52: Chapter 52 Fighting with Spiritual Power

4:55 AM, Chen Zhen woke up on time.

He did not open his eyes, using Internal Vision first.

The ball of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian had condensed another layer, its rotation speed as stable as a precision pendulum that had been wound up.

The Spiritual Qi flowing through his meridians was smoother than yesterday. In [Internal Vision] mode, he could clearly "see" those tiny, previously stagnant branches, now nourished and flowing much more freely.

It had only been four days since his Breakthrough to the Qi Refinement Stage, but the changes were tangible.

Not only was the total amount of Spiritual Qi growing slowly, but more importantly, there was a comprehensive improvement in "soft power" such as control precision, physical coordination, and perceptual acuity.

He sat up and swept his gaze across the room.

With a slight movement of his mind, he cast the Cleaning Spell.

Consuming 1 point of Spiritual Qi, an invisible wave swept across, and the room was instantly clean as new.

The leaves of the pothos on the windowsill trembled slightly, and a crystal-clear dewdrop condensed on the leaf tip.

That was a natural reaction after being soaked in Spiritual Qi.

After a simple wash, Chen Zhen changed into sportswear and went out on tiptoe.

...

During his morning run, he began to challenge five-line operation.

In addition to the previously maintained running posture, breathing rhythm, Spiritual Qi buffering, and energy perception, he added another item today: using [Internal Vision] to monitor the Spiritual Qi circulation in his body.

Five tasks at once.

At first, he was flustered; either his breathing was off, or his Spiritual Qi output was unstable.

But he quickly found the rhythm.

He divided his attention into five "threads," with each thread responsible for one task, while his main consciousness coordinated from above, adjusting whichever thread had a problem in a timely manner.

It was a bit like playing a real-time strategy game, with multi-line operation and maxed-out micro-management.

After running half a kilometer, he gradually entered his groove.

His breathing was deep, long, and steady; his footsteps were light and silent.

Spiritual Qi formed a just-right buffer layer on his legs, [Anomaly Perception] scanned the energy fluctuations within ten meters, and [Internal Vision] monitored the consumption and circulation of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian in real-time.

Everything was under control.

This feeling of being "omniscient and omnipotent" gave him an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

It was like driving a top-tier sports car, where every part responded perfectly, man and machine as one.

When he reached the Riverside, the system panel popped up:

[Morning Run Quality 'Perfect Control']

[Health Dimension EXP + 72]

[Cultivation + 0.82]

[Initial Glimpse of Spirit Control effect improved: Spiritual Qi control precision + 5% (Currently 15%)]

[Mental Energy significantly increased]

[Unlocked hidden achievement: 'Five-Line Operator' (Multi-threaded processing ability improved, learning efficiency + 10%)]

Another hidden achievement triggered, and one that improved learning efficiency at that.

Chen Zhen was in a great mood.

Morning running was not just about exercising the body; it was an excellent way to train control and Mental Energy.

...

The old man wasn't under the willow tree today but was standing on a giant rock by the Riverside that had been smoothed by the water, standing on one leg with his eyes closed in concentration.

The morning breeze fluttered his clothes, and he was as steady as if he were nailed to the rock.

Chen Zhen ran closer, and the old man opened his eyes and jumped down from the rock: "You're early today."

"Woke up early."

"You look good." The old man looked him up and down, "How is your five-line operation practice going?"

Chen Zhen was shocked: "You could tell?"

"The fluctuation of your aura is different." The old man waved his hand, "Alright, today I'll teach you something practical: fighting with Spiritual Qi."

Chen Zhen was stunned: "Fighting?"

"Not a real fight, it's a simulation." The old man walked to an open sandy area, "Cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage still have weak Spiritual Qi, and the power of Spells is limited. But applying Spiritual Qi to close-quarters combat can produce a qualitative change."

He signaled for Chen Zhen to stand over: "Punch me, use your full strength."

Chen Zhen hesitated: "This..."

"If I tell you to hit, then hit. Don't dawdle."

Chen Zhen took a stance, took a deep breath, and threw his right fist.

He didn't dare to use full strength, holding back thirty percent.

Just as his fist reached the old man's chest, the old man flicked his left hand gently, and Chen Zhen felt a soft but irresistible force coming his way.

His whole body spun half a circle, and he stumbled a few steps before standing steady.

"Too slow, too straight." The old man shook his head, "Come again, use Spiritual Qi."

Chen Zhen was serious this time.

He mobilized the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian, split off a strand to flow along the meridians of his arm to his fist, and a very faint white light appeared on his knuckles.

He threw a punch, the speed 30% faster than before, with the wind of his fist whistling.

The old man didn't dodge or evade, using his right hand this time.

At the moment the fist was about to make contact, his palm attached to Chen Zhen's wrist like a spirit snake, gently guiding and pulling.

Chen Zhen felt his force hit cotton, and then was guided by a clever force to deflect, causing him to lunge forward.

But he was prepared this time; Spiritual Qi erupted under his feet, forcefully stopping his momentum, and he borrowed the force to strike with his elbow.

"Oh?" The old man let out a soft exclamation, retreating half a step this time, and slapped the side of Chen Zhen's elbow with his palm, neutralizing the strike.

The two separated.

"Good reaction." The old man nodded, "You know how to use force against force. But your use of Spiritual Qi is still rough—piling it all on your fist is a waste. Fighting isn't about who has more strength; it's about who knows how to use it."

He walked to Chen Zhen's side and pressed his shoulder: "Come, I'll teach you the real way to use it."

For the next half hour, the old man taught a set of simple force-application techniques.

How to evenly distribute Spiritual Qi throughout the body, erupt it instantly during an attack, form a flexible barrier during defense, and improve agility during movement.

It wasn't complex Moves, but the most basic principles:

Force transmission, center of gravity transfer, borrowing force, and deflecting force.

Combined with Spiritual Qi micro-management, the effect was astonishing.

Chen Zhen tried a few times.

The same punch, if only using brute force, had limited power.

But if combined with Spiritual Qi eruption and force-application techniques, the power could increase threefold, and it didn't consume much Spiritual Qi.

The key was timing and precision.

"Remember," the old man said at the end, "Your Spiritual Qi is weak right now, so you have to save it. Every bit of Spiritual Qi must be used on the cutting edge, and it must be effective when you strike. Wait until your Spiritual Qi is stronger before considering the big picture."

"Understood."

"That's it for today." The old man took a small cloth bag out of his pocket, "This is for you."

Chen Zhen took it.

Inside the bag were a few dark red things that looked like stones or fruit pits, smelling of a faint charred aroma.

"What is this?"

"Fire Date Pits, I roasted them myself." The old man said, "Keep one under your tongue every day and let it dissolve slowly. It can nourish the heart meridians and improve the activity of Spiritual Qi. But remember, at most one a day; too many will cause internal heat."

"Thank you, old man."

"Go on." The old man waved his hand, "Go back and practice well; don't just practice control; your actual combat ability must keep up."

...

On the way home, Chen Zhen kept a Fire Date Pit under his tongue.

A slightly hot, charred aroma dissolved in his mouth, with a hint of subtle sweetness.

Soon, a warm stream of heat flowed down from his throat, merged into his heart meridians, and then spread to the meridians of his whole body.

The Spiritual Qi in his Dantian seemed to be more active, and the rotation speed increased a little bit.

Good stuff.

Arrived home at 7:10.

His mother was already up and cooking porridge in the kitchen.

His father was not at home today.

He was staying in the factory dormitory during the intensive training.

"You're back?" His mother turned around, "You ran for a long time today."

"Practiced a bit more with the old man." Chen Zhen washed his hands, "Mom, how is Dad's intensive training going?"

"He called last night and said it was okay, just that the training intensity was high and he was a bit tired." His mother served the porridge, "But he said he could hold on."

Chen Zhen nodded.

His father was competitive; since he decided to participate in the competition, he would definitely go all out.

The mother and son ate breakfast quietly.

White porridge with pickled vegetables, simple but warming to the stomach.

"Mom," Chen Zhen said suddenly, "I want to go to the Library to borrow some books this afternoon."

"Sure, I'll get you a Library card." His mother said, "What books do you want to borrow?"

"Physics, and... miscellaneous books on geology and folklore."

"Okay, I'll take you there this afternoon."

...

For his morning study, Chen Zhen prepared to test the limits of his [Eidetic Memory (Temporary)] state.

This state still had more than ten hours left, so he had to make full use of it.

He took out the books the old professor gave him yesterday: 《Records of Chinese Folklore》, 《Examination of Ancient Celestial Phenomena》, and 《Compilation of Local Chronicles》.

They were all thick tomes that would usually take a month or two to read.

Today, he was going to finish them in a few hours.

First, he cast the Eye-Brightening Spell.

Consuming 2.8 points of Spiritual Qi, a cool sensation spread in his eyes.

The world became clear to the extreme.

Opening 《Records of Chinese Folklore》, he began "scanning-style reading."

His eyes were like a high-speed camera, scanning page by page, combined with [Literary Perception] to extract core information, while the [Eidetic Memory] state firmly carved this information into his memory.

One page, three seconds.

Ten pages, half a minute.

This reading speed had already exceeded the scope of ordinary human understanding.

It wasn't reading; it was information infusion.

Two hours later, all three thick tomes were "scanned."

The moment he closed the books, Chen Zhen closed his eyes, his brain operating at high speed to classify, integrate, and build a knowledge framework from the massive amount of information.

Anomalous phenomena in folklore, special events in ancient celestial records, weird accounts in local chronicles...

These scattered pieces of information automatically associated in his mind, and began to have a faint connection with Engineer Gu's notes, that historical observation record, and even the ancient runes in the comics.

[Extreme Information Processing]

[Learning Dimension EXP + 255]

[Cultivation + 1.28]

[Learning Dimension upgraded to Lv.5 (95.7 / 1200)]

[Unlocked ability: [Knowledge Fusion] can automatically associate knowledge from different fields, generating interdisciplinary insights]

[Upgrade reward: Cultivation + 15]

[Eye-Brightening Spell proficiency + 12 (Currently 26 / 100), consumption reduced to 2.7 points]

His Learning Dimension had upgraded again, and he had unlocked the godly skill [Knowledge Fusion].

Chen Zhen immediately tested it.

He focused his mind on the topic "strange light phenomena."

A few seconds later, associated information automatically surfaced in his mind:

Folklore: The Dongshan area has had legends of "night light" and "will-o'-the-wisps" since ancient times, mostly related to ancient temples, deep caves, and stone statues.

Ancient Celestial Phenomena: Historical books contain records like "white light like a silk ribbon at night" and "strange colors in the sky," mostly occurring in July.

Local Chronicles: The Dongshan area has records of several "earthquakes" and "mountain rumblings" in history, with times close to the rumors of strange lights.

Engineer Gu's notes: Strange lights in July 1953 and 1983, accompanied by geomagnetic anomalies.

Historical observation records: Cyclical changes between 1864-1943.

These pieces of information, originally scattered across different fields and sources, automatically associated and cross-verified under the effect of the [Knowledge Fusion] ability, gradually piecing together a more complete picture:

There is one or more geomantic nodes in the Dongshan area, which become active every few decades, producing strange lights, geomagnetic anomalies, and even slight geological activity.

The ancients might have noticed this, building temples and erecting statues at the nodes, attempting to "suppress" or "guide" this power.

But the activity of the nodes might be changing.

The cycle has lengthened from about 15 years in the early days to 30 years, for unknown reasons.

And the next active period might be the summer of 2013.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

This speculation was more complete than before, but there were also more questions:

Why do the nodes change?

Are the ancients' "suppression and guidance" methods effective?

What will the activity in 2013 bring?

He didn't know for now.

But he had a clearer direction.

...

Chen Zhen cooked lunch himself.

There was leftover mushroom stewed chicken from yesterday in the fridge, so he heated it up and stir-fried some vegetables.

While eating, his mind was still sorting through the newly acquired knowledge.

The [Knowledge Fusion] ability was too useful; it was like installing a super search engine + analysis engine in his brain. Input a question, and it would automatically retrieve all relevant memories and perform cross-analysis.

If this were used for the college entrance examination...

He imagined it: knowledge of all subjects mastered, seeing a question and automatically associating relevant test points, with the solution path appearing instantly.

That picture was too beautiful.

Of course, there was still nearly a year until the college entrance examination.

He had enough time to thoroughly understand the knowledge of all subjects, and combined with the System's abilities, hitting a top university was not a dream.

But more importantly.

Cultivation and learning were forming a perfect positive cycle.

Cultivation improved Mental Energy and thinking ability, which in turn promoted learning efficiency.

The knowledge and logical ability gained from learning could assist in the understanding and exploration of Cultivation.