Buying a Bow and Training Strength

Chapter 21: Buying a Bow and Training Strength

Woo, woo. Although the space was small and cramped, for Hong Yi, it was enough. The small, enclosed area actually created a sense of concentrated energy, as if his spirit were gathered into a tight ball. Hong Yi silently took note of this. This wine was called Storax Wine, and before Bai Ziyue left, he had taught Hong Yi how to brew it. It could strengthen the body and regulate the internal organs—it was the perfect medicine for laying the foundation in martial arts. After wiping down his body, he felt a warm, comfortable glow throughout. Hong Yi dressed, grabbed his money pouch, and headed out the door toward the Guan Shi Shop on the main street in the east of Yujing. Flexing the large muscles on his body, Hong Yi felt himself growing stronger and more powerful by the day. By now, Hong Xuejiao was gradually progressing step by step toward the realm of a Martial Master. "At last, I am no longer someone without the strength to truss a chicken!" However, Hong Yi now possessed a method to visualize and repair his soul, so he had nothing to fear. This set of fist techniques was not for training muscles, membranes, or bones; it was designed entirely for killing enemies and devastating their bodies, consisting of twelve forms in total. Sometimes, when Hong Xuejiao practiced, Hong Yi could even spot discrepancies between her movements and the manual. While Hong Xuejiao practiced, Hong Yi would also use his wandering soul to learn from the sidelines—not to practice the martial arts himself, but to facilitate memorization. "If I can draw a sixty-pound Silk Bow and fire arrows in rapid succession, I will have reached the level of a Martial Student. If I can't, I must keep practicing. I'll buy a light bow to train my strength; as for the eighty-pound or one-hundred-twenty-pound Ox-Sinew Hard Bows, I won't think about those for now." "No wonder they say one must cultivate both life and spirit. The physical body is the boat, and the soul is the boatman. If the boat is sturdy, the person is safe. Likewise, if the person is stable, they can better control the boat. The two complement each other." This was a rather hard Chestnut Wood Board he had found to test his strength. Hong Yi felt his own changes and realized that cultivating his soul was also beneficial to his martial arts. Bone refining like steel! A fist known for its piercing power is the hallmark of the transition from a Martial Warrior to a Martial Master. Holding his breath, he pressed both fists against his abdomen. Hong Yi thrust both fists out simultaneously, his waist thrust forward, his head and neck held straight, executing the "Ox Demon Horn Thrust." His breath followed his fists, emitting a "hum-hum-hum" sound like a large water buffalo. Hong Xuejiao moved with footwork, her fists and feet flying. With her tongue pressed against her teeth and her abdomen channeling energy, she shouted eight names in succession to increase the momentum of her fist techniques. Hum! Hum! Hum! "The Storax Wine is ready. Although it doesn't have even a tenth of the efficacy of Ziyue's Jade Nectar, it is excellent for conditioning the body." Hi! "If one doesn't dare to enter the water to learn its nature, how can one ever master the skill of swimming? Pondering the nature of water on the shore can never compare to jumping in and trying it yourself. Fortunately, the Amitabha Sutra has this very effect. The Amitabha image is truly a supreme visualization method for suppressing demons and recovering from soul damage. With this method, as long as I am a little careful and don't let my soul scatter, I can recover from any injury. I can safely and boldly leave my body to train my soul." Besides practicing the Tiger Demon Fist, Hong Yi discovered that Hong Xuejiao was also training in another set of techniques called the Small Heavenly Dipper Grappling Hand. The Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist consisted of eight forms. Deep in the night, all was quiet. Hong Yi was buying a bow specifically to test his strength, because the first part of the Martial Hall exam in the military was archery. Archery and horsemanship were the foundations of martial arts. Hong Yi watched for several nights in a row, leaning in to look closely at the book. With the sensitivity of his wandering soul, he noticed that with every session, Hong Xuejiao's strikes grew more piercing and sharp. Because Hong Xuejiao sometimes stopped to flip through the book to ponder the meaning, the time she spent reading was quite long, which made it easy for Hong Yi to glimpse almost all the contents of the book. With the eyes of a wandering soul, Hong Yi could clearly feel that the blood energy within Hong Xuejiao was growing stronger day by day. Sometimes, when he got too close, his wandering soul would be buffeted by her blood energy, making him feel quite uncomfortable. In the room with the windows shut tight and the door firmly closed, it was dark and gloomy. Hong Yi practiced in a four-or-five-step square area in the corner behind his bed. A Martial Warrior who has trained their muscles and skin to the right level can withstand a punch, but they cannot withstand the fist of a Martial Master whose bones have been refined like steel. In fact, with his status as a scholar, Hong Yi could have carried a sword and traveled the country. Most Daoist classics contained many visualization methods for cultivating the soul, but they were all for training the soul; none explained what to visualize to recover and recuperate if the soul were injured. "Tiger Demon Stretches Waist! Tiger Demon Climbs Mountain! Tiger Demon Descends Mountain! Tiger Demon Moves Spine! Tiger Demon Roars Wildly! Tiger Demon Butts Head! Tiger Demon Tears Sheep! Tiger Demon Leaps Ravine!" Hong Yi took out a small bowl, poured in the brewed wine, drank a few sips, and then carefully used a cloth to wipe his entire body after taking off his clothes. A single punch could channel the power of all the large muscles in his body. A small stove warming on the brazier under the bed frame let out a sound, and soon the fragrance of wine filled the air. Each form had dozens of variations. Although this Storax Wine was far inferior to Jade Nectar, Jade Nectar was extremely difficult to brew, whereas this Storax Wine was simple to prepare. It was just ordinary sorghum wine boiled with a few medicinal herbs. With the manual for comparison, Hong Xuejiao's postures, and Hong Yi's own foundation in the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist, his understanding of the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist was actually more profound than Hong Xuejiao's. His fists thrust out, striking a two-finger-thick wooden board. With a crack, the board was split in two... He saw her spirit soar. With every punch she threw, her entire skeleton seemed to vibrate internally. Her claws extended, and as she collided and kicked, Hong Yi, watching from the side, felt as if her bones were being sharpened on a whetstone, gradually developing a keen edge. The Great Gan Dynasty banned crossbows but not bows, so bows could be purchased. After his soul injury healed, Hong Yi finally understood the many taboos of leaving the body. Recalling the time he spent organizing books in the valley and reading many Daoist classics, he finally gained a deeper understanding of soul cultivation techniques. "So that's how it is. If one leaves the body to wander and injures the soul, one doesn't have medicine or doctors to recover like in martial arts. The soul is formless and intangible; once injured, it is very difficult to heal. Not only can one not continue to cultivate, but one might also be left with a lifelong disability." It was precisely because of this that practitioners were cautious and dared not leave their bodies to wander at will. Hong Yi let his soul leave his body again, drifting toward the Yunting Studio in the east courtyard. After Hong Yi snapped the wooden board with his fists, he looked at his hands, closed his eyes, and felt filled with joy. Having grasped this point, Hong Yi understood a few more key aspects of cultivation. Bai Ziyue was known as the God of Wine, so his expertise in conditioning the body with wine was naturally profound. The Guan Shi Shop was the largest bow-making shop in Yujing. Sure enough, Hong Xuejiao was still training hard in the courtyard, her fists and feet flying. "After training for a while longer, the muscles all over my body will become full and firm. However, as my soul grows stronger, my thoughts seem to have become much more flexible in controlling my physical body." Using his thoughts to sense the large muscles in his limbs, abdomen, chest, back, and buttocks, he casually mimicked the muscle-training techniques of the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist and discovered that every movement seemed to connect the power of all these large muscles together!