Promise!

Chapter 169, The Two Meridians

February 28th, in the quiet room of the Shen family's main courtyard.

After Zhuang Jin finished refining the meditation technique, he felt a faint swelling sensation in his Chong meridian. He let out a soft breath: "The accumulation of the Meridian Opening Realm and the realm of each of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians is indeed incomparable to the Twelve Qi Condensation Meridians. I have a sufficient supply of high-grade Black Yuan Powder for cultivation, and with the help of Beast Tendon Ointment and Cloud Hidden Tea for the Tendon Changing Realm beginner level to accelerate the process, it still took me three months!"

"Fortunately, I have finally completed the accumulation of the first meridian today, and I can break through to the second meridian realm. According to the order of opening the eight extraordinary meridians in the meditation method, the second meridian is... the belt meridian!"

He has no bottlenecks. Theoretically speaking, he can skip the other five meridians and directly open the Ren and Du meridians. Then, he can... suffer a qi deviation and die from his body exploding.

—As mentioned before, each of the eight extraordinary meridians has its own function. The other six meridians, besides the Ren and Du meridians, all connect the twelve regular meridians more closely from different aspects, building a strong foundation to withstand the pressure of opening up the Ren and Du meridians later...

If the Ren and Du meridians are activated prematurely, the body cannot withstand the rapid surge of internal energy, which is the root of the human body. Just like a flood breaking through a dam, the swift and violent internal energy will directly shatter the twelve meridians, causing the body to burst like a balloon.

"Whether it's the Black Fiend Technique, or the second and third versions of the Five Elements Mutation Technique, all martial arts techniques follow this order. The immortal who created martial arts naturally had an inherent logic and reason for arranging things this way; it absolutely cannot be done haphazardly!"

Zhuang Jin sighed inwardly, carefully restraining his internal energy as he headed towards the belt meridian.

puff!
Like a fine needle piercing a soap bubble, without feeling the slightest resistance, the internal energy enters the belt meridian.

The belt meridian originates at the ribcage, runs diagonally downwards, passes through the belt meridian acupoint, and circles the body like a belt around the waist. The internal energy circulates along this route.

The belt meridian is responsible for restraining all movements!
With the opening of the belt meridian, the connection between the twelve regular meridians becomes even closer, allowing it to withstand a more mellow and refined internal energy. The internal energy then rapidly grows stronger and purer through the circulation of the twelve meridians and the belt and scalp meridians.

After a full cup of tea's time.

call!
Zhuang Jin opened his eyes, opened his mouth and exhaled, his breath shooting out like a white ribbon, a foot away from his body.

He stood up and carefully felt the changes in his body.

The most obvious change is the enhancement of internal energy, which becomes increasingly pure and refined. When released from the body, the power is both bright and dark, and the neutralization of energy becomes more and more harmonious and effortless...

"If I were to face Qiu Yizhi's move again now—two tornadoes of bluestone slabs—I wouldn't need to use the 'four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds' method anymore. I could directly use force to break through skill and shatter his move."

Then, the twelve meridians become more closely connected. Compared to the first pulse meridian, as the sea of ​​the twelve meridians, the enhancement of the connection of the twelve meridians is more holistic and comprehensive. The enhancement of the belt meridian is biased, and it is more about connecting the three yin and three yang meridians of the hand with the three yin and three yang meridians of the foot. Specifically, it makes the Black Demon Palm and Swift Wind Step more harmonious.

Finally, other improvements such as physical enhancement and sharpened martial arts intuition are basic skills and need not be elaborated upon.

"After my contest with Qiu Yizhi, I moved up one rank in the offerings. This wasn't just for show; it also brought some real benefits. For example, when the properties in the eastern part of the city were confiscated and distributed, the upper-ranking offerings naturally received the most compared to the lower and middle ranks. However, the specific distribution varied for each offering, according to their rank."

'If I were to reveal my breakthrough to the second meridian realm, I would surpass three or four others, placing me in the lower middle among the retainers.'

"However, there's no need for that. A promotion of one rune in the rank of Offering Master isn't like going from Guardian to Offering Master; there's no qualitative change. It's just an improvement in basic monthly allowance, benefits, and status... The actual benefits aren't that vastly different. It's more about prestige. In comparison, keeping a trump card up your sleeve is far more beneficial. In case of trouble, it might just be a lifesaver."

Zhuang Jin was used to keeping his abilities hidden, and used the Turtle Breathing Technique that he had already mastered to adjust his presence to the highest level.

...On the afternoon of the day Zhuang Jin broke through, Fu Shousong came to visit.

Because of the fight at the end of last month, Zhuang Jin broke through Qiu Yizhi's last move and displayed the Black Fiend Palm, which was at the first level of perfection and the ultimate level of reaching the pinnacle. Such terrifying comprehension made Fu Shousong want to befriend him.

In addition, during the competition at the end of last month, Fu Shousong and Qiu Yizhi were considered to have submitted their pledge of loyalty to the family head, Shen Xianhong. With his approval, they landed smoothly. To show their sincerity, this month they volunteered to take charge of the headquarters and voluntarily severed ties with the east of the city. Since they are both serving as retainers in charge of the headquarters, it will be more convenient for them to communicate with each other.

Finally, because of the incident in the east of the city, the other enshrined members don't have a good impression of these two. Therefore, these two have been interacting more frequently with other enshrined members of the headquarters recently, trying to improve their image.

Everyone is an adult. Although Zhuang Jin disliked the other party for having served as a protector of the powerful rats in the east of the city, he would not show any disdain for associating with them, lest he offend them for no reason.
Besides, the other party still owes him a favor, so why should he give it up?

'I'm long past the age of being intolerant of even the slightest imperfection. Regardless of the other person's character, as long as there's no fundamental conflict of interest, it's always good to have more friends and more options—you never know when you might need their help!'

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, and welcomed the other party into the courtyard.

The small courtyard, though not comparable to the plum garden, still has a flower bed enclosed by a fence, where flowers bloom in vibrant colors and bees and butterflies frolick.

Beside the flower bed was a four-cornered pavilion. The two went in and sat down. Chen Yun brought tea and side dishes and gave them some space.

Gurgling!

Sunlight slanted, casting dappled shadows, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers. In this setting, Zhuang Jin poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards Fu Gongfeng, saying, "Please, Master Fu!"

During this month, Fu Shousong often came over to visit. Without any formalities, he took the teacup and looked at Zhuang Jin, asking, "Zhuang Gongfeng, I see that you are full of energy and vitality. You must have completed most of the accumulation of your cultivation level, right?"

"almost."

Zhuang Jin mumbled, secretly thinking that the Turtle Breathing Technique was indeed useful; even this martial artist with three meridians open couldn't see through his cultivation level.

'really! ’

Upon receiving confirmation, Fu Shousong was astonished. He took a sip of tea to calm his nerves, but as soon as the tea entered his mouth, his eyes narrowed instantly: "It's still Yunyin Tea? The patriarch really has a soft spot for the manor's offerings."

"The Yunyin tea tree has a limited annual yield. Our annual share is only one pound, which I've already finished. If I want to drink it at other times, it's only at the monthly high-level meetings... The Zhuang family still has some here and can frequently serve it to guests. It must have been given to us privately by the family head, right?"

"At the end of last month, Master Fu found out... this tea is not easy to obtain." Zhuang Jin shook his head slightly, without saying more.

"That's true, our patriarch..."

Fu Shousong didn't continue the conversation, but changed the subject and started talking to Zhuang Jin about the east of the city.

……

(End of this chapter)