Purple Membrane

Li Xiuwen let out a long breath of relief. Though both were cultivation methods, practicing the Armor-Binding Art was not as difficult as he had imagined. Judging by its grade, the threshold for entering this technique was undoubtedly far higher than that of Sea Sand Stake. When he first entered Sea Sand Stake, it had taken him seven days, and he had even eaten a fish ball. But he was now an expert nearing Purple Membrane, not a greenhorn anymore. With a foundation in stake training, entering any new cultivation method would naturally come easier. Of course, even with that foundation, by rights his innate physique should not have allowed him to progress so quickly. He suspected he might be one in ten thousand, a rare prodigy with an extraordinary frame destined for hard qigong. Old Chen had once said that while hard qigong was also a training method, it differed from stake training. The two demanded entirely different kinds of talent. Ordinary cultivation methods depended most heavily on innate physique. Hard qigong was also influenced by one's frame, but it was just as dependent on special constitutions. Big Silly Qiang, for example, had only an average physique, yet thanks to his innate divine strength, his aptitude for hard qigong was quite good—enough to earn Lion Head Buddha's favor. In the eyes of certain hard qigong practitioners, Big Silly Qiang's value was scarcely inferior to someone possessing the makings of a superior. *Could it be that I have a hidden constitution of my own that hasn't been uncovered yet?* Li Xiuwen could not help feeling a spark of anticipation. If he truly did, he would not ask for much—a Grand Completion Sacred Physique would do. He stood before the mirror, admiring his physique. His first impression was that his body felt heavier. The ointment from the night before had completely melted into medicinal potency, seeping into his flesh and saturating his skin and membrane. On top of that, his surging vitality also made him feel heavier. This heaviness was by no means a bad thing; it did not mean he had lost agility. Rather, his entire being was like a massive bronze bell, grounded, steady, and potent. *Hard qigong practitioners can take far more punishment than ordinary martial artists of the same realm.* *A punch landed on a hard qigong master will send the attacker bouncing off simply because the master is heavy enough.* Li Xiuwen murmured to himself, finally grasping the principle once he had reached entry level. *As my mastery of hard qigong deepens, I'll grow heavier and heavier, like an immovable bell striding across the world.* Li Xiuwen channeled his hard qigong and inspected his skin closely. Amid the green glow, faint threads of deeper green veining were visible, subtle and indistinct. *These are mystic veins—dark patterns left behind when blood and vitality are moved into the membrane. In ordinary times they stay completely hidden, looking no different from normal skin.* *Only when I cycle the chant and make my blood surge do the mystic veins manifest across the membrane... If I get into a fight, I'd better keep my clothes wrapped tight.* *This hard qigong is my trump card. Unless it's a critical moment, I can't expose it and let people get ideas.* Li Xiuwen pressed his Butterfly folding knife against the green membrane, channeling his breath to raise his strength. The mystic veins rippled outward in circle after circle, like water rings. The sharp bite of the blade was mostly dissipated by a cushioning force. *If an ordinary person without much strength slashed at me with a blade, it would leave only a tiny scratch at most.* *Just by reaching entry level, the sheer impact resistance of my Green Membrane could probably rival Purple Membrane already.* *Once I hone it further, even before reaching minor success, my defense at the skin and membrane stage will make me nearly peerless within my realm.* *** For the next three days, Li Xiuwen trained at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall by day. At night, he practiced hard qigong at home in private. His uncle and aunt took turns beating him, while the other kept watch over the workshop. There was no denying that hard qigong was far harder to cultivate than Sea Sand Stake. A whole day of agonizing drills raised his proficiency by only one percent. To reach minor success and begin training the Flood Dragon Muscle stage would take at least three months. *** Days flew past, and seven drifted by. The moment Li Xiuwen arrived at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, he saw a crowd gathered around Ah Zhen. "I'm so jealous! Ah Zhen reached Purple Membrane too. We'll have to call her Senior Sister from now on." "Yeah, she's the third one from this year's batch to hit Purple Membrane. That's remarkable." "Purple Membrane might not seem like much in the halls or big triads, but around the Walled City, you're already a local powerhouse!" Li Xiuwen's interest was piqued: Ah Zhen had broken through to Purple Membrane. He was not surprised. She had apprenticed a month earlier than him, had a better natural physique, and received triad backing. Taking until this month to reach Purple Membrane only meant she had been slacking off. "Ah Wen's here! Look, your Senior Sister made it to Purple Membrane—feel this..." With breezy carelessness, Ah Zhen grabbed Li Xiuwen's hand and pressed it to her arm. "Nice," Li Xiuwen said. "With this membrane on me, I could give you a free punch and you wouldn't even budge me," Ah Zhen boasted. "Haha, Sister Zhen is incredible!" Li Xiuwen applauded. That might have been true before. As for now? He was not so sure. With his body comprehensively reinforced by hard qigong, combined with a man's innate physical edge in the early stages of martial arts, one punch from him would probably bring Aunt Flo knocking early. *** Li Xiuwen moved to the corner and began practicing his forms in silence. Big Silly Qiang walked over, saying with concern, "You've been arriving late lately, not putting in enough hours. Don't give up. Senior Brother Liu Chun didn't mean any harm; he's just blunt." Li Xiuwen smiled. "You're overthinking it. I've been working nights lately to earn my tuition, so I wake up late in the morning." "That's good, then. Just don't let it get you down." Big Silly Qiang sighed in relief, patted Li Xiuwen on the shoulder, and walked off. Watching this from afar, Liu Chun shook his head inwardly. *Probably took a blow after seeing Big Silly Qiang and Ah Zhen both reach Purple Membrane.* He truly had borne no malice that day, merely offering an honest assessment. He still could not fathom why Master had snapped at him. Without talent and without family wealth, learning martial arts really was not the right path; it was just squandering one's life. *Big Silly Qiang is a decent guy,* Li Xiuwen thought with amusement. He had arrived late purely because training hard qigong was exhausting and he had not gotten enough rest. He looked toward the incense burner. [Li Xiuwen] [Martial Skill] [Sea Sand Stake: Entry (99%)] [Stage: Green Membrane (99%)] *Time to break through. No fish balls this time.* Li Xiuwen fell smoothly into his stake training, losing himself in his own world, repeating the stance again and again. *** Around noon, everyone went to eat and sat together chatting. Only Li Xiuwen remained, still holding his stance. "There are only a dozen days left until the fight with Night Heron Martial Arts Hall, and only three of us have reached Purple Membrane... yet Master isn't in any rush," Ah Zhen remarked. "It's tough. Even if someone manages to luck into Purple Membrane, they probably still won't be a match for the Four Talents of Pine Hall," Liu Chun said, shaking his head. Big Silly Qiang chimed in, "Ah Wen is still practicing. I really hope he wins. Waiving three months of fees would mean the world to him." *** Completing his final repetition of the stake form, Li Xiuwen's gaze turned solemn. As though a mountain deluge had burst its dam, a surging torrent of blood and vitality erupted from his Yongquan points, pouring through the eight extraordinary meridians and all the bones and limbs of his body, finally flooding into his muscles and membrane. The green light flared brilliantly, growing remarkably dense and tinged with violet. His muscles swelled visibly like sprouting bamboo, filling out a segment wider and lightly stretching the loose cloth of his robe. Then the green membrane ebbed like the tide, replaced by a surge of purple. "Purple Membrane..." Li Xiuwen murmured, feeling his body operate with power far beyond what came before. It was as natural as water carving a channel, meeting not the slightest resistance in breaking through. This was the wonder of the incense burner. Though it could not hasten progress on its own, it never let him stall. Effort yielded reward. One proof lasted forever, completely devoid of bottlenecks! Step by step, one could always step over the bones by the wayside and cross every threshold. He turned his gaze back to the incense burner. The stick of incense for Sea Sand Stake burned out, only for another to be reborn in its place. A thicker, larger, and far more sacred incense stick grew anew. [Li Xiuwen] [Martial Skill] [Sea Sand Stake: Minor Success (1%)] [Stage: Purple Membrane (1%)] Li Xiuwen mused, *Now that I'm at Purple Membrane, so long as I don't provoke triad enforcers or martial hall masters, what street thug in the Walled City would dare mess with me?* Upon reaching Purple Membrane, one's vitality was at least double that of a grown man in his prime. A doubling of vitality was far more than doubled strength; it was a comprehensive elevation of every physical attribute. In a real brawl, without drawing a blade, he could handle ten Tong Gang thugs barehanded with ease. Li Xiuwen finally let out a long breath of relief. Even if Third Master uncovered who had killed Brother Ji, he would not panic anymore. *Killing one is killing, and killing two is no different...*