Fang Jie lay on a cold, hard, smooth marble countertop, feeling like a lamb lying on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. His upper body was bare, his perfect pectoral muscles and eight-pack abs on full display. At sixteen, possessing such a physique would surely make many envious.
Fang Jie was very uncomfortable with this situation of lying there being stared at, but having promised Dean Zhou to be studied, he couldn't go back on his word.
However, it hadn't been agreed that the study of his body would also include Professor Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu stood beside Fang Jie, intently staring at his lower abdomen. Staring at a healthy, strong male body for such a long time didn't bother her, but the person being stared at seemed somewhat awkward, shifting uncomfortably from time to time. This made Qiu Yu frown slightly, and she couldn't help but whisper, "Lie still! How can I look at you like this?"
Fang Jie thought to himself, how could someone take advantage of someone so brazenly? However, he also wanted to understand his own body, so he tried his best not to look at Qiu Yu to calm himself down. Qiu Yu's eyes were fixed on Fang Jie's lower abdomen, and after a long time, he began to scrutinize his limbs one by one. Finally, Fang Jie was certain that even wearing pants, he couldn't hide anything.
"How is it?"
Dean Zhou, who was sitting to the side sipping tea, asked.
"It's strange."
Qiu Yu shook his head slightly and replied softly, "What's certain is that he doesn't have a Qi Sea, and naturally, he doesn't have the meridians connecting to his Dantian. But strangely, he has eleven Qi acupoints open. However, I can't understand, what's the use of opening Qi acupoints that have no connection to the Qi Sea?"
Dean Zhou frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and then said, "Check if there's any internal energy in his opened Qi acupoints."
Qiu Yu hummed in agreement and focused his gaze on Fang Jie again. Fang Jie was slightly taken aback when he heard that eleven Qi acupoints had opened in his body, but he didn't ask anything. Since leaving Fan Gu, he knew that his Qi acupoints were gradually opening. When he was in Fan Gu, he was completely clueless, but in less than a year, he had already opened eleven acupoints.
Qiu Yu was watching him, deep in thought.
Could it be that his body was gradually becoming stronger because his acupoints were becoming more open? According to the principles of ordinary cultivation, this should indeed be the case. The more acupoints connected to the dantian (the center of the qi sea) that are opened, the more internal energy that can be drawn upon. Similarly, the more unobstructed acupoints, the stronger the body will naturally be. However, according to the principles of ordinary cultivation, one can only cultivate if at least thirty-six acupoints are opened throughout the body. Therefore, Fang Jie can at best be considered an ordinary person.
Only when the thirty-six specific acupoints distributed in the limbs and chest/abdomen are opened can internal energy flow smoothly, strengthening the body and allowing internal energy to circulate within the body.
But all of this is irrelevant to Fang Jie. He has only opened eleven acupoints, and they are all isolated and not connected to each other.
"No!"
After observing for a while, Qiu Yu confirmed, "Among the eleven acupoints he opened, I couldn't find a trace of internal energy. The reason he can now achieve the physique of a cultivator, even surpassing that of an ordinary cultivator, is because his muscles are very strong. His power comes entirely from his muscles, not internal energy."
"He can possess strength comparable to a cultivator just by relying on his own muscles?"
Dean Zhou pondered for a moment before asking, "Where are these eleven acupoints located?"
"Three on each arm, two on each leg..."
"And the last one?"
"In..."
Qiu Yu's face suddenly flushed, and after hesitating for a long time, he said in a very low voice, "In the area between his legs..."
"Ah?"
Dean Zhou was startled and couldn't help but walk over and stare at a certain spot on Fang Jie's body. Upon seeing the faintly visible, enormous outline of his member in his pants, Dean Zhou said with a helpless tone, "I've never seen anyone open a qi acupoint in this place. Could it be that it can also exert internal energy?"
Qiu Yu blushed and reminded him, "He doesn't have internal energy."
"Oh right... then this can only be considered a rare talent... damn it, what a useless talent!"
Dean Zhou couldn't help but mutter under his breath, but for some reason, there seemed to be a strange jealousy in his tone.
Fang Jie blushed, but was exceptionally proud: "Who said this is a useless talent? If you did a poll and asked men what powerful ability they most wanted, how many would choose to be powerful here? Probably no less than half, maybe even more than seventy or eighty percent!"
"Vulgar!"
Dean Zhou said angrily, "Utterly vulgar!"
Fang Jie argued, "A useful talent isn't useless. A talent that brings happiness to humanity is even less useless!"
Qiu Yu awkwardly turned away, no longer looking at Fang Jie. Dean Zhou, stroking his beard in anger, remained silent, only glaring at Fang Jie.
Meanwhile, Fang Jie felt he had truly lived up to expectations today.
After all, wouldn't any man want such a good thing? Forget about whether it's a waste or not, I'm strong, big, and brutal, and I have to be proud!
...
...
Back of the Martial Arts Academy.
Under the waterfall.
After being studied that morning, Fang Jie was brought here again by Qiu Yu, who was definitely vengeful. He would bet anyone that Qiu Yu made him continue to resist the immense pressure of falling into the waterfall because of his righteous and stern defense that morning.
So, to avoid showing weakness, Fang Jie once again stripped naked. To this glaring female professor, it made no difference whether he was dressed or not. Fang Jie had no doubt that even if he wore a sheet of iron, he couldn't hide those glares, let alone a thin layer of pants.
Qiu Yu realized she had no way to deal with this rogue, so she turned away and refused to look at him.
Last time, standing beneath the waterfall, lost in contemplation, Fang Jie thought of many things, such as his red eyes and his unconsciousness. But this time, Fang Jie didn't think about these things; he only wanted to truly feel his body.
The water cascaded down from the mountaintop, like endless punches relentlessly pounding against him. This intensity of impact was like a tireless sparring partner. And Fang Jie, amidst these endless punches, experienced the changes within himself. When he calmed his mind, he immediately felt the subtle reactions of his body.
However, because the water flowed continuously, this feeling quickly disappeared, or perhaps it didn't disappear but became imperceptible. To capture this fleeting reaction, Fang Jie took a step back, mostly avoiding the water flow, only extending his arm to feel the impact of the waterfall. Even after avoiding most of the water, some splashing droplets inevitably hit him.
And this was the effect Fang Jie wanted.
The occasional droplets that struck him, while not as powerful as the direct impact of the water flow... However, the interruption allowed Fang Jie to concentrate on sensing the reactions of the water droplets hitting him. While this seemed easy in theory, capturing that fleeting sensation was incredibly difficult in practice.
Qiu Yu turned and stared blankly at a clump of wildflowers in the distance. After a while, she remembered that Fang Jie had been silent for some time. She turned back and saw the naked boy standing motionless beneath the waterfall, eyes closed and arms outstretched, seemingly petrified.
Qiu Yu quickly understood Fang Jie's intention, a hint of admiration in her eyes. The boy's method was somewhat clumsy, but the fact that he had noticed it was already quite remarkable. Therefore, Qiu Yu forgot about the mature male body; she was only interested in how long it would take for the boy to notice the changes in himself.
Fortunately, Fang Jie didn't keep her waiting any longer.
Half an hour later, Fang Jie slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
So that's how it was.
If the water flow and droplets were considered attacks on his body, then with each drop landing on him, Fang Jie's muscles would react rapidly and autonomously. Because the water flow was continuous, the muscle reaction remained constant. This made it difficult for Fang Jie to perceive the difference. The water droplets, however, struck him repeatedly; although the sensation was fleeting, after repeated impacts, Fang Jie could feel the changes in his muscles.
Each drop of water that landed on his body caused the corresponding muscles to quickly harden. Because the point of impact was so small, perceiving this subtle change was indeed difficult.
Only with sufficient concentration could one notice it.
Having understood this, Fang Jie concluded that his muscles could autonomously react to external forces, with the corresponding part of his body quickly hardening to resist the impact. This reaction was currently very weak, so it could neutralize the force of the falling water droplets, providing defense. While a heavy blow could neutralize some of the force, it would not completely eliminate it.
Fang Jie was pleasantly surprised. If his body continued to grow, would he be able to ignore enemy attacks in the future?
Thinking of this, Fang Jie immediately turned to ask Qiu Yu. But as he turned, he realized he wasn't dressed. He quickly bent down and put on his soaking wet courtyard robe, then leaped across the large rock to the shore.
"Sir," Fang Jie said eagerly upon seeing Qiu Yu, "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," Qiu Yu said, smoothing a stray strand of hair from his forehead, awaiting Fang Jie's question. "Is there a constitution in this world that makes one invulnerable to swords and spears? Something that actually exists in reality, not just an ideal."
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
"It is said..."
Qiu Yu paused, then said with a slightly unusual tone, "It is said that there are three thousand golden-bodied monks in the Great Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple of the Buddhist sect, who are invulnerable to swords and spears. It's just unknown whether they are born with this constitution or if they achieved it through some cultivation method. Also... that old monk who captured you the other day, he cultivated the Buddhist sect's Vajra Indestructible Body. Not to mention ordinary swords, even the flying swords of powerful cultivators cannot harm him in the slightest."
"Ah?"
Fang Jie was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but feel annoyed, saying, " "How come only Buddhists possess this skill? Are there any cultivators in our Great Sui Dynasty who can do it?"
"Yes... Luo Yao."
Qiu Yu was silent for a moment before saying, "If you want to know more, you should ask Dean Zhou. I don't know much about Buddhists. There's another person you can ask, if he's willing to tell you... but you can't find him now."
"Who?"
"You saw him that day, during the attack on that old Buddhist monk, there was an old man in a sapphire blue brocade robe. He knew much more about the Buddhist golden bodies than I did... because... eleven years ago, he fought against those Buddhist golden-bodied monks."
"Where is he?"
Fang Jie asked.
"He's probably chasing after that old monk, and the village girl who saved you that day went with him too."
Fang Jie was stunned, only then realizing why the landlady had left so hastily after only one meeting. It turned out she and the old man in the sapphire blue robe had gone after that old bald monk. Since the proprietress possessed such strength, Fang Jie couldn't help but wonder if he had underestimated her before.
Then, did she also know about the people and affairs of the Buddhist sect? Otherwise, why would she be pursuing this matter alongside them?
Fang Jie suddenly realized he had missed many people and events. Back in Fan Gu, why hadn't he known or discovered that the proprietress and Su Tu Gou were both experts, and possibly had even fought against members of the Buddhist sect? Many secrets could have been answered back in Fan Gu.