Realization

"Sister Xiujuan, we've been neighbors for so many years, would I ever lie to you? The outside world is in complete chaos right now!" It was the auntie in the floral shirt from the end of the alley.

She held a stack of colorful flyers and shoved them into Zhang Xiujuan's hands. "Look at what's written on these flyers. The breath of the Abyss is drawing closer. If you don't believe in the True God, disaster is coming! Your husband is still working in the Safe Zone, right? That place is so dangerous. Who knows what's hiding inside the Abyss? Only by believing in my Lord can you ensure your husband returns home safely..."

Hearing the words "mine," "dangerous," and "blessings," Li He's calm expression turned icy in an instant.

"Get lost!"

A sharp shout rang out.

The auntie in the floral shirt, who had been spitting as she spoke, felt as if she were being stared at by a ferocious beast. Her hair stood on end, and the rest of her words stuck in her throat.

Li He stepped beside his mother. "If you ever come near my house again to curse my father with this nonsense, I will break your legs. Get out!"

Seeing the martial arts uniform Li He wore and feeling his undisguised murderous aura, the auntie was terrified out of her wits. Not daring to linger, she scrambled to pick up the flyers from the ground and fled in a panic.

"Xiao He." Zhang Xiujuan looked at her son's tall, straight back. "Aren't you being a bit too fierce? That lady... she used to be quite good to our family. She's just been a bit obsessed lately."

Li He reined in his aura. "The past is the past. Dad's job is already hard enough. She used this to scare you and force you to believe in her twisted logic—her intentions are malicious. I didn't lay a hand on her only because of our past neighborly ties."

Zhang Xiujuan opened her mouth, but eventually sighed and said nothing more. She knew her son was right; the auntie's words had indeed made her feel very uncomfortable, but she was used to keeping the peace between neighbors.

"Alright, Mom, don't think about it anymore. I'm hungry, let's go home and eat." Li He softened his tone and led his mother back into the house.

The meal was already set on the table.

Among the dishes was a plate with an alluring color and a rich, meaty aroma—it was the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon meat that his father, Li Jianguo, had sent back with someone.

Meat from a Tier 3 exotic beast.

Li He had only taken one bite when he felt his body flooded with energy. Even four or five hours later, the energy was still nourishing his tendons and bones. Its effects were infinite, incomparable to the Tier 1 exotic beast meat he had eaten before.

And this was just a small piece of meat.

Martial arts disciples could accept missions from the Federation and apply to head into the Abyss to hunt exotic beasts. Of the meat they obtained, thirty percent was handed over to the Federation, and seventy percent was kept for themselves.

If he could eat meat like this every day, why worry about having insufficient aptitude?

"I still need to get stronger as quickly as possible and earn the qualification to apply for exploration. When that time comes, I can let my parents live in a better place so they don't have to go out and take risks."

Li He made up his mind and swallowed the last bite of meat.

Three days later.

Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall, training ground.

Lin Feng stood outside the field, his gaze sweeping over the disciples. In just three days, the practice of the Ape Standing Stake had caused subtle changes in everyone's posture.

Sun Ao breathed long and steady, as stable as a rock. His movements were as standard as a textbook, every detail precise and in place; he already possessed the charm of the proficient stage.

This speed of progress was nothing short of stunning.

Yuan Shan occasionally walked by with his hands behind his back, and when his gaze fell on Sun Ao, he would nod slightly with a gentle expression.

In contrast, Jin Yongsheng, Shi Lei, and several other disciples were still lingering at the introductory stage.

Li He was completely unaware of this.

He was immersed in the realization of circulating his blood and internal energy.

[Proficiency +1]

[Proficiency +1]

[Proficiency +1]

[Proficiency +1]

[Proficiency +1]

[Ape Standing Stake: Introductory (99%) → Proficient (0%)]

[Vitality: 11.4 → 11.9]

A wave of heat flowed with his breathing, rising from the ground, spiraling up through his legs and feet, nourishing his tendons, bones, and skin.

Between his inhalations and exhalations.

A faint Tiger-Leopard Sound emanated from within his body.

Lin Feng heard this sound. "Junior brother, has your stake technique reached the proficient stage?"

"I was lucky enough to have a breakthrough."

"Lucky? My good junior brother, don't be so humble. To practice the Ape Stance Technique to the proficient stage in three days—is that something that can be explained by the word 'luck'?"

Lin Feng looked at Li He, then toward Sun Ao, who was also making rapid progress not far away.

"Good, good, good! Heaven truly blesses my Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall! To have two disciples with such exceptional talent appear in the sect at the same time. Junior brother Sun Ao has a solid foundation and exceptional talent, while junior brother Li He has astonishing comprehension and rapid progress. With the two of you here, the future of my Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall is promising indeed."

Li He smiled and continued his practice.

When it was time for a break.

Li He was getting water when Sun Ao walked over.

Li He was about to make room for him, but to his surprise, Sun Ao had no intention of drinking water at all.

"You... are not bad. I hope you can continue to keep up with my pace." After Sun Ao finished speaking, he did not linger, turning around to walk back to his position to reset his stance.

Li He watched his departing back, his heart as still as an ancient well.

Keep up with your pace? Li He whispered to himself, My path is one I must walk alone.

A rustling sound suddenly came from the corner of the training hall.

Everyone instinctively glanced over to see that a few White Apes had snuck in. They squatted in the shadows, curiously observing the humans in the arena.

One of the larger apes had its gaze darting between Li He and Sun Ao. It began to lean forward slightly, its feet turned inward, actually mimicking the Ape Standing Stake of the two men.

Or rather.

It had simply assumed a relatively comfortable posture that just happened to look a lot like the Ape Standing Stake.

After holding it for a while, it seemed to feel the position wasn't very comfortable, so it shifted its bottom and leaned its body forward a bit more.

"Huh?"

Li He let out a soft sound of surprise.

The moment the monkey changed its posture, a line of blurred text actually appeared within his system panel.

He tried to imitate it, but he couldn't grasp the essence, and the text didn't change in the slightest.

"Ga ga ga ga!" His attempts amused the White Ape, which pointed at Li He and cackled.

"Pfft." Yuan Lingling couldn't help it, covering her mouth and giggling, "Why are you imitating a monkey? Look, you've been mocked, haven't you?"

Li He ignored her teasing and closed his eyes to meditate.

That White Ape had only shifted its bottom to find a more comfortable position. The movement was natural, completely unforced, and even carried a hint of laziness. Yet, in that split second of subtle change, a line of blurred text had surfaced on the system panel.

Why would a monkey adjusting its sitting posture trigger a reaction from the system? And why was his own imitation completely ineffective, only serving to make the creature laugh?

Thoughts flashed through Li He's mind one after another. He felt as if he were touching a thin veil, with something more essential hidden behind it, but the veil was tough and difficult to pierce for the moment.

He looked at the old ape again.

The old ape was lying on a wooden board, lazily basking in the sun, occasionally scratching an itch.

"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out.

It was Sun Ao.

His foundation is already lacking, yet he is so distracted and unfocused—what a waste of aptitude! Sun Ao thought to himself.

He had just suggested that Li He should try to keep up with his pace, and yet Li He had immediately turned to study the sitting posture of a monkey. If this continued, how could he solidify his foundation and become a worthy opponent?

It was clearly a sign of disrespect toward him.

"Forget it." Sun Ao shook his head. Rather than meddling in others' affairs, it was better to focus on improving himself. He walked over to the sandbag and set his stance.

Bang!

Sun Ao's punches were like the wind, his movements swift and fierce. Sweat soon soaked his training uniform.

Li He felt somewhat bewildered by Sun Ao's cold snort and the angry glare he had received, but he didn't like to concern himself with others' business, so he continued to observe the old ape.

At this moment, Yuan Lingling walked over.

"Hey, Junior Brother, what are you doing? What's so interesting about that monkey?"

"Nothing much, I just felt its movements were very natural, a bit like our Ape Standing Stake. It's quite interesting." He didn't explain further, as even he hadn't fully sorted out his thoughts yet.

"Natural?" Yuan Lingling tilted her head, "Aren't monkeys always like that? Eat when hungry, sleep when tired, move when they want to move, lie down when they want to lie down..." As she spoke, her eyes lit up, "Ah! Just like our standing practice! Master always says to be relaxed, heavy, and natural. Is that the feeling?"

Li He's heart stirred.

The Ancient Martial Arts he had first practiced, Old Ape Stretches Arms, didn't it emphasize being relaxed, heavy, and natural?

The core inheritance of the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall was the Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist.

One could feel its power just from the name; the words "Mountain Crushing" were incredibly domineering. Yet, the core of the basic stake training for such a domineering fist technique—the Ape Standing Stake—which Master Yuan Shan emphasized when teaching, was precisely that same "relaxed, heavy, and natural" quality.

Li He hadn't forgotten.

The martial arts official website clearly recorded that the Ape Arm Mountain Crushing Fist was a superior martial art to the Old Ape Stretches Arms.

"Steady as a rock, moving like thunder."

The teachings of Senior Brother Lin Feng still echoed in his ears.

Thinking about it now, "steady as a rock" was merely the outward appearance; its core was the solid foundation brought about by being relaxed and heavy. And "moving like thunder" was the manifestation of instantly exploding the power accumulated in that natural state.

That was why the Old Ape Stretches Arms he used when beating up the thugs had been so fierce—a single punch could shatter a skull.

The practice of the Ape Standing Stake might not be as simple as he had thought. So-called stake arts were all about "fixity," but creatures like monkeys had vigorous heart-fire; their natural state was movement, agility, and constant change.

A bold thought rose in Li He's mind: Was the "steady as a rock" pursued by the Ape Standing Stake not literal, absolute stillness? Was it instead a realm of seeking stability within movement, and fixity within change?

Just like that old ape—when it adjusted its posture, it appeared to be moving and changing, but in reality, its center of gravity shifted with extreme fluidity. The sense of stability never vanished; instead, it reached a more comfortable and stable state after the adjustment.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Just as he was immersed in this brand-new realization, preparing to explore it further.

"Cough."

A soft cough echoed through the air.

Master Yuan Shan stood quietly at the entrance of the training grounds.

With his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze swept over the disciples in the courtyard before finally landing on Li He, who was lost in deep thought. A flicker of approval crossed his eyes, but it immediately returned to its usual profound depth.

"The path of stance training is the foundation of martial arts; it emphasizes the persistence of dripping water wearing through stone, a process of slow, steady refinement."

His gaze swept across the crowd, lingering on Li He for a brief moment with a hint of warning.

"Only by solidifying your foundation can you support a towering skyscraper. Do not be greedy for quick results, and above all, avoid... aiming too high and reaching too far."

The burning heat in Li He's heart instantly cooled, suppressing his urge to jump into action.

He understood what Yuan Shan meant.

The insights he had gained were thanks to his experience with the Turtle-Crane Health Stance, but his Ape Standing Technique was only at the proficiency stage; changing things rashly was indeed unwise.

"Continue practicing." Yuan Shan left with his hands behind his back. Several sleeping apes also stood up, yawned, and followed him away.

Li He stood firm once more, searching for that feeling of relaxation and heaviness, his mind settling as he returned to his stance training.