Breathing Stance

Lu Cheng exhaled a long breath, slowly withdrawing from his stance.

Before opening his eyes, his consciousness swept across his sea of consciousness.

[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance]

[Grade: Low-tier Human Grade]

[Realm: Minor Accomplishment (1/300)]

The Mystic Eagle Stance Technique had reached minor accomplishment.

Early stage of Force Refining!

Nine days—one day earlier than expected.

Lu Cheng slowly opened his eyes, feeling the various changes in his body, a flash of joy crossing his gaze.

He gently drew in a breath, his waist and back tensing as he shook, and force began to radiate from his core toward his limbs.

It traveled downward through his waist and hips to his thighs, then on to his calves.

Upward, it surged along his arms and into his ten fingers.

Under the conduction of this force, his muscles trembled rapidly.

Most of the sweat that had covered his skin was instantly flung away.

"Such powerful control."

Although his physical strength hadn't increased by much, the Lu Cheng of now was worlds apart from the Lu Cheng of nine days ago.

His sense of control over his body was far, far greater than before.

If he were to encounter the Young Gang Leader and Shi Da now, even without an iron fork in hand, he could easily finish them both off.

Time to test his strikes!

Lu Cheng pushed off with his feet, his body lunging forward violently.

With a "whoosh," he covered a distance of fifteen feet, flashing before a wooden dummy.

He inhaled, gathered his force, and struck out with a palm like lightning.

"Thud!"

The wooden dummy didn't budge.

Yet, the sound produced was not the crisp, fleshy slapping noise from before.

It was deep and resonant, like a stone dropped into a dark spring.

The wooden dummy seemed to have become hollow, the force transforming into a skipping stone that collided and echoed within.

Only after the sound grew faint and dissipated did the wooden dummy emit a "hum" and begin to tremble.

The dummy's reaction indicated that the force of Lu Cheng's palm hadn't just struck the surface; it had penetrated entirely through.

If this were to strike a person, there would be no mark on the skin, but the tendons, bones, and internal organs would suffer heavy damage.

What incredible force transmission.

What a formidable early stage of Force Refining.

He looked left and right; most people had already gone to eat lunch.

Only a few disciples remained in the training yard.

Confirming that no one was paying attention to him, Lu Cheng focused his mind, extended his right hand in an eight-character palm, and slowly reached toward the wooden dummy.

When he was less than three inches away, he suddenly shifted his palm into a claw, his entire body's force erupting and concentrating on his five fingers.

"Crack!"

The wooden dummy let out a crisp sound under his claw, and a chunk of wood was torn from the bowl-thick post by Lu Cheng.

Looking at the shattered post, Lu Cheng tossed the wood fragment aside with satisfaction and headed toward the dining hall.

Over the past few days in Feng Zhan's courtyard, he had either been practicing dynamic exercises like gripping jars and swinging sandbags, or static exercises focusing on strike direction, paths, and the force and breath required to transition from palm to claw.

This was the first time Lu Cheng had used the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk in "actual combat."

The results were truly impressive.

If this claw were to land on someone's chest, it would inevitably result in disembowelment.

"..."

"Hey, who's out here gouging the wooden dummies for no reason?"

"This is just nonsense, how is anyone supposed to train now?"

Behind him, passing disciples caught sight of the palm-sized chunk gouged out of the wooden dummy by Lu Cheng and spoke up indignantly.

They glanced at Lu Cheng, who had not walked far, then back at the wooden dummy, shaking their heads and finding their own fleeting thoughts ridiculous.

In the afternoon, Lu Cheng returned to the training grounds to continue his practice.

The minor accomplishment of the Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance did not make Lu Cheng feel the slightest bit of slack.

On the contrary, because he had to set aside time to practice the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, he would have to seize every moment from now on.

Having witnessed the power of the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, Lu Cheng's mind had become quite active.

As it stood, survival was indeed no longer an issue.

But to live only for the sake of survival would be a bit too lacking in ambition.

Beyond the precious quota that already belonged to the Long Wind Escort Agency.

Lu Cheng was also extremely covetous of that massive amount of resources.

Shen Yi had only said that three people would be sent to compete, but he hadn't said one couldn't sweep all three.

Therefore, within three months, his cultivation must reach the late stage of Refined Strength.

The Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk must reach minor accomplishment!

This goal could not be discounted in the slightest.

Train!

After the stance training reached minor accomplishment, it was necessary to add the practice of the three Breathing Stance forms.

Lu Cheng closed his eyes slightly, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness.

The Heavenly Mandate pillar of light stood deep in his sea of consciousness as it always did.

The dark golden radiance was as calm as water, lacking the flickering and flashing seen when deducing martial arts.

Yet, it possessed a different, mysterious, and vast quality.

Within the pillar of light, two black figures stood side by side, left and right, practicing different martial arts.

The one on the left practiced the stance, its form as steady as a mountain.

The one on the right was leaping and flipping, claws flying in a flurry.

Lu Cheng locked his consciousness onto the Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance.

In an instant, the scene before his eyes changed abruptly.

The figure on the right shrank rapidly like a receding tide, fading into the background.

In the blink of an eye, it became a blurred black dot in the distance.

Meanwhile, the figure on the left practicing the stance surged forward, occupying Lu Cheng's entire field of vision.

Every joint and every subtle change in the muscles of the figure was rendered in vivid detail, as if it were standing three feet in front of Lu Cheng.

Every movement of the figure was extremely perfect; by comparison, Lu Cheng could clearly feel the gap in his own performance.

However, compared to when he first started training, he had already improved a great deal.

As Lu Cheng's intent shifted, the stance-practicing figure changed immediately.

The practice movements excluded the other nine forms, leaving only the three Breathing Stance forms.

As the figure practiced, its limbs and torso no longer performed large-scale bending or stretching.

It only emitted steady, powerful, small-scale vibrations as its chest and abdomen subtly expanded and contracted.

From its nose and mouth, it continuously emitted snorting sounds like "Heng," "Ha," "Weng," and "Zi."

Lu Cheng mimicked the figure's posture.

His feet were spread apart, shoulders dropped, and elbows sunk.

His entire person was as still as an ancient pine.

He watched as the figure's chest slowly swelled.

Lu Cheng also took a deep breath with a "shoo" sound.

The breath entered slowly through his nose and mouth.

It passed through his throat and into his chest.

Then, it sank all the way down to his dantian.

During this process, the internal organs and meridians that the breath passed through were all correspondingly stimulated.

Only when his lower abdomen slightly bulged under the natural infusion of the breath did Lu Cheng stop inhaling.

Afterward, the figure's teeth were tightly closed, tongue pressed against the upper palate, and lips slightly parted.

With a subtle "Zi" sound of exhaling, the chest began to slowly deflate.

Lu Cheng exhaled in rhythm.

The breath rose from his dantian, passed through his chest and throat, and was slowly released through his nose.

His internal organs and meridians were being tempered once again by a different method.

With every inhalation and exhalation, Lu Cheng could sense the subtle changes occurring within his body.

It was not about exerting deliberate force.

Rather, it was the breath guiding the natural opening and closing of his body.

This was the profound mystery of the Breathing Stance.

Use breath to guide qi, use qi to lead force, and use force to refine strength.

The figure repeated these three forms continuously.

Lu Cheng followed along for three repetitions and felt a gentle warmth slowly disperse from his dantian, flowing through his meridians, across his organs, and out toward his limbs.

It was unlike the soreness and swelling from practicing the first six forms of the stance, nor was it like the rigid ferocity of the claw techniques.

It was a silent, nourishing sensation that moistened everything it touched.

A sudden clarity dawned on Lu Cheng.

This was the method for refining strength in the mid-stage of the Force Refining Realm.

The internal organs and meridians of the human body are fragile and cannot be treated with the same crude, overbearing methods used for the limbs and back.

Using the breath to guide force for slow, steady tempering was the only correct path.

Lu Cheng grew more proficient with each repetition, and as he practiced, his mastery slowly climbed.

[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance]

[Realm: Minor Accomplishment (3/300)]

[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance]

[Realm: Minor Accomplishment (5/300)]

[Realm: Minor Accomplishment (11/300)]

Two hours later, the sun began to slant westward, casting a reddish hue.

Lu Cheng withdrew his stance and stood up.

In two hours of practice throughout the afternoon, he had only gained ten points of mastery.

Yet, Lu Cheng was not anxious.

For one, the Breathing Stance was significantly more difficult than the first six forms.

For another, he had only just begun.

He believed that once he corrected all his mistakes and oversights, his progress would accelerate considerably.

Lu Cheng opened his eyes and shook off the sweat.

He noticed that quite a few people were missing from the training grounds.

Especially those who had been nearby.

Surprisingly, only Thin Bamboo Pole and Hu Er remained.

Something was wrong.

It wasn't even time for the meal, so why had everyone left?

And what about Fatty, Liu Guicai, and the brothers Hu Liang and Hu Guang?

An entire afternoon had passed, and they had not appeared once.