Small Wind-Thunder Stance

In truth, Zhou Ye had his own considerations.

Since Internal Force still fell within the realm of ordinary people, it did not matter much if Wind-Thunder Martial Hall's martial techniques were somewhat inferior.

As long as the cultivation methods and martial techniques were relatively easy, and the rewards gave enough points, he could keep adding points without end.

After all, if Strength and Agility were high enough, one meant strength could work miracles, while the other meant that beneath heaven, no martial art could overcome speed. They were truly no worse than those Internal Force experts.

For now, he set himself a small goal—raise both of those stats to +10. That would be enough for him to roam freely at the Internal Force stage. It would also be difficult to encounter an opponent who could threaten him.

But a journey of a thousand miles began beneath one's feet. He still had to take the road one step at a time.

Only after an hour did Du Keyuan finally emerge from the rear courtyard. He beckoned to Zhou Ye. "You... the new one. Today, I'll teach you our martial hall's foundation—Small Wind-Thunder Stance. This is the cultivation method for the Internal Force stage. Watch carefully. There are thirteen stance movements in total. Today, I'll guide you through them once. If there's anything you don't understand afterward, ask the senior disciple on duty each day. The rest of you can watch if you're interested; I'll correct your movements while I'm at it."

Zhou Ye's expression turned strange. This Instructor Du did not seem very reliable, did he? He had not even remembered Zhou Ye's name.

Yet once he began teaching the Small Wind-Thunder Stance, Du Keyuan was fairly serious. Under his guidance, Zhou Ye "trained diligently" for nearly two hours before finally completing one round in a stumbling, halting manner.

"Understand? Practice like this from now on. When you cultivate a thread of qi and blood into your dantian, that means you've gained qi sense. Once your dantian is full and you begin opening your acupoints, you'll enter Internal Force. When the qi and blood in your dantian opens every acupoint throughout your body, you'll have reached Internal Force completion. When all the acupoints in your body are cultivated into seamless unity, you'll become a Bright Force expert."

Du Keyuan spoke casually. He stopped paying attention to Zhou Ye and began watching the others train. He went directly to Huang Sheng and corrected several of his movements. "Huang Sheng, you're doing well. Keep it up."

Without bothering with anyone else, Du Keyuan turned and headed for the rear courtyard. As he left, he added one more reminder for Zhou Ye. "Zhou Ye, don't forget—once you reach Internal Force, I'll teach you a set of Wind-Thunder Grappling Hands as well. It's for fighting alongside the cultivation method..."

Before he could finish, Du Juan's crisp shout rang out: "Food's ready—!"

Zhou Ye secretly shook his head. Top students really were loved by everyone. Underachievers like him had no rights.

Time flew while cultivating. Before he knew it, it was already time for lunch.

When Zhou Ye saw the noon meal... it was barely acceptable! The main thing was that there was plenty of it. One steamed bun alone weighed nearly half a jin.

Moreover, Zhou Ye could feel that once he began cultivating a method, producing even a thread of qi and blood consumed far more energy than practicing martial techniques. So, with the dishes and the bean sprout, scallion, and flower soup, he wolfed down three huge steamed buns in one go.

Interestingly, the other companions ate even more. Some ate far more than Zhou Ye. Perhaps there had never been any oil or meat in their stomachs, and they could only rely on this meal to replenish their energy.

In this regard, the martial hall was rather humane. Everyone received one serving of dishes and soup. As for staple food, they could eat as much as they wanted, but taking any away or wasting it was absolutely forbidden.

Even so, many people still brought their own lunches. They simply could not bear to spend the more than two qian of monthly meal fees.

Huang Sheng and Wu Jun were the same. They crouched in a corner, gnawing on several hard flatbreads.

Seeing this, Zhou Ye scooped several pieces of meat into the soup and carried the remaining soup over to them.

"I can't really eat any more. Drink it while it's hot."

Of course Zhou Ye knew that even when he had merely practiced martial techniques before, he ate quite a bit of meat every day. Now that he was cultivating a method, he would certainly need even more nutrition.

The two looked at Zhou Ye gratefully. But friendship between boys was not something they fussed over. Before long, the two of them were laughing and chatting as they drained it clean...

When training resumed in the afternoon, Zhou Ye had barely finished the first few movements when the panel suddenly issued a warning—today's cultivation time had been reached. If he continued cultivating by force, it would result in hidden injuries and might damage his foundation.

Zhou Ye looked around in confusion and saw that everyone else was practicing earnestly. They had even trained longer than he had, right? Why were they not afraid of hidden injuries?

After thinking it over, Zhou Ye roughly guessed the reason.

Once one reached the limit of cultivation, one could not force oneself to continue. That was probably common knowledge in martial arts.

But when exactly did one reach the limit? These companions did not know. Nor could they bear to waste the expensive tuition, so they gritted their teeth and kept practicing. One more moment of practice was one more moment gained.

Even Du Keyuan and the others could not know every person's limits. They could only rely on their previous experience. That meant the limit was rather vague.

Yet because Zhou Ye had the panel, he could obtain the exact limit.

So in this respect, he had essentially activated a cheat as well, avoiding the accumulation of hidden injuries within his body.

At that moment, Zhou Ye decided to "respect science" and stopped cultivating. But leaving early would not look good, so he put on a show and struck several poses.

Yet right then, Zhou Ye made another delightful discovery: when cultivating a method, his daily limit was roughly two hours.

But cultivating a method did not conflict with practicing martial techniques. He could still practice martial techniques for another two hours afterward? In other words, he could train for a total of four hours, and it would not affect his point farming for martial techniques.

Since that was the case... no, no, no. In the end, Zhou Ye decided that during this period, he would focus all his energy on mastering this Small Wind-Thunder Stance.

Since it was his first time coming into contact with a cultivation method, no amount of importance was excessive. He had to eliminate every other distraction...

Thus, after most of the afternoon had passed and he felt his "act" had gone on long enough, Zhou Ye left the martial hall early.

As he left, he saw that Huang Sheng and Wu Jun were drenched in sweat, yet they were still gritting their teeth and persevering. Most of the other companions were likewise desperately squeezing themselves dry.

However, Zhou Ye did not know that after he left, several of the companions began whispering among themselves.

"Did you see that newcomer? Why did he leave so early? Why isn't he practicing?"

"Can't endure hardship, perhaps? With an attitude like his, he won't get anywhere in martial arts!"

"Have you heard? Apparently, his natural aptitude is terrible. It's impossible for him to reach Internal Force."

"Really? And now he's being so lazy. Then it's even more impossible, isn't it?"

"I'm telling you, you didn't notice it. He was actually slacking off all afternoon, striking nothing but flashy, useless poses. His attitude seems very unserious!"

"Wouldn't that be wasting money? Maybe he knows his natural aptitude is terrible and gave up from the start?"

"..."

Hearing the discussion, Huang Sheng and Wu Jun could not help exchanging a glance. Then they suddenly raised their voices to cut them off. "Don't you have your own training to do? Mind your own business."

At that shout, the companions resentfully resumed their training, and before long, everyone entered a state of complete absorption...