"Mm... Granduncle, let me explain how I understand the coordination between the first and second stages."
"It's like someone walking up a flight of stairs. The steps are all the same height, but what if one suddenly turns out to be higher or lower?"
"That person would definitely stumble, because their muscles had adapted to that pace and height."
"When something suddenly changes, the body can't react in time. Switching between the first and second stages of Instant Strike works the same way. Am I right?"
After hearing Tang Jiaren's explanation, Qin Qi focused directly on the transition between the two stages.
He felt that compared with the techniques of the first and second stages, the transition between them was what mattered most.
"That's an unusual way to put it, but you're right."
"Catching them off guard, striking when they're unprepared, and killing with one blow—those have always been the secrets of our Tang Sect!"
"After all, people stumble and horses lose their footing. Creating an opening for your opponent to make a mistake is also a lesson every member of our Tang Sect must learn."
Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi, a little surprised. He had only explained it once, yet Qin Qi had already spotted the key point.
His comprehension really was impressive!
For the rest of their time together, Qin Qi practiced the Instant Strike technique under Tang Jiaren's guidance.
The move looked quite simple: strike as fast as possible. But it was extremely difficult to master in practice!
"Your attack is wrong. Instant Strike doesn't draw on the strength of your wrist and arm."
"It uses the strength of your whole body, with subtle movements to bring that strength together before you attack. That's the essence of Instant Strike."
Tang Jiaren watched Qin Qi swing his arm in a wide arc and immediately stopped him.
"You're exaggerating the movement to pursue strength and speed. That's a mistake."
"When you're carrying out an assassination, your opponent can read a movement that large in an instant and defend against it."
As he spoke, Tang Jiaren demonstrated the technique again. His attack was incredibly fast, and his movements were very small.
"Phew, I get it."
Qin Qi nodded. Nearly every Tang Sect technique shared this trait: small movements and great speed.
Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake was more powerful the smaller and more concealed it was. Instant Strike worked the same way.
"It's not just about physical strength. You also need to pay attention to the flow of Qi in your body."
"Bring your physical strength and Qi into play at the same time, and precisely cover your hand—or the Hidden Weapon you're about to throw—with Qi."
"Only then can you maximize your strength, speed, and power."
Tang Jiaren broke down every movement in detail, explained it, and demonstrated it over and over.
Qin Qi entered Epiphany State to comprehend and learn the moves, then practiced them again and again.
But by the time a day in the Study Space was nearly over, he still hadn't mastered the first stage of Instant Strike.
"Granduncle, this is nowhere near the same level of difficulty as Qi Poison."
Qin Qi looked at Tang Jiaren and spoke.
"Training Qi depends on talent, and so does Qi Poison. The more talented you are, the faster you'll learn."
"But Instant Strike is different. It depends not only on talent, but also on spending time practicing over and over."
"Real skill is always ground out little by little, like grinding beans."
Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi with a smile and patted him on the shoulder.
"You've already learned very quickly. After just one night, you've got the basic stance down."
"I'm sure you'll master it before long."
Tang Jiaren wasn't just trying to reassure Qin Qi. He truly thought Qin Qi had learned very quickly.
"Ah, hard work and practice it is."
Qin Qi nodded. As he practiced Instant Strike, his muscles and bones were constantly being tempered.
It was more effective than any other exercise. If he kept it up, his body and life force would grow tougher too!
For the rest of the time, Qin Qi swallowed a pill made from Whale Rubber and absorbed its energy.
Once he had absorbed it all, he left the Study Space. Only an hour had passed in the outside world, and dawn was still a long way off.
Qin Qi lay on his bed without sleeping. He entered a meditative state, and the Five Treasures Body Protection Method continued to circulate within him.
The next morning, everyone went to class as usual. But when class ended, Teacher Zhao stopped Tang San.
"Tang San, your teacher wants you to come see him."
Teacher Zhao spoke to Tang San.
"Mm."
A trace of impatience showed in Tang San's eyes. He didn't want to deal with that useless Gangzi anymore.
But just about everyone at the academy knew he had taken Grandmaster as his teacher. If he turned his back on him now, his reputation would be ruined.
After Tang San left.
"Teacher Zhao, what does Grandmaster want with Tang San?"
Qin Qi approached Teacher Zhao and asked.
"What else? He wants Tang San to look after him. Sigh, Tang San really has had rotten luck."
"To end up with a teacher like that."
Teacher Zhao shook her head as she spoke. She felt a little sorry for him, but Tang San had chosen to become his disciple.
If you'd been too blind to see what he was like, you couldn't blame anyone else.
"Look after him? Did something happen to Grandmaster?"
Qin Qi continued to ask.
"Grandmaster took Tang San into the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring on their own. Wouldn't you know it, they ran into a Datura Snake."
"Tang San was lucky enough to stab the Datura Snake in a vital spot with a weapon and kill it."
"But Grandmaster wasn't so lucky. He nearly died from the poison, and only the Spirit Hall patrol found him in time."
"One of the auxiliary Spirit Masters used her Soul Skill to save his life. He survived, at least."
"But you know how potent Datura Snake venom is. Grandmaster is still paralyzed from head to toe."
"He needs someone to look after him for everything, from eating and drinking to using the toilet."
Teacher Zhao stopped there. Everyone knew what kind of person Grandmaster was.
Who would want to look after him or visit him? With no other choice, Grandmaster had called Tang San over.
"So he needs someone to take care of him for everything... Little San, you've got it rough."
Just imagining Tang San looking after the crippled Yu Xiaogang made Qin Qi shake his head.
Tang Buddha was so outrageously devoted to respecting his teacher!
That afternoon, Qin Qi went to work for the butcher as usual. While slaughtering a pig, he suddenly realized something.
"Instant Strike's method of generating force doesn't seem limited to the Instant Strike move itself!"
Qin Qi realized that, without even noticing, he was using Instant Strike's method of generating force as he walked, sat, stood, and even slaughtered pigs.
He used the smallest movements to bring his whole body's strength into play. Every motion was swift and packed with explosive power!
After realizing this, Qin Qi practiced the method of generating force even more diligently as he slaughtered pigs.
He wanted to make it instinctive in every movement!
"Qin Qi, there's a banquet at the City Lord's Mansion this afternoon, and they've asked us to slaughter pigs. Are you going?"
The butcher had just slaughtered a pig. He wiped the sweat from his brow, looked at Qin Qi, and asked.