Pointers

"Excellent."

King Lanchen rose to his feet. An invisible force field instantly enveloped the entire side hall of the temple. "Now, we'll begin the first lesson. Clear your mind and focus. Carefully feel every inch of muscle and every tendon and bone in your body. Sense the complete path the power takes as it flows from its core source to every limb."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhao felt as though his body no longer entirely belonged to him. A gentle yet incredibly pure and powerful will, like the finest conductor, instantly connected with every nerve and energy node in his body. He felt like a precision machine under someone else's control, with every movement guided toward the most perfect and efficient state.

King Lanchen made no complicated movements. He simply threw a straight punch.

Yet to Qin Zhao's senses, that punch held endless mysteries. From his feet rooted in the earth, to his twisting hips, his spine rising and falling like a great dragon, and the seamless connection of his shoulders, elbows, and wrists, the force traveled without the slightest loss and accumulated perfectly in his fist! Throughout the process, hundreds of millions of muscle fibers throughout his body seemed to resonate at the same frequency, combining into a terrifying force!

Boom!

The punch flew out without a sound, yet seemed to set the very space resonating. The light in the side hall dimmed slightly as an incredibly concentrated pressure shot across the room and struck the Star-Patterned Steel Pillar used for testing. It left a perfectly clear, bottomless fist mark, yet the pillar itself barely shook! That meant not a trace of power had leaked out; it had all been focused on a single point!

"Did you feel it clearly?" King Lanchen's voice rang directly in Qin Zhao's mind. "Force application isn't brute strength. It's control. It's resonance. It's excavating, coordinating, and unleashing every ounce of potential within the treasure that is your body in the most perfect way! Forget your old habits. Remember this feeling anew!"

Qin Zhao closed his eyes, amplifying his soul perception to the utmost as he tried to memorize and analyze every subtle change in his body during that perfect application of force, the path of the energy flow, and the rhythm of his muscles working in concert. It was like a peerless artist personally teaching a beginner how to wield a brush and mix colors, imprinting the most profound techniques directly into his body's instincts.

"Next, I'll guide you through experiencing this kind of force application for yourself." As King Lanchen spoke, his will once again made minute adjustments to Qin Zhao's body.

Qin Zhao began moving of his own accord. It was still a simple straight punch, but under King Lanchen's guidance, he felt that he was no longer unleashing scattered force. Instead, it was a torrent, steel-hard and surging like a river! The air compressed to an extreme around his fist, letting out a low boom.

One punch, two punches, three...

Not just punches, but palms, fingers, elbows, knees, and kicks... Under King Lanchen's guidance, every basic attack was executed with a perfect application of force that Qin Zhao had never experienced before. Like a greedy sponge, he frantically absorbed the art of mastering his body to the utmost.

After an unknown amount of time, the guiding will receded like a tide. Qin Zhao regained control of his body, but he felt completely different. His awareness of his body had become incredibly clear, as though he could "see" every path the power took as it flowed through him.

"How does it feel?" King Lanchen asked.

"Unbelievable..." Qin Zhao moved his hands and feet, feeling as though he had gained an entirely new level of control over his body. "Teacher, I feel like even a casual punch from me now would be at least fifty percent stronger than before!"

"This is only the beginning. What you just experienced was a state approaching a hundredfold force application," King Lanchen said calmly. "I've unlocked the highest-level Force-Application Training Space for you in the Virtual Universe. For the next few months, you'll need to train hard in it every day, comparing your practice with what you felt just now and constantly making adjustments until this method becomes your own. I'll check on your progress from time to time."

"Yes, Teacher!" Qin Zhao's confidence soared. His teacher had personally guided him through an experience of perfect force application from on high, and now he had access to the finest training environment. Raising his force application to seventyfold before the Genius Tournament was absolutely achievable!

In the days that followed, Qin Zhao threw himself into an even more intense training regimen. By day, he consolidated his understanding of the Laws and tempered his will in reality. At night, his consciousness immersed itself entirely in the Force-Application Training Space of the Virtual Universe. He practiced the most basic attack movements again and again, constantly recalling and imitating the perfect feeling of force application under King Lanchen's guidance. He adjusted the minute tremors of his muscles and searched for the ideal points of resonance in his power.

The process was dull and grueling, but every improvement in his control over his body and every increase in his force application brought him genuine joy. He could feel that as his Force Application Technique improved, the Phantom Bodies he created with Ten Thousand Line Flow grew more solid and his movements became swifter. When he used Shockwave, the force traveled more efficiently and penetrated more deeply! His foundations were being rapidly strengthened.

King Lanchen would occasionally appear. He would watch Qin Zhao practice for a while and offer a key pointer or two, leaving him enlightened and helping him avoid countless detours.

Time passed quietly amid his focused, grueling training. Only three months remained before the Universe Human Peak Genius Battle officially began.

Under the special training plan King Lanchen had personally devised, Qin Zhao devoted all his energy to honing the fundamentals of force application. The Force-Application Training Space in the Virtual Universe became the place where he spent the most time. It could simulate all kinds of extreme environments and provide the most precise feedback on his force application. It could even conjure a trace of King Lanchen's perfect force-application state for him to use as a reference.

Day after day, Qin Zhao immersed himself in the pursuit of absolute control over his body. He rebuilt his force-application system from the most basic stances and breathing exercises. He repeatedly studied and adjusted the contraction and relaxation of every muscle, the pull and twist of every tendon and bone, and the transfer and accumulation of every bit of force. The perfect state King Lanchen had guided him into that day shone before him like a lighthouse, showing him the way forward.

The process was extremely tedious, far less wondrous and rewarding than comprehending Laws or creating secret techniques. Raising the efficiency of a single joint's force application by one percent often took tens of thousands of repetitions and minute adjustments. Sweat soaked his virtual battle suit, and the intense concentration exhausted his mind, but Qin Zhao's gaze never wavered. He knew this was the necessary path to solidifying his foundations and making up for his weaknesses.

His efforts finally paid off.

His force application began to climb at a steady rate: from thirty-fivefold at first, to fortyfold, forty-fivefold, fiftyfold... With every increase, he felt his control over his body becoming more precise and the flow of power more seamless. This improvement was more than just an increase in numbers; its effects showed in every aspect of his abilities.

When he used Shockwave, the force of the vibrations became more concentrated and penetrated more deeply, with less power lost along the way. When he practiced Earth Pulse Guard, the ochre glow flowed more smoothly, and the defensive structure became noticeably more stable. Even his comprehension of the Law of Earth and the Law of Space seemed to have grown a little sharper, as his body became more attuned to energy and Heaven and Earth.

His most remarkable progress, however, was in his movement technique—Ten Thousand Line Flow!

The essence of movement lay in absolute control over the body, the perfect transition between releasing and reining in power in an instant, and complete harmony with spatial fluctuations. The rapid improvement in his Force Application Technique had laid the firmest possible foundation for a breakthrough in his movement technique.

As he continued to improve, the data on the panel before Qin Zhao began to update.

[Secret Techniques: 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques (Perfection), Shockwave (Perfection), Earth Pulse Guard (Perfection), Ten Thousand Line Flow (Minor Accomplishment 55%), Black Stone Prison (Major Accomplishment 65%)]

[Comprehension: Earth-style Laws (Earth Element 100%, Pulse of the Earth 100%, Gravity Space 100%, Vitality 25%), Law of Space (Teleportation 4.3%)]