That's probably the only explanation. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why some historical figures, such as the "Yue Woman" and "Xiang Yu," were so powerful.
I guess that's also refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Li Ling continued listening.
"Moreover, there are many records that refer to the ancient practitioners during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period as 'Qi cultivators'. In modern times, we call this Qi cultivation method 'ancient martial arts', and our school's 'Chinese Ancient Boxing Method' is a branch of ancient martial arts."
"However, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to decline sharply from the Sui and Tang dynasties onwards."
"Therefore, the many generals and heroes of the Sui and Tang dynasties should be the last batch of super strong people. People like Li Yuanba and Qin Qiong could probably only wield a thousand-pound object without feeling tired after reaching the Innate Realm." Ghost King Da said this with an indescribable longing on his face.
"Moreover, according to some records from various sects, after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were fewer and fewer strong people. Later, not even a single innate expert appeared. By the time the Song Dynasty started, it was almost impossible to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refine internal strength."
Li Ling sighed inwardly as he listened.
First, no one could reach the Innate Realm anymore, and later, it became impossible to cultivate at all.
"The fewer strong people there are, the weaker our Song Dynasty becomes. Since absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate internal strength is no longer feasible, and ancient martial arts can no longer be practiced, then the people of our Song Dynasty will naturally find another way."
Li Ling nodded slightly.
“In ancient times, only those who were not of high status practiced physical strength training. It was almost impossible to generate internal strength through physical training. It was simply too difficult to achieve ‘from the outside in’.”
"However, since simply absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth cannot cultivate internal strength, this has led generations of outstanding figures to devote themselves to the research and cultivation of external martial arts."
As time passed, some people gradually summarized methods from external martial arts, discovering that internal strength could be generated through techniques such as stance training, thus giving rise to 'internal martial arts'. For example, Yue Fei, a general of the Song Dynasty, was one such general who cultivated internal strength.
"However, during the Song Dynasty, internal martial arts were only in their infancy, and only a very few exceptional individuals could develop internal strength. As for opening up all the meridians in the body and reaching the level of a grandmaster, it was simply impossible."
"After the brief Yuan Dynasty, in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang was probably the first grandmaster to cultivate internal martial arts to its peak, opening up all the meridians in his body and cultivating the strength of his muscles, skin, and bones to the limit."
From this period onward, the internal martial arts system was finally perfected, and subsequently, Tai Chi, Xingyi Quan, Bagua Quan, and many other styles of martial arts emerged.
Li Ling was deeply saddened after hearing this.
He could only sigh—
Humans are indeed very adaptable to their environment.
In ancient times, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant. People created ancient martial arts, learned to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, cultivate internal strength, and even cultivate innate true essence.
But with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dwindling, what should humanity do?
After hundreds of years of exploration, taking the external skills of ancient martial arts as a reference, countless talented individuals wasted their youth before gradually developing internal martial arts!
In modern times, the training system of internal martial arts has become very complete, and correspondingly, ancient martial arts have been forgotten and abandoned.
Could people in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Qin and Han Dynasties have imagined that they could cultivate themselves to this level from the outside in?
"Actually, this cultivation process is the process of 'refining essence into qi' and 'refining qi into spirit.' In ancient times, the 'essence' in refining essence into qi referred to the essence of heaven and earth, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. But now, the 'essence' refers to the essence and blood of the human body!"
"After all, they can't absorb it from the outside; they can only absorb the essence and blood within the human body. Therefore, most of the experts who cultivate internal martial arts are very big eaters. It's normal for them to eat half a roasted lamb in one meal, because they need to refine a large amount of essence and blood, so they naturally need to eat more."
Li Ling nodded to himself.
Indeed, he knew that all martial artists had a huge appetite.
To cultivate internal martial arts, the first requirement is a strong body and abundant qi and blood. Only when the essence and blood are abundant to a certain extent can they be gradually refined into internal strength.
"Internal martial arts, from training the strength of the whole body to developing internal strength, and then the internal strength runs through the meridians of the whole body, this is called the grandmaster realm. In fact, this is the 'refining essence into qi' stage."
"In ancient times, people did not focus on muscle and bone training; in their view, that was a minor path. What they valued was absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refining it into internal strength."
After all, in ancient times, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant, allowing for the refinement of large amounts of internal energy, which could even be stored in the dantian. Modern practitioners of internal martial arts, however, rely on refining their internal essence and blood to cultivate even a small amount of internal energy, which is mostly contained within the meridians.
Li Ling was also deeply moved upon hearing this.
Nowadays, strong fighters rely on the strength of their muscles and bones.
Ancient people relied purely on their powerful internal strength.
After all, people with a lot of money don't care about anything, but modern people have too little of that "inner strength." So little that there's no need to store it in their dantian.
"Therefore, in modern times, many ancient martial arts schools have declined, and our ancient boxing lineage has also failed to live up to its historical glory. However, because the 'Dragon Roar Iron Shirt' that we have inherited belongs to the internal and external training method."
Internal cultivation methods cannot be practiced because they cannot absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. However, external cultivation methods can be practiced by refining one's own essence and energy, just like internal martial arts. Therefore, my ancient martial arts lineage has been preserved and passed down.
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Chapter 106 Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt
"Alright, I've told you so much. Now tell me what you can do, so I can see what your foundation is like."
Ghost King Da was not surprised that Li Ling wanted to learn all of his family's techniques; it was within his expectations.
“Okay, senior. I used to be a soldier and only learned military combat techniques.”
"Huh, that's all?" Ghost King Da looked astonished. Judging from Li Ling's spirit and energy, he thought Li Ling had learned some advanced martial arts. Little did he know that Li Ling's strength was the result of being enhanced by the World Seed.
"No, senior," Li Ling replied truthfully.
"Alright, I'll send you 'Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt' first, and you'll have to pay five thousand."
Ghost King Da turned around and fumbled in a small cabinet, taking out a tattered booklet with the words "Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt" written in calligraphy on the cover. However, Ghost King Da's last sentence completely ruined his image as a master.
He coughed and said, "Cough cough, I'm just trying to make a living. Nobody likes traditional martial arts anymore. Everyone prefers to learn fancy-looking Taekwondo or Judo where you can get an advantage. The reputation of traditional martial arts has declined."