Taiji

Night had deepened.

As the moon rose, Li Chengfeng and Liu Yuniang had eaten and drunk their fill, carefully storing the mutton away inside the house.

After briefly washing the sweat and mud from their bodies, they went to bed with warmth still clinging to them and slept soundly.

It was an incomparably peaceful sleep.

The next morning.

As the sun rose, Liu Yuniang slowly woke, feeling steady and strong all over.

Still hazy with sleep, she opened her eyes and looked toward the window. Seeing that the sun had already risen, she hurriedly got up. Only when she saw that Li Chengfeng was still asleep did she let out a breath, quietly climbing out of bed to make breakfast.

Before long, amid the crackle of firewood, the fragrance of food filled the air. Li Chengfeng slowly woke as well, opening his bright eyes.

Turning his head, he saw that Liu Yuniang had already used the smoked meat and greens they had brought back from Liu Hong's home to cook a pot of meat porridge. She was ladling it out from the steaming pot.

"Yu Niang, you're up so early?"

A smile appeared on Li Chengfeng's face. As he rose and stretched his waist, he greeted her. While speaking, he quickly got up, put on his shoes, and went out to wash up.

"It's nothing. I woke when the sun came up."

Liu Yuniang answered with a smile, ladling the meat porridge from the iron pot into earthenware bowls one by one and setting them on the table. Then she stood by the doorway, watching Li Chengfeng wash up.

Only after Li Chengfeng had finished washing did she follow him back into the house. They sat close together, each lifting a bowl of meat porridge and drinking.

"Chengfeng, we have food at home now, and money, and meat too. Are you still going into the mountains to hunt?"

As they ate, Liu Yuniang held her earthenware bowl and looked at Li Chengfeng, unable to stop herself from asking worriedly.

"I won't go hunting for now. This much meat will last the two of us quite a while, and we don't need to worry about the household money either. I'll stay home and nurse my body back first."

Li Chengfeng chewed a large mouthful, swallowed the meat porridge in his mouth, and felt warmth rising through his body. Smiling at the fair, pretty Liu Yuniang before him, he said, "Stay home with me peacefully for a few days."

"Alright. With you at home, I feel much more at ease!"

Joy appeared on Liu Yuniang's face. Hearing Li Chengfeng's words, she nodded again and again, then drank her meat porridge with a smile at the corner of her lips.

Seeing Liu Yuniang's little-wife manner, Li Chengfeng could not help shaking his head with a smile. Without him around, Liu Yuniang had likely spent every day with her heart hanging by a thread.

In times like these, a household truly cannot do without a man. Even with the door locked, there's no peace of mind.

With that thought, Li Chengfeng quickened his pace. Before long, he had finished the meat porridge in his bowl, then served himself another large bowl before finally eating his fill.

After breakfast, Liu Yuniang got up to clear the dishes, while Li Chengfeng stretched his waist and moved his limbs around in the little fenced yard.

After moving about, he slowly performed a set of Eight Brocades to warm up. Once he had warmed up, he recalled the various traditional martial arts he had learned in his previous life.

In the end, his thoughts settled on one art.

Taiji Fist

Thinking of the rare copy he had collected without spending much effort thanks to the progress of his previous era, Li Chengfeng's expression turned solemn as he slowly assumed a fighting stance.

In his previous life, Li Chengfeng had been obsessed with martial arts. The martial arts he had learned, inside and out, top to bottom, numbered twenty or thirty kinds.

In terms of lethality and rapid results, there were Baji Fist, Sanda, and the like.

But this Taiji Fist he cultivated had once been personally written down by the Taiji grandmaster Yang the Invincible. It was a secret transmission of Taiji techniques, the most profound and subtle of inheritances. It was especially suited for someone like him, whose body was not particularly strong, and its practical combat ability was exceptionally powerful.

Whether for his current need to strengthen his physical condition or for the real battles against enemies he would face in the future, this secret Taiji Fist was the best choice!

In the late Qing, Yang Luchan earned the title Yang the Invincible because his Whole-Body Power, Neutralizing Power, Listening Power, and Explosive Power had reached the pinnacle of perfection. He stood at the ceiling of the martial arts world. Now that I have the system's help, what kind of results can this secret Taiji Fist produce?

Li Chengfeng's thoughts surged, yet he did not rush straight into the forms and techniques. Instead, he first assumed a Hunyuan Stance.

Relax the shoulders, sink the elbows, tuck the chest and straighten the back, keep the tailbone centered, breathe from the abdomen, release strength throughout the whole body...

Li Chengfeng deeply understood how to conserve strength, regulate Blood Qi, and avoid stiffness. The moment he began standing the stance, his Hunyuan Stance was already extremely standard.

With the foundation of the Bear Waist Stance, this body of his might not have had any martial arts foundation, but it could still support him in practicing smoothly.

He stood there until his body felt its limit before slowly ending the exercise. During that time, Yu Niang came to the doorway and watched him curiously.

Seeing this, Li Chengfeng simply did not let Yu Niang remain idle. While waiting for his body to recover, he taught her several simple foundational movements of the Eight Brocades, letting her practice them first to loosen up her body.

Only then did he begin practicing the basic Taiji forms in full in the yard. After performing the Thirteen Postures once, his heart stirred. Thinking of his skill panel, he performed the entire Taiji Fist set again from beginning to end.

[Skill: Taiji Fist]

[Level: Not Yet Initiated (1/100)]

The next moment, the panel information flickered. The newly displayed information made Li Chengfeng's brows rise.

Even the proficiency required before initiation is ten times higher than Archery. This secret Taiji Fist truly is no simple thing!

Li Chengfeng was shaken, but then secretly delighted. The higher the proficiency requirement, the better the technique's effects. The gains this Taiji Fist can bring me will definitely exceed my imagination. It will surely bring me surprises!

With that thought, he looked at the panel again, his eyes shining.

Ordinary martial artists must first practice stance work, then the basics, advancing step by step. But with the skill panel, I only need to seriously practice the complete forms once to gain something!

Li Chengfeng's heart pounded. He no longer followed the gradual plan he had laid out for himself. Instead, he directly began practicing the complete Taiji Fist from beginning to end, throwing himself into it wholeheartedly.

Based on the feedback from his previous practice of the Bear Waist Stance and Archery, only by devoting himself wholeheartedly to martial training could he receive positive feedback from the panel. Thus, from the very start of his training, he immersed himself in it with complete focus.

"Phew~"

On the other side, Liu Yuniang was also practicing several simple arm-lifting movements that Li Chengfeng had taught her. She continued until a faint sheen of sweat appeared at the tip of her nose, then gradually slowed and stopped.

She then curiously watched Li Chengfeng practicing under the warm spring sunlight. Without disturbing him, she got up to tidy the bamboo grove, cleaned the house, and took out the torn clothes Li Chengfeng had changed out of after returning from yesterday's hunt to wash.

After washing the clothes, she hung the mutton in a well-ventilated place. Seeing that it was still early, she practiced two more times, stretched her limbs, and quietly watched Li Chengfeng train.

When the time was about right, she pondered the order in which Li Chengfeng had cooked the mutton the night before and began preparing lunch herself.

Soak in water, blanch, simmer slowly...

After going through the whole process, noon had arrived by the time the meal was ready.

"Chengfeng, time to eat!"

After making the food, she tasted it. Finding that it tasted much the same as the mutton Li Chengfeng had made the night before, Yu Niang nodded in satisfaction and walked to the door, calling out to Li Chengfeng in the yard.