Chapter 14: Qi

Yang Zhen strode with a commanding presence, exuding an innate authority that caused the courtyard to fall into instant silence as his tiger-like eyes swept across the area.

"You," Yang Zhen pointed toward the formal disciples, his voice booming like a great bell, making the roof tiles vibrate, "go fetch the horses immediately. We are heading to the training grounds outside the city to test your martial skills today."

The group of youths scattered in a flurry. Qin Sang was still in a daze when a tall, thin youth grabbed his arm and said, "Little brother, why don't you ride with me? My name is Huang Chen. How should I address you?"

Being the eldest among them, Huang Chen saw the others pairing up, so Qin Sang followed him. "I'm Qin Sang. Brother Huang, where are we going?"

"The training grounds are outside the city; we have to ride the agency's horses."

The Wuwei Escort Agency was located in the South City of Sanwu City, and the training grounds were built outside the South City. Since Qin Sang did not know how to ride, Huang Chen led him.

The two riders galloped side by side toward the city outskirts. Upon reaching the South Gate, they saw a squad of government soldiers in gleaming armor standing in solemn formation. The soldiers were guarding the gate, preventing commoners from passing, and a large crowd was being blocked at the entrance.

The group had no choice but to lead their horses and walk. After inquiring, they learned that Prince Zhenshui was heading to Baoguo Temple today to offer incense and pray for the Holy Emperor; his procession had already departed from the Prince's Mansion.

Baoguo Temple was located on Mount Luoma to the west of Sanwu City, about fifteen *li* away. However, the South Gate was the main thoroughness, and such a major sacrificial event required exiting through it.

They squeezed into the crowd and waited patiently. Soon, the sound of gongs and drums cleared the way, and Prince Zhenshui's procession emerged from the inner city. It was guarded by elite troops both in front and behind, while the dozen or so exquisite carriages in the middle were shielded by thick curtains, leaving the appearance of those inside a mystery.

Curious, Qin Sang stood on his tiptoes to peer.

As the luxurious procession exited the city gates, the sides of the main road were lined with the makeshift shelters of refugees.

It was then that Qin Sang noticed that the guards of the Prince's carriage wore cloth armor with the character "Zhen" (镇) written on the back. The color, style, and even the calligraphy were identical to those on Bai Jianglan and his companions—except that Bai Jianglan's group had been wearing short tunics with the character "Dong" (东) on their backs.

Seeing this, Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he leaned toward Huang Chen to ask.

Unsuspecting, Huang Chen whispered, "Brother Qin, you might not know, but they aren't ordinary soldiers; they are the Prince's personal guards. According to the ancestral laws of the Great Sui, a Prince may form his own guard of five hundred men, which serves as his private army. These guards are either selected from the military or recruited from the martial arts world; every one of them is an elite with high martial skill. They usually guard the Prince's Mansion, and only emerge to escort the Prince, his sons, or his daughters when they travel. It's not just Prince Zhenshui; all other princes have similar guards. The ones you saw before must have been the guards of Prince Dongyang."

Qin Sang fell into thought.

He had heard from Water Monkey that there were eight princes in the Great Sui, and one of them was indeed Prince Dongyang, the biological brother of the current Emperor. Though Water Monkey seemed boisterous, he was actually very tight-lipped and hadn't leaked a single secret.

The fact that Bai Jianglan was the commander of Prince Dongyang's personal guards meant his status was even higher than Qin Sang had imagined. As for that mysterious young lady, she was likely either the Prince's lover or his daughter.

Once the procession passed and the crowd was allowed through, they rode out of the city. After traveling a short distance on the main road, they turned into a small path leading into the mountains and arrived at a mountain villa. According to Huang Chen, this was also property of the escort agency.

The villa contained a large, level training ground.

The youths lined up on the field. Yang Zhen separated them; there were three others like Qin Sang who had only studied a single style, so they were grouped together.

After testing the other disciples and leaving them to practice on their own, Yang Zhen walked over to teach the four of them.

The other three had prior experience, whereas Qin Sang was the weakest, and he felt that Yang Zhen didn't pay him much attention.

However, the silver had not been wasted. Yang Zhen truly lived up to his reputation; he taught the *Tiger-Subduing Long Fist* with great diligence and told Qin Sang he could come every day until he had mastered it.

In a single day, Qin Sang learned the final seven forms of the complete *Tiger-Subduing Long Fist* from Yang Zhen.

To his surprise, however, there was a significant difference between the first three forms taught by Yang Zhen and those taught by Bai Jianglan. While the movements were the same, Yang Zhen lacked many of the subtle details that Bai Jianglan had emphasized.

These details, precisely, had a massive impact on the power of the techniques.

Since Qin Sang had already practiced the first three forms for many days, this realization was even more profound.

Yang Zhen had an excellent reputation; he wouldn't withhold knowledge of such a common fist technique, so the discrepancy must lie in their personal abilities.

It was said that Yang Zhen's martial arts ranked in the top ten of Sanwu City. Qin Sang wondered if he possessed internal energy—could Bai Jianglan be a top-tier master?

Regardless, the money was spent, and he had to continue learning the fist technique. He decided to attempt to deduce the final seven forms based on the guidance Bai Jianglan had given him regarding the first three.

The distance from Qingyang Temple to the Wuwei Escort Agency's villa was not far. Qin Sang went to practice every day, and upon returning, he taught the movements to Ming Yue, who quickly mastered the *Tiger-Subduing Long Fist*.

Nevertheless, he continued to visit the villa frequently to listen to the disciples exchange insights on martial arts, and he heard many stories of the martial world and learned archery and horsemanship.

It was the third month of spring, a time of lush grass and singing orioles.

In ordinary famine years, refugees would have returned to their hometowns to sow crops by this season. However, this year, rumors suggested that rebellions in the north were intensifying, with smoke rising from battlefields everywhere, causing a continuous stream of refugees to migrate south.

Man-made disasters were even more devastating than natural ones.

There was no progress with the *Netherworld Scripture*. Even though Qin Sang repeatedly convinced himself to be patient, he could no longer sit still. He could only blame his own lack of effort, so he began to practice meditation night after night, bordering on madness.

During the day, he had to practice his fist techniques, recite sutras, and assist the old Taoist. Consequently, he worked almost non-stop. Fortunately, meditation helped restore his energy, so he did not find it overly exhausting.

Moonlight spilled into the stone hut. Qin Sang stared blankly out the window. The moon was like a bright wheel, and a meteor streaked across the desolate night sky, falling beyond the distant mountains into the boundless, vast world.

After six months of effort and nearly four months of silent meditation, the "Qi" described in the scripture finally appeared within his body!

The greatest fear for a person is not persistence, but persisting without seeing hope.

But the moment true harvest arrived, one knew that all the effort had been worth it.

When he truly felt that sliver of cool Qi, Qin Sang felt as if he were in a dream.

That "Qi" was only as thin as a strand of hair, acting like a mischievous child darting around his dantian. Qin Sang tried to "catch" it to feel it more closely, but found it impossible.

The *Netherworld Scripture* stated that one could only perform "internal vision" after breaking through to the second level of the technique. For now, the only thing he could do was drive that Qi into his meridians, carefully guiding it along the paths prescribed by the manual.

After several cycles, nothing unexpected happened, and Qin Sang felt relieved. Just as he was about to relax his mind to focus entirely on cultivation, a sudden, terrifying surge of pain erupted within his meridians.

Qin Sang's entire body trembled. He suddenly curled into a ball, letting out a low, agonized roar, his clothes instantly soaked through with cold sweat.