The self-control of an Innate Power expert is truly formidable, so Yun Tianlan's odd behavior went completely unnoticed by the two people outside. Jack Young, acting like some kind of time-space trader, used his abundant resources to get what he desperately needed. Ignoring the Phantom Sword Saint Tournament for now, Jack headed back to the Grand Brothel to test out the effects of these spiritual medicines.
With the start of the Phantom Sword Saint Tournament, the whole Eight Directions City was swept up in a wild, feverish atmosphere. The noise, cheers, and sighs of disappointment echoed from afar, audible throughout the city. Even though Madam Dai got him a quiet room, the cheers still broke through, making it easy to guess what was going on from a mile away.
Suddenly, a memory flashed across Jack Young's mind. He remembered just after graduating, when there was a Karen Mok concert at the stadium near his apartment. That night was pure chaos—after work, the roads were jammed with cars rushing to the show. Giant spotlights amped up the vibe, and the wild shouting echoed late into the night. Right now, he felt exactly the same way.
"And then it was..." The memory stretched along the timeline, as if he was about to recall something important, but suddenly hit a wall. Jack Young frowned, "Wait, what happened next...?"
He closed his eyes, letting his whole mind sink into that past event. Jack Young tried hard to recall what happened that day, unknowingly slipping into a strange mental state. It was like time travel—reliving the past from a first-person perspective, remembering every tiny detail. This was the power of the Memory Recall Technique.
Starting just before the broken thread of memory, he kept digging, trying to step into that blank spot. Jack saw himself finally making it back to his apartment, heading out to the balcony for some fresh air under the deep night sky. The cool summer breeze drifted in, and across the street, the concert was about to kick off—the excitement was building.
"And then..." With powerful mental strength, he kept rewinding, and suddenly his phone rang. He saw himself picking up the phone, checking the caller ID—
Buzz—a jolt in his sea of consciousness, and Jack Young's mind was forcibly ejected from the Memory Recall Technique, kicked out of that dreamlike state.
"Whew..." He took a few deep breaths. It didn't last long, but reliving his life through the Memory Recall Technique was exhausting, leaving him a bit worn out. It wasn't just plain remembering—it was like living it all over again. Maybe those details he missed before could all be found one by one in the Memory Recall Technique.
"Still no luck. Can't remember who called me." He shook his head and pulled himself together, knowing this memory had hit another dead end. Maybe someday, at some crucial moment, it would come back to him. For now, best to let it go. The Insight Technique's seventh layer also mentions this phenomenon—you have to face it with a calm, natural mind. As long as a cultivator keeps steady, they'll break through eventually.
Outside, the noise keeps going. Anyone whose cultivation isn’t solid enough can forget about training internal energy in this chaos—messing up your focus like this is a surefire way to go off the rails. They call this kind of distraction an 'external demon,' the kind that throws your mind out of whack. But Jack Young is pretty much immune to external demons. Sure, he’s got his own inner demons, but those are a whole other level.
"Perfect timing—let’s see what these spiritual medicines can really do."
Jack pulls out the spiritual meds he bought—some for boosting focus, some for calming the mind, some to steady the nerves, and others to warm the dantian and open up the meridians. In the martial world, they say you need 'wealth, method, companion, and place' for real cultivation—same goes for internal energy. If you’ve got cash, you might as well use every resource you can get. As long as your foundation’s strong and your control’s solid, using outside help is just a shortcut to leveling up.
"Let’s get started."
Normally, Jack never bothers with the whole cross-legged meditation thing—he can cultivate standing, sitting, whatever. But this time, he’s going all out and actually sits cross-legged to help himself focus.
He samples each spiritual medicine, testing them one by one and noting their effects during cultivation. The Herb Boutique gave instructions, sure, but nothing beats hands-on experience. As expected, Jack tries each one, jotting down results and comparing them to the Herb Boutique’s notes. He even makes careful tweaks and adds his own comments where needed.
After all, popping spiritual meds isn’t the same as scarfing down meat pills. When you’re training the Dragon Elephant Skill, you need loads of life essence, but even if you overdo it, the worst that happens is you get a bit chubby—easy enough to shed. As long as you don’t binge too hard, it won’t mess up the foundation of your Dragon Elephant Skill.
But spiritual meds are different. Downing one packs a punch and really shakes up your internal energy. Take too many, and you’ll end up like those trust-fund martial artists—flashy but useless. As a sect leader and a master to two disciples, Jack has to do his homework first, figure out the best balance before diving in.
Jack spends the whole afternoon quietly in his meditation room. After logging the results of every single spiritual medicine, he gets down to his own cultivation. His dantian is buzzing with energy, and he can actually feel his Innate Power growing—quickly passing the fourteen-year mark and heading straight for fifteen.
At the same time, Jack multitasks, starting to break down an internal technique called the Breath Circulation Technique.
After winning eight martial arts techniques from the Four Vagabond Knights, the first seven were all combat moves—I've already broken those down and absorbed them into my own style. When it comes to difficulty, breaking down pure moves is the easiest, lightness techniques are a bit trickier, and the toughest are defensive arts like Iron Palm Blade. After studying and experiencing Li Xuantong’s skills firsthand, I’m pretty confident I’ve got Iron Palm Blade all figured out.
But the real challenge is breaking down internal energy methods.
The Breath Circulation Technique is honestly kinda basic—its reputation in the martial world is like that legendary 'Five Tiger Gate-Splitting Saber.' Not the worst, but not exactly top-tier either. Still, the internal energy it produces is a bit more persistent and recovers faster than other techniques at the same level, so it’s got its quirks. What I want now is to totally understand the Breath Circulation Technique and figure out what gives it that long-lasting energy vibe.
If I can pull it off, I’ll blend those qualities right into my Bright Jade Technique, so it gets that same awesome feature.
Honestly, this is the kind of thing only the top-tier martial artists can do. Those legendary Grandmasters have to build on what came before to create their own unique internal methods and moves. And now, I’m heading in that direction myself.
Time ticks away, and I’m pouring eighty percent of my focus into cracking the Breath Circulation Technique. Other than basic alertness, I’m totally tuned out from the outside world. Every word and detail gets broken down and sorted in my mind. I even built a virtual meridian map in my head and ran imaginary Breath Circulation Technique cycles through it.
With each virtual breakthrough, my understanding of the Breath Circulation Technique deepens. Inspiration strikes every moment, and new questions keep popping up. Before I know it, I’ve fully simulated all six layers of the technique. But that’s not the end—I start running reverse simulations, mixing things up, doing random and partial runs.
When I finally open my eyes, I’ve already tossed the Breath Circulation Technique out of my mind. Most of the generic basics are gone, leaving only the truly valuable nuggets. Some insights, some mysteries, but all of it is gold. Since I can’t just recklessly practice the technique, these ideas are all theoretical for now. But once I get a chance to test them out, they’ll slot together like building blocks, forming something incredible.
I grab a notebook—rare for me—and start jotting things down. First page, I write 'Breath Circulation Technique' at the top, then record every single insight I got from breaking it down. The notes are in weird symbols and lines no normal person could make sense of, but to me, it’s the clearest, most precise record possible.
On the cover, I write: 'Unlocking all the secrets of internal energy.'
Swish—a flash of gold, and I tuck the notebook away.
Meanwhile, in another world—the secret chamber of Tianshan.
Jill Young slowly opens her eyes from deep meditation. Her gaze is half-lidded, a little vacant, staring at the stone wall as if she doesn’t care what’s carved there. Her right hand flashes gold, and she pulls out the same notebook from this world.
She looks down at the cover and the words Jack wrote, then flips to the back and writes her own: 'Creating the ultimate martial arts manual.'
Then, working backwards, she flips to the first page and writes a name at the top—'Freewind Mind Method.' Next, she starts recording those same mysterious symbols and lines.
Front to back is for spirit-refining techniques; back to front is for essence-refining methods. If these two sides ever meet in the middle, this little notebook might just become the martial world’s ultimate scripture.
A moment later, Jill finishes her notes on the Freewind Mind Method, then swings open the secret chamber’s door: "Wu Jiao Niang! Get me a copy of every martial arts manual from every island and every cave!"
...Back to the main storyline...
"Wait, I broke through to fifteen years of cultivation without even noticing?" Snapping out of his thoughts, Jack Young is surprised to find his internal energy has leveled up again. Sure, he took spiritual medicine and drank Break Origin Dew at lunch, so the speed makes sense—but two years in one day? That’s wild. Clearly, all the insights from breaking down the Breath Circulation Technique are also a big boost to his progress.
"From now on, I’m not passing up any martial arts I come across—I’ll learn every single one!" Jack stretches, then suddenly has an idea: "Hey! Why not just steal the secret manuals from those sects?"
Sounds like a plan! Those clueless sect guys keep asking for trouble, so why play nice? I’ll just swipe their manuals and be done with it.
"Great idea! I should totally get Northon to join me for some high-flying thievery." Jack slaps his palm, ready to get moving—when his ear twitches at a shout from the front door: "Jack Young! Get out here, now!"
Wait, isn’t that Qin Han, the tough-as-nails woman?