0100 The Meridians of Evolution

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Gazing at the dazzling array of various armors in the online store, Chen Jue resisted the urge to splurge. Each piece was priced at over ten thousand yuan, clearly handcrafted replicas. Moreover, buying such armor served little practical purpose; it could only be worn for cosplay, taking up space without real use. For now, he decided to set aside this hobby. Perhaps, when he was wealthier or had a large venue, he might indulge in owning a piece to live out the fantasy of an ancient general.

As for why he wanted to acquire traditional bows with heavier draw weights, it was to further enhance his upper body strength. Chen Jue’s current muscle-building routine mainly followed modern, Western-style training methods, including street calisthenics and grip strength tools, all foreign techniques not originally developed for East Asian physiques, which have certain racial differences.

Different ethnicities vary in muscle fiber type, muscle density, muscle mass, even bone structure and organ composition. Just like buying tonics or ointments online claiming to strengthen muscles and bones—whether traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine—they all claim effectiveness, but individual responses differ.

Ancient Chinese cold weapon warfare technology reached its peak, and their daily martial training surely had unique insights. Combining these with his character sheet, the results might rival modern exercise methods. To Chen Jue, whether a cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat.

Now that he had ample time and financial freedom, free from material and biological pressures, he was eager to try all kinds of physical training that could strengthen his body.

...

After breakfast, Chen Jue didn’t rush to school for class but found a barbershop near his apartment to trim his hair. Judging by his current hair growth rate, in a few days, the previously bald spots would sprout enough hair to cover the gaps. He had purposely grown his hair to medium length before to conceal thinning areas and regain some confidence.

Now that his hair had grown back, the awkward middle-aged hairstyle resembling a comical hat had to go. Without a membership card or fuss, he simply got a short crew cut with a wash for 49 yuan. Rents in Hangzhou kept rising year after year; if these small barbershops didn’t raise prices, they wouldn’t survive.

But after the haircut, Chen Jue felt much more spirited looking at himself in the mirror. His bright, fresh aura and increasingly rosy complexion made him look less like a working adult and more like a college student from a nearby university.

...

Leaving the barbershop, Chen Jue returned to his apartment to gather textbooks and his sports backpack. He had missed the first class of the morning but planned to attend the next session, a clinical medicine course on traditional Chinese medicine, intending to listen attentively.

He jogged back to the university campus carrying a 20-kilogram weighted vest. In under ten minutes, his free attribute unexpectedly increased by 0.01. Sweat pouring down, he sat at the back of the small classroom, his mind suddenly enlightened: “Of course! Weighted armor training! How did I not think of that before?”

Ancient warriors, besides skill in archery and horsemanship, wore armor weighing dozens of kilograms. With limited transportation, marching and riding were the only options. Removing armor during a campaign was punishable by military law—at best a beating, at worst death.

Enduring such heavy loads naturally forged strong tendons and bones. Chen Jue’s previous workouts were all unweighted and skill-based. Seeing even a slight attribute boost in such a short time, compared to his poor morning training efficiency, his thoughts began to race.

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Before the class bell rang, Chen Jue hurriedly searched on Taobao. He ordered an adjustable weighted vest with a 20-kilogram limit, a pair of 2-kilogram wrist weights, and a pair of 6-kilogram ankle weights, spending just over 500 yuan. The items weren’t expensive, but the total weight was nearly 72 jin (about 36 kilograms). Luckily, they were adjustable; starting with such heavy load all at once would probably crush him before he adapted.

...

After ordering the weights, the class bell rang. The classroom fell silent as a gray-haired professor began the lecture. He opened the presentation and had a student bring a human anatomical model to the front.

“Today, we will study the basics of meridians in traditional Chinese medicine,” the professor said. “There are two parts to the body’s meridians: jingmai and luomai. The vertical main lines are called jingmai, which can be likened to main roads in a city or major rivers.”

“The branching streams from these main roads are called luomai, which weave throughout the body. Together, the jingmai and luomai form the channels through which qi and blood circulate.”

As the professor spoke, he pointed with a slender pointer to the dense network of meridians on the model. Chen Jue, listening to traditional Chinese medicine for the first time, found it vivid and fascinating. The meridian diagrams reminded him of discovering secret martial arts techniques in old wuxia novels or childhood games.

“There are twelve primary meridians, twelve divergent meridians, eight extraordinary vessels, fifteen luomai, twelve sinew channels, and twelve cutaneous regions,” the professor continued, then shifted tone. “You must wonder why the number twelve appears so often?”

“Is it just an arbitrary number chosen by the ancients?” he asked rhetorically.

“Actually, the reason is that the ancients discovered these twelve meridians followed a rhythm corresponding perfectly to the twelve traditional Chinese time periods, or shichen.”

“Like the modern concept of circadian rhythms in clinical medicine, our organs do not operate uniformly over 24 hours. For example, at mealtimes, stomach acid and digestive enzymes increase, and our brain signals hunger.”

“Similarly, the twelve meridians run in cycles matching the twelve shichen,” the professor explained, flipping slides.

“The earliest meridian texts, such as those found in the Han dynasty Mawangdui tomb medical books, recorded only eleven meridians.”

“It wasn’t until the later Huangdi Neijing emerged that the current theory of twelve meridians was established.”

“The additional meridian, called the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian, has an interesting story behind it.”

“In Western anatomy, it wasn’t until 1846 that the median artery in the upper arm was discovered as a vestigial artery still evolving. This artery is normal in the fetus but begins to regress before birth, retained in only 10% to 30% of adults, known as a variant artery.”

“Remarkably, the anatomical location of this vestigial median artery matches perfectly with the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian!”

“The Huangdi Neijing was compiled between the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, indicating our ancestors discovered this evolving meridian nearly two thousand years before Western medicine.”

The professor’s face showed excitement and pride. The students listened intently, and even Chen Jue nodded in appreciation.

Traditional Chinese medicine, like traditional martial arts, is often discredited and maligned online, entangled in battles over medical capitalism and vested interests.

If TCM were useless, how did Chinese civilization survive millennia, controlling disease?

By empty talk and Western medicine still in its embryonic stages?

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In any case, the matter was complex, and Chen Jue cared little; he was just an auditing student here to learn.

By delving deeper into meridians, he could better understand his own body and unlock those “???” annotations in the “Designated Points” section of his character sheet.

...

Because there were so many meridians, this first class stayed at a basic overview. Next, they would begin learning about acupuncture points, which involved even more knowledge.

The elderly professor was clearly highly skilled, and his lecture was far from dull. Near the end, he took out a box of silver acupuncture needles for students to practice on the anatomical model, likely preparing them for upcoming practical training.

Chen Jue diligently took notes in the back row when suddenly the professor called out: “Hey, the young man at the back!”

“Why are you squatting and standing like that during class? Practicing kung fu horse stance? Hurry up and come try before class ends!”

The professor’s keen eye immediately caught Chen Jue’s subtle movements. Embarrassed, Chen Jue smiled sheepishly and joined the freshmen lined up to try acupuncture.

By the time it was his turn, the class had ended, and the professor gave some homework before dismissing the students at the front.

But as the room emptied, Chen Jue, on a whim, picked up a silver needle. Unlike others who cautiously manipulated the needle, poking randomly at points, he flicked his fingers like a martial artist’s rapid strike, mimicking the needle technique from yesterday’s flying needle demonstration.

He plunged the slender, flexible needle through the air into the model’s eye socket acupoint.

Unexpectedly, a new message popped up on his character sheet:

——————

[ Ding~ ]

[ Completed a qualifying action technique. ]

[ Skill activated: Acupuncture ]

——————

“Skill unlocked?” Chen Jue blinked in surprise.

He recalled that acupuncture had health benefits similar to eye exercises, and it made sense for the system to recognize it as a skill.

Seeing the new skill triggered his enthusiasm. He grabbed several needles from the acupuncture kit on the desk and, flicking them in succession, pierced the model’s eye socket acupoints one by one.

The professor, tidying up the slides nearby, suddenly witnessed this amazing display, his eyes bulging like a goldfish’s.

“Zanzhu, Yuyou, Sizhukong, Tongziliao, Qiuhou, Sibai, Qingming, Taiyang… What kind of needling technique is this? All are acupoints for treating eye diseases!”

End of first update.

Spent some time researching, so this update was a bit late. The next update might not come soon; if it does, it will be late as well. You can wait for tomorrow morning’s update instead.

(End of chapter)