Seeing Daniel's shocked face, Peter jumped down from the hammock and sat on the ground. "Uh, right, the Mountain Spider threw me a lot of cultivation insights regarding the Past Immortal Weapons of the Spider Kingdom, so I just followed them and practiced a bit..."
Daniel looked completely incredulous. "And you actually managed to cultivate it?"
"Of course not entirely. A lot of what they wrote is very stream-of-consciousness and based on subjective experience. I spent a long time on it and couldn't understand most of it. But I understood at least one thing, which is that the so-called Qi is a non-material energy that sustains life, and to cultivate Qi, one must first perceive it."
Daniel nodded. This was indeed the first step in cultivating Qi. It could even be said that the first step is always the hardest, making this the most vital and critical phase: recognizing Qi and perceiving Qi.
So how did you manage to do it without undergoing any formal training?
As if realizing what Daniel was confused about, Peter explained, "A while back, due to certain reasons, Strange wanted me to learn magic. A normal sorcerer needs to go through three stages to learn magic, and the very first stage is learning how to harness one's own life energy to cast spells."
"So I thought, since both are manifestations of life energy, could I use the method of spellcasting to draw the life energy out first, and then circulate it using the cultivation methods of Qi? That way, I could directly skip the step of perceiving Qi."
Hearing this, Daniel found it hard to put his feelings into words. If you called this a shortcut, you had to keep in mind that magic cultivation was no easy feat, and only a very small number of people possessed the talent for it, with Peter being one of those select few.
But if you said it wasn't a shortcut, that wouldn't be accurate either. One could only say that similar situations rarely ever occurred. After all, on one hand, the threshold for a sorcerer was actually much higher than that for a martial artist; the method of cultivating Qi could be practiced by anyone, but magic was a different story.
On the other hand, whether in terms of regular intensity or upper limits, magic was superior to Qi. Aside from having to pay the price of spellcasting, magic surpassed Qi in almost every aspect, which resulted in sorcerers almost never looking backward to cultivate Qi.
"But Qi truly is a miraculous power. According to these descriptions, even without immortal force, a martial artist can rapidly heal physical damage, extend their lifespan, and enhance their physical fitness through Qi over a long period of accumulation."
Peter discovered that based on the descriptions of Qi cultivators, the East might not even need something like the Super Soldier Serum, because they could completely achieve the standard of a super soldier just by practicing Qi.
"However, the cultivation speed of Qi varies from person to person. Most people might have to practice for ten or twenty years before they can barely possess a continuous stream of Qi that can be utilized in actual combat."
Daniel sat cross-legged on the ground. "And even if you master Qi, it doesn't mean you are invulnerable. It's merely a way of utilizing one's own energy, and for the vast majority of people, there is still a limit."
That was precisely why Immortal Weapons existed. Excellent martial artists could obtain the power of Immortal Beasts. In truth, let alone a pure martial artist, even the Immortal Weapons themselves were hardly a match for the Immortal Beasts. This was also the reason why the birth process of an Immortal Weapon was referred to as a trial; it was fundamentally a test meant solely to select an Immortal Weapon.
Only a martial artist chosen by an Immortal Beast could pass their trial by having them pull their punches. Otherwise, a normal martial artist could not possibly possess the power to kill an Immortal Beast.
"And the immortal force can bestow an immortal quality to Qi. Except for fatal wounds, almost all injuries can be rapidly mended, along with a nearly infinite lifespan and even more excellent and formidable power. The only condition for all of this is that you need to keep your Qi circulating at all times."
Hearing up to this point, Peter's mind suddenly stirred. "In other words, Daniel, your Qi is actually always flowing, and the immortal force has been circulating inside your body from beginning to end? Doesn't that mean your entire body can be just like your Iron Fist?"
Daniel remained silent for a good while before choosing to shake his head honestly.
"The actual situation isn't like that, Spider-Man. Becoming an Immortal Weapon itself doesn't represent the limit, nor is it even progress; it's merely a new beginning. If you become an Immortal Weapon... perhaps due to your uniqueness, you won't have this issue, but you might also encounter such a problem: the immortal force is so powerful that even though it is contained within your body, you have no way to unleash it to its full potential."
Having said this, while feeling the flow of his own Qi, Daniel suddenly gathered the immortal force into his right fist, stood up, and pulled back to create some distance from Peter.
"So, if you truly intend to acquire the power of the immortal force, you need to hone yourself and make your actions conform to the flow of Qi. Let's give it a try, Peter. Try fighting me using only Qi, without using any of your powers aside from your baseline physical functions. It might just help you understand the circulation of Qi."
Peter stood up and then made a fist-and-palm salute, preparing himself to spar with Iron Fist without employing any of his spider abilities.
As for the Mountain Spider, she had indeed thrown Peter aside and ignored him. At any rate, the cultivation of Qi was never something accomplished in a day or two, and the Mountain Spider had never expected a speedrun to occur.
Then, while she was slacking off, she suddenly remembered something. She realized there was an extremely high probability that Peter couldn't understand those documents at all—he might not even recognize the characters written there!
But right at this moment, the Mountain Spider felt the web trembling. She perceived Daniel's arrival, so she instantly felt relieved. With the Immortal Iron Fist guiding him, there would surely be some progress, right?
After enduring for a bit longer, the Mountain Spider ultimately couldn't resist going directly to check on Peter's situation. Subsequently, she witnessed a scene that she found hard to believe.
Iron Fist and Spider-Man were sparring. To be more precise, Iron Fist was instructing Spider-Man on how to better utilize Qi, which was beyond reproach and exactly how it should be.
But the problem lay in: where did your Qi come from?
Unable to figure it out after a hundred thoughts, the perplexed Mountain Spider came down and chose to simply ask, "How did you do it? With a background of absolutely no assistance?"
Peter brought out that same explanation from before. Only after listening to it did the Mountain Spider accept this fact. However, immediately after, she rejected Peter's idea of wanting to participate in the trial of the Immortal Weapons.
"You are not yet fully prepared, Spider-Man."
The Mountain Spider spoke thus, and subsequently issued a combat invitation to Peter: "Let me see if this temporarily cobbled-together Qi of yours can support the combat you are about to face. Perhaps I might just change my mind."