Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Lu Wushuang lowered her head, staring intently at the remaining tea in her teacup. Her heart was pounding, and her back was drenched in cold sweat. She mentally cursed herself mercilessly. When would she ever be able to control this foul mouth of hers?

Huang Rong held her teacup, her eyelids slightly raised, observing Lu Wushuang's reaction. The girl's panic was completely on display; she couldn't hide it at all.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Huang Rong put down her teacup, the porcelain clinking softly against the wooden table. "Is it an old acquaintance from my hometown of Jiaxing? Or some young hero I met while wandering the martial world?"

Lu Wushuang gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white from the effort. She bit her lower lip and shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"No, no. Sister Rong, you misheard me. I was just talking nonsense."

"Nonsense?" Huang Rong chuckled. "Words spoken in the heat of the moment are often the truth. The more you try to hide it, the more it shows how important you are. What are you afraid of? Afraid I'll tell everyone?"

Lu Wushuang glanced up at Huang Rong, then quickly lowered her head again. The person in her heart was someone she couldn't possibly reveal. If Li Mochou found out, they'd both be dead.

Over the years, whenever she gets close to someone, that person immediately dies.

She racked her brains but couldn't figure out who did it. Later, she guessed that it must have been that vicious woman Li Mochou who did it for a reward.

"Sister Rong, please stop asking, okay?" Lu Wushuang's voice was pleading. "I really don't have anyone I like. I'm just a cripple, I've lost my family, who would want me? I'm not good enough for anyone, and I don't want to think about those things."

Upon hearing the word "cripple," Huang Rong's gaze swept over Lu Wushuang's left leg. She could tell that this girl was deeply insecure. This insecurity, coupled with her defensiveness, had created a thick shell around her.

Huang Rong changed her approach. She reached out and patted Lu Wushuang's hand twice.

"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. Feelings are something only the person experiencing them truly understands." Huang Rong's tone softened. "But remember, your cousin Cheng Ying is my father's last disciple. Out of respect, you should call me 'Senior Sister.' If anyone bullies you in the future, just mention my name, Huang Rong. As long as you're in the right, the tens of thousands of Beggars' Sect disciples will be your support."

Lu Wu's eyes welled up with tears again. She had suffered countless scornful looks and bullying over the years, and apart from Yang Guo protecting her a few times, no one had ever spoken to her like this before. She nodded heavily, clutching the box of rouge tightly in her hand.

Huang Rong knew when to stop. She knew that getting information out of someone required a delicate touch; pushing too hard could backfire. Anyway, she was going to stay at Chongyang Palace for seven days, so she had plenty of time. This girl was tight-lipped; she could go back and ask Yang Guo. That kid was full of tricks; he might know something.

"After we finish this bowl of tea, we'll head back to the mountain." Huang Rong stood up and straightened her skirt.

Chongyang Palace, Headmaster's Courtyard.

The doors and windows of the main house were tightly closed. Yang Guo sat cross-legged on the hardwood couch, his hands on his knees, his eyes slightly closed.

He has maintained this posture for two whole hours.

The energy pathways of the "Kan Li Jue" technique circulated continuously within his body. He didn't deliberately guide it; he simply focused on the energy point three-tenths of an inch below his navel.

The Nine Yin True Qi within the body automatically differentiates. The warmer Yang Qi travels along the Governing Vessel, ascending along the spine. The cooler Yin Qi travels along the Conception Vessel, descending along the chest and abdomen. The two streams of Qi converge in the Dantian, and with each convergence, a warm, moist current is generated.

This feeling is extremely comfortable.

The deficit caused by Xiaolongnu and Li Mochou's continuous exploitation is being gradually filled by this warm current. The aching lumbar spine is regaining its strength, and the weak legs have regained feeling.

Yang Guo slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long, stale breath. The breath swirled in the air before slowly dissipating.

He clenched his fist, feeling the force coming from his knuckles.

"I'm good again!" Yang Guo grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

This "Kanli Technique" is definitely not just a method of dual cultivation. It not only swept away his previous fatigue, but even made him feel three times more energetic than usual. He now felt that even if Li Mochou dragged him into a cave for another three hundred rounds of battle, he would absolutely not back down.

Yang Guo jumped off the couch and walked around the room twice. His body was light and his steps were steady.

As he stretched his limbs, he savored the feeling of practicing the exercise. He discovered that the effects of this exercise were far more than just restoring physical strength and harmonizing yin and yang.

It touches upon the fundamental threshold of martial arts training.

In his previous life, Yang Guo was a voracious reader of online novels. In this life, he became the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, gaining access to a vast number of martial arts classics. He has a very clear understanding of the thresholds for martial arts realms in this world.

There are countless martial arts practitioners in this world. But the vast majority can only manage to rank between second and third-rate, making a living with a few basic farming skills and external martial arts techniques.

Those with a little talent, who join a prestigious sect and practice authentic internal energy cultivation, can approach the level of a top-tier master. For example, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

With his sixteen years of refined internal energy, the foundation of the Nine Yin Manual, and the destructive power of the One-Finger Divine Skill, Yang Guo has now firmly established himself at the top of the first-class level.

But he knew that wasn't enough. Top-tier, first-rate, to put it bluntly, is still a realm of acquired skill.

For martial artists who have acquired their skills, there is a limit to the amount of internal energy they can generate. To put it simply, the dantian is like a water tank, and the meridians are like water pipes. Once the tank is full, their martial arts skills have reached their limit. When they encounter someone with deeper internal energy, they can only stare helplessly.

To break through this limit, one must go from acquired to innate.

The Innate Realm is a huge watershed. Upon entering the Innate Realm, the body's meridians undergo a qualitative change, true qi is generated inexhaustibly, and one can even draw upon a trace of the qi in the world for one's own use. Reaching this realm allows one to roam freely in the martial world.

However, the transition from the acquired to the innate realm is an insurmountable chasm.

This formidable barrier has extremely demanding requirements—it requires opening up the eight extraordinary meridians within the human body.

The human body has twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians. The twelve regular meridians are the channels that govern the daily flow of Qi and blood. Ordinary martial artists practice Qi by circulating it within the twelve regular meridians.

The eight extraordinary meridians are normally closed. They are hidden deep within the flesh and blood, varying in thickness and extremely fragile.

To open the eight extraordinary meridians, one needs an extremely large and pure internal force to break through them. This process is extremely dangerous. If the internal force is too strong, the meridians will not be able to withstand it and will break inch by inch. At best, one's martial arts will be completely ruined; at worst, one will die on the spot. If the internal force is insufficient and the knots cannot be broken, the true energy will flow back into the dantian, causing one to suffer a qi deviation.

Therefore, many top-tier martial arts masters are stuck at this hurdle their entire lives, unable to overcome it. No one dares to try it lightly, after all, one only has one life.

Yang Guo hadn't dared to act recklessly before. Although his internal energy had become stronger after consuming the Nine-Turn Life-Reversing Pill, its quality wasn't yet gentle enough. If he were to forcibly open up his eight extraordinary meridians, he wasn't entirely confident he could save his life.

But now, with this book, "The Secret of Kan and Li," the situation is completely different.

Yang Guo sat back down at the table, poured himself a glass of cold tea, and gulped it down. His mind became increasingly clear.

He figured out the most incredible aspect of this technique.

Ordinary people use a mixture of acquired internal energy to break through the eight extraordinary meridians. This energy contains both yin and yang, making it volatile and difficult to control. When it rampages through the narrow and fragile meridians, it is extremely easy to cause harm.

However, the "Kan Li Jue" separates the Yin and Yang energies within the body.

Yang energy flows through the Du meridian, while Yin energy flows through the Ren meridian. Under the influence of the exercise, these two streams of energy become extremely gentle and peaceful.

When Yang Guo tried to use this separated true energy to test the gates of the eight extraordinary meridians, he found that those originally solid blockages actually showed signs of loosening under the nurturing of yin and yang energies.

There's no need for brute force to break through, no need to gamble with your life.

The practice method of "Kan Li Jue" involves using gentle Yin energy to nourish the inner walls of the meridians, increasing their resilience; and then using Yang energy to dissolve any blockages. Yin and Yang work together to gradually widen and open up the channels of the eight extraordinary meridians.

The process was extremely smooth, minimizing the risk of going astray.

As long as he continues to practice step by step, opening up the eight extraordinary meridians is only a matter of time. Once all eight extraordinary meridians are opened, he will be able to naturally step into the Innate Realm.

Yang Guo became more and more excited as he thought about it. He rubbed his hands together and paced back and forth in the room.

He had reached the Innate Realm! Only after reaching that level could he truly establish himself on Mount Zhongnan. Not to mention dealing with a few foolish bandits, even if he encountered those long-established monsters, he could definitely escape even if he couldn't defeat them.

He even thought further ahead.

According to ancient texts, above the Innate Realm, there is another realm—Grandmaster.

The Grandmaster realm represents those who truly stand at the pinnacle of the martial arts world. The Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar all belong to this level.

Reaching the Grandmaster level is incredibly difficult, requiring the complete opening of the two most vital meridians in the human body: the Ren and Du meridians.

The Ren and Du meridians run through the central axis of the human body and are the hubs for the circulation of vital energy. Opening these two meridians requires extremely high comprehension and a stroke of luck. Many innate masters spend their entire lives without ever even touching the threshold of the Ren and Du meridians.

Yang Guo looked down at his lower abdomen.

The first step of the "Kan Li Jue" is to allow the Yin and Yang energies to circulate separately in the Ren and Du meridians. From the very beginning, this practice lays the foundation for opening up the Ren and Du meridians.

This is equivalent to giving him a ticket directly to the Grandmaster realm.

This technique has no fancy moves and doesn't teach people how to fight, but it points directly to the essence of cultivation and is the true path.

Above the Grandmaster is the Great Grandmaster, a realm that is ethereal and elusive. Apart from the deceased Wang Chongyang, Yang Guo cannot think of anyone alive in this world who has reached this level.

He took the manuscript out of his pocket and carefully placed it in the hidden compartment by the bedside, covering it with two changes of clothes. This was his most precious possession; he absolutely could not let anyone find out.

After doing all this, Yang Guo stretched out a big yawn. His joints cracked and popped.

It felt so good to be full of energy. He was even starting to look forward to Li Mochou or Xiaolongnu coming to cause him trouble. He wanted to show them that the authority of the Quanzhen Sect leader was not to be challenged.

Just as Yang Guo was contemplating the future, footsteps sounded in the courtyard.

The footsteps were sometimes light, sometimes heavy; it was Lu Wushuang returning.

Immediately afterwards, another light footstep stopped outside the main house door.

"Is Guo'er inside?"

Huang Rong's voice rang out from outside the door, her tone calm and devoid of any discernible emotion.

Yang Guo's spirits lifted. He strode to the table, grabbed a Taoist scripture, and spread it out, pretending to be a diligent student.

"Yes, Sister Rong. The door's unlocked, come in," Yang Guo cleared his throat and replied loudly.

The wooden door was pushed open. Huang Rong stepped over the threshold and came in. She was still holding the pale yellow silk cloth that she hadn't given away.

Huang Rong closed the door behind her and glanced at Yang Guo.

She was an exceptionally intelligent person with a keen eye. With just one glance, she could tell that Yang Guo's condition was completely different from the previous night. Last night in the bathtub, the boy looked listless, as if all his energy had been drained, and even his voice lacked strength.

But now, sitting at the table, his eyes were bright, his complexion was rosy, and he exuded a vibrant energy from within. Even his breathing became long and steady, revealing the demeanor of a master.

Huang Rong was somewhat surprised. Had this kid taken some powerful tonics? How could he recover so quickly?

"Sister Rong, you're back from shopping down the mountain?" Yang Guo put down his Taoist scriptures, stood up, and went to greet her. He instinctively reached out to take Huang Rong's hand.