The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The nights at Runzhou Wudang Boxing Gym are quieter than those in Beijing.

There was no longer the incessant shouts of boatmen at Tongzhou Wharf throughout the night.

There were no lights on Qipan Street that stayed up all night.

Only the gentle lapping of the canal water against the stone banks and the occasional bark of a dog in the distance could be heard, and then there was no other sound.

Song Yuanqiao sat cross-legged under the tree, closing his eyes and concentrating.

His breathing was long and steady, with each inhale.

The Qi and blood in the Dantian then slowly ascend along the meridians, passing through the Tanzhong point, running along the Jiaji point, and circling the Yuzhen point.

There was a slight pause at the Baihui acupoint, then the energy returned to the Dantian along the Ren meridian, repeating endlessly.

This set of Tai Chi skills was something he comprehended during his three-year seclusion in Wudang Mountain in his previous life.

It integrates the essence of Tai Chi mental techniques personally passed down by Zhang Sanfeng and the Wudang Nine Yang Skill, emphasizing using softness to overcome hardness and stillness to control movement.

In his previous life, he used this set of skills to rank among the top masters of his time, and after the battle at Bright Peak, he was publicly elected as the leader of the martial arts alliance.

The immortal in this life imprinted the complete circulation route of this cultivation technique into his mind, but since his cultivation level in this body is still shallow, he cannot yet use many of its subtleties.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

He spent a full half month going through the Tai Chi Divine Skill from beginning to end, carefully comprehending every key point in the circulation of Qi and blood.

Only after confirming that this set of techniques could still exert at least 80% of its power under the Qi and Blood system did he leave the meditation room and summon his four junior brothers to the backyard.

Under the moonlight, four prayer cushions were lined up in a row.

Yu Lianzhou sat cross-legged with his back straight and his hands on his knees. His posture was not like that of someone meditating, but rather like a sword about to be drawn from its sheath.

Yu Daiyan sat in a wheelchair with a yellowed boxing manual spread out on his lap.

Unable to walk, he used his hands instead of his feet, his fingers slowly tracing the air to simulate the flow of qi and blood.

Zhang Songxi sat next to Yu Daiyan, holding a charcoal pencil and some paper, ready to take notes at any time.

Yin Liting sat at the very end, his hands clasped together in his dantian, his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. His sword lay across his knees, the thin white rainbow pattern on the scabbard gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

Song Yuanqiao looked around and slowly said, "Fellow disciples, the five of us were all top-notch masters in our time. Lianzhou's Tai Chi swordplay is a perfect blend of strength and gentleness, Daiyan's boxing principles are profound and unmatched, Songxi's strategies are flawless, and Liting's swordplay is imbued with emotion."

"In terms of martial arts talent and experience, we are no less than anyone else in this world. But in this life, we are stuck at the fifth or sixth rank, unable to break through. Why?"

Yu Lianzhou opened his eyes, his voice deep and steady: "The cultivation method is incorrect."

"When Master created the Tai Chi lineage, it was to establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, and to continue the lost teachings of the sages."

"If a set of exercises can establish its own school, its essence lies in the fact that the circulation of qi and blood is in harmony with the principles of nature."

"But the techniques in our boxing gym are just basic skills passed down from back then. They're okay for building a foundation, but if you want to go any further, it's like trying to fill a bamboo basket with water. No matter how much you fill it, it will leak out as you go."

He spoke these words in a calm tone, but his chest rose and fell slightly, clearly indicating that he was not at peace.

In his previous life, he was the strongest fighter among the Seven Heroes of Wudang. When he used the Tai Chi Sword Technique, even the Xuanming Elders of the Ruyang Prince's Mansion dared not confront him head-on.

In this life, however, he was stuck at the sixth rank, unable to even touch the threshold of the seventh rank.

He had suppressed this resentment silently in his quiet room for half a month, and only tonight did he finally let it out.

Yu Daiyan stopped his hand gestures and looked up at Song Yuanqiao: "Senior Brother, have you... mastered your Tai Chi skills?"

Song Yuanqiao nodded.

In his previous life, he spent three years comprehending the divine power of Tai Chi.

With memories of his previous life as a foundation, he completed the entire Qi and blood circulation route of the cultivation technique in just half a month.

This set of exercises uses intention to control qi, qi to move the body, and qi and blood to circulate along the meridians.

Each acupoint is gently nourished, and when the exercise is finished, the Qi and blood return to the Dantian, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, without a single drop being lost.

The martial arts techniques of the Wudang lineage were created by Zhang Sanfeng in his later years by integrating the strengths of Buddhism and Taoism, emphasizing tranquility, non-action, and following the natural way.

In their past lives, they used this method to cultivate their internal strength, progressing step by step and accumulating power gradually before unleashing it.

In this world, there is no spiritual energy, but there is blood and qi.

Although the principles of Qi and Blood and the principles of Internal Strength are different, they lead to the same goal.

All of these involve circulating the body's energy along specific pathways, tempering the physical body and strengthening the fundamental essence during this process.

However, internal strength relies on the energy in the dantian, and blood and qi rely on the blood in the meridians.

Insufficient internal strength can be accumulated through arduous practice, but insufficient qi and blood will damage the foundation.

Therefore, most martial artists in this era choose to refine their qi and blood with external skills and use internal skills to assist in regulating their breathing. The higher the rank, the more emphasis is placed on cultivating both internal and external skills.

"In our past lives, we were all top-notch in our time. In terms of martial arts experience, there is no one in the entire Runzhou City who is better than the five of us brothers."

"In our past lives, our achievements far exceeded this, so in this life, our accomplishments will certainly not be limited to what we have achieved. Tonight, I will pass on the Tai Chi Divine Skill to all my fellow disciples."

He recited the mantra word by word, and each time he recited a sentence, his four fellow disciples would silently repeat it.

Those incantations were things they had memorized hundreds of times in their past lives, but hearing them again now felt like a distant, intimate connection.

When the moon rose from the top of the ginkgo tree to its zenith, the incantation was finally completed.

The four of them closed their eyes at the same time and began to cultivate according to the circulation route of Tai Chi Divine Skill.

The martial arts memories from the previous life are like a key, precisely inserted into the lock of the qi and blood circulation in this life.

It was a bit awkward at first.

After all, I have a different body now, and the width of my meridians and the speed of blood and qi flow are different from my previous life.

But soon, the muscle memory that had been practiced hundreds of times in the previous life began to awaken.

The first to change was Yu Lianzhou.

Suddenly, the flow of Qi and blood throughout his body accelerated. A visible pale red stream of Qi started from his Dantian, traveled up the Ren meridian to the Tanzhong point, and then split into two streams, flowing into his palms along the meridians of his arms.

His palms trembled slightly on his knees, and a faint red light emanated from his palms.

That red light wasn't the outward emission of qi and blood.

Those below the seventh rank cannot project their Qi and blood outwards; instead, their Qi and blood circulate rapidly through the meridians, creating a luster that shines through the skin.

His internal energy and blood were far more abundant than those of an ordinary sixth-grade cultivator. Now, having switched to the more efficient method of Tai Chi Divine Skill, he was like a wild horse that had been bound by reins for many years finally breaking free.

The Tai Chi Divine Skill circulated for three full cycles. With each cycle, the Qi and blood became stronger, the meridians widened, and the Qi vortex in the Dantian became more solid.

The martial arts experience of his previous life over several decades merged perfectly with the foundation of his qi and blood in this life, transforming into a powerful and continuous energy that surged through his meridians.

When the third cycle of Qi circulation reached its peak, a very faint and subtle humming sound emanated from his dantian.

That was the sound of the bottleneck breaking.

An invisible yet powerful energy emanated from him and spread outwards, causing the leaves on the ginkgo trees to fall in a rustling sound, and shattering the moonlight on the ground.

Rank 7.

Yu Lianzhou slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and the white breath shot straight for three feet before slowly dissipating.

He looked down at his palms. The red light on his palms had faded, but the skin on his palms had become more moist and smooth, with a faint jade-like luster.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking crisply, then looked up at Song Yuanqiao, his voice hoarse but full of energy: "Senior Brother, I have entered the seventh rank."

Song Yuanqiao smiled and nodded, but before he could speak, Yin Liting beside him also changed.

His blood and qi surged like a tide, and a very faint buzzing sound also rang out in his dantian.

Rank 6.

In his previous life, he devoted decades to mastering Tai Chi swordsmanship, and the swordsmanship had long been ingrained in his bones and blood. In this life, he was stuck at the fifth rank, not because his swordsmanship was bad, but because his internal cultivation technique was too poor.

Now that the Tai Chi Divine Skill is activated, the sword intent that I practiced hundreds of times in my previous life automatically merges with my blood and qi, and the breakthrough is a natural outcome.

Yu Daiyan and Zhang Songxi's breakthroughs were relatively gentle, without any surging energy waves or falling leaves. They simply circulated their energy quietly for nine cycles before opening their eyes simultaneously.

Yu Daiyan stepped from the fourth rank to the fifth rank, and Zhang Songxi also crossed the threshold of the fifth rank peak and faintly touched the edge of the sixth rank.

Yu Daiyan sat in a wheelchair, his legs unable to move, but his hands were trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of excitement, but because the energy and blood from the recent breakthrough were still surging through the meridians.

He had been paralyzed for decades in his previous life and had long been accustomed to being unable to walk.

But after his breakthrough in Tai Chi, he discovered that his Qi and blood could flow smoothly to above his knees.

Although he still felt nothing below his knees, this was the first time in decades that he had felt the warmth of blood and qi flowing above his knees.

Song Yuanqiao himself was also practicing Tai Chi.

In his previous life, he was the leader of Wudang Sect. When he used Tai Chi, its power was greater than that of his fellow disciples.

After nine major cycles of circulation, the Qi vortex in the dantian had transformed from a clear spring into a deep pool.

He was at the peak of the sixth rank, just one step away from the seventh rank, and he knew that he needed to break through that gap through actual combat.