Practicing the Fist Technique

Kang Tianchen set his stance but made no further move. As he waited for Li Changqing to recover from that state of mental exhaustion, he began explaining the fist technique.

"Psionic energy is the power produced when human consciousness resonates with the Subspace Psionic Monsoon. Matter determines consciousness, and consciousness likewise acts upon matter. What you're feeling now isn't merely physical fatigue, but exhaustion of the mind as well."

"Subdue the heart-macaque, tether the mind-horse. Use your own mind as the drive to mobilize your body."

"Watch the movements!"

Li Changqing gathered his full attention and carefully observed the direction of Kang Tianchen's fist technique.

Kang Tianchen assumed his stance. His legs were like old trees taking root, planted firmly in the ground. His waist and abdomen drew tight, yet were not rigid; waves seemed to roll beneath them, natural as flowing water.

Li Changqing's gaze blazed. He imitated Kang Tianchen's movements and shifted his stance. The muscles and fascia throughout his body were actually all set in motion by the fist technique, and the unbearable fatigue made him want to collapse face-first onto the floor.

Just then, a stick tapped the base of his spine. In an instant, every pore on Li Changqing's body tightened, and his hairs stood on end.

"Focus! Find the feeling. You need to grasp the movement of every inch of muscle in your body, the position of every bone."

As Kang Tianchen gave instructions, he used the stick to tap the crucial points of Li Changqing's movements.

He pulled a remote control from his pocket and muttered to himself.

"Almost forgot this."

He pressed the button, and a video of a Martial Artist practicing Tai Chi was projected onto the display screen.

"Watch the video and memorize the movements. I'll personally teach you the key points."

The essence of this fist technique lay in the flow of muscles, tendons, and bones. Without Kang Tianchen's hands-on guidance, no one could learn these precise movements, refined through countless experiments, merely by watching a video.

Yet the difficulty of this fist technique still exceeded Li Changqing's expectations.

Before he had even completed eight movements, he was drenched in sweat, and every muscle in his body had begun to tremble. If not for his tenacious will, he would have long since collapsed.

"If you're tired, rest a little." Kang Tianchen lightly swung the wooden stick against the bend of Li Changqing's knee. The latter's breath leaked out, and he immediately crumpled to the floor.

"What kind of fist technique is this? It's way too exhausting." Li Changqing found it hard to believe.

It was only eight movements, yet he was already struggling to endure.

He was a man who could finish a two-thousand-meter weighted run in under seven and a half minutes.

This was too absurd.

"Heh heh, this is an Old Technique capable of drawing in psionic energy." Kang Tianchen looked at Li Changqing, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"I never expected that after just finishing a physical fitness test, you could still perform eight forms in one go. Your vitality wasn't particularly strong when I checked earlier, either. Strange."

Kang Tianchen rubbed his chin, looking at Li Changqing lying on the ground like a dead dog, then waved his little stick.

Smack—

"Get up. Continue."

This time, Li Changqing lasted longer. He closed his eyes and focused his mind.

Chengtian Tai Chi Fist: Proficiency 2%

Unlike the improvement of his physique, the increase in proficiency continuously deepened his understanding of the Chengtian Tai Chi Fist. The unnecessary muscle movements decreased, and the consumption of strength naturally dropped sharply.

"Strange, strange." Kang Tianchen clicked his tongue in wonder, wooden stick in hand.

Li Changqing had now reached the eighteenth form. He had actually done two more forms than before. By all reason, as his physical strength was depleted, each round of practicing the fist technique should have become more difficult.

The nineteenth form.

As he moved Cloud Hands, the vitality throughout Li Changqing's body actually dispersed like mist along with the movement.

With that single movement, his abundant vitality was nearly exhausted in an instant. His body swayed, and he could no longer maintain his balance.

Only then did Kang Tianchen smile. "That's more like it. You brat ought to have a limit too. Rest—"

Yet before he could finish, Li Changqing, who had been about to topple over, somehow steadied himself again against all reason.

Kang Tianchen: ???

Physique +1

Vitality Concentration: 40%

His body was washed over by a heat wave. Li Changqing, exhausted in body and mind, was revived at full strength once more. In places unseen by the naked eye, the fascia throughout his body was growing fuller and smoother, brimming with astonishing elasticity.

As his limbs stretched, faint cracking sounds rang out.

Not only that, with the increase in proficiency, Li Changqing watched the Martial Artist practicing Tai Chi on the screen.

Some insights that Kang Tianchen had never explained actually surged directly into his mind.

The next moment, he shifted his feet. Following the direction of his consciousness and muscles, he drew a Tai Chi Yin-Yang Fish upon the ground.

The twentieth form, Invert Yin Overturn Yang.

"Holy shit, what the hell did you grow up eating?" Kang Tianchen was dumbfounded.

How could someone become more energetic the more they practiced?

And he realized that Li Changqing's mistakes were actually decreasing.

This wasn't scientific!

This wasn't psionic!

The twenty-first form, the twenty-second form.

After that, Li Changqing's movements flowed together seamlessly. They gradually changed from awkward to practiced, and even the places where he made mistakes rapidly diminished.

The final five forms were completed in one breath.

The twenty-four forms of Tai Chi were fully completed.

Chengtian Tai Chi Fist: Proficiency 5%

As his proficiency increased, Li Changqing's understanding of the set of fist techniques deepened further.

His expression turned dazed. As he recalled the sequence, he actually discovered quite a few subtle steps he had done wrong without realizing it.

A difference of a hair could lead to an error of a thousand miles.

He had to correct them next time.

"You brat..."

Kang Tianchen's voice pulled Li Changqing's consciousness back. The former looked the latter up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"For your first time practicing a fist technique, you actually completed it after only three attempts." His face was full of confusion.

"Your talent isn't weak either. Why were you assessed as D-Class?"

Li Changqing chuckled. "Maybe I had an epiphany these past few days."

"That's possible." Kang Tianchen actually wore a thoroughly serious expression.

Epiphanies were not unusual in martial arts. Even in myths, there were people who attained enlightenment overnight and ascended in broad daylight.

By modern explanation, that meant ancient Martial Artists had resonated with psionic energy, entered the Consciousness Subspace, and completed Psionic Ascension.

"All right, you've learned the fist technique too. Once you can practice the entire set in one go while keeping your vitality flowing without interruption, you'll have officially entered the discipline."

Complete all of it in one attempt?

According to Kang Tianchen's description, there was no shortcut to this. Just like when he had paused earlier and broken through his limit, even though his physical strength had recovered, that flow of vitality had been interrupted.

"Coach Kang, what changes will happen if this set of fist techniques is performed in full?"

"Of course there will be changes." The corners of Kang Tianchen's mouth curled up.

"Watch."

At last, it was his turn.

That brat had been showing off enough just now.

As he spoke, he assumed his stance once more, but this differed from when he had demonstrated for Li Changqing earlier.

This time, Kang Tianchen no longer needed to make sure Li Changqing could see every detail clearly.

His movements flowed without interruption, his vitality surging long and unbroken like a great dragon. He was on an entirely different level from Li Changqing.

The twenty-four forms were completed.

He suddenly raised both hands to his brow, then slowly pressed them down.

His lips parted slightly, and in an instant, a stream of white vapor shot from Kang Tianchen's mouth.

It traveled several meters in a single line, only gradually dispersing after reaching the wall five meters away.

Li Changqing rubbed his eyes hard.

It was July. Even with air conditioning in the training hall, the room temperature was still in the twenties Celsius.

He could actually breathe out white vapor, and send it several meters?

Was he even human?

Li Changqing instinctively exhaled. Sure enough, not even a single strand of white vapor appeared.

Kang Tianchen laughed.

"Exhaling breath like a sword is the mark of Vitality Condensation within the body. Once you reach that stage, you'll have entered the martial path and officially become a Lower-Rank Martial Artist."

He patted Li Changqing on the shoulder.

"Those people at your academy who graduated with B-Grade evaluations reached this level without relying on Old Techniques."

"Don't aim too high. They're geniuses; we can't compare to them. If you can reach this realm within a year, you'll be able to officially join the martial arts school."

A year?

Li Changqing blinked as he sensed the vitality steadily filling his body.

It probably would not take that long.

Still, he had not expected Jiang He to be so strong.

Without relying on Old Techniques, Jiang He had achieved Vitality Condensation through martial arts and could exhale breath like a sword.

He decided it. His first small goal in martial arts cultivation would be Jiang He.