First Massage

"Sure enough, Thunderclap Fist hasn't appeared on the Panel."

Qin Fen looked at the Panel. There were still only two martial arts listed: Galloping Horse Strength and Eighteen Falls Upon Touching.

Galloping Horse Strength was a basic external martial art. It had appeared on the Panel after he had transmitted force through it once.

Eighteen Falls Upon Touching was a Lower First Grade Martial Art. It had also appeared on the Panel after he practiced it for an afternoon.

Thunderclap Fist was of a higher grade than Eighteen Falls Upon Touching. It would take at least longer practice before it appeared. There was another class in the afternoon; after practicing once it was over, he should be able to get started.

Grrr.

At that moment, Qin Fen felt hunger rumbling in his stomach.

Thunder Spirit Martial Arts Hall also had a cafeteria that served Nutritional Meals, though they were more expensive than those at school.

There was still an afternoon class. Qin Fen could not possibly run back to school for lunch, then run all the way back to the martial arts hall. Going back and forth would take at least an hour, which was a waste of time.

Qin Fen settled his lunch in the martial arts hall's cafeteria.

That afternoon, Qin Fen went to the training room and began practicing Thunderclap Fist.

He had basically memorized the fist techniques and moves of Thunderclap Fist and could perform them, though they were still somewhat stiff.

After practicing for an hour, his movements gradually became smoother. Yet he still could not produce the sound of bone explosions. Even when he circulated his Jing Li, it was merely ordinary punches enhanced by Jing Li, not the moves of Thunderclap Fist.

Every move and stance in Thunderclap Fist could produce the sound of exploding bones.

Qin Fen circulated his Jing Li and began tempering his bones according to the method of Thunderclap Fist.

The core of this fist art was bone explosions, so tempering the bones was especially important.

Time flew by, and it was soon four in the afternoon.

After resting for more than ten minutes, he returned to the thirty-fifth floor, paid another five hundred, and entered the lecture hall.

At four-thirty, Wang Lei entered the lecture hall on time.

"Martial cultivation is divided into external training and internal refinement. External training mainly tempers the skin, membranes, tendons, and bones. To cultivate Thunderclap Fist, you must use Jing Li to temper your bones, which has the effect of strengthening them. Without medicinal assistance, pure hard training will take you at least four or five days before you can produce the sound of bone explosions," Wang Lei said. "With medicinal assistance, you can shorten that time. No matter what martial art you cultivate, medicinal assistance can yield twice the result with half the effort. Follow me."

With that, Wang Lei led the students to the martial arts hall's massage area.

During the afternoon class, Wang Lei did not continue teaching Thunderclap Fist. Teaching too much at once would be difficult for the students to digest.

The massage area contained separate small rooms, each with only a massage bed.

"Go into the rooms, take off all your clothes, and lie on the massage beds. In a moment, our hall's massage therapists will come in and apply our exclusive medicinal paste to your bodies, then massage you to speed up your bodies' absorption of the paste."

At Wang Lei's instruction, the students all entered separate small rooms.

Qin Fen closed the door, stripped down to a pair of shorts, and lay facedown on the massage bed.

Before long, a massage therapist came in carrying a bucket of medicinal paste.

"Face up."

Qin Fen had been lying facedown on the massage bed. Hearing the therapist's voice, he prepared to turn over, but the therapist had already walked to the bed, reached out, and directly flipped him over.

It was as natural as turning over his own palm, and the bedsheet did not even wrinkle.

He's an expert.

Qin Fen's heart tightened.

Judging from the skill the massage therapist had displayed just now, the man was at least an expert in the Third Realm of Jing Li, Smooth Strength. His exertion of force was smooth and natural, able to release and withdraw at will.

"Lie still. Don't move."

The massage therapist scooped some medicinal paste from the bucket and applied it to Qin Fen's body.

The paste looked golden and oily, carrying a strong scent of Chinese herbs.

Once applied to his skin, it gave off a cool sensation, like taking a cold shower on a scorching summer day.

Soon, every part of the front of his body except his face was covered in the golden, oily paste. Then the therapist began massaging and kneading Qin Fen's body with a special technique.

The places the therapist pressed were all key acupoints on the human body.

At first, Qin Fen felt some pain in his body. But as the massage deepened, the medicinal paste seeped through his pores and into his body, greatly easing the pain.

Moreover, that cool energy seemed not only to nourish his flesh and blood, but also to penetrate deep into his bones. His entire body felt chilled, but as the massage therapist's kneading grew deeper, that cool energy gradually turned fiery.

Qin Fen's entire body became somewhat hot, as if he were in a sauna. His skin turned bright red like the shell of a boiled shrimp, and large amounts of sweat seeped from his pores.

Soon, the front of his body had been massaged.

The massage therapist flipped Qin Fen over again, applied the martial arts hall's exclusive medicinal paste to his back, and began massaging and kneading him.

Forty minutes later, the massage ended, and the therapist left carrying the bucket of medicine.

The students emerged from the massage rooms one after another, all rosy-faced and refreshed.

Qin Fen only felt utterly comfortable. There was not a trace of fatigue in his body, and even the flesh and blood throughout his body seemed more vital. Using medicine to assist martial arts training truly could yield twice the result with half the effort.

After ordinary people grew exhausted from training, they could only recover gradually through sleep. No matter how strong their willpower was, forcing themselves to train before their bodies had recovered would cause physical damage and do more harm than good.

That was why Teacher Zhou Wu had taught them not to overtrain and harm their bodies.

Once the amount of training exceeded what the body could bear, they would not be able to train at all the next day.

With medicinal assistance, a forty-minute massage and kneading session could quickly eliminate physical fatigue. It could also increase muscle activity, making training more effective.

That was the advantage of the wealthy.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors" was not just a saying; it showed in every aspect.

"The medicinal paste used for your massage and kneading just now is an exclusive secret formula independently developed by Thunder Spirit Martial Arts Hall. It has not been circulated on the market, and it allows Jing Li to penetrate deeper into the bones and strengthen them," Wang Lei said. "This medicinal paste is specially used to assist the cultivation of Thunderclap Fist. After a massage and kneading session, this is the best time to practice. Follow me."

With that, Wang Lei began demonstrating the moves of Thunderclap Fist.

The students, including Qin Fen, followed along and performed Thunderclap Fist as well.

Sure enough, the moment he performed Thunderclap Fist and circulated Jing Li along its prescribed route, Qin Fen felt the Jing Li moving through his body much more smoothly, far faster than before the massage and kneading. He could already perform the entire sequence.

Although he still had not produced the sound of bone explosions, he had found the right direction and feeling. Producing those sounds was only a matter of time.