The True Gold Must Be Forged in Fierce Fire, The Secret of the Tang Sect's Instant Strike!

"Hmm... Granduncle, let me explain my understanding of the coordination between the first and second stages."

"It's like a person walking up a flight of stairs where every step is the same height, but suddenly, there's one step that's different."

"That person will inevitably stumble because their muscles have already adapted to the rhythm and height of the previous steps."

"When there's a sudden change, the body can't react in time. That's the principle behind the transition between the first and second stages of Instant Strike, am I right?"

Qin Qi listened to Tang Jiaren's explanation, his focus shifting entirely to the transition between the two stages.

He felt that compared to the techniques of the individual stages, the transition between them was the most crucial part.

"A very novel way of putting it, but you are correct."

"Catching the enemy off guard, striking when they are unprepared, and killing in a single blow—that has always been the secret of our Tang Sect!"

"After all, even the best can stumble, and even the fastest horse can trip. Creating opportunities for the opponent to make a mistake is also a mandatory lesson for us in the Tang Sect."

Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi, feeling a bit surprised. After hearing him explain it only once, Qin Qi had already grasped the core point.

His comprehension was truly impressive!

For the remainder of the time, Qin Qi began practicing the moves of Instant Strike under Tang Jiaren's guidance.

The technique looked simple enough—striking out with maximum speed—but in practice, it was incredibly difficult!

"Your method of attacking is wrong. Instant Strike doesn't rely on the strength of your wrists or arms."

"It's about the strength of your entire body. You must use subtle movements to mobilize your whole body's power before launching the attack; that is the essence of Instant Strike."

Seeing Qin Qi swinging his arms with wide, sweeping motions, Tang Jiaren immediately spoke up to stop him.

"You are enlarging your movements in pursuit of power and speed, but that is a mistake."

"When performing an assassination, such wide movements allow your opponent to predict your actions in an instant and defend accordingly."

As he spoke, Tang Jiaren demonstrated for Qin Qi again. His strikes were lightning-fast, yet his movements were incredibly compact.

"Whew, I understand now."

Qin Qi nodded. Almost all Tang Sect techniques shared this characteristic: minimal movement and maximum speed.

Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake was the same—the smaller and more concealed it was, the more lethal it became. The same logic applied to Instant Strike.

"It's not just physical strength; you must also pay attention to the flow of Qi within your body."

"You must mobilize your physical strength and Qi simultaneously, and you must use your Qi to precisely coat your hands or the hidden weapons you intend to throw."

"Only then can you maximize the power, speed, and lethality of the strike."

Tang Jiaren broke down every movement in detail, explaining and demonstrating it over and over again.

Qin Qi activated the Epiphany State to comprehend and learn these moves, practicing them incessantly.

However, by the time the day in the Study Space was nearly over, he still hadn't successfully mastered the first stage of Instant Strike.

"Granduncle, the difficulty of this is on a completely different level than Qi Poison."

Qin Qi looked at Tang Jiaren and said.

"Cultivating Qi depends on talent, and the same goes for Qi Poison; if your talent is good, you learn quickly."

"But Instant Strike is different. It doesn't just require talent; it requires time and constant practice."

"True mastery is always like grinding beans—it's done little by little."

Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi, a smile appearing on his face as he reached out to pat his shoulder.

"You've already learned quite fast. In just one night, your stance has already begun to look the part."

"I believe it won't be long before you reach the threshold."

Tang Jiaren wasn't just comforting Qin Qi; he genuinely felt that Qin Qi's learning speed was exceptional.

"Sigh, diligence and hard work it is."

Qin Qi nodded. While practicing Instant Strike, his muscles, tendons, and bones were being constantly tempered.

The sensation was more effective than any other training; if he kept this up for a long time, his very life force would become even more resilient!

For the remaining time, Qin Qi consumed a pill made from Whale Glue and absorbed the energy within.

Once he finished absorbing it, he exited the training space. Only an hour had passed in the outside world, and it was still a long way until dawn.

Qin Qi lay on his bed, but he didn't sleep. He entered a state of meditation, with the Five Treasures Body Protection Method continuing to circulate within his body.

The next morning, everyone went to class as usual, but when the class ended, Teacher Zhao called Tang San over.

"Tang San, your teacher wants to see you."

Teacher Zhao said to Tang San.

"Understood."

A flicker of impatience crossed Tang San's eyes at these words. He didn't want to deal with that useless Gangzi anymore.

However, the fact that he had taken the Grandmaster as his teacher was known to almost the entire academy. If he turned his back on him now, his reputation would be ruined.

After Tang San left.

"Teacher Zhao, why did Grandmaster want to see Tang San?"

Qin Qi leaned in toward Teacher Zhao and asked.

"What else could it be? To have Tang San take care of him. Sigh, you have to say, this Tang San is unlucky enough."

"To have run into a teacher like that."

Teacher Zhao shook her head as she spoke. Although it was a pity, becoming a disciple was Tang San's own choice.

If you're blind, you can't blame anyone else.

"Have him take care of him? Did something happen to Grandmaster?"

Qin Qi continued to ask.

"Earlier, Grandmaster took Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest alone to hunt a spirit, but as luck would have it, they ran into a Datura Snake."

"Tang San was lucky; he used a weapon to pierce the Datura Snake's vital point and killed it."

"But Grandmaster wasn't so lucky. He was nearly poisoned to death, and it was only because a Spirit Hall patrol team discovered him."

"One of them was a Support Spirit Master who used their spirit skill to save Grandmaster's life. Although his life was spared..."

"You know how potent Datura Snake venom is. Even now, Grandmaster is still completely paralyzed."

"He needs someone to take care of everything, from eating and drinking to his bodily functions."

Teacher Zhao stopped there. Everyone knew what kind of character Grandmaster had.

Who would be willing to go and look after or visit him? It was only out of necessity that Grandmaster had called Tang San over.

"Needing someone to take care of his bodily functions... Tang San has it rough."

The moment Qin Qi imagined Tang San taking care of the crippled Yu Xiaogang, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Tang Buddha's devotion to his teacher was truly on another level!

In the afternoon, Qin Qi went to work at the butcher's as usual. While slaughtering a pig, he suddenly discovered something.

"The power-generating method of Instant Strike doesn't seem to be limited to just that one move!"

Qin Qi realized that he had been unconsciously using the Instant Strike power-generating method while walking, sitting, lying down, and even while slaughtering pigs.

By mobilizing his entire body's strength in the most subtle way, every movement he made was not only fast but also filled with explosive power!

After discovering this, Qin Qi practiced this power-generating method even more diligently while slaughtering pigs.

He strove to turn it into an instinct for every action he took!

"Qin Qi, the City Lord's Mansion is holding a banquet this afternoon and asked us to slaughter some pigs. Are you going?"

The butcher had just finished killing a pig; he wiped the sweat from his brow, looked at Qin Qi, and asked.