Stretch the sinews and pull the bones; enter the Dao through stake training.
His teacher had always taught him the importance of stake training. He had never backed down because of the exhaustion and tedium of standing in a stance.
The Xingyi Three Talents Stance and the Image-Form Dragon-Tiger Stance were the foundation of every martial art in this world, including True Techniques and supreme arts.
Although his teacher's explanations were profound, Meng Chuan summed them up in a single sentence.
The proficiency of stake training represented how much qi and blood the body could contain. For example, his progress was now at 47%, which meant his body's limit was enough to reach the Fourth Gate of qi and blood, and approach the Fifth.
After founding Great Chu, Taizu swept aside every obstacle with tremendous resolve and gathered up all the stake techniques held by the sects and schools of the martial world.
He then established the Martial Arts Association, bringing together the stake techniques mastered by every school. After decades of research and unifying the myriad methods, they finally created these two astonishing arts.
[Human Stance] was merely the simplest, first stage of the Taiyi Three Talents Stance.
Beyond it were the Earth Stance, the Heaven Stance, and even Three Talents Unity.
Thus, stake training was a lifelong practice. His teacher had once taught him:
"You need to learn to enjoy standing in a stance. When you reach the martial artist realm and begin practicing the [Earth Stance], the friction of the stance against your inner membranes will stimulate them, making your whole body itch and ache. Only then will you realize how comfortable the Human Stance used to be."
"The Human Stance really isn't difficult. Unlike the various fists, it has no standards for proficiency or progress. The longer you stand, the greater your mastery. Once you've begun, you've learned it. It's simply a daily, fixed part of your practice."
"Stake training is the slow work of water dripping through stone. There's no way to master it quickly. Even the most invincible genius has to plant his feet in the ground and endure!"
"You must never miss a day of stake training. Keep at it until the day you die!"
Teacher Luo's admonitions echoed in his mind for a long time.
Meng Chuan's understanding of the martial Dao was rapidly taking root and sprouting.
The New Year was approaching.
After thinking for a moment, he set himself a short-term goal and a long-term one.
His short-term goal was to reach at least the Sixth Dao Blood Qi Barrier within a year. There was no question that cultivating his qi and blood came first.
As for his long-term goal, he had an audacious ambition: to gather every martial art in the world and break through their limits.
To truly achieve [All Traits Embodied]!
"In the new year, I'll keep giving it everything I've got, using my sweat to prove the path of my martial Dao."
February 13, the seventh day of the first lunar month.
Meng Chuan's cousin, Meng Yiyi—the biological daughter of his uncle, Meng Yongzhi—was coming home.
Ever since before the New Year, Xue Na had been calling every day to ask when Meng Yiyi would be coming home for the holiday.
Meng Chuan's cousin Meng Yiyi was studying at a university focused on cultural research in another city.
Although she had only just started her first year, this society had no place for idlers. Even students in the humanities had to compete fiercely from their very first year.
So she had missed the New Year's Eve family reunion. It wasn't until after the third day of the lunar month that Meng Yiyi finally confirmed when she would be coming home.
Even during the holiday, Meng Chuan still got up at four or five in the morning to practice martial arts on the rooftop.
He was especially excited today because his Pao Fist was on the verge of perfection!
When qi flourished, the heart blazed with vigor; when qi waned, the mind grew dim.
The Pao Fist was a fire-element fist of the Xingyi Sect. It prized the unstoppable momentum behind each punch above all else. No matter how powerful the enemy, I'll break through all techniques with one punch!
[Pao Fist: Great Mastery (99%) Awaiting Limit Break]
Only the final 1% remained. Meng Chuan closed his eyes and recalled the key points his teacher had taught him.
"Sink your waist and brace it. Tighten your core. A punch should open and close in a single breath, erupting suddenly like an exploding cannon!"
With the aid of One Proof Eternal Proof and his long years of practice, Meng Chuan gradually grasped the key to it.
In an instant, his body moved.
He thrust forward in a Cun Step, his left hand drilling upward along his body, elbow slightly lowered, fist drilling up to the level of his brow.
His right hand seized the essence of the Pao Fist. With no distracting thoughts and an unstoppable momentum, he suddenly lifted it to the side of his chest and punched out with a mighty shock.
The cannon roared through the sky!
Adding another touch of festivity to the New Year.
Without hesitation, Meng Chuan continued to exert his strength. His feet shifted through successive Cun Steps, gathering power, while his Pao Fist surged with force. The boom of cannons firing rang out without end as he easily struck eight times in succession!
All the while, Meng Chuan's core remained braced, tightening even further as he drove his strength into the next strike.
Both wrists continued twisting inward as he changed forms. His right hand drilled along his body to the level of his brow, his wrist twisting outward as he exerted force.
At the same time, his left hand twisted to the side of his chest. As his left foot stepped forward in a Cun Step, he suddenly released a burst of power, unleashing one final, thunderous boom!
"BOOM!!!"
On the rooftop, the ninth and final echo shattered the hazy dawn.
The electric scooters parked below all blared their anti-theft alarms at once.
At that moment, the Pao Fist had reached perfection.
Meng Chuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the Martial Dao Limit-Breaking Panel.
[Pao Fist: Perfected (1%) Awaiting Limit Break]
[Limit-Breaking Trait: Heavy Strike (Novice)]
As the Pao Fist reached perfection, Meng Chuan hadn't even had time to savor the feeling of breaking through before his stomach began to rumble. A wave of hunger swept over him.
This was a normal reaction to the intense consumption of the body's nutrients as his qi and blood surged.
"After the Cun Step broke through to Great Mastery some time ago, I went to the martial arts school to have my qi and blood tested. It was 7.51, almost at 8 points and on the verge of entering the Fourth Dao Blood Qi Barrier.
"Now that the Pao Fist has reached perfection, the two together have provided a huge amount of qi and blood. That has to be enough to enter the Fourth Barrier.
"And my body's hunger is so intense. That means the newly generated qi and blood inside me must be enormous.
"Perhaps I've gone beyond merely entering the Fourth Barrier."
With that thought, hunger drove Meng Chuan to hurry into his clothes and go downstairs to eat.
His uncle had gone to the police station for an early shift, and his aunt was alone in the kitchen making breakfast.
Seeing her cooking, Meng Chuan asked her to heat up a few more buns.
Then he opened the refrigerator and took out all the chocolate, protein bars, medicinal paste, and everything else. In no time, he had devoured it all.
Only after eating did Meng Chuan feel the worst of his hunger subside.
A faint warmth began to radiate from his stomach, then spread throughout his body, nourishing it. Since only martial artists could look within their bodies, Meng Chuan could only guess at what was happening from the way it felt.
Seeing Meng Chuan sweep through the refrigerator like a whirlwind, Xue Na asked in puzzlement:
"What's wrong, Chuan'er? Why are you so hungry?"
Meng Chuan patiently explained:
"I made a little breakthrough in martial arts, so I need to replenish my body's nutrients."
Xue Na seemed to understand.
"Oh, I see. All right, eat first. Afterward, I'll make you some more medicinal paste."
"Oh, and your uncle bought some cured meat and sausages. Remember to bring some to your teacher when you get a chance. They're made from premium black pigs raised free-range up in the mountains. They're delicious."
Meng Chuan nodded. He had been planning to call Teacher Luo in a little while and ask if he had time that afternoon to teach him a new fist. He could bring the food along then.
After five more steaming, fluffy buns, washed down with high-protein stewed beef, Meng Chuan finally felt completely comfortable.
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