After finishing dinner in the evening, Wu Ying sat in the courtyard in a daze.
Huimei walked over to Wu Ying carrying a pot of tea and poured him a cup.
Wu Ying looked the little girl up and down; the sallow, sickly look on her face had faded slightly.
Her little cheeks were flushed with a peachy glow, and she was sure to grow up into a great beauty.
He reached out to pinch her cheek and told her to go fetch the steward.
Steward Uesugi hurried into the courtyard, looking somewhat exhausted, and silently handed a scroll to Wu Ying.
Behind him, two servants carried in a bag, set it down, and turned to leave.
"Steward Uesugi, you've worked hard today. Go get some proper rest now.
Remember to take a medicinal bath too; I certainly don't want you getting worn out and collapsing on me so early."
With that, Wu Ying dismissed the steward to go rest.
He walked over to the bag of items, pulled it open, and saw that it was filled with money.
However, it wasn't the right time to pull off a vanishing act with it, so he decided to leave it alone for now.
He silently opened the scroll and began to study it.
Although he looked down somewhat on energy like Chakra, he still began to practice it according to the instructions, wanting to test his aptitude after all.
Step one: sense one's own spiritual energy and learn to mobilize it.
Step two: control the spiritual energy and slowly extract the physical energy contained within the body's cells.
Step three: combine the extracted physical energy and spiritual energy in a 1:1 ratio to form Chakra, then circulate it within the body.
Step four: store the Chakra in the special chakra located in the stomach.
As a result, an hour passed and he felt absolutely nothing.
He let out a sigh.
Opening his eyes, he beckoned to Huimei.
"Try practicing this and see what happens."
Huimei nodded, looking curiously at her young master.
"Practice it right here so I can handle whatever situation might come up."
With that, he handed the scroll over.
Huimei began to read it carefully.
After a moment, Huimei closed her eyes and began to refine Chakra.
Wu Ying watched Huimei closely, but couldn't make out anything special.
Her facial expression remained normal, and she didn't even frown—could her aptitude be no good either?
Wu Ying felt rather numb...
He lacked strength himself and didn't dare recruit experts—his little life was what mattered most.
Thinking of cultivating someone with talent, yet it was so hard to come by...
Disorderly thoughts once again filled Wu Ying's head.
Time ticked by bit by bit, and midnight was fast approaching.
Huimei suddenly opened her eyes, a trace of a smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Wu Ying snapped back to reality, feeling a surge of excitement as his hands instinctively grabbed Huimei by both shoulders.
"Huimei, did you sense it?"
Huimei nodded her little head.
Getting an affirmative answer, Wu Ying became even more excited. He picked Huimei up and spun her around a few times before calming his emotions.
His number one helper for the future might just turn out to be an extremely rare SSR card!
He gently set Huimei down to the side, gazed at her adorable, apple-red little face, and couldn't resist reaching out to give it another light pinch.
Now he had to seriously think about how to cultivate this little girl, but for now he had no idea what her elemental affinity was, which was truly a headache.
Massaging his temples while secretly pondering, he still came up with blank.
He said to Huimei:
"Forget it, let's call it a night for today. Go get some rest.
Starting tomorrow, you must wake up early to exercise your body and persist in refining Chakra every day.
For now, this is all we can do; in a while, I'll help you find a good Teacher."
After dismissing Huimei, Wu Ying used the system to recycle the money, walked back to his room and sat down, suddenly feeling a sense of urgency.
Pushing aside those irritating and unsettling feelings of anxiety, he found a comfortable spot by the window and sat down.
He carefully examined the items available in the mall.
Currently, improving his physique could only rely on persistent, daily physical exercise.
At the same time, cultivating internal cultivation formulas could also increase his physique by a small margin.
In addition, enhancing Genjutsu resistance and mastering mental secret arts were also essential steps.
Training in movement techniques was likewise crucial.
Wu Ying stared at his mall balance of less than twenty thousand coins, sighing at how cruel and merciless reality was as it dealt him a heavy blow.
He shook his head helplessly, deciding not to dwell on those out-of-reach matters for now.
Thus, he began browsing through the cultivation formula category.
However, what caught his eye were either the most basic things like the Qi-Absorption Technique or formulas that showed no tier levels at all.
Wu Ying unhesitatingly dragged the page straight to the bottom.
His gaze landed on the Hunyuan One-Qi Formula (First Layer), and without much thought, he clicked the purchase button.
After all, the prices of all cultivation formulas were the same.
The very next instant, a massive amount of knowledge flooded into his mind like a tidal wave, making him feel dizzy and dazed.
Regaining his wits slightly, he immediately pulled up the panel to check the required experience points, and nearly cursed out loud again.
There it was, clearly displayed: [Hunyuan One-Qi Formula (First Layer): 0/2000].
Even with diligent daily practice, Basic Swordsmanship struggled to gain even 10 experience points.
At this rate, wouldn't it take a year or two to successfully cultivate this?
Wu Ying cursed his bad luck internally, but by now he couldn't care about all that.
He completely cast aside the opening warning about weak physiques requiring cautious cultivation.
He gently closed his eyes, followed the commentary in the introduction, and concentrated his mind to find that wondrous sensation of Qi sinking into the Dantian.
First, take a deep breath, allowing the fresh air to slowly enter the lungs through the nasal passages.
At this time, try to focus your attention on your breathing and mentally experience the process of the breath flowing through your body.
Dear master, there is still more to this chapter; please click the next page to continue reading. The upcoming parts are even more exciting!
Next, begin to mobilize your inner spiritual power, sensing the beauty and tranquility of nature.
When you feel ready, you can continue to slowly inhale through your nose, while simultaneously imagining that this powerful spiritual energy you've mobilized is pouring endlessly out of the Baihui acupoint at the top of your head.
Like a bright beam of light, it flows downward along the central axis of your body.
As the spiritual energy flows, it will pass through the acupoint in the center of your navel and the Qihai acupoint located below your abdomen.
During this process, you can clearly feel the warmth and vitality emitted by these acupoints.
Finally, when the spiritual energy reaches the Guanyuan acupoint, try to store it there.
Imagine that the Guanyuan acupoint is like a giant treasure vault capable of holding endless spiritual wealth.
And you are currently pouring this precious spiritual power into it, making it increasingly full and powerful.
Maintaining this state for a period of time, you will find yourself seemingly reborn, filled with vitality and vigor.
...
Time drifted slowly by. After entering a state of meditation, Wu Ying found himself in a dark space.
Countless points of light kept drilling into his body, and the discomfort grew increasingly intense...
In a semi-conscious state, even opening his eyes was beyond his ability.
Back in the physical world, Wu Ying was already bleeding profusely from his nose, blood droplets were beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, and beads of blood had formed across his skin...
The next day, the sun was already high in the sky when the steward grew puzzled as to why the young master still hadn't gotten up.
When he came to check, he found the young master in a miserable state sitting in his chair, scaring him out of his wits as he called everyone over.
Listening to the commotion and crying sounds coming from all around, Wu Ying's consciousness gradually cleared.
He slowly opened his eyes; his gaze was still somewhat dazed, but it quickly regained its clarity.
He looked down to inspect his physical condition, secretly rejoicing in his heart: Thank goodness, I really did wake up!
Recalling that terrifying scene he had just been through, Wu Ying still felt lingering fear.
That kind of terror seemed to still linger in his mind, making him shudder.
He took a deep breath, fighting to calm the turbulent waves within his heart, then waved his hand to signal everyone else to leave the room.
Afterwards, he turned to the steward beside him and said:
"Go prepare a medicinal bath; I need a thorough wash."
The steward respectfully bowed and acknowledged the order, saying he would arrange it immediately.
At that moment, Wu Ying noticed Kaoumi standing quietly to one side.
Tears shimmered in her beautiful, large eyes, rolling down her face like crystal-clear little pearls.
With a pang of heartache, Wu Ying reached out, gently pinched her tender cheek, and comforted her softly:
"Alright, stop crying. Help me clean this place up later, okay?"
Huimei raised her head, looking at Wu Ying through tear-blurred eyes, and nodded.
Wu Ying smiled and patted her shoulder, giving her a trace of warmth and encouragement.
Soaking in the wooden tub, Wu Ying pulled up the panel for a look—the experience points hadn't increased at all.
The corners of his mouth twitched; he had been a bit too hasty and almost cost himself his little life, though for now he'd better not try that lightly again.
Having a weak physique really could lead to huge problems.
He focused his mind and carefully studied the detailed meridian diagrams displayed in his consciousness.
Soon, his gaze was drawn to the detailed meridian illustrations displayed below.
These diagrams depicted the intricate internal meridian pathways of the human body with clear and delicate lines, labeling every single meridian and acupoint with absolute clarity.
Not only that, but the chart also used different colors to distinguish key parts, accompanied by textual explanations of their functions and roles.
The sight before him filled him with excitement—such detailed meridian diagrams would undoubtedly become a powerful assistant on his cultivation journey!
They were like a key to unlocking the mysteries of martial arts, helping him better understand and master the essence of the Hunyuan One-Qi Formula.
However, just how high did one's physique need to be to practice safely? That was a serious problem!