Yang Style Tai Chi

Lin Yuan turned on his computer and began looking up information on Tai Chi.

The Tai Chi he had learned in college was the Simplified Tai Chi 24 Forms, a fitness routine created with Yang Style Tai Chi as its model.

This simplified version retained only the movements for health and fitness, so it was definitely not suitable.

But since it had evolved from Yang Style Tai Chi, Lin Yuan turned his attention to Yang Style Tai Chi.

By the twenty-first century, traditional Chinese martial arts had declined, and fewer and fewer people practiced them.

As a result, many secrets that had once been closely guarded were gradually made public and posted online.

Some did it to build their personal brand, while others sold courses.

Of course, there were also senior practitioners who loved traditional martial arts and hoped their family techniques could be passed down.

When Lin Yuan searched for "Yang Style Tai Chi" online, quite a few videos appeared, but many of them were incomplete.

However, Yang Style Tai Chi was considered one of the most prominent Tai Chi schools today and had spread widely, so it had self-media accounts on many video platforms.

Lin Yuan opened Doumi and quickly found an account with the ID Little Sister Yang Style Tai Chi.

It had official verification, so it was not a fake account.

To his surprise, Little Sister Yang Style Tai Chi had over a million followers and was quite popular.

There were plenty of videos on the account, but Lin Yuan did not rush to start practicing after opening the first one.

Instead, he scrolled to the bottom of the page, opened an introductory video titled "Yang Style Tai Chi," and watched it with great interest.

Yang Style Tai Chi was not merely a single martial art to learn; it had an entire systematic curriculum.

It included: Wisdom Fist, Big Frame, Old Frame, Small Frame, Tai Chi Long Fist, Little Nine Heavens, Acquired Method, Thirty Loose Hands, Thirteen Total Postures, and Tai Chi Acupoint Method.

Only after learning all that did Lin Yuan begin browsing the practice videos.

The first, Wisdom Fist, was the entry-level form for beginners of Tai Chi. It was meant to enlighten novice martial artists, hence the name "Wisdom" Fist.

The second, Big Frame, had a total of eighty-five forms, broad and open in movement, with an orderly rhythm of fast and slow.

These two videos, along with the later Old Frame, Tai Chi Long Fist, Acquired Method, and Thirteen Total Postures, were all demonstrated by a valiant-looking young woman dressed in training clothes.

She was presumably Little Sister Yang herself.

But Small Frame, Little Nine Heavens, Thirty Loose Hands, and Tai Chi Acupoint Method were demonstrated by a white-haired old man.

Though separated by a screen, the old man's movements were especially awe-inspiring.

Fast as lightning, slow as a gentle breeze, hard and soft harmonized. Each movement flowed into the next, tightly interwoven like a surging river that never ceased.

By the time he finished watching them all, it was already three or four in the morning.

But Lin Yuan was still brimming with enthusiasm and not sleepy in the slightest. Instead, he began practicing each set according to the videos.

Though he was merely imitating the forms, with only the outward appearance.

Once he had gone through all of them, however, the [Skills] section of his system panel immediately changed.

[Name: Lin Yuan]

[Lifespan: 25/60]

[Strength: 6]

[Speed: 8]

[Agility: 7]

[Endurance: 7]

[Flexibility: 6]

[Martial Arts: Yang Style Tai Chi (Blue; Not Initiated)]

[Attribute Points: 1]

(Hint 1: Based on the system's big-data algorithm, martial arts are divided into seven grades: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple.)

(Hint 2: Martial arts mastery is divided into five levels: Initiated, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Perfection.)

"Yang Style Tai Chi is only Blue-grade martial arts? I wonder how the system determines martial arts grades." Lin Yuan muttered to himself.

As for the "Not Initiated" displayed afterward, he was not surprised.

After all, even if he were a once-in-a-century cultivation genius, there was no way he could become initiated after roughly running through it once.

But... wasn't this exactly what highlighted the system's usefulness?

"Add points!"

"Raising Yang Style Tai Chi to Initiated will consume 1 Attribute Point. Proceed?"

"Yes!"

On the panel, Yang Style Tai Chi (Not Initiated) immediately became (Initiated).

For a moment, Lin Yuan felt as though the previously unfamiliar Yang Style Tai Chi had been practiced by him countless times. Its movements and methods of exerting force were now crystal clear in his mind.

Without another word, Lin Yuan immediately raised his hands and began practicing the set in his room.

From "Wisdom Fist" to "Small Frame," then "Thirty Loose Hands" and "Thirteen Total Postures."

The more he practiced this set, the more extraordinary he found it.

When the opponent is hard and I am soft, that is yielding. When I follow their advance and make them lose balance, that is sticking. When they move quickly, I respond quickly; when they move slowly, I follow slowly. Strike after the opponent strikes, and overcome hardness with softness.

As though possessed, Lin Yuan practiced the set over and over again.

Before he knew it, dawn had arrived.

Lin Yuan slowly lowered his arms. Though the form was closing, the motion continued; though he withdrew, he did not slacken.

Though he had stayed up all night, Lin Yuan did not feel the exhaustion he normally would after pulling an all-nighter. Instead, he was full of vigor.

What delighted him even more was that his Attribute Points had increased by 2. It seemed he had found the right way to train intensely.

As Yang Style Tai Chi improved, every one of his physical attributes also changed.

[Name: Lin Yuan]

[Lifespan: 25/60]

[Strength: 6.5]

[Speed: 8.5]

[Agility: 8]

[Endurance: 8]

[Flexibility: 7]

[Martial Arts: Yang Style Tai Chi (Blue; Initiated)]

[Attribute Points: 2]

Judging by the increases, Agility, Endurance, and Flexibility had each risen by 1 point, while Strength and Speed had increased by only 0.5.

Lin Yuan could understand that result.

Tai Chi, as Internal martial arts, emphasized stillness overcoming motion, softness overcoming hardness, following the opponent's momentum, and borrowing the opponent's strength.

To use force against force in combat, deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces, naturally required greater agility and flexibility.

Even Ma Zhiguo, the famous comedic martial artist, was not entirely talking nonsense when he constantly spoke of "receive, neutralize, release."

As the saying went, "No matter how fierce their powerful attack, lead it into emptiness, and wisdom triumphs over courage."

As for Endurance, Internal martial arts were called "internal" because they also emphasized nourishing qi and preserving the spirit. The longer one's breath, the stronger one's stamina.

Lin Yuan did not dwell further on those matters and instead turned his attention to the 2 Attribute Points.

Saving them was out of the question. He directly thought, Add points.

"Raising Yang Style Tai Chi to Proficient will consume 2 Attribute Points. Proceed?"

"Yes!"

His Attribute Points were cleared again.

[Name: Lin Yuan]

[Lifespan: 25/60]

[Strength: 7]

[Speed: 9]

[Agility: 9]

[Endurance: 9]

[Flexibility: 8]

[Martial Arts: Yang Style Tai Chi (Blue; Proficient)]

[Attribute Points: 0]

Before Lin Yuan could feel the changes in his body.

A wave of extreme dizziness suddenly surged through him. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and his entire body felt as though it had been hollowed out.

Lin Yuan collapsed to the floor at once.

The sudden change left him utterly stunned.

Hungry. Starving. An intense hunger rose from every cell in his body.

Since ancient times, it had been said that scholars came from poor families while martial artists came from wealthy ones. Martial arts practitioners consumed immense amounts of energy in daily training and required far more food than ordinary people, especially meat.

Lin Yuan's reaction was clearly a sign that his body had been depleted.

To raise an Internal martial art from Initiated to Proficient would take at least five or six years.

Yet he had improved in an instant. The energy consumed in the process was naturally no small amount.

Dizzy with hunger, Lin Yuan immediately began searching his home for anything edible.

Unfortunately, he did not usually keep food stocked. After searching for quite a while, he found only a box of biscuits, two bottles of milk, and two cucumbers.

He wolfed them down, but they still did little to ease his hunger. Fortunately, he recovered a tiny bit.

Lin Yuan grabbed his keys, supported himself against the wall, and headed out. Before long, he arrived at a nearby seafood buffet.

Seeing him in such a state, the lobby manager could not help muttering inwardly, What did he do last night to end up looking like that? Young people really have energy.

An hour later, empty plates were piled high in front of Lin Yuan, and the trash bin was nearly overflowing with oyster shells.

The passing servers stared in astonishment, while the lobby manager felt his heart ache.

Where had this starving ghost come from? They were taking a huge loss.

Lin Yuan drained his last glass of coconut milk, patted his stomach in satisfaction, and sighed comfortably. Ah, that hit the spot!

He had finally come back to life! His dried-up body was once again bursting with vitality.

That earlier situation had truly been frightening. Luckily, he had only had 2 Attribute Points. If there had been more, if he had maxed out his level, he would probably be dead by now.

A lesson learned the hard way. He could not be so reckless in the future. Lin Yuan silently warned himself.

Just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed a landline number.

Lin Yuan answered, and the voice on the other end sounded distinctly familiar.

"Hello, Lin Yuan. This is Human Resources from the company. Are you free today? Please come in to complete the termination paperwork. You've been fired."

"I'll come over later."

Lin Yuan had long expected this outcome.