Manifest Strength! Manifest Strength!

After sitting down and chatting idly for a few moments, Aunt Wu found an excuse to leave with Father Huo, leaving only Jiang Ting and Huo Yuanhong sitting opposite each other.

"Long time no see."

Huo Yuanhong lifted the teapot, and hot water streamed from its spout like a silver thread into the cup.

"Mm. Ever since you went to the Western Lands to study seven years ago, we haven't met."

Jiang Ting was eighteen this year, at the height of youthful vigor. Smiling faintly, she said, "You entered the Martial Arts Hall to study when you were only nine. Looking at your bearing now, you do seem rather like a martial artist. You must have reached Manifest Strength by now, right?"

Practicing Strength, Manifest Strength, Dark Force, and Transformation Strength were the four great martial arts realms widely passed down among the people!

In Jin Gate, anyone who cultivated Manifest Strength could already be called an expert, one in a thousand.

Whether serving as a martial arts instructor for dignitaries and nobles, or acting as a branch master for forces like the Caobang Gang and Chauffeur's Association, they could live a very comfortable life.

As for Dark Force, those were peerless experts, one in ten thousand. They could leap over eaves and scale walls, kill without leaving a trace, and even dignitaries and nobles had to treat them as honored guests.

"Manifest Strength... I'm still a little short, but I'm close."

Huo Yuanhong answered calmly.

In truth, though he had ostensibly entered the Martial Arts Hall at nine, from the age of nine to nineteen, he had never been qualified to train under an Instructor. Every night after returning home, he could only force his exhausted body to practice boxing blindly for a short while.

Even if all ten years of his martial arts training were added together, they might not amount to as much time as those scions of great families spent in one or two months!

Besides, relying entirely on blind practice by himself, his efficiency naturally could not compare to those heirs of great families who had Instructors to guide them.

As for truly practicing martial arts in earnest, that had only begun last night! He had trained for less than a single day!

Of course...

At his rate of progress, he would definitely achieve Manifest Strength today.

Even Dark Force, which most martial artists regarded as the pursuit of a lifetime, or even Transformation Strength!

To him, they only required a little more time. Perhaps two or three months would be enough.

If things went smoothly...

Before his twentieth birthday next year, he could at the very least attain Transformation Strength and become a master qualified to open a martial arts school in Jin Gate!

Perhaps...

There was even a high chance that he would have already surpassed Transformation Strength and stepped into the realm of a Grandmaster, capable of founding his own school!

But for now, he truly had not yet reached Manifest Strength. He was still less than a day away.

"Not at Manifest Strength yet..."

The brightness in Jiang Ting's eyes immediately dimmed by more than half. Somewhat disappointed, she said, "I heard that the four stages of Practicing Strength before Manifest Strength are 'Strength Rising from the Root, Dominance of the Waist, Originating from the Spine, Forming in the Hands.' You should have reached the fourth stage—Force Taking Form in the Hands—by now, right?"

"No. I've completed the second stage, though."

At his age, completing the second stage was not particularly rare, so Huo Yuanhong did not hide it.

"Oh."

Jiang Ting fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Because of what she had experienced as a child, she admired martial arts experts and hoped that her future partner would be someone from the martial arts world who could give her a strong sense of security.

When she had first seen Huo Yuanhong's calm, confident bearing, she had thought he was already an expert.

She had never expected that after training until the age of nineteen, he had only completed the second stage.

If he wanted to complete all four stages and master Manifest Strength, wouldn't he have to be thirty by then?

By the time he painstakingly reached the peak of Manifest Strength, he would probably be past fifty. His physical condition would have long begun to decline, making breakthroughs hopeless. This life of his would most likely end at Manifest Strength.

He might not even successfully step into Manifest Strength. After all, the third stage was famously difficult. He might very well get stuck there for good.

Meanwhile, a senior surnamed Yu whom Jiang Ting had admired in the Western Lands had entered the tutelage of a Transformation Strength master a year ago. After studying under his master for only one year, he had already crossed all four stages of Practicing Strength and fully mastered Manifest Strength!

It was said that he had a chance of reaching Dark Force within ten years, and might even be able to challenge Transformation Strength within thirty!

Comparing the two, Jiang Ting was immediately greatly disappointed.

"I feel... perhaps you have talent in business. If you can focus on making one business bigger and stronger, you may be able to help your family more in the future."

"If you're interested, you can first find a position at one of my family's shops and get some experience..."

Though disappointed inwardly, Jiang Ting still offered a reminder for the sake of their childhood friendship.

She hoped the person before her would realize this sooner and try taking another path.

As for Father Huo's wish to bring the two of them together, Jiang Ting felt that it was already impossible, and there was no need to waste any more time.

Not to mention that she was not interested—even if she truly were, the elders of her family would never agree.

"Thank you, but there's no need. I still prefer practicing boxing."

Huo Yuanhong replied calmly.

After that, the two of them forced out a few more lines of conversation before falling silent again.

"I arranged with the school to handle my enrollment this morning, so I'll be going first. Let's meet again another time."

Jiang Ting stood and spoke politely.

"Alright. Take care."

After seeing off his first blind date, Huo Yuanhong returned to the cramped Practice Room.

He swallowed several spoonfuls of medicinal paste and replaced the old plaster on his body.

He lowered his stance slightly, settling into a horse stance as steady as four level corners, and continued practicing against the worn-out sandbag.

"Strength Rising from the Root, Dominance of the Waist, Originating from the Spine, Forming in the Hands!"

What he needed to practice now was the third stage—Strength Originating from the Spine!

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 63/100)

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 64/100)

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 65/100)

As the status displayed on the panel kept updating, Huo Yuanhong's understanding of Baji Quan deepened further and further.

"My spine is a little stiff. The strength is getting stuck at the lumbar vertebrae and can't rise upward. I can try Cat-Style Spine Activation!"

Huo Yuanhong got down on all fours and imitated the motion of a stretching cat.

He had once heard disciples in the hall mention this method of training the spine. But when ordinary people practiced it, they had to be watched over by an expert, lest something go wrong and leave severe aftereffects.

Before, he could only grope his way forward on his own, so naturally he had no chance to practice such a relatively advanced technique.

But now, things were different!

His boxing would never regress and would always advance in the most correct direction. That meant he did not need to worry about going astray at all!

As long as he practiced, he would definitely gain something positive!

"Ha—! Hoo—! Ha—! Hoo—!"

Recalling the key points of the movements, Huo Yuanhong lowered his head and rounded his back while inhaling, curling his tailbone inward. When exhaling, he raised his head and sank his waist, turning his tailbone outward.

In this way, he moved his cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, sacral vertebrae, and other areas section by section.

For an ordinary person, this method of activating the small joints of the spine would take at least two or three months to show results!

But with one share of sweat yielding three hundred and sixty-five shares of reward, along with the miraculous trait of never regressing—

In just one or two hours, Huo Yuanhong's spine changed from being stiff at the start to becoming extraordinarily flexible!

"Let's see how effective it is."

This time, when Huo Yuanhong exerted force, not only did his waist and horse stance unite as one, but his spine tightened and stretched like a great dragon, each section linking through!

In the most efficient way possible, it transmitted the power erupted from the Tremor Stomp and drawn forth by the twist of his waist into his upper body.

Bang!

The fist print on the sandbag deepened from one inch to one and a fifth inches!

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 85/100)

"The strength passes through the spine, section by section, like dragon and serpent. No wonder martial artists often see the spine as a great dragon!"

"The core lies in using the spine's joint-by-joint coordination to transmit the force of the lower limbs pushing off the ground to the upper limbs, thereby integrating all one's strength!"

Realization dawned in Huo Yuanhong's heart.

Now, he had mastered the Baji Quan Tremor Stomp corresponding to the first three stages, the unity of waist and horse stance, and spinal transmission.

As long as he connected the final step, Forming in the Hands, he would be able to fully unleash Manifest Strength!

By then, it was already well past noon.

Huo Yuanhong went to the kitchen, intending to casually heat up two steamed buns to fill his stomach.

As he passed through the living room, he heard the voices of his father and Aunt Wu coming from inside.

"Brother Huo, there's something I don't know whether I should tell you."

"What is it?"

"I had someone ask around at Sword Inquiry Martial Hall just now. A-Hong... has already been expelled from the hall. And before that, he never became a formal disciple. He had always been doing apprentice work, and no Instructor was willing to take him on..."

"..."

His father's voice remained silent for a long while before sounding again. "Actually, when A-Hong told me back then that he was doing well at the Martial Arts Hall and had become a formal disciple, I knew he was lying...

"I also knew that he had been deceiving me all these years. His life at the Martial Arts Hall had actually been very hard...

"I know that Gentleman Sword he used to follow. Every year, I sent money over and begged Gentleman Sword to take care of A-Hong...

"Even if he wouldn't take care of him, I at least asked him not to bully him too badly..."

"Brother Huo, I know you can't bear to do it, but... this can't go on forever. In one month, the Commoner Faction will no longer be able to practice martial arts. A-Hong isn't young anymore either. You can't keep pretending along with him forever..."

Aunt Wu sighed.

"...Let A-Hong come to terms with it himself... This child loves practicing boxing more than anything. He's loved it since he was little, but I'm only a man who earns his living through brute strength. I have no ability to find him a good master..."

His father's voice was somewhat hoarse. "All I can do is put on an act with him...

"These past few days, I found him an easy job at a Carriage Firm. The place is full of old brothers, and the owner is a decent man too. At the very least, he won't be bullied there once he comes to terms with it..."

Listening as his father's voice gradually sank, Huo Yuanhong's emotions became complicated. He silently turned and left.

After eating two steamed buns in the kitchen and swallowing several more spoonfuls of medicinal paste, he returned once more to the cramped Practice Room.

"I'm only one final step away from Manifest Strength!"

He seemed to enter a state of self-forgetfulness. His heart was empty and clear as he threw punch after punch, leaving one fist print after another on the sandbag!

Before the previous fist print, over an inch deep, could recover, his next punch slammed into the same spot, driving the indentation even deeper.

One and a fifth inches! One and three-tenths! One and two-fifths! One and a half!...

The fist print grew deeper and deeper, never able to return to its original state. Huo Yuanhong seemed possessed, his attainments in boxing surging madly in that state of self-forgetfulness!

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 86/100)

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 87/100)

...

...

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 98/100)

Baji Quan (Practicing Strength 99/100)

"Hah!"

At one moment, Huo Yuanhong suddenly had an epiphany. He fiercely performed a Tremor Stomp, and the force exploding from the collision between the sole of his foot and the ground surged into his spine with the twist of his waist, then traveled upward along the spine as it stretched like a great dragon.

At the same time, the fist drawn back at his waist, driven by the power of his waist, back, and spine, thrust forward fiercely like a Great Spear!

Legs, waist, spine, arm, and fist formed a straight line. Baji's uniquely tyrannical, blazing force condensed into a single point and poured from the edge of his fist!

Boom!!!

The sandbag was punched into a crater and blasted apart. Sand and pebbles sprayed everywhere, striking the walls and floor as dust filled the air.

Manifest Strength...

Achieved!