prynovel Chapter 20 Methods
Chapter 20 Methods
He put down the wine gourd.
Imagine your body as a river.
"Qi and blood are like river water."
"That kick of yours was like standing on the riverbank and pushing water with your hands—it had power, but you couldn't use it effectively."
He paused, then squatted down, placing his palms on the ground.
"Ming Jin is different."
"Mingjin builds a dam upstream of the river, fills it with water, and then opens the sluice gates."
"When the dam breaks, the water rushes down; you don't need to push it, it just flows out on its own."
He stood up, and without any apparent effort, casually thrust his right fist forward.
The fist traced a short arc in the moonlight, followed by a crisp crack in the air—"Snap!"
Like a whip lashing against a bluestone slab.
The force of the punch swept past Lin Mu's clothes, making a rustling sound.
Lin Mu looked down at his feet and remained silent for a moment.
"Then how do you train?"
"Stand in a stance." Bai Yungui patted his shoulder. "Get the stance right, let your qi and blood sink down, and firmly establish your roots."
"When you can feel the power surging up from the soles of your feet, you're not far from achieving Ming Jin (a level of internal strength).
Lin Mu closed his eyes, spread his legs, and lowered his body slightly.
He focused his attention on the soles of his feet, feeling the warmth of the bluestone slabs.
When the body-strengthening technique is activated, qi and blood flow from all parts of the body, passing through the waist, knees, calves, and ankles, and rushing to the soles of the feet.
My soles gradually began to swell, as if spring water was gushing up from the soles of my feet.
He tried his best to compress his blood and qi.
Bai Yungui glanced at him, took off his wine gourd, and quietly retreated to the inner courtyard gate.
He wanted Lin Mu to experience more.
The moment he stepped out of the courtyard gate, Lin Mu moved.
The pressure that had been suppressed beneath his feet suddenly sprang up, like a fully drawn bow being released.
The force originates from the soles of the feet, the calves straighten, the knees push upwards, the waist and hips twist, the spine extends, and the left fist flips out from the waist and is sent forward.
"Pop—"
A soft sound, like the sound of fish blowing bubbles underwater.
There was no crisp cracking sound like a whip striking a white cloud, nor the resounding thud of muscles and bones that a powerful strike should have.
But they must have practiced the right methods.
His fist froze in mid-air, the veins on his arm bulging for a moment before subsiding.
He opened his eyes, looked at his fist, and his breathing became heavier than before.
At the entrance to the inner courtyard, Bai Yungui paused in his departing steps.
He didn't turn around, as if he hadn't noticed.
But the slight upturn of his lips and the soft muttering betrayed him.
"Good job, lad."
"What a pity, such inferior physical constitution."
......
After his senior brother left, Lin Mu stood still again.
Grip the ground with both feet, lower your body, and press your blood and qi downwards.
My feet feel swollen, like I'm stepping on springs.
He suppressed that energy until his feet went numb before suddenly releasing it.
The force springs up from the soles of the feet, the calves tighten, the knees push upwards, the waist and hips twist, and the left fist flips out from the waist.
"Pop—"
The sound was like a cork being pulled from a bottle, slightly brighter than before.
Lin Mu withdrew his fist, his qi and blood sank again, bounced up, and threw another punch.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He ignored the pain in his left fist, which was red from the blows, and the splint on his right arm that was digging into the wound.
The moon's shadow slants to the west.
Lin Mu withdrew his fist and took a breath.
The skin on his fist was not used to the new force, and it chafed and bled as he punched the air.
He shook his hands and stood still again.
Sink, bounce, and punch repeatedly.
The Qi and Blood refined by the Body Tempering Technique were depleted through repeated consumption.
The large vat of qi and blood went from being full to becoming a shallow beach, and then from a shallow beach to a dried-up muddy bottom.
He felt the springiness under his feet getting weaker and weaker, and the sound of his punches getting softer and softer.
Only then did he straighten up.
Sweat dripped from his forehead down his cheeks onto the blue bricks, forming small dots.
He closed his eyes and pulled up the booklet.
[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 83/100]
[Body Tempering Technique: Beginner 1/100]
The Long Wind Fist has made great progress.
However, it has not yet broken through the Ming Jin (明劲) level.
On the other side of the courtyard wall, the lights in the owner's room were off, but the paper windows were open.
The owner leaned against the window, gazing at the moon and yawning incessantly.
He yawned one after another, as if under a spell.
But he never pushed open the door or called out, "It's midnight, go back."
……
The next morning, Lin Mu finished his chores early and practiced standing meditation in the outer courtyard.
As the body-strengthening technique was activated, qi and blood surged from the dantian to the soles of the feet, causing the soles of the feet to swell, as if stepping into wet mud.
He closed his eyes and pressed the stance of the stance deeper and deeper—bend his knees a little more, sink his hips a little more, and relax his back a little more.
Body-strengthening techniques allow qi and blood to be stored in every inch of muscle, while stance training allows this qi and blood to flow downwards and take root.
The two forces intertwined, and the ground beneath my feet grew heavier and heavier. My calves felt like they were filled with lead, and my waist and hips felt like they were being pulled down by something.
He braced himself against the frame, feeling the springiness beneath his feet—heavier and more stable than yesterday.
Sweat seeped from his forehead, dripping down his nose onto the blue bricks, leaving small dots.
Time passed slowly as the number of small dots increased, and other fellow disciples also entered the hall one after another.
Yan Hua arrived first, glanced at Lin Mu out of the corner of his eye, and went straight into the inner courtyard.
Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang walked side by side, glanced at Lin Mu, and smiled:
"Innate talent determines the upper limit, while wealth determines the lower limit."
"He has neither, so practicing until he dies is useless."
Under the eaves, Chen Yuan gestured towards Lin Mu with his lip, exchanged a smile with Zhou Yu, and shook his head.
He turned to Zhou Yu and asked, "Aren't you about to knock on the gate?"
"Today."
Zhou Yu raised the corner of his mouth and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the people around him to hear: "My father bought me a Qi and Blood Pill last night."
Chen Yuan's eyes lit up, and he leaned closer: "Qi and Blood Pill? That's much better than Qi and Blood Powder and Qi and Blood Pills, it must cost fifty taels of silver, right?"
"Fifty-one taels." Zhou Yu dusted off his clothes, as if he were talking about a trivial matter, "The craftsmanship of Chen, the alchemist in the inner city."
Chen Yuan clicked his tongue, glanced enviously at the brocade pouch at Zhou Yu's waist, and said nothing more.
As Zhou Yu passed by Lin Mu, he didn't stop or look away, but he raised his chin a little higher than usual.
Lin Mu simply stood quietly in the back row, waiting for the coach to arrive.
When he had a spare moment, he glanced at the booklet.
[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 84/100]
It rose a little more than yesterday.
If we maintain this pace, we can prepare to enter the gate in half a month.
Not fast, but not slow either.
At midday, the instructor was practicing the Long Wind Fist in the front yard.
Zhou Yu hid in a corner and secretly swallowed a Qi and Blood Pill.
His dantian felt hot, and his punches and kicks were a bit heavier than usual.
He lowered his voice and practiced each move carefully.
On the seventh repetition, the right fist flipped out from the waist and slammed into empty space.
"Snap—"
It was a crisp sound, a bit louder than Lin Mu's "pop" last night, but it was nowhere near as explosive as when the senior brother threw a punch.
It sounds like a cork being pulled out of a bottle, but amplified.
Chen Yuan, who had been watching him closely, suddenly stood up: "It's done?"
Zhou Yu withdrew his fist, looked down at his fist, and slowly raised the corners of his mouth and chin.
He immediately looked at Lin Mu—as a son of a wealthy family, being outshone by a servant was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
"Congratulations! You succeeded on your first attempt." Several new apprentices gathered around to congratulate you.
Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang stood a few steps away and nodded to him in congratulations.