Xu Yan kept practicing on the hillside according to the insights he had gained. One pit after another was blasted into the ground. It was not until deep into the night, when a considerable amount of his Vital Energy had been expended and fatigue finally set in, that he reluctantly returned to the village.
The next morning, Xu Yan was full of energy and returned to the hillside to cultivate once more.
Boom!
He struck out with one palm. Three zhang away, the soil flew, and a pit appeared.
"The power has increased again. My insight was right. I'm still only at the most superficial stage, but I can continue increasing the force of my palm."
Xu Yan gazed at the pit in the ground, his heart surging with excitement.
This palm was already twice as powerful as it had been before he practiced Dragon Subduing Palm.
At last, he had broken away from fighting with nothing but brute force.
"I'll go see how that foolish disciple is doing."
Li Xuan approached with leisurely strides.
"Master!"
Xu Yan hurriedly bowed respectfully.
"Mm."
Li Xuan glanced at the variously sized pits scattered across the ground, all blasted out by Xu Yan during his practice.
His heart immediately leaped with joy. Has he gained some insight? Judging by the power behind these pits, they could no longer have been blasted out through brute force alone. Although Dragon Subduing Palm hasn't reached the entry level yet, given enough time, he should certainly be able to master the basics.
"Master, this disciple has come to an understanding."
As Xu Yan spoke, he raised his hand and struck out with one palm. With a rumble, he blasted a hole into the ground.
Li Xuan's face remained calm, but he was inwardly astounded. This disciple's comprehension is truly monstrous! He's understood how to release his Vital Energy in a certain manner, causing its power to soar.
He must have comprehended the first line of the formula, right?
He then said, "The fact that you've gained something proves that you have the talent to practice Dragon Subduing Palm. However, you must always remember that an enemy will not give you time to gather power. You must make your palm follow your thoughts."
"Only when you can produce dragon-shaped palm force will you count as having barely entered the threshold at your current stage."
"Calm your mind, settle your qi, comprehend more, and practice more."
Xu Yan was startled. That's right. Every time I strike with my palm, there's a process of gathering power first. Though it's extremely brief, when experts exchange blows, life and death are decided in an instant.
The direction of my insight was correct, but it wasn't deep enough. I still need to keep working hard.
He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
"Mm."
Li Xuan nodded, then turned and left with leisurely strides.
I can't stay too long, and I can't give random guidance either. What if my disciple stumps me with a question? Wouldn't that be humiliating?
Thus, after taking a look at Xu Yan's progress, Li Xuan turned and left.
In the days that followed, Xu Yan practiced Dragon Subduing Palm in the mornings, and in the afternoons he comprehended and practiced movement techniques within the Bagua diagram.
At night, he practiced the Vital Energy cultivation formula to strengthen himself.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
The hillside was now densely covered with pits of every size, and Xu Yan had made tremendous progress in Dragon Subduing Palm.
He could now make his palm force shoot out swiftly with a single thought, moving entirely as he pleased.
When he struck out with one palm, the palm force formed from his Vital Energy was like a flood as thick as a thigh, crashing into the ground with astonishing speed and ferocity.
Moreover, his palm force was supremely yang and supremely firm, mighty beyond compare.
Its power had increased by more than threefold compared to before he began cultivating.
However, he still had not cultivated dragon-shaped palm force. What he struck out was merely an ordinary flood of Vital Energy, even though its power had increased by more than threefold.
It still could not be considered mastery of Dragon Subduing Palm.
At that moment, Xu Yan was comprehending the formula for Dragon Subduing Palm while summarizing the insights he had gained over the past half month.
"How should I condense dragon-shaped palm force? Why does it have to be condensed into a dragon shape?"
"How can I cultivate it to the entry level?"
Xu Yan sank into deep thought.
An image of a true dragon surfaced in his mind.
His Vital Energy circulated, and a flood of it surged from his palm. Under his control, the Vital Energy gradually began to transform into the shape of a dragon.
However, in the end, it became a python-like mass of palm force. It was still a world away from the shape of a dragon.
"I understand now. Condensing the dragon shape is a matter of controlling my own Vital Energy. Only by improving my control over my Vital Energy can I condense it into a dragon shape."
"If I can make the condensed dragon-shaped palm force indistinguishable from a true dragon, that may be when Dragon Subduing Palm reaches great mastery."
"At my current stage, what I need to do is condense a dragon shape—with horns, whiskers, and claws..."
With a direction now clear, Xu Yan began guiding his Vital Energy into the shape of a dragon as he practiced Dragon Subduing Palm.
However, every time he managed to condense a horn, he could not form claws. His Vital Energy would collapse as though it had gone out of control.
Xu Yan realized that if he wanted to condense dragon-shaped palm force, he first had to improve his use of Vital Energy. That was also the requirement for entering the threshold of Dragon Subduing Palm.
"Once Dragon Subduing Palm reaches the entry level, my palm force will surge again. I'll also be able to control its strength at will, instead of being nearly unable to control how strong or weak it is like this."
After understanding the key to cultivating Dragon Subduing Palm, Xu Yan began trying to figure out how to improve his control over his Vital Energy.
Three days later, he had made some progress in controlling his Vital Energy, but he was still far from condensing dragon-shaped palm force.
"Master, how should I improve my control over my Vital Energy?"
Unable to hold back any longer, Xu Yan asked during a break in the meal.
Li Xuan's hand paused slightly. How should one improve control over Vital Energy?
How would I know?
Of course, as a master, he could not answer that way.
He glanced at the chicken leg in his bowl, and an idea suddenly struck him. He said, "Disciple, the fact that you understand the importance of controlling Vital Energy means that you've already touched upon a bottleneck."
"Vital Energy comes from within oneself. How does one improve control over it? Use every bit of Vital Energy where it counts, and make it follow your will?"
"You can try roasting meat with your Vital Energy."
Li Xuan tore off a piece of meat from the chicken leg and said as he ate, "Roasting meat with your bare hands is an ultimate technique. Using Vital Energy to cook meat requires an extremely high degree of control over it."
"Roasting it until it's crisp on the outside and tender within, cooked to just the right degree—that isn't easy."
"See this chicken leg?"
Li Xuan tore off the remaining chicken leg and put it into his own bowl before continuing, "When you can roast a chicken leg with your hand until the chicken leg is cooked while the meat outside the chicken leg remains raw, your control over Vital Energy will count as having passed."
Xu Yan pondered this, inwardly sighing. So cultivation is actually hidden in the small details of daily life. I'm still far too lacking. Master's realm is simply too high.
How did I never think of this?
He stopped eating and said, "Master, this disciple understands!"
"Good that you understand!"
Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
Xu Yan excitedly ran to the chicken coop, caught a chicken, skillfully plucked and butchered it, then held it atop his palm.
His Vital Energy surged. The scorching energy instantly wrapped around the chicken.
A sizzling sound rang out. Just as he smelled the aroma of meat, he withdrew his Vital Energy, only to find that the chicken in his hand had turned completely charred.
It could not be eaten.
Xu Yan scratched his head and summed up his experience from just now. Then he caught another chicken, plucked and butchered it, placed it on his palm, and roasted it with Vital Energy.
He burned another chicken to a crisp.
After finishing his meal, Li Xuan was strolling through the village with leisurely strides when he saw more than a dozen charred chickens scattered at Xu Yan's feet.
In his hands, he was roasting another freshly butchered chicken.
"What a sin!"
The corner of Li Xuan's mouth twitched. How long has it been? He's already ruined more than a dozen chickens. If I don't stop him, he'll have ruined the entire coop by tomorrow!
Before you continue