“The test for the new technique is put on hold for now until I figure out why it caused you to bleed all over. For now, I want you to focus on breaking through the traditional way.”

“But it was only my first attempt! I’m sure if I get to make another attempt, I’ll—”

“Enough. This isn’t up for discussion. Go back and stabilize your cultivation. You trying to break through the traditional way is still able to provide us with a lot of insight by identifying the differences in your experiences.”

The boy could only accept his mentor’s words, not being able to rebuke him. He shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving only Li Lang and Long Yi remaining. Seeing how Li Lang stubbornly decided to put the test on hold, Long Yi decided to say a few words.

“You know, no one could’ve expected practicing a technique could cause such harm. You shouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“No, I knew a lot could go wrong. Cultivation mishaps aren’t uncommon, and I failed to see my technique was actively trying to incorporate all the worst practices.”

“Then will you just give up on this direction already?”

“Of course not, but I’ll need to reevaluate it before getting anyone to test it for me.”

“I could do it. As a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it shouldn’t be too dangerous for me to test it out.”

“You wouldn’t serve as a good tester. How someone in your realm is able to practice a technique to focus your Qi into your dantian has no meaning in figuring out a way to break through. It’s not the time to research the differences in physique after one has broken through, either.”

“But I can judge how violent the reaction would be. From what I can tell, my meridians haven’t changed since breaking through.”

His words made Li Lang fall into deep thought for a few moments.

“Hmm, you may be right, but the higher level of power you have access to may also mean the repercussions may even be greater than what Xiao Dong experienced. I have too little knowledge of how to craft cultivation techniques to be able to predict what would happen.”

After saying that, Li Lang blinked blankly before he got up and briskly walked out of the room. Long Yi quickly tailed him despite his confusion.

“Where are you going?”

“If it’s knowledge I’m lacking, then I just have to find it. I’m sure there are plenty of experts skilled in creating techniques. If I had a choice, I would consult with the artifact spirits of the Crucible and examine the techniques there, but that will have to wait. Too many organizations have their eyes set on it right now, so I’ll have to settle for other experts.”

Li Lang proceeded to leave their estate behind and headed for The Orchid Covenant’s headquarters. He approached the usual counter and began to inquire about finding someone knowledgeable about cultivation techniques.

“Umm, all our experts are masters of various techniques. Is there any particular subject you’re looking for?”

“Are there any renowned for having created their own techniques?”

“That’s—”

Before the clerk could reply, someone appeared behind them and placed their hand on their shoulder.

“I can take it from here,” the old man assured and turned to Li Lang. “Young friend, it’s been some time.”

“Yes, Councilor Sheng. I hope you’ve been well.”

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The old man nodded with an amiable smile. He was Sheng Zhaoming, one of the senior members of The Orchid Covenant.

“Yes, yes, no need to mind an old man like me. Instead, let’s talk about what you’re here for. I heard you mentioning something about looking for someone skilled in cultivation techniques? Have you come across an issue in your training? Maybe I can be of some assistance.”

Li Lang was just about to go into detail when he suddenly remembered his meeting with Nightmoon Valley’s leader. He mentioned all the organizations had been investigating the matter with the pocket realm, which was how he concluded it had something to do with him. It made him believe that this Councilman Sheng had appeared in such a timely fashion to get closer to him to fish for more information.

Hmm, even if that’s true, there’s no point in avoiding him, though.

“Yes, Councilor. I’ve been studying about how cultivation techniques are created. Specially, martial arts. Do you happen to have experience in this subject?”

“Oh, every cultivator that has reached my age has dabbled in trying to create a technique or two. It’s not an easy task, so many give up midway through or create something so inefficient that it has no practical applications. I happen to have gotten lucky and have created half a dozen techniques in my lifetime that I can be proud of.”

“In that case, do you mind sharing your experiences?”

The old man chuckled.

“Follow me. Let’s go to a more comfortable place where we can sit.”

For the rest of the day, Li Lang relentlessly tried to learn as much as he could with Sheng Zhaoming. He slowly but surely guided the conversation toward conflicting flows of Qi and gained some insight as to what had happened when his student had tried to practice his technique.

It turned out that what he tried to accomplish was usually what cultivators actively tried to avoid when creating a technique. As he learned more, it started to make more and more sense. It made him regret his arrogance in believing he could create a technique without consulting outside help first. His desire for secrecy had blinded him.

Typical creators were trying to make a usable move in combat, and having a disruption in the practitioners’ meridians was only a detriment in the midst of battle.

With his technique attempting to converge all the Qi into one spot in the body, it created an immense pressure that the user couldn’t appropriately control. Normally, during a breakthrough, the cultivator would have honed their Qi manipulation enough to control the flow, but by using a technique to bypass the force one needs to be able to exert to kickstart the breakthrough, it forced the practitioner’s body to face something it wasn’t prepared to handle. The pressure buildup of various streams of Qi clashing was too strong.

“So, Councilman, does that mean every technique avoids making the streams of Qi converge or go against each other?”

“Hmm, not particularly. Playing it safe is great and all, but sometimes, risks have worthwhile rewards as well. Many hidden techniques that are trump cards of cultivators take these risks. In exchange for some internal injuries, they are able to exert a lot more power.”

“So it inevitably injures the user, then,” Li Lang muttered, his eyes downcast.

“Hmm, most of them, yes. Some techniques made by geniuses may reduce that drawback to the minimum. These techniques are particularly valuable, though. Often part of a family inheritance.”

“How can they accomplish that? They get to have the best of both worlds of power without any costs?”

“Well, these techniques still exhaust the energies of the user and are especially hard to learn. When Qi within one’s channels clash or merges, the cultivator will undoubtedly suffer some damage unless they are in perfect equilibrium. That means they will have to manage their Qi perfectly, which is a colossal ask amid combat.”

Councilman Sheng Zhaoming then explained the intricacies of these powerful secret techniques. It basically boiled down to ensuring the clashing flows of energy were equal in strength so they would cancel each other out.

Once Li Lang had gotten all his questions answered, he raced back home and locked himself in his room. He quickly reviewed the incident with Xiao Dong the previous day and spotted what had gone wrong.

By using particular movements chained together like a dance, the different streams of Qi converging in Xiao Dong’s dantian arrived at different times. The imbalance from this delay was where the problem lay.

I see, so I just have to make a model to calculate the strength of the Qi flowing in each section of the meridians. I can start with Bernoulli’s principle as the base and refine it to be more specific to Qi. Then, I just have to make sure the timing is right.

Having a challenging problem wasn’t anything to be afraid of for Li Lang. It was not having direction for his research that scared him. Now that he believed he grasped the last piece he had been missing, Li Lang worked relentlessly through the night.

The next morning, he barged straight into Long Yi’s room without knocking.

“Wake up! I need you to help me with some tests.”

The sleeping Long Yi slowly opened his eyes in confusion.

“W-what?”

“You said yesterday that you’ll help me test out the technique first to verify its safety, right? Let’s get to it!”