45 Chapter 44: Heaven and Earth (1/2)
”Ugh…”
I sat up and glanced around the darkness, half-expecting to see Ban Zhang hovering around me and checking if I was all right.
Nope, there was no sign of him at all. Instead, I was surrounded by darkness. Frowning, I tried to stand and reach out to turn the lights on.
There was nothing. What I initially took for to be a darkened room was actually empty space. Even the floor – despite walking along something, there was no floor. It felt as if I was walking across empty space.
Doesn't this look familiar?
Yeah…it did. I recognized this place. It was definitely…
”Yo, my disciple.”
”Master.”
I looked up and found him waving at me from a distance. He was seated on what seemed like an invisible bed, which gave off a weird impression. Like he was floating cross-legged in midair. We certainly weren't standing at the same level (or sitting, in Master's case).
But for me to see him here, it must mean…
”Am I…dead?”
No way. Ban Zhang was my friend. He would never be ruthless enough to kill me. There must be some kind of mistake.
But then, he has one sexagenary of artificial qi, which is a lot more than mine. Maybe he's still not used to his new strength and was unable to precisely gauge and estimate the amount he needed, and failed to hold back?
In other words, Ban Zhang accidentally used more strength than was necessary and inadvertently killed me.
You've got to be kidding me!
To die in such a stupid manner, killed by my own friend…
”You're not dead.”
”Eh?”
I glanced up at Master, who was scowling at me in disapproval. He shook his head and gestured for me to draw closer.
”I'm just using this opportunity to teach you something new. I've heard about your circumstances from that old hag.”
He must be referring to Grandma Meng. Wow, but that old lady really knew everything, didn't she?
”You've a hard time, given how you're up against opponents several times more powerful than you. What was it…they've an amount of qi equivalent to sixty years' worth of cultivation? Something like that, I believe.”
I nodded. ”That's right.”
”Hmph!” Master snorted. ”What a load of bull. As if having more qi would automatically make you invincible.”
”Well, I've been experiencing firsthand that it really is the case…”
Lowering my head, I muttered sullenly. Master chortled at that.
”Well, I won't deny that having more qi would certainly give you an overwhelming advantage. But that's not all there is to martial arts…especially for practitioners of the Heaven and Earth Sect.” he studied me and grinned. ”Looks like you not being able to receive or absorb any artificial qi is a great blessing in disguise.”
”What do you mean?” I gaped at him. Master smirked and waved his hand, telling me to sit down. I glanced around, not sure where I could sit, but decided to trust in the weird interdimensional space I was in and took a seat below him.
Once he caught me looking up at him from an inferior position, Master's smile broadened. ”Tell me, what's the purpose of martial arts?”
”To learn how to fight? For self-defense?”
”Try harder,” Master told me snappily. ”If it's as simple as learning how to fight, then why don't we just strengthen our bodies and be faster and stronger? Why bother learning martial arts at all?”
”Uh…” I racked my brains and thought about it. Master got a little impatient when I wasn't able to offer an answer in a few seconds.
”Why was martial arts created in the first place?” he gave a hint. Then glared at me before I opened my mouth. ”Not just to fight, right?”
”Discipline?”
”No, I mean, yes, but why martial arts specifically? Why was martial arts created for fighting instead of relying on brute strength to win fights? How is martial arts used for self-defense? To overpower the enemy through sheer force?”
I suddenly understood. ”Martial arts are a way for the weak to fight against the strong. To defend themselves from a superior opponent.”
”Bingo!” Master clapped his hands in delight. ”I knew you would figure that out. Now…if the essence of martial arts is to defend yourself from a stronger opponent, then don't you think there's something wrong with the approach of trying to grow stronger than your opponent by accumulating more qi than him?”
”Uh…yeah, maybe…”
I wasn't certain if this line of reasoning was logical, but I decided to go along with it for now. However…
”But how do I overcome such an overwhelming difference in strength when I have so little qi comparatively?”
”That's why you learn Heaven and Earth Formula. There are no strict forms and rituals, no concrete fighting style…because it's a martial art that allows you to adapt to whatever martial techniques your enemies use.”
I pushed my glasses up my nose as I studied Master. ”So a style that's based primarily on counters?”
”If that's the style that suits you the most, yes.” Master nodded. ”But alternatively, Heaven and Earth Formula allows you to use your opponent's strength against themselves. Counter hard with soft. Be flexible and supple.”
”Something like tai qi?”
”Tai qi?” Master repeated incredulously. Oh, I forgot that there was no tai qi in this timeline. This world followed a parallel, alternate history with regards to martial arts. ”Do you mean the ultimate principle?”
I guess that was one way of interpreting tai qi, so I merely laughed and shrugged.
”Oh, maybe. I guess?”
Master didn't look satisfied with that vague answer, but he didn't press further. Instead, he shook his head.
”Well, we don't have time to waste. I'll just tell you about that.” he studied me and nodded, pleased. ”Good, it seems like you've spent all this time developing a solid foundation with the Heaven and Earth Formula that I taught you. You'll definitely be fine if you proceed at this rate.” He smiled proudly. ”In fact, it's pretty impressive, given how little time you had to practice it. I can tell that you've worked really, really hard.”
I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at his compliment. Oh, the irony. When I first got into the academy, there was quite a lot of people chasing me because they suspected that I had learned Heaven and Earth Formula even though I actually hadn't. After proving that I didn't, I somehow managed to learn Heaven and Earth Formula through a supernatural, miraculous – not to mention near-death – encounter, but no one had realized that this time, I really had learned Heaven and Earth Formula.
The people from the Iron Mountain Sect and the Dark Shadow Sect would most likely be screaming in rage if they learned of this. Not that I was going to tell them. They would make use of the currently superior amount of qi to force me to give away my knowledge of Heaven and Earth Formula. I couldn't afford to let that happen.
”Thanks.” I glanced down at my feet. ”But what do I do now?”
”All you need to do for now is to listen, then practice when you regain consciousness.”
I nodded and listened attentively. That was one of the only things I was good at. Hell, during that session in class where Teacher Jiao blew up, I was among one of the only two – Ban Zhang being the other – who had paid attention in class.
”When you wake up, get yourself a water filtering machine.”
”A…water filter machine?” I blurted out without thinking. Now that was something I didn't expect.
Master nodded. ”That's right. I want you to use it for image training.”
”What kind of image training? What am I supposed to visualize?”
”Oho…” Master's eyes widened. ”You're pretty sharp. You already know what image training is, huh?”
”Sort of…but…” I hesitated. ”Imagining something in my head and then doing something with it in my mind. Sort of like shadow-boxing, but with an imagined enemy that I visualize inside my mind. Something like that?”
”Yes. But I don't want you to visualize fighting or image an enemy. Using the coffee maker, I want you to use it to visualize your qi.”
As he said that, I glanced at all the qi around me. Even within the dark, infinite, empty space, I could still see wisps and currents of qi drifting around.
Master noticed my unusual reaction, and his smile spread out broader than ever.
”Ah…I see that you've already reached that stage, huh? Your progress is much faster than I originally anticipated. I can scarcely believe that you can already perceive and 'see' the qi in your surroundings.”
”Isn't that because of the Heaven and Earth Formula that you taught me?” I asked. Master grinned and nodded.
”Partly, but I thought you would need a few more months before you reach this stage. Nonetheless, this is good news.”
”Thank you.” I paused for a moment, and then tried to shift the topic back. ”So what kind of image training am I supposed to do? Filter my qi?”
”Excellent!” Master reached out and slapped my shoulder with a hearty laugh. ”Exactly! So you already figured it out!”
”It was just a guess…”
”A good one,” Master assured me. ”Now, with the water filtrating machine, you are to visualize your qi as water. Which is easy to do, considering your elemental affinity with ice. But I want you to imagine your qi like unrefined, tainted water. Heaven and Earth Formula's breathing method and qi control techniques would be the filter. So filter your qi and turn it into purified drinking water. Can you manage that?”
”I'll try, but no promises,” I replied somewhat unconfidently. Master snorted, but he didn't smack me for my lack of confidence.
”Now, answer this question. Why am I having you purify your qi?”
”The purer the qi, the more volatile the reaction from qi control and manipulation,” I replied automatically, having learned that from Wu Ling Academy's theoretical classes. That was why I paid attention to Teacher Jiao. Martial arts weren't solely about practical. Having a good grasp of theory was rewarding. ”And if I were to apply that principle…”
”Exactly!” Master nodded, delighted with my answer. ”Heaven and Earth Formula does not operate under the barbaric principle of 'more qi equals more power'.” He smiled at me. ”Just like how only uranium with high purity is suitable for nuclear reactions, you can achieve stronger power with a small amount of pure spiritual energy.”
”Correction.” I held up my hand. ”The type of uranium used in nuclear reactions is not purified uranium but enriched uranium. Uranium exists naturally with over 99% of it composing of the 238 isotope uranium, but scientists enrich uranium by increasing the proportion of the 235 isotope uranium because it is the only naturally occurring nuclide that can undergo nuclear fission with thermal neurons.”
Master glared at me. ”What are you, a nuclear physicist or something?”
”No,” I corrected. ”I'm a big fan of science fiction…uh, it's a genre from the timeline I was from.”
”I know that timeline, I've been there. That's the reason why I even know about uranium in the first place. But that's beside the point.”
”You were saying that more qi doesn't equal more power. But that's not what I'm experiencing against my opponents so far.”
”That's right. The more you have, the harder it is to purify it.” Master looked at me sternly. ”Keep your eye on the currents of qi and manipulate them, bind them to your will and direct their flow. Purify your qi over and over again, then only will you be able to achieve great strength even with the tiny amount of qi you have.”
”What about having more pure qi?” I asked.
”Ideally, that would be good, but…” Master smirked. ”Can your body handle it?”