Han Li gradually drew the energy flow within his meridians back into his dantian, completing the seventh cycle of a major circulatory process today. He knew his body had now reached its physical limit—he was certain that if he continued one more such cycle, his meridians would inevitably rupture again, leaving him once more in a state of unbearable suffering. As Han Li imagined the painful sensation of his meridians slowly tearing apart, even his normally bold spirit began to sweat coldly at the back of his neck. Now, over half a year had passed since Han Li entered the sect, and the formal evaluation for Ji Ming Disciples had concluded two months ago. Only a small portion of the Ji Ming Disciples were granted official status as inner sect members. The majority failed this assessment and had to carry their belongings down to serve as outer sect disciples. These unsuccessful young students were mostly assigned to the Jubei Hall and Fei Niao Hall. Among those with exceptional potential, further training might allow them a chance of being transferred to better-qualified halls such as the Wai Jin Hall—the most prestigious outer hall. However, the Wai Jin Hall only accepted renowned figures from the martial arts world; without at least one or two stand-out skills, prospects were slim—let alone these inexperienced young boys. Han Li still felt uneasy when recalling what the assessment tests had entailed for the other Ji Ming Disciples two months ago. They were required to run a full loop around the colorful mountain range covering several miles, then form teams and engage in sparring drills within a sparsely populated forest. Finally, they had to withstand sustained attacks from their more proficient senior peers. The entire sequence left Han Li with an instinctive sense of pity and sympathy for these other young students. Han Li and Zhang Tie were exempted from these daunting tests—just as Doctor Mo had described—only being assessed on the progress of their respective sets of oral techniques. Yet, this was not what Han Li had initially expected. He remembered every detail vividly of that training session. According to Doctor Mo’s description, this unnamed technique consisted of multiple layers. Han Li and Zhang Tie had only mastered the first layer of the training method—thus, as long as they achieved noticeable progress in mastering this initial layer within the next six months, Doctor Mo would consider them passing and formally admit them as disciples with equal status to other inner sect members. Since hearing about the significant difference between inner and outer sect benefits from others, Han Li had abandoned his original intention of simply becoming an outer sect disciple merely to receive extra silver coins and return home. At that time, for him personally, anything beyond receiving more silver coins and having someone send him back home seemed trivial—because he had been deeply impoverished at home throughout his childhood, and every additional coin he earned directly improved the living conditions of his parents and siblings. After obtaining the technique from Doctor Mo, Han Li stopped leaving his room and began practicing tirelessly day and night, utilizing every moment available to himself. Since Doctor Mo provided no specific guidance on training methods, Han Li had to independently explore and study the foundational internal energy technique—“Zhengyang Qi”—that other young students were using in their training. Following this method of practice, after three months of persistent effort, Han Li was stunned: his progress with the technique was far slower than expected. Despite all his efforts, he could only generate a faint, subtle flow of cool energy within his body—so delicate and subtle that without careful internal observation, it remained nearly invisible. This was likely what the instructors referred to as “internal true qi,” Han Li assumed instinctively. Yet when listening to other students practicing the sect’s “Zhengyang Qi” technique, he learned that their bodies produced a clear, warm, pulsing stream of energy—much more distinct than his own. The contrast in performance between the two groups was even more pronounced. The students who mastered the “Zhengyang Qi” were able to break small trees with diameter comparable to a bowl in one punch and leap up over ten feet high; whereas after practicing their own technique, Han Li experienced almost no noticeable improvement—his physical strength remained largely unchanged. The only differences he observed were his increased vitality and improved appetite compared to before the mountain journey. Still, such improvements felt rather insignificant when contrasted with the achievements of his peers who demonstrated such impressive feats in front of him. This unexpected outcome nearly caused Han Li to abandon his months-long efforts; he now believed his own talent insufficient for passing Doctor Mo’s evaluation and had even planned to descend from the mountains. One day, by chance, while training with Zhang Tie, Han Li learned that Zhang Tie had not experienced any improvement at all since beginning the technique—no noticeable changes in his body, no development of true qi whatsoever. This seemingly incidental discovery helped Han Li regain some of the confidence he had previously lost and motivated him to resume his earlier rigorous practice regimen. Not only did he continue training with renewed determination—he now practiced even more diligently than before. Han Li now spent every hour on meditation. At night, when sleeping, he maintained the same seated posture as during daytime practice, hoping to accumulate a little additional progress. However, this intense routine was maintained for only a few days before it had to be abandoned—because his sleep duration became insufficient, and thus his daytime training efficiency declined. What puzzled Han Li most was that since Doctor Mo taught them the technique, he had shown no interest in either of them at all—no follow-up visits, no inquiries about their progress or difficulties. It seemed as though he had completely forgotten their existence. Each day, Doctor Mo spent entire afternoons immersed in a single book with a three-black-character leather cover, deeply absorbed in its contents—as if the book itself contained a virtuous lady or a golden mansion. Initially, Han Li and Zhang Tie even thought that Doctor Mo no longer intended to serve as a physician anymore but instead was preparing for an examination to become a scholar. Only after they began reading themselves did they recognize those three characters: “Changsheng Jing”—a treatise on cultivating personal virtue and wellness, aimed at promoting longevity. At this point, the two young men finally understood that Doctor Mo wasn’t aiming to pass an exam for official office, but rather to grow old like a turtle in a river—never dying, living well into thousands of years.