Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

Thinking about breaking through to the Innate Realm, Lu Chen became restless.

After putting his things down, he thought for a moment, then turned and ran towards Hu Bufan's residence.

At this time, he certainly wouldn't be in a teahouse or an inn; he'd either be at the county government office or at home.

As for Hu Bufan's residence, he had already found out where it was.

Arriving at a gatehouse that wasn't luxurious but wasn't small either, Lu Chen knocked on the door.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Who is it?" a somewhat aged voice asked.

"I have something to discuss with Magistrate Hu. Just tell him Qin Yi is looking for him!"

After a while, the door was opened, revealing Hu Bufan's face.

"What's wrong? What happened? Didn't we just break up?"

He was very puzzled, fearing that something had gone wrong.

I was just writing materials to report to my superiors when the steward came to report that a man named Qin Yi had come to visit.

"Nothing happened!" Lu Chen shook his head. "I just have something I need to ask you!"

Hu Bufan visibly relaxed and welcomed Lu Chen in: "Please have a seat. Butler, serve Mr. Qin tea! Mine will be ready soon, please wait a moment. Excuse me!"

"Okay, you go ahead and get busy!"

Lu Chen sipped his tea and looked around.

After a while, Hu Bufan came out of the study.

"You've been waiting a long time, haven't you? You know that's a big deal, and I'm in a hurry to report it."

Hu Bufan was apologetic.

Lu Chen shook his head: "Alright, let's not be so formal. It was my fault for coming to see you in the middle of the night, but this matter is quite important to me. I'm leaving tomorrow, so I took the liberty of paying you a visit!"

"Oh, what is it?" Hu Bufan asked curiously.

Lu Chen considered his words carefully before speaking, "Do you know how to break through to the Innate Realm? My knowledge of martial arts is very limited!"

Hu Bufan: "?"

what?

What are you saying?

Do you have very limited knowledge of martial arts?

Why do I not quite understand?

What the hell are you talking about?!

what! ?

You just killed so many people in front of me, and then you came to my house in the middle of the night and told me that you have very limited understanding of martial arts?

His expression was indescribable; it was simply very complex.

"Brother Qin... don't joke around!" Hu Bufan held his teacup, unsure of what to say.

Lu Chen was very sincere: "I'm not lying to you! I really don't know anything about martial arts. I just have superhuman strength and a bit of brute force. In martial arts, I'm still a greenhorn. I wouldn't dare say I know nothing, but I can only say I'm hovering on the threshold."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "I don't even know what martial arts are, what levels one can reach, or what the fundamental difference is between the Innate Realm and my current Marrow Cleansing Realm."

Hu Bufan's face twisted slightly.

He could tell from Lu Chen's voice that this person was probably not very old, maybe only in his twenties or thirties.

To reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm at such a young age, one must have practiced martial arts for over ten years; one's talent is quite good.

But after all this time, you say you don't understand what martial arts are?

Do you think I would believe that?

Superhuman strength?

Ha ha!

Is this person showing off to me?

"Brother Qin, let's stop beating around the bush. What brings you here?"

Lu Chen was somewhat annoyed: "No, do you think I have so little credibility? Didn't I tell you, I came to you to ask how to break through to the Innate Realm! I'm stuck at the Marrow Cleansing Realm and can't break through!"

Hu Bufan frowned: "What's the use of asking me if you can't break through? I'm not a Xiantian either, and my strength is even inferior to yours!"

"What I mean is, you definitely know more than I do. What's needed to break through to the Innate Realm? Do I need to take any medicine or something? Are there any necessary conditions that prevent me from breaking through if I lack them?"

He tried asking.

"Necessary conditions? You're already at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. You just need to practice the techniques and breathing methods step by step. As far as I know, there's no mention of needing to take any special medicine to break through..." Hu Bufan suddenly thought of something, looked at Lu Chen, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Do you think it's possible that... your talent isn't quite there yet? So..."

"Impossible!" Lu Chen replied decisively. "Absolutely impossible! Besides, what kind of breathing technique are you talking about? Do you really need a breathing technique to break through to the Innate Realm?"

Lu Chen seemed to have a sudden realization.

Some of his previous doubts were also answered.

It's all connected!

No wonder Hao Cheng was so attentive to a health-preserving exercise manual; he practically wore out an ordinary one.

It turns out it was for the breathing guidance technique inside!

"Huh?" Hu Bufan stared in disbelief. "Brother Qin, are you joking? You don't know breathing techniques?"

A person who doesn't know breathing techniques is asking him how to break through to the innate level.

Isn't this a complete fantasy?!

This is as ridiculous as someone who doesn't know the Four Books and Five Classics asking me why I can't pass the imperial examination.

"I already told you, I know nothing about martial arts!"

Lu Chen sighed.

He has always been an honest person!

Unfortunately, many people don't believe it.

Hu Bufan is starting to believe it.

Because this kind of thing can't be faked.

His tone was somewhat strained: "Brother Qin, you don't have a breathing technique? Then how are you going to break through to the Innate Realm? To reach the Innate Realm, you need to rely on true qi to open up the eight extraordinary meridians. True qi cannot be cultivated through ordinary techniques; it can only be refined through breathing techniques."

He now confirmed that the person in front of him was indeed a complete novice who knew nothing, and patiently explained: "From the Copper Skin Realm to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, we collectively call them the Five Realms of Body Forging. As the name suggests, what we are forging is our physical body, strengthening our muscles and bones and internal organs, removing impurities, and allowing the body to undergo a strengthening process."

He looked at Qin Yi, who was filled with a thirst for knowledge, and took a sip of tea: "The martial arts you are practicing now, the various moves and actions in it, are not only for fighting enemies, but also for tempering and strengthening your body."

"The Innate Realm involves condensing a breath of innate energy, which we call True Qi. This True Qi is used to open up the meridians. This step requires the use of breathing techniques."

"So, when you asked me before if there were any necessary conditions for advancing to the Innate Realm, the answer is: peak Marrow Cleansing Realm strength and a breathing technique. Both are indispensable!"

Lu Chen remained silent.

"Does that breathing technique have to be paired with the specific exercise you're practicing? Or are other breathing techniques equally effective?"

"The best breathing technique is naturally the one that matches the standard, but..." Hu Bufan glanced at Lu Chen, "If there isn't a matching breathing technique, you can upgrade with other breathing techniques, but there will be some flaws."

"What defect?"

Lu Chen pressed for an answer.

"Impure true qi leads to slower cultivation speed, slower recovery of true qi, and greater consumption of the same moves. If the main cultivation method and breathing technique are vastly different, for example, if the main cultivation method is a powerful and fiery one, but a gentle and agile breathing technique is used, the two are incompatible, resulting in less effort and potentially causing stagnation or damage to the meridians, making further breakthroughs impossible, and even shortening lifespan."

Hu Bufan said.

Lu Chen felt a little numb.

Why make breaking through to the Innate Realm so complicated?

"Is there any way to obtain the breathing technique?" Lu Chen asked.

Hu Bufan shook his head: "This doesn't seem like a martial arts technique. Some incomplete techniques can still be passed down. Breathing techniques are strictly guarded by all major powers and are forbidden from being passed on. Moreover, the content of breathing techniques is not complicated at all. It can be taught orally. In many places, it is passed down orally. It is not like today where you can still find a few manuals of techniques."

Lu Chen gained a deeper understanding of the degree of solidification in this world.

Wang Hu was absolutely right back then.

It's so hard to climb up!

"Does this mean that everyone in this world above the Innate Realm belongs to powerful forces, leaving no chance for ordinary people?"

Lu Chen couldn't help but say.

"Strictly speaking, every expert at or above the Innate Realm that you encounter is related to a powerful force. They are either from a prominent family, even if they have declined, they still have the legacy of their ancestors; or they have made great contributions and become newly nobles, receiving imperial gifts; or they have chosen to join a prominent family and were rewarded by that family. Only a very small number of people can be considered independent cultivators who obtained breathing techniques through some unknown means, either through illegitimate means or with defects."

"Then where did this breathing technique come from? There must be an origin, right? Did these powerful families exist from the beginning? How did they develop their cultivation methods in the first place?" Lu Chen pressed. "Furthermore, what is this breathing technique? What are its principles? How does it work? Why can breathing condense true qi? And what exactly is true qi?"

"I don't know how the great clans got their breathing techniques, but my Hu family's breathing technique was obtained several hundred years ago after we performed meritorious service. It has also undergone several modifications over the past few hundred years. I suppose the great clans' breathing techniques must have been derived from the most basic breathing techniques through continuous optimization and improvement."

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "As for what you asked me about breathing techniques, how can I explain that? I'm not yet at the Innate level, and I haven't even been taught breathing techniques, so I don't know much about them. However, I once overheard my grandfather say that breathing techniques are obtained by refining the internal energy and blood, as well as the medicinal power of rare and precious herbs."

Lu Chen roughly understood.

Simply put, all the martial arts techniques he acquired were external martial arts, while the breathing techniques were internal martial arts and mental techniques.

External martial arts strengthen qi and blood, internal martial arts refine qi and blood, and if qi and blood are insufficient, precious medicines can make up for it.

Lu Chen basically gave up the idea of ​​obtaining breathing techniques from others and instead began to consider the possibility of using the panel to obtain breathing techniques.

After chatting with Hu Bufan about various common knowledge about cultivation, Lu Chen took his leave.

"Brother Hu, your words today are more valuable than ten years of study. I am deeply grateful for your help!"

He solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Hu Bufan, then turned and left.

Hu Bufan watched Lu Chen's departing figure, his heart filled with doubt.

"That's strange. He doesn't know anything and doesn't seem to have any master. How did he become so strong? Are there really such geniuses in the world?"