Core Perception

Behind the academy, Jiang Jiu's task for the day was a high-speed uphill sprint.

Unlike the track, sprinting on a slope was relatively closer to an outdoor environment, and it stimulated a different set of muscle groups.

However, since Jiang Jiu's future focus would be on arena matches, his cardiovascular endurance training remained centered on the track.

This was evident in how he had scheduled the hill runs during his reduced-load recovery phase.

Including the warm-up, he finished four kilometers, and Jiang Jiu and Xiao Wu returned to the track.

Xiao Wu was about to begin her full-effort technique instruction.

"Come on, crawl after me first."

Jiang Jiu: "?"

But Xiao Wu had already dropped down; she was serious about having Jiang Jiu crawl after her.

Still, as a Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul possessor, shouldn't they be learning how to jump?

Though he thought this to himself, Jiang Jiu mimicked Xiao Wu's movements, and the two began to crawl across the track.

Fortunately, there was no one else around, and Jiang Jiu followed behind Xiao Wu, adapting to the crawling motion bit by bit.

After a simple period of crawling, Xiao Wu slowly increased her speed.

Jiang Jiu's body coordination was already quite good, so he was still able to keep up after Xiao Wu accelerated.

Xiao Wu glanced back to confirm Jiang Jiu's position, then she accelerated again, moving so fast that her two legs seemed to fly.

They actually did fly.

Xiao Wu transitioned from a crawling posture into a handstand, legs pointing toward the sky, supporting herself with her hands, and continued moving forward with the previous momentum, though her speed gradually began to slow.

Jiang Jiu felt a bit dizzy.

He knew how to crawl, he knew how to do a handstand, and he could even try transitioning from a crawl to a handstand.

But overcoming the momentum of a fast crawl to forcibly twist his body into a handstand walk was a significant challenge for him in terms of coordination, balance, and core strength.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Jiu pushed off the ground with his legs while simultaneously exerting force downward with his arms, forcibly thrusting his hips into the air.

The shift in the center of gravity was the key to moving from a crawl to a handstand.

The explosive power of his arms was only the beginning; the focus was on core control.

He had to absorb the reaction force from his upper limbs pushing off the ground while stabilizing his lower limbs to minimize the swinging of his legs.

Additionally, the momentum that was constantly at play was a factor he had to overcome.

It was his first time trying this, and Jiang Jiu's excellent flexibility came into play. Although he went through a backbend in mid-air, a split in mid-air, and continued moving forward while supported by his palms, he finally managed to balance his posture, adjusting from a slightly simple bent-knee tuck to a body aligned in a straight line.

With his head, shoulders, hips, and ankles in a single line, and his palms alternating, Jiang Jiu followed Xiao Wu's original movements in a handstand.

Xiao Wu had already stopped in front; the two now faced each other while in handstands, their perspective novel and unique.

"Not bad at all, you succeeded on the first try," Xiao Wu smiled sweetly.

"Did you train like this back then, too?"

Performing this sequence of movements was quite dangerous.

However, it was a potent remedy; his core strength had never been presented so intuitively. Jiang Jiu instantly understood the logic of how the core functioned within the body, and all that remained was to slowly figure out how to integrate this hub of transmission and stability into his own power generation.

At the very least, although he still lacked knowledge or study of a "straight punch," Jiang Jiu now believed that if he were to throw a punch again, even if it wasn't a textbook straight punch, it would be just as effective.

It sounded strange to comprehend punching techniques from a handstand, but the force behind a fist would not lie.

"I don't need those things; my body just knows how. Let's continue to consolidate."

Xiao Wu exerted force with her hands, rotated her body half a turn in the air, and continued walking along the track in a handstand.

Jiang Jiu followed; this time she didn't accelerate, making it feel more like a brief moment of relaxation.

As Xiao Wu had said, if Jiang Jiu's body needed to be carved and tuned into the shape best suited for Soft Technique, then Xiao Wu was a natural-born saint of Soft Technique—her mechanics were all-encompassing, and all she lacked were the raw stats.

Her laziness certainly had its justification.

When she actually applied herself, she could leave others far behind.

But perhaps it was just her nature; it was a weakness that came with being a genius.

"I have to take a bath today, too."

After finishing the handstand walking training, Xiao Wu first helped Jiang Jiu with his stretches, then did some simple stretches of her own.

Unlike the usual times when she stayed on the track watching Jiang Jiu run, Xiao Wu had followed him to the back hill for the slope runs.

Of course, the main reason was that she had gotten quite a bit of dust on her while crawling at high speeds.

"Then let's head back to the dormitory first."

"Do you want to join me like this from now on?" Jiang Jiu suggested.

"Occasionally, maybe. Doing this all the time is so tiring."

Compared to long-distance running herself, Xiao Wu preferred watching Jiang Jiu run; as her eyes followed little Jiu, she considered herself to be running along with him.

Returning to Dorm Seven, everyone else was still fast asleep, save for Tang San, who was nowhere to be seen.

After grabbing a change of clothes, the two of them tiptoed out of the dormitory once more.

"You're heading in the wrong direction."

"Didn't you say we were going together, Xiao Jiu?" Xiao Wu blinked.

Jiang Jiu sent Xiao Wu away with an expressionless face.

Although he had joked to himself that he could accept them both going without clothes to avoid the awkwardness, he realized he really couldn't bring himself to do it.

Sharing a bed was fine, but bathing together was a bridge too far.

Perhaps in the future, it would be different.

As he rinsed off, he reviewed the core of his pulse technique, contemplating the energy efficiency of its transitions.

It still felt like something was missing, so Jiang Jiu chose to do a handstand in the bathhouse.

The sensation of his waist, pelvis, and back muscles tightening returned, with the force channeling all the way from his palms to his legs, even if the pose itself wasn't particularly graceful.

"I really need to rent a small place outside."

Only with his own bathroom could he do whatever he wanted, and he could even assemble a furnace to practice blacksmithing.

However, that would have to wait until he became a Spirit Master; only when he and Xiao Wu were both collecting their subsidies would they be able to spend money more freely.

So, when would he finally reach level ten?

Compared to when he first awakened his Spirit, with the help of Xiao Wu, a hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit, and a superior method for circulating spirit power, his accumulation speed had increased significantly, but it would still take quite some time to reach level nine.

If he could manage to level up every three to four months, he would consider it a success.

"Xiao Jiu, what are you thinking about?"

With her long hair draped over her shoulders and dressed in clean clothes, Xiao Wu walked into the men's bathhouse as boldly as ever.

Seeing Jiang Jiu deep in thought while doing a handstand, she didn't even bother with the pretense of covering her eyes with her hands anymore.

"You finished washing that fast?"

"That's just my normal speed."

Xiao Wu giggled; it wasn't as if she had rushed her bath just to ambush him.

As for her hair, she was naturally gifted and could afford to be willful.

Jiang Jiu reflected on the situation while drying his body; he was almost becoming desensitized to Xiao Wu's antics.

Since arguing was useless, it was better to go get breakfast early.

"Hee hee, Xiao Jiu, let me help you scrub your back."

"That way it'll be faster, and I'm hungry."

"...Fine."