This made him sigh inwardly, realizing that when he was at the height of his power, he only thought about competing and winning, and such ideals were simply not within the scope of Ghost King Da's thinking.
Back then, I was surrounded by admirers, enjoying the finest food and drink, and living a life of unbridled pleasure. This led to my sudden fall from grace and becoming a lonely and destitute person after my leg was broken and I lost my former glory.
The stark contrast between his past and present was unacceptable to Ghost King Da, which led him to gradually fall into depravity, squandering his remaining savings and ending up destitute here.
"A very noble ideal, I hope you can persevere. I have here the internal energy cultivation method 'Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt' and martial arts manuals 'Iron Sand Palm', 'Golden Snake Entwining Silk Hand', and 'Shadow-Following Leg'. I wonder which one you would like to learn?"
Ghost King Da greatly admired Li Ling's pursuit. People like him, who "hear the Way in the morning and die content in the evening," are rare these days. Nowadays, people are all chasing money, and society has become restless.
He, Ghost King Da, was not someone who could stick to his martial arts from beginning to end, but he admired such people very much. He had decided to pass on what he had learned to Li Ling, so that he could not take his life's learning to his grave.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to learn it."
Li Ling's eyes lit up. Ghost King Da really had something. He had just demonstrated Iron Palm; Golden Snake Entwining Hand was probably the defensive technique that He Jinyin practiced in the movie.
He Jinyin's technique was probably a simplified version; the real Golden Snake Entangling Silk Hand should be far more powerful than He Jinyin's.
The "Shadow-Following Kick" is one of the 72 Shaolin Arts. Once the first kick is delivered, the second kick follows closely, attacking the enemy. It should be comparable to Wong Fei-hung's Shadowless Kick.
As for the martial arts technique, "Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt".
"Dragon Roar Iron Shirt? Isn't Iron Shirt an external martial art? Why is Senior calling it an internal martial art?" Li Ling was very puzzled.
Ghost King Da scratched his nose, then his expression became serious as he explained, "Ordinary Iron Shirt is an external training method, which trains muscles, bones and skin externally. It mainly focuses on striking and body forging, supplemented by breathing exercises, and also includes various medicinal drinks and baths to strengthen muscles, bones and skin."
This process is extremely arduous and progresses very slowly. Furthermore, before reaching a high level of mastery, there will be a weakness; once this weakness is struck, the skill will be immediately broken.
"My 'Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt' is different. It is a divine skill created by the Grandmaster 'Qiu Ran Ke,' one of the Three Heroes of the Tang Dynasty. This skill cultivates both internal and external skills."
Once one has mastered the basics, one will possess the strength of an ox, with tendons as strong as copper and skin as tough as iron, making one's entire body as if clad in iron armor. One will be unafraid of ordinary pressure point techniques, and even swords and knives will not harm one.
Upon mastery, all the meridians in the body will be open, making one immune to all poisons. If one cultivates to perfection, one can even generate immense divine strength and develop a protective aura that renders one impervious to swords, spears, water, and fire.
"That powerful?" Li Ling looked up at Ghost King Da's limp leg, his face full of disbelief.
"Hmph!" Ghost King Da moved his lame leg behind the table, blocking Li Ling's view.
He said irritably, "I only reached a minor level of mastery in martial arts, and after becoming famous, I neglected my skills. That's why I had my leg broken in that battle when I encountered a master from the Broken Water Flow lineage who had cultivated internal strength."
"Internal strength? Is it internal power?" Li Ling noticed this term very keenly.
"Yes, but 'internal strength' is the term used in modern internal martial arts, while 'internal power' is the term used in our ancient martial arts school."
“Ancient martial arts, internal martial arts!” Li Ling noticed these two terms.
Li Ling knew about internal martial arts, such as Tai Chi, Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, and so on.
Ghost King Da continued, "According to the historical records of my ancient boxing lineage and the martial arts chronicles I have discovered, I have found that from ancient times to the present, the number of people who can cultivate internal energy is decreasing and it is becoming increasingly difficult."
Hearing this, Li Ling nodded inwardly. His original world was the same. Throughout history, countless heroes and valiant men have left their mark on history, but modern martial arts masters have become extinct.
"Furthermore, according to the history of internal martial arts, although all the major schools claim to have been around for a thousand years, the oldest internal martial art, Tai Chi, was actually created by Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang in the Ming Dynasty, which is less than a thousand years ago. In China's five thousand years of history, internal martial arts have only appeared in the last thousand years. What about the thousands of years before that?"
Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, Qin and Han Dynasties, Three Kingdoms Period, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties...
In these dynasties, did people fight solely with brute force?
Li Ling didn't believe it.
For example, in historical novels, the fierce generals of the Sui and Tang dynasties could easily wield a stone lion weighing a thousand catties with their bare hands. Wielding a stone lion and lifting it are two different concepts.
Like an ordinary person, being able to lift a hundred pounds of rice is exaggerated, but is it really just a fictional story? Not necessarily. Besides, it's only a matter of time before Li Ling encounters these powerful people as he travels through various worlds.
To wield a stone lion weighing a thousand pounds, one must have at least the strength to lift ten thousand pounds.
Even now, Li Ling can only lift 500 jin (250 kg) with all his might, and he can only push a 1,000 jin (500 kg) stone lion with all his might.
During the Three Kingdoms period, some fierce generals were able to charge into the midst of thousands of troops and kill generals single-handedly. This is simply unbelievable; how could one person, with limited strength, disregard thousands of troops?
“Yes, this last thousand years is the history of internal martial arts. What about the previous thousands of years? Was that ancient martial arts?” Li Ling was also puzzled and became more curious as he listened on.
Ghost King Da continued, "After I lost my interest in martial arts after my leg was broken, I began to investigate the reasons behind it. I spent more than ten years collecting information and finally came to a clear conclusion."
"My deduction is that the spiritual energy in the world has been declining since the Sui and Tang dynasties!"
"According to the many materials I have discovered, there was no such thing as internal martial arts during the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Qin and Han Dynasties."
Those powerful individuals of that era absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, the spiritual energy of the universe, refining it into internal energy ("qi"), thus generating internal strength within their bodies. With continued cultivation, this internal strength grew stronger, opening up meridians until they reached the pinnacle of their acquired abilities.
"A master of internal energy who has reached the peak of acquired strength possesses immense and formidable internal energy."
"When the mysterious Niwan Palace in the mind is opened up and the process of 'refining Qi into spirit' begins, the person's 'spirit' can be integrated with the internal strength and tempered in the dantian, gradually transforming into innate true essence, thus becoming a powerful innate expert."
“Innate experts constantly refine their true essence. The true essence is constantly refined in the dantian. The first stage is the ‘virtual elixir’ realm. When the true essence condenses into a physical form, it is the second stage, the ‘real elixir’ realm. This real elixir can only reach the third stage, the ‘golden elixir’ realm, after being refined many times.”
A cultivator at the Innate Golden Core stage is considered a peak expert! They possess incredible strength. Ancient legends tell of those who single-handedly charged through armies of thousands, or fought against tens of thousands of soldiers—all of whom were Innate level experts.
Li Ling felt as if he had opened the door to martial arts!
Acquired, innate.
When a person's 'spirit' and 'internal strength' combine, they can transform into 'innate true essence'.
Is this innate realm divided into three stages: 'Virtual Core', 'Solid Core', and 'Golden Core'?
"In ancient times, the so-called 'Golden Elixir Path' refers to this. When one steps onto the Golden Elixir Path, that is when one truly reaches the pinnacle."
Li Ling nodded slightly.