The Bearing of an Ancient Ocean Overlord

He pushed open the door and entered Training Room One, which was about the same size as a school classroom.

A mahogany podium stood at the front, with more than thirty people seated below.

Those who knew each other chatted, while more silently flipped through their fist manuals at their seats.

He glanced at the clock hanging at the front of the training room. It was 8:25. There was still plenty of time.

He found a window seat in the corner of the last row and sat down. A breeze drifted through the greenery outside, and the air was fresh.

He picked up the Soul Whale Fist manual and opened directly to the first page, where there was a vivid illustration.

A crimson whale leaped from the sea amid a raging storm, as if it were about to smash through the clouds filling the sky. It looked overwhelmingly fierce.

A line of small text lay beneath the picture:

Soul Whale Fist drew its origins from an ancient ocean overlord, cultivating the bearing of a long whale dominating the sea!

"Long whale dominating the sea..." he murmured.

He continued reading. Only after half an hour did he slowly raise his head, rub the space between his brows, and look out the window to rest his eyes.

Soul Whale Fist was not complicated, with only eighteen forms.

However, the key was that every form in this fist technique came with a corresponding breathing rhythm.

Most likely, those breathing rhythms were the true essence of the technique.

Ring ring ring—!

Just as he was thinking about it, an alarm interrupted his thoughts.

He turned around and saw that the sound came from an iron alarm clock on the podium. Its hands pointed exactly to nine o'clock.

At the same time, he noticed that a figure had appeared beside the podium at some point.

Bald, nearly two meters tall, and powerfully built, the man stood there like a wall.

His black training uniform looked a size too small. The muscles in his arms bulged, as thick as an ordinary person's thighs, stretching his sleeves to the point of bursting.

A thick hand lightly pressed down on the alarm clock, and the sound stopped abruptly.

The burly man looked at everyone and grinned, the muscles in his neck shifting with the motion.

"Hello, students. I'm your coach, Lei Long."

His voice was full and resonant, and it sounded powerful at once.

And it truly was. Lin Ye sized Lei Long up. This guy had to weigh at least three hundred pounds.

He just didn't know whether this was the coach who said, "Fighting is awesome."

Beside the podium, Lei Long swept his gaze over the room before taking out a pair of gold-rimmed half-frame glasses and putting them on.

His entire temperament became refined and restrained, giving him the air of a suited brute.

"Now then, we'll officially begin class. This introductory lesson has two parts."

"The first part will cover the levels of fist techniques, so you can gain a general understanding. The second part will be me leading you through Soul Whale Fist once."

After saying that, he picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard. His handwriting was beautiful.

"One, two, three, four, five."

"The levels of fist techniques are actually quite simple. There are five levels in total."

"Once you cultivate a sense of qi, you've entered the technique. That means you've reached the first level."

"Generally speaking, if you still haven't sensed qi after three months, then Soul Whale Fist probably isn't very suitable for you."

Lin Ye raised his brows slightly. Not suitable?

That was probably just a gentler way of putting it to spare the students' feelings. It likely meant they lacked talent.

"There's actually not much else to say about the rest. Once you reach that point, you'll naturally understand."

After speaking, Lei Long looked around the room.

"Now then, does anyone have any questions?"

As soon as he finished, the students below stirred. A tall boy raised his hand.

"Coach, I heard that once we reach the third level, we can become official disciples of the martial arts hall?"

Strictly speaking, all of them were only trainees right now, not official disciples of the martial arts hall.

Lei Long looked at him and nodded.

"If any of you can reach the third level, you can go to the main hall and sign a contract to become an official disciple."

"A base salary of eighteen thousand, six insurances and two funds, with full coverage for family members."

"There's also additional personal accident insurance, with a payout limit of six million."

"Of course, there'll be a small assessment task."

He held out his hand, pinched his thumb and index finger slightly together, and grinned.

Upon hearing Lei Long's words, the trainees grew excited, and the training room immediately became noisy.

They had never looked into the benefits enjoyed by official disciples of Red Whale Martial Arts Hall.

Who would have thought that signing up for an interest class could give them a chance to earn money?

A base salary of eighteen thousand!

That was better than the pay of most jobs in society, even more than their fathers earned.

By the time New Year came around, even if they couldn't be the first to pick up their chopsticks, at least they wouldn't have to sit at the children's table anymore, right?

Lin Ye's eyes also lit up. If he could earn that salary, he would have money for magical potion ingredients!

After half a minute passed without any further questions, Lei Long raised a hand to quiet them down, and the training room fell silent.

"Since there are no more questions, gather in Training Room Two."

Not long after, inside Training Room Two.

The training room looked empty, with a layer of black rubber mats covering the floor.

The projection screen directly ahead displayed a detailed explanation of the first form of Soul Whale Fist.

Lei Long stood at the front, while the many students before him spread out into three rows.

After taking attendance, he set down the roster in his hand and removed his gold-rimmed glasses as well.

"Take them off. It'll get hot soon."

As he spoke, he directly took off the upper half of his black training uniform, revealing an incredibly muscular upper body.

His skin was slightly dark, and his blocks of muscle layered over one another like armor, giving off an unshakable feeling.

"S-so huge."

A skinny boy spoke, his eyes filled with shock and envy.

Lei Long grinned and held out a fist as large as a sandbag.

"Young man! Believe in your coach—you can do it too!"

The skinny boy took a deep breath, nodded heavily, and tremblingly removed his shirt, revealing a bony upper body like a stick insect's.

Seeing this, the other trainees stopped being coy and quickly took off their shirts as well.

The female trainees wore black bandeau tops underneath. The material looked like brocade, embroidered with lifelike crimson whales.

"The first form: Standing Reef Watching the Sea," Lei Long said.

At his words, the trainees spread their legs apart and assumed horse stances according to the illustration of the fist manual on the screen.

Their backs were held straight, their buttocks slightly tucked in, and their hands placed at either side of their waists.

Lin Ye straightened his upper body and breathed according to the rhythm described in Soul Whale Fist.

After only one or two breaths, a tingling sensation appeared near his tailbone, spreading through roughly a fist-sized area of surrounding muscle.

Soon, the tingling grew warm. Starting from his tailbone, it rose along his spine, and his body gradually heated up.

"Pay attention to the breathing rhythm. Nine inhalations, one exhalation. Hold your breath and exert force."

"This form emphasizes being as immovable as a mountain, like standing upon a reef by the shore. Let the wind blow and the waves crash—I remain unmoved."

"Feel this warmth carefully. It is the essence created by consuming the nutrients in your bodies, and it is the key to cultivating a sense of qi!"

"In ancient times, this process was called refining essence into qi!"

Lei Long walked through the rows with a short stick in hand, explaining the artistic conception and key points of the form.

From time to time, he tapped someone with the short stick, bringing their posture into the most standard position.

"The second form: Wind Ceases Wave Rests."

After a while, he continued.

Everyone immediately changed positions, standing upright with their legs slightly apart as their breathing rhythm changed as well.

Lin Ye stood in place as the warmth flowing along his spine gradually intensified.

"Hah—"

He exhaled a breath of hot air, and his entire body became much lighter, as if he were stepping upon clouds.

"Pay attention to the breathing rhythm. You must carefully feel the flow of this warmth."

"Especially during this first practice. You are opening up the blocked great dragon of your spines, which is the most important part."

"If you make a mistake, you'll need to put in at least ten times the effort to make up for it."

"With me watching over you now, practice boldly. You don't need to worry about problems."

"That alone makes the tuition worth it."

"The third form, continue."

"The fourth form..."

"The fifth form..."

Lei Long walked through the rows, occasionally using his short stick to correct their movements.

After a while, he stopped, folded his arms, scanned the room, and slowly nodded.

"The eighteenth form: Whale-Stopping Sea Stride."

As his words fell, the trainees' bodies moved at the same time.

They stepped forward into bow stances and pushed both arms forward, as though they were shoving something immensely heavy. The movement appeared extremely difficult.

This feeling of heaviness was not caused by the final form alone, but by the accumulation of the previous seventeen forms.

"Whale-Stopping Sea Stride."

"Sea-Striding Wave-Leveling, strength covering a thousand tons, stopping a whale in its tracks."

"Use violence to forcibly suppress all who refuse to submit!"

"That overwhelming, tyrannical will is the bearing of the ancient ocean overlord that once suppressed the sea and stood arrogant for an age!"

"This eighteenth form is also the core move that unifies Soul Whale Fist."