Foundation

Quick!

Baili Qingfeng himself had no idea how many times he had repeatedly practiced this simple thrusting sword technique.

Three hundred thousand times? Four hundred thousand times? Or even more?

At present, he had no sword in hand and was merely substituting his fist for one, but the sword edge formed by his thrust still remained something no one could withstand!

With one thrust, heaven and earth were shattered!

"Bang!"

Before Hong Lie's fist force could erupt, the power of this thrusting punch had already slammed into his chest. In an instant, it shattered his ribs, and the penetrating force spread out, striking his body evenly from all sides.

The spreading force carried astonishing inertia as it battered Hong Lie's body, sending him flying six meters at an even greater speed than the one at which he had charged in. He then crashed heavily into the ground and slid another three meters, the momentum undiminished, until he had barely stopped after all the impact had been fully dispersed.

"You..."

Hong Lie's eyes widened as he stared at Baili Qingfeng in disbelief. He was just about to say something when the movement aggravated his injuries, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

"Pfft!"

The bright-red blood stained the ground crimson.

Baili Qingfeng had shown mercy.

Otherwise, with the condensed force of his thrusting punch, it would have been like a sharp sword piercing through the body, directly tearing apart Hong Lie's internal organs and killing him on the spot!

"Grandmaster Hong!?"

Ran Tianying's expression changed.

"Senior Brother!"

The other two burly men who had come with him reached Hong Lie's side at once, their faces carrying a trace of horror.

Their senior brother, Hong Lie, was the most outstanding figure among the younger-generation disciples of the Iron Sword Sect. Although he had yet to enter Spirit Nurturing, his robust physique meant that his Flesh Body's strength was already not much inferior to that of a Level 3 Warrior. For that very reason, the Iron Sword Sect Master had sent him to Xia City, the capital of Xia Hai Province, to establish a foothold for the Iron Sword Sect and pave the way for its future expansion into Xia Hai Province.

Yet who could have expected that in such a small club, their senior brother Hong Lie—whom the Sect Leader and the elders had placed high hopes on to open new territory for the Iron Sword Sect—would be gravely wounded by a single punch...

The warriors of Xia Hai Province...

Had their level already reached such heights?

For a moment, the two could not help feeling that the Iron Sword Sect's prospects for expanding into Xia Hai Province had turned bleak.

"Let's go... let's go..."

With cold sweat beading his forehead and his face deathly pale, Hong Lie spoke as he relied on the help of his two junior brothers to struggle to his feet before quickly leaving.

"Did you see clearly? This is the foundation I taught you!"

Baili Qingfeng calmly withdrew his fist. The sharpness radiating from his entire body faded away as his clenched right hand relaxed, and an air of grandmastery arose naturally.

"Master... we... saw it clearly!"

Watching Grandmaster Hong Lie leave while gravely wounded and vomiting blood, supported by his junior brothers, Ran Tianchi swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"Never underestimate the fundamentals. Breadth cannot compare to mastery. When you have practiced a single sword stroke or a single punch one hundred thousand times, one million times, then no matter how basic it is, the might it can unleash will far surpass that of the so-called Peerless Sword Art or fist techniques."

Baili Qingfeng said, "That is precisely what my Primordial Thunder God One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refining Technique is like. Although the first thirty-six forms are basic, if you can cultivate them to my level, you can absolutely turn the rotten into the miraculous. No matter how powerful the opponent is or how fancy the fist technique they use, I will break through it with a single sword! Do you understand?"

"I... I understand..."

Ran Tianchi nodded heavily. "Master... I... I shouldn't have doubted your strength. From now on, I'll cultivate my character and nourish my nature, abstain from lust and desire, devote myself to studying the sword, and devote myself to martial arts."

Baili Qingfeng nodded.

He had already conceived the latter seventy-two forms of his Primordial Thunder God One Hundred and Eight Forms. They would involve cultivating through "electricity," using electricity to stimulate the Flesh Body and promote its transformation. However, this method of cultivation was not yet stable, and he was still experimenting bit by bit. Once he managed to develop this method and make it possible for ordinary people to cultivate, the Primordial Thunder God One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refining Technique would surely become the most supreme Body Refining Technique in the world.

If Ran Tianchi and the others were promising talents, he would not mind imparting this method to them then. But if they truly could not endure even this little hardship, there would be no need for them to walk the path of martial arts.

One had to understand that Baili Ruoxue practiced the Rushing Thunder Thirty-Six Forms more than ten times a day. These people had more nourishing meals than Baili Ruoxue, and their physiques were sturdier than Baili Ruoxue's female body. So long as they were willing to grit their teeth and train bitterly, they could definitely complete thirty repetitions.

"A towering building rises from level ground; the foundation is the root of everything. Once the foundation is solid, what fist technique or sword art can't be mastered? This method will produce results slowly, but it is my way of teaching. Do you all understand?"

Ran Tianying and the others fell silent.

They did not care whether Baili Qingfeng's words were right or wrong.

They simply had not expected that Hong Lie...

would be so utterly inadequate.

No!

It was not that Hong Lie was inadequate. Rather...

Baili Qingfeng was too strong!

Not long ago, they had personally witnessed Hong Lie's strength.

The team of bodyguards they had hired had undergone professional combat training, yet when all eight joined forces to gang up on Hong Lie, he had defeated every one of them in less than a minute. That kind of ability was absolutely genuine.

Yet such a powerhouse could not withstand even one move from Baili Qingfeng...

Ran Tianying hurriedly apologized to Baili Qingfeng. "I'm sorry, Master Baili. We were misled by Hong Lie and the others, and with Jack's hospitalization, we ended up suspecting and wronging you. Jack did indeed go out to sea on a cruise with friends for half a month before being hospitalized... I heard that Master Baili needs some medicinal materials from our Ran Family. From now on, I will give you one portion every month as an apology to Master Baili."

Baili Qingfeng glanced at Ran Tianying and nodded.

The 1.04 million he had obtained from the Jiang Family had already been spent down to just eighty to one hundred thousand on his studies. Although one portion a month was not much, it could still save him sixty or seventy thousand. That was no small sum.

"We'll have to trouble Master Baili with that boy of ours."

"No need. As I said before, the Master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. I'm only responsible for teaching and imparting my understanding of martial arts to them. Whether they are willing to learn and whether they can learn depends on them."

Baili Qingfeng said calmly.

It was nothing more than a monetary transaction.

Ran Tianying exchanged a few polite words with him, then left with the others.

Hong Lie did not leave behind any harsh words, either.

Baili Qingfeng was clearly a level stronger than him, which meant he was certainly a true Spirit Nurturing warrior. Perhaps the claim that he had cultivated Fist Intent was true as well. He was not even twenty... yet had achieved such accomplishments.

An opponent like that might even become a city head's honored guest. Even the Iron Sword Sect was unwilling to provoke him.

After everyone left, the club grew quiet once more.

The only difference was that the gazes of the several staff members in the club had clearly changed when they looked at Baili Qingfeng.

If earlier it had merely been the polite respect of employees toward an executive, then now their gazes carried a kind of awe that came from the depths of their hearts.

The awe of the weak toward the strong.

"That Hong Lie... was decent enough. Two months ago, if I had faced him, I probably would have needed to use Spirit Refinement Manifestation or the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art to defeat him. But now..."

Baili Qingfeng sat in his Cultivation Room, thrusting one sword after another.

He had never practiced any sword art.

He had not even practiced the Baili Family's Rushing Thunder Sixteen Swords.

Yet as he practiced simple thrusts, slashes, strikes, upward cuts, sweeping lifts, and the like more and more, these basic sword techniques had already begun to take on a different form in his eyes.

Thus, whenever he thrust out a sword, besides striving for precision and stability, he also carefully sensed the pull exerted on his muscles, the plucking of his nerves, the extension of his bones, and the effective utilization of his Qi and Blood.

He did not understand much about martial arts.

But he had read many books, and therefore understood the principle that after reading a book a hundred times, its meaning reveals itself.

He believed that practicing the sword and practicing the fist worked the same way.

At present, he had clearly already touched upon this level of mastery.