Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 73 Where’s the Problem?

The night ended and the day began to brighten. The sky was cloudless, so it must be a good day. Therefore, I couldn't avoid doing "morning exercises".

"Why isn't it raining? It would be great if it didn't rain knives. Then I wouldn't have to get up early to practice that stupid meditation and health-preserving exercises, and I could sleep a little longer."

Gao Jingming, who was woken up by Chen Xuan, kept complaining, his resentment was even greater than that of a ghost.

"Hurry up, young master. If you wait any longer you will be punished by the teacher," Chen Xuan urged, pretending not to hear his complaints.

Walking listlessly towards the playground, Gao Jingming yawned and looked at Chen Xuan suspiciously, "Xuan, you're younger than me and sleep later than me, so how come you're so energetic? And I noticed you seem to be looking forward to every morning."

"Really? Maybe the young master is better than me. He even sleeps more than me. And doesn't the young master think that every day is a new beginning and worth looking forward to?" Chen Xuan said with a smile, as if he was coaxing a child.

After hearing this, Gao Jingming thought about it for a moment and felt that it made sense. He then ran towards Deng Lingfeng and the others and said, "Every day is a new beginning and is something that each of us should look forward to."

Zhou Lin, Luo Taiyun, Tian Xueyu and the others all said: “…”

What's wrong with this guy so early in the morning?
Chen Xuan: "...those are all my words."

We gathered in the playground and lined up. There was no longer the teacher standing in the front giving a long speech as on the previous day, but the voice of him giving orders to everyone to practice the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises was still there.

Hearing his orders, a group of kids gestured listlessly. Few of them took it seriously. They were just pretending, simply slacking off.

Chen Xuan did whatever others did, and before he knew it, that warm and comfortable feeling appeared all over his body again. It was probably because he had started exercising, and he felt more and more energetic.

"Isn't this Qi-calming and health-preserving exercise quite good? Why doesn't anyone take it seriously?"

Chen Xuan didn't know what others felt, but he felt comfortable. Gradually, he began to take it seriously, trying to get his movements and breathing as close to the standard as possible. However, it would probably take some time to master it completely, and he couldn't remember everything he saw.

Maybe my husband's speech wasted my time yesterday, so I practiced the calming and health-preserving exercises. Anyway, I did it three times this morning until the morning sun jumped out of the horizon.

After three times, Chen Xuan was gradually approaching the standard of this "gong method". He felt more and more comfortable all over. In the end, it was like soaking in a hot spring of the right temperature. He almost couldn't stop.

However, although it was comfortable, I felt extremely hungry afterwards.

"This isn't normal. I'm usually not that hungry when I wake up in the morning. Even after a bit of exercise, no one else seems to be as hungry as I am. And that warm feeling isn't from exercise fatigue or fever, but a comfort that comes from deep within, like a warm current flowing through my body. So is it my problem, or is it the 'practice'?"

Chen Xuan couldn't help but wonder, even if he was slow to react. He realized something was amiss. Why didn't anyone else react, while he was completely overwhelmed?

"A Xuan, everyone told you not to take it too seriously. Why are you so serious? You wouldn't really believe the teacher's nonsense, would you? Didn't I say yesterday that if you are interested in martial arts, wait for two years when your body has grown enough, and there will be some superior skills. That stuff is really useless," Gao Jingming joked on the way back. He had seen Chen Xuan's serious "cultivation" before.

It is harmful to the body to get involved in martial arts too early. Chen Xuan still listened to the advice in this regard, but the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises were promoted by the court. The teacher said that anyone can practice them. It is beneficial and not harmful. It cannot be regarded as martial arts. It is somewhere between exercise and health preservation and martial arts.

Since he had a good experience, Chen Xuan thought it would be okay to practice it. He didn't take it lightly and just treated it as a daily way to pass the time and stretch his muscles. But he couldn't help but ask, "Master, when you were practicing the Jingqi Health Preserving Exercise, didn't you feel comfortable all over?"

"It's not comfortable at all. I'm so sleepy. If you hadn't been staring at me, I wouldn't want to move at all," Gao Jingming said with a pout, still full of resentment.

Then Deng Lingfeng interrupted, "Haha, Ah Xuan, you're probably still half asleep. The Qigong exercise is just for stretching your muscles, and you actually feel comfortable with it? That's hilarious! Unless that thing can cultivate inner energy to nourish the body, but how is that possible? I heard the imperial court has been promoting it for decades, but I haven't heard of anyone using it to cultivate inner energy."

"Oh, right, internal energy is also called internal power, internal force, vital energy, blood energy, it doesn't matter what you call it, different sects or countries have different names for it. Anyway, even Jiang Yuan, one of the most outstanding martial arts talents in our Jing country in the past hundred years, and known as the youngest martial arts master, once commented that this thing can only strengthen the body and lay the foundation of martial arts, but it is impossible to cultivate internal energy. Look, if the martial arts master said it, how can it be false? If someone can cultivate internal energy through quiet and healthy exercises, then how terrifying must their martial arts talent be? A genius rarely seen in thousands of years? Or perhaps it can only be achieved by becoming a human immortal after overcoming the martial arts tribulation."

Chen Xuan was stunned by these words. Internal Qi? Martial Arts Grandmaster? Overcoming tribulations? Human Immortal?

Although he didn't quite understand, Chen Xuan realized that martial arts, when reached to a certain level, could bring great power. The mere words "human immortal" were enough to describe its significance. To be called an immortal, what kind of means did one have to possess?
The most crucial point is that the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises seem to be really useless, but why do I feel comfortable all over when I practice them?

With an open mind to learn, Chen Xuan asked curiously, "Master Deng, could you tell me in detail about martial arts masters, transcending tribulations, and human immortals?"

"Ah, about this, I'm not too clear about it. Martial arts are divided into acquired and innate, and above that is the grandmaster. There are only a few grandmasters in our entire Jing country with a population of 100 million. As for those above that, they are legendary. How can I get access to that information? I'm hungry, let's eat first." Deng Lingfeng was obviously stumped by the question. He scratched his head and didn't know how to answer. He simply used the excuse of eating to avoid Chen Xuan's question, and then slipped away.

It seems that he really doesn't know. After all, how much can a seven or eight-year-old child know even if he has practiced martial arts for two years?

"A Xuan, I do know a little about what you asked. My sister told me that above the innate level is the master, and above that, one needs to transcend the tribulation. However, no one knows what the so-called transcendence of tribulation is unless one reaches that level. Anyway, no one has ever seen anyone who has transcended the tribulation level. Occasionally, there are legends of human immortals. As for what a human immortal is, don't ask me. Even if you ask, I don't know either," Gao Jingming took over the conversation.

After all, they are just children. How much can they know from hearsay? This topic ends here.

Even though Chen Xuan was extremely curious, he couldn't get any more information at the moment, so he decided to eat first. Maybe he could find the answer in the book after he learned to read.

But martial arts requires overcoming tribulations? Isn't that something only found in the cultivation of immortals?
I don't understand.

"So why do I feel so relaxed when I practice the Qigong exercises? I still don't know. What's the problem?"

(End of this chapter)