Chapter 17 through Pulse Realm_1
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After Wu Qian left, Gu Chen sat in the inner hall, his eyes slightly lowered, and with a thought, the mystical panel appeared before his eyes.
Name: Gu Chen
Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Training (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist (great achievement)
Inner Strength: Pure Yang Technique
Cultivation: Seventy-two years
Realm: Complete Great Perfection in the Containment Stage
Power Points: 32
By slaying the demon lurking within the flower leader Yin Yin of Yi Xiang Building and absorbing the soul crystal thereafter, Gu Chen was awarded fourteen power points. Slaying the demon within the county magistrate Fang Yong and absorbing the soul crystal then earned him eighteen power points.
Therefore, Gu Chen's power points also reached thirty-two.
"Increase!"
As soon as Gu Chen thought it, eight power points on the panel vanished, transforming into eight years of inner strength cultivation and merging into his body.
At this moment, although Gu Chen's realm still remained in the Containment Stage, his internal strength cultivation had reached a fearsome eighty years.
No one at the Containment Stage could possess such a level of internal strength. It should be known that even some martial artists in the Pulse-Connecting Realm might not have internal strength cultivation as profound as Gu Chen's.
Searching throughout the nine provinces and comparing with the ancient records, it would probably be very difficult to find a second person who could boast such profound foundations at the Containment Stage like Gu Chen.
With Gu Chen's inner strength cultivation increased to eighty years, some changes appeared on the panel as well.
Name: Gu Chen
Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Training (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist (great achievement)
Inner Strength: Pure Yang Technique
Cultivation: Eighty years (not upgradeable)
Realm: Complete Great Perfection in the Containment Stage
Power Points: 24
"It seems that eighty years of inner strength cultivation is the limit that can be achieved in the Containment Stage," Gu Chen pondered as he looked at the information displayed on the panel.
At this moment, Gu Chen truly felt an overwhelming sense of fullness. His body was brimming with inner strength, which saturated every inch of his flesh and blood, leaving no more space for accommodation.
There is a limit to every realm, and even with the help of the panel, Gu Chen never thought it was possible to keep elevating endlessly within the Containment Stage. That would be unrealistic.
"Since that's the case, then break through!"
The next moment, as Gu Chen willed it, the majestic eighty years of inner strength within his body coursed through, surging like a long river, charging towards a meridian in his body.
Boom!
It was as if thunder burst beside Gu Chen's ears as he breached the first meridian in an instant. Soon, the internal strength tumultuously filled the entire meridian.
But this was just the beginning.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With successive booming sounds echoing in his ears, meridian after meridian within Gu Chen's body were successively breached. With the profound accumulation from the Containment Stage and his eighty years of inner strength cultivation, Gu Chen breached eleven meridians in a short span of time.
When he reached the twelfth meridian, Gu Chen finally felt some fatigue and encountered substantial resistance.
Without hesitation, another ten power points disappeared from the panel, transforming into ten more years of inner strength cultivation. His already formidable inner strength grew by another measure.
When Gu Chen's inner strength cultivation reached ninety years, in an instant, two more meridians were breached, and then the pace of the breakthrough slowed down once more.
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"Again!"
Gu Chen silently roared in his heart, and the last remaining fourteen cultivation points on his panel vanished. Correspondingly, his inner energy cultivation within his body instantly increased by fourteen years.
As of now, the inner energy in Gu Chen's body broke through the hundred-year barrier, reaching a formidable one hundred and four years.
Boom!
With the final few thunderous sounds, Gu Chen made a determined effort, and several more meridians were unblocked. The inner energy surged through sixteen meridians like a tumultuous river, and Gu Chen felt an unprecedented level of power.
Afterward, Gu Chen tried to unblock the seventeenth meridian. However, it seemed that the current sixteen meridians were the limit at this stage. After several unsuccessful attempts, he gave up.
He shifted his attention back to the panel.
Name: Gu Chen
Martial Arts: Iron Shirt Technique (perfection), Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Skill (perfection), Red Flame Palm (perfection), Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist (great success)
Internal Strength: Pure Yang Technique
Cultivation: One hundred and four years
Realm: Early Tongmai Stage
Cultivation Points: 0
"Sixteen meridians... Early Tongmai Stage?" Gu Chen pondered thoughtfully as he looked at the information displayed on the panel.
The Tongmai Stage is the fourth realm of martial arts. Upon reaching the limit of what their bodies can contain with inner energy in the Yunqi Stage, martial artists must unblock their meridians to further strengthen their physique, allowing for the accommodation of more inner energy.
And the Tongmai Stage has several levels depending on how many meridians one has unblocked.
This realm can be considered a watershed in the martial arts of the nine provinces because the more meridians unblocked in the Tongmai Stage, the more solid the foundation and deeper the accumulation of energy, giving one even greater potential for the future.
Typically, only by unblocking eighteen meridians can one externalize their inner energy, reaching the fifth realm of martial arts, the External Qi Stage.
In other words, eighteen meridians are the minimum threshold to break through the Tongmai Stage.
The limit of the Tongmai Stage is fifty-six meridians. Of course, this is a number that is aspired to but not attainable. It's rare for someone to reach this level, perhaps once in a hundred years.
To know, those who can unblock more than twenty meridians in the Tongmai Stage are considered to have some talent. If one can unblock more than thirty meridians, they are regarded as a genius throughout the nine provinces. Unlocking over forty meridians is even more terrifying; such individuals would undoubtedly become renowned, ranking among the foremost in the nine provinces.
As for unblocking fifty meridians, it is rare for such a person to emerge in an entire era.
For the time being, Gu Chen having unblocked sixteen meridians in his body was merely the beginning.
Having been reborn and aided by the panel, Gu Chen naturally wouldn't settle for mediocrity. His primary goal in the Tongmai Stage was to reach the extreme number of fifty-six meridians.
While this might be difficult for others, it was not so for Gu Chen.
Moreover, the innate talents of this life's body were not inferior.
At this moment, Gu Chen stepped out of the inner hall and found that it was already broad daylight. He called over a constable and had him buy some food from the street. After washing up and having breakfast, Wu Qian arrived at the government office on time.
Subsequently, as previously arranged, the two of them left the county office and made their way to the Fang family's residence.
At present, the Fang family's home was draped in white, indicative of mourning. Sad cries could occasionally be heard from within.
It turns out that, after much deliberation the previous night, Gu Chen had Wu Qian transport Fang Yong's body back to the Fang family and provided a simple explanation.
Fang Yong had served as the magistrate of Ning City for twelve years, and the Fang family was a prominent local clan with many members. Fang Yong could be considered the absolute core of the Fang family, so his death was a colossal blow to them, akin to the sky falling.
At the gate, two servants dressed in mourning clothes were guarding the entrance. Their eyes hardened at the sight of Gu Chen and Wu Qian. They stepped forward to block the two men.
"Gentlemen, please go back the way you came. Today, the Fang family is closed to visitors and will not be seeing anyone."