…

<Creator of New Energy>

Grants you insight into any energy that you glance at.

…

It was a simple description as always, but the implicity of it was not as simple as it seems.

This could be very useful for him, especially the main body and the other clones when they explore the other worlds.

Anyway, Chun Ma looked at the purple glitter of light and immediately found out its detail, and it was exactly like this, the purple energy contains both the properties of mana and Qi, making it very chaotic.

"Let's call it Aetherion."

Chun Ma casually made up its name, too lazy to be bothered to think harder for a mere name.

"Now, what shall I do with it?"

He was faced with another conundrum. Although he had created the Aetherion, he didn't know what to do with it.

"Hmm?" Chun Ma glanced at the book. "What if I used Aetherion instead of Qi?"

He immediately went to work. Sitting cross-legged, he began creating strands of Aetherion, one by one.

The merging process of mana and Qi wasn't particularly difficult. It was fast, but still took time to produce enough to use effectively.

The book's method consisted of three stages. In the first stage, one had to open all of the Du Mai meridian.

This could be done by following the natural circulation of Qi throughout the body. There was no need for an inner core, it was as if the entire world served as fuel for the martial artist.

Chun Ma had already opened all his Du Mai meridian, although accidentally, and was like a self-destruction in itself, but now his body was reborn, he would still need to open the meridian, but it is simply easier to do so again since he has the experience for it.

Sitting cross-legged, he calmed his breathing, his thoughts serene, and there was a sense of clarity emerging in his mind.

He took in the purple energy and started to slowly circulate it throughout his body. Gradually, the Du Mai meridian opened up.

It was as easy as gulping a glass of water, and it came naturally.

The first acupuncture opened up in one breath of time!

The second in three breaths of time!

The third took a mere six breaths of time!

And Chun Ma continued, unhindered and with little resistance from time itself. The fourth, fifth, and the rest took slightly longer, but all were completed within the span of a breath.

'The last acupoint.'

He thought to himself. Only about 120 strands of Aetherion remained from the original 300, which, according to his calculations, should be enough.

The twenty-eighth acupoint was the final one, and it took a total of sixty strands to open.

The moment it did, Chun Ma opened his eyes, a purple light gleaming within them.

"This…" he muttered, staring at his hand as he clenched his fist in disbelief. Strength coursed through his body like nothing he had ever experienced.

He raised his fist and aimed at the wall.

Slowly pulling it back, he threw a light punch in slow motion.

Bang!

Cracks spread from the point of impact, and the walls trembled. His fist sank deep into the stone until his arm could go no further.

"Not bad," Chun Ma muttered, nodding to himself with a raised brow. This was his strength using the bracers!

He then closed his eyes, and in the very next moment, his entire body began to shine with an almost blinding purple light.

"This purple haze seems useless," he said, shaking his head. He couldn't feel anything within the haze, so he chose to ignore it for now.

"Anyway, I have finished the first stage of the method. Now, onto the second."

Chun Ma sat cross-legged once more, took a deep breath, and began drawing Aetherion into his meridians.

Circulating and stimulating!

Both processes occurred simultaneously.

This created a vacuum where strands of Aetherion seeped in, steadily absorbed, gradually expanding his meridians.

Chun Ma felt a strain on his body, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

That's right, the second stage of the method was all about expanding and strengthening the meridians!

His body felt as though thousands of ants were biting at his scalp, while at the same time, his very form seemed to break down.

The process lasted through the entire cycle. By the time he had expanded the first acupoint, a full hour had passed.

Chun Ma exhaled, releasing a breath of hot air.

He opened his eyes, his brows furrowed.

"I should technically have the physical strength of a Martial Trainee now."

But with the boost from his title, it was likely that he had already reached the raw strength of a Third-Stage Martial Artist, or perhaps even more.

"But it's still not enough. Once I expand all twenty-eight acupoints in the Du Mai meridian, I'll reach the peak of the Martial Trainee stage. The next step would be entering the Third-Stage Martial realm, but the book describes it in very vague terms."

Chun Ma mulled over the technique to reach Third-Stage Martial Artist, which was simply written as: "Once you master your body, you will master the 'Will' of the body."

This was supposed to be the third and final step, it was written so vaguely, without any context. Even Chun Ma, with the advantage of his cheat skill, found it difficult to fully grasp.

'Sigh. Master your body, huh.'

But…

Chun Ma wasn't originally from this world. He still retained the memories of his main body, and his martial fanatic brain was as sharp as ever.

As an avid reader of novels and anime, he knew a thing or two.

The term "Will" often referred to a state where, at the peak of understanding, one could manipulate something, or reach such a profound level that an inanimate object seemed to possess a "Will" of its own.

The moonlight bathed his face. It was the dead of night. Chun Ma laid on the bed contemplating in his mind, vacantly staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.