In simple terms, the first level of the great Dao Arts was equivalent to the beginner stage of cultivation. What one had to complete at this stage was what the Daoist often called "refining essence into Qi."
In other words, he could transform the food he ate and the spiritual energy in the world into his own true Qi.
When the true Qi in the body reached a certain level, the quantitative change would lead to a qualitative change, and the cultivator would be able to enter the next stage.
The first level of the "great Dao Arts" divided the process of transforming essence into Qi into ten stages. Each stage had a corresponding cultivation technique and Meridian circulation diagram. If one completed the ten stages step by step, one would naturally be able to complete the first level of the "great Dao Arts."