The next day after school, He Fang called out to Qin Mei and asked, "Did your brother ever mention anything about Martial Soul Awakening to you?"
Qin Mei looked around to make sure no one else was there, then pulled He Fang to the side and whispered, "In the diary my brother left behind, there's a page that mentions Martial Soul Awakening. His entry into the Unknown War Zone is also related to Martial Soul Awakening..."
He Fang was just asking casually and didn't expect to get any relevant information. "Tell me in detail."
My brother's diary recorded that Martial Soul Awakening is related to the environment of the war zone.
That year, there was a student from the martial arts department in the Jiang Province Alliance who awakened a Long Weapon Martial Soul. My brother was very good friends with him, so he privately asked him about the method of Martial Soul Awakening.
The other party said there were two factors for awakening a martial soul.
"Two factors!" He Fang exclaimed. "Continue."
The first factor is the requirement of the war zone. Students who pass the Warrior Test will undergo three months of war zone training and then attempt to awaken. His martial soul awakened during this period.
The second factor is the cultivation technique. That person practiced some Stances and Internal Arts, and he also secretly practiced Stances and Internal Arts during the three months of war zone training. He believed this was the key.
He passed on the practice methods of Stances and Internal Arts to my brother, but that was after he had already attempted to awaken.
My brother practiced for a while and felt he had a deeper understanding of the Plum Blossom Spear Technique. With the two-province Friendly Match approaching, my brother approached Director Fan and requested to enter the Unknown War Zone, but unfortunately, he didn't come back alive—so I'm not sure if the two factors mentioned in the diary were useful.
However, I saw that you were squatting in a horse stance while incorporating controlled breathing, and your breathing technique did help my Plum Blossom Spear.
"My breathing technique was taught by my foster mother. Why don't you come back with me, and let my foster mother teach you the breathing technique? Whether it's useful or not, let's learn it first."
After He Fang finished speaking, he took Qin Mei's hand and left.
Qin Mei struggled slightly but couldn't break free, so she let He Fang pull her hand.
He Fang's mind was occupied with the two factors mentioned in the diary. If practicing cultivation techniques could truly increase the probability of awakening a martial soul, then countless martial artists in China would awaken their martial souls in the future. He heard his master say that those cultivation techniques were treasures of sects, difficult for others to access. He didn't notice Qin Mei's subtle changes at all.
He Fang pulled Qin Mei into the small courtyard and walked straight towards the house.
Qin Mei quickly broke free from He Fang's hand and followed him into the room.
Yang Qin saw Qin Mei and smiled, "Congratulations on passing the Warrior Test. The next step is three months of training. Today, I'll have your uncle make extra good food."
Li Chao glanced towards the kitchen and then at Qin Mei, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Yang Qin caught Li Chao's subtle reaction and scolded with a smile, "You brat, are you hoping Qin Mei will give you a big chicken leg?"
Li Chao scratched his head and chuckled, "If she gives me a big chicken leg, I'll give her a chicken wing back, hehe."
Lǐ Zhèngyǒng laughed, "I specially bought over a dozen large chicken legs, enough for everyone to have one."
After dinner, Li Chao rested for half an hour and then went to practice stances.
He Fang cleaned up the kitchen and sat next to Qin Mei, telling his foster parents about the records in the diary concerning Martial Soul Awakening.
Lǐ Zhèngyǒng grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and cracked them as he said, "If that's true, then martial artists from all the provinces in China could awaken their martial souls."
Yang Qin said, "I don't necessarily think so. Stances and Internal Arts also depend on comprehension. Furthermore, these Stances and Internal Arts are secret transmissions from within the sects. Any slight error in the practice method could have dire consequences. Besides, that person only said it's possible, not that practicing Stances and Internal Arts definitely guarantees Martial Soul Awakening."
Qin Mei hesitated for a moment and said, "Auntie Yang, I found the breathing technique He Fang used when he was in a horse stance very helpful. So I'd like to…"
"You want me to teach you Stances and Internal Arts?" Yang Qin readily agreed, "No problem, I can teach you a set of Stances. I can't guarantee if it will help with Martial Soul Awakening, so you can't blame me later."
Qin Mei asked again, "What is this set of Stances called, and can I teach it to others?"
Yang Qin's expression turned serious, her eyes like sharp swords, she looked directly at Qin Mei and said, "This set of Stances I'm teaching you absolutely cannot be taught to others. Otherwise, not only will you be in trouble, but we will also be in trouble.
Also, you must practice in front of me so I can correct any mistakes immediately. Otherwise, the consequences will be endless. There have been martial artists who secretly practiced techniques and ended up with lifelong disabilities, or qi and meridians running in reverse, damaging their internal organs."
Qin Mei sat up straight and said cautiously, "With you saying it like that, I wouldn't dare to teach anyone else. Please rest assured."
This set of Stances is called the Emei Twelve Stances. It is divided into the Heaven Stance, Earth Stance, Zhi Stance, Character 'Xin' Stance, Crane Soaring Stance, Wandering Dragon Stance, Whirlwind Stance, Cloud Grasping Stance, Character 'Da' Stance, Character 'Xiao' Stance, Character 'You' Stance, and Bright Stance - twelve stances in total.
Practice method: First practice the stance posture, then practice breathing and nascence, and finally practice the circulation of qi and meridians within the internal organs.
Requirements: "Round void gives birth," spirit merges with the stance, movement and stillness alternate, return to stillness from movement, control movement with stillness, regulate qi and meridians, coordinate yin and yang.
Lǐ Zhèngyǒng said, "You mentioned that observing He Fang's stance practice was effective. Then I'll teach you my set of Stances too. Listen carefully and watch closely."
Eight Stances of Internal Art: Its forms are named after Zhuge Liang's "Eight Formations Diagram," namely the Heaven Gate Stance, Earth Gate Stance, Wind Gate Stance, Cloud Gate Stance, Dragon Gate Stance, Tiger Gate Stance, Bird Gate Stance, and Snake Gate Stance. There are also preliminary and concluding forms, the Wuji Stance.
The stances are divided into odd and proper, yin and yang, offensive and defensive.
The Heaven, Earth, Wind, and Cloud Stances are the proper methods, belonging to yang stances, primarily for offense.
The Dragon, Tiger, Bird, and Snake Stances are the odd methods, belonging to yin stances, primarily for defense.
Yang stances focus on practicing qi and jin, while yin stances emphasize practicing the eyes and spirit.
Lǐ Zhèngyǒng explained and demonstrated the posture stances of the Eight Stances of Internal Art.
"If you don't understand anything, you can ask He Fang. Also, you can practice this set of Stances during your training."
He Fang nodded. "I've been practicing the Eight Stances of Internal Art for 6-7 years and am extremely familiar with it. Teaching you will be no problem."
Next, He Fang practiced the Eight Stances of Internal Art.
Qin Mei practiced the Emei Twelve Stances under Yang Qin's supervision.
—————
Fán Bīng couldn't sleep due to worry. The reason was simple: after the incident of Qin Zhu's death last time, the Second Stage Warriors of the Alliance were unwilling to go to the Unknown War Zone, and they couldn't even gather enough Reserve Warriors to participate in the Friendly Match!
Fán Bīng couldn't force them; it might backfire. If no one in Jiang Province joined the martial arts department, and dual-cultivation students didn't participate in the Warrior Test, the result would be no new blood entering the Jiang Province Alliance. Eventually, there would be a generational gap among First and Second Stage Warriors. At that time, if a Three-Star War Zone appeared in Jiang Province, it would likely be a disaster!
He went to the balcony and paced, muttering to himself, "He Fang and Qin Mei, they might be persuaded to participate in the two-province Friendly Match. Tan Meng could also be persuaded. But the Friendly Match requires five people. Are they three going to fight against five people from Hui Province?"
Fán Bīng suddenly stopped. He remembered his senior brother. At this point, he could only ask his senior brother for help!!
—————
Shuāng Hé Province, deep in a sparsely populated mountain range, there was a courtyard house.
A young man was practicing martial arts in the moonlight in the courtyard. Beside him sat a bald middle-aged man, holding a purple clay teapot and squinting at the young man practicing.
The young man's breathing was even, his steps were powerful, his index and middle fingers were together, and the other three fingers were curled into his palm.
Beside him were eight wooden dummies, as tall as the young man, surrounding him. Upon closer inspection, the heads, upper bodies, and hands of the eight wooden dummies were clearly marked with acupuncture points and meridians.
The middle-aged man took a small sip of tea and spoke softly and rapidly, "Qian position, front of the head, Shuigou acupoint. Li position, back, Yihui acupoint. Kun position, right forearm, Siduzhi acupoint..."
The middle-aged man spoke softly and at a high speed. Normally, people wouldn't even be able to hear him clearly, let alone understand. However, the young man reacted swiftly, accurately tapping those three acupoints with his fingers, producing three dull thuds.
The middle-aged man stretched and said, "That's enough training for today. Go wash up and sleep."
At this moment, the phone in the middle-aged man's pocket vibrated, emitting a buzzing sound, breaking the tranquility of the deep mountains...