11: Chapter 11: A Surprising Twist in Taoist Classics!

"Learn!" Lin Chen silently thought.

"Ding! Mastered 'Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon', obtained skill: Medical Arts."

[Universal System]

[Host: Lin Chen]

[Skill: Culinary Arts (Grandmaster Level, 11/10000). You are a top-tier chef, capable of making any delicacy in the world.]

[Skill: Medical Arts (Beginner Level, 0/50). You are a third-rate doctor, capable of treating some simple minor ailments.]

A massive amount of unfamiliar knowledge instantly flooded into his brain.

The paths of meridians, human acupoints, prescribing medicine, and techniques for acupuncture and massage all became incredibly familiar.

Just like when he activated Culinary Arts, in the blink of an eye, Lin Chen gained another means of making a living.

However, he felt a little disappointed inside.

This 'Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon' was not as mystical as described in cultivation novels; it was not some dual cultivation technique for nourishing oneself by consorting with thousands of women, but purely a textbook for an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to teach people how to treat illnesses.

What he wanted most right now was a skill that could directly make his weak body strong.

Medical Arts counted as indirect help at best.

Although old traditional Chinese medicine practitioners understand health preservation, relying on conditioning the body to see results is simply too slow; it requires years of dietary restrictions and taking medicine.

Lin Chen couldn't wait; he wanted a potent remedy with immediate effects.

After studying the system, Lin Chen discovered that the starting difficulty for different skills was completely different.

Previously, when activating Culinary Arts, it only took 10 experience points to reach the Beginner level.

Now, for Medical Arts to reach the Beginner level, it required 50 points to start.

Thinking about it carefully, it was normal.

The threshold for cooking is low; anyone can go to the stove and stir-fry a couple of dishes, and if they burn, they can just dump them.

But treating patients is different; one wrong needle strike and you're headed straight to the crematorium.

The value of the two is worlds apart.

Putting the thick book back on the shelf, Lin Chen continued to stroll around the store.

Since Medical Arts couldn't show immediate effects, he would slowly grind the level later when he had time.

Today, he had to find a book that could instantly strengthen his physique.

Turning through two aisles, Lin Chen stopped in front of the martial arts section.

"Ding! Skill book 'Taijiquan' discovered. Learn?"

"Learn!"

"Ding! Mastered 'Taijiquan', obtained skill: Combat."

[Combat (Beginner Level, 0/20). You are a third-rate fighter who knows a few fighting moves.]

Lin Chen threw the book back on the shelf and sighed helplessly.

The result given by the system once again left him greatly disappointed.

The martial arts book provided Combat techniques, teaching him how to throw a punch and how to deflect force.

But these were all pure moves, useless for strengthening his foundation.

He was currently a very sickly weakling; even if his head was full of peerless martial arts moves, it would be useless.

If someone threw a punch at him, he wouldn't even have the strength to dodge.

The saying "fists fear the young and strong" exists for this reason.

No matter how exquisite an old master's moves are, if he encounters a physically strong young brute, he could still be beaten down by a flurry of wild punches.

Without strong physical fitness as a foundation, techniques are all just for show.

"Could it be that I can only run and lift weights every day to train slowly?" Lin Chen felt a wave of irritation.

"Handsome, you've been wandering around for half the day. What kind of book are you looking for? Tell me, and I'll help you find it."

A coquettish female voice came over.

The female shop assistant approached with a face full of smiles.

This older sister had been observing Lin Chen for a while.

Of course, not to catch a thief, but purely because she was captivated by Lin Chen's perfect looks.

When a woman reaches this age, seeing such a top-tier handsome man makes her heart itch as well.

"Does the store have any books on training internal energy?" Lin Chen asked casually.

He felt that only something like internal energy could instantly raise a person's physical fitness.

Of course, he was just asking blindly.

Through learning 'Taijiquan' just now, he had already figured out the rules of the real world.

There were absolutely no martial arts masters flying everywhere like in novels in this world.

Taijiquan, put simply, is just a trick for exerting force in a fight.

Even if he leveled Combat to the max, at most, his reactions would be faster and his strength greater, and he could take down a dozen or so ordinary thugs by relying on footwork.

That was the limit.

Wishing to strike a cow from a distance with one palm or scale walls and walk on roofs was purely daydreaming.

The female shop assistant was stunned in place upon hearing Lin Chen's question, and then she covered her mouth and giggled.

"Internal energy? Little handsome, are you teasing me? Where would such a thing exist in reality? It's all tricks from martial arts dramas. Don't believe in these airy-fairy things; what if you train yourself into trouble?"

The older sister was very enthusiastic and considerate, but Lin Chen had no intention of lingering.

He smiled slightly, nodded at the shop assistant, and turned to head toward the health preservation section.

Since there was no immediate "tough guy" skill, he would have to rely on old traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions to slowly condition himself.

If he leveled up Medical Arts and combined it with daily exercise, the results definitely wouldn't be bad.

After all, he was only twenty; his weak body was purely the result of being hollowed out by bad habits.

As long as he took good care of himself, he could definitely recover.

"Hey! Little brother, don't go yet!"

Seeing Lin Chen turn away, the female shop assistant hurriedly called out to stop him.

Lin Chen turned his head back.

The older sister's gaze darted away, and she stuttered as she made an excuse: "I suggest you go flip through some Taoist classics. The martial arts on TV are all evolved from scriptures; I remember the Nine Yin Manual was written by a Taoist expert."

The older sister was just making conversation to keep the top-tier handsome guy there a little longer.

But these words made Lin Chen's eyes light up suddenly.

That's right!

How could he have forgotten about Taoist scriptures!

Even taking a step back, even if he couldn't get peerless martial arts, he really wanted to see what kind of magical skills the system could produce when encountering religious classics.

"Many thanks!"

Lin Chen thanked her and strode toward the religious classics section.

The female shop assistant watched his tall, straight figure, feeling a bit sour in her heart, wondering which young girl this stunningly handsome young man would belong to in the future.

The religious section was very deserted.

Lin Chen stopped in front of the bookshelf filled with Taoist scriptures and pulled one out at random.

The system's notification sound rang out right on time.

"Ding! Skill book 'Baopuzi Inner Canon' discovered. Learn?"

"Learn!"

"Ding! Mastered 'Baopuzi Inner Canon', obtained skill: Qi Cultivation."

A massive wave of completely unfamiliar memories and experiences flooded into his mind.

Lin Chen opened his mouth slightly, his eyes widening more and more.

Could it be... does this really exist?

[Qi Cultivation (Beginner Level, 0/200). You are a third-rate Qi cultivator, capable of drawing energy from the void.]

Looking at the text on the panel and feeling the mysterious experience added to his brain, Lin Chen's mood couldn't calm down for a long time.

The Qi cultivators of the Pre-Qin era were actually not just made-up myths!

So-called Qi Cultivation is simply using specific postures and breathing rhythms to absorb mysterious energy from the air to strengthen the physical body.

As for what exactly it was, Lin Chen couldn't figure it out.

He blindly guessed it might be high-concentration oxygen.

After all, the oxygen content in the ancient era was high, and insects could grow over a meter long.

Of course, he couldn't be bothered to look into it deeply.

As long as it could strengthen his body, who cares what it actually is.

Stuffing the 'Baopuzi Inner Canon' back into its original place, Lin Chen pulled out another one.

Beginner-level Qi Cultivation had too many restrictions; he had to adopt a fixed posture.

Striking poses in public in the bookstore was too eye-catching.

He planned to grind a few more books first to raise his skill level before doing anything else.

"Ding! 'Tao Te Ching' discovered. Learn?"

"Learn!"

"Ding! Mastered 'Tao Te Ching', experience +77."

"Ding! Mastered 'Zhuangzi', experience +65."

"Ding! Mastered 'Liezi', experience +63."

The experience points given by Taoist scriptures were ridiculously high.

After grinding only three books, the Qi Cultivation skill leveled up directly!

[Qi Cultivation (Intermediate Level, 5/1000). You are a second-rate Qi cultivator; Qi cultivation speed has increased.]

The new batch of memories finished merging.

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

Intermediate Qi Cultivation was indeed much more convenient; there was no need to adopt weird postures anymore.

As long as he kept his body still, he could absorb energy at any time.

Lin Chen looked left and right.

The religious section didn't even have a ghost in sight; it was very quiet.

He opened the 'Liezi' in his hand and pretended to be reading it seriously.

He calmed his mind and focused, forcibly changing his breathing rhythm according to the instinct in his brain.

One inhale, one exhale; the rhythm was very strange.

At first, he was very unaccustomed to it, and he was flushed from holding his breath.

But a few minutes later, a warm flow of air traveled from his mouth straight to his lower abdomen, quickly moving throughout his entire body.

The warm air flow felt like nectar from a fairy spring, crazily nourishing every cell.

The lingering sleepiness from waking up early vanished without a trace in an instant.

His body felt incredibly light, his whole being was comfortable, and his spirit was even more excited and full of energy.

This feeling of exhilaration couldn't be described in words; Lin Chen couldn't help but immerse himself in it.