Li Pancheng had wanted to say something, but right now, no other words would come. This was an Inner Force Expert. After checking and rechecking, he still arrived at the same conclusion: this was indeed an Inner Force Expert, giving him the exact same feeling he got when facing the Inner Force Experts of his own family. He could only manage to cup his fists and ask, "What does Brother Hao wish to ask?"
"Xu Wen is not in the Inner Force Realm, is he?" Hao Qi asked.
Li Pancheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right. Xu Wen is not in the Inner Force Realm. The Inner Force Realm isn't so easily attained; even I only have a seventy percent chance of breaking through, and when that breakthrough might happen is completely uncertain."
"Second question: since you all knew Xu Wen was coming after me, you must certainly know where Xu Wen is, right?" Hao Qi continued.
This time, Li Pancheng didn't answer right away. He weighed his words carefully before speaking: "Brother Hao, please think this through carefully. The Xu Family is a major clan, and they have Inner Force Realm experts of their own. Xu Wen is a direct descendant of the Xu Family, and his status is extraordinary. Brother Hao has just reached the Inner Force Realm, and you are surely unfamiliar with the applications, the might, and the combat methods of Inner Force Realm experts. Why not plan this out thoroughly instead?"
Hao Qi shook his head. He raised three fingers and said, "First, I am an Inner Force Expert, but I have just stepped into the Inner Force Realm. Furthermore, I am seeking revenge—the revenge of a sworn brother who died of unnatural causes—so I am not afraid to die."
"Second, the Xu Family is a major clan."
"Third, I owe you a favor."
"For these three reasons, I ask Brother Xu—Brother Li—to grant me this."
For a moment, Li Pancheng couldn't quite process it, failing to grasp what Hao Qi meant by those three points. At that moment, an authoritative yet aged voice spoke up: "Young friend, Xu Wen is currently at Pale Bar, right in the old district, on the street where the fire broke out."
Hao Qi looked at an elderly man who had appeared from behind Li Pancheng. He sensed a tangible yet formless power surging from the old man; this person must also be an Inner Force Expert. What slightly puzzled him, however, was that the power radiating from this old man seemed much thinner in texture compared to his own.
Li Pancheng was startled and hurriedly asked, "Uncle, why are you here?"
The old man didn't answer. He simply looked at Hao Qi and said, "Young friend, go if you want to. Your sister—our Li Family will protect her well."
Hao Qi nodded, cast one deep look at Xue Na, who had just run out from the dormitory, and then stamped his foot. His entire figure seemed to dissolve into nothingness, vanishing completely from the scene.
The old man gazed off into the distance. After waiting a long time, he let out a breath and murmured, "Fine talent, fine inner force... A fine man, truly a natural-born hero's seed."
"Uncle, why are you here?" Li Pancheng asked again.
The old man glared fiercely at Li Pancheng and snapped, "Why do you think Xu Wen let you take people away without a fuss? That's tens of billions in cargo! Not only is Xu Wen losing his mind with anxiety, but the Xu Family is too. You are the eldest direct grandson of the Li Family. Even though the Xu Family wouldn't dare be so unhinged, what if they were? Naturally, I had to make this trip. Or did you expect me to drag your grandmother out of seclusion? Still, it's a good thing I came, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to cash in on this favor."
Li Pancheng nodded in a daze. The old man sighed and said, "Normally, I thought you had a broad vision and handled things with a system, but you're just as your grandmother said: you lack quick wits. You're fine at maintaining stability, but when unexpected changes happen, you're completely blind... Do you even know what those three points Hao Qi mentioned meant?"
Without waiting for Li Pancheng to reply, the old man launched straight into it: "First, he is also an Inner Force Expert. Among Inner Force Experts, unless several people of the same tier launch a coordinated siege and the target stubbornly refuses to retreat to the death, it is simply impossible to kill them. That's the first point. The second is that if he fights to the death, dragging someone down with him to the grave is an absolute certainty. This is a question of daring to die versus not daring to die. The aristocratic families do have Inner Force Experts, but a clan as large as this relies entirely on those experts for its backbone. Once one falls, what happens to the family? With such heavy ties, who would dare risk a mortal struggle with a lone orphan who has nothing left to lose and is out for revenge? To use an old saying from a distant country: the barefooted aren't afraid of those wearing shoes. That's the logic. As for the third point, it's even simpler. Xu Wen isn't in the Inner Force Realm, and the Xu Family doesn't only have one direct-line heir. Which matters more—face or substance? As a great clan, the Xu Family knows how to choose. Why would you ever need to trouble yourself over it?"
"Second, the Xu Family is a major clan. Precisely because it's a major clan, if someone below the Inner Force Realm offends them, the Xu Family can easily crush them. But if an Inner Force Expert offends them—as long as that Inner Force Expert has patience, killing a member of the Xu Family today, killing another tomorrow, whether it's a direct relative, a collateral branch, a subordinate, or a business partner... precisely because their footprint is so massive, they have countless vulnerabilities. Which brings us right back to my first point: if you can't kill this Inner Force Expert, you are completely helpless. Drag this out in a war of attrition, and it's crystal clear who suffers the loss."
"As for the third point, it's even more obvious. He practically spelled it out for you straight to your face: you are a scion of the Li Family, not the Xu Family. The favor he owes is to *you*. So why on earth would you try to cover things up for the Xu Family? What sense does that make? Could it be that you can't even tell the difference between friends and enemies?"
Having laid out these three points, the old man stopped looking at Li Pancheng and instead turned his gaze toward Xue Na, his eyes filled with unspeakable satisfaction.
In truth, the Li Family was a major clan, and Li Pancheng was the eldest direct grandson. Regarding Xue Na's existence, the vast majority of the family had been deeply dissatisfied. It was only because of Li Pancheng's insistence, Xue Na's genuine martial arts talent, and the fact that she somehow managed to win the favor of their ancestors—with one of the family's two Inner Force Experts speaking up—that the family held their noses and accepted the match. Yet, there were plenty of people who nitpicked Xue Na at every turn; indeed, prior to this, the old man himself had been dissatisfied with her.
That past dissatisfaction, however, had long since vanished into thin air, entirely replaced by satisfaction, satisfaction, and more satisfaction. Are you kidding? She has a younger brother who is an Inner Force Expert! Could there possibly be a better match than this?
What satisfied the old man even more was that although Hao Qi had only just burst forth with inner force, his inner force was extraordinarily dense—it even surpassed his own, and he had broken through to inner force years ago! It felt as though Hao Qi had been training his inner force for over a decade. This was a true genius; his future was truly boundless.
At this moment, Li Pancheng finally seemed to understand what Hao Qi had meant earlier. He suddenly asked again, "Uncle, wasn't he just a Quasi-Inner Force Expert before? And he only practiced a set of garbage boxing forms. Even if that trashy boxing reached the ultimate limit, how could he possibly burst out with inner force in a single instant?"
Hearing this, the old man sighed. After a long pause, he said, "Who says one *must* be a Quasi-Inner Force Expert to burst out with inner force? A Quasi-Inner Force Expert is a Quasi-Inner Force Expert, and inner force is inner force. These are two completely different matters; don't confuse them. One is merely pushing the physical body to its absolute limit, while the other possesses inner force."
"But that doesn't make sense," Li Pancheng still couldn't wrap his head around it. He persisted, "Doesn't inner force require pushing the body to its limit so that a new internal energy circulatory system can burst forth?"
The old man looked at Li Pancheng and said, "Then let me ask you: in the core secrets of the family, have you ever seen *why* we push the physical body to its limit?"
"It's to bear the eruption of inner force, and to carry the new internal energy circulatory system within the body, otherwise..." Li Pancheng trailed off, unable to finish.
The old man glared at him and said, " figured it out? Rather than saying pushing the body to the limit is a prerequisite for erupting inner force, it's more accurate to say that pushing the body to the limit is a prerequisite for *surviving* the eruption of inner force. So-called inner force is actually a type of energy that circulates within the body while fusing with the omnipresent *qi* of the outside world. 'Qi' is the ancient term; modern science calls it energy. It is said that there is omnipresent natural energy in the external world. This energy drifts between heaven and earth, practically everywhere, yet it cannot be absorbed and utilized by humans because our human circulatory system only knows how to eat—we rely on food to generate energy."
"You should have felt this yourself: as you became a Quasi-Inner Force Expert, the amount of food you need to consume increased dramatically. That's because you consume more energy and require more replenishment. The human body's built-in circulatory system only has so much capacity; a mere Quasi-Inner Force Expert can already barely sustain it, let alone an Inner Force Expert!"
"The so-called process of pushing the body to its limit, along with kung fu, forms, and routines, is actually a process of building a new internal energy circulatory system. Take our family's Spirit Snake Fist, for instance: the acupuncture points within it, the power-exertion routing diagrams, the blood-and-qi pathways, the meridians, and so on—every single one of them is part of this energy circulatory system. It's just that without inner force, these circulatory systems remain invisible, imperceptible, and unconfirmed. But that doesn't mean they don't exist."
"However, there are certain individuals blessed with extraordinary talent who are born carrying this type of energy circulatory system within them. In ancient times, such people had many titles: the Innate Body, the Pure Yang Body, the Daoist Vessel, and so forth—all of which describe this kind of person. Generally speaking, these individuals only need to train a set of martial arts to its ultimate limit to perceive the energy of heaven and earth. From there, they can draw that energy into their bodies, fusing it with their own blood, *qi*, spirit, and so on to form inner force. Moreover, their physical bodies naturally possess the circulatory system, so whether they push their physical bodies to the limit beforehand matters far less. After all, the physical enhancements from pushing the body to the limit are practically negligible compared to inner force, and when it comes to control, there is simply no comparison. What's more, such Inner Force Experts, if they are willing, can achieve in a few months what takes you decades. By relying on inner force to temper the physical body, they can effortlessly attain the physical state of a Quasi-Inner Force Expert. That is the difference."
At this point, the old man sighed with a profound sense of melancholy. "I never expected that in my lifetime, I would still get to witness the existence of such a person. As long as such a person doesn't die, they even have the hope of ultimately becoming an Inner Qi Expert... Ten thousand inner force experts, one inner qi expert. One hundred thousand ordinary people, and one can become an Inner Force Expert; among ten thousand Inner Force Experts, only one might possibly become an Inner Qi Expert. Across all ninety-three countries of the East Blue Sea, there are only one and a half Inner Qi Experts. Such a person... such a person... *sigh*."
No matter what, regardless of what kind of person Hao Qi had been before—whether an orphan, someone with no background, no backing, or a weakling—once he attained inner force, he *was* an Inner Force Expert in his own right! He was his own background, his own backing!
In this moment, Hao Qi's decade of hard work was all for this single moment...
Inner Force, achieved!
***
### Chapter 11: Ten Years Sharpening a Single Sword
Hao Qi walked along the road, his emotions indescribably complex.
First, naturally, was his grief over Lin Xiong. This grief had been accumulating ever since he learned the whole truth—not just over Lin Xiong's death, but also his own remorse and regret for ever doubting his sworn brother and causing a rift...
His other emotion was directed at Xue Na. He... felt that Xue Na had not done all she could.
Though saying this meant shifting blame and projecting faults onto someone else, Xue Na did have the ability to protect Lin Xiong. It was simply because Lin Xiong ran with a criminal crowd that Xue Na had always harbored a prejudice against him. Not only could Hao Qi see this, but Lin Xiong himself had seen it clearly too. Thus, Lin Xiong must have been mentally prepared beforehand: Xue Na... would not stick her neck out for him.
True, Xue Na had no obligation to stick her neck out for someone with no blood relation. But even if she had stepped up to protect Lin Xiong, it wouldn't have cost her much. To someone like Xu Wen, a mere thug, a small-time hoodlum, was likely completely expendable—killable or spareable on a whim. What Xu Wen wanted was the cargo. As long as he was made to understand that Lin Xiong had nothing to do with this shipment, then for the sake of the Li Family, he wouldn't have insisted on killing Lin Xiong. Granted, this might have drawn some reprimands for Xue Na from the Li Family, but it would have saved Lin Xiong's life!
If Xue Na had truly done that, then even though he now possessed inner force, he would have remained deeply grateful to Xue Na's kindness, and might well have helped Li Pancheng and the Li Family accomplish many things...
But Xue Na did not.
This was his sentiment toward Xue Na: blame, and the desire never to see her again.
Then came the rage—repressed deep in his heart, entirely invisible on the surface. He wanted revenge. Since his brother never got to enjoy the benefits of him becoming an Inner Force Expert, he would use that inner force to do one last thing for his brother: revenge!
His final emotion, paradoxically, was a sense of joy. It was an instinctive elation, as if his very level of life had ascended, or as if he had gained absolute freedom—the exhilarating sensation of roaming the universe at will. Though Hao Qi felt immensely guilty toward the freshly deceased Lin Xiong, right now, this wave of happiness and joy arose within him entirely of its own accord, completely beyond the control of his own willpower.
As he walked, Hao Qi's pace was not fast, but that was only relative to ordinary people—or rather, those who lacked inner force. The recovery rate of this inner force was astonishingly high, not only for the physical body itself, but for the inner force as well. If he merely jogged or moved about, he felt his inner force circulate endlessly, recovering almost as fast as it was consumed. The avenue of recovery was simple: through the Baihui point at the crown of his head and the Yongquan point on the soles of his feet, cool wisps of breath poured in ceaselessly, blending within his body with his own physical blood, *qi*, strength, and consciousness to form inner force.
Hao Qi had a hypothesis as to why the inner force in this world was so overwhelmingly powerful—completely distinct from the martial arts novels he had read on Earth. The reason was very likely this incoming breath from the external world. Hints of this existed in those novels as well, under names like primordial chaos energy, heaven and earth energy, stray energy, and so on—in short, something of the sort. Presumably, the worlds described in Earth's martial arts fiction simply lacked this element, whereas this world possessed it. Consequently, the inner force formed here was not only massive in quantity and terrifying in might, but also recovered with mind-boggling speed.
Along the way, Hao Qi wasn't just traveling; he was familiarizing himself with the various functions of this inner force at top speed. After all, having seen the Inner Force Expert accompanying Li Pancheng, who could guarantee that Xu Wen didn't have an Inner Force Expert by his side? If he wanted vengeance, he had to possess the strength to claim it!
Though Hao Qi had only just burst forth with inner force and had never previously touched any books or knowledge concerning it, he was not a native-born inhabitant of this world. In the Earth of his pre-transmigration days, fantasy novels, xianxia, wuxia—magic, battle qi, inner force, even more exaggerated concepts—were everywhere. Aside from novels, there were mangas and animations; within them, one could always find counterparts to these transcendent powers. These memories were Hao Qi's foundation. As he walked, he used the supernatural powers from those memories to compare and experiment, step by step confirming the traits of the inner force in this world.
*(If the inner force of this world is visible to the naked eye, its properties are actually very similar to 'Nen' from a manga I once read called Hunter x Hunter. Though it lacks materialization or manipulation, if I really had to compare it, it would be very much like the Enhancement category in Nen—both are about strengthening oneself. Speaking of which, could I borrow some of the Nen application techniques from that manga?)*
Hao Qi thought and acted simultaneously. Under his conscious control, his inner force extended outward from his body once more, spreading to the maximum possible range around him to form a spherical enclosure. The radius was roughly ten meters centered on himself. Within this ten-meter sphere, even with his eyes closed, he could perceive objects. Though he couldn't see colors, their volume, size, shape, and so forth were completely mirrored in his consciousness. To use an analogy, it probably resembled a bat's echolocation perception.
"One of the application skills for Nen in the manga is called 'En'. It can be used when vision is blocked, when the opponent has stealth skills, or when the opponent moves too fast for the eyes to follow. Not bad. Now, let's try this..."
Hao Qi immediately began pulling his inner force back from its thin, dispersed state. The inner force slowly condensed until it hovered at a microscopic distance around his body, though without re-entering it—it clung to his skin as a paper-thin layer. Though still invisible to the naked eye, Hao Qi could distinctly feel that this layer of inner force had become exceedingly tough. Just how tough, he didn't know, but at the very least, it gave him the sensation that this layer of inner force could withstand a gentle poke from his own finger...
"What earthly use is that?!"
Hao Qi genuinely wanted to curse. What he wanted was something akin to 'Ken' from the manga—an application where condensed inner force could at least withstand swords and bullets! Being able to withstand a gentle finger-poke had zero practical use!
*(No, that's not right. Rather than saying this technique is useless, it's more accurate to say my inner force is simply too weak. First, the quantity of inner force is small; second, my control over it is still insufficient. At most, I can only condense my inner force to wrap around my entire body; I'm still unable to concentrate it down to the size of a palm or a finger. Naturally, the toughness isn't enough. Come to think of it, I still don't know the power stratification of Inner Force Realm experts, nor the differences between various inner forces—for instance, how the inner force generated by the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic I cultivate differs from the inner force of the Nine Yang or Nine Yin Manuals, or how it differs from the native martial arts of this world. I know none of this. To call the technique useless right now is far too premature.)*
With that thought, Hao Qi didn't feel discouraged. After all, managing to step into the Inner Force Realm was already a massive and pleasant surprise. He would have plenty of time in the future to verify everything about inner force. Besides, even if this particular guess proved incorrect, it didn't matter—the innate functions of inner force itself were already formidable enough. Coupled with the various palm techniques, finger techniques, boxing forms, and numerous other internal kung fu methods he would learn in the future, along with the combined special effects of these external and internal martial arts within the System, he possessed absolute confidence in his ability to grow stronger.
At this realization, Hao Qi's mind cleared completely. The psychological oppression that had weighed on him for so long vanished into thin air. Anger remained anger, grief remained grief, and joy remained joy. In this instant, Hao Qi suddenly recalled a story he had seen back on Earth: when Zhuangzi's wife died, Huizi went to offer condolences, only to find Zhuangzi sitting with his legs spread out, drumming on a basin and singing. At that moment, Hao Qi finally understood Zhuangzi.
"Singing down the long street, weeping down the long street. Brother, today I see you off. Today, I exact revenge for you. Today, watch me fulfill my dream—I am going to wander this world far and wide! As for me, I am going to walk proudly across this earth!"