In the Secret Martial Dao, Pile Skill is as important as Secret Medicine.
Secret Medicine provides the body with energy and nutrients, while Pile Skill guides that energy and those nutrients to where they need to go.
Qi and Blood Circulation is the essence of Pile Skill.
The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall does not pass down its secret Pile Skill to all Outer Disciples. This is because the barrier to entry for Pile Skill is high. To achieve the effect of Qi and Blood Circulation, one needs to master the hall's Force and have a certain level of physical conditioning. Otherwise, at best, they will fail to even begin and waste their time; at worst, they will deplete their Qi and Blood, leading to injury and illness.
Generally, only when one reaches the level of Nine Sounds, or in other special circumstances, will the Martial Arts Hall pass down the Pile Skill.
Zhao Xuanqi, however, was an exception. Although he was now in Zhao Qi's body, his Martial Dao experience from his past life still allowed him to bypass the initial learning threshold for Pile Skill. Besides, he didn't need the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall's Pile Skill, because the Hundred Beasts Fist had its own Secret Transmission for it.
The Hundred Beasts Fist claims to gather the true intent of a hundred beasts, but in practice, it refines and integrates the Profound Techniques of these beasts, giving rise to the Four Forms.
Fierce! Xiang! Yu! Turn!
Among them, the two forms, Fierce and Xiang, each have their own set of Pile Skills with different focuses.
Fierce is the Walking Beast Form, specializing in offensive Fist Techniques.
Xiang is the Flying Bird Form, specializing in versatile Body Techniques.
To begin learning the Hundred Beasts Fist, one can choose one of these to specialize in.
And the Tiger Form is one of the primary manifestations of the Fierce form.
Therefore, in this life, Zhao Xuanqi decided to start with the Fierce form.
His body began to move slowly. His feet were shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, toes gripping the ground, creating a stance as stable as a mountain. His back arched slightly, chest and abdomen drawn in, back spread wide, and shoulder blades lowered, stretching his arms to their maximum length. His hands took the shape of Tiger Claws.
This was the Pile Skill Stance of the Fierce form.
Elephant legs! Bear torso! Ape arms! Tiger Claws!
Furthermore, the Pile Skill Stance was not merely about standing still. That would only be a Dead Stake, which not only fails to circulate Qi and Blood but actually causes it to stagnate, damaging muscles and joints.
The key to using Pile Skill for Qi and Blood Circulation lies in finding motion within stillness!
While maintaining the basic Stance, Zhao Xuanqi's body began to move with a slow, rhythmic pulse.
Legs, feet, hips, waist, back, chest, arms, hands!
The muscles and fascia in each of these parts began to pulse slowly under his control. Although he was standing on solid ground, from a distance, it looked as if he were standing on water, the deck of a ship, or the back of a horse, his entire body rising and falling continuously.
Zhao Qi's body, with its untrained reflexes and muscle memory, offered only weak control, limiting the level of his Pile Skill practice. If one's Pile Skill reached a profound level, the body's control would be so complete that all movement would be hidden and imperceptible. The visible motion, like standing on water, was actually a sign that his practice was not yet refined.
But even so, it was enough to achieve Qi and Blood Circulation.
As his body rose and fell, the Qi and Blood within Zhao Xuanqi surged and ebbed in unison.
The Tiger Form Fist emphasizes the fists, palms, and claws, so during Qi and Blood Circulation, he directed the primary flow of Qi and Blood to his palms and arms.
The nutrients from food and medicine, carried within the Qi and Blood, surged and ebbed, focusing on, washing over, and nourishing his palms and arms. This caused them to flush slightly red and generated a tingling, burning sensation.
He held this stance for a full hour. Once seventy to eighty percent of the nutrients from the Martial Arts Hall's Secret Medicine were consumed, Zhao Xuanqi finally relaxed his Pile Skill Stance and let out a long breath.
An hour of stance training would have been enough to make an ordinary person's back feel like it was about to break, but Zhao Xuanqi merely felt a comfortable warmth spreading through his body, a sense of power emanating from his arms and palms.
This was the difference between a "Living Stake" and a "Dead Stake."
'One dose of Secret Medicine is worth ten full meals, but the metabolic stress on the body is only equivalent to a single meal.'
The effects of the Secret Medicine were indeed profound. An ordinary Outer Disciple, however, would naturally not have his high digestive efficiency. From one dose of Secret Medicine, they could at most absorb nutrients equivalent to two or three full meals. The rest of the nutrients and energy, unable to be absorbed, would be lost through excretion.
'The special training lasts for a month. After that, I hear these resources will no longer be free. You have to pay a price—taking a position in one of the Martial Arts Hall's various businesses—to continue using them. I wonder if we'll get a supply of Secret Medicine every day this month...'
Zhao Xuanqi considered this. He felt a daily supply was unlikely. For one, such a Secret Medicine was surely expensive. For another, daily doses would be too much for an Outer Disciple's body to handle; unable to properly absorb the potent nutrients, they would end up harming themselves instead.
'Looks like I need to find a way to get more Secret Medicine.'
As he thought of this, he couldn't help but recall the behavior of the Martial Arts Hall's True Inheritance disciple, Liu Changfeng, earlier that day.
Although the man had hidden it well, Zhao Xuanqi could still sense that he was being secretly observed.
'So, I've finally caught the Martial Arts Hall's attention?'
This was actually part of Zhao Xuanqi's plan. Although he had held back during the assessment, he had still demonstrated the fundamentals of his Techniques, showing himself to be far superior to the average disciple. His very purpose had been to attract the Martial Arts Hall's attention.
He hadn't joined the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall just to be some low-level grunt, waiting around to die, but for a higher platform and better resources.
However, given Zhao Qi's previous performance, he couldn't afford to reveal too much too soon, lest it arouse unnecessary suspicion. Thus, he had restrained himself, planning to advance things slowly.
Now that he had their attention, he could start to gradually reveal a bit more.
The next day, the special training proceeded on schedule. Just as Zhao Xuanqi had expected, the fortifying medicinal soup was still provided at noon, but when training ended in the evening, there was no Secret Medicine supplied.
It was not until three days later, at the end of training, that everyone received their second dose of Secret Medicine.
'One dose every three days? So, ten doses a month? That might be enough for the others, but for me, it's still far too little.'
And so, at the end of the fifth day of special training, Zhao Xuanqi took the initiative to approach Liu Changfeng.
"You want to obtain extra Secret Medicine?"
Hearing Zhao Xuanqi's request, Liu Changfeng glanced at him with some surprise. "More Secret Medicine isn't necessarily better," he said. "If your body can't handle it, it will do more harm than good."
"I don't have any special talents, but I do have a big appetite. Don't worry, Senior Brother, I know my own limits," Zhao Xuanqi said with a smile.
"Fine. According to the Martial Arts Hall's rules, besides the fixed allocation, Outer Disciples can purchase additional Secret Medicine with silver coins. It's five silver coins per dose."
Liu Changfeng nodded. Without another word, he simply stated the rules to Zhao Xuanqi.
'Five silver coins for a single dose...'
That price was steep. It was enough to cover a family of three's food expenses for two months, yet it only bought a single dose of Secret Medicine. An ordinary person simply couldn't afford it.
Fortunately, after "fleecing that fat sheep" Deng Zhuo, Zhao Xuanqi now had a stash of over fifty silver coins, enough to buy ten doses of Secret Medicine.
As for the origin of the money, he wasn't too worried. After all, he and his sister had arrived as refugees from Su Sea, and anyone with discerning eyes could tell they didn't come from an ordinary family. It was perfectly normal for them to have some hidden savings. With Liu Changfeng's status and perspective, he would never covet such a small sum.
'Ten doses from the Martial Arts Hall's allocation, ten that I buy myself, and the Hall provides lunch... that means I won't have many other expenses this month. It'll be just barely enough. It just means the matter of changing houses will have to be postponed... Still, it wouldn't be wise to reveal all my wealth at once.'
In the end, Zhao Xuanqi only placed an order for two doses of Secret Medicine with Liu Changfeng for now, arranging to bring the silver coins to exchange for them the next day.
Watching Zhao Xuanqi's departing figure leave the Martial Arts Hall, Liu Changfeng narrowed his eyes, a profound look within them.
Returning to the inner courtyard, he summoned Li Zhongquan, the Inner Sect disciple of the Martial Arts Hall who had previously been in charge of Named Disciple affairs, and asked,
"Have you finished investigating Zhao Qi's situation?"