Chapter 191: Qiaoxue
Although two years had passed and reconstruction efforts in various regions were largely complete, the lingering effects from the destruction of the three core cities—Tianjing, Tianhai, and Tianqing—which had been centers for all aspects of life at the time, were far from subsiding. The newly formed Huaxia Federation was still rife with undercurrents and plagued by numerous issues.
Of course, none of this concerned Bai Mo, who was holed up in his laboratory. As long as the nation could provide the experimental materials he needed, he couldn't be bothered to care even if the outside world turned upside down.
And since the last incident, the defenses of the experimental grounds had become unprecedentedly strong. Now, even a Life Field Stage ability user couldn't slip in without alerting the guards.
This place could even rival Tianqing's core area; naturally, no one looking to stir up trouble and get slapped in the face could sneak in.
Of course, it was hard to say whether this level of security was meant to guard against external threats or internal ones, after all, the most dangerous entity was actually inside the laboratory.
Drawing on American technology obtained through secret channels, Bai Mo was conducting feasibility studies on the mechanization of his Spirit Hubs, but had made little progress, consistently stuck at a single point.
American arms dealers generally focused on Spirit Energy weapons, working to improve practicality and destructive power, while research into his type of auxiliary abilities was scarce.
What was found on Black Crow earlier was a product from one of their laboratories.
Through private exchanges with them, he also learned Black Crow's origins.
Naturally, what awaited him was elimination.
Then, in order to escape the pursuit, Black Crow chose to smuggle himself into Huaxia, participating in the highly publicized Martial Arts Tournament to protect himself. He fought his way through every obstacle and was recruited by Huaxia due to his formidable strength, becoming a high-ranking official in the Huaxia Federation after Ye Zi ascended to power.
Finally, after private negotiations, both sides decided to reconcile. According to the agreement, as long as Black Crow did not publicly disclose the experimental details, the arms dealer alliance would cease their pursuit of him.
As the transactions deepened, Bai Mo's relationship with various American magnates grew closer. A lot of non-confidential intelligence was exchanged, and he even became a broker, facilitating his deals with some European countries possessing leading technology. Of course, all of this was built upon the exchange of mutual interests.
"Finally deigned to appear in your true form?" Before the Eighth Martial Arts Symposium, Hua Taishan smiled and patted Bai Mo's shoulder. "This one feels more real."
Since the Martial Arts Tournament, every two months, Hua Taishan and a few others would take the lead in organizing a Martial Arts Symposium to exchange insights gained by the attendees. This was now the eighth time.
"Too many things to do normally; avatars are more convenient."
"Why do you seem even busier than Changjiang?"
The two usually communicated through Bai Mo sending an avatar to the National Martial Arts Center to find Hua Taishan. Through repeated interactions, he had guessed that Ying, who had caused such a stir at the Martial Arts Tournament earlier, was actually one of Bai Mo's avatars.
However, seeing that Bai Mo had no intention of explaining or concealing it, he didn't bother to expose it, treating it as a playful stunt. Both sides had a tacit understanding.
But privately, he harbored some cautious thoughts. A person whose mere avatar could easily reach the quarterfinals of the Martial Arts Tournament was truly terrifying.
"This time, I plan to make public what we've discovered through our previous collaborations."
"No matter."
"Always sitting in the back corner without saying a word, your presence is too low, kid."
"These aren't my specialties, so I listen more and speak less."
"You're always like this, kid, always keeping your opinions to yourself."
In over a year's time, with so many elite martial artists researching together, they had naturally explored and discovered many things in their own ways.
Rarely did the attendees disregard sectarian views, openly discussing the hitherto secret arts of their respective schools.
Because without a qualitative improvement in physical quality, even if one mastered their secretly held "ultimate techniques," at best, they would only be able to face ten opponents.
However, the Martial Path currently being explored had the potential to reach a level where one could face ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand opponents. Any hidden personal gains were insignificant before such a grand trend.
"Today, we'll continue discussing the development direction of Xingyi Dao. Please share your thoughts from the past two months..." As the leader, Hua Taishan, over a year ago, very magnanimously publicly shared the martial arts philosophy of Xingyi Dao, which he had created by combining it with his discussions with Luo Yi, to everyone present.
"I believe this part could be adjusted..."
"And here..."
"The way Xingyi Dao utilizes spiritual power is inherently somewhat dangerous. In the past two months, an elder under me, a Life Field Stage practitioner, suffered a mental breakdown, experienced qigong deviation, and became a vegetative person..." Zhen Yao, the leader of the Hong Xing Sect, said.
"Directly infusing one's will into every punch and kick, while indeed terrifying in destructive power, is too rigid and prone to breaking, too risky."
"Perhaps we should relegate the use of spiritual power to a later stage?"
Everyone spoke one after another, discussing whether to make some compromises for the sake of safety.
"Chairman Hua, our suggestion is to postpone the cultivation of Xingyi Dao and only practice it after cultivators have a better foundational quality."
"I will consider that problem." Hua Taishan didn't agree on the spot. "Next, I'll talk about an important discovery."
"Many people, after inhaling Spirit Qi, experience some relatively subtle changes in their bodies, but do not develop Spirit Hubs and become ability users. To others, they appear no different from ordinary people."
"However, through research, it was found that their bodies actually developed many structures resembling Qiaoxue (acupoints/apertures), but which were formless and intangible. Everyone present should have some understanding of ancient Huaxia medicine and know what Qiaoxue are."
"Since they're formless and intangible, Elder Hua, how did you discover them?" Someone naturally asked, puzzled.
"Spiritual power. They can be discovered as long as one possesses sufficiently powerful spiritual power." Hua Taishan explained.
"Before Mr. Wu Ye sacrificed himself for the nation, I once had some cultivation exchanges with him. At that time, we were researching how to develop his abilities. His Spirit Hubs were quite unique, possessing a door-like structure. With each door opened, his body's foundational quality would greatly improve."
"After discovering the existence of Qiaoxue, we referenced our previous communication records with Wu Ye, along with some system data, and finally deduced this set of Qiaoxue Body Refinement methods."
"Through a two-pronged approach of internal and external medicines, supplemented by spiritual will to impact the Qiaoxue within the human body, one can gradually enhance physical quality..." He continued to explain the principles.
"Qiaoxue are different from our traditional understanding. They wander randomly within the body, and as the number of breached Qiaoxue increases, their wandering speed rapidly accelerates. At this point, stronger spiritual power is required to track their trajectories again." Hua Taishan began quoting sentences from the research report, and specialized terminology also appeared in his speech.
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