Chapter 3

"Hmm? Are my meridians stronger?" In the evening, Ye Feng sat on the bed in meditation, feeling that his meridians were much stronger than before. Although they hadn't reached the standard of an ordinary person, they were much stronger than before, which surprised him greatly. "Could it be the work of the Vitality Qi?"

Suddenly, Ye Feng thought of a possibility. When he tried to mobilize the Vitality Qi, it didn't move at all. "Damn, it's still the same, not responding to my commands!"

This made Ye Feng very frustrated. On Earth, the Vitality Qi only appeared passively and was never under his control. He thought it might change in this world, but it turned out to be the same.

After a moment, Ye Feng calmed down. Even if it was passive, it was better than nothing, and he had already gotten used to the passive nature of the Vitality Qi.

Since he had the Vitality Qi, Ye Feng wasn't afraid anymore and began to cultivate martial arts.

Ye Feng practiced the basic breathing technique, a method used by everyone on the Tianlang Continent to lay the foundation. Even noble children generally used this to build their foundation.

*Huff... puff... huff... puff...*

Ye Feng closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. Soon, his breathing became very regular, almost rhythmic. With each breath, it seemed like two transparent dragons were entering and exiting his nostrils.

"Hmm!" Suddenly, Ye Feng's breathing paused, and he let out a muffled groan, his face showing signs of pain.

*Huff!* After a while, Ye Feng took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

In that instant, a thread of spiritual energy had just entered his dantian meridians, but suddenly the meridians began to tear. Fortunately, Ye Feng stopped in time; otherwise, his meridians would have completely torn apart.

"This body is indeed unsuitable for cultivation!" Feeling the cracks in his meridians, Ye Feng sighed inwardly.

Suddenly, a thin, hair-like white stream of energy emerged from his mind.

Seeing this white stream, Ye Feng's face showed a hint of surprise. Indeed, as he had guessed, on Earth, the Vitality Qi would passively heal his injuries. It seemed the same was true in this world.

The Vitality Qi gradually nourished the cracks in his meridians, quickly repairing them.

When the last crack in his meridians was repaired, the Vitality Qi was completely depleted. *Buzz...* At that moment, Ye Feng suddenly felt a dizziness in his mind, and his spirit became extremely fatigued.

"Ah, I didn't expect the Vitality Qi to be so depleted!" Ye Feng's head felt heavy, and he sighed inwardly before falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

After a night's rest, his spirit had recovered. In fact, Ye Feng was already familiar with such situations. In the past, he often encountered them, but as the Vitality Qi increased, he never faced such issues again.

"Hmm... a seed of spiritual energy?" Suddenly, Ye Feng felt something unusual in his dantian. When he focused his mind on it, he sensed a thread of spiritual energy, which was the seed of spiritual energy.

With this seed, he had entered the realm of a quasi-warrior. In the future, as he continued to practice the basic technique, the seed of spiritual energy would gradually grow. Once it reached a certain level, he would enter the realm of a warrior.

However, what puzzled Ye Feng was how a seed of spiritual energy had appeared in his dantian out of nowhere. Last night, when he practiced, it wasn't there, but now it had appeared on its own.

While Ye Feng was puzzled, he suddenly felt his body seemed stronger.

"Sixth level of the Iron Body Technique?"

Ye Feng was now very confused. In one night, not only had he formed a seed of spiritual energy, but his body-strengthening technique had also advanced to the next level.

Could it be... the effect of the Vitality Qi?

This was the only explanation Ye Feng could think of. Whether it was true would be confirmed through future experiments.

Putting this thought aside, Ye Feng turned to observe his body.

The sixth level of the Iron Body Technique was considered a minor accomplishment. His skin had become as hard as steel. Although it was still somewhat fragile compared to a true warrior, his resistance to physical blows had significantly increased. Moreover, the minor accomplishment of the Iron Body Technique greatly increased his strength, and now his punches were accompanied by bursts of air.

The spiritual energy was currently useless. Although he had a seed of spiritual energy, his meridians were too fragile to withstand the strain of spiritual energy. He would have to wait until his meridians were strengthened. However, once his meridians were strengthened, he would directly enter the realm of a quasi-warrior.

After some thought, Ye Feng went to the courtyard. There was a prepared meal on the kitchen table, and his mother and younger brother were not at home. Ye Feng knew his mother had gone to work, and his brother had gone to practice.

Seeing his mother, who was so old, going to work before dawn, Ye Feng felt a deep sense of unease. He secretly vowed that he would never let his family live like this again.

In the center of the courtyard were five or six stone locks, which Ye Feng used for training. The Iron Body Technique required physical endurance and pushing the body to its limits to progress.

The five stone locks weighed from one hundred to five hundred pounds. Each level of the Iron Body Technique increased his strength by one hundred pounds.

Ye Feng went to the second stone lock, grabbed it with one hand, and easily lifted it, even moving it around in the air as if it were a piece of foam.

Ye Feng nodded in satisfaction. Before he was transported, he could only lift this stone lock and hold it for the duration of an incense stick. Now, it felt like he could move it around for a long time without feeling tired.

Putting down the two-hundred-pound stone lock, Ye Feng moved to the three-hundred-pound one. He lifted it effortlessly, then the four-hundred-pound one... and the five-hundred-pound one... to him, they were no different from the previous ones.

As for a six-hundred-pound stone lock, his family didn't have one. He had never thought the Iron Body Technique could reach this level. A six-hundred-pound stone lock was a luxury for him. But unexpectedly, such a change had occurred. This change could be considered a complete transformation for Ye Feng.

Five hundred pounds was equivalent to the strength of a first-stage warrior. Now, his strength had reached six hundred pounds, meaning that Ye Feng's strength was even greater than that of a newly entered first-stage warrior.

Of course, in battle, it was a different story. Warriors not only cultivated techniques but also martial skills. Techniques combined with martial skills could unleash power beyond their own. It was said that the higher the technique, the greater the power it could unleash, and some techniques could even make a person burst with several times their own strength. This was far beyond what body strengthening could achieve.

Ye Feng, having accepted the memories of his predecessor, understood that whether it was martial cultivation or body strengthening, their essence was the same.

Body strengthening focused on the body itself, and the two paths could be considered different routes to the same goal. However, body strengthening was based on挖掘自身的潜力，压榨身体的潜力，容易让身体满是创伤。

武术修炼则是开发内在，武术的优点在于在开发内在的同时让身体更加强壮，虽然比不上炼体，但也比普通人好上很多。何况外界的灵力无穷无尽，岂是一个小小的人体可以比拟？因此，也就造成了几乎没有炼体的人，因为即便修炼外功，也没有多大的成就。

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*Note: The last two lines are placeholders for advertisements and are not part of the story. They have been translated as placeholders.*

Body strengthening focused on the body itself, and the two paths could be considered different routes to the same goal. However, body strengthening was based on tapping into one's potential, which could easily lead to physical injuries.

Martial cultivation, on the other hand, focused on developing inner strength. The advantage of martial cultivation was that it made the body stronger while developing inner strength, although it didn't match body strengthening, it was still much better than that of ordinary people. Moreover, the external spiritual energy was endless, far surpassing what a small human body could achieve. Therefore, there were almost no people who practiced body strengthening, as even external cultivation didn't yield much success.