My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

first day.

Before dawn, Chen Xuan dragged me out of bed.

"What time?" I asked groggily.

"Five o'clock." Chen Xuan's voice was devoid of emotion. "Starting today, be at the training ground at five o'clock sharp every morning. One extra hour of training for each instance of lateness."

I wanted to cry but couldn't.

Five o'clock?

At this time of day, I'd usually be having a sweet dream.

Despite my complaints, I obediently got up, dressed, and followed Chen Xuan toward the back of the mountain.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated over the training ground.

The two characters "Guiyuan" on the stone platform appeared and disappeared in the mist, like two ancient symbols, quietly watching me.

"Today we'll practice the second form," Chen Xuan said in a deep voice, standing beside the stone platform. "Tai Chi begins."

"Didn't we practice yesterday?"

"Yesterday was the beginning; today is the official start of cultivation," Chen Xuan said. "Yesterday you only touched the threshold; today you must step inside."

"How do I cross it?"

"Mobilize the energy in your dantian and let it flow along your meridians," Chen Xuan said. "This is the most fundamental of martial arts cultivation. Only by achieving this can one be considered a true martial artist."

I took a deep breath and, following the method I learned yesterday, assumed the starting stance.

Then, I closed my eyes and began to sense the location of my dantian.

A warm sensation appeared quickly.

Very good, the energy in your dantian has been activated.

Now, we need to get it moving.

I tried to use my mind to drive that energy.

Not moving at all.

Push again.

It still doesn't move.

"Too hasty," Chen Xuan's voice came from the side. "You need to establish a connection with it first, not force it to obey."

"Establish contact?"

"Imagine your dantian as a friend. You want it to move, not command it to move, but invite it to move."

invite?

I tried a different approach.

Instead of forcibly pushing it, I gently touched that energy with my consciousness, as if greeting it.

Sure enough, the energy shifted slightly.

It seemed to come alive and began to move slowly.

But it only moved a little bit before stopping again.

"Continue," Chen Xuan said.

I continued trying.

Once, twice, three times...

The distance the energy travels changes from one inch to two inches, and from two inches to three inches.

But each time it reaches a certain point, it stops, as if it's blocked by something.

"Those are the bottlenecks in your meridians," Chen Xuan explained. "It takes an ordinary person several months to clear one meridian. Although your martial arts foundation is good, you still need to proceed step by step."

"Then let's take it one step at a time," I said.

So I slowed down and stopped being in a rush.

We will clear the blockages little by little and advance the project step by step.

This process was extremely tedious, but I didn't give up.

At noon, Zhao Tiezhu brought lunch.

"I heard you practiced all morning?" He placed his lunchbox next to me. "How was it?"

"I'm tired." I took the lunchbox and started eating heartily. "It's much harder than I imagined."

"Of course it's difficult," Zhao Tiezhu said, sitting to the side. "Tai Chi Guiyuan Gong is a closely guarded secret of the Lin family; normally, it takes three years to even begin to grasp its basics. You've only been practicing for a few days?"

"But I don't have three years," I said. "I only have three days."

Zhao Tiezhu fell silent.

"Three days is indeed too short," he said, "but it's not entirely impossible."

"You have a foundation in martial arts, which is your biggest advantage. Ordinary people have to start from scratch to unblock their meridians, but you don't. You were born with unobstructed meridians; you just need to activate them."

"Really?" My eyes lit up.

"Really." Zhao Tiezhu nodded. "Although I belong to the Tie family, I also have some connections with your Lin family. I know a little about the foundations of martial arts."

"Those with a foundation in martial arts have their dantian and meridians partially activated at birth. With the right method, they can be quickly opened."

"What method?"

Zhao Tiezhu thought for a moment and said, "Your father used a special method back then."

"What method?"

"Use the energy of the cost-balance scale to impact the meridians."

I was stunned.

"The balance of costs?"

"Yes," Zhao Tiezhu said. "The essence of the Balance of Costs is the power of rules. Using its energy to impact the meridians can significantly shorten cultivation time."

"But this method is very risky," he added. "If not controlled properly, it's easy to hurt yourself."

"Your father had extremely strong self-control, which is why he succeeded. An ordinary person would most likely have gone mad from practicing qi cultivation."

I was silent.

Use the energy of the balance scale to impact the meridians...

That sounds dangerous.

But if it succeeds...

"Worth a try," I murmured.

In the afternoon, I started trying new methods.

As Zhao Tiezhu instructed, I first mobilized the energy in my dantian and guided it to the key points of my meridians.

Then, I activated the cost balance.

The image of scales appeared in my mind, radiating a faint golden light.

I controlled that power of rules, allowing it to merge into the energy in my dantian.

The two energies merged together, forming an even more powerful force.

"go!"

I used my mind to propel the fused energy, and it crashed violently into the bottleneck of the meridians.

boom!

A muffled thud came from inside his body.

I felt my internal organs vibrating.

Then, that level...

Broken.

"It worked?" I opened my eyes in surprise.

But the next second, excruciating pain struck.

That out-of-control energy surged wildly along the meridians, like a runaway horse, completely out of control.

"ah--!"

I was in so much pain that I was covered in sweat and curled up on the ground.

"Xiao Fan!" Chen Xuan's voice came from afar.

He rushed over and placed his palm on my lower abdomen.

A gentle force flowed into my body, helping to calm the turbulent energy.

"You idiot!" Chen Xuan roared, "Who told you to be so reckless!"

"I...I want to try..." I said weakly.

"What are you trying! Do you know how dangerous that was!"

Chen Xuan was so angry his mustache stood on end: "If you do this, at best your meridians will be damaged, at worst you'll suffer a qi deviation!"

"Your father dared to do this after ten years of internal energy cultivation! You've only been practicing for a few days?"

I am speechless.

I was indeed too impulsive.

"However..." Chen Xuan's tone suddenly changed, "it seems it wasn't entirely ineffective."

"What?"

"Your meridians are clearer than this morning." He released his grip, his expression subtle. "Although it almost turned out badly, there has definitely been progress."

I paused for a moment, then looked inward at my body.

really.

Although many blockages in the meridians were still not cleared, they were much smoother than in the morning.

"This is......"

"The power of the Balance of Costs' rules can indeed accelerate cultivation," Chen Xuan nodded, "but you need more precise control."

"We can't just rush things like before; we have to take it one step at a time."

the next day.

After a night's rest, my body has mostly recovered.

Although still somewhat weak, her mental state has improved significantly.

"Let's continue today," Chen Xuan said, standing in front of me, "but you're not allowed to use yesterday's brute-force methods again."

"clear."

"Your method yesterday wasn't actually wrong, it was just too forceful," Chen Xuan said. "Today you need to learn to control it."

"How do you control it?"

"When using the balance of power, don't unleash all its strength at once," Chen Xuan said. "Divide it into ten parts, and release only one part at a time."

Will this work?

"You'll know once you try."

Following Chen Xuan's instructions, I began a new attempt.

First, mobilize the energy in your dantian to reach the first barrier.

Then activate the cost balance and divide the power of the rules into ten parts.

Release the first one.

The energy struck the barrier, causing a slight vibration.

It wasn't broken, but it wavered a little.

"Continue," Chen Xuan said.

The second one.

The third one.

The fourth one.

The fifth one...

boom!

The first barrier finally crumbled.

"Continue with the second round," Chen Xuan's voice came from the side. "Strike while the iron is hot."

I nodded, mobilized the remaining energy, and continued to try to overcome the next obstacle.

The second course...

The third course...

The fourth one...

I don't know how much time passed before I finally stopped.

I was covered in sweat, but I felt more refreshed than ever before.

"Good progress today," Chen Xuan nodded. "At this rate, we should be able to master the basics of the second move by tomorrow."

"real?"

"Really." Chen Xuan rarely showed a smile. "Your comprehension is even better than I imagined."

Day three.

Before dawn, I was already standing on the training ground.

After two days of training, my body has fully adapted to the high-intensity training.

I even started to enjoy the feeling of pushing my limits.

"The core of the second form, 'Tai Chi Life,' is to allow the energy in the dantian to circulate," Chen Xuan said, standing to the side. "Yesterday you opened your meridians, but the energy hasn't yet formed a complete circulation."

"We must achieve this today."

I nodded and began my practice for the day.

Mobilize the energy in your dantian and let it flow along the meridians that were opened yesterday.

Release the power of the rules one by one to ensure that every step is stable and controllable.

One lap...

Two laps...

Three laps...

The energy began to accelerate.

It flows rapidly along the meridians, forming a complete cycle.

"It's done!" Zhao Tiezhu's voice came from afar. "Old Lin, you did it!"

I opened my eyes and looked at my body.

The energy in the dantian is circulating along the meridians, and it strengthens with each circulation.

Driven by this energy, the balance of costs is also shifting.

The pattern on the scales became clearer, and the golden light it emitted was brighter than before.

"Your conversion efficiency..." Chen Xuan looked at the testing device in his hand, his expression shocked, "It's improved?"

"How much?" I asked.

"55%." Chen Xuan looked up at me. "Your conversion efficiency has increased from 45% to 55%."

"A 10 percentage point increase overnight?"

I was stunned.

"There seems to be some connection between the cost balance and martial arts cultivation," Chen Xuan murmured. "As your martial arts cultivation improves, the efficiency of the cost balance also increases."

"This is......"

"One of your father's research findings," Chen Xuan nodded, "is the Tai Chi Returning to Origin function that enhances the efficiency of the cost balance. The two forces complement each other."

"That's why the Lin family's balancers are stronger than other balancers."

I looked at my fist and felt an unprecedented power within it.

Martial arts cultivation plus the price to balance things out...

Perhaps I really can do what my father did back then.

Just then, Su Mingyue hurriedly ran up the mountain.

"Something's up!" she shouted. "The Night Ravens are making a move!"

"What action?" Chen Xuan's expression turned serious.

"They're mobilizing manpower," Su Mingyue said, panting. "According to our intelligence network, they're converging on the city center."

"Gather?"

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "it seems like the ritual needs to be activated ahead of schedule."

"Early?" My heart sank. "Wasn't it supposed to be six days?"

"Intelligence indicates they may act in three days," Su Mingyue said, "three days earlier than originally planned."

Three days.

There are only three days left.

I looked at Chen Xuan and saw that his expression had also become serious.

"The plans have changed," he said. "We need to move forward."