Training Martial Arts Is Something That Requires Perseverance

The next day, early in the morning.

As the rooster crowed for the first time, Lin Yuan rose precisely on time.

In the yard, two unprocessed wild boars were still lying there.

Out of a total of six wild boars, the wild boar king was sold to Liu Shan, the Han brothers took one, half was used for the wild boar feast, half was sent to Han Fei's family, thirty catties were given to each person who helped carry the pork from the mountains, another small portion was used, and some were given to relatives. Finally, only these two remained.

These two were likely the largest after the wild boar king. They were weighed yesterday and were around 400 catties each.

Today, the Han brothers said they would come over to help process them, as his mother couldn't handle it alone.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

Lin Yuan, dressed in a tracksuit, strolled out and, as usual, headed to the riverbank to practice his martial arts.

Practicing martial arts is not just about tempering the body, but also about refining one's character and willpower.

Lin Yuan deeply agreed with this point.

Although he had the System and could take shortcuts, even if he slacked off, he could still reach a realm that humans could hardly comprehend.

But if he did that, he would only be outwardly strong and inwardly hollow, a lucky person.

Even if he could overpower others with brute force and suppress the weak, once he encountered someone stronger than himself, that superficial strength would be completely torn apart, ultimately revealing his inner cowardice.

This was not what Lin Yuan wanted!

Therefore, from the moment he decided to practice martial arts, he held himself to the highest standards.

Practicing in the heat of summer, practicing in the cold of winter, every day, every year.

Only through this, year after year, could he forge a strong heart, so that one day, even when facing an opponent a hundred times stronger than himself, he could fearlessly draw his sword!

Martial arts should be like a pine tree, clinging firmly to the green mountains; a person should be like bamboo, unswayed by the wind from any direction.

As the eastern sky began to show a hint of dawn, Lin Yuan assumed his Tai Chi stance.

"The art of Tai Chi is infinitely profound, Peng, Lu, Ji, An, and the movements of 'Sparrow Spreads Its Wings' are born, moving obliquely with 'Single Whip' to occupy the chest, turning the body and lifting the hands to seal..."

Since mastering Yang Style Tai Chi, his understanding of Tai Chi had reached a state of returning to simplicity. Every move was natural, and every gesture embodied the principles of Tai Chi.

The five styles of Tai Chi were used interchangeably in his hands, seamlessly, as if they were one.

After finishing Tai Chi, he began practicing Arhat Fist.

Swift as the wind, fast as lightning, his punches struck like bells, his kicks like splitting mountains, a completely different style from just moments ago.

External martial arts emphasize overpowering with strength and controlling with speed.

As the "Fire Cloud Cthulhu" in the movie Kung Fu said, "All martial arts in the world are invincible, only speed is unbreakable."

If one were to face someone weaker than themselves, external martial arts could indeed lead to a quicker victory.

But if one faced someone stronger, when both strength and speed were inferior, the role of internal martial arts became apparent.

Internal and external martial arts complement each other; neither is superior. The key lies in how deeply the practitioner understands the principles of the art.

Currently, he was primarily practicing Tai Chi.

The deeper he delved, the more he realized the power of this martial art.

In fact, for Lin Yuan, it had already become more than just a martial art; it was a Dao, a martial Dao, the Dao of Tai Chi.

Therefore, he did not plan to spend much time on external martial arts in the near future, but would focus on cultivating the five styles of Tai Chi to perfection.

He wanted to see what kind of magnificence the System's Zhang Sanfeng's Thirteen Forms of Tai Chi truly possessed.

Around noon, Lin Yuan opened his System panel.

[Name: Lin Yuan]
[Lifespan: 25/60]
[Strength: 17]
[Speed: 17]
[Agility: 21]
[Stamina: 21]
[Flexibility: 18]
[Martial Arts: Yang Style Tai Chi(Blue; Mastered), Wu Style Tai Chi(Blue; Proficient), Chen Style Tai Chi(Blue; Proficient), Wu Style Tai Chi(Blue; Proficient), Sun Style Tai Chi(Blue; Proficient), Arhat Fist(Blue; Proficient), Hun Yuan Zhuang(Purple; Proficient)]
[Attribute Points: 8.5]

In the past few days, whether it was fighting wild boars in Blind Man's Ridge or single-handedly carrying the wild boar king down the mountain as strength training, the System had given him a certain number of attribute points.

Adding the 2 attribute points from practicing martial arts this morning and the remaining points from before, he had a total of 8.5 attribute points.

Since spending 8 attribute points to upgrade Yang Style Tai Chi to Mastered, he had a pretty good grasp of the pattern for the attribute points required to improve martial arts.

It was binary.

To upgrade to a higher level, it required double the previous amount.

In other words, to go from Mastered to Perfect, it would require 16 attribute points.

Calculating from the progress of the other four Tai Chi styles, he needs 128 attribute points to bring all Tai Chi styles to perfection.

These 8.5 attribute points right now are just a drop in the bucket.

At noon, Lin Yuan returned home. The Han brothers were still in the courtyard dividing up two wild boars.

Seeing Lin Yuan return from outside, they quickly greeted him with smiles.

"Shouqing said you went to the riverbank to practice your fist before dawn?" Han Housheng chuckled.

Lin Yuan nodded.

"No wonder. It has to be like you to achieve such skill. When I was young, I was much like you, practicing martial arts day and night, but I had to give it up later for a living."

"By the way, Uncle Han, is your leg injury any better?"

"It's nothing, I don't need to make any big movements."

Just then, Li Xiuqing came out from the house, calling everyone to eat.

After the meal, Lin Yuan, as usual, practiced his fist in the courtyard to aid digestion.

Han Housheng moved a chair and sat in the courtyard, watching Lin Yuan. His expression seemed somewhat dazed, faintly recalling his own days of practicing martial arts.

Back then, his grandfather would hold a worn-out leather belt and whip him severely whenever his horse stance was even slightly off.

"Brother, who do you think is more powerful, Li Yuanba or A Yuan?"

Han Housheng couldn't help but laugh. "You've been watching too much Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, haven't you? Li Yuanba never existed in history."

"What about Xiang Yu?"

"I don't know how powerful Xiang Yu was, but I've witnessed A Yuan's power. I heard that the Xiang Yu of history lifted a tripod weighing over seven hundred pounds, but didn't you see A Yuan carrying the wild boar king, weighing around seven hundred pounds, and moving swiftly through the mountains that day?"

"So you think A Yuan is more powerful then."

"That's hard to say. I can't dig up Xiang Yu to fight Lin Yuan, can I? After all, who's more powerful isn't just about strength."

"Heh heh, someone like A Yuan could at least be a general in ancient times."

As they chatted, Han Housheng seemed to recall something.

He suddenly asked Lin Yuan, "A Yuan, have you already mastered Hidden Strength?"

Lin Yuan didn't stop his movements. While practicing Tai Chi, he replied, "Uncle Han, you mean Hidden Strength, right?"

"When I dissected the wild boar you gave me and the one from your place, I found that their internal organs were already shattered."

"Oh, that's right. I remember using Hidden Strength on two wild boars then. No, it was three, plus that wild boar king."

Lin Yuan said casually, as if it were no big deal.

Hearing this, Han Housheng's expression immediately became unsettled, and he stood up from his chair.

"A Yuan, can you show me?"

"What's so difficult about that? Uncle Han, please watch carefully."

Lin Yuan lightly patted a tree in the courtyard. His movements were slow and leisurely, not much different from those of the elderly people practicing in the plaza.

At first, the chestnut tree showed no reaction, but after a few seconds, it began to tremble violently, and the leaves on the tree were shaken to the ground.

Li Xiuqing, who had just finished washing the dishes in the kitchen, also came out and saw the "good deed" Lin Yuan had done.

She immediately said irritably, "Lin Yuan! If you don't obediently sweep the ground clean later, you'll be in trouble."

Lin Yuan strategically licked his slightly dry lips and then eagerly went to the corner to get a broom and sweep up the fallen leaves. He acted as if his previous action was nothing.

"Brother, brother..."

Han Shusheng nudged his brother's arm, and Han Housheng finally snapped out of his daze from the scene.

Hidden Strength. This was definitely the Hidden Strength his grandfather often talked about.

His grandfather once said, "Hidden Strength is the soft power within a fist. It's not the crude skill of inch-punching, which is direct and forceful, but rather the rippling power of a pebble dropped into a lake. It's a mystical yet real realm of martial arts."

He never imagined that such a divine skill would be witnessed by him today.

Seeing Lin Yuan's indifferent expression, Han Housheng wanted to say something but ultimately didn't.

He just gave a self-deprecating smile, realizing he was too focused on the superficial.

People in the world are inherently different. What you consider precious and unattainable might be insignificant to others.