Chapter 17 - The Cave

The forest was massive, offering plenty of space for someone to lay low for days or even weeks. Andric, who planned to hide out for a lot longer, spent hours searching before finding the perfect spot. He finally landed at the base of a rock wall next to a small stream, where the sounds of chirping birds and water rushing over rocks filled the air.

Andric quickly got to work. He used magic to carve out a small cave in the rock wall, then covered most of the entrance, leaving just enough openings for air and a bit of light. The cave wasn’t very deep—about twenty feet in—but it was more than enough for his needs.

Next on his list was to open his meridians. He used magic to create a bed and took off his shirt. All the major meridians ran through his torso and upper body, and he could reach all of them. He was a bit worried about the heart-brain and lung-brain meridians since they ran from his chest up to his skull. He guessed they were near the base of his skull but wasn’t keen on working so close to his brain and arcane core. Luckily, with the Spirit Sense technique he’d learned from the Erfdag bandits, he could sense his meridians more easily.

Days passed. During that time, Andric focused on mastering Spirit Sense and opening his meridians. On the first day, he managed to open his diaphragm-lung meridian. The next three days were spent opening the lung-lung, lung-diaphragm, and lung-heart meridians. With these four new meridians open, he reached a state called Five Pointed Chest Circulation.

He didn’t realize it at the time, but this state significantly boosted his endurance. After opening these meridians, he noticed his heart was pumping stronger, his lungs were working better, and his overall energy levels had surged. Practicing the Standing Tortoise Manual showed him that his cultivation speed had more than tripled compared to when he was in Einburg.

With the Five Pointed Chest Circulation state achieved, Andric’s speed at opening other meridians increased. He moved on to the meridians connected to and below his diaphragm.

Weeks went by, and his progress was impressive. With five meridians open, his cultivation speed was already far beyond what was typical in Einburg. After opening twelve meridians, his speed increased even more, allowing him to open new meridians even faster.

Two months into his stay, Andric had opened twenty-two of the twenty-four major meridians. Only the two meridians connected to his brain and the thirty-six minor meridians scattered throughout his body remained.

Spirit Sight was an ability only Instructor Hubert had, letting him view the spirit energy in others. Most martialists were born with Spirit Sight, but everyone could learn Spirit Sense. Spirit Sense helped martialists detect and visualize the spirit energy inside their own bodies. Andric had the technique manual for Spirit Sense, so he just needed to put in the effort to learn it.

Using Spirit Sense involved altering the spirit energy in a way that made it easier to detect. It used a lot of spirit energy but was crucial for visualizing the movement of spirit energy when performing martial techniques. Andric intended to use Spirit Sense to locate his meridians, which was a common practice, so he was confident it would work.

After studying Spirit Sense while opening the twenty-two major meridians, it took him another week to master the technique. Once activated, Spirit Sense allowed him to feel his spirit energy with clarity. Instead of just a vague sense, he could pinpoint all the areas where spirit energy was concentrated in his body.

He discovered that the heart-brain and lung-brain meridians were located near the base of his skull, close to the spinal cord. They traveled into the brain, but Andric was sure his meridian-opening technique could clear away any debris in his brain without needing to disintegrate and regrow it. Most importantly, these meridians didn’t overlap with his arcane core.

Meridians act as pathways for spirit energy absorption from the environment. When meditating, martialists draw spirit energy to their bodies, and the meridians absorb and circulate it. Without open meridians, it’s hard to collect spirit energy consciously, but once they’re open, a person can become a martialist.

Opening the five chest-located meridians boosted endurance. With seventeen torso-located meridians open, it increased power. Two head-located meridians enhanced reaction speed. Opening all twenty-four major meridians led to Perfect Circulation, which greatly boosted cultivation speed and overall abilities.

After five days of working on the head meridians, Andric felt an immense surge of power. However, he also felt a bit disheartened because several minor meridians connected to his brain hadn’t opened yet, and he wasn’t sure how to address this.

Despite this, Andric wasn’t overly worried. Minor meridians were useful for speeding up cultivation but weren’t as crucial as the major ones. Having all twenty-four major meridians open significantly sped up spirit energy movement. Once he opened the minor meridians, his speed would increase even more.

At his current level, spirit energy activation speed wasn’t critical. In higher realms, even a split-second difference could be crucial in battle.

After finishing with his major meridians, Andric took a break to observe the changes in his body. He decided to practice his martial techniques before tackling the minor meridians, so he could better appreciate the benefits of opening them.

In the quiet cave, Andric diligently worked on the six martial techniques he had chosen from the Erfdag bandits’ loot, as well as the Thunder Fist Technique from Veremund’s bag of storage.

Martial techniques, like meditation techniques, had ranks. Rank one techniques were suitable for Human realm martialists, while rank three techniques were for Apprentice realm martialists. Techniques that didn’t have a Novice realm rank required too much spirit energy for a Human realm martialist to handle. Of the techniques Andric chose, only the Burning Palm Technique, Silent Gallop Technique, and Boulder Crushing Sword Technique were feasible for him.

He spent half his days meditating and the other half mastering the martial techniques he could use at his current level. Thanks to Perfect Circulation, his time to reach the next stage was cut to one-ninth of what it used to be. What took almost two weeks before now took just a few days.

The fifth stage came a week later, the sixth stage two weeks after that, the seventh stage in four weeks, the eighth stage in eight weeks, and the ninth stage in sixteen weeks.

Eight months flew by as Andric focused on meditation and nourishment. His body had grown noticeably larger, though still proportional. He had developed sleek, powerful muscles but remained within the bounds of human physique.

To truly advance on the martial path, Andric needed to reach the Novice realm. Human realm martialists couldn’t access many powerful techniques, and he knew he needed greater strength for his safety. Right now, he could easily defeat hundreds of Human realm martialists with just a few spells.

The cave had served him well for reaching the ninth stage, but it wasn’t suitable for advancing further. According to the Standing Tortoise Manual and the other techniques he’d reviewed, reaching the Novice realm required martialists to face battles and hardships. Andric had plenty of hardships in his past to draw from.

A week later, Andric achieved the right state of mind, and his body’s strength surged dramatically.