Internal Arts Guide for Beginners — How the Core Power System Works in Where Winds Meet

If you ignore Internal Arts in Where Winds Meet, the game quickly feels unfair: enemies hit too hard, your damage feels low, and your Qi bar is always empty.
If you invest in the right Arts, though, the whole game suddenly becomes smoother — bosses die faster, you stay alive longer, and your build finally “clicks”.

This guide explains what Internal Arts actually are, why they matter so much, and which five Arts in Qinghe you should unlock first, based on real in-game data (not theorycraft).

1. What Internal Arts Really Are (Simple, no fluff)

Internal Arts are passive manuals that change the way your character fights.

Weapons decide what you can do (combos, skills, range).
Internal Arts decide how well you do those things (damage, sustain, survivability, team buffs).

In practice, Internal Arts:

boost your damage or armor break
smooth out your Qi flow and cooldowns
keep you alive through more mistakes
give teamwide buffs for co-op content

Qinghe alone already offers 30+ Internal Arts across damage, survival, and support. If you just randomly equip whatever drops into your bag, you’ll miss a huge amount of free power.

2. Why Internal Arts Matter More Than One More Weapon

You can think of three “layers” in your build:

Weapons & skills — your active toolkit
Gear & stats — your raw numbers
Internal Arts — the “engine” that makes the first two layers actually perform

Internal Arts matter because they touch all the hidden math:

Damage scaling – multiplicative bonuses, armor break, conditional burst
Resource flow – Qi generation, Qi cost reduction, rotation smoothness
Survivability – max HP, damage reduction, shields, healing received
Team utility – party-wide damage buffs, better healing auras, debuff control

Two players with the same weapon and similar gear can feel completely different in power, simply because:

one runs a stable engine (good Arts, clear priorities)
the other runs a leaking engine (random Arts, no synergy)

This guide is about building that engine properly from your very first hours in Qinghe.

3. Quick Structure: How the Internal Arts System Is Organized

You will see Internal Arts in a few different “shapes” in game:

Universal Arts – work on every build and are always safe picks
Offensive Arts – boost damage and armor break, some favor certain playstyles
Survival Arts – bulk up HP and defenses so you don’t get one-shot
Support Arts – empower healing and team buffs
“Exclusive” Arts – designed around a specific weapon path or playstyle

On top of that, each Art has:

Levels (“stacks”) – usually up to level 6; some breakpoints are huge spikes
Acquisition method – main story, strongholds, open-world puzzles, hidden chests, “steal teacher”, or merchants
Role tags – in our guides we’ll classify them as damage / sustain / survival / support / utility so you can see their purpose at a glance.

The goal of this beginner guide is not to cover every Art, but to give you five concrete priority picks and a simple way to think about the whole system.

4. Top 5 Internal Arts to Unlock First in Qinghe

These five Arts are pulled directly from actual Qinghe data.
They are:

easy to obtain early
useful on almost any build
strong enough to feel immediately

4.1 Priority Overview

Internal Art	Role	What it actually does (short)
Yi Shui Ge	Universal damage buff	Party-wide damage increase, huge boost at higher levels
Wei Meng Ge	Core DPS engine	Strong external-attack and armor-break boost, ideal for pure damage builds
Wu Ming Xin Fa	New-player stabilizer	Balanced crit and HP, great when you have no build-specific Arts yet
Xing Hua Bu Jian	Healing & sustain	Strong healing and HP recovery, key for supports and a good safety net for DPS
Sheng Long Huo Hu	Survival backbone	Max HP and toughness boost, greatly raises your error margin against tough bosses

Below we break down each Art with real in-game acquisition details and clear use cases.

4.2 Yi Shui Ge — “Just make everything hit harder”

Role: universal damage buff (party-wide)
Why it’s good:

Increases damage for all builds.
At level 6 it provides a large team damage increase, which scales incredibly well in co-op.
Even at level 3 it already feels good for daily content.

How to get it (Qinghe):

Go to the Bu Xian Xian zone in Qinghe.
Find the merchant Tang Bao.
Buy the manual for 5,000 Changming Jade (which you get from story, strongholds, and general progression).

Who should use it:

Every character.
If you’re overwhelmed by choice, slot Yi Shui Ge and forget about it — it’s never wasted.

Upgrade tip:

Early game: get it and raise it to level 3.
As you start doing harder content, push it towards level 6; it’s worth the investment.

4.3 Wei Meng Ge — Core engine for damage builds

Role: offensive core for DPS builds
Why it’s good:

Boosts external attack damage and armor break, which is exactly what most damage builds want.
Synergizes especially well with heavy hitters like Mo Blades or umbrella/dart builds that want to shred enemy posture and HP quickly.

How to get it (Qinghe):

Clear the Qinghe stronghold often translated as “Fo-ye Zhai” for the first time.
The manual is rewarded on your first clear.
The stronghold has many enemies; either go in co-op or wait until you’ve unlocked at least three martial skills from the main story.

Who should use it:

Any early-game damage build that wants to clear PvE content faster.
Pairs especially well with other damage-oriented Arts later (like Duan Shi Zhi Gou and similar).

Upgrade tip:

This is a core damage engine: plan to level it ahead of more niche Arts.

4.4 Wu Ming Xin Fa — The “don’t think too hard yet” Art

Role: all-rounder for new players
Why it’s good:

Provides a balanced mix of crit chance and HP, which feels great before you have a fully defined build.
Does not lock you into any specific weapon or path.

How to get it (Qinghe / general):

Taught by the NPC Jiang Yan.
Obtained through the daily sign-in system, so you get it just by playing, no special grind required.

Who should use it:

Any new character that hasn’t yet collected build-specific Arts.
Great filler until you have more specialized choices for your main weapon.

Upgrade tip:

Treat it as a transition piece: level it enough to feel comfortable, then slowly replace it with more specialized Arts once you unlock them.

4.5 Xing Hua Bu Jian — Healing safety net (and support core)

Role: healing and sustain
Why it’s good:

Increases healing done and HP regeneration, which is priceless when content starts hitting harder.
For support builds (especially fan and umbrella healer styles), it’s close to mandatory.
For DPS builds, it gives you a powerful emergency sustain option.

How to get it (Qinghe):

Unlock the life-skill quest chain often referred to as “Herbal Aid” (a medical profession quest).
This chain becomes available around level 13.
You need around 6,000 exploration points in Qinghe first — open chests, trigger “everyone’s story” events, and clear side content to reach that threshold.

Who should use it:

Dedicated healers and support builds: almost always.
DPS players who feel too squishy in early bosses: keep it as an emergency survival slot.

Upgrade tip:

On support builds, this is a high-priority investment, especially before you enter serious co-op or large-scale fights.

4.6 Sheng Long Huo Hu — The “I refuse to get one-shot” Art

Role: survival backbone
Why it’s good:

Provides a big boost to max HP and toughness, directly increasing how many mistakes you can survive.
Perfect for learning new bosses, trying difficult content, or front-line roles in co-op.

How to get it (Qinghe):

First clear the Qinghe stronghold often known as “Longhu Zhai” to obtain 6 fragments.
Complete the “Yan Yun Crowd” adventure (a Qinghe-region quest) to obtain 4 more fragments.
Combine the fragments in your bag to unlock the full manual.

Who should use it:

Any build attempting higher-level content for the first time.
Front-liners such as tanky Mo Blade or spear builds.
Also valuable as a “safety slot” on squishy DPS characters while you are still learning.

Upgrade tip:

This Art shines in high-damage boss fights.
Even if you later switch to full glass-cannon setups, keep it around for new encounters.

5. A Simple Early-Game Route (First Week in Qinghe)

If you want a concrete path instead of a wall of options, here is a lightweight 7-day plan built from actual Qinghe data:

Day 1–2
- Push main story through the early strongholds.
- Unlock offensive Arts like Wei Meng Ge and survival pieces like Sheng Long Huo Hu.
- Start getting used to your main weapon’s rhythm.
Day 3–4
- Farm Changming Jade and buy Yi Shui Ge from Tang Bao in Bu Xian Xian.
- Continue exploring to raise Qinghe exploration; collect chests and trigger local events.
- Equip Wu Ming Xin Fa as a stabilizer if you haven’t yet.
Day 5–6
- Unlock the medical life-skill quest line and take Xing Hua Bu Jian.
- Start experimenting with swapping one or two Arts depending on what you’re doing: solo story, dungeons, or co-op.
Day 7
- Clean up remaining strongholds and side quests.
- Pick up any missing survival or utility Arts from hidden chests, small events, or “steal teacher” spots.
- From here, you’re ready to dive into more advanced route- and build-specific guides.

The point is not to hit every single Art in Qinghe immediately. Instead, you’re building a stable core of five very strong, very flexible Arts that you can then refine into weapon-specific setups.

6. Matching Internal Arts to Your Playstyle (Not Just Names)

Once you have a few manuals, the question is no longer “what can I equip?”, but:

“What does my build actually need right now — damage, flow, or safety?”

Use this quick checklist:

If your damage feels fine but you keep dying → keep one damage Art, slot more survival (Sheng Long Huo Hu, later things like Kang Zao Da Fa).
If you never have Qi or your combo stalls → prioritize Arts that help resource flow and rotation (later you’ll see picks that reduce Qi costs or refund stamina).
If you’re playing a healer or support → healing and team buffs (Xing Hua Bu Jian, plus later support-only Arts like Jun Chen Yao) will usually outperform pure damage choices.
If your goal is pure DPS → you’ll eventually add more specialized Arts (like high-priority damage manuals and route-specific books) on top of Yi Shui Ge and Wei Meng Ge.

Think of your Internal Arts slots as levers.
Whenever something feels bad — too squishy, too slow, too dry on Qi — you first ask:

“Which Art can I swap to fix the exact feeling I’m having?”

That mindset will take you much further than blindly copying any single list.

7. Common Beginner Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Even strong players waste a lot of power in their first hours with the Internal Arts system. Here are the traps to avoid:

7.1 Equipping random manuals “just because they dropped”

If you just equip whatever is new and shiny, you’ll end up with:

partial damage bonuses
no real survivability
no help for your Qi issues

Fix:
Always check: Does this Art give me damage, flow, survival, or support that I actually need right now?
If the answer is “not really”, it’s okay to leave it unequipped for now.

7.2 Ignoring exclusive / highly specialized Arts

Some Arts are clearly tailored for specific flows (for example, dedicated gunspear, Mo Blade, or healer manuals). Using them on the wrong build provides almost no value.

Fix:
Treat build-exclusive Arts as later, specialized upgrades.
For the first few days, focus on universal picks like Yi Shui Ge, Sheng Long Huo Hu, and generic survival or utility manuals until you know what you truly enjoy playing.

7.3 Over-investing in “transition” Arts

Arts like Wu Ming Xin Fa feel great when your build is still forming, but they are not meant to be permanent endgame cores.

Fix:

Use these as bridges, not final destinations.
Once you have access to stronger, more specific manuals for your main weapon, slowly move your upgrade resources into those instead.

7.4 Leveling damage before safety or flow

It’s tempting to pump every resource into damage Arts and ignore survivability or Qi.

The problem: dead DPS does no DPS.

Fix:

Get flow and safety to a reasonable baseline (Qi, HP, basic defenses).
Then pour resources into your biggest damage multipliers.

You will clear content faster if you can stay in the fight long enough to keep dealing damage.

8. Where to Go Next

This guide is your foundation:
You now know what Internal Arts are, which ones to unlock first in Qinghe, and how to think about them as an engine behind your build.

From here, your next steps are:

A deeper look at mechanics and routes in our “How Internal Arts Work” article
Region-specific guides for Internal Arts in Qinghe and Kaifeng, with location routes
Build-specific recommendations, like “Best Internal Arts for Mo Blade”, “Best Internal Arts for healer fans and umbrellas”, and so on

As long as you:

avoid random equipping,
build around what your character actually needs,
and treat Internal Arts as the “invisible engine” behind your play,

you’ll already be ahead of most players — and your character will feel stronger every time you pick up a new manual.

Enjoy your time in Qinghe, and let these five early Internal Arts do the heavy lifting for you.