Nine Sets of Postures

ps: The next few chapters are transitional, so they might be a little boring, but they're necessary!

ps+1: I just realized something pretty tragic. It seems Chapter One got censored, so now it jumps straight from the prologue to Chapter Two...

ps2: Thanks to "屾祘," "I'll Depend on You from Now On," and "Mo Mo Mo" for the rewards. Thanks for your support!

ps3: By the way, is the protagonist's name really that awkward? I'll put up a poll in the review section in a bit, and we can vote on whether to change it. If we do, Xiao Jiao will revise the chapters while there aren't too many.

ps4: Finally, please vote for the recommendation ticket!

"Ina—"

While Bai Ina was pushing himself through strenuous training, three figures hid in the woods in the distance. Loxi, who looked worried, was the one who spoke.

"Yikes, this is the first time I've seen the teacher be so strict. It's scary!" Zongcilang clicked his tongue, secretly relieved that the teacher hadn't acted this way back when he used to slack off during training.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo pursed his lips. "You've got some nerve. You slack off every time we train. We should tell the teacher to be stricter with you."

"But you still can't beat me!" Zongcilang said with a cheeky look.

Poor Hijikata had barely gotten a sentence out before Zongcilang shut him down. His face immediately darkened. "You bastard! If you keep slacking off, you'll waste your talent for swordsmanship sooner or later!"

"But you still can't beat me!"

"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo wisely fell silent. Otherwise, this foul-mouthed bastard might have made his heart burst with anger...

At that moment, Loxi turned and headed toward the dojo.

"What, you're not going to keep watching? Weren't you worried about your little friend?"

Zongcilang asked with a mocking look.

Loxi paid no attention to his tone and replied with complete confidence, "There's nothing I can do to help Ina by staying here. I'm worried, but I believe Ina will get through anything that comes his way. So I just need to do my part: make a hearty lunch so Ina can eat his fill after all that exhausting training." With that, Loxi turned and left.

"Hmph!"

Zongcilang pursed his lips, then turned and took a long look at Bai Ina training desperately in the woods. Scratching his head with a pained expression, he said, "Honestly, I think I'll go train for the first time in ages, too..."

With that, he also headed toward the dojo.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo watched Zongcilang's back and shook his head. "So you do have a competitive streak!" As he spoke, he suddenly smiled. The smile on his usually cold face was as bright as a child's beneath the sunlight.

The worry that had weighed on him for so long had vanished with Bai Ina's arrival, leaving Hijikata Yoshitoyo feeling immensely relieved. After standing there in thought for a while, he, too, headed into the dojo.

Since his good-for-nothing friend had decided to train, he was happy to join him...

"That's enough!"

Kubo Yamato's voice reached Bai Ina's ears. His body, already pushed to its limit, went limp, and he dropped onto the ground.

"Haah, haah, haah..."

Bai Ina panted like a broken bellows.

"Get up—"

Just then, Kubo Yamato stepped forward, grabbed Bai Ina by the collar, and lifted him to his feet.

Bai Ina stared at him, confused.

"You must never rest immediately after strenuous exercise!" Kubo Yamato said coldly. Then he looked Bai Ina up and down before continuing, "From the first time I saw you, I could tell your body was already exhausted. Years of excessive training have left countless hidden injuries in your body. If you keep this up, you could die suddenly from heart failure in just a few years."

"What!"

Bai Ina was startled and asked instinctively, "But why haven't I felt anything?"

"By the time you feel it..." Kubo Yamato sneered. "You'll be close to death."

Bai Ina's expression darkened, but he didn't panic too much. Since his teacher had brought it up, there had to be a way to fix it.

"You're right. What I'm going to teach you next is how to recover after training. Every branch of swordsmanship has its own methods for conditioning the body, and the Navy has plenty of them, too."

As he spoke, Kubo Yamato slowly stepped back, a look of pride appearing on his face. "But my school's conditioning methods are definitely better than the Navy's. Watch what I do, then follow along."

"Yes, teacher!"

Bai Ina nodded firmly. He didn't doubt his teacher's words at all. Although they hadn't known each other for long, Bai Ina knew Kubo Yamato wasn't one to make empty promises.

Kubo Yamato then began teaching Bai Ina the so-called conditioning method. It consisted of nine distinct sets of postures, each with five movements. Kubo Yamato broke down every movement and demonstrated them one by one.

The sequence was difficult. Even with Bai Ina's astonishing comprehension and memory, it took him nearly an hour to learn it. Under Kubo Yamato's guidance, he went through the whole sequence from beginning to end.

But Bai Ina didn't feel any change in his body.

"Do you feel like nothing's changed?" Kubo Yamato asked with a warm smile when he saw the confusion on Bai Ina's face.

Bai Ina nodded. "Yes, teacher. It just feels a little awkward. I don't feel anything else."

"That's to be expected. Those were just the movements. If my school's conditioning method were that simple, there wouldn't be much to it." Kubo Yamato smiled.

Just the movements?

Bai Ina looked at Kubo Yamato, confused.

Kubo Yamato didn't keep him in suspense and directly explained the true secret behind the nine sets of postures.

As it turned out, each movement in the sequence had a corresponding way of engaging the muscles. In other words, the nine sets of forty-five movements had forty-five different methods of muscle engagement.

Only when paired with these methods of muscle engagement did the nine sets of postures become a true conditioning method.

"Well? Have you remembered them all?"

Bai Ina went over them in his mind again. After confirming that he had memorized how to engage his muscles for every movement, he nodded. "I've got it, teacher!"

"You've got an incredible memory and comprehension. Come on, give it a try!" Kubo Yamato said without betraying his thoughts, though he secretly marveled, This kid really is a monster. He's already memorized and understood everything so quickly...

At his words, Bai Ina went over the instructions in his mind one more time. Once he was sure he had them right, he began the first movement of the first posture. But his expression changed dramatically the next moment.

The movement, which had felt merely awkward before, became impossibly difficult when he paired it with the muscle-trembling method. After just one movement, Bai Ina was soaked in sweat from head to toe, as if he'd used up all his strength. Yet it felt different, because he could clearly tell he still had some strength left.

And still, he couldn't do the second movement.

Had he done it wrong?

That was the only thought in Bai Ina's mind. He quickly stopped and looked at Kubo Yamato. "Teacher, I think I got the muscle-trembling method wrong. Just that first movement was incredibly difficult."

"You didn't do it wrong!" Kubo Yamato replied with a smile and a shake of his head. "You should know that even I can only do the first five sets of these postures."

"Ah?"

Bai Ina was startled. He had just experienced how difficult the sequence was, but he'd never imagined that even his teacher could only perform five sets.

"From now on, after every training session, you must do this sequence. Even if you can manage only one movement, it can heal the hidden injuries in your body and strengthen your physique."

"Yes, teacher!"

Even Bai Ina had no idea how great a role this sequence would play in his future life as a swordsman. At that moment, the path toward becoming a male swordsman officially began.