## AST 339 - A Strong Elder Association In Heavenly Palace, Acupuncture Point Clearing Art

After all, it would only cause him a 30 minute delay every morning, and he would be leaving very soon.

Arriving at Cang Wuya's residence, Qing Shui felt that the place was very heartwarming, much more so than the place he was staying at. It was because the Old Master was here. Fei Wuji, Canghai Mingyue, and Huoyun Liu-Li would also appear, unlike how he was always alone back at his place.

Qing Shui realized that he was always the last one to appear. Seeing Qing Shui, Cang Wuya seemed to be especially happy, smiling as he looked at Qing Shui, "Qing Shui, the Heavenly Palace has decided to promote you as an Elder. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Qing Shui was stunned. He remembered that he had once imagined he would be able to become an Elder or something in the Heavenly Palace. After all, having a strong backer would make things a lot more easier.

It was just that he would never have thought this day would come so quickly, so much so that Qing Shui was caught unaware. He gave it a serious thought before looking at Cang Wuya and said, "I wonder if Old Master has any good advice?"

"Of course I'd be happy for you to become Starmoon Hall's Elder. Initially, I was still concerned about the people who might be jealous and would go looking for trouble. But now, all of these problems are no longer a concern." Cang Wuya laughed and said.

"It's just that, Old Master, I may be leaving very soon for a period of time. Would it be acceptable for me to take on the position of an Elder like this?" Qing Shui recalled that he was going to leave very soon.

"Haha, you'll just be given the rank of an Elder, but there's no need for you to do anything. There's just one thing that you'll need to rush back for. Other than that, you can do as you wish, to stay in the Heavenly Palace or to leave. No one will interfere with your decision. Initially, you can become Starmoon Hall's Chief Disciple, but I know with your personality, you might not be suitable for it. If not, as long as you are willing, you can be Starmoon Hall's Chief Disciple immediately." Cang Wuya said happily.

"That's good! What's the thing I must definitely rush back for?" Qing Shui asked, his interest piqued.

"When Heavenly Palace is faced with a life and death situation, all Heavenly Palace disciples, regardless of rank, must rush back immediately!"

Qing Shui nodded. This was very normal!

Qing Shui smiled. To become the Heavenly Palace's Elder at such a young age was something that he himself had not expected.

"Alright, then just leave this matter to your Martial Uncle. At the latest, in one week, we'll carry out the ceremony for you to be promoted as an Elder and report to the Heavenly Palace's Elder Association."

Qing Shui nodded. He knew that the Elders in Heavenly Palace were the Elders from the respective halls. But other than the nine palaces, there was also the Elder Association, which had a tremendous number of people and harbored tremendous strength. They were the true power behind Heavenly Palace.

Under the Grand Elder's lead, the Heavenly Palace's Elder Association did not belong to any single palace, and did not serve any single one. Their existence was only for the Heavenly Palace's survival and development.

The Elder Association basically comprised of old freaks such as the Supreme Elder. Cang Wuya was also a member of the Elder Association. The Grand Elder was the one with the greatest authority in the Elder Association. The Elder Association's existence was only for the sake of the Heavenly Palace, to ensure the security of the Heavenly Palace. As for internal dispute, they would not get themselves involved. It was because they knew that there would only be development if there was competition.

"Let's go. Today, I'll teach you guys Divinity Protection. This is also considered a prized martial technique in Heavenly Palace."

The three of them followed Cang Wuya to an empty land in front of the building.

"Qing Shui, did you think about me?" When Huoyun Liu-Li came out, she grabbed onto Qing Shui's arm and asked lazily.

"I did!"

"What did you think about?"

"Think of when you would be able to help give me a massage..."

...

"The Divinity Protection is also a set of a circulation method for Qi Force. It can provides some immunity for some tremendous physical attacks. However, under absolute strength, it would also lose its effects."

Recently, Qing Shui had also been cultivating the Taichi stance, "Seemingly Sealed Shut". It was because he discovered that this stance had a similar effect to the Heavenly Palace's Divinity Protection. They can both bring about tremendous defensive effects.

Qing Shui's "Seemingly Sealed Shut" was even incorporated with the Frenzied Bull's Strength, further increasing its defensive force by more than a fold. Initially, Qing Shui had not planned to pick up the Divinity Protection, but after some thought, he decided that such skills used for saving one's life were definitely worth picking up. Moreover, it was always good to be equipped with more skills.

"The requirement to pick up the Divinity Protection is to have a sufficiently strong Qi Force. If not the effects would be very small and would not be able to provide a strong defence. Another reason is if the Qi Force is not strong enough, one would not be able to keep up with the level of depletion that a technique like the Divinity Protection has."

Cang Wuya shared the circulation method for the Divinity Protection with them and explained it in detail, telling them common mistakes and crucial points to note.

This would allow Qing Shui and the others to take lesser detours. The Divinity Protection was best for those who were at least the level of Martial King, and only these people would be able to display the full prowess of the Divinity Protection. Thus, the condition to pick up the Heavenly Thunder Slash and the Divinity Protection in the Heavenly Palace was to become a warrior of the Martial King level.

Although the two ladies were not at the Martial King level, they could still learn it. Most of the time, only Martial King warriors would be able to pick up this treasured skill in the Heavenly Palace. This also provided an encouragement for the disciples to improve their skills, but only members of the Elder Association would be able to give an exception to impart the skills to those who were not at the Martial King level. Even Fei Wuji would not have the rights to impart the skill to the two ladies.

Currently, Qing Shui's state was definitely quite good. He was like a frog which had jumped up from the well and onto the surface, a bright future before him. Moreover, his level of comprehension was quite good as well.

Following the circulation method Cang Wuya explained to them, ‘Heart Delving Deep into Qi Ocean’, they gradually adjusted the Qi Force in their bodies and let it flow into the meridian channels. Qing Shui picked it up very quickly, as the meridian channels throughout his body were mostly cleared and connected, with the exception of some that were less used. This saved him the effort of having to break through meridian channels and acupuncture points.

If the meridian channels and acupuncture points were cleared and connected, it would be like a person walking on a vast and flat path. And if it was like a rocky terrain filled with slopes, without a proper path, it would mean that the meridian channels were blocked. If occasionally, there were the appearances of obstacles such as great mountains, it would be the meridian channels which had yet to be broken through. One would have to find an alternative way, whether it was to scale the mountain or take a detour.

Only after having arrived in the world of the nine continents did Qing Shui realize that people like Mingyue Gelou, who were born with meridian channels that were all cleared and connected, would find it especially easy to pick up martial arts, no matter which one they learned.

At the start, it was as if Qing Shui was walking on a flat road, sailing smoothly. He realized that the acupuncture points and meridian channels he had used were very little, and most of them were where a majority of the martial techniques would flow through. That was why he picked it up very quickly.

When the road was flat and easy to travel, one's speed would increase and one would be able to afford certain detours. With the meridian channels all connected, it would be possible for one to detour away from certain acupuncture points. This was the cultivation method in the world of the nine continents. Of course, there were also those which passed by acupuncture points as well, but there were simply very few. Most of them would unconsciously clear through some of the acupuncture points throughout the body, not to mention the certain acupuncture points that were already cleared to begin with.

Actually, it would be fine to clear through meridian channels, so there were very, very few people who would choose to clear through their acupuncture points. If not, they would be like Song Lang, able to cultivate Divinity Protection at such a young age.

It was a tremendous advantage to clear through acupuncture points. Each acupuncture point was a storage point for energy. Take a long bench for example. If one were to put heavy stuff on it, it would break easily. But if there were one or more supporting points in the middle, it would be able to sustain two or more times the original weight.

The effects of clearing through acupuncture points for the meridian channels were as if the bench had increased in supporting points. This way, the meridian channels would be able to put up with even more of the circulation from the Qi of Xiantian, and could also allow the meridian channels to be strengthened. Furthermore, other than these, acupuncture points had some other amazing effects such as being able to function as a tunnel, allowing for faster circulation of Qi and accumulation of energy.

Towards the end, Qing Shui noticed that there was a secluded area of his meridian channels that was not completely cleared. Qing Shui knew that as long as he cleared up this area, he would be able to completely master the circulation method of the Divinity Protection.

There are 409 acupuncture points in a human body. Qing Shui realized that the ones he had cleared were not even 10%, and some of them have already been cleared since he was born.

Most of his meridian channels were cleared, with the exception of some secluded ones, just like the tiny meridian branch that was the fifth one on his left rib.

The thinner and more secluded the meridian channel, the harder it would be to clear it. This was also why Mingyue Gelou's condition of having all her meridian channels cleared and connected was so precious. So much so that even Qing Shui felt jealous. After all, there were even some Martial King level warriors who had a lot of meridian channels which were not cleared.

Just looking at Mingyue Gelou would let you know how excellent the benefits would be to have all the meridian channels in one's body cleared and connected!

"It seems like I should try to clear up my acupuncture points in the future!" Qing Shui told himself. He had neglected this problem all along, and it was only today, when he was practicing the Divinity Protection, that he began to think of it.

However, Qing Shui met up with an obstacle very quickly. Those that he had cleared through, including the ones which were cleared ever since he was born, only added up to about 40 points. Those that he had cleared were mostly located on his arms, but why was it that he had yet to clear the acupuncture points in the rest of his body?

The most obvious effect of clearing through acupuncture points was definitely the storage of energy in these points, and one would also be able to feel that the acupuncture points would emit an amazing energy, as if it was a firm and strong supporting point!

When he was practicing the Solitary Rapid Fist, he did not notice this. After he had experienced the epiphany did he realize that a portion of his acupuncture points on his arms were cleared. He had not cleared them deliberately. This added on to Qing Shui's worry.

"Mmm, I remember seeing something in my consciousness related to acupuncture points from the supporting martial techniques.I think it's the reward for breaking through the 5th Heavenly Layer. I don't think I've seen what the rewards were for breaking through the 5th Heavenly Layer yet." Qing Shui stood there in a daze, but was smiling.

In the past, each time he broke through an addition cycle, he could not hold it in and would rush to see what benefits he was given. But this time around, there was an unexpected situation. Plus, he had also forgotten about it.

"Qing Shui, why are you in a daze? Your smile looks so evil!" Huoyun Liu-Li walked over. They had been left to contemplate the technique themselves and Cang Wuya had also returned to his room.

"I'm thinking about what you told me the other time. I wonder when you'll fulfil your promise?" Qing Shui said seriously.

"What words? What promise?" Huoyun Liu-Li asked, seemingly puzzled as well.

"You'd said that you'll come to my room and let me have my way with you." Qing Shui lowered his voice and grinned.

"Ahhh!" Huoyun Liu-Li did not expect Qing Shui to say this. She had forgotten about it. But after letting out an astonished cry, she threw a seductive look at Qing Shui, blinking slyly.