"Can I actually possess that kind of power?" Logan stared at Huang Wen, his eyes wide with a raw, hungry anticipation. He had spent his long life relying on his claws and his healing, but seeing Huang Wen warp reality and command metal through sheer force of will had changed his perspective. "If I master this, wouldn't I be juggling multiple high-tier abilities at once?"
"It's not quite that simple, Uncle Wolf," Huang Wen replied, a small smile tugging at his lips as he shook his head. "Even if I transmit the fundamental framework of this martial art to you right now, you're looking at years—possibly decades—of relentless, daily practice. Like I told you before, true mastery isn't a gift; it's a grind. You don't just 'get' this level of strength; you build it, brick by bloody brick."
Logan's brow furrowed. He wasn't exactly known for his patience. "How long are we talking here? To get to where you are right now... it won't take a lifetime, will it?"
"What are you so worried about? You've already clocked nearly two centuries on this planet. Why are you suddenly penny-pinching over a few years?" Huang Wen's smile turned a bit more teasing. "But in all honesty, you might actually need the extra time. From what I've seen, your natural aptitude for the finer points of martial arts is... let's just say, 'unrefined.' I could probably reach my current state in a year or two of focused cultivation, but for someone with your... temperament? I'm betting on ten years, maybe twenty, or even longer."
"That's a load of crap!" Logan barked, thumping his chest with a meaty fist. "I've always been a quick study! I pick up things faster than anyone I've ever known!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Huang Wen's grin widened into a full-blown smirk. "So, in all those two hundred years, how many prestigious universities did you graduate from? Any PhDs or Master's degrees hiding in that thick skull of yours?" He paused, watching Logan's face darken. "Let me try an easier one: Have you actually memorized the meridian and acupoint maps I told you were essential for this training?"
"No! Those diagrams you gave me look like a spider had a stroke on a piece of paper! How am I supposed to make sense of all those squiggles and lines?" An uncharacteristic flash of embarrassment crossed Logan's face.
It was the hard truth: acquiring deep, academic knowledge had never been Logan's forte. His mutant gifts were primal, rooted in the instincts of a predator. Coupled with a personality that was famously irritable and shorter than a fuse on a firecracker, he was fundamentally ill-suited for the quiet, meticulous study required for internal cultivation.
For two centuries, he had survived on brute strength and animal cunning, taking jobs that required muscle over mind. Logan was the quintessential 'action-first, think-later' mutant.
"Stop the snickering, the rest of you," Huang Wen said, turning his gaze toward the three others who were trying—and failing—to hide their amusement. He focused on Zhong Qiang and Fireman John. "How about you two? Did you actually bother to memorize the maps?"
Bruce Banner shrugged with the easy confidence of a seven-fold PhD holder. "It wasn't that bad, honestly. A bit alien compared to Western anatomy, sure, but memorization is basically my default setting." He offered a small, sheepish smile. "Though, I was mostly doing it because I was bored. You didn't actually tell me I needed to learn them, Teacher."
"You don't," Huang Wen confirmed with a nod. "Your path is different. I'm going to teach you how to harmonize with and direct the immense power you already carry. Trying to teach the Hulk a meridian-based internal art would be... well, let's just say we'd run out of buildings to rebuild. But what about the two of you?"
Zhong Qiang swallowed hard, offering a weak, apologetic grin. "Brother Wen, that stuff is brutal! I haven't cracked a book that hard since middle school. I've got some of it, but the whole map? It's still a jumbled mess in my head..."
"I... I only managed to lock down a small section," John the Fireman added, looking down at his feet in shame.
Huang Wen sighed, shaking his head. He had expected this. Without the system-enhanced attributes he'd gained from the Ip Man and Bai Zhantang templates, even he would have struggled with the sheer complexity of ancient Chinese medical and martial theory.
"Fine. We'll have to see what your bodies can actually tolerate when we start the flow. Just don't come crying to me when Huang Liang is outclassing you both in a month because he actually did his homework." Huang Wen turned back to Logan, his expression becoming dead serious.
"We're starting with you, Uncle Wolf. Listen carefully: The Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill is a high-level, extremely volatile art. Ordinarily, it's impossible to teach directly to a beginner because without a massive physical foundation or pre-existing internal force, the first circulation would literally rip your body apart from the inside. But you... you're a unique case. Your healing factor makes you the only person on Earth who can 'cheat' the entry requirements. As long as you can handle the agony, we can skip the years of slow building."
Logan took a deep, ragged breath, his jaw tightening. "Come on then. I've had my entire skeleton replaced with molten metal, kid. I know what pain feels like. Do your worst."
"Fair enough. Sit down. Cross your legs," Huang Wen commanded. He placed a firm hand on Logan's shoulder, pressing him into the cold, concrete floor of the bunker. Then, without further warning, he unleashed a massive, turbulent surge of his own internal energy directly into Logan's primary meridian. "Don't fight it! Focus on every area that burns. Memorize the path!"
This was the 'Explosive Transmission'—using a master's force to physically carve the circulation route into a student's body.
"HISS!"
The sound that left Logan's throat was more animal than human. Because Huang Wen's internal force was far too potent and concentrated for Logan's uncultivated pathways, his meridians began to literally rupture and burst under the pressure. It felt like being flayed from the inside out with a branding iron.
However, Logan's legendary immortality kicked in instantly. As fast as the meridians were shredded, his cells knitted them back together. Because of the constant pressure of Huang Wen's energy, the meridians didn't just heal; they were forced to expand, widening significantly to accommodate the flow.
"It's actually working!" Huang Wen's eyes lit up as his senses monitored the chaotic biological war inside Logan. "It's a thousand times more dangerous than the method I used for Huang Liang, but for a guy who can't die, it's just a matter of... endurance."
"AAAAAAAAGH!"
Logan let out a harrowing, blood-curdling scream of pure agony. It wasn't like the external pain of a bullet or a blade; this was visceral, internal torture. It was the feeling of his very life-essence being forcibly reshaped.
Nearby, Bruce Banner, Zhong Qiang, and John all visibly recoiled, their faces turning pale. Banner's skin took on a distinct greenish tint as the Hulk, sensing Logan's immense distress, began to stir aggressively in his subconscious.
After what felt like an eternity, the final wisp of the transformed energy settled into Logan's Dantian. He had survived. The circulation route wasn't just 'memorized'—it was physically etched into his body through scar tissue and forced expansion. He wouldn't need a map; he could simply feel the wide, reinforced 'canals' where the energy was meant to flow.
"Stay down!" Huang Wen barked, pushing Logan back as he tried to stagger up. "Take this moment. The energy is still fresh. Circulate it! Convert that spark into your own signature force. I'm not wasting herbs on you—your body is its own medicine cabinet. Next!"
Huang Wen turned his gaze toward Zhong Qiang and John. The two men took a synchronized step backward, their eyes wide with terror.
"Xiao Qiang, you're up. Banner, you're last—your situation is entirely different," Huang Wen said, his voice laced with a dark amusement.
"Brother Wen... please," Zhong Qiang stammered, his voice trembling. "I think... I think I suddenly have a photographic memory for those maps. Let me go back and study for another hour! I promise I'll know every point by heart!"
"Oh, now you're a scholar?" Huang Wen glared at him. "Get back to the corner and study. If you haven't mastered those diagrams by the time I'm done with John, I'm locking you in this bunker. You'll get one bowl of rice a day until you can recite the meridian chart in your sleep!"
"NO! BROTHER WEN!" Zhong Qiang let out a scream that rivaled Logan's in volume, if not in pain, as he scrambled away to grab his notes.
Huang Wen rolled his eyes and looked at John the Fireman. "Sit. Let's see how a mutant body reacts to a more... 'standard' approach."
John swallowed hard, his face a mask of terror, but he didn't dare argue. He sat down and closed his eyes. Huang Wen placed a hand on his back, sending a gentle probe of energy to survey John's internal structure.
"Wait a second..." Huang Wen's eyebrows shot up. "This is unexpected."
Inside John, Huang Wen didn't find the 'empty' vessel he had found in Huang Liang or Zhong Qiang. Because John was an active mutant with pyrokinetic abilities, his body already possessed a latent, fiery energy signature. It wasn't internal force, but it was a form of power nonetheless.
"Mutants really are a different breed," Huang Wen muttered, a look of genuine scientific curiosity crossing his face. "He already has his own 'fuel.' I just need to teach him how to build the engine."