Chapter 12: Studies Completed

Three days later, Lin Yang returned to the Library Pavilion and met Zhang Songxi once again on the third floor.

“You’re here. Come, have a seat.”

Zhang Songxi greeted him warmly and motioned toward the stool beside his desk.

There were no other books on the table.

The only volumes before him were the very collection Lin Yang had brought a few days earlier.

Gently patting the books, Zhang Songxi sighed.

“This collection was obtained by Master many years ago while he was traveling the world suppressing evil forces.

By chance, he discovered it within the library of a great aristocratic family.

Its contents not only describe the Twelve Primary Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in remarkable detail, but also record numerous hidden meridians and the body’s many acupoints.

It’s exceedingly rare to find such a comprehensive introductory work in today’s martial world.

Even Shaolin Temple probably doesn’t possess anything quite like it.

Unfortunately…

These aren’t martial arts manuals.

Master likely never regarded them as especially valuable.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have remained buried in Third Brother’s study for so many years.”

He shook his head with a bitter smile.

Then his gaze settled upon Lin Yang.

There was unmistakable satisfaction in his eyes.

“Throughout all of Wudang, I suspect only the two of us are still willing to study this collection.

Since you’re determined to learn, I’ll teach you properly.”

“Thank you, Martial Uncle.”

Lin Yang stood and bowed respectfully.

Thus began his studies under Zhang Songxi.

Every morning, after completing his internal energy cultivation at Yu Daiyan’s residence and sharing breakfast with his master and two senior brothers, he would head directly to the Library Pavilion.

There, Zhang Songxi patiently guided him through the books until noon.

After returning, there was rarely anything urgent to do.

Sometimes he chatted with Yu Daiyan.

Most of the time, however, he quietly continued refining his qi and blood into internal energy.

After successfully cultivating internal energy, this stage of martial cultivation was rather simple.

Its only purpose was to steadily accumulate more internal energy.

Three days later, Lin Yang had completely learned every unfamiliar character in the first volume.

He also gained a solid understanding of its contents.

However, instead of immediately teaching him the second volume, Zhang Songxi instructed him to broaden his foundation first.

He directed Lin Yang toward other books in the Library Pavilion related to the knowledge contained in the first volume.

Only after an entire month had passed did Lin Yang truly finish studying the first volume.

He had not merely read it.

He had thoroughly mastered it and expanded his knowledge as far as possible before finally beginning the second volume.

Three months later, he completed all the material concerning the Twelve Primary Meridians.

He also finished reading virtually every book in the Library Pavilion related to that subject.

Six months later, he completed his studies on the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

A full year passed.

Lin Yang turned eight years old.

At last, he finished reading every volume of the collection.

He had also gained a broad understanding of nearly every book in the Library Pavilion concerning the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the body’s acupoints.

Yet as he looked at the heavily worn collection lying beside him, its pages nearly frayed from constant reading, his brows slowly furrowed.

He had discovered a problem.

Even after finishing every book, the total number of acupoints recorded came to only 325.

The Scholar System required knowledge of 361 acupoints.

Thirty-six were still missing.

In other words, despite spending more than a year studying these foundational texts, he was still one step away from completing the system’s mission.

Looking up, he saw Zhang Songxi sitting behind his desk, quietly reading a Daoist scripture.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Yang finally asked,

“Martial Uncle…

The books only record 325 acupoints.

Is the information incomplete?

Could some acupoints have been omitted?”

Zhang Songxi raised his head in surprise.

“You noticed?”

He smiled approvingly.

“It seems you’ve gained quite a lot from this past year’s studies.”

He nodded.

“The 325 acupoints recorded in this collection do indeed cover the overwhelming majority of the body’s important acupoints.

However, there are still certain extraordinary acupoints and fatal acupoints that aren’t included.

I’ve seen them recorded in a few rare manuscripts here in the Library Pavilion.

Excluding the 325 already listed, there should be another eighteen extraordinary and fatal acupoints.”

He hesitated briefly before continuing.

“I can teach you those eighteen as well.

However, these acupoints are no ordinary matter.

You may know them yourself, but there are two things you must remember.

First, never pass this knowledge around casually.

Second, never experiment with them recklessly—especially while circulating internal energy.

Otherwise, at best you’ll suffer qi deviation.

At worst…

You could lose your life.

Don’t say I failed to warn you.”

His tone became unusually serious.

Only after observing Lin Yang for more than a year had he become willing to reveal this knowledge.

Lin Yang possessed an exceptionally calm disposition and an unusual thirst for learning.

Had it been anyone else, Zhang Songxi would never have shared these final eighteen acupoints.

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

Lin Yang nodded solemnly.

Even so, he wasn’t particularly excited.

Because even after adding those eighteen hidden acupoints, the total only reached 343.

The Scholar System still required 361.

There were still eighteen missing.

And judging by Zhang Songxi’s vast knowledge, if even he didn’t know where to find the remaining eighteen, then the Library Pavilion almost certainly didn’t contain them.

After learning the eighteen hidden acupoints and increasing his total knowledge to 343 acupoints, Lin Yang left the Library Pavilion and returned toward Yu Daiyan’s courtyard.

When he entered, a generous meal had already been laid out upon the stone table.

Qingyuan and Qingliang nodded to him as he arrived.

Neither spoke.

Yu Daiyan had already closed his eyes once more, quietly resting as usual.

Lin Yang likewise remained silent.

Not wishing to disturb the peaceful atmosphere that had become routine over the past year, he simply sat down and quietly ate.

It was an unspoken understanding they had all developed together.

After finishing the meal and helping clear away the dishes, he walked over to Yu Daiyan.

“Master, I’ll return to my room now.”

“Mmm.”

Yu Daiyan responded softly without opening his eyes.

Lin Yang returned to his room.

Sitting cross-legged upon his bed, he quietly turned his awareness inward.

Through his inner vision, he could clearly observe his organs constantly functioning.

His qi and blood appeared as translucent streams, endlessly circulating through invisible pathways.

Although he could sense the movement of qi and blood well enough to infer the locations of his meridians…

Even with his current level of inner perception, he still couldn’t directly see the meridians themselves.

Nor could he perceive the acupoints described in the books.

That was precisely why he had spent over a year studying them through written records.

Recalling everything he had learned about the 343 known acupoints, Lin Yang slowly traced the paths traveled by his qi and blood.

Patiently, he began estimating where each acupoint should lie along those unseen meridians.

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