Chapter 13

After a few more days, Zhu Lingwu was finally able to cultivate the Ninefold Thunder Dominating Body Technique.

During this period, Zhu Lingwu also tested the electrical charge contained in the Baghdad batteries and had someone replenish them at any time to avoid running out of power halfway through his cultivation.

Fortunately, these Baghdad batteries could be reused by simply injecting acidic fruit juice, which was sufficient for the initial stage of Zhu Lingwu's cultivation of the Ninefold Thunder Dominating Body Technique.

He changed into a spacious practice uniform and sat cross-legged on the practice platform. In the practice room, he was the only one left, having sent everyone else to the courtyard entrance, except for the servant Liang, who was allowed to wait at the door of the practice room.

Additionally, Liu Ping, the commander of the Zhu family's private troops, stood beside the practice platform where Zhu Lingwu was sitting, guarding him and ready to help solve any problems that might arise during his cultivation.

Liu Ping was quite satisfied with Zhu Lingwu's attitude. In the past few days, Zhu Lingwu had been very humble in seeking advice from him on the experience of cultivating martial arts.

If it were the previous eight-year-old child, as a nobleman's son, he would not have sought advice from a servant of a commoner family, nor would he have had the patience to listen to Liu Ping's detailed explanations. He would have likely found Liu Ping's words tedious and sent him away.

However, Zhu Lingwu was not a real child. For things he did not understand, he naturally would not find it tedious to have a professional expert guide him.

Such an opportunity was rare. If it were a commoner, unless he was Liu Ping's own son or a close relative, even if he offered a thousand taels of gold, Liu Ping would not provide such detailed guidance.

This was a benefit of Zhu Lingwu's current status. Liu Ping did not dare to take it lightly, as he would be held responsible if anything happened to Zhu Lingwu. Zhu Lingwu's attitude also won Liu Ping's favor, making him even more dedicated.

Liu Ping not only told Zhu Lingwu the systematic knowledge of cultivating martial arts but also mentioned many other things to pay attention to during cultivation.

For example, the different ways of unblocking the body's acupoints and meridians result in different manifestations of strength. Those who practice palm techniques mainly focus on unblocking the acupoints in their arms, while those who practice foot techniques focus on unblocking the acupoints in their legs.

However, such cultivation is like treating the head for a headache and the foot for a footache, which is considered inferior, aimed at gaining combat strength.

Truly high-ranking martial arts cultivation techniques, like the Ninefold Thunder Dominating Body Technique that Zhu Lingwu now possesses, focus on cultivating the small and large heavenly cycles of the body's acupoints and meridians from the beginning, aiming directly for the innate realm, without mentioning specific martial techniques.

The small heavenly cycle involves the Ren and Du meridians, which, when unblocked, allow the blood to circulate from the head to the lower body, integrating the life potential within the body into the blood and activating it during the circulation process.

This blood, infused with life potential, is known as essence blood. The transformation of ordinary blood into essence blood requires a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.

Only when the blood accumulates energy to a certain degree can it be considered essence blood, which is usually condensed drop by drop and stored in the middle dantian, the heart chamber.

Once the small heavenly cycle of the Ren and Du meridians is unblocked and the essence blood is condensed to a certain degree, it marks the fourth level of the acquired martial arts realm.

Next is the more complex large heavenly cycle, which involves unblocking the twelve main meridians of the body.

Once the large heavenly cycle of the twelve main meridians is unblocked, you can control over 90% of your body's strength through the blood flowing within you.

With the flow of blood, you can direct strength to any part of your body at will, allowing you to release powerful force to attack your opponent.

During this process, the essence blood condensed in the heart chamber, which contains the essence of life energy extracted from the body, can also release powerful force when released.

Of course, this also consumes a great deal of your own energy, as the essence blood is a concentration of your life force.

Once the small and large heavenly cycles of the body's acupoints and meridians are unblocked and the essence blood in the heart chamber is condensed to a certain degree, forming what is known as acquired spirit blood, you enter the ninth level of the acquired martial arts realm.

Next is the crucial step of breaking through to the innate realm, which is an extremely dangerous attempt. This involves bursting the acquired spirit blood you have condensed through effort within your body, using this powerful energy to surge to the top of your head, stimulating the upper dantian, the divine palace, to protect your consciousness from leaving the body and sensing the natural spirit energy of heaven and earth through the acquired spirit blood.

This is known as connecting the heavenly gate, guiding the natural spirit energy of heaven and earth into the body, and integrating it into various parts of the body through the large and small heavenly cycles, transforming the acquired spirit blood you have cultivated into innate spirit energy.

This is equivalent to cultivating innate spirit energy through your own efforts, thus possessing innate spirit meridians, which allows you to cultivate qi and practice immortality, marking the breakthrough to the innate realm.

However, if the attempt is unsuccessful, an acquired martial arts expert may suffer serious internal injuries or even die from the burst within the body.

Recovering from such internal injuries is extremely difficult. Once the body is healed and the internal injuries are resolved, it is uncertain when one can try again to break through to the innate realm.

Breaking through to the innate realm is not an easy task for an acquired martial arts practitioner, as it involves risking one's life, akin to a carp jumping over the dragon gate, where most carps fail and are shattered.

Life is short, and a person's lifespan is limited.

An acquired martial arts practitioner who reaches the ninth level of the acquired realm can generally live to around 120 years old.

If one breaks through to the innate realm, they can live to around 150 years old, similar to the lifespan of the qi cultivators of the noble families.

But how many people have the talent to reach the ninth level of the acquired realm?

And how many of those who reach the ninth level of the acquired realm have the courage to attempt breaking through to the innate realm?

This is why Liu Ping, knowing that Zhu Lingwu wanted to use martial arts to enhance the quality of the innate spirit energy in his blood, had to remind him.