After lunch, Xiao Yunlong began to teach Liu Ruyan the method of circulating energy.
Although Liu Ruyan could now sense the silver-white energy in her dantian, she could not mobilize or use it without the corresponding techniques.
If practicing martial arts were compared to digging a well, a person's dantian would be like a well. From the very beginning, at the initial stage of internal force, martial artists needed to continuously dig and refine, a long and arduous process.
Only when the well was dug deep enough would well water appear, and this well water was the internal force of the dantian.
Once the well was dug to the point where water appeared, it was considered entering the hall and stepping into the realm of internal force. At this time, with water in the well, corresponding tools were needed to draw the well water up; otherwise, one could only stare at it.
And these tools for drawing water were the specific methods for circulating energy along the meridians.
After the well water was drawn up, it could naturally be used. At this time, an internal force martial artist's strength and speed in every move were far greater than that of an external force martial artist.
However, if they then practiced corresponding martial arts techniques, they could maximize the use of this drawn well water, meaning they could exert the greatest effect of their internal force.
Liu Ruyan was very intelligent. After Xiao Yunlong explained it twice, she had already memorized the energy circulation meridian map.
"Next, you should study it carefully and strive to mobilize the internal force in your dantian as quickly as possible, then complete a full Great Zhou Tian circulation. At that time..."
Xiao Yunlong paused at this point. He suddenly realized that Liu Ruyan could already circulate energy on her own and was moving along the extraordinary meridians. Judging by her progress, she would be able to complete a full Great Zhou Tian circulation before long.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunlong's face couldn't help but show surprise. It seemed that Liu Ruyan's talent was even greater than his own.
"I really didn't expect her talent to be so strong. Fortunately, she started practicing martial arts in time, otherwise, such great talent would have been wasted."
Xiao Yunlong sighed inwardly, and at the same time, he was very curious. After all, Liu Ruyan's dantian was different from ordinary people, and that silver-white energy was very powerful. He wondered what its power would be like when she could mobilize and control it.
Just then, Liu Ruyan slowly opened her beautiful eyes and said with a smile, "Yunlong, I think I've completed a Great Zhou Tian circulation."
Xiao Yunlong immediately asked, "How much of that silver-white internal force can you mobilize now?"
Liu Ruyan sighed and said, "Not much, only a tiny bit, like a strand of hair. I originally wanted to mobilize more, but my head immediately started to swell, and I was so scared that I stopped. It seems I'm still not very good, and the quantity is too small."
Xiao Yunlong found it both amusing and exasperating, but he could tell that she had no intention of showing off.
"To be able to comprehend and complete a Great Zhou Tian circulation in such a short time, your talent is already not bad, about the same as mine. To be precise, only slightly inferior to me, which is very good."
Xiao Yunlong said with a thick skin. To prevent Liu Ruyan from becoming arrogant, he felt it necessary to tell a white lie.
"Really?" Liu Ruyan immediately became happy.
"Come, come with me outside the courtyard!"
Xiao Yunlong beckoned and turned to go out. He walked to a tree with a trunk about the thickness of a bowl, and Liu Ruyan followed.
"Since you can complete a Great Zhou Tian circulation, it means you are already a Minor Grandmaster of Internal Force. Next, try to mobilize the internal force in your dantian, send it to your palm, and then strike this tree with your palm!" Xiao Yunlong instructed.
"Okay!" Liu Ruyan nodded, then bent her waist and squatted to circulate her energy.
After a brief charge-up, she struck the tree, which was about the size of a bowl, with her palm.
With a bang!
The tree broke under the impact.
"This..." Liu Ruyan froze on the spot, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"I actually broke this tree with one palm? My palm strength has increased so much!" Liu Ruyan was undoubtedly very shocked, followed by a surge of pleasant surprise.
After all, before this, Liu Ruyan was almost completely without strength.
Xiao Yunlong smiled slightly, "Of course. After all, you are now a Minor Grandmaster of Internal Force. From what I saw just now, although your strength has increased significantly, there are still many shortcomings."
Liu Ruyan immediately calmed down and said, "Where else am I lacking? Yunlong, please point it out so I can improve and correct it in time."
"It's not a major problem. After all, you've only just understood and learned to circulate and mobilize internal force, so it's inevitably still unfamiliar. You should have also felt that it took you three seconds from preparation to unleashing your palm."
Xiao Yunlong smiled as he said this, and then continued, "Contests between masters are often decided in an instant; they will never give you so much time to prepare."
"I understand. You mean I'm still not proficient in mobilizing and using internal force, and I can't do it completely freely and at will." Liu Ruyan said.
Xiao Yunlong nodded slightly, "This cannot be rushed, because it is a process of practice makes perfect, which requires time and continuous practice. In the beginning, it's unfamiliar, then it becomes proficient, and then it becomes skillful. After that, it is what you said, at will. Once you reach at will, the next stage is mastery."
"Mastery? Does that mean I'll be entering the realm of a Grandmaster of Hua Jin?" Liu Ruyan asked.
"Yes, when you can use your Qi Jin to the point of mastery, it can leave your body. The saying 'flying leaves and plucked flowers can kill people' refers to this. This is the Grandmaster of Hua Jin."
Xiao Yunlong said with a slight smile.
"I understand. Thank you, Yunlong. I will continue to work hard and strive to reach the stage of skillfulness as soon as possible!" Liu Ruyan smiled charmingly.
At this moment, Jun Bufan walked over, and Liu Ruyan asked, "By the way, Jun Bufan, can you achieve Qi Jin leaving your body now?"
Jun Bufan's face immediately turned red, and he said awkwardly, "My talent is not good. Three days ago, I had already half-stepped into the realm of Grandmaster of Hua Jin, but I still haven't truly achieved Qi Jin leaving my body, nor reached the level of 'flying leaves and plucked flowers can kill people' that Mr. Xiao mentioned!"
Liu Ruyan comforted him, "You don't need to be too anxious. There aren't many Grandmasters of Hua Jin in the entire Su City. If you calm down, you'll get there sooner or later."
"I will work hard!" Jun Bufan nodded heavily. He had a feeling that if he didn't work harder to become a Grandmaster of Hua Jin quickly, he would likely be surpassed by Liu Ruyan before long.
After all, in just three days, she had gone from a martial arts novice to the level of a Minor Grandmaster of Internal Force. While Mr. Xiao's help was a factor, it was mostly due to her own comprehension. In other words, her martial arts talent was simply too strong.
Xiao Yunlong glanced at Jun Bufan and said, "Your comprehension of Qi Jin is already quite refined, which can be seen from your use of the Bagua Youlong Palm. The reason you haven't broken through yet, could it be that your internal force is not strong enough?"
Jun Bufan was startled by this, and then his eyes lit up. He blurted out, "That's right! These past few days, I've only focused on repeatedly using and displaying Qi Jin, trying to reach a more refined state, but I've neglected the refinement and cultivation of my internal force. That's why I can only project Qi Jin about two meters away and can't advance further!"
Xiao Yunlong said lightly, "Refined Qi Jin is just one aspect, but internal force itself is the foundation. As the saying goes, a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. If there is no rice in the pot, no matter how good your cooking skills are, you cannot cook rice."
"I understand. I finally know where I'm lacking. Thank you, Mr. Xiao, for your guidance!" Jun Bufan cupped his hands and bowed deeply.
"Your comprehension is not bad. As long as you improve your internal force, you will be able to break through and achieve the true realm of Grandmaster of Hua Jin before long!" Xiao Yunlong said.
Jun Bufan nodded heavily and thought for a moment before saying, "By the way, Mr. Xiao, now that Miss Liu has also started, I know a place where we can accurately test strength. Shall we go and see?"
"Accurately test strength?" Xiao Yunlong asked.
"Yes, it's a club. The owner just introduced the latest equipment a while ago, and it's said to be able to accurately test specific strength values. I'm really curious, what is Mr. Xiao's current strength?" Jun Bufan said with a smile.
Liu Ruyan said, "Yunlong, why don't we go and see? I also want to know what my current strength is."
"Since that's the case, let's go and test it!" Xiao Yunlong smiled.
Then the three of them set off, with Jun Bufan driving, and Xiao Yunlong and Liu Ruyan sitting in the back seat.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the club Jun Bufan mentioned. It was located in the suburbs and was quite large, looking more like a sports complex, with golf, as well as bowling alleys, gyms, and boxing rings, etc.
The testing equipment was placed in the boxing ring, but the hall was extremely noisy, and there seemed to be quite a few people.
"It seems everyone is here for this strength testing equipment, wanting to test their own strength."
Jun Bufan smiled and gestured forward, "Mr. Xiao, look, that's the strength testing equipment over there!"
There was a crowd around the strength testing equipment, and the scene was very lively. Everyone was lining up to test their strength. Xiao Yunlong understood the principle of the equipment at a glance.
Overall, it was a hydraulic device. When a person punched it, the internal pressure would impact the hydraulics inside and push them upwards. There were corresponding numerical markings along the way, and wherever the hydraulics rose to was the person's corresponding strength value.
"Let's go and take a look." Xiao Yunlong was clearly also interested. He naturally wanted to know how powerful his strength had become.
After all, since he began cultivating the Three Thousand Divine Kingdoms Technique, he had fought a few times in Su City, but none of them had allowed him to exert his full strength.
However, as the three of them approached, three young men dressed in flashy attire suddenly walked towards them.
"Yo, isn't this Jun Bufan of the Jun family? Didn't they say that several of your Jun family experts died a few days ago? I didn't expect you to still be in the mood to come to a place like this!"
A young man with oily hair, wearing a silk shirt with a checkered pattern of yellow, green, and red, walked up and stared at Jun Bufan, grinning mockingly.
However, before Jun Bufan could speak, another young man with long hair turned to look at Liu Ruyan and said with a smirk, "You two, look quickly, isn't this our school's top campus beauty, Liu Ruyan? Jun Bufan, you're quite something, you actually got the campus beauty goddess without anyone knowing!"
"Yo, it really is our school's top campus beauty. Damn it, Jun Bufan, you brat, your Jun family is almost wiped out, and you're still in the mood to pick up girls!"
The three youths grinned mockingly, especially the one who spoke first. His beady eyes were fixed on Liu Ruyan, as if he wanted to devour her with his gaze.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunlong's expression slowly darkened.