Basics of Internal Energy (2)

"So, this is the "slow route" that mom was talking about, but there's no harm in at least knowing about the last route right?' Thomas thought as he turned the page to find the last breathing technique.

However, the breathing technique he found surprised him, as it was nothing like the previous two methods.

-The third method, Dantian Transferral, transfers all qi from one person to another, including qi from the middle and upper dantians. The person who receives this transfer will acquire the same size dantain as the person who is transferring it, and can still obtain realizations of qi and martial arts to increase their internal energy more. However, this method comes at the cost of the transferrer's life, so this method should only be used in dire situations where it can't be helped otherwise.

-Note, this method can be used as either a base to form a dantain in a new martial artist, or can be used as a last ditch effort to help win a fight. In the latter's case, a new dantian will be formed, but it will be the combination of the two people's energy rather than just one person's internal energy.

'Wait, so this method means I can receive the internal energy of someone else and use it to form a dantain in my body of the same size while still being able to improve on it more?!' Thomas thought as he flipped to the next page of the book.

-Realms of Internal Energy.

-First Realm, Entrance Realm. Little to no qi, just started learning internal energy but is still stronger than normal people.

-Second Realm, Realm of Attainment. Ten to twenty years worth of qi, no realizations required to reach this stage. Anywhere from two to five Entrance Realm martial artists are needed to beat one Realm of Attainment martial artist.

-Third Realm, Realm of Acceptance. No set amount of qi required to reach this realm, only a realization of qi and its pathways and being in the Realm of Attainment when attaining the realization is required to enter this realm.

-Fourth Realm, Realm of Truth. No set amount of qi required to reach this realm. However, a realization of energy and opening either the governing or conception meridians must be performed as well as being in the Realm of Acceptance before having the realization. Most martial artists are unable to move past this realm.

-Fifth Realm, Realm of Comprehension. Both the governing and conception meridians must be opened.

-Sixth Realm, Realm of Greed. A minimum of one hundred ninety years worth of qi and a realization of any kind must be achieved to reach this realm.

-Seventh Realm, Realm of Ascension. A truth of qi and the universe must be acquired to reach this realm. Only four people are known to have entered this realm. The originator of cultivation, the first monk of Shaolin, the first Heavenly Demon, and the fifth leader of the Mount Hua Sect.

'Wait, these are the exact same realms that mom showed me in the Transcendental path! Did the Transcendental path show me an exact memory from the original Myeol Mang's life? Also I wonder what realm mom and Grandpa are in.'

After pondering for a few minutes over the information he had just read, Myeol Mang leaned back in his chair before returning to the book and flipping to the next page.

-Middle Dantian.

-Located in the center of the chest between the upper and lower dantians, this dantian contains a person's innate qi, or life force, and is directly connected to the heart. The use of this dantian is very risky and will cause physical issues with a person's body if used without caution. The depletion of innate qi will lead to the user's death. Innate qi can be replaced with internal energy from the lower dantian, however only the purest of qi from the lower dantian will be able to replace a small amount of innate qi.

-Center Heavens Breath.

-Allows the user to control and safely use innate qi with martial arts. However, if a person doesn't already have an established lower dantian of extreme purity, this method will no longer be safe and will consume a person's innate qi without the option of replenishing it.

'So everyone has innate qi already inside of them, even if they haven't learned any breathing techniques. So would the amount of innate qi inside them determine how long they would live?' Thomas thought before flipping to the next page.

-Upper Dantian, Body Reconstructions and Realizations.

-Located in the head and is connected to the lower dantian through the governing and conception meridians. Once the governing meridian is opened, a body reconstruction will occur, allowing qi to flow to the governing meridian, in which another body reconstruction will occur upon its opening. Only when both are opened can qi flow to the upper dantian. When the upper dantian is unlocked, it will allow the user to completely spread their qi around any object of their choosing and control any object in which they have injected their qi into with their mind and control it without touching it.

'So there's even a dantian in my brain?' Thomas thought while only catching a glimpse of the last bit of text on the page before closing the book.

-Be war-

Thud!

Hearing the sound of a book closing from across the room, Shik Ja-Kyung got up out of his chair and walked over to Myeol Mang.

"I see you've finished reading, now move on to the next book. After you read the Foundations of Heaven and Earth you will begin learning how to use it."

"So that test about both books was another one of your lies huh?" Myeol Mang retorted as he pushed aside the Basics of Internal Energy book and grabbed the Foundations of Heaven and Earth book.

"Yes it was…." Shik Ja-Kyung replied softly as he returned to his chair in the corner of the room.

After opening the Foundations of Heaven and Earth book, Myeol Mang began scanning the first page of the book for words, only to be met with a neatly drawn image of a person sitting with their legs crossed, with weird dots and lines covering the entire body starting from the stomach.

"Shik Ja-Kyung, can you come here for a second? I've got a question." Myeol Mang said as he twisted in his chair to face him.

However, Shik Ja-Kyung didn't respond, as he was sitting on the ground in the same position as the person drawn in the book.

'Wait, this is an internal energy breathing technique, so the spot drawn on the stomach where the lines and dots are drawn from must be the lower dantian!' Myeol Mang thought as he snapped his head around to look at the drawing again.

Following the lines that connected to the lower dantian with his eyes, Myeol Mang noticed that they didn't originate from the lower dantian, rather, they originated from outside of the body and flowed across the dots drawn on the body and into the lower dantian.

'So this method draws energy from outside the body and lets it flow across certain spots before reaching the dantian, ultimately letting the internal energy be absorbed not only by the dantian, but by the whole body… Heaven and Earth, so the "heaven" is the internal energy and the "earth" is the body!' Myeol Mang thought before flipping to the next page.

However, the spotless page that met him left him in a confused daze, as if the book was only supposed to have one page to teach somebody how to use the breathing method.

'Is there nothing else to this method??' Myeol Mang thought as he flipped through the entire book for any semblance of writing.

Yet, when he flipped to the last page of the book, Myeol Mang was met with a few lines of text.

-The flow of energy is both a push and pull. Forwards and backwards. Black and white.

'What does that mean?' Thomas thought as he flipped back to the first page of the book.

"You've read the entirety of the book already haven't you? Sit down on the floor and get into the position that the drawing is in." Shik Ja-Kyung said as he suddenly appeared next to Myeol Mang.

"So you're teaching me how to perform the Foundations of Heaven and Earth now huh? Alright." Myeol Mang said as he got out of his chair and sat down on the floor and crossed his legs.

"The slow or fast method, which do you wish to learn?" Shik Ja-Kyung said as he walked around Myeol Mang and sat down.

"The slow method." Myeol Mang said as he felt Shik Ja-Kyung hands on his back.

"Alright then, focus on the flow of energy when it enters your body. After today I won't be helping you with the flow and you'll have to direct it yourself."

After taking in a deep breath, Shik Ja-Kyung allowed the energy from the air to flow through his hands and into Myeol Mang's back. Then slowly directing it throughout Myeol Mang's entire body before condensing it in Myeol Mang's stomach to create a lower dantian.

However, as the energy slowly flowed through Myeol Mang's body, Shik Ja-Kyung suddenly lost control of the energy after reaching Myeol Mang's stomach, and was thrown against the wall by an unknown force coming from Myeol Mang's body.

'What's going on?' Myeol Mang thought as he felt an unknown presence controlling the burning energy in his body and leading it into his dantian with extreme precision.

Suddenly remembering the last page of the Foundations of Heaven and Earth book as he felt the energy in his body only being pulled into his dantian, Myeol Mang began pushing the weakest energy out of his body, allowing more room for the unknown presence to gather more and powerful energy in his dantian.

However, as the weaker energy left his body though his back, a sharp pain rippled across his body as the skin on his hands, stomach and back began to crack, revealing the fresh and younger skin underneath.