Chapter 31: The Way of Inner Origin, Secret Technique Exchange

Cultivating with Top Enlightenment

Zhuang Chen, the chubby one, had an undeniable passion for the Way of the Sword. After witnessing Ning Qi’s sword strike, he even had the impulse to take him as his master.

The Divine Sword Elder almost blacked out on the spot.

If it had been any other disciple who pulled off such an outrageous stunt, he would’ve already kicked them out of the sect.

But Zhuang Chen was his precious little rascal. He was so furious he could barely breathe, but still couldn’t bring himself to hit the boy.

When the chubby one wasn’t in battle mode, he was a goofy mess—this kind of behavior wasn’t hard to understand.

Ning Qi was caught between laughter and tears. He hadn’t expected that teaching the chubby one a lesson would almost earn him a disciple. But clearly, he couldn’t take this disciple in—otherwise, the Divine Sword Elder might just kill him.

Fortunately, Dong He had some sense. Seeing his master’s face dark as the bottom of a pot, he immediately dashed over and carried Zhuang Chen away.

The chubby one could only stare longingly at Ning Qi.

Everyone from the Divine Sword Sect let out a sigh of relief.

“Brother Divine Sword, shall we end it here today?”

The Divine Sword Elder was full of regret now. If he had known it would end like this, he wouldn’t have agreed to this last match. He’d lost both the sword and face.

Almost lost his goofy disciple to boot.

He glanced at the Longxiao Sword before him, feeling a pang in his heart.

But words once spoken were like water spilled—there was no taking them back. He naturally wouldn’t go back on his word. With a wave of his hand, the Longxiao Sword landed beside Daoist Longshan.

“Hmph! Let’s just say your Daoist tricks won out today! We’ll duel again in ten years!”

He planned to go back and properly train the chubby one. No more slacking off. The others had already comprehended Sword Intent, and he still couldn’t achieve Unity of Man and Sword with a congenital sword physique—how was that acceptable?

The Divine Sword Elder believed that with a decade of focused training, his disciple might be able to face Ning Qi in battle.

A congenital sword physique was also the mark of a Sword Saint. Zhuang Chen had just been lazy because he’d never met a worthy opponent.

He had seen it clearly—Ning Qi’s Body Tempering progress was at best on par with his goofy disciple, maybe even slightly worse.

Daoist Longshan gave a bitter smile:

“Brother Divine Sword, was that really necessary?”

But he still picked up the Longxiao Sword. Back then, the Divine Sword Mountain had said it would be given away, and now, so it was.

The Divine Sword Elder stood up:

“This sparring match today has at least shown my useless disciples that there’s always someone better out there. But don’t get cocky, Daoist—ten years from now, who knows who’ll win or lose!”

His face darkened. He took a deep breath and waved his hand, preparing to leave with his disciples.

He felt like whatever face he had left was completely gone thanks to Zhuang Chen.

Daoist Longshan tried to stop him:

“Brother Divine Sword, please wait!”

Just as the Divine Sword Elder was about to speak, he heard Daoist Longshan’s voice transmitted directly into his ear:

“Brother Divine Sword, it’s been ten years since we’ve met. Why rush off so quickly? Recently, I’ve had occasional insights into the secrets of the Heaven-Man Realm. How about staying and exploring them with me? Our disciples can also interact—it’d be a good exchange. After all, we both know that what happened back then was just a moment of impulsiveness…”

His words were sincere, and his expression genuine.

The Divine Sword Elder froze in place, looking at Daoist Longshan with a complex expression.

Willing to share insights on ascending to the Heaven-Man Realm? He didn’t know how to respond.

“Longshan, you…”

Daoist Longshan burst into laughter:

“We’ll study together—it’ll increase the chances of success. It’s a win-win situation.”

The Divine Sword Elder suddenly felt a genuine sense of admiration. He opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

Daoist Longshan pointed a finger, and the Longxiao Sword landed before Ning Qi. He gave an approving nod to his young disciple, then turned to Luo Wentian and instructed:

“Wentian, make sure to accommodate the guests from the Divine Sword Sect properly. Over the next few days, interact with each other, but avoid any hostility.”

The Divine Sword Elder also said in a deep voice:

“Dong He, don’t mess around on Zhenwu Mountain.”

Disciples from both sects respectfully responded:

“We will obey, Masters!”

After that.

Daoist Longshan and the Divine Sword Elder left.

Ning Qi was slightly surprised but could guess a thing or two. He shook his head—this was a realm still beyond his reach.

No one had expected the ten-year challenge to end like this. Ning Qi had thought he might get to see two top experts of the Qi Origin Realm go at it. In the end, it became a match between disciples.

Still, it wasn’t a loss.

Drawing the Longxiao Sword, which was nearly as tall as he was, Ning Qi quietly praised its quality.

This top-tier sword not only cut through iron like mud and jade like paper—it could also enhance internal Qi and Qi Origin. He was about to ascend to the Inner Origin Realm. Even if he couldn’t use it then, he could find a chance to reforge it into something more suitable, or at least study its mysteries.

Ning Qi tossed the Longxiao Sword to the White Ape and walked off. He wasn’t interested in the rest.

Many gazes followed Ning Qi and the trailing White Ape, full of admiration.

They knew he was a true peerless genius.

What they didn’t know was—the part he revealed wasn’t even one percent of his monstrous potential.

...

Inside the Seeking Dao Courtyard.

Ning Qi lay on a rattan chair, reading through classic texts.

He could feel his body transforming. That quiet, seamless sensation of change was intoxicating. Wisps of powerful energy were being born, slowly gathering at his dantian.

“So this is… internal energy?”

Ning Qi’s eyes lit up brightly.

That strange force flowing through his body—even just a trace—already displayed immense power. It could allow the body to unleash far greater strength. But at this stage, it might only be enough to empower a single finger.

This was the essence of physical strength.

“The birth of internal energy lasts about two months. It’s the ‘fruit’ borne by the body. When it’s fully ripened, I’ll have broken through to the Inner Origin Realm. For now, I guess I’m at a half-step Inner Origin?”

He gave a dry chuckle.

In martial terms, someone in this transitional phase could already be considered Inner Origin Realm, but the internal energy hadn’t yet fully formed. Its power was weaker, and more importantly, it hadn’t completed the process of feeding back into the body. So the lifespan gain wasn’t there yet.

Typically, martial artists at this stage rarely traveled around.

“But for me, even a trace is enough to grasp the essence of internal energy!”

“Internal energy isn’t tangible. It’s a miraculous force birthed by one’s ‘spirit’ activating the physical body. It’s somewhat illusory—closer to a psychological suggestion. That’s why internal energy can only empower the self, not be projected. In fact, going from Inner Origin Realm to Qi Origin Realm is the process of turning illusion into reality!”

Brilliant insights flashed across Ning Qi’s mind.

The martial arts of internal energy he had studied in the Scripture Pavilion all resurfaced. What was once pure theory now felt entirely different as he finally experienced it firsthand.

“The Inner Origin Realm is divided into nine-fold stages—the Nine-Fold Qi.”

“Each ‘fold’ makes the internal energy more solid.”

“The initial creation of internal energy is the first fold. That’s the gateway to the Inner Origin Realm.”

“Three folds—minor success.”

“Six folds—major success!”

“Nine folds—perfection!”

“Only then can one begin transforming illusion into reality, attempting to break into the Qi Origin Realm!”

As Ning Qi contemplated this mysterious force inside him, the path ahead was now crystal clear. From Inner Origin to Qi Origin—there were no more secrets.

He stood up and began practicing the Origin of All Phenomena Stance.

The newly formed internal energy became more lively at once.

“Internal energy comes from the body—so it aligns perfectly with stance training.”

“The method to refine internal energy is called the Fold Energy Technique.”

“For instance, the Ice Silkworm Force I got before is a top-grade Fold Energy Technique. And within my Zhenwu Sect, there are four top-tier Fold Energy Techniques. Three of them correspond to the Nine Sons of Zhenwu stances—Heaven-Shaking Force, Earth-Shaking Force, and Sea-Overturning Force.”

“If I previously trained the Bi’an Stance, then I should now practice the Earth-Shaking Force. This way, I can build step-by-step connections: nine become three, three become one—only then might the legendary battle of the nine Heaven-Man warriors be re-enacted.”

“Above the Heaven-Shaking, Earth-Shaking, and Sea-Overturning Forces lies the Zhenwu Force, which Master didn’t pass on either.”

“But that’s not hard for me.”

Ning Qi exhaled deeply—he already had inspiration.

He had pondered long and hard. His days in the Scripture Pavilion hadn’t been wasted; he’d already begun preparing. Now, with internal energy awakened and its nature understood, everything fell into place.

In a flash.

The intricacies of the three Fold Energy Techniques surged into his mind.

He dissected their similarities, extracted their essence, and fused them into one.

He didn’t know how much time passed.

A new Fold Energy Technique quietly formed.

This was the Zhenwu Force Ning Qi reverse-engineered.

Creating the Zhenwu Stance from the Nine Sons of Zhenwu had taken him ten days.

But this time, forging the Zhenwu Force from the three major techniques took only two hours.

Because the path was similar, it saved him tons of time.

And he had already prepared in theory.

This Zhenwu Force might not be identical to the original, but the difference wouldn’t be too large.

Yet Ning Qi was still not satisfied.

“My foundational stance is the supreme Origin of All Phenomena Stance. I can’t use Zhenwu Force anymore. As Master said, the Zhenwu Stance is paired with the Zhenwu Force. So I need to create a new Fold Energy Technique that fits the Origin of All Phenomena Stance.”

In a way, this was the downside of creating his own techniques—he had to walk the path alone.

If Ning Qi downgraded himself to practice Zhenwu Force, he’d feel miserable. It would waste the supreme foundation he had laid.

It would also slow down his growth.

“Inner Origin martial artists live two hundred years. If someone reaches Nine-Fold Qi in twenty years, they’re considered a prodigy. But for me, twenty years is too long!”

“With two months left before my internal energy is fully formed, that’s more than enough time to create a supreme Fold Energy Technique to match the Origin of All Phenomena Stance. Maybe I won’t even need that long.”

Ning Qi’s eyes shone with confidence.

With experience from creating the Origin of All Phenomena Stance, plus the Zhenwu Force and various other techniques as references—and his current comprehension even sharper than before—he was completely sure.

He took a long breath.

Ning Qi’s gaze flickered as he said:

“Tiansheng, we have a guest.”

The White Ape, who had been practicing the Ape King Stance nearby, immediately stopped and went inside to make tea. But when he came out with the teapot again, he froze.

In the distance.

A sneaky little chubby figure was tiptoeing around, glancing left and right.

The White Ape set down the teapot and stormed off angrily. With his martial training now taking shape, unless he used martial arts, others would simply think he had a powerful bloodline.

The White Ape moved lightning-fast. Zhuang Chen was startled.

“Yuan Tiansheng, y-you spotted me!”

But the White Ape only grinned and launched a kick straight at Zhuang Chen’s backside. He still remembered how the chubby one called him a pet two days ago. Now that the kid was sneaking around again, it was time to settle old and new grudges together.

Zhuang Chen scrambled to dodge.

But couldn’t.

He took the kick square on.

Zhuang Chen began to fight back, but was shocked to find—he couldn’t overpower the White Ape. The two were actually evenly matched.

“Yuan Tiansheng, you’re so strong!” he exclaimed.

Ning Qi watched from a distance and nodded slightly.

The White Ape was indeed extraordinary. He hadn’t trained long and was already matching Zhuang Chen. And he wasn’t even using martial arts. Of course, Zhuang Chen hadn’t drawn his sword either.

Thud!

Zhuang Chen took another kick to the backside.

He shouted angrily, “Yuan Tiansheng, if you keep this up, I won’t hold back!”

Seeing Zhuang Chen about to draw his sword, Ning Qi finally spoke:

“Tiansheng, let him through.”

The White Ape immediately stopped respectfully.

He made a silly face at Zhuang Chen and slipped back into the courtyard.

Zhuang Chen grinned too. He looked at Ning Qi, eyes shining, and rushed over.

“Ning Qi, little master! I finally found you!”

The Divine Sword Sect was still staying at Zhenwu Sect, but Ning Qi had been avoiding everyone for peace and quiet. He didn’t expect Zhuang Chen to actually find him.

Ning Qi lounged in the rattan chair and said calmly:

“Don’t call me master, or the Divine Sword Elder might expel you.”

Zhuang Chen quickly shook his head:

“No way! My master once said, if I ever found someone I wanted to follow, I could!”

“Ning Qi, little master, please accept this disciple’s bow!”

“I don’t take disciples. Even a hundred bows won’t help.”

“Then can you at least teach me that sword technique from that day?”

“With your talent, comprehending Sword Intent is only a matter of time. You don’t need me.”

“No—it’s different!”

“Your sword is unlike anyone else’s I’ve ever seen.”

Seeing the certainty in the chubby one’s eyes, Ning Qi was slightly surprised.

The sword he used had evolved from the Myriad Phenomena Fist. That strike was far more than just imbued with Sword Intent—even the Divine Sword Elder probably hadn’t seen through it. But this chubby kid had?

This congenital sword physique really was something.

“What’s different about it?” Ning Qi asked, intrigued.

“It was cool! Super cool!”

Zhuang Chen’s face lit up with excitement.

“Even my master’s sword isn’t as cool as yours!”

He just instinctively felt that Ning Qi’s sword was powerful—but couldn’t explain why.

Ning Qi twitched at the corner of his mouth.

“Some taste, I’ll give you that. But not much.”

Still, it felt good to have someone appreciate his sword technique.

Ning Qi smiled at the chubby one:

“I don’t take disciples. I don’t teach just anyone either.”

The chubby one seemed to have a flash of genius—his brain finally working. He leaned in mysteriously and whispered:

“Ning Qi, I’ll tell you a top-tier secret technique. In exchange, will you teach me that sword move from that day?”