Shen Shuibei began to explain her plan to Li Qi.
"In spring, wood governs, liver qi begins to grow. Liver qi is urgent, like swift wind," she recited habitually.
This meant that in spring, the qi of wood becomes dominant, manifesting in the human body as the liver qi begins to activate. The characteristic of liver qi is its urgency, similar to the rapid changes of wind.
"Your liver qi is strong because you often use the qi of large forest wood, which is full of vitality. However, excessive vitality can lead to diseases or tumors, much like trees growing branches," Shen Shuibei explained.
"But your cultivation is shallow, far from reaching that stage. Gradually accumulating the qi of the four seasons will naturally balance it, so I didn't mention it before. But now, this seems to be a good thing."
Shen Shuibei continued, "Those who can exist and disappear in darkness are the turtle and the dragon. The turtle is born in water and used for divination by fire. Thus, they become the precursors of all things, foretelling fortune and misfortune."
Li Qi understood this. Creatures that could exist and disappear in darkness were the old turtle and the dragon.
"The turtle is born in water, and when divining, fire is used on its shell. Water and fire complement each other, making them the harbingers of all things and the signs of fortune and misfortune," Shen Shuibei elaborated.
"Therefore, the principle applies similarly. Water gathers in plants; roots grow to their proper depth, flowers bloom with their proper number, and fruits mature with their proper weight, all because the plant contains an appropriate amount of water," Shen Shuibei extended her explanation.
Water gathered in plants allows roots to reach proper depths, flowers to bloom properly, and fruits to ripen fully due to the internal presence of adequate water.
"The earth is the origin of all things, the root of all life. By using your liver's wood qi as a guide, combined with kidney qi and lung qi, water qi generates great wood. Therefore, the kidneys represent utmost yin, the source of abundant water. The lungs represent lesser yin, the winter pulse, rooted in the kidneys and manifested in the lungs, which belong to metal. Metal generates water, and water quenches metal. Thus, three of the five organs are enhanced by water qi," Shen Shuibei said excitedly.
"With this, your body will be robust, inner qi plentiful, and your martial arts path will directly enter the ninth rank!" Shen Shuibei exclaimed happily, pleased that Li Qi could quickly reach the ninth rank.
As for Li Qi himself... he looked bewildered.
Did he understand what she said?
It seemed... he did?
But then again, maybe not.
Regardless, Shen Shuibei was fifth-rank, knew more than him, wouldn't lie, and treated him sincerely. So, he decided to trust her.
"What should I do?" Li Qi asked straightforwardly.
"You don't need to do anything. Just sit still, and leave the rest to me!" Shen Shuibei acted swiftly, leading Li Qi to a flat area nearby.
Two hours later.
Li Qi stared blankly at his hands.
His inner qi was now too abundant to measure in strands; it should be measured in "flows."
Had he reached the ninth rank of martial arts?
Was it really this simple?
What about the difficulty of entering the rank?
Li Qi stood up and used Carp Flow Intent, throwing a punch.
The wind howled! Kidney qi pumped out, liver qi surged, lung qi steamed, converging into inner qi, flowing into his fist.
This punch carried the force of thunder!
The punch broke a large tree trunk in half, but his hand remained unharmed, though his heart pounded slightly, not severely enough to hinder his ability to fight for another five to six minutes.
"Hmm... there's still some deficiency. A normal ninth-rank martial artist would have refined all five organs. You've only strengthened three, leaving some gaps, but they can be filled later," Shen Shuibei noted.
"I've arranged everything. It's spring now. When summer comes, ancient texts say that fire governs, heart qi grows, and reaches the meridians. This means that during summer, fire qi becomes dominant, and heart qi begins to grow. Then, you'll change the deity you worship from the four-season gods to Zhuque!"
"At that time, using the southern three qi of heaven, the fire official Huo Xing's fire, will stimulate heart qi, completing the heart's refinement. With four organs refined, the spleen just needs some training. Fire nourishes water, achieving mutual completion, and you'll naturally complete the ninth rank!"
Shen Shuibei explained with her usual cheerful smile, looking like an adorable rabbit.
But Li Qi appeared numb.
What could he say?
The old blind woman had practiced for fifty years without entering any rank.
However, Shen Shuibei merely thought for a moment and used the thirty pure strands of water qi and Li Qi's recent accumulation of large forest wood qi to effortlessly advance his martial arts to the ninth rank, albeit with some flaws.
He didn't know what to say.
Shock to the extreme actually resulted in no expression. Li Qi felt he couldn't react further.
When emotions reach their peak, one simply numbs out, feeling nothing else.
What was this called?
It reminded Li Qi of a story.
Drawing a line costs $1.
Knowing where to draw the line costs $9,999.
Fifth-rank masters truly lived up to their reputation.
Cultivation indeed differed greatly among individuals. With guidance from a master, progress wasn't just twice as fast—it was exponentially faster.
Li Qi couldn't help but marvel.
Others spent their entire lives pursuing what he achieved in just one month of cultivation.
The gap between people was greater than that between humans and dogs.
He didn't ask Shen Shuibei how she did it because he knew he wouldn't understand.
Shen Shuibei explained basic principles, akin to explaining relativity to a primary school student—mentioning paradoxes like the twin paradox or time dilation. While these concepts could be briefly explained, detailed arguments and implementation required a higher level of understanding.
Despite experiencing Shen Shuibei's extensive knowledge many times, every encounter left Li Qi deeply impressed.
Yes, Shen Shuibei was innocent and cute, sometimes silly.
But she was far from foolish. On the contrary, she possessed profound knowledge and agile thinking, just with a pure personality.
Li Qi took a deep breath, calming his inner qi, sensing his newfound strength.
After entering the ninth rank, the biggest difference was the resilience of his internal organs.
Refined organs granted prolonged stamina. For example, his lung qi refined by water allowed him to hold his breath for two hours easily.
His kidney qi refined by water greatly enhanced his metabolism. According to Shen Shuibei, ordinary toxins would no longer affect him, and post-exercise soreness would dissipate quickly.
With liver qi governing blood, his blood and qi were now tenfold stronger than before.
In summary, the threshold of the ninth rank had been crossed so simply.
Li Qi remained stunned, unsure of what to say.