Chapter Ten: The Secret Elixir

“Huh?”
“Senior Brother Zhao, aren’t you going to teach us the Celestial Pivot Palm directly?” Many people were stunned.

Zhao Shaojie said, “Actually, every martial art is a process of nourishing the blood, tempering the sinews, and strengthening the bones, all to enhance physical capacity. I’ve told you before: the greater your strength and the faster your speed, the stronger your power! Whether it’s a palm technique or fist technique, it’s just an attack method.”

“If you’re naturally strong, even someone who’s trained for three to five years might not be able to defeat you!”

“Wait, what…”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

But Qin Yi wholeheartedly agreed with Zhao Shaojie’s words. In his previous life, those heavyweight boxers fighting lightweights was almost like bullying children.

You could hit me five times and I’d still be fine, but if I land one punch, my strength alone could knock you out!

“Senior Brother Zhao, I’ve heard that our Azure Mist Dao Palace’s martial arts are practiced together with special secret medicines. What are these medicines for?” Qin Yi asked.

“Oh, you know about that?” Zhao Shaojie glanced at Qin Yi, slightly surprised.

“Uncle Pine told me.”

“Yes, that’s right. Our Azure Mist Dao Palace’s martial arts—or rather, most martial arts in the world—are accompanied by special secret medicines. These come in both internal and external forms, and each martial art has its own unique formula.”

“For example, with the Celestial Pivot Palm, the secret medicine is designed specifically for the hands! Taking it speeds up the process of nourishing the blood, tempering the sinews, and strengthening the bones, making training much faster! Without it, three years of arduous practice can’t compare to just six months or a year with the medicine.”

“Moreover, without the secret medicine, it’s impossible to truly master a martial art!” Zhao Shaojie explained.

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

“But,” Zhao Shaojie continued, “the secret medicine is expensive. Since you’re not personal disciples, if you want to train with it, you’ll have to buy it from the storeroom yourselves! Each set includes one internal and one external preparation, costing five hundred coins. Early on, you’ll use one set every ten days; later, every three days.”

At these words, everyone’s faces fell.

“So expensive!”

“If it’s every three days, won’t that be five taels of silver a month?”

Qin Yi frowned. No wonder they had to buy Daoist identification and the Azure Mist Dao Palace allowed ordinary disciples to train—it turned out they could make a profit selling medicines to the common disciples.

It seemed the Dao Palace had its own ways to get rich.

“All right, hurry up and carry those sandbags!”

Soon everyone was busy hoisting the sandbags.

In the end, out of fifteen newcomers, only six could carry sandbags weighing over a hundred pounds and complete five full laps.

Zhang Broadsword and Qin Yi were among them—especially Zhang Broadsword, who was the fastest of all, his stamina truly remarkable.

As for Qin Yi, he hid his abilities, pretending to struggle through the five laps.

“Good, you five, I’ll teach you the Celestial Pivot Palm now. The rest, continue training your stamina in the front yard,” Zhao Shaojie said.

The ones who couldn’t complete the five laps slouched off to continue practicing.

“You six, follow me.”

They followed Zhao Shaojie into the rear yard.

“The Celestial Pivot Palm is the most forceful attacking art in our Azure Mist Dao Palace. I’ll first demonstrate the initial sequence of movements. Each sequence has its own breathing and force-guiding techniques. Watch my breathing closely!”

“Accumulate energy two inches below the navel, feel the lower abdominal wall move, then draw up the breath and strike!”

Bang!

His palm sank into a hanging sandbag, sending it sliding back nearly twenty centimeters!

Zhao Shaojie demonstrated several more times before having everyone try it themselves.

In the blink of an eye, the entire morning passed.

That morning, Zhao Shaojie only taught the first sequence. Of the group, only Zhang Broadsword and a youth named Lin Fan mastered the breathing, force channeling, and movements; Qin Yi and the other three failed to get the breathing and force right.

Zhao Shaojie praised Zhang Broadsword and Lin Fan for their talent.

“All right, today’s martial arts class ends here. Tonight, I’ll teach you the literary studies class. Don’t be late! As for duty shifts, I’ll assign them tomorrow. Dismissed.”

“Yes, Senior Brother Zhao.” Everyone saluted and left.

Recently, the Azure Mist Dao Palace had recruited a batch of menial servants—mostly vagrants—so ordinary disciples like Qin Yi no longer had to do chores, needing only to attend morning and evening classes and practice martial arts each day.

…

Evening class.

In the courtyard.

Each person sat on a meditation cushion.

“Brothers, you probably thought chanting scriptures was the literary studies class, but that’s not the case!” Zhao Shaojie looked over the fifteen people and smiled.

“Please enlighten us, Senior Brother Zhao!” everyone responded in unison.

“Very well, let me explain. Our Azure Mist Dao Palace’s literary studies classes—the morning and evening lessons—are for practicing the Azure Void Art!”

“What’s the purpose of cultivating the Azure Void Art?” Qin Yi asked.

“It cultivates the body and mind. At higher levels, it invigorates the spirit, sharpens the senses, and even prolongs life to some extent. In truth, it doesn’t have many concrete effects, but our Daoist sects have always emphasized self-cultivation and nurturing the spirit. Since ancient times, every monastery or Dao palace has required daily literary practice, so you must take it seriously. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Senior Brother, who in the Azure Mist Dao Palace has reached the highest level in the Azure Void Art?”

“That should be our abbot. It’s said he’s reached the Embryonic Breathing stage! He’s already ninety years old but still vigorous and full of life!”

“All right, let me explain the first section—Body Adjustment!”

“Look at the Daoist diagram behind me, remember its appearance, pay attention to my breathing rhythm, and then meditate with your eyes closed… Strive for calmness, focus, and unity…”

Qin Yi looked up at the diagram behind Senior Brother Zhao. It depicted an old Daoist in blue robes, floating above the clouds.

“Nothing special,” Qin Yi thought, unable to discern anything profound, so he simply followed along.

An hour passed, and the evening class ended. Everyone left together in groups.

The next afternoon.

Storage room.

“Senior Brother, I’d like to buy two sets of the secret medicine for the Celestial Pivot Palm,” Qin Yi said, handing over a tael of silver.

After paying two hundred taels last time, he had only two left.

“One moment.”

Soon, Qin Yi returned to his quarters with two sets of medicine.

Now that he was a registered disciple, he finally had a private room of his own.

Opening the oiled paper, he saw each set contained two packets: one for internal use, one for external. The internal medicine was a black pill the size of a thumb; the external was a packet of powder, to be dissolved in warm water and used to soak the hands.

“I thought I’d have to decoct the medicine myself, but it’s just pills and powder—probably to prevent the recipe from leaking.”

“System, deposit.” Qin Yi placed both sets of medicine into the system.