. This doesn’t conflict with opening up the meridians,” Li Gang said, stroking his beard.
"Yes, this disciple is hampered by prejudice," Qin Mu said with a wry smile.
He had always wanted to lay a solid foundation, accumulate knowledge and experience, and strive to ensure that all his meridians were open, nourished, and strengthened. He didn't want to be distracted by studying numerous secret techniques, but he forgot that studying and using are two different things, and that studying something doesn't necessarily mean you have to use it.
"Your dual cultivation of Confucianism and Taoism does indeed take up too much energy, which is why no one chooses to cultivate both," Li Gang said with a smile. His disciple was rather ambitious and talented; if he had only cultivated one, his progress would have been much faster. But he chose to cultivate both, which inevitably slowed him down.
Confucian scholars not only cultivate their righteous spirit, but also the Six Arts and Eight Refined Arts. Although they don't need to cultivate them all, they will still learn several, which takes a considerable amount of time. Moreover, the most important thing for Confucian scholars is to study and travel, so that they can understand the principles within knowledge and create good poetry and prose.
Spiritual energy cultivation requires absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and also necessitates diligent practice to open up the meridians; this cannot be rushed. Furthermore, Qin Mu also has to perform official duties for the Six Doors and handle business matters, leaving him with insufficient time.
Li Gang had already warned Qin Mu, but seeing that Qin Mu had handed over the commercial street to others and it hadn't affected his cultivation, he didn't say anything more. This time, seeing Qin Mu proactively inquire about secret techniques, he assumed Qin Mu had grasped the true path, hence his happiness.
"If you don't want to cultivate the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, then you'll only have swordsmanship and secret techniques. Before becoming a Grand Scholar, it's most suitable for Confucian scholars to empower martial artists with righteous energy. Now that you're about to become a Grand Scholar, it's time to start cultivating Confucian secret techniques as well."
"Please enlighten me, teacher." Qin Mu bowed respectfully.
"The main techniques that a Grand Scholar can cultivate are the 'Soaring to the Clouds' Technique, the 'Profound Meaning in Subtle Words' Technique, and the 'Flowering Script' Technique. Although a Grand Scholar cultivates all three of these secret techniques, the power they unleash varies from one to the other," Li Gang explained solemnly, gesturing for Qin Mu to sit down.
Looking at Qin Mu, who was listening attentively, Li Gang continued, "Soaring to the Clouds is a unique flying technique of Confucian scholars. When a Grand Scholar's entire body is clear and filled with righteous energy, he can easily communicate with the righteous energy between heaven and earth. By combining internal and external energy, he can take to the air. However, this kind of flight consumes a great deal of energy, and even a Grand Scholar will not use it lightly."
The art of profound meaning in concise words requires a thorough understanding of the scriptures or the literal meaning of each word. A single word can destroy an opponent. In the early stages of cultivation, one can compose a poem to cultivate a righteous spirit, which is far superior to the techniques of secret scrolls. At a high level, a single word can subdue an army.
The art of eloquent writing complements the art of conveying profound meaning in concise language; only by employing the art of eloquent writing can the art of conveying profound meaning in concise language be brought to its fullest potential.
As Li Gang explained, a brush with a somewhat bare tip appeared in his hand, and he wrote the character "镇" (zhen, meaning town) in the air.
As he wrote, the character "镇" (zhen, meaning town/town) became a physical entity embodying a righteous spirit. The character grew larger and larger, seemingly slow but actually fast, flying to a tree ten zhang away before disappearing in a flash.
With a "crack," the tree snapped as if it had been chopped by an axe, flying two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) before crashing into the artificial hill and finally coming to a stop.
The tree, as thick as a bowl, looked as if it had been ravaged by a hurricane, with branches and leaves scattered all over the ground.
"This is the power of a great Confucian scholar. A Grand Scholar should focus on poetry. If it's a secret scroll of poetry, it can have double the effect." Seeing Qin Mu's surprised look, Li Gang smiled slightly with pride. It wasn't easy for him to keep his disciple in check.
"That's amazing!" Qin Mu exclaimed, his eyes wide. With such a technique, why bother fighting with a sword? Qi fingers don't have such a long attack range.
"Poetry? Teacher, does it have to be poems you write yourself, or can any poems be written?" Qin Mu asked.
"Poems that can be used against an enemy can be divided into two types: offensive and defensive. As long as you can understand their artistic conception, you can use all poems. However, it is of course best to write your own, since the person who writes the poem is the one who can best understand the artistic conception of the poem," Li Gang explained.
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu's expression stiffened slightly. He felt a little guilty, as he couldn't recall that the poems he had composed so far had any merit. However, he understood the concept of artistic conception; he remembered that at least three times the poems had stirred Tianci's emotions.
Moreover, the imagery of many poems and lyrics is actually not complicated. Whether it's sadness, joy, remembrance, or lamentation, poetry and prose are simply expressions of the author's emotions. As long as you can immerse yourself in the feeling, even if you can't fully express it, expressing about 70% should still be no problem.
"Calligraphy should not be neglected; good calligraphy can enhance the power of poetry," Li Gang reminded.
"Disciple understands!"
"Well, the biggest difference between Confucian secret arts and Taoist secret arts is that once you reach a certain level, Confucian secret arts become much easier to cultivate, and there's almost no reason why you can't succeed. However, even with the same secret arts, different individuals have different understandings, resulting in varying degrees of strength," Li Gang added.
"Why is that?" Qin Mu asked, puzzled.
"It's hard to explain. You'll understand after you start cultivating," Li Gang said, shaking his head slightly.
Qin Mu nodded. He understood that some things, once you understand them, you understand them; if you don't understand them, you won't understand them no matter what you say. There's always a difference between other people's understanding and your own.
"What's different about the secret techniques of spiritual energy cultivators?" Qin Mu asked curiously. Although the manual explained it, it wouldn't mention it until you reached that level. Some things only talked about how to learn and cultivate, but didn't cover the underlying principles.
“Spiritual energy cultivation can actually be considered part of Taoism. Even we Confucian cultivators have an inextricable connection with Taoism, but we follow a different path.”
"Taoist cultivation emphasizes enlightenment and follows the natural way; it is the path of a few. Buddhism emphasizes innate wisdom, but only Confucianism is selfless. Anyone who studies can embark on this path. Even if one cannot become a Confucian scholar, one can still strengthen one's will, solidify one's character, and understand principles," Li Gang explained.
Li Gang not only answered Qin Mu's questions each time, but also explained other aspects of knowledge.
"Taoist secret techniques emphasize aptitude. Without the right aptitude, one cannot unleash their full power. Perhaps one can use runes, but there are too many limitations. Just like the lightning bolt that struck you, it was generated by a rune," Li Gang continued to explain.
Qin Mu thought about it and understood. Spiritual energy is inherently highly aggressive, and to utilize it, the body must adapt to it. Most secret techniques possess attributes, and if one doesn't possess these attributes, using these techniques would put too much pressure on the body, potentially even backfiring. This must be why aptitude is required.
"Don't cultivators need a balance of the five elements? How can one become a Celestial Master if the five elements are not balanced? Isn't this contrary to the secret arts? It's completely contradictory." Qin Mu frowned and asked in confusion.
The Guigu School's foundation requires a balance of the five elements, and Han Chen also said that yin and yang should be balanced, and yin and yang should transform into the five elements. This is a theory that completely contradicts Li Gang's theory of aptitude.
"Hehe! Aptitude and balance are not contradictory. Balance refers to physical balance, while aptitude is talent. The five elements generate and restrain each other, and it is not difficult to transform them. Those with good aptitude can use the power of the five elements that match them more easily and without burden," Li Gang explained with a smile.
"Oh!" Qin Mu suddenly understood. The balance of the five elements in the physical body refers to the internal organs, while innate talent has no effect on the internal organs. The spiritual energy in the Qi Sea is transformed through cultivation techniques. The Five Elements Pill for training soldiers is different; it completely cultivates a person into a single five-element attribute.
Although Li Gang did not know how to use Taoist secret techniques, he had seen many of them and could understand the principles behind their use. Therefore, his explanation helped Qin Mu understand a lot.
As for Confucian scholars, needless to say, the scholars could speak eloquently, the grand scholars could write beautifully, they rose rapidly in rank, and their words were profound in meaning. He explained clearly the usage and cultivation methods of several secret techniques.
Qin Mu was most interested in Confucian secret arts, since Li Gang didn't teach them, and he had nowhere to learn them.
Fortunately, the cultivation of these secret techniques is not complicated; the key lies in the level of attainment, which is one of the strengths of Confucian cultivation. One doesn't even need special items to cultivate them, although using good items makes them even easier.
Whether one achieves rapid advancement or displays literary brilliance, tools can aid in their pursuit. However, profound meaning requires comprehension, refined poetry and prose, and a deep understanding of classical texts. Both high-ranking scholars and great Confucianists utilize profound meaning, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com