Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Chapter 117 The Essence of Internal Force

In the days that followed, Sun Fan would sit for an hour every afternoon, allowing Feng Congyun to use his internal energy to unblock his meridians. Feng Congyun's internal energy was like a delicate scalpel, cutting open the blocked areas little by little, guiding the internal energy of the Shenzhao Scripture in, and slowly repairing the hidden injuries.

Sun Fan could feel his meridians changing. It was like a dried-up riverbed receiving spring rain; the blocked sections were gradually cleared, and the water flow became smoother and more abundant. The warm current in his chest grew stronger, from a trickle to a babbling brook, and from a babbling brook to a mighty river.

Half a month later, Sun Fan's meridians were unblocked.

Not all of them, but all twelve regular meridians of the hand (three Yin, three Yang) and foot (three Yin, three Yang) are open.

This is a sign of the mid-stage of the Meridian Opening Realm: once the meridians are connected, internal energy is generated spontaneously, and there is no need to deliberately circulate the energy within the body.

Sun Fan opened his eyes, feeling as if his entire body had been washed, every pore breathing. He raised his hand, clenched his fist, released it, and then clenched his fist again.

It's not that his strength has increased, but that his control over that strength has become more refined. Before, when he exerted force, it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut; he had the power, but the precision was lacking. Now, when he exerts force, it's like using an embroidery needle to embroider, every bit of force is just right, neither too much nor too little.

Feng Congyun looked at him and nodded. "Not bad. Opening your meridians in half a month is faster than I expected." He took a swig of wine. "But don't be too happy yet. The transition from the mid to late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm is a hurdle. It can't be overcome by simply accumulating internal energy; it requires enlightenment."

"What do you mean by 'enlighten'?" Sun Fan asked.

"Understand the essence of internal energy," Feng Congyun said. "What do you think internal energy is?"

Sun Fan thought for a moment. "Qi? Energy?"

"Both are right, and neither are right." Feng Congyun stood up and walked to the window. "Internal energy, in essence, is an extension of life. It's not something external; it's something you already have in your body. You generate internal energy by eating, drinking, and breathing. It's just that ordinary people's internal energy is scattered, chaotic, and unusable."

"Martial artists cultivate their internal energy to gather, condense, and guide it, transforming it into a controllable force."

He turned around and looked at Sun Fan: "The essence of the Divine Illumination Scripture is to purify internal energy. It doesn't seek quantity or speed, but purity. When purity reaches a certain level, a qualitative change will occur."

"What qualitative change?"

"You'll see when the time comes." Feng Congyun walked back and sat down again. "Now, continue practicing."

For the next two weeks, Sun Fan continued to cultivate day and night under Feng Congyun's supervision. Every morning he practiced swordsmanship, afternoon he practiced internal energy, and evening he practiced swordsmanship and ran. His life was as monotonous as a blank sheet of paper, with no entertainment, no relaxation, and even very little time to talk.

But Sun Fan didn't feel bitter. It wasn't because he could endure hardship, but because he saw his progress accumulating day by day, just like those twenty years.

Day after day, year after year. No rush, no anxiety, no comparing yourself to others, only to yourself. Be a little better today than yesterday, a little better tomorrow than today. Accumulate little by little, advance inch by inch, until quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Feng Congyun was secretly amazed by Sun Fan's progress.

He taught Ye Liuxing and many other students, and saw all sorts of geniuses. Some geniuses learned quickly, able to memorize a manual in three days; some geniuses had high comprehension, able to use a sword technique after seeing it only once; some geniuses had good aptitude, their internal energy growing twice as fast as ordinary people.

But Sun Fan is different. He is not a genius, or rather, he is not the kind of "intelligent" genius.

His progress wasn't due to intelligence, but to focus. He was extremely focused when he did things; when practicing swordsmanship, his mind was only on the sword; when practicing internal energy cultivation, his mind was only on the energy; when running, his mind was only on the road.

That kind of focus isn't something you force through willpower; it's a natural state—like water flowing downhill, like the wind blowing through the trees. It doesn't require effort or deliberate action; it just happens naturally.

This kind of focus is more terrifying than any talent.

Because talent can run dry, and cleverness can backfire, but focus cannot. Focus is a habit, a way of life, something ingrained in one's bones. The focus that Sun Fan cultivated over twenty years is his greatest asset.

"Teacher Feng." Sun Fan's voice interrupted Feng Congyun's thoughts.

"Um?"

"I have a question."

"explain."

"What does it feel like to reach the third level of the Divine Illumination Scripture?"

Feng Congyun was silent for a moment. "I haven't practiced the Divine Illumination Scripture, so I don't know."

"You'll have to figure this out for yourself."

"If you haven't felt it yet, it just means it hasn't arrived yet. When it does, you'll naturally know."

Sun Fan kept wondering, what exactly is the essence of the Divine Illumination Scripture?

Unlike the Nine Yin Manual, he didn't progress by leaps and bounds in his cultivation.

It is also unlike the Nine Yang Divine Skill, which has many wonderful uses.

Despite possessing the ability to revive the dead, he is unable to save himself.

Sun Fan sat cross-legged in the training room, eyes closed, motionless for a full hour. Feng Congyun leaned against the doorframe, holding a wine jug, not drinking, just watching Sun Fan. He was waiting. Waiting for Sun Fan to figure things out himself.

What is the essence of the Divine Illumination Scripture? Sun Fan had asked him this question, but he hadn't answered. Not because he didn't want to answer, but because he couldn't.

Because he had never practiced the Divine Illumination Scripture, he didn't know what that kind of "purity" felt like. But he did know one thing: internal energy, in the end, is the application of life energy.

Some cultivate their internal energy to be like a flood, surging and boundless; some cultivate it to be like a raging fire, burning everything and invincible; some cultivate it to be like ice, freezing everything and chilling to the bone. All of these are valid; they are all manifestations of internal energy.

But the Divine Illumination Scripture is different. When it circulates within Sun Fan's body, Feng Congyun can sense that "purity" is not a flood, not a raging fire, not ice, but something indescribable. It's like a piece of uncarved jade, warm, clear, and without any impurities.

Sun Fan suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were very bright, and the bloodshot color was almost invisible.

"Teacher Feng, I've figured it out."

Feng Congyun took a swig of wine: "Tell me about it."

"The essence of the Divine Illumination Scripture is compression." Sun Fan's voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear, like water droplets falling on a stone slab. "Ordinary internal energy is scattered, chaotic, and unusable. Martial artists, through cultivation, collect and condense that scattered internal energy, turning it into a controllable force. But the Divine Illumination Scripture goes beyond that; it further compresses it on top of condensation."

He raised his hand, palm up, and a faint internal force surged from it, forming a vortex almost invisible to the naked eye in the air. The vortex was small and faint, but Feng Congyun's pupils contracted—he sensed it. The density of that internal force far exceeded that of an ordinary Qi Opening Realm martial artist. It wasn't a matter of quantity, but of quality.