Chapter 5

Chapter 4. What the hell is going on here? (4)

"Six Harmonies Technique (六合功)."

Six Harmonies refers to Unity (合一).

Heaven and Earth, and the four directions of East, West, South, and North, are collectively known as the Six Harmonies.

The Six Harmonies are the world, and the world is the Six Harmonies.

"Ugh."

It sounds grand and impressive.

So, what kind of martial art is this Six Harmonies Technique?

'It's a cheap martial art you can buy for a few coins at a street market.'

It's not just cheap for a secret manual; it's cheap even for a book. It's the cheapest martial art in the world, sold at a price that barely covers the cost of the paper. In layman's terms, it's a cheap knockoff.

When the street ruffians try to become martial artists, the first book they buy from the bookstore is this Six Harmonies Technique. It's the martial art that those who want to become experts through self-study, without following the strict rules of a temple or martial hall, learn.

In the past, when Qingming was active in the martial world, the Six Harmonies Technique, Six Harmonies Fist, and Three Disasters Sword were known as the three great martial arts of the street. How bad could they have been?

By the time Qingming was known as one of the three great swordsmen, the basic martial art of the street had changed to Tai Chi Fist, but that was something they decided on their own.

So, why learn such a cheap martial art?

'Because it's not cheap.'

The Six Harmonies Technique is the introductory martial art of Huashan. Those who enter Huashan all start their martial arts training with the Six Harmonies Technique.

The reason the Six Harmonies Technique spread to the streets is that a Huashan elder, under the pretense that health cultivation (養生) should not be exclusive to temples but for everyone, boldly made it public to the masses.

Unfortunately, the Six Harmonies Technique alone does not make a person strong. It merely has the effect of making one a little healthier.

Those who did not see the desired results despised the Six Harmonies Technique as a poor martial art and criticized Huashan for withholding the core techniques when they made it public.

Eventually, the Six Harmonies Technique became so poorly perceived that even those who had just entered Huashan protested when they learned it was the first martial art they would learn.

But Qingming knows.

The Six Harmonies Technique is not a bad martial art. If it were as worthless as the public perceives, it could not have maintained its position as the foundational martial art of Huashan for hundreds of years.

"Everything has its purpose."

The Six Harmonies Technique does not exponentially increase one's internal energy. In fact, if we only consider the efficiency of gathering internal energy, it falls far short of even a tenth of what a basic technique from a decent sect can achieve.

However, the Six Harmonies Technique has an incredible benefit that outweighs its shortcomings.

It perfectly purifies the practitioner's body.

In simpler terms:

"It's literally a foundational technique."

Foundation.

Foundation work.

The Six Harmonies Technique is the best martial art for refining the dantian and the body to perfection. However, while others are advancing to the Qi Condensation stage, the practitioner is only refining the dantian, so the benefits are not visible.

What happens when others are running and you are crawling on the ground?

'Chaos ensues.'

Ultimately, even Huashan gave up on delving deeply into the Six Harmonies Technique. Due to tradition and history, they only teach it as an introductory technique, and once the practitioner can roughly circulate their energy, they quickly move on to the Lesser Clear Qi Technique (小淸氣功).

In his previous life, Qingming did not waste time on the ineffective Six Harmonies Technique. He thought it was a hundred times more beneficial to learn a better mind technique during that time.

"A hundred times the loss. Damn it!"

This is what he regrets the most from his previous life.

If he had completed the Six Harmonies Technique before moving on to other martial arts, he could have become at least twice as strong.

However, once the tower is built, it's impossible to redo the foundation.

But now, he has a chance to resolve this lifelong regret.

This time, he will not be hasty. He will put in meticulous effort to perfect it, making the tower he will build even more grand and beautiful.

"Huff."

Qingming, sitting in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes and slowly recalled the incantations of the Six Harmonies Technique.

The moment his mind is focused, the energy begins to move.

Through his breathing, external energy (外氣) is drawn into his body. While beginners often spend nearly a month just feeling this external energy for the first time, Qingming did not need such a process.

The energy drawn in slowly circulates through his body according to the Six Harmonies Technique, eventually settling in the lower abdomen.

'Now it begins.'

Of course, Qingming did not intend to merely learn the Six Harmonies Technique. While following the path laid out by the elders is not bad, someone who has walked the path before cannot be satisfied with simply retracing it.

'A bit more pure.'

He concentrates his mind to filter out the impurities mixed in the gathered energy.

It feels like seeing every thread in a large piece of fabric and filtering out the ones that are slightly out of place, repeatedly purifying the energy until it is perfectly pure.

At first, it must be perfect.

The size of the gathered energy is meaningless. What he needs now is not a large amount of impure internal energy but a single, perfect grain of energy.

The energy is gradually refined. A grain of energy, smaller and smaller, was whittled down. After more than half a day, only an incredibly tiny grain of energy remained.

As this energy settles in the lower abdomen, it creates a small space that is almost embarrassing to call a dantian.

*Flash.*

Qingming opened his eyes.

"Huuuuu."

His face was drenched in sweat, and the rags he wore were soaked with the sweat and impurities that had been expelled from his body, making them even dirtier than before.

"I haven't focused on cultivating like this before."

But rather than being tired, he felt refreshed. And he was very pleased with the result.

He gently touched his lower abdomen. Although it's awkward to call it a dantian, he had successfully taken the first step in building a perfect foundation.

It is incredibly weak now.

In the entire history of the martial world, there is likely no one who has created a weaker dantian than Qingming on their first cultivation attempt.

But Qingming knows.

This small dantian will lead him to another world. This small but perfect grain of energy will roll like a snowball, eventually creating an avalanche that no one in the world can stop.

Yes, like...

'That demon, Tianma.'

Qingming's body trembled.

Thinking of Tianma sends a chill through his entire body.

'He wasn't human.'

Overwhelming.

No, it was a presence that could not be fully described even with such a word.

A desperate team formed by gathering the elite of a sect that dominated the world. They did not target the entire demonic sect but only Tianma.

The result was a mutual destruction.

To put it mildly, Tianma alone could have fought the entire martial world on equal terms.

'Maybe...'

This time, he might be able to reach it.

If he does everything he can, one by one.

Qingming suddenly stood up.

"Alright, let's—"

*Wobble.*

Qingming's half-standing body weakly fell forward.

"Huh?"

What is it? Did I overdo the cultivation and get anemia?

"Ugh!"

He tried to push himself up with his arms. Or rather, he tried to. But his arms did not listen to him.

"Huh?"

*Shake, shake.*

His arms, thin like winter branches, were trembling uncontrollably, a pitiful sight.

"Why, why is this happening?"

But isn't it? If I cultivated, my body should be full of energy...

"Wait, just a moment."

Qingming's gaze shifted to his lower abdomen, which was touching the ground.

The purest energy in the world is gathered there, as small as an ant's eye.

An ant's eye...

The purity of the energy was so incredible that even Qingming, a Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, was amazed. But the amount was miraculously small, enough to be exhausted by a single punch from a child.

What does that mean?

"No, damn it! This won't help me use my body at all right now!"

Qingming grabbed his head and rolled on the ground.

I should have thought about it! Thought about it! The brain is there to think, so why didn't I think? Why!

He could almost hear his senior brother's voice in his ear.

-Please think before you act! Think! Why do you always act first and think later! Why! Use your brain for thinking, not as a hat stand!

Qingming's hasty nature, which once made a noble Daoist use the words "brain" and "hat stand" in the same sentence, had caused another mishap.

If I had known, I would have made it a bit larger!

"Do I have to get to Huashan with this body?"

How far is it from Wuhuan to Huashan? Roughly...

"Two thousand li?"

His eyes widened.

Two thousand li?

An ordinary person who hasn't learned martial arts struggles to travel a hundred li in a day. And with this weak, malnourished child's body, he has to travel two thousand li? Two thousand li?

"Ugh!"

Qingming rubbed his face with both hands.

"Damn it, this cursed life!"

But what can he do? It's already done.

In fact, even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have been able to make a much larger dantian. He had already experienced how a shortcut taken for immediate convenience could become a significant obstacle in the future.

He will no longer sacrifice the future for the present!

...But that's not an easy problem to solve.

"Ugh."

Qingming struggled to his feet.

"What's life, anyway?"

Ultimately, all of this was just a hardship that Qingming had to endure.

Hardship makes heroes!

"Nothing is impossible with perseverance!"

Qingming clenched his teeth and started walking down the road again.

* * *

*Thud!*

"Ugh..."

Qingming, whose legs gave out, collapsed on the spot.

'Even perseverance has its limits.'

A new realization at this age.

Qingming was once again reminded that there are things in the world that are beyond one's control.

He can endure the pain in his legs. He can somehow endure the cries of his body.

But there was one thing he could not endure.

'I'm starving to death.'

The hunger gnawing at his stomach could not be resolved by anything.

In the past, he thought he was somewhat accustomed to hunger. Cultivation often requires strict self-discipline. Eating is a way of accepting external energy, but it also means accepting impurities.

Therefore, practitioners strictly avoid cooked food (火食). During intense cultivation, they sometimes even fast. Qingming, as a disciple of Huashan, a Daoist sect, thought he was somewhat immune to hunger.

But Qingming didn't know.

There is a huge difference between not having something and having it but not using it!

The difference between voluntarily abstaining from food and being forced to go without it is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth. Extreme hunger cannot be overcome by endurance. It feels like demons are slicing his insides with knives.

With sheer perseverance, he managed to leave the road and enter the city, but he had no energy left to do anything more. He almost crawled to the market.

'To think that the first life-threatening situation I face after being reborn is starvation.'

It's an absurd situation.

Who is Qingming?

One of the three great... Ah, forget it. I'm starving to death.

The "starving to death" was not just a figure of speech but a real threat. Qingming groaned.

He wasn't joking; he was really going to starve to death.

He tried to catch some wild animals, but his body, beaten up by that guy Zong Ba or something, couldn't move properly.

Or, even before that, his body was already on the brink of starvation when he left Wuhuan. Maybe he had already starved to death once.

And now he is facing the second threat of starvation.

'What should I do?'

To get food, he needs money, and to get money, he needs to work. But with this body, working is impossible.

So, what...

At that moment.

*Clang.*

A clear metallic sound echoed from somewhere.