6 Northern Darkness Divine Skill

Tian Yu was still pondering when Li Xunhuan spoke first.

He rose again, bowed to the middle-aged man, and said firmly, “If you have a method to detoxify me without harming others, then directly sacrificing my internal skill is the most prudent choice.”

“Therefore, I dare to ask for your help.”

Clearly, he did not want Tian Yu to take risks on his behalf.

He was still young and had not reached a point where he could easily give up his martial arts.

But if forced to choose between himself and his friend, he would never choose anyone else.

Otherwise, he would not be Li Xunhuan.

“Are you sure?” The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow. “If your internal skill is wasted, your Little Li Flying Dagger might never be as unfailingly precise again.”

Li Xunhuan’s tone was resolute: “I have made up my mind.”

Logically, since the person concerned had spoken, the doctor responsible for curing him should have no hesitation.

Yet the middle-aged man did not immediately agree. Instead, he glanced at Tian Yu.

Tian Yu instantly realized that he actually hoped she would learn the internal skill he mentioned earlier; otherwise, his reaction made no sense.

With that thought, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

Sure enough, after a moment of contemplation, the middle-aged man turned to her and asked, “And you? Have you made up your mind?”

Li Xunhuan was about to respond, but Tian Yu spoke first, lifting her chin: “I can promise to learn the skill you spoke of, but I want you to be honest with me.”

The middle-aged man’s face brightened, then he hesitated, rolling his eyes as he said, “What I told you was the truth.”

“But you didn’t tell the whole truth,” Tian Yu bluntly exposed him. “You want me to learn this skill not just to detoxify my friend, right?”

“I want you to tell me your true intent behind this action.”

Her words fell into a heavy silence inside the room.

She stood tall in black, her posture like a sword, staring unwaveringly at the middle-aged man invited back by the master.

Her gaze did not waver for a moment.

The middle-aged man, apparently unprepared for her direct exposure of his intentions, opened his mouth but found no words.

In the awkward silence, another voice suddenly sounded in the room:

“You are very clever.”

The voice was low and hoarse, sounding much older than the middle-aged man, startling Tian Yu.

When she realized it came from the paralyzed, beautiful youth on the man’s back, she was even more incredulous.

He looked to be barely in his thirties! How could his voice be so aged?

The young man smiled again and said to her, “Since you are willing to try, then start practicing. If you enter the gate smoothly, I will tell you everything you want to know.”

Tian Yu asked, “Really?”

The young man nodded, “Of course.”

“Good, then teach me the secret manual. I’ll start practicing right away.”

“You are impatient,” he laughed. “But the skill you are about to learn cannot be rushed. It is late today; it’s best to rest early. At dawn tomorrow, I will teach you the incantation.”

Since she could not use her phone after transmigrating and had no entertainment, Tian Yu’s routine was healthier than when she worked in the entertainment industry.

Waking up at dawn was easy for her.

So she nodded in agreement and then asked, “According to your estimation, if I enter the gate smoothly, how long before I can absorb others’ internal energy?”

The young man thought for a moment and said, “With your talent, about ten days.”

Tian Yu asked, “Within those ten days, can you two ensure my friend’s life?”

“This I guarantee,” the middle-aged man said decisively. “With me here, he won’t die.”

After hearing this, Tian Yu glanced at the master, and only after receiving his approving look did she fully relax.

The next morning, she rose punctually.

---

Opening the door, the middle-aged man and the beautiful youth who had come from afar were indeed waiting in the courtyard.

She stepped forward to inquire.

The young man said there was still over a quarter of an hour before dawn and there was no need to rush.

“What do you mean? Must I wait until dawn to practice?” she asked.

“Yes,” he nodded. “This skill requires three dedicated practice sessions daily, at dawn, noon, and sunset. Small deviations are tolerable, but it is best to follow the set times.”

Tian Yu was speechless.

Why did it have to be so scheduled and exact? It felt like joining a cult…

While inwardly grumbling, she looked away.

The young man seemed to take an interest in conversation and added, “You agreed so readily to practice. Aren’t you afraid of going wrong?”

Tian Yu chuckled, “And what about you all?”

“You know it might go wrong and still want me to practice?”

“…”

Well, she was outmaneuvered.

Actually, Tian Yu wasn’t entirely without fear, but trusting the master, she did not think these two travelers from Guandong were villains.

Since they were not villains, boldly trying as they suggested was harmless.

If she could successfully save Li Xunhuan, all the better; if not, the worst loss would be losing her martial arts and being unable to personally take revenge.

Revenge didn’t have to be done personally anyway; she was still young and could find other ways.

More importantly, as a former actress, she was skilled at detaching from roles quickly to avoid being emotionally affected by them.

In other words, she was confident she could control her subconscious and no longer accumulate internal energy the old way.

Her hesitation before was less doubt and more a professional instinct from her previous life, trying to secure some say for herself.

…

At dawn, she finally dispersed her own internal energy and began practicing according to the essentials of the secret manual the young man provided.

The incantation sounded mysterious, more like a spiritual cultivation than martial arts.

Yet, under the young man’s guidance, she managed within a single hour to generate genuine qi in her dantian’s qi sea.

Tian Yu hadn’t expected such smooth progress. When she opened her eyes to the dim morning light, she met the anxious gazes of the two men and thought she might have practiced incorrectly.

“Did I do it wrong?” she asked.

“Do you feel unwell?” the middle-aged man asked urgently.

“No,” she blinked and expressed her doubt. “Why does this skill’s energy flow from Shaoshang to Yunmen? It’s completely the opposite of what I practiced before.”

“Since it absorbs others’ energy for your use, it naturally differs from ordinary skills,” the young man answered. “You are doing well. Continue at noon.”

Tian Yu replied, “Alright.”

Once the energy dissipated, of course she had to keep practicing.

In the following days, she strictly followed the young man’s instructions, diligently practicing at dawn, noon, and sunset.

At first, Tian Yong and Li Xunhuan were worried, fearing she might suddenly become deranged and vomit blood.

But three days later, at the hour of the dog, after practice, she felt refreshed and eager to wield the blade.

She drew her dagger in the snow and practiced over two hundred moves.

Li Xunhuan watched her from the corridor, initially sensing nothing unusual, but as he watched, surprise crept onto his face.

Someone who had just dissolved their internal energy three days ago was moving faster with the blade than before?

What kind of internal skill was she practicing?

Tian Yu also found it remarkable.

She had never expected this newly acquired internal energy to be so effective.

She even felt that if she continued, one day she might wield a blade’s cutting power without actually holding one.

---

“Have I successfully entered the gate?” she asked the beautiful youth who taught her the secret manual on the morning of the fourth day.

He beckoned her over, grasped her wrist, and examined her pulse. “You have cultivated three meridians?”

Tian Yu nodded. “Yes, one per day.”

The first day was the Hand Shaoyin Lung Meridian, the second the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian, the third the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian.

Because the channels were clear and orderly, the practice was even smoother than the internal skill she had learned from the master earlier.

“Do I need to cultivate all twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary vessels?” she asked when he did not answer.

“...No,” his calm, aged voice carried a trace of helplessness. “In fact, once you cultivate just one, you can already absorb your friend’s internal energy.”

Tian Yu was speechless.

Why didn’t you say so earlier?

“Then what are we waiting for? I’ll go absorb his energy now,” she said, turning to the middle-aged man, who stood dazed. “After I absorb his internal energy, please quickly detoxify him.”

The middle-aged man looked at her with a complicated expression but sighed and gave his promise.

“Rest assured,” he said. “Since I agreed, I will detoxify him. But after detoxification, all his internal skill will have to start from scratch.”

“That’s fine. As long as his meridians are intact, he will definitely rise again to the pinnacle of the martial world,” Tian Yu said, confident in Li Xunhuan.

But just then, the young man teaching her burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she raised an eyebrow.

“His flying dagger may indeed be unfailingly precise, but with you around, he can never reach the top of the martial world,” he said.

Tian Yu was speechless.

Judging from the effects of the Beiming Divine Skill, that was true, but she wasn’t going to idle around absorbing others’ energy!

Perhaps having confirmed she had entered the gate and would not go astray, the young man finally confessed his true purpose after helping Li Xunhuan absorb his energy that day.

“The reason I had you practice the Beiming Divine Skill is indeed something else,” he said. “Now that you have cultivated three meridians, you must have felt the wonders of the Beiming Divine Skill.”

Tian Yu recalled the feeling she had while practicing the blade the night before and nodded honestly.

After five years of martial arts practice, distinguishing the quality of skills was no longer difficult for her.

“This is only the beginning,” he continued. “Once you cultivate all twenty meridians, your internal energy will be compatible with all other internal energies cultivated by any skill in the world. Absorbing others’ power will be like rivers flowing into the sea, never shaking the sea’s foundation.”

“Moreover, you can use the Beiming true qi to protect your body and reflect damage back on your opponents in combat, making you invincible.”

Tian Yu couldn’t help but give him a meaningful look.

Out of politeness, she said nothing, but her eyes plainly asked:

—If this skill is so powerful, then why have you fallen into such a state?

“Just be straightforward,” she clicked her tongue. “What exactly do you want by making me learn this Beiming Divine Skill?”

“...”

“You’re not planning to have me help you take revenge after I master it, are you?”

“???”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s actually quite easy to guess.”

She had seen many such plots in the dramas she filmed before transmigrating.

She was more than familiar with them.

Besides, seeing his disabled state, it was obvious he had been wronged.