Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 148 The general trend of the world
Samurai are divided into three ranks: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, based on the acupoints they can access.

The third acupoint is located between the eyebrows, and in ancient times it was also known as the Niwan Palace or Zifu, which was considered by ancient practitioners to be the foundation of cultivation.

With the flourishing of modern martial arts, there has been a profound understanding of the acupoint between the eyebrows, further confirming its importance.

Therefore, a warrior must proceed step by step, first opening the dantian acupoint, where it is easiest to sense source energy. Next, open the mouth.

Only after years of accumulation and refinement will one attempt to open the acupoint between the eyebrows, ensuring greater safety and a higher chance of success.

In the past, it was common for samurai to go wrong when trying to open the acupoint between their eyebrows, sometimes even blowing their brains open.

Now that martial arts techniques are mature, opening the acupoint between the eyebrows still carries certain risks.

After all, it involves guiding the source energy to converge in the brain, and the brain's nerve center is complex and fragile; a slight mistake could lead to trouble.

Gao Wucai condensed his second acupoint using the "Regretful Dragon" technique, and he wasn't in a hurry to condense his third acupoint.

Now that his innate talent has improved, he needs to calm down and slowly hone his source power to solidify his foundation.

The sudden surge of dragon roar that seemed to reach the heavens caused the acupoint between his eyebrows to open naturally. Everything happened so naturally that he no longer tried to suppress it.

Even in a state of resonance, Song Mingyue was able to cooperate with him in guiding her source energy. It should be noted that Song Mingyue's source energy was already stronger than that of a beginner martial artist, far surpassing his own.

With Song Mingyue's help in guiding and organizing the source energy, and with Song Mingyue's Frosty Heavenly Serpent and Azure Dragon intertwined and resonating.

The white snake and the green dragon danced and spun together, like a vortex continuously drawing energy from the void to shape acupoints.

At this stage, it's a matter of patience and cannot be rushed.

While the dragon and snake dancing together is wonderful, it is not one of the secret techniques among the Nine Forms of the Dragon. Gao Wu's intuition is now incredibly sharp; he knows he must choose one secret technique as the foundation for his acupoint and determine the characteristics of the source power of that acupoint.

While the "Dragon Leaps Over the Abyss" technique is good, it is too superficial and direct, and not suitable for creating the acupoint between the eyebrows.

"The dragon soars high and regrets" is profound, yet somewhat incongruous. "The dragon roars to the nine heavens" is majestic, domineering, and powerful, but also unsuitable.

Only when the dragon lies dormant and its power remains hidden, can all life force be accumulated in the depths of darkness, slowly gathering strength to await the moment to soar into the sky.

Such a mood and change are more suitable for the acupoint between the eyebrows.

Upon realizing this, Gao Wu coiled the Azure Dragon into a ball, enveloping the White Snake within it, symbolizing the dragon and snake sleeping together and the convergence of Yin and Yang.

Song Mingyue's mental strength was indeed strong. She stayed with Gao Wu for more than three hours, resonating with him. Only after confirming that Gao Wu's acupoints were completely stable did she withdraw her mental strength and leave.

Gao Wu felt a slight tremor in the acupoint deep between his eyebrows, and the eight-pointed star-shaped azure divine light slowly receded inward until it disappeared without a trace.

Deep within the acupoint between the eyebrows, the Azure Dragon coiled as if asleep, slowly and deeply inhaling and exhaling its source energy. This process, however, was extremely secretive, completely concealed by the other two acupoints...

This is the true brilliance of the "Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use" principle.

When Gao Wu awoke from his meditation, he saw a pair of clear, bright eyes looking at him in the darkness. Upon realizing he was awake, a hint of joy appeared in those eyes.

Compared to focusing on acupoints, Gao Wu prefers the feeling of being protected and cared for.

Acupoints can accumulate sooner or later, but it's very, very difficult to find a good person who cares about you and cares about you back.

Xiao Song went a step further. The two resonated with each other spiritually, made progress together in martial arts, were inseparable in life, and shared life and death and hardships in their relationship. What more could one ask for in a good person?
Gao Wu thought about it and realized there was still room for improvement; he just needed to be a little more lenient with him...

"Mission accomplished!" Gao Wu chuckled and jumped in front of Song Mingyue. Before she could react, he grabbed her and gave her a big kiss.

Song Mingyue closed her bright eyes nervously, her long eyelashes still trembling slightly with her emotions.

"Are you nervous?" Gao Wu leaned close to Song Mingyue with concern, almost kissing her on the lips, and said, "Why are you nervous? Kissing won't make you pregnant."

Song Mingyue felt both shy and amused, and her face immediately turned red.

"Oh, you're not nervous, you're actually excited, right?" Gao Wu found Xiao Song's reaction amusing and wanted to tease her even more.

"I... I didn't..." Song Mingyue knew Gao Wu was joking, but she still couldn't help but explain in a low voice.

Seeing Xiao Song blushing like a boiled shrimp, Gao Wu felt a little sorry for her: "I'm all better now. Go back and get some rest. See you tomorrow."

When Xiao Song noticed that Gao Wu had distanced himself from her, she breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt a little disappointed.

She instinctively resisted close physical contact with others, but Gao Wu was an exception. However, Gao Wu's constant teasing made her a little uncomfortable.

She preferred quiet moments together—sitting over tea, reading, taking walks, practicing martial arts—things that didn't require excessive intimacy but were more intimate than any physical gesture. Gao Wu, however, seemed to prefer playful banter like two monkeys…

Back in his bedroom, Gao Wu took a quick shower, changed into his pajamas, and then lay down on the bed to open the Book of Boundless Merit.

After opening the third acupoint, none of the five basic attributes changed...

This was within his expectations, as his basic attributes were all very high, with even his weakest attributes, agility and strength, exceeding the level of a high-level warrior.

Opening up three acupoints only advances one to the rank of advanced warrior.

Afterward, the three acupoints worked together to absorb and release source energy, increasing cultivation efficiency many times over, and consequently boosting combat output. Martial artists strengthen themselves step by step by constantly absorbing and releasing source energy to nourish their body and spirit; this is a slow process.

The use of potions is mostly to compensate for weaknesses and stimulate the body's potential. In fact, these are mostly used in conjunction with source power and secret techniques.

His practice of injecting drugs like crazy at the martial arts level is a very special case.

His physical attributes won't change much in the short term, unless he activates another divine spell to strengthen his body.

Gao Wu then released his Yin Spirit to observe the source of the acupoint. The acupoint between his eyebrows shone brightly and clearly, and in terms of appearance, it was much brighter than the other two acupoints combined.

This acupoint is unusually hidden. Even if he activates his source power, it will be concealed by connecting with the other two acupoints.

He felt that the source power gathered in the acupoint between his eyebrows was more than three times that of the acupoint between his heart and chest. The source power value of the acupoint between his heart and chest should be around two thousand, while the source power value of the acupoint between his eyebrows was over six thousand.

The combined source energy value of the three acupoints is probably around 10,000.

The academy has specialized testing equipment, but Gao Wu is reluctant to take the tests because they would leave data that he doesn't have the authority to delete.

There's no need to calculate the source energy so precisely; just knowing the situation yourself is enough.

Compared to Wan Canglong, Gao Wu's current source power level is by no means inferior to Wan Canglong's, and may even be slightly higher.

His mental strength is definitely higher than Wan Canglong's. In terms of martial arts cultivation, there shouldn't be much difference.

The only gap is that he cannot yet unleash his martial arts divine form, his application of source power is still lacking, and he also lacks experience in fighting against martial arts masters.

However, he possesses the Yin Spirit Sword Control ability, which is enough to make up for this gap.

Although they lacked armor at the Martial Master level, the Heavenly Destiny Sword was enough to make up for the gap in equipment between them and Martial Masters.

A comprehensive comparison shows that in his normal state, he is capable of fighting against ordinary martial artists, and in his peak burst state, he should be able to hold his own against martial arts masters.

However, the bio-armor is indeed powerful, amplifying a martial artist's strength several times over. Moreover, those who achieve the status of martial artists usually possess their own trump cards and secret techniques for explosive power.

If they are followers of demons, they have all sorts of mysterious methods.

His cultivation level is quite good now; he should have no problem facing warriors. But with martial masters, you have to be extremely careful.

Gao Wu considered whether to get some Vajra Elixir to further strengthen his body and increase his power. However, since he had just opened his third acupoint and was in the period of guiding source energy to permeate his body, using an elixir would not be appropriate.

The Dragon Claw Peak Trial is in a few days, and he feels he needs to make more preparations.

He's not delusional; it's just that the situation is bad right now, and who knows what kind of trouble might arise.

Since there's no way to make significant progress in cultivation in the short term, we can only try to find solutions in other areas.

The academy gave him 10,000 points, which could be exchanged for resources such as advanced ginseng oral liquid and other special medicines that could save lives in critical moments.

The next morning, Gao Wu could clearly feel the difference.

The "Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use" technique, combined with the acupoint between the eyebrows, allows for a deeper level of sleep, filling every cell in the body with vitality and energy. This is not overexcitement, but rather the body's healthy, stable, and natural growth.

Taking advantage of his strong physique, he injected himself with various medications. In fact, there were some drug residues in his body to varying degrees, which did not affect his health.

However, as his cultivation level increased, the accumulation of these tiny, dust-like medicinal substances in his body gradually became a blockage.

How to put it? It's like loose gravel on a highway. It may look like it doesn't affect the car, but it will continuously damage the road.

This night's deep sleep resolved some of the medication buildup. Over time, deep sleep will continuously cleanse the body, subtly altering his physical condition.

Gao Wu was very satisfied with this.

With only a few days left, Gao Wu decided to kill some time at the Heavenly Limit Nine Realms. In this secluded secret realm, he could test his various powers without fear of leaks...

On September 30th, a long line of large buses slowly passed through the Longmen Bridge, attracting the attention of pedestrians on both sides.

An elderly man dressed in black quietly observed the long convoy, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. A middle-aged man stood respectfully to the side.

The old man in black said in a low voice, "Let's leave the others aside, but that guy named Gao Wu must be killed, and it would be best if he could be captured alive..."

The middle-aged man respectfully replied, "With the high priest personally presiding over this, there will be no mishap."

"They knew we were coming, and we knew they were prepared. It's a matter of who's more capable."

The old man in black said calmly, "Even if Song Xuetao comes this time, he will not return alive!"

"This world will soon merge with the other world, and the light of the God-King will surely illuminate the world; this is the inevitable trend. Those foolish and stubborn who do not conform to this trend will surely be swallowed up by the torrent of history..."

At this point, the old man couldn't help but sneer, "Human civilization is only a few thousand years old. We can't even venture out into the star systems, and we don't even know what the soul is. Such ignorant beings are unusually arrogant. It's truly laughable!"

(End of this chapter)