Chapter 56

Outside the window, the moon had already shifted to the west, and the drumbeat signaled the fifth watch of the night. Li Kuan climbed out of his intricately carved bed, put on his clothes, and was ready to start his morning practice. His body had gradually recovered, and with the experience from his previous life, his Xinyi Quan (Mind-Intent Fist) skills had advanced rapidly, successfully reaching the Mingjing (Manifested Force) level three months ago. This meant he had officially entered the inner sanctum of internal martial arts, which are divided into Mingjing, Anjing (Hidden Force), and the legendary Huajing (Transformed Force). At the Mingjing level, the force is no longer mere physical strength but a more refined energy, meaning he could fully mobilize his muscle tissues, twisting his strength into a single force, greatly increasing the power of each punch.

Of course, it wasn't just internal martial arts that had such miraculous effects. Li Kuan discovered after arriving in the Tang Dynasty that people of this era could also achieve such feats through martial arts practice. The legendary stories of heroes taking the heads of enemy generals in the midst of thousands of soldiers were indeed possible. In the past two years, he had watched Li Er (Li Shimin) practice martial arts. From his perspective as someone who had reached the peak of Mingjing in his previous life, Li Er, who was not known for his martial prowess, had a similar level of strength. So, what about the true warriors like Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, and Cheng Zhijie? This thought motivated Li Kuan to train even harder and more seriously, as this was a world with much higher martial prowess compared to the 21st century. In his previous life, he had never seen many national martial arts masters, and those he had met on TV were all at the Mingjing level. He had never heard of any master breaking through to Anjing, perhaps because his level was not high enough to meet them, but it was clear that such masters were extremely rare. If Anjing was already so rare, then Huajing was even more legendary.

Dressed, the sky was just beginning to lighten. For convenience, he had specially visited a tailor in Chang'an, searching for a long time before finding one to custom-make several sets of short shirts for his practice. Now, he wore one of them. Li Kuan took light, quick steps towards the city's outskirts. By this time, the Tonghua Gate to the east had already opened, the earliest gate to open in the imperial city. Li Kuan, wearing a jade pendant that symbolized his royal lineage, hung from his waist, was easily recognizable, so he passed through the city gates without any hindrance. He arrived at a small hill outside the city. The hill was not very high, only a few dozen feet, covered with shrubs and a few small deciduous trees.

This was Li Kuan's new practice ground. Since reaching the Mingjing level, his strength had greatly increased. Now, this eight-year-old child was no longer an ordinary kid. Anyone who still thought of him as the sickly child from two years ago would be in for a rude awakening. Li Kuan now had the strength of over a hundred pounds in his arms, and with special techniques, he could draw a two-stone bow, though he still couldn't draw a three-stone bow, he was not far from it.

It was worth noting that in the military, those who could draw a three-stone bow were considered brave warriors, at least at the level of a squad leader. But Li Kuan was only eight years old. If this were known, it would likely be laughed off as a tall tale. A sickly child who needed help walking two years ago could now draw a three-stone bow, which was almost a perfect example of an unbelievable story.

Li Kuan arrived at the hill, set his stance, and began the San Ti Shi (Three Body Posture), which he had practiced to the point of instinct. His toes dug into the ground, a technique called "rooting," where the ground is the source of all power. As long as you are firmly rooted, no attack can knock you down. This was the first lesson his teacher had taught him: as long as you don't fall, you can counterattack.

His legs were slightly spread, as if riding a horse, rising and falling, slowly gathering the dispersed strength in his muscles, twisting it into a single force, moving upward to his legs, waist, and shoulders. His spine was like a great dragon, capable of undulating and surging. His legs were like two large bows, and his arms were like two more large bows. When the bowstring was fully drawn, the muscles began to store energy, and when the bowstring was released, the stored energy burst forth like a flood, striking the enemy. This principle applied not only to Bajiquan (Eight Extremities Fist) but also to Xinyi Quan.

Xinyi Quan emphasized explosive power, even when exhausted, one must still burst forth with the greatest strength. Only such extreme bursts could give one a chance to break through to the next level.

These words were the last Li Kuan heard from his teacher, a man who had practiced martial arts all his life. At the time, both knew it was an impossible task, as pushing oneself to the limit was not easy, and the amount of nourishing medicines required for such extreme training was astronomical. In his previous life, Li Kuan was just an ordinary person and had no way to obtain such precious medicines. Therefore, he had never achieved the next level of Xinyi Quan—Anjing.

But in this life, with a divine artifact in hand, Li Kuan decided to try this extreme training method, unleashing all his potential to form a powerful wave, breaking through the barrier in front of him. This was what Li Kuan most wanted to do, as time was running out. It was now early summer of the ninth year of Wude. If his memory served him right, the historic struggle for the throne, the famous Xuanwu Gate Incident, would come to a conclusion in the next one or two months. Li Er (Li Shimin) would kill the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince of Qi Li Yuanji, and confine the retired Emperor Li Yuan, taking the throne for himself.

This was how it was recorded in history, though the reality might differ slightly. However, the Tang Dynasty's historical records were generally reliable, and the historians who recorded even the ugliest events in the imperial palace would not likely falsify such a significant event.

Because of this, Li Kuan could not wait. He did not know if the Crown Prince would take desperate measures against Li Er's family, but it was a possibility. Although Li Er's family had survived the coup, Li Kuan was not the historical Li Kuan, who had died young and whose mother was said to be a palace maid, or who was adopted by Prince of Chu Li Zhiyun in the third year of Wude. None of these events had happened to him, indicating that this part of history had been altered. Therefore, Li Kuan did not want to rely on the hope that the Crown Prince would not harm Li Er's family. He wanted to have the ability to protect himself before then.

Pushing oneself to the limit was not an easy task. Li Kuan slowly gathered his strength, his body tensing, his muscles slowly contracting, gathering all his strength. When he was ready, he let out a loud "Ha!" and punched the air, creating a gust of wind and a sharp, whistling sound as the air was torn apart. Li Kuan only dared to punch the air with such force; if he had punched a tree, the bark might have cracked, but his hand would have bled profusely.

This process of draining his body was extremely unpleasant, leaving him feeling weak and boneless, as if his bones had been torn apart and reassembled. He had no control over his body.

This was Li Kuan's first attempt, and the result was excruciating. The feeling of losing control over his body was unbearable. He could feel the pain in his body but could not muster the strength to move, not even to wiggle his fingers.

"Ha ha... What a foolish boy! I've never seen anyone who practiced so hard they incapacitated themselves! This is truly a rare sight, and I'll have something to talk about with my old friends!" an elderly voice said.

Although Li Kuan could not move, he could still speak: "May I ask which venerable sir this is? This young man, Li Kuan, greets you respectfully!"

"Truly impolite, you tricked me. You didn't do anything, so how can you be respectful?" the voice came again, this time accompanied by a faint footstep. If not for Li Kuan's keen hearing, he might not have noticed it.

"This young man cannot control his body and cannot bow to you, venerable sir," Li Kuan explained.

"I came out of the city to gather the morning purple qi, and I didn't expect to meet such a young boy with considerable martial arts skills. Tell me, who is your teacher? Perhaps he is an old friend's disciple!" The old man appeared before Li Kuan, and just his presence made Li Kuan feel inferior. He wore a sky-blue robe that resembled a Daoist garment, but the intricate embroidery and mysterious symbols made it seem extraordinary. His silver hair was neatly combed, and while the morning breeze ruffled Li Kuan's hair, the old man's hair remained perfectly still.

"What is this? Could it be the legendary protective qi? How can the wind not move his hair?" Li Kuan thought. No matter how he considered it, the old man was not an ordinary person, a master, and perhaps even more skilled than Qin Qiong. Among the people Li Kuan had met, only the pale-faced general, the first great warrior of the Tian Ce Fu, had given him a sense of mortal danger. Now, this old man added to that list.

This feeling was purely a martial artist's intuition, a natural response to encountering a stronger opponent. Li Kuan's experience from his previous life gave him this insight and intuition, but he was still a beginner at the Mingjing level. Compared to the seasoned veterans who had fought in countless battles, he was just a minor character, barely worth noticing.

"Venerable sir, you must be a fellow practitioner. May I ask your name?" Li Kuan asked.

"You, young man, haven't answered my question yet, and you're asking me? Truly a foolish boy!" The old man did not answer Li Kuan's question but instead mocked him. "However, since you asked sincerely, it wouldn't be right for me not to answer. I'll tell you, my surname is Yuan."

"Venerable Mr. Yuan, this young man has a bottle in his pocket with medicine. Could you please help me take it out and feed it to me?" Li Kuan, unable to move, realized his mistake. He had not expected to encounter such a great master in this remote place, and he had not anticipated that this extreme training would leave him so weak for so long. This series of unexpected events led to his current predicament.

"Oh! You can also refine medicine?" The old man became even more interested, excitedly approaching Li Kuan to take the bottle. But at that moment, a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the hilltop, allowing the old man to see Li Kuan's face clearly.