Crane Form Six Moves

Crane Form Six Moves could also be called the Six Stances of the Crane Form.

"First Move: White Crane Shakes Its Feathers!"

The great dragon of his spine snapped and trembled, his fascia twisting like an iron bow drawn taut and poised to loose an arrow.

This was Wang Xuance's first time practicing the Crane Form Grand Stance since enlisting, so he was still unfamiliar with it and felt obstructed in places; even the circulation of his blood and qi seemed sluggish and brief.

"Hoo—"

He exhaled deeply, then sharply sucked in a breath.

"Second Move: Spirit Crane Returns to Its Cave!"

He drew in his chest and raised his back, sank his shoulders and lowered his hips, then paired the posture with tightly controlled breathing—one exhale, seven inhales.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!"

Blood and qi crashed through the fascia of his chest and abdomen, producing a sound like insects chirping. As his qi and blood chased the form, Wang Xuance immediately felt clear and comfortable, especially the warm glow spreading through his heart.

"This Crane Form Grand Stance is this profound? It can actually increase my blood and qi. At this rate, shouldn't I be able to break through the Jiuwei point?"

As Wang Xuance pondered inwardly, he did not dare slacken in his movements in the slightest.

"Third Move: Crane Claw Capture-Kill!"

His arms bent and stretched, veins bulging one after another. His five fingers curled into claws, hooking, blocking, and pinching at acupoints. This was the sole killing move within the Crane Form Grand Stance, a sinister surprise attack of the most tricky and vicious kind.

Once mastered, its precision in seizing acupoints would be astonishing. When the force burst forth, it was as sharp as a curved blade mincing flesh!

The moonlight drifted pure and flawless, a great disk of white jade hanging in the northwestern sky.

Wang Xuance practiced until his muscles were sore and weak, until the great dragon of his spine trembled no more. Only then did he slowly drag himself toward his sleeping tent.

Splash!

A bucket of cold water poured over him, washing away the sticky sweat on his body and jolting his spirits awake.

He looked at his transparent panel.

[Wang Xuance]

[Martial Arts]: Dragon Elephant Grand Stance: 100/3000 (Beginner)

Tortoise-Snake Great Stance: 0/6000 (Mastery)

Crane Form Grand Stance: 60/1000 (Beginner)

Vajra Fist: 430/4000 (Proficient)

Great Arm Scripture: 0/2000 (Beginner)

[True Martial Qi: 0]

"Looks like raising my physique really has made me much faster at practicing basic stances!"

"If it were like before, I might not even reach sixty after practicing all night!"

The progress in his martial cultivation gradually settled the young man's heart. With three months remaining, there was still enough time!

He raised his head to gaze at the moon, his thoughts beginning to whirl as he involuntarily reminisced about that other world.

"I wonder how that world is doing? China should have surpassed those American imperialists and Japanese devils by now, right? There'd probably be two heavy combined brigades assigned to every province, and the little Japanese devils have probably been wiped off the map..."

Time flowed on, and several days passed in a rush. Through relentless training day and night, Wang Xuance pushed his Crane Form Grand Stance into the proficient tier.

Yet the figure he had encountered at the Lecture Hall that day lingered in his mind like a nightmare, giving Wang Xuance a hair-raising sense of dread.

Strangely enough, after that encounter, he never ran into the man again.

Wang Xuance had specifically looked into him and learned that the man was stationed at White Light City's north gate, while he himself was at the south gate. That was why he had not seen him again.

Still, that man's appearance left Wang Xuance deeply troubled.

Because he knew that Wang Xuance possessed that fragmentary scroll of the Eightfold Heavenly Gang.

How could he not understand the principle that a man was innocent, but guilty for carrying a jade?

The extermination of Tower Stele Martial Hall that day was enough to show just how precious this martial art was.

The tragedy of heroes contending for supremacy while the fish in the moat suffered must never happen again. There would not be a second Master Kongxing.

At this thought, Wang Xuance felt profound gratitude toward Master Kongxing for coming to his aid. Had he not appeared, the grass on Wang Xuance's grave would likely be three zhang tall by now.

"Once I achieve something in the martial path, I'll make a trip to Great Vajra Mountain and repay this debt of gratitude!"

Clang—

A piercing burst of gongs and drums rang out. Just as Wang Xuance was about to look toward the sound—

The disciples of the entire Mountain Sea Guard surged in a mad rush toward one direction, their eyes blazing.

"Come on! It only happens once a month—if you miss it, it's truly gone!"

"Hey, why are you dragging me? Can't you run by yourself?"

"To hell with you, Erdan! I'm getting there first!"

Everyone shouted over one another, their tempers flaring. It was as though the source of that noise was something extraordinary, and wasting even a second was a sin.

Wang Xuance frowned, then seemed to think of something and joined the crowd as well. The sight of them made it seem as if they wished their parents had given them two more legs.

"Come on, one bowl each! No taking extra!"

"Clang!"

"I said one bowl per person! Don't push your luck—believe me, I'll stab you to death!"

By the time Wang Xuance reached the main drill ground, several hundred people were already packed into a heaving mass.

"Damn it, which cursed bastard kicked me and tripped me up?!"

Wang Xuance could barely suppress the anger in his heart. Today was the day the army's quartermasters distributed Bone-Strengthening Soup, but several days of martial training had made him forget all about it.

Otherwise, he would have gotten his share by now.

"Ah, I wonder if there'll still be any left when it's my turn..."

When Wang Xuance finally received his bowl of Bone-Strengthening Soup, his face darkened.

The porcelain bowl was no bigger than a palm, with only enough for two or three mouthfuls. The soup was grayish green, and a rich licorice scent lingered at his nose.

"Forget it. Better than having none at all!"

He downed it in one gulp. As soon as the soup entered his stomach, a warm current swiftly coursed through his body, and the sinews and membranes in his limbs began to heat up.

Realizing that the medicinal effects had begun to take hold, Wang Xuance did not dare waste a trace of them. He immediately assumed the Crane Form Grand Stance and began practicing on the spot.

"White Crane Shakes Its Feathers!"

"Crane Crying in Nine Marshes!"

There were countless others like him, all unwilling to waste even a trace of the medicine's potency.

The Western Desert was eight million li of yellow sand, boundless as far as the eye could see—a vast expanse of dunes.

Other than oases, where medicinal herbs could grow, there was virtually nowhere else that could sustain life.

Thus, medicinal herbs throughout the Western Desert were quite expensive, while those refined into decoctions or pills were the most expensive of all.

A mature medicinal herb often cost no more than ten taels of silver, but once refined into a decoction, a single dose would cost thirty or forty taels.

Take the Vermilion Summer Fruit he had obtained from Medicine King Hall before. Refined into a decoction specially meant to break through the Three Knocks Blood Barrier, it cost a full thirty-eight taels of silver—not a penny less!

Throughout White Light City, and even the entire Western Desert, alchemists capable of refining medicinal concoctions were honored guests of every major power. That alone showed how valuable they were.

[Crane Form Grand Stance +10!]

[Crane Form Grand Stance +3!]

Before he had practiced for long, the hollow feeling rising from within his body forced Wang Xuance to stop.

"Ah, without true martial qi to advance my martial arts progress, with my aptitude and the resources I have, I'm truly stretched thin!"

"No, I still need to find a way to either solve this once and for all or earn silver and medicinal herbs. Otherwise, my path in martial arts will always be slow!"

"Brother Wang!"

A sudden voice rang out behind him.

Xu Dalin and Song Damao, the man who had previously taught him the rules, were walking toward him together.

Wang Xuance remained expressionless and merely answered them coldly.

"Brothers, what do you need from me?"

For some reason, Xu Dalin had recently begun associating with Song Damao, so Wang Xuance had rarely spoken with him since.

The two men immediately ran into a cold reception. They gave an awkward laugh, not minding Wang Xuance's stiffness.

After exchanging a glance, Xu Dalin spoke first.

"Brother Wang, will you be free during the days off? Brother Song and I found a muntjac-antler deer nest outside the city!"

"The three of us can join forces. If we catch the muntjac-antler deer, how about we split it evenly among ourselves?"