Chapter 59 Martial Arts Prodigy

Half an hour later.

Lin Jiangnian was still sitting at the desk, but his gaze gradually grew fervent and his breathing slightly hurried.

This Profound Yang Heart Sutra truly lived up to the red-robed woman's description as one of the top-tier mental cultivation methods in the martial arts world.

It was indeed... extraordinarily formidable!

Just by reading the introduction and the internal energy formulas, one could already discern its extraordinary nature.

Lin Jiangnian had perused and memorized quite a few internal cultivation methods within the Ruyi Tower, but compared to the Profound Yang Heart Sutra before him, they bore a massive difference.

The defining characteristic of the Profound Yang Heart Sutra was its unyielding, masculine dominance, fully living up to its name.

Profound Yang—profound and brilliantly masculine!

The Profound Yang Heart Sutra was divided into five levels in total. The transformations between each level varied greatly, creating a massive gap akin to a complete shedding of mortal bones and renewal of life.

Compared to other internal cultivation methods that required reaching grand completion before showing any results, achieving even the first level of the Profound Yang Heart Sutra was enough to be called an expert!

With force like a myriad jun, one's palm could split stones!

If one could practice the Profound Yang Heart Sutra to its highest realm, one's internal energy would become almost ceaseless and endless, steady and profound, lingering on and nearly rendering one invincible under heaven...

This was the true terrifying aspect of the Profound Yang Heart Sutra!

When experts fought, they often competed in endurance... Whoever had greater endurance remained in an undefeated position.

For a man, endurance was even more important!

Lin Jiangnian's eyes shone brightly. He did not harbor extravagant hopes of reaching the highest realm and becoming invincible under heaven. As long as he could step into the first level, it would be more than enough to protect himself.

With this thought, Lin Jiangnian grew somewhat impatient to practice the mental cultivation method before him.

No sooner said than done!

He slowly memorized the formulas in his mind, closed his eyes to review them once, and then got up, walked over to the bed, sat cross-legged in meditation, and began to regulate his breathing and guide his qi according to the instructions in the manual.

Lin Jiangnian had never touched martial arts cultivation methods before. If it were anyone else without innate comprehension, even with the manual in hand, they would mostly find themselves at a loss as to where to begin.

However, the handwritten copy of the Profound Yang Heart Sutra in Lin Jiangnian's possession provided introductory explanations based on the mental formulas, detailed and clear. Therefore, even though Lin Jiangnian was utterly clueless about this, he was able to follow the explanations step by step.

As Lin Jiangnian slowly and continuously inhaled and exhaled according to the guidance of the manual, his body also seemed to undergo subtle changes.

Half an hour later.

Just as Lin Jiangnian was repeatedly executing the mental formulas, he vaguely sensed a slight warmth spreading in his lower abdomen. At the same time, a tiny trace of 'qi' seemed to have formed within his body.

The qi was extremely unstable and felt as though it might dissipate at any moment.

However, when Lin Jiangnian attempted to manipulate this trace of qi to slowly circulate throughout his entire body, that originally minute puff of 'qi' seemed to grow slightly stronger?

Feeling this change, Lin Jiangnian was filled with joy.

It really worked!

With that realization, he continued his attempt to control the trace of 'qi' within his body, making it flow and linger through his meridians.

From the initial unfamiliarity that repeatedly caused the qi to disperse, to gradually becoming adept... that tiny bit of 'qi' was growing larger and larger...

...

Dawn broke, and the morning sunlight slowly spilled into the room.

On the bed, Lin Jiangnian opened his eyes and slowly let out a breath.

Between his brows, a faint, bright flash of vital essence seemed to pass by.

Having stayed up all night, Lin Jiangnian did not feel much exhaustion; instead, he felt his body was much lighter. It was as if he had taken some kind of nerve-stimulating drug, full of spirit and vigor.

Lin Jiangnian lowered his head to look at his palms, clenched his fists, and could clearly feel that his strength had increased.

Was this the benefit brought by the Profound Yang Heart Sutra?

Lin Jiangnian carefully experienced and savored all of this...

Last night, he had attempted to practice the Profound Yang Heart Sutra, and this practice had lasted the entire night.

It wasn't until dawn that Lin Jiangnian finally managed to barely control that trace of small 'qi'. It was just that the qi appeared too weak to serve any practical purpose.

However, Lin Jiangnian was not discouraged. After all, it was his first attempt, and as long as it worked, that was enough.

Still...

Could he be considered to have crossed the threshold now?

Did he practice it correctly?

Lin Jiangnian did not dare to be careless, as practicing martial arts incorrectly could lead to deviation and obsession. Therefore, he intended to find an opportunity to ask Ziyuan about it.

Glancing at the sky outside, which was gradually growing bright, Lin Jiangnian got up and pushed open the bedroom door.

"Your Highness?"

Outside the door, the maidservants who had been preparing to attend to His Highness were startled to see him getting up so early today.

Lin Jiangnian waved his hand. "Go prepare some food for this prince."

"Yes."

Having stayed up all night, Lin Jiangnian did not feel a shred of fatigue. The faint warmth in his lower abdomen still lingered without fading, keeping his entire body in a state of excitement.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Jiangnian originally intended to go look for Ziyuan, but to his surprise, Ziyuan took the initiative to come to him.

"You've come at the right time."

Without wasting words, Lin Jiangnian beckoned to her.

Ziyuan walked up to Lin Jiangnian. "Your Highness?"

"Sit."

Lin Jiangnian pointed to the seat beside him.

Ziyuan did not move, lowering her gaze.

"What are you spacing out for? Come sit down, this prince has something important to tell you!"

Lin Jiangnian urged.

Ziyuan was silent for a moment, and after some hesitation, she slowly sat down at the table nearby.

Lin Jiangnian dismissed the surrounding servants, and soon only the two of them were left alone.

Ziyuan's gaze inadvertently swept across the surroundings, a hint of... wariness lingering in the depths of her eyes?

However, Lin Jiangnian did not notice this. Once the servants were dismissed, he immediately shared his physical sensations and experiences from practicing the Profound Yang Heart Sutra the previous night with Ziyuan.

"Would you consider this a correct practice?"

"Are there any side effects?"

"Nothing's going to go wrong, is it?"

Ziyuan was stunned, only then realizing the purpose of His Highness summoning her.

She quietly listened to Lin Jiangnian's description. When she heard him mention that he could already skillfully control the 'qi' within his body, even the usually composed Ziyuan couldn't help but be taken aback, a look of shocked astonishment flashing through her beautiful eyes.

"Your Highness, you can already control the 'qi' within your body?" Ziyuan couldn't help but confirm.

"That's right!"

Lin Jiangnian nodded, saying with a hint of regret, "It's just a pity that the qi is too weak. I feel like it's temporarily useless, completely a tasteless chicken rib..."

Ziyuan remained silent, though her eyes carried a trace of deep shock.

Useless?

A tasteless chicken rib?

She took a few deep breaths before gradually calming down.

Lin Jiangnian noticed the change in her expression and asked with slight perplexity, "What's wrong?"

Ziyuan was silent for a moment. "Does Your Highness know how long it takes an ordinary person practicing martial arts to skillfully control that breath of 'qi'?"

Lin Jiangnian guessed, "Three or four days? Or seven or eight days?"

Ziyuan gave him a deep look before calmly replying, "At the very least several months, and at most several years!"

Hearing this, Lin Jiangnian was struck dumb.

That long?

Wasn't this... vastly different from what he had imagined?

"Martial arts are divided into external and internal categories: external practices train the tendons and bones, while internal practices train a breath of qi. This breath of qi is precisely the most crucial element... For an ordinary person to skillfully control that 'qi' within a month is already considered decent talent; most people probably need several months to fully master it. Even the Prince..."

Seeming to recall something, Ziyuan glanced at him again and slowly continued, "Even the Prince took three days to skillfully control that 'qi'. Yet Your Highness took only a single night..."

Just a single night to skillfully control that 'qi'?

Even though she knew His Highness had inherited the Prince's martial arts talent, such astonishing aptitude still left her somewhat startled and surprised.

Lin Jiangnian was also stunned. Meeting Ziyuan's beautiful eyes, which were filled with shock and surprise, he blinked and realized what was going on.

"According to what you're saying..."

"Could this prince be a once-in-a-century martial arts genius?"

Ziyuan lowered her gaze, gradually suppressing the astonishment in her heart, and nodded slightly. "If Your Highness can truly devote yourself to practicing martial arts, your future achievements will surely be limitless."

"How formidable could I become?" Lin Jiangnian pressed on.

Ziyuan fell silent for a moment, raised her eyes to look at him, and spoke, "Does Your Highness still remember the Eldest Princess?"

The Eldest Princess?

Lin Jiangnian naturally remembered.

The Eldest Princess of the Great Ning Dynasty, the fiancée of the Prince of Lin's Heir.

How could he possibly not remember?

"What about her?"

"She is the top expert in the sword dao, and the person with the highest talent among the younger generation in the world today!"

Ziyuan seemed to think of something, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Before the age of eighteen, she stepped into the Second Grade Tianxuan Realm. In today's world, no one can match her!"

At this point, Ziyuan glanced at Lin Jiangnian again. After a moment, she spoke, "Back then, she also took only a single night..."