Chapter 19 Explanation

After a moment, once they had calmed down a little, Lin Xing spoke up: "Alright, you must have some questions by now, right?" Seeing them nod, Lin Xing continued, "Earlier, I gave you that book—have you memorized its contents?"

When he gave them the book, Lin Xing had instructed them to memorize the formulas inside word for word. Actually, the formulas weren't very long, and with their aptitude, they should have already learned them by heart within a few days.

Lin Feng and the others replied, "We've memorized it word for word, but we still don't understand what it means. Could you explain it to us, Young Master?"

Lin Xing nodded and said, "That's exactly why I came today. After all, if I don't explain, I doubt anyone else could make sense of it."

He paused briefly before continuing, "The Zhen Qi you've been feeling—those little snakes constantly darting around inside your bodies—are the Zhen Qi produced by cultivating the martial arts I taught you. Even though you still can't comprehend the martial arts formulas I gave you, you've learned how to channel the Zhen Qi I left in your bodies, right?"

Lin Feng and the others nodded in agreement. Of course! Before Lin Xing began their Meridian Cleansing, he had instructed them to sense the flow of the Zhen Qi he left in their bodies after the cleansing and to try following its movement. Now, they were already getting the hang of it.

"Is the Zhen Qi flowing along a specific path inside your bodies?" Lin Xing asked. Without waiting for their answer, he continued, "Then do you know what Meridians are?" Lin Xing didn't rush to give the answer, letting the four of them think it over carefully to see if they knew.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Dian hesitantly said, "Young Master, are the so-called Meridians the pathways through which the Zhen Qi flows inside the body?" The other three also looked at Lin Xing with curious eyes, waiting for his answer.

Lin Xing smiled slightly and said, "Yes, those pathways are the Meridians—the channels that can store some Zhen Qi. As long as your Zhen Qi isn't depleted, there will always be Zhen Qi flowing through the Meridians. You should also have gotten a sense of how much Zhen Qi you have, right?"

"Yes, Young Master. Our Meridians seem much more spacious than the amount of Zhen Qi we have."

"That's exactly it. This is the benefit of the Meridian Cleansing I performed on you. If I hadn't done this, your Meridians would only be as large as your Zhen Qi. Now, your Meridians have greatly expanded. In the future, your Zhen Qi will increase rapidly. The larger the Meridians, the more Zhen Qi can flow through them, and the faster it flows. Of course, the advantage is that when you need to use Zhen Qi in the future, you'll have more to draw upon, and the faster you can mobilize it, the better. You understand this principle—just like Swordsmen and mages. Mages need to chant to cast spells, while we don't have such hassle. We only need to mobilize the Zhen Qi inside our bodies. The faster you can mobilize it, the greater your advantage. In battles between masters, victory can be decided in an instant. Whoever strikes faster has a greater chance of winning—of course, this applies to masters of the same level. You must keep this in mind."

"Also, besides sensing the Zhen Qi flowing through your Meridians, have you noticed anything else unusual about the Zhen Qi?"

Lin Feng and the other three shook their heads and said, "We haven't sensed anything else different."

"Really nothing?"

"Really nothing, Young Master!" the four of them affirmed.

"Focus and sense again before you say anything." With that, he told them to focus on sensing.

After a while, they opened their eyes one by one and looked at Lin Xing with confusion. "We still haven't sensed anything different, Young Master."

Lin Xing was a little exasperated, but this was quite normal. It wasn't strange that they couldn't sense it.

However, Lin Xing continued to coax them along. "Apart from sensing the Zhen Qi flowing through your Meridians and gradually increasing, have you noticed that when the Zhen Qi enters a certain place and comes back out, it becomes a tiny bit less than when it went in?"

The four of them shook their heads again, indicating they truly didn't know.

"Then take another careful look."

Lin Xing, on the other hand, wasn't in a hurry. He picked up a cup of tea from the side and slowly sipped it.

Lin Feng and the other three sat cross-legged and slowly focused on sensing the Zhen Qi in their Meridians.

With Lin Xing's reminder, Lin Feng and the others observed the flow of Zhen Qi in their Meridians even more carefully. Finally, they noticed something unusual. When the Zhen Qi flowed to a spot about three inches below the navel and came back out, it became slightly less. Looking inside that spot, they saw a round, ball-like object, with what seemed like tightly packed Zhen Qi inside!

The four of them couldn't help but feel confused, not knowing what was going on. They all opened their eyes and looked at Lin Xing, eagerly awaiting his explanation.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Xing knew they had discovered it. He said, "You must be wondering what exactly is going on, right?"

The four of them nodded eagerly.

"Well, I still need to explain it to you properly. That round, ball-like object you saw is what I usually refer to as the Dantian. As for its function, you already know—it absorbs a bit of Zhen Qi from the Meridians. As for why it absorbs Zhen Qi, let me ask you: Do you know where all the great rivers on land flow to?"

"Of course, they flow into the sea," the four of them said in unison.

"And where does the seawater flow to?" "We don't know!" the four of them replied bluntly.

"The seawater stays in the ocean—there's nowhere else for it to go. The ocean is the ultimate place where water is stored! Similarly, your Dantian is like the ocean, storing the Zhen Qi from your Meridians. It continuously compresses and compresses it. The more Zhen Qi there is in the Dantian and the more intensely it's compressed, the more powerful you become!"

"Do you understand now?"

"We understand, but Young Master, why must Zhen Qi be stored in the Dantian?" Lin Dian asked.

"Storing Zhen Qi in the Dantian is the general practice, but that doesn't mean Zhen Qi can only be stored there. It can also be stored in other places, but where those places are and whether they're safe or not is unknown!"

Lin Dian nodded, seeming to understand but not fully.

"Also, the reason you can see the state of the Zhen Qi inside your bodies is because you've initially developed spiritual sense. Of course, this spiritual sense is still very weak and can only observe what's inside your bodies. But once it becomes stronger, it can be used as a form of attack technique! Of course, these are attack methods only masters can perform."

"As for the Cultivation Method I gave you, it's mainly for cultivating Zhen Qi. There aren't many attack techniques included. In the future, I'll teach you some attack methods and skills. Of course, you can also learn some cultivation methods from other Swordsmen. I suggest you find the attack methods that suit you best. Remember, skill lies in mastery, not in quantity. Specializing in one area will greatly benefit your cultivation!"

"Do you have any other questions? If not for now, you can come ask me later if anything comes up. For now, take some time to digest what I've explained today. Tomorrow, I'll come back to teach you some attack methods."

With that, Lin Xing left.