Chapter 7: Returning to One

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Are the two of you willing to become martial artists?”

Seeing Liu Guoqiang’s stern expression, Liu Chuan and Wang Meng couldn’t help but restrain their expressions.

However, they understood that this was an opportunity, and they had to grasp it firmly.

The two of them looked at each other and said in unison, “We are willing!”

Becoming a martial artist was not easy. Now that the opportunity was right in front of them, how could they give up?

“Old Liu, Old Liu, this is a school. Take back the way you used to behave in the army. Don’t scare them.” Brother Wang stepped forward and interrupted him.

“The army?”

Liu Chuan was shocked. It was no wonder Principal Liu was as strong as a bull. His aura was like a fierce tiger. He was not like a teacher teaching people at all.

Meanwhile, Liu Guoqiang looked back and snorted.

“What does a little soldier know? Without those people at the front line taking the fall, how can there be peace in this world?” Liu Guoqiang’s expression darkened after saying this.

Upon seeing this, Brother Wang quickly comforted him. “Yes, please calm down. If your internal injuries weren’t so serious back then, you wouldn’t have been sent here by the Federation to recuperate.”

…

Liu Chuan and Wang Meng didn’t dare say anything. They just stood at the side and listened quietly.

“The reason I called you guys here today is to impart cultivation techniques to you guys. However, cultivation techniques are not to be taught to outsiders. Do you guys understand?” Liu Guoqiang waved his hand at Brother Wang before speaking to Liu Chuan and Wang Meng.

Liu Chuan and Wang Meng were overjoyed. They would actually receive a cultivation technique! This was something that couldn’t be bought with money! Thus, they quickly agreed.

“There are many cultivation techniques that are simple to cultivate. Everyone in the world knows the meaning of body tempering, yet they don’t know how to temper their bodies. There are even some people that break their own bones and break them again when they recover. As a result, the repetition of this process caused their bone density to increase. It’s simply absurd.”

“There are a total of 206 bones in the human body. They are divided into three types of bones — the cranial bones, the torso bones, and the bones in the four limbs. When you learn how to converge qi into your bones, and nourish your meridians during the process of converging qi, the density of your bones will increase. This is called body tempering.”

“The cultivation technique is divided into two parts. You will first cultivate your qi before you temper your body.”

“Remember to train your limbs first, then your torso, and finally your skull. Take these two copies of the cultivation method.” Principal Liu reached into his chest and took out… two portable hard drives…

Liu Chuan felt that this was a little out of character. The principal had been talking nicely, but why did he take out two portable hard drives? The cultivation techniques of this age were really moving along with the times.

The two of them bowed slightly and received it respectfully.

“Qi cultivation comes from the inside out. It depends on your will. Don’t be too hasty. When you have cultivated the first wisp of vitality, you can come to me if you have any problems. Go.”

After saying those words, Liu Guoqiang clasped his hands behind his back and turned around, no longer looking at the two of them.

“Yes.”

Liu Chuan and Wang Meng suppressed their excitement and left respectfully.

“Elder Liu, you seem to like these two people very much. From what I see, their talents are only above average. It’s just that in Ping An County, they are still alright. However, those in the military and the aristocratic families have much higher talents. Why do you have to teach them your unique cultivation technique?”

Brother Wang seemed to be puzzled by Liu Guoqiang’s actions.

“Now that I’m older, I can only find a few successors. The ‘Return to One’ cultivation technique is not that easy to cultivate. These two brats are to my liking, so I passed it on.”

Liu Guoqiang said casually, as if he didn’t care about this technique at all.

…

On the way back, Wang Meng’s face was flushed with excitement, unable to control himself.

In truth, Liu Chuan was also overwhelmed with emotions. However, he knew that an innocent man could get into trouble because of his wealth.

The two of them did not have any martial arts background at all. If others were to find out that they possessed a cultivation technique, it would definitely add to their troubles.

“Meng Zi, we definitely cannot tell anyone else that Principal Liu passed down the cultivation technique to us. Otherwise, we will probably have a lot of trouble,” said Liu Chuan seriously.

Wang Meng nodded. He had always listened to Liu Chuan.

The two of them did not return to the classroom to continue their lessons. Instead, they went to the form teacher’s office and asked Old Li for leave.

Old Li didn’t ask any more questions this time. He simply signed the papers and even reminded them to work hard. His attitude was amiable and his eyes were gentle.

Liu Chuan and Wang Meng had never seen Old Li like this before. They quickly agreed, took the leave slip, and ran off.

On the way back, Liu Chuan couldn’t help but sigh. Indeed, no matter which world it was, students with good grades were always taken care of.

…

When Liu Chuan returned home, the house was still empty. His father still did not show any signs of coming back. Liu Chuan looked at the room that was always alone and sometimes felt lonely and worried.

Just as he was about to turn on the computer to read the portable hard drive, he heard a notification from the system.

[A cultivation technique has been discovered. Would you like to learn “Returning to One”?]

There was also this function. The system was indeed impressive. The processor that came with it was domineering.

Liu Chuan decisively chose to learn it. Then, he discovered that an endless stream of cultivation techniques and incantations were directly transmitted into his mind. Every word and sentence actually appeared clearly in his mind.

The Returning to One technique described all things and phenomena in the vast universe, including yin and yang, as well as the interior and exterior of all things.

However, all these things were in a relationship where they fought against each other and supported each other. This was the general law of the material world. It was the basis and origin of many things, and it was also the root cause of the creation and destruction of things.

All things in the natural world were formed from yin and yang.

This included the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the lighting, the wind, the four seasons, and the hours of the day. This also included the two sexes, toughness and gentleness, as well as movements and concealment. Everything consisted of yin and yang.

The principle of life was to use yin and yang to nourish one’s bones.

One’s meridians, flesh, abdomen, internal organs, and even seven impairments and eight supplements were made of yin and yang. There was nothing within the body that did not conform to the principles of yin and yang.

However, in the end, the Returning to One technique involved the pursuit of uniting one’s physical body and spirit, thereby achieving the supreme Great Dao.

After the continuous stream of cultivation principles were analyzed by the system, Liu Chuan finally understood it.

However, Liu Chuan was still comprehending this technique over and over again. He read it once, twice, thrice…

He didn’t know how many times he looked at the cultivation technique, nor did he know how much time had passed. Liu Chuan, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly felt his body tremble. Strands of vitality actually emerged from his dantian1.

Liu Chuan was delighted. Was this the legendary vitality?

He hastily followed the cultivation technique and continued to cultivate. He could only feel strands of vitality flowing out from the spiritual sea in his dantian and flowing through his veins before returning to his spiritual sea.

Miraculously, after Liu Chuan stopped circulating his vitality, strands of vitality still emerged and started to circulate on their own.

Although it couldn’t compare to Liu Chuan’s own cultivation speed, it still wasn’t something that could be sustained over a long period of time. After all, it was impossible for a person to constantly cultivate.

It had to be known that ordinary people could only cultivate for one or two hours every day. If they cultivated for too long, their meridians and spiritual sea would have to endure immense pressure.

However, when he stopped cultivating this cultivation technique, it actually formed a large circulation system. As it circulated, it nourished his meridians and spiritual sea, causing his meridians to become tougher and tougher while his spiritual sea expanded gradually. This cultivation technique was indeed heaven-defying.

“I succeeded. I’m indeed a genius,” said Liu Chuan proudly.

Although Liu Chuan had the system that helped him to cheat, it didn’t stop him from being narcissistic for a while.

Then, Liu Chuan opened the system and checked his information.

Name: Liu Chuan.

Gender: Male.

Strength: 105.

Constitution: 102.

Speed: 97.

Vitality: 6 (Continuously increasing).

Soul Power: 120.

Level: Level-7.

Technique: Returning to One.

Spirit Servant: Dogshit (Wolf King Puppy). Level: Level-12.

For a martial artist, their constitution attribute was the most important. Not only did it represent the strength of the martial artist’s current body, but it also represented their future potential. Those with a higher constitution value would not have low strength and speed.

The higher one’s constitution value was, the higher the endurance of their body, and the higher their potential.

Liu Chuan realized that he had leveled up again, and his constitution had finally broken through the 100-point mark.

One had to know that when the lowest-leveled martial artist first broke through, their constitution would only be at around 100 points, but that was in the past.

In the past, martial artists did not necessarily break through by tempering their bodies, so their constitution would naturally be weaker.

Furthermore, his four limbs and bones had yet to undergo tempering. Only after completely tempering his body could he be considered a true martial artist. It could be seen that Liu Chuan’s potential was immense.

Initially, Liu Chuan had just started cultivating his vitality. Logically speaking, he had yet to temper his body, so his bodily attributes shouldn’t be able to increase. However, Liu Chuan had the system.

The appearance of vitality also brought about Liu Chuan’s advancement in level. With the increase in level, his attributes naturally increased.

In this world, martial artists often had great perseverance or exceptional talent. However, it could not be helped if one was congenitally lacking. Thus, many people started to cultivate introductory techniques when their constitution reached 70 to 80 points to catch up.

Before cultivating the cultivation technique, the higher one’s physical fitness, the higher one’s starting point would be.

There had been rumors that the strongest constitution of an extreme quasi-martial artist could reach above 200 points. Those were all true prodigies.

This kind of martial artist could fight against an ordinary Rank-E martial artist after breaking through to Rank-F.

One could imagine that Wang Meng was such a genius, and Liu Chuan had finally caught up to him.