Practicing Willow-Bending Fist

Qin Annian sat cross-legged in his home theater, wearing wireless headphones as he watched the ultra-high-definition screen with rapt attention.

On the screen,

a martial artist stood firm and imposing. A voice came through the headphones:

"Willow-Bending Fist places great emphasis on footwork."

As the voice fell silent,

the martial artist began his demonstration.

His body moved like willow fluff drifting with the wind.

His movements seemed soft, but his stance was rock-solid, like the roots of a willow tree planted deep in the earth.

"When the enemy advances, I retreat. When the enemy retreats, I follow."

It was like throwing a punch at willow fluff: even when you thought you were inches away, the distance always seemed as vast as the ends of the earth.

No matter what you did, you couldn't get close.

"Don't resist, don't disengage. Draw the enemy in and let them strike empty air."

"Keep the enemy dancing to your rhythm."

With the awareness of a Fist Technique Grandmaster, Qin Annian quickly grasped this technique.

He could have learned the basics even without the Status Panel's help.

"This technique is soft on the outside and hard within, roughly an eight-to-two split."

Smack!

Inside the headphones,

the air cracked with an explosive pop.

"A fist can brush against the enemy like a falling leaf, then suddenly turn into a Willow-Bending Embrace."

Explosive short-range power.

As his right fist swung down, his left fist, which had been held defensively, shot toward his armpit.

The two forces twisted together, like snapping a willow branch.

If that had been a person's arm,

that single change in technique would have crippled the opponent.

When the video ended, Qin Annian took off his headphones and pondered.

"The instructor's explanation in the video is easy to understand, but it only scratches the surface."

"Still,"

"Han Xi's recommendation remains the most sensible."

"This Willow-Bending Fist technique is perfect for me."

He practiced the Iron Man Stance, which gave him an exceptionally stable base.

That was an advantage when meeting force with force.

But if he faced someone stronger than himself, he could easily be overwhelmed head-on.

With his solid stance as a foundation, practicing Willow-Bending Fist would let him look for a chance to kill with one strike while maneuvering around his opponent.

"I could deal with a martial artist with a Life Development Power of 30 without revealing my trump cards."

"Whew!"

"I can hardly wait!"

He looked at the Status Panel.

[Host: Qin Annian.]

[Number of assists: 2.]

[Available technique for assistance: Willow-Bending Fist.]

"Two assists."

"Let's see how this differs from the Iron Man Stance."

The thought crossed his mind, and the text shifted.

[Willow-Bending Fist · Assists (2/2). Place order?]

"Yes."

In an instant,

another unfamiliar set of training memories appeared in Qin Annian's mind.

Sky Roc Dojo.

Lin Qingyue, a martial general-level powerhouse, had been cultivating with his eyes closed above the flowing clouds. Suddenly, he scanned his surroundings.

Golden light shimmered deep in his eyes, yet he saw nothing unusual.

"Haha."

He laughed freely and formed a fist seal with his hand.

"Since Senior wants to see my fist technique..."

Brilliant white light gathered around Lin Qingyue's fists.

"Ha!"

With a sharp cry, he soared into the air.

At that moment,

light took shape, and a Kun Fish seemed to leap from the Northern Abyss.

Boom!

The white light abruptly turned black, and a black-and-white Taiji Diagram slowly spun into view.

The Heavenly Peng let out a long cry and struck across the nine heavens.

That single punch

was powerful enough to blow a starship destroyer apart head-on!

"I visualized the Kunpeng in my Spirit Sea for a century, watching its evolution, and created this fist technique from the true meaning of the Sky Roc Dojo."

"I've practiced it for over a hundred years."

"Please, Senior, offer me your guidance!"

But

the wind howled beneath the sky, and no one answered.

Seeing this, Lin Qingyue sighed.

He had thought his fortune had finally come—that he might receive guidance from some unfathomably powerful senior.

In the memories,

he was practicing his fists too.

But

his approach to training was far more free and easy.

He didn't restrict himself with rules and conventions. Instead, he reached a state where his fists followed his will.

"Unlike when I practiced the Iron Man Stance, like an ascetic."

"Steadfast, resolute."

"Standing Posture was my whole life."

"But the version of me in these memories, practicing Willow-Bending Fist, isn't careless or indifferent."

"It's more like I treat training as a pleasure and enjoy it."

"A year of training passes like the mornings and evenings of a single day."

"Endlessly rewarding to look back on."

Qin Annian compared every detail of his Iron Man Stance and Willow-Bending Fist training memories after receiving assistance from the Status Panel.

"The Iron Man Stance gives me three years of experience."

"Willow-Bending Fist gives me only one."

That was one difference.

"Yet what I've gained from the two sets of memories is about the same."

The Iron Man Stance had reached the level of perfection, and even contained unknown variations. A mysterious passage of scripture would sound out whenever his Inner Demon appeared.

"As for Willow-Bending Fist..."

He assumed a stance and tried a few moves.

"It places greater emphasis on the transitions between techniques."

Qin Annian pondered for a moment, then abruptly changed his movements.

He no longer performed the moves shown in the demonstration, instead introducing variations of his own.

"I can follow my own intentions and add my own ideas to this technique."

Innovation. Improvement.

"From one angle, it looks like a ridge; from another, a peak."

"Everyone understands the same martial technique differently when they practice it."

"If I can transform a martial technique into moves perfectly suited to me, then I've reached the realm where the Great Dao is simple."

Whoosh!

He rubbed his aching temples.

"As for aptitude..."

"In these memories, I'm a Fist Technique Grandmaster."

Qin Annian summed it up at last:

"Overall,"

"there's a difference, but it's not much."

"That's a good thing. I don't have to worry about the algorithm charging returning customers more."

By the time Qin Annian left the home theater, it was midnight.

Only the soft lights in the living room were on.

"Han Xi still hasn't gotten off work?"

Qin Annian recalled what he had seen at the Security Bureau.

"I'll run a test first."

"Let's see how much my Life Development Power has increased."

There was no shortage of testing equipment in the house.

As the light swept over him,

numbers appeared on the screen:

14.3.

"An increase that big?"

The figure took him by surprise.

He chose not to sync the data to his file.

In four days, he had practiced Standing Posture three times.

His Life Development Power had increased by 4.5 points.

"The first two sessions were thanks to special opportunities."

"I gained about two points each time."

"Today, the Secret Medicine Incense in the Practice Room helped me gain 0.5 points."

"After receiving the benefit of three years' worth of Standing Posture training, my aptitude for the practice should rank among the Federation's very best prodigies."

Even a slight difference in cultivation talent could lead to a vast difference in status.

For example,

before he regained his memories of his previous life,

it had taken him ten years of cultivation to raise his Life Development Power to 9.8.

"The more often you use Secret Medicine Incense, the more resistant your body becomes."

"Its effects grow weaker each time, and the drop is quite noticeable, until it stops working altogether."

That afternoon, while they were at the Civil Affairs Bureau,

Qin Annian had asked Han Xi a few questions about the common cultivation knowledge of prodigies.

"The solution is simple."

"Just switch to a different secret medicine."

Curious, Qin Annian found his Personal Terminal charging nearby and prepared to look up the price of Secret Medicine Incense online.

As soon as he activated it,

he noticed a message from a stranger.

"I'm Zhang Xiaoqian."

"I'm giving you a chance to serve me."

Qin Annian frowned.

"Psycho."

He deleted the message and blocked the number.

Qin Annian logged on to the Lingyun Pharmaceuticals website.

"The cheapest secret medicine costs ten thousand Federation Credits per gram?"

Was practicing martial arts really this expensive?

This was the first time Qin Annian had ever had that thought.

After all,

in all his years of cultivation,

this was the first time he'd relied on external help.

"Having it is the icing on the cake, but there's no need to force it if I don't."

Qin Annian didn't mind.

His Status Panel couldn't directly raise his cultivation level,

but it had indirectly improved his aptitude and talent.

"I don't mind taking in all the sights along this path, either!"