Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

He stood in the courtyard, extending his right hand, his palm still five feet away from the bluestone tabletop.

True energy burst forth from the Laogong acupoint, condensing in the air into a semi-transparent golden palm, which imprinted itself onto the bluestone tabletop from a distance.

With a sharp crack, the tabletop split open in the middle, sending stone chips flying everywhere.

The edges of the crack were slightly reddish, and wisps of white steam rose from the crack.

He looked at his palm.

Not a single stone chip got on it.

Splitting Palm.

Release your true energy outwards to injure people from a distance.

If this palm strike were to land on a person, it wouldn't even need to touch the skin and flesh; it could shatter the bones.

But he felt the sluggishness when he pulled his palm back.

After the true energy burst forth from the palm, the energy in the dantian automatically replenished it.

However, if the kidney meridian is blocked, the blood and qi in the lower body cannot keep up in time.

After delivering that palm strike, my right knee felt a slight ache, extremely mild, lasting less than a tenth of a second before returning to normal.

This imbalance has no impact under normal circumstances, but it can be a bit of a hindrance when making rapid moves.

The main problem is that it doesn't feel harmonious.

It's not that it has too much impact on combat power...

He looked down at his legs. Both the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming and the Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang run through the legs.

After these two meridians are properly connected, the speed and amount of true energy flowing into the legs more than doubled.

With a light touch of her toes on the bluestone ground, she floated up silently.

Like a feather lifted by the wind, it hovered in mid-air for a full two breaths before slowly falling back to the ground.

When he landed, his knees bent slightly, and there wasn't even a crack in the blue bricks beneath his feet.

Zhuang Hongxiu happened to be passing by under the corridor carrying a bowl of ginseng tea.

Li Xin landed down from the eaves, exactly three feet in front of her.

There was no sound, no wind, not even a single fallen leaf on the ground moved.

Zhuang Hongxiu's ginseng tea didn't even shake.

She paused for a moment, then looked down at the tea in the bowl; the surface was as smooth as a mirror.

Then she raised her head, her lips moved, and after a long while she finally spoke: "Young Master, did you float over here?"

"I suppose so." Li Xin took the ginseng tea and took a sip.

Zhuang Hongxiu looked down at the bowl again, then looked up at him, her eyes filled with a helpless "I've gotten used to it" attitude.

"Young master, could you please give me a heads-up next time? This bowl of ginseng tea is for my master. If it spills, I'll have to brew a whole new pot."

Li Xin handed her the empty bowl and said, "Hongxiu, you should also make time to practice your skills more."

Its body swayed slightly again, and it floated away.

Zhuang Hongxiu shook her head helplessly.

I thought to myself that this was the only downside of the young master; in his eyes, everyone must be a genius.

"If I can continue to improve, how can I not practice?"

"If we can keep improving, then there will be no weaklings in the world, and everyone will be at least at the Transformation Realm."

……

Li Xin walked to the sycamore tree by the courtyard wall and gently touched the trunk with his index finger.

A wisp of true energy was sent out, penetrating the bark, passing through the wood fibers, and emerging from the other side of the trunk.

A small hole, about the size of a finger, appeared in the tree trunk, through which the moonlight could be seen from the other side.

Wang Jingya was sitting behind the moon gate, sharpening her knife.

Upon witnessing this scene.

She put the whetstone aside, walked over, and circled the sycamore tree.

I looked at the small hole on the front, then I looked at the small hole on the back...

He reached out and touched the edge of the small hole.

The bark is smooth, without a single crack.

She was silent for a while, then looked down at the goose-feather knife in her hand that she had been sharpening for two whole days, and suddenly felt a little disgusted.

"If this were to be poked into a person, it would only look like a small hole from the outside, but inside it would be completely shattered."

Li Xin withdrew his finger and nodded.

"Of course, if it weren't powerful, I wouldn't even bother practicing it."

Wang Jingya was speechless.

She decided to stop sharpening her knife and start practicing her boxing instead.

Why sharpen the knife? Adding more power is better than anything else.

Li Xin stood by the paulownia tree for a while, then suddenly struck out with his palm.

The palm strike didn't touch the tree trunk; it was still seven feet away from the bark.

The golden palm strike flew out and slammed into the tree trunk, causing the tree to tremble violently and leaves to fall in a flurry.

A palm print about half an inch deep was left on the tree trunk, with the bark at the edges slightly charred.

He went around to the back of the tree and took a look.

True energy permeated the entire tree, leaving a palm print on the front and another on the back, both exactly the same size.

But that sluggishness remains.

After delivering that palm strike, the soreness in my right knee was even more pronounced than before, lasting for nearly two-tenths of a second before dissipating.

He stood under the tree, mentally rehearsing the movements of that palm strike several times.

It's the same old problem.

It's because the Kidney Meridian of Foot-Shaoyin is blocked. When the true qi from the dantian flows into the meridians of the legs, it circulates around the Yongquan acupoint, resulting in a lack of support from the soles of the feet when exerting force.

The "Splitting Palm" technique, which requires coordination of the entire body's meridians, places even higher demands on the lower body than he had imagined.

"Therefore, Long Qi still has to make plans quickly."

Practicing just the twelve regular meridians already consumes so much energy. To open up the eight extraordinary meridians in a short time, build the bridge between heaven and earth, and cultivate innate qi, one would need an enormous amount of dragon qi.

"The external energy in this world is becoming increasingly scarce. Only the power of one's thoughts and wishes can still be transformed. If one day people stop believing in everything and only believe in themselves, that will be the complete end of the Dharma era."

"And that day is not far away."

Li Xin pondered silently.

They thought there was a ready-made dragon vein in the palace.

If you don't grab it this time, someone else will.

Rather than letting others benefit, I'd rather make myself rich in one go.

Moreover, if it falls into the hands of foreigners, then we're truly doomed.

It will inevitably repeat the century of humiliation and the pattern of the West being strong and the East being weak.

This is something he absolutely cannot tolerate.

Li Xin stood under the paulownia tree for a long time, until the moon moved out from behind the clouds, casting flickering light and shadow on the bamboo shadows throughout the courtyard.

Then he left the bamboo garden and went to the backyard.

Li Cheng is practicing the Madman's Stick.

The staff danced in the moonlight, its stance much more solid than it had been a few months ago.

The Mad Demon Staff Technique's nine consecutive strikes can be executed in one go from beginning to end...

The tip of the stick made a low, whistling sound as it cut through the wind.

After practicing a set of staff techniques, he put away the staff and stood still, drenched in sweat, his arms so sore he could barely lift them.

He turned around, panting, and saw Li Xin standing under the moon gate.

"Brother, here you go. Practice according to the book, and it will rapidly improve your fist and staff skills," Li Xin said.

He took a thin booklet from his pocket and placed it on the stone table.

Li Cheng initially looked distressed, a sense of dread welling up inside him. However, given that his second brother was standing right next to him watching, he dared not stop reading.

He wondered to himself, "Has my second brother become confused from his cultivation? Does he not remember that his elder brother is illiterate?"

He flipped through it by the light of the oil lamp, and his eyes lit up.

“These little figures are drawn so well, second brother, is this a Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm) drawing?”

"I guess so. Besides Baguazhang, there's also the killing move of Liuhe Dao. The simplified staff and fist techniques haven't been much less powerful."

"You've mastered stance training and are proficient in the Mad Demon Staff Technique. Now practice this to supplement your fighting style."

He knew that his older brother wasn't actually that smart.

However, its strength lies in its honest nature and robust physique.

With diligent practice, you will eventually achieve great success.

After giving him the book, Li Xin stopped paying attention to his elder brother's boxing practice.

He turned and walked towards his study.

There were no lights on in the study.

Moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the window lattice, drawing thin white lines on the blue brick floor.

He sat in the darkness for a moment, then picked up the Xintinghou sword, slung it over his shoulder, and pushed open the door to go out.

The night was deep outside the courtyard, and the distant sound of a night watchman's clapper could be faintly heard.

Li Xin smiled silently, then leaped into the air and disappeared into the vast night.

..............................

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Chapter 196 Prison Break (Please Subscribe)

When Wang Wu slid down from the roof of the teahouse opposite the prison, the moon had just been obscured by clouds.

Behind him followed his junior brother Lu Changming and four disciples from Yuanshun Escort Agency. The group of six lay in the shadows of the rooftop, watching the dense torches beneath the outer wall of the prison.

The soldiers of the Infantry Commander's Office were stationed every three steps and sentries every five steps, surrounding the entire Ministry of Justice prison like an iron barrel. The smell of pine resin from the torches mixed with the smell of horse manure was blown over by the night wind, making people's eyes sting.

"The Prince has dispatched patrolmen from the Five Cities Garrison, as well as men from the Divine Machine Battalion," Lu Changming said in a low voice, his fingers gently stroking the hilt of his sword. "We can't break through from the front."

Wang Wu shoved the broadsword behind his back and began to loosen his finger joints.

His fingers were extremely thick, with protruding knuckles and covered in calluses, but when all ten fingers exerted force at the same time, they could shrink to half the size of a fist.

Bone-shrinking technique, a side skill he learned from an old itinerant performer when he was young, hadn't been used for decades, but today he had to use this unusual skill.

"Junior brother, take some men to the east stable and set it on fire. The bigger the fire, the better, to lure all the soldiers on the perimeter over there."

I went in through the west ventilation shaft. Whether it worked out or not, we'd meet in the alley behind the security company in about an incense stick's time.

After he finished speaking, he took a deep breath and slid off the roof.

Lu Changming turned around and gestured behind him. "Liancheng, you take one person and come with me. The rest of you stay here and wait for Senior Brother."

The four disciples dispersed in response.

Sun Liancheng dragged his long sword backwards and followed Lu Changming along the roof ridge eastwards.

The stables were located on the east side of the prison, right next to the jailer's quarters.