Chapter 10: Hope for Revitalization

As Daoist Longshan explained slowly, countless flashes of inspiration surged into Ning Qi’s mind. It was as if he had achieved a hundred realizations in a single thought. Not only that, but the insights he had pondered on his own previously also merged into this process at this very moment.

Only after coming into contact with the martial path did he understand what this truly was; the difficulty of this was far, far simpler than creating something out of thin air.

But this was only the case for Ning Qi.

For instance, Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi, who were watching at this moment, had expressions of astonishment and awe in their eyes.

They primarily focused on one stance, and while they dabbled in others, they were nowhere near as proficient in them as their main practice. Only a top-tier expert like Daoist Longshan, who was nearing the Celestial Realm, could stand at such a height and demonstrate the essence of other stances.

"Master is likely not far from the Celestial Realm."

Both disciples felt a sense of admiration in their hearts.

Daoist Longshan slowly stopped moving and said with rare seriousness

"Ning Qi, have you understood?"

Ning Qi nodded respectfully

"Disciple understands."

Daoist Longshan remained expressionless and stepped aside.

"You try."

Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi exchanged a glance, both seeing a playful smile in the other's eyes. They remembered when they first encountered stance training; they had been just as confident, feeling they had understood everything completely.

But stance training was the perfect cure for a genius's arrogance.

Even a lower-tier stance required coordination with breathing techniques, and every move and posture had subtle requirements. Simply imitating the movements had no effect at all, let alone a superior stance like the Nine Stances of True Martial, which even required one to gradually comprehend the divine intent of the stance.

They remembered how their master had polished the arrogance of all the fellow disciples in this way; even the most gifted among them, Qin Yun, had only performed slightly better.

They knew their master wanted to temper their junior brother’s temperament and make him understand that practicing martial arts was no easy task.

"Although our junior brother has always been clever, he will still have to bow his head before a superior stance."

A good show was about to begin.

Ning Qi naturally did not know that Daoist Longshan had such intentions.

He recalled every move Daoist Longshan had made, and his comprehension deepened by another level.

"Please, Master, give me your guidance."

As Ning Qi’s voice fell, he stood with his legs apart, and his aura shifted.

Before Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi could even notice, Daoist Longshan’s eyes widened in shock, filled with disbelief.

"This is... the opening stance?!"

He had deliberately omitted this key point just now, yet he never expected Ning Qi to have mastered it without a teacher!

Before he could think further, Ning Qi began to move.

He exhaled sharply, his expression solemn. Starting from the first form, 'Bi'an Sits on the Mountain,' although there was still a slight stiffness, there were absolutely no errors or omissions, from the outside to the inside.

The Bi'an is like a tiger, but more majestic and fierce.

At this moment, Ning Qi was like a young Bi'an, moving with power and grace.

Behind the training grounds, the sound of wind generated by his fists and feet could be heard. White mist began to steam off Ning Qi’s body—the result of evaporating sweat. His skin turned red, like a cooked shrimp, and the muscles beneath his exposed skin bulged and rippled; it was clear he had already begun tempering.

This was the first stage: Skin Tempering.

Daoist Longshan hadn't even begun to explain how to use the stance to temper the body, yet Ning Qi had figured it out on his own.

Knowing the first stage was Skin Tempering, he mobilized the 'Qi' brought about by the stance to circulate between his skin and membranes. For him, this was simple, as he already had experience in circulating 'Qi' from the Innate Fetal Breathing Technique and the Innate Bone-Nourishing Technique.

Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi stared with wide eyes, their faces full of astonishment.

Originally, the two had been standing with their arms crossed, ready to watch their junior brother’s "good show."

But they hadn't expected it to be a *real* show.

Both were dumbfounded.

To be able to perform the stance perfectly after only a few viewings and then immediately begin Skin Tempering—what kind of monster was this!

Thinking back to when they were... never mind, let's not talk about that.

Compared to Ning Qi, they felt they weren't geniuses at all.

If they didn't know their master's character, they would have suspected that he had given their junior brother private lessons in advance.

The two stole a glance at Daoist Longshan.

Daoist Longshan remained expressionless, but Luo Wentian, who knew him well, could tell that his master’s heart was likely not calm—look at how his beard was trembling slightly.

In fact, Daoist Longshan’s heart was indeed not calm.

He was a genius himself, and the disciples he took in were also geniuses. Having lived for over eighty years, what kind of genius hadn't he seen?

But someone as exaggerated as Ning Qi was a first.

Just by watching him demonstrate the stance a few times, he had grasped all the crucial points, even utilizing the parts he had intentionally left out, and now he had even begun Skin Tempering without a teacher.

If this wasn't a monster, what was?

A thought suddenly occurred to Daoist Longshan: if it had been this young disciple who received the True Martial inheritance, he might have already reached the Celestial Realm in eighty years, or perhaps... even reaching the Martial Saint realm was a possibility!

A burning heat suddenly surged in his heart.

He never expected that this young disciple, taken in by chance, would bring him such a huge surprise.

All three were shocked.

But Ning Qi was completely immersed in his own world.

Every time he performed the Bi'an Stance, he gained something new. Countless flashes of inspiration appeared in his mind, making him unable to stop. Practicing it himself was far more profound than just observing.

"So this is the martial world, tempering the skin and membranes?"

He could feel the changes within his body.

At the same time, he marveled at the wisdom of his predecessors. Generations of effort had culminated in such martial arts methods, capable of raising human strength to an incredible level. If it were up to him, it would probably take years to create such a martial art.

It was better to stand on the shoulders of giants; there was no need to waste time on such things.

Once he understood it, he still needed to practice to get his body to keep up.

Fortunately, the foundation laid by the Innate Bone-Nourishing Technique was incredibly solid.

The first time was still a bit stiff.

The second time was already very proficient.

The third time, it was as smooth as flowing water.

After two more times, he even began to touch upon the divine intent of the Bi'an.

The three of them were completely silent, their breathing subconsciously slowing down, standing there like wooden chickens.

Ning Qi felt invigorated, but he sensibly stopped.

He was afraid that his performance would scare his master and two senior brothers. He felt that if he practiced a few more times, comprehending the divine intent of the Bi'an would not be a problem, but it would be better to practice in private. Although he didn't know the progress of others, he had great confidence in himself.

"Master."

Ning Qi stopped and waited respectfully for guidance.

Daoist Longshan’s body jolted, and a smile slowly squeezed onto his face

"Not bad. You are better than your few useless senior brothers and sisters."

Luo Wentian and Xiong Shi stumbled, covering their faces in shame.

They really couldn't bear that comment.

Daoist Longshan intended to pick out a few flaws, but looking back, he couldn't find a single one. He couldn't help but feel a bit sour; it wasn't good for a disciple to be *too* monstrous.

He could only start from Ning Qi’s blind spot.

"Hmm... from now on, practice the stance diligently and begin body tempering. By the way, after body tempering, you need to use medicinal baths to accelerate the body's transformation. You must be diligent every day, but don't overexert yourself, lest you exhaust your foundation."

"Disciple will keep this in mind."

Ning Qi bowed respectfully.

Daoist Longshan nodded slowly, already beginning to look forward to how long it would take for his young disciple to complete body tempering.

Perhaps there was hope within five years!

At that time, Ning Qi would only be eight years old.

An eight-year-old in the Inner Origin Realm—just thinking about it made Daoist Longshan feel like it was a dream. Ordinary people only started body tempering at eight.

The True Martial Sect had hope for revival!