Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 119 Strengthening Divine Power Within!

The situation in Fengtian City had been turbulent for half a month.

Chen Zhan has already secretly taken away some of the ammunition buried outside Fengtian City.

Several men, disguised and weary from their journey, transported explosives and guns all the way to the outskirts of Lushun City.

They also encountered a group of robbers on the way.
Looking at Chen Zhan and his group of six, dressed in ordinary clothes, Ye Ningzhen and Sister Hua were quite attractive. They originally intended to kidnap them and rape them, without any hope of getting any gold or silver.

When Chen Zhan lifted the carriage curtain and saw that it was full of explosives and guns, he was terrified.

Hundreds of kilograms of explosives and hundreds of guns—who the hell did they run into?
Soon, several more guns were added to the carriage, four more corpses appeared in the ditch, and Chen Zhan's group gained four more horses.

"Kukuku~ Kukuku~"

As the train slowly passed by, Chen Zhan gazed at the direction it had gone for a moment, then turned to look at the distant city of Lushun, a steel fortress.

Lushun holds an extremely special position.

With its natural deep-water harbor surrounded by mountains, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. After being occupied by Japan, it was transformed into a core military base in Northeast China and even the whole of East Asia, an iron fortress.

It is known as Japan's "unsinkable fortress" in Northeast Asia.

Lushun played a significant role in the Japanese's rapid occupation of Northeast China, because Lushun had a deep-water port!
Japan is an island nation, and its transportation relies mainly on ships, making the importance of its ports self-evident.

It was also the southern terminus of the South Manchuria Railway, which transported coal, grain, minerals and other resources from the northeastern inland to Lushun, and then shipped them to the Japanese mainland via the port.

Then, strategic military resources within Japan will be transferred to the Northeast.

Originally, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army in China was based in Lushun. After he stepped down two years ago, he was replaced by Taro Tanaka, who then moved to Fengtian.

It's not that Lushun isn't important, but rather that Lushun is a unified entity and doesn't require a commander-in-chief to oversee it.

Chen Zhan's small amount of explosives and manpower can't shake the entire steel behemoth, but they can still bite off a couple of pieces of flesh and make him feel the pain!
"You wouldn't be after Lushun, would you?"

"This is a military fortress, with tens of thousands of Kwantung Army soldiers stationed here."

Sister Hua looked at Chen Zhan staring at Lushun City and said incredulously.

That can't be so crazy.

Chen Zhan nodded, agreeing with what Sister Hua said.

"Yes, Lushun is heavily guarded, so it's really difficult to do anything. Killing a few Japanese soldiers is pointless."

Sister Hua breathed a sigh of relief, not because she was afraid of dying, but because it was unnecessary.

Then Chen Zhan said, "So we need to move all the garrison troops out."

"."

Everyone was speechless. Sister Hua had a headache. Only Ye Ning knew that Chen Zhan was not joking and that he already had a plan in mind.

She understands Chen Zhan; she wouldn't keep quiet if she had ulterior motives.

"What do you want to do?" Ye Ningzhen asked.

"You're going to go crazy with him too?"

Chen Zhan didn't speak, just said, "Giddy up, giddy up."

Rushing along the train tracks.

About three or four miles away, there was a grove of trees. Although the leaves were bare in winter, the forest was deep and connected to the mountains, providing enough cover to block the view.

Chen Zhan pointed to the train tracks and asked, "Xiao Wu, how far is it from here to the Kwantung Army stationed outside Lushun?"

Bai Wu looked bewildered. "Master Chen, we've never been to Lushun before."

Chen Zhan thought about it and realized that having more people was a good thing. If one or two people were to do something, they could find out the truth in less than two days. If he were to rely on himself, he didn't know how long it would take.

"In that case, Xiao Wu, you and Li Yao will ride horses to calculate how far the Kwantung Army outside Lushun is from here by train, and how long it would take to drive there."

"Sister Hua, let's split up and enter the city. You're in charge of finding out what each railway is transporting and how often. It would be best if you could get your hands on a map. Be careful and ask around among the lower classes."

There are different rules for survival among the lowest classes, and Sister Hua knows them best.

Thieves hold a special position among the lowest of the low, being both feared and envied.

They have food to eat without having to work hard, but they are not to be trifled with; they usually have some real skills.

"Tomorrow afternoon, no matter what, it's okay if we can't get any information. Just make sure nothing happens and we meet here again."

"it is good!"

The six men rode away on horseback. Although they were heading in the same direction, they deliberately separated. It was not yet noon, and after about half an hour, they entered the city.

There were quite a few Chinese people in Lushun, numbering in the tens of thousands, but they were all engaged in exploitative labor.

Most of them were dockworkers.

Controlling ships, repairing them, loading and unloading them—that's not all. But they're often beaten, scolded, and whipped.

Furthermore, Japanese and Chinese residents lived in segregated areas. Japanese immigrants lived in Taiyo-go and enjoyed basic infrastructure such as electricity and running water.

Chinese residents were confined to areas such as Dengfeng Street and Zhaojiagou, where housing was dense and sanitation was poor, and infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever were frequent.

Chen Zhan and Ye Ningzhen looked around but didn't find any valuable information.

The residential isolation has turned the two sides into two completely different worlds, more polarized than any other city.

Chen Zhan randomly found a dockside inn, and the two went inside to rest.

"Let's rest first, and then we'll explore Taiyanggou tonight."

Ye Ningzhen put down her baggage and took out the scroll she had seized that day.

Chen Zhan had looked at it several times along the way, but he couldn't cultivate while traveling, and he also verified that without learning it, he couldn't trigger [Spiritual Enlightenment].

That's normal. If you could cultivate your inner energy with just one glance, you'd be invincible.

Chen Zhan will be able to attempt to achieve the Core Formation in a month or two.

Unroll the scroll and the "Eight Pieces of Brocade for Internal Strengthening" will be displayed before your eyes.

The scroll is exquisitely crafted, and its name sounds like it contains divine power, making it quite extraordinary. However, upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem particularly magical.

The scroll is very long, and it is divided into eight areas with eight pictures, each depicting an old man performing one of eight actions. Each picture has a line of text next to it.

Chen Zhan was speechless. He had heard of the Eight Pieces of Brocade in his previous life and knew roughly that it had eight movements and was generally a type of gymnastics for strengthening the body.

It falls under the category of "The Art of Nourishing Life".

However, this "Eight Pieces of Brocade for Internal Strengthening" could not be the "gymnastics" of later generations.

Just like the Tai Chi we practice today, it's not the same Tai Chi that old men in parks practice in later generations.

Upon closer inspection, the old man's height and appearance in the eight pictures were drawn hastily, but the flow of his muscles and tendons, and even the acupoints, were marked with black ink dots.

Such detailed information?

The scroll is very narrow, with two horizontal paintings and four vertical paintings, so the people in the paintings are not very big to begin with, and these details are not noticeable at first glance.

Then look at the text next to it.

Supporting the sky with both hands regulates the three jiaos (upper, middle, and lower burners).

He could draw his bow with both hands as if shooting an eagle.

To regulate the spleen and stomach, one must lift one arm.

Look back on the five strains and seven injuries.

Shaking its head and wagging its tail helps to clear away internal heat.

Grasp your feet with both hands to strengthen your kidneys and waist.

Clenching fists and glaring eyes increases strength.

Seven swaying motions from behind cure all diseases.

"No way, this is the Eight-Section Brocade exercise!"

Upon seeing the verse, Chen Zhan recalled many things; wasn't this the Eight Pieces of Brocade?
Health-preserving exercises.
Chen Zhan spoke aloud, and Ye Ningzhen asked curiously, "Do you know what kind of cultivation technique this is?"

Chen Zhan sighed helplessly; this would be a huge rip-off if it were just ordinary health-preserving exercises.

"I've heard of it before; it seems to be a common health-preserving exercise."

Health preservation techniques are nothing special; various schools and sects have them. Only Tai Chi Chuan's health preservation techniques have been passed down to later generations and are extremely famous. Five Animal Frolics and Eight Void Slapping Exercises are also quite well-known.

"Impossible! Ma San, a master of health preservation, would go to such lengths to steal it?"

Ye Ningzhen didn't believe it. She picked up the unfolded scroll and looked it over from side to side, just in case there was any hidden compartment.

No hidden compartments or secrets were found; a few lines of text were written at the bottom of the scroll.

(The Eight-Section Brocade for Strengthening Internal Strength is a type of exercise that primarily trains internal strength. It requires a foundation of sufficiently strong internal energy and is achieved through specific movements and breathing techniques to "strengthen internal strength!")
(The Eight-Section Brocade for Strengthening Internal Spirit has eight methods, also known as the Eight-Character Formula, which are lifting, raising, pushing, pulling, pinching, pressing, grabbing, and dropping.)
Upon seeing this, Chen Zhan knew that the eight pictures contained these eight words.

(The Eight-Section Brocade for Strengthening Internal Spirit and Body Power relies entirely on the coordination of breathing and limb guidance. Inhale deeply and slowly, channeling energy throughout the body, keeping the whole body tense and not relaxing until the end of the exercise. Only then can you exhale and relax the body. When practicing, inhale slowly or hold your breath, channeling the energy to the limbs.)
(Practice the method consistently over a long period, and you will eventually achieve mastery, possessing boundless power throughout your body. Once you have mastered it, you will be able to use any of the eight methods with astonishing energy and spiritual strength.)
After watching it, all that's left is surprise.

The wonder of the "Eight Pieces of Brocade for Internal Strengthening" or "Eight Pieces of Brocade for Internal Strengthening Divine Power" lies in the coordination of "breathing and exhalation" with the guidance of qi and blood!
No wonder the lines drawn on the old man's body in the picture are not the direction of the flow of tendons and muscles, but the direction of the flow of qi and blood.

Breathing techniques are also documented.

The sixteen-character phrase is: "Inhale when rising, exhale when falling; inhale when opening, exhale when closing; inhale like drawing silk, exhale like spitting out down."

Before entering the state, it is necessary to adjust the breathing rhythm, coordinate with the movements and intentions, and achieve the three realms of "adjusting the form, adjusting the breath, and adjusting the spirit".

After reading it, Chen Zhan roughly understood the key points and why such a technique existed but was kept hidden away, leaving his family in a miserable state.

It's too difficult to develop any real skill through practice.

First and foremost, "it must be based on a sufficiently strong internal force."

It directly caused the deaths of most of the people, making it incredibly powerful. Just how powerful? The requirements must have been extremely high.

Following the pattern in the first picture, Chen Zhan held up the sky with both hands to regulate the three jiaos (upper, middle, and lower burners).

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, spine straight, and arms raised from your sides. At the same time, calm your mind and use the sixteen-character breathing method to guide your Qi and blood to your palms.

"Ok?"

Chen Zhan looked surprised, and his blood and energy were increasing!
He had only stood there for a quarter of an hour when he felt a slight increase in his blood and qi. This was due to his keen perception, something that ordinary experts could not do.

Even a slight increase is a pleasant surprise.

It is extremely difficult to increase one's Qi and blood. Everyone has to spend many years, take various supplements, and practice standing meditation from a young age to increase their Qi and blood.

Moreover, the growth of Qi and blood is subject to many limitations. The best time to increase strength through practice is between the ages of sixteen or seventeen and twenty. After the age of thirty, it becomes very difficult for Qi and blood to grow naturally.

One must rely on a breakthrough in one's spiritual realm, take potent tonics, and wait for a fortuitous opportunity.

Feel the spine extend segment by segment from the coccyx to the cervical vertebrae. This is also a process of increasing Qi and blood. Hold this position for half a quarter of an hour. When inhaling, slowly lower your arms and gradually bring your palms down.

A quarter of an hour is a cycle.

As expected of "internal strength enhancement!"

This improvement in Qi and blood was so captivating that Chen Zhan wished he could practice it for a whole day and night.

Seeing Chen Zhan's delighted expression, Ye Ningzhen knew he had succeeded.

Under Chen Zhan's guidance, she tried and was able to barely make her blood and qi flow according to the diagram, but she couldn't control her breathing to match it. After practicing for a while, she felt a sharp pain in her ribs.

I've got a side stitch!
They stopped immediately.

"It must be because my internal energy is insufficient. I need to fully mobilize my internal energy and blood circulation, so I can't concentrate on circulating my breathing techniques." Ye Ningzhen realized the problem.

"Yes, at least those above the Transformation Realm can use this method to strengthen their internal divine power."

"So even if Ma San had taken it, he wouldn't have been able to master it. That's why Gong Baotian didn't tell his two apprentices about it."

"Excessive training will only do harm."

Chen Zhan nodded and could only continue practicing on his own. Soon it was night.

(End of this chapter)