Chapter 26 The Difference in Power and the Might of the Battle Formation

"I didn't expect Senior Sister to have already broken through to the True Qi Realm!"
Seeing the sudden surge of True Qi blade aura on Gu Qingcheng's long knife, Su Yunlong was greatly shocked and couldn't help but think to himself.
However, the unexpected but logical breakthrough of Gu Qingcheng to the True Qi realm is not surprising. According to the rumors in the martial arts world, the current General Zhen Nan has already reached the peak of the twelfth level in the Internal Energy realm, and is even hailed as the number one expert in Internal Energy in the world today. There are also rumors that she has long succeeded in breaking through and advancing into the True Qi realm.

If such rumors exist, it means that Gu Qingcheng's cultivation level must not be mediocre and should fall within this range. If it's said that Gu Qingcheng has reached the True Qi realm, more than half of the people in the martial arts world would immediately believe it. Su Yunlong would naturally be among them, as he is aware of Gu Qingcheng's true identity, understands her talent, and believes in it more convincingly.
The true identity of Gu Qingcheng is the daughter of Gu Canghai, the current leader of the Xiandu Sect, and Gu Canghai himself is a formidable master who has already reached the innate realm, making him one of the top experts in the world. Gu Qingcheng not only comes from a prestigious sect, but also has a deep source of family teachings. Her talent and aptitude are so high that she can be considered the outstanding disciple of this generation in the Xiandu Sect. Even Su Yunlong, who has always been proud of his martial arts talent, cannot be arrogant in front of Gu Qingcheng. Therefore, besides admiring and being happy for Gu Qingcheng's breakthrough to the true qi realm at such a young age, he doesn't find it too astonishing. Please note that the content provided above has been translated from Chinese to English.
In his opinion, it was only natural for Gu Qingcheng to cultivate true qi. Even breaking through the highest innate realm of martial arts cultivation was just a matter of time. Su Yunlong had more confidence in Gu Qingcheng than in himself. Moreover, he felt nothing but joy for Gu Qingcheng's breakthrough, without a trace of jealousy.
However, amid the joy and admiration, he couldn't help but lament the even greater gap in cultivation between himself and Gu Qingcheng. And this gap made him feel an even greater distance between him and Gu Qingcheng.
Although he is now at the sixth level of Internal Force, and according to his current progress, he believes that he can break through to the seventh level within one or two years. However, as he continues to cultivate, the progress becomes increasingly difficult, especially after reaching the tenth level. Each level beyond that becomes even more challenging.
And after that, breaking through the True Qi realm will be even more difficult. Because the first hurdle in breaking through the True Qi realm is to open up the Ren and Du meridians.
In the cultivation of inner strength, one must open up the twelve regular meridians, while in the True Qi realm, one must open up the eight extraordinary meridians. During the inner strength cultivation stage, the twelve regular meridians do not need to be cultivated in a specific order, and the sequence of the twelve regular meridians varies depending on the different techniques of each school or sect. The first meridian to be cultivated and the arrangement order in the system also serve as significant distinctions between different techniques. Different attributes of inner strength also largely depend on the different starting meridian and sequence of combination. Please note that some parts of the translation may not be accurate or may lose some meaning when translated in a direct manner.
The cultivation of internal strength is diverse in the arrangement and combination sequence of the twelve meridians. Each school has its own reasoning. However, when entering the realm of true qi, the cultivation of the extraordinary meridians must be carried out according to a fixed order. Regardless of the school or sect's techniques, reaching this stage requires the meridians to be cleared in a specific sequence. Otherwise, it is difficult to progress and there is even a risk of falling into demonic cultivation. Please note that the translation provided is based on the given text. The accuracy may vary depending on the context.
The fixed order of cultivation in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians requires the first one to be the Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel. This is the foundation for converting inner strength into true qi. Only by first opening the Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel can one achieve this transformation and enhancement.
And the first meridian that needs to be opened is precisely the most difficult one among the eight extraordinary meridians. Therefore, the difficulty of breaking through the realm of true qi is so great that even with Su Yunlong's talent and self-confidence, he dares not guarantee it completely.
Just like in the martial arts world, many experts in external force realm may remain trapped in that realm for their entire lives, finding it difficult to break through to the internal force realm. Similarly, there are also many experts in the internal force realm who spend their whole lives trying to break through to the true qi realm.
Those who can cultivate internal power, especially martial arts geniuses who can enter the realm of internal power through practice from the beginning, naturally have excellent aptitude. However, even if they are considered the cream of the crop, their cultivation journey after entering the realm of internal power is not necessarily smooth sailing. It is not enough to follow a step-by-step approach to progress all the way to true energy or even innate realm.
Practice martial arts relies heavily on talent, but in addition to talent, one's own effort, diligence, and external resources are also indispensable, and sometimes even a bit of opportunity and luck are needed. Behind the growth of every naturally gifted expert, it is never simple. Beneath the surface of glory, the effort and hardship they put in may far exceed what anyone can imagine.
Just like a saying before Chen Xi's previous life, "Smart students are not scary, but smart students on summer vacation are." People with talent know how to work hard, and when it comes to studying, they are even more diligent than those who are not talented. That's what makes them scary. Even if a slow learner starts early, they can never catch up and will be left far behind.
Su Yunlong himself has a high talent and is diligent in his cultivation. Since childhood, he has also joined the prestigious Immortal City Sect, where he has received guidance from renowned teachers and learned top-notch techniques. With these conditions, he believes that one day he will be able to break through to the True Qi realm, and perhaps even reach the Innate realm. However, his confidence lies in the fact that he will definitely achieve the True Qi realm within his lifetime, but he lacks confidence in catching up to Gu Qingcheng at her age.
I haven't seen this senior sister for ten years, and her cultivation and progress continue to be awe-inspiring, surpassing him by far.
But this is to be expected, as Gu Qingcheng not only has better aptitude than him, but also started earlier. She was born in Xian Du Sect, and her martial arts were personally taught by her father, Gu Canghai. Her foundation is much deeper than his. Not to mention, Gu Qingcheng is also ten years older than him, at least ten years ahead in cultivation. It will be difficult for him to catch up with this time difference.
At the moment, Su Yunlong is observing Gu Qingcheng's performance, and it doesn't even seem like she has just reached the True Qi realm. However, regarding this point, it is also highly likely that Gu Qingcheng has temporarily enhanced herself by borrowing the power of her subordinates.
Apart from having the ability to kill enemies, the military formations in the art of warfare can also temporarily enhance the personal power of the commanding general. However, this enhancement can only increase the level of strength and cannot elevate one's cultivation level.
In other words, if the main general has reached the internal strength level, the only thing that will be improved is their internal strength cultivation, and it will not help them temporarily break through to the true energy level. Even if the lineup has more troops and greater combined strength, it still cannot enhance this level of cultivation. Because breaking through to a higher level requires personal comprehension in addition to strength, and this cannot be completely compensated for by external forces alone.
However, although the realm of the grand boundary cannot be elevated, its power can continuously improve through the combined force of formation arrays. The greater the power of the formation array, the greater the improvement in power. When strong enough, it can even rival an innate expert. However, this kind of comparison is only in terms of strength, and the level of strength still lags behind. It is equivalent to being able to exert the power of an innate level, but without the attributes and uses of innate true qi.
However, even so, it is still terrifying. This is also the confidence that the court has always had in not fearing individual superior martial arts, because even if someone is born as a master, they dare not underestimate the battlefield formed by tens of thousands of soldiers working together. Once trapped in the formation, even a superior martial artist is at risk of falling.
So, Gu Qingcheng is able to unleash the power of the True Qi Realm at the moment, which means she has already broken through to the True Qi Realm herself. Otherwise, even if she relies on the power of her subordinates in the battle formation, it would not be possible to increase her realm to such a degree, but only enhance her strength.