Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 209 - 181: Passing on the Torch, Laying the Foundation in Eight Steps

Chapter 209: Chapter 181: Passing on the Torch, Laying the Foundation in Eight Steps

"Mingyue, is the medicine ready?"

"It’s all ready, how much should each person take?"

Dong Mingyue answered, gasping for breath.

She, too, did not ask where her senior brother had gone during the past hour or so.

There was a subtle difference with Tang Tang.

Tang Tang pretended to be confused even though she understood, adopting an attitude of turning a blind eye.

But Mingyue did not concern herself with news from the outside. She was wholly devoted to martial arts, focusing on the inner...

Besides martial arts and tasks assigned by her senior brother, she did not think about anything else.

"Wait a moment, I’ll pour the medicine."

Zhou Ping’an thought that this was for the best. Xiao Jiu’s calm and peaceful nature was suitable for the study of martial arts... Should he wish to establish a foundation, she could indeed take on the responsibility of teaching and setting an example.

As for Tang Tang, she probably had received news of what had just happened at Green Water Villa. It must have already spread.

Given her sharpness, she could of course guess what he had gone off to do.

’So it goes, there really is no impenetrable wall under heaven. No matter how secretly a deed is done, those who should know will find out.

However, even if they do know, what of it? Some things are best hidden not by being watertight, but by being unspeakable and unheard...’

Zhou Ping’an smiled, carried the suitcase into the inner chamber of the martial arts gym, and looked up at everyone’s complexion, his eyebrows lightly furrowed.

As he expected, their Qi-Blood was stirred within their bodies, particularly Tang Tang and Dong Mingyue, who both had a foundation in martial arts. Their cheeks were flushed with a hint of pale at the forehead.

Zhou Ping’an was familiar with this condition and knew that they had trained too hard in the "Gentle Water Eight Steps" as beginners.

Perhaps due to his example, deep down both of them yearned to grow stronger as quickly as possible, and since they had enough physical strength, they practiced ceaselessly for two full hours.

’My fault.’

Zhou Ping’an recalled the time in Another World at the Lin Residence when he learned the "Gentile Water Eight Stances." Wei Dazui seemed to have mentioned in passing.

"The best time for daily cultivation should not exceed half an hour; otherwise, your Qi-Blood will diminish, and haste makes waste."

Wei Dazui, the unruly fellow, had already lost his head to Zhou Ping’an’s blade due to the incident involving Xiao Jiu’s abduction.

But at the time, posing as a dutiful and responsible Head Instructor, Wei Dazui’s words still made some sense.

’So, why doesn’t Lan Xiaotian show these symptoms, and what about Lan Fengjiao...’

Zhou Ping’an beckoned to Lan Xiaotian. This cheap apprentice was actually quite obedient.

He would practice whatever he was told to practice, and it was no mistake on the first meeting. He truly was a promising martial arts talent.

That he was often bullied at school was not due to any flaws in his character.

It was because he was physically weak and too outstanding in appearance—mostly external factors, not internal ones.

"Master, did I practice correctly? My body feels warm and it seems like my strength has increased a lot."

As he spoke, Lan Xiaotian’s peach blossom eyes curved into crescents, with a hint of naive charm.

Zhou Ping’an drew in a sharp breath and reprimanded sternly, "Be serious."

He also found himself a bit vexed.

Reminding himself over and over again that this was a boy...

Seeing Lan Xiaotian’s pitiful appearance after being scolded, Zhou Ping’an felt maybe he was too harsh and added, "Xiaotian, as a martial artist, dignity is paramount. Don’t copy your sister...’

It’s alright for a girl to smile like that, but you’re a boy, don’t smile like a sissy."

"Tsk..."

The three women beside him rolled their eyes in unison and spat at Zhou Ping’an.

What’s this about looking like a sissy?

Did sissies offend you?

However, considering Zhou Ping’an was instructing his disciple,

Tang Tang and Dong Mingyue didn’t say a word and Lan Fengjiao’s pretty face turned bright red, hardly daring to speak out.

"Understood, master."

Lan Xiaotian stopped smiling, kept a straight face, regulated his breathing, and put away all hints of "Enchanting Gaze and Graceful Movements."

Zhou Ping’an placed two fingers on Lan Xiaotian’s pulse and, using the Impermanence Needle Technique, sensed for a while before knowing his guess was correct.

Lan Xiaotian wasn’t at risk of Qi-Blood deficiency because after entering the door earlier, Zhou Ping’an saw his young disciple had been practicing fist technique for a long time, his muscles and bones weary, so he had stimulated the inherent vitality within the boy’s body using the Impermanence Needle Technique, rousing his vitality, dispelling fatigue, promoting blood circulation, and removing blood stasis, invigorating the Qi-Blood and counteracting bodily injuries.

However, this method was a temporary fix, not a lasting solution.

A person’s vitality is limited, and if even a little is consumed, it must be replenished to avoid problems.

Now with a scarcity of medicine, Zhou Ping’an had not yet developed the Vitality Pill and the Qi Blood Pill. Since it was inadvisable to use other medicines randomly, Lan Xiaotian could only recover his vitality through sleep.

If stimulated too much, the depletion of vitality within his body could shorten his lifespan.

This was Zhou Ping’an’s conjecture.

For those facing life-threatening illnesses, he could use aggressive methods to stimulate the vitality within their bodies, completely eliminating the disease...

Using up several months to a couple of years of lifespan to save a life, bringing the body to the healthiest and most vigorous state, seemed like a very worthwhile trade.

After all, born into this world, humans suffer from many diseases due to their diet, and most people don’t live to their natural age limit.

One could live a disease-free life until a hundred years old, but with the harsh elements of life, the accumulation of toxins, emotional depression, and societal pressures, innate lifespan is compromised.

As a result, living to sixty or seventy years old would be quite commendable...

Therefore, Zhou Ping’an felt that his Life and Death Impermanence Needle Technique was unparalleled in benefits, vastly outweighing the risks when curing diseases.

Of course, this was the reason for the current situation.

""

Zhou Ping’an had an epiphany after reaching the sixth layer.

This should be because he hadn’t cultivated the fundamental mental method that matched the "Impermanence Needle Technique".

As one of the Seven Great Sects of Another World, the cultivation technique of the Lishan Sect was at the grimoire level of divine skill secret techniques.

Of course, it was not possible to rely solely on a manual like "Life and Death Impermanence" for the usage method.

In other words, for a sect to rise and thrive, it needs not only fundamental techniques but also enemy killing techniques.

The former is the foundation of cultivation, which is the method to enhance the Life and Death Energies, absorbing the qi of heaven and earth, becoming the qi of the human body, endless and perpetual in its cycle.

The latter is for killing enemies and protecting the sect, a powerful and effective move for self-defense.

At the same time, considering that disciples with low aptitude cannot learn it, various lower-grade swordsmanship and fist and palm techniques will also be developed.

The Impermanence Needle Technique is a divine skill that is a superior usage method for manipulating Life and Death Energies.

Zhou Ping’an had only cultivated its usage method and not the fundamental method.

Thus, whenever he used the Impermanence Needle Technique, he was actually mobilizing the innate vitality and death energy in the opponent’s body, disrupting their internal balance...

His own needle technique was infused with only a meager amount of Life and Death qi, serving merely as a slight trigger.

When death qi prevails, it’s the Yanwang Acupuncture; when vitality prevails, it’s the Longevity Acupuncture.

When combined, they are Life and Death Impermanence, mastering life and controlling death.

"I understand now."

Zhou Ping’an then pressed a few vital acupoints on Lan Xiaotian to stimulate a bit more vitality, healing him without harming his lifespan...

Next, he followed the same procedure on Miss Tang Tang and junior sister Dong Mingyue, energizing them until they were glowing with health and vigor before stopping.

"Come on, drink this medicine."

Zhou Ping’an measured out the dosage, poured three bowls of the dark herbal decoction, watched them drink it down, and then said, "Four stances to activate the blood, eight to lay the foundation. With practice, there will be gains; within seven days, you should see an increase in strength, and your muscles will become robust...

If you have good understanding and sufficient talent, in one month you could reach the threshold of Bone Tempering; in three months, you could undergo Muscle Transforming."

In the eyes of martial artists from Another World who hadn’t accessed top-level powerful techniques, this was essentially "Hundred Days Foundation Building", which is also the first realm of strengthening for lower-level martial artists, focusing on the external conditioning of muscles and bones.

Whether studying literature or practicing martial arts.

The true transmission lies in a word, while the false transmission fills a thousand volumes of books.

The real principles hide in the ordinary daily life.

Zhou Ping’an wasn’t wrong to measure the others’ progress against his own.

He had a thought that he didn’t express.

That was, to progress this quickly, one inevitably needs the assistance of medicines, as well as regular stimulation of vitality, and acupoint massages.

It could skip the steps of comprehension and also eliminate the process of replenishing energy.

If they were common people with no guidance from famous teachers, unable to make up for their deficits with medicines, and possibly practicing the wrong moves or going down the wrong path occasionally.

It’s not a matter of months; it could take years, maybe a decade, and still not be possible to fully strengthen one’s muscles and bones.

If something goes wrong in their practice, they could even cause harm to their bodies.

They might not live to forty, dying off just like that.

This is reality.

Those with a legacy are not the same as those without.

And those with wealth are different from the poor.

...

"I can feel it now, this fist could knock down a cow."

Immersed in immense joy, Tang Tang couldn’t help but throw two punches into the air.

The sound of her fists piercing the wind was like the swing of a hammer.

There was a distinct sense of weight behind it.

Compared to the "flowery fists and embroidery kicks" she had previously displayed at the Public Security Martial Arts Gym, she indeed became much stronger.

In terms of strength, there was at least a twenty to thirty percent increase.

"What’s the big deal? You’re just getting started..."

Zhou Ping’an couldn’t help but laugh.

His smile had not yet faded when he saw Lan Xiaotian, his student, punching a hole through a thin wooden board with one blow.

He didn’t mind the blood oozing from the surface of his fist and started to laugh foolishly.

"Little Tian, what are you doing hitting wood for? You’ve only practiced for a short time."

Lan Fengjiao was both shocked and worried; she quickly took Lan Xiaotian’s right hand to check it, only to see the surface of his skin was abraded.

"Sister, I just felt an itch in my fist and a lot of energy, so I tried it out, I didn’t even use much strength," Lan Xiaotian said sheepishly, shrinking his neck.

He was actually more shocked than his sister.

It had only been a few days of practice—or rather, what he practiced before wasn’t very useful. What really made a difference was the instructions from his teacher in the short half-day.

His strength seemed to have increased significantly, more than doubling.

His fists had also become much harder, allowing him to punch the wooden board without feeling pain.

If that fatso dares to bully me again, I’ll make sure his nose is askew.

With that thought in mind,

Lan Xiaotian began to laugh foolishly again.