A New Task

According to Pan De, at this point, one should take the impact with their body and then look for an opening to counterattack. However Si Ming shrugged his shoulders and suddenly used a move called "Phoenix Nods". His sleeve suddenly swung back from his shoulder and wrapped around Pan De's arm with a "snap". Then he used a move called "As If Plunged into a Sea of Mist" and drew circles with his palms, with his palm force surging.

Pan De seemed to be caught in a whirlpool, involuntarily spinning around twice. Halfway through the third spin, his stance suddenly loosened, and the strength in his legs began to dissipate. If he continued spinning, he feared he would fall flat on his face. So, he subconsciously circulated his Internal Cultivation, and the energy rebounded, forcibly stabilizing his body and breaking free from the sticky force.

"Haha, the path of martial arts is endless. There is no single correct way, only the most suitable one. You just need to find the method that suits you best. There's no need to stick to old clichés."

Faced with Si Ming's questioning gaze, Pan De blushed. They had agreed beforehand that neither of them would use Internal Cultivation, but he broke the rule first. Moreover, even in the end, Si Ming did not follow his method of relying on his body and still used skillful techniques to break his combination of hardness and softness.

"Actually, I still think you're getting stuck on one thing. What you need to learn is technique, not softness. Although softness best embodies technique, it doesn't mean that hardness has no technique. Take Taiji Fist, which everyone is familiar with, for example. Besides the famous 'using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds' and 'using softness to overcome hardness,' it also has Taiji Cannon Fist, which is incredibly powerful and domineering."

Si Ming circulated his energy and asked, "I've recently been studying ancient martial arts, including the three major styles: Taiji, Bagua, and Xingyi, but I always feel like I'm missing something."

In urban fiction, "ancient martial arts" represents high-class, powerful, and magical martial arts that surpass firearms. However, in the martial arts world of the Sea Continent, ancient martial arts refers to the earliest basic fist techniques that are unrelated to Internal Cultivation. At that time, people did not know how to control True Qi, so they focused on techniques and physical training.

In modern times, ancient martial arts, which do not rely on internal energy, have long been eliminated. However, their moves, stances, and training techniques have been inherited, and similar influences can be seen in various martial arts.

Pan De laughed and said, "You've come to the right person. I happen to be quite knowledgeable in this area. There's an old saying in the martial arts world that mocks the postures of Xingyi, Taiji, and Bagua: ' Taiji is like catching fish, Bagua is like pushing a millstone, and Xingyi is like catching shrimp.'"

The saying "Taiji is like catching fish" means that when practicing, the hands should move slowly as if reaching into the water. Taiji is just like catching fish, requiring the hands to "listen". When practicing the form, one should also have the strength of catching fish in the water, letting the mind follow the flow, seemingly there but not there, and then one can develop skill.

The Bagua Palm is like pushing a millstone. In addition to pushing forward, it also exerts a downward grinding force. Bagua Palm moves are so varied. The so-called "foot vibration" is like "walking through Mud-Wading Step," meaning the intention is in the feet, while the spirit is throughout the body.

When Xingyi Fist strikes, the movements are light and swift; when retracting, the hand should return with a "shrimp" motion, which is the so-called "light strike, heavy retraction." When practicing Xingyi, one should learn to play, just like a child. Countless ideas arise during play; if one can achieve "unbridled joy," then one has grasped the Paramārtha.

Six months ago, Si Ming would have only half understood what he was hearing, but after six months of basic martial arts training, although his Foundation cultivation hadn't improved much, his martial arts level was completely different.

The greatest benefit he gained from his past life was that he had been exposed to various martial arts knowledge, such as "a heavy sword has no edge, great skill is without artifice", "no sword in hand but a sword in heart", "no moves are better than moves", and "Brahman and I are one". Some of these were nonsense, but some of them actually made some sense. He often realized and verified them after practicing martial arts.

Therefore, Si Ming did not have a fixed concept of martial arts in his mind. His ability to accept new things was generally stronger than that of martial artists in this era. After all, Sea Continent had not yet entered the information age. Even if martial arts were made public, the speed of information exchange was really limited by the physical dissemination model of libraries and bookstores. Most people's concept of martial arts was often influenced by their surrounding environment and formed a fixed concept.

With just a little guidance from Pan De, Si Ming felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through. He grasped most of the essence of the three boxing techniques, and the rest would require hands-on practice to understand.

"If you really want to practice, start with Xingyi, then move on to Taiji, and finally Taiji. Tai Chi is easy to understand but difficult to master; some people never grasp it in their entire lives, so there's no need to waste time on it. There are many other things to learn on the path of martial arts."

Then Pan De struck a pose, putting his hands in front of his forehead and swaying from side to side, looking quite clumsy and ridiculous.

Si Ming asked, "What are you practicing?"

"This is the Bear Form from Xingyi Fist. You should practice this when you get back. Xingyi Fist has twelve forms, all derived from the movements of animals, making it extremely concise. Besides the twelve forms, there is another form called the Bear-Eagle Combined Form. All the moves in Xingyi Fist originate from it. The so-called eagle swooping down and bear standing upright is a continuous movement of two postures, one swooping down and the other standing up. Once you master this form, you don't need to practice the others. Anyway, you don't really want to learn Xingyi Fist Quan; just learn its essence."

"Been taught a lesson."

"Alright, don't bite off more than you can chew. Go back and practice first, we'll teach you Bagua next week." Pan De waved his hand.

Si Ming didn't covet anything. He took a shower, re-bandaged his right hand, packed his things, and went home.

Half a year has passed since he returned from the last Russia trial, and he has now entered his second year of high school. During this time, he put aside the practice of the "True Scripture of Great Number Decay and Rupture" and stopped focusing on physical fitness, instead honing his boxing skills and consolidating his foundation.

After training, he discovered that his body was extremely flexible and had great potential. With a little development, he could easily complete those difficult yoga poses. He realized that his previous path of using forceful and domineering techniques was actually a wrong one. It was just that the "True Scripture of Great Number Decay and Rupture" was so magical that it covered up his shortcomings in this area.

However, Si Ming himself preferred a more aggressive style. His favorite novel protagonist in his previous life was Liu Zhenhan from "Beast Blood Boils," whose fighting style left a particularly deep impression on him—wielding a thick spiked club, roaring, tearing open his outer robe to reveal thick chest hair, and cursing as he charged at the enemy.

Unfortunately, in this life he was reborn into a young, handsome man. Forget about chest hair, he could probably crossdress if he wore a skirt. If he were to tear his clothes like Liu Zhenhan during a fight, his opponents would probably instinctively glance at his chest.

The only saving grace was that practicing external martial arts had made him much stronger, and even his appearance had undergone subtle changes. For example, his facial features had become much more defined, his eyes could now radiate a fierce killing intent, and he had a muscular physique under his clothes, so he no longer gave people the impression of being effeminate.

Si Ming had seen many cases in his previous life where a person's hobby and talent were not the same thing, so he didn't care much about it.

He had a classmate who was clearly a math genius and even won an Olympic math gold medal in school, but he went on to write novels. He was constantly rejected, but he was still happy to do it. Others said he was wasting his talent, but he believed that if talent could not make him happy, then it was useless.

Si Ming disagreed with this view. He believed that interest could be cultivated. If someone who claimed to be born for basketball were sent back to ancient times, to be born and raised in an environment where basketball didn't exist, would he still develop an interest in playing basketball?

A moment later, Si Ming returned to the orphanage and found someone already waiting for him when he opened the door and went inside.

Have you come up with a plan for your new book?

Auntie Liu, dressed in a white-collar uniform, stared at Si Ming with the expression of a debt collector.

"Well... the subject matter has been decided, all that's left is the outline," Si Ming said, looking guilty.

"That means you haven't even started writing!" Auntie Liu said, her face cold with disappointment. "What's wrong with you? 'Ghosts and Gods Metropolis' has been finished for three months. If you don't release a new book soon, your popularity will dissipate. How can you become a famous School of Fiction if you're so lazy?"

Si Ming thought to himself, "My dream is to become a great swordsman, when did I become School of Fiction?"

Of course, he's not so lacking in emotional intelligence that he'd speak the truth at this moment.

"Well... I've almost finished the outline, and I've also conceived the opening plot. I'm just waiting to start writing. Give me a week, and I promise I'll produce a new piece."

Auntie Liu's expression softened slightly, and she asked, "Have you decided on a title for your book yet?"

"I've decided... probably, maybe, possibly... right?" Si Ming figured that no matter what, he should stall for time first.

Auntie Liu asked suspiciously, "You wouldn't have even thought of a topic yet and are just trying to fool me, would you?"

"How could that be! What I'm creating this time is an epic masterpiece, logically rigorous, with a reasonable genre, a vivid plot, and in a way that no one has ever created before..."

While trying to convince everyone, Si Ming racked his brains. He had no interest in copying works, but he could borrow ideas. Could literary creativity really be called plagiarism?

"I've got it! I'll call my next book 'The Ghosts and Gods Three Kingdoms: Wu Kingdom Arc'! I've even thought of a theme song: 'Power Rules All Under Heaven'!"

Zhaizhu: Seeing someone's question from a parallel world, I'll explain. Lin Qingluo was Liu Qingqing's original name. She changed her name and surname after she left with her mother, but she didn't change them in the parallel world.

PS: The title of Volume 5 has been revealed. "True Scales Cast Shadows Around Golden Flowers," which is quite straightforward and doesn't leave you in suspense.

Chapter 262 A New Mission

Physical books are not as long as online novels; "Ghosts and Gods Metropolis" only lasted 800,000 words and ultimately failed to gain Si Ming a large number of fans.

It's not that the quality of the work is bad. In fact, when the plot reached its turning point, that is, when the protagonist resolved to rebel against those born with superpowers and decided to spread martial arts and establish a new hero organization based on ordinary people, there were already signs of it becoming a hit. At that time, even some serious academic journals began to discuss "socialism" and "communist revolution".