Broken Mountain Stake Method

"Master, we've had an unexpected blessing this year—five new junior brothers arrived all at once." Zhang Chen cupped his hands in congratulations.

Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall stood in a remote, desolate place, and its storefront was small. More importantly, Chen Feng's reputation was unknown.

No one on the entire street had ever heard of Chen Feng.

So Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall had always barely scraped by, with no real improvement.

People knew nothing about Chen Feng. They merely guessed that he had once been a hero of the greenwood who had retired here in his old age.

This courtyard had a little over thirty disciples. In other martial arts halls, that would not even be half their number.

After all, Yellow Snake County was supported by dozens of surrounding villages. The land was vast, but the population sparse.

On average, every martial arts hall had close to a hundred people. The larger top-tier halls had two or three hundred.

The daily cost of meals alone was beyond what a small martial arts hall could imagine.

Chen Feng's face remained calm throughout, yet to Duan Xuan, that ordinariness seemed to contain endless mystery.

There was also a sharp edge hidden beneath that calm.

Chen Feng did not refuse. He personally tested the four newcomers' physiques and bones.

He discovered that the dark, sturdy youth named Lin Hu actually possessed upper-grade Class A innate bones.

Class A innate bones appeared only once in several decades. Duan Xuan himself had lower-grade Class A innate bones.

That alone had been enough for the master of the Scale Python Martial Academy to personally step forward and accept him as a final disciple.

Yet Lin Hu was actually upper-grade Class A. Chen Feng's eyes shone brightly at the sight.

Liu Mingze, who was very thin yet as tall as Zhang Chen's one meter ninety, also had Class A innate bones, though lower-grade.

The third disciple was a girl disguised as a boy. At a glance, her features looked firm and heroic, but the lack of an Adam's apple gave her away.

She had no name, only saying that she was called Zhao Bastard.

Unfortunately, both she and her younger brother Zhao Hui possessed only lower-grade Class B innate bones.

They were nowhere near as astonishing as the first two.

Even so, Chen Feng was a little intoxicated with delight.

"Good, good, good! Heaven is helping me, Heaven is helping me!

"I never thought Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall would one day encounter disciples with Class A innate bones, something seen only once in decades.

"It seems Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall is finally about to rise!"

After they had changed into their clothes, Duan Xuan and the other four stood on the training ground.

Chen Feng stood with his hands behind his back, unable to hide his delighted expression no matter how hard he tried.

If other martial arts halls learned that two disciples with Class A innate bones had appeared at Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, their eyes would surely turn red with envy.

Sour enough to rival vinegar.

"The Way may be spoken of; martial arts also have their Way. We do not practice martial arts techniques merely to strengthen our bodies.

"We seek to survive in this chaotic age. Of the three hundred and sixty trades, only martial arts are the most extraordinary.

"When you are strong, you become like an iron spear.

"Amid the raging torrent of this troubled world, you stand firm and are not swept away.

"But if you wish to root deep and stand steady, a man must be ruthless, and martial arts must be fierce and domineering!

"Let the schemes and tricks of this world, its ten thousand troubles, understand one thing: before absolute strength, all is in vain.

"This is the sole principle that runs through Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall's ultimate art, the Broken Mountain Fist.

"With one thought, shatter mountains. With one thought, sever rivers. With one thought, bring heaven and earth crashing down."

Chen Feng's words carried tremendous force, roaring into their hearts and setting their blood aflame. Duan Xuan felt his own blood and qi surging.

Even if a huge gray bear stood before him now, he would dare to throw a savage punch.

"Remember this: martial arts are killing arts, not fancy fists and embroidered kicks.

"And the Broken Mountain Fist emphasizes ferocity and tyranny.

"From now on, whenever you encounter an enemy, throw a punch. If one punch does not kill him, throw two. If two do not kill him, throw countless punches.

"Until the other party has no ability to fight back—or no life left.

"The Broken Mountain Fist shatters not only what you can see, but also the inner demons in your hearts. Do you understand?"

"This disciple understands!" the five shouted in unison.

"Then how does one break through Bright Force, Dark Force, and even Transforming Force?

"It is actually very simple. So long as your blood and qi are abundant enough to nourish the parts required by each realm, you can break through.

"For example, the first threshold you face now is Bright Force.

"It requires you, amid vigorous blood and qi, to transform the invisible strength within your body into tangible strength.

"Strength that can be seen and touched."

As he spoke, Chen Feng had Zhang Chen carry over a large black stone.

Duan Xuan stared intently at the stone. The next moment, Chen Feng struck fiercely. Bang!

That incomparably hard black stone instantly shattered into four pieces.

This time, however, Duan Xuan clearly sensed that Chen Feng's punch was not as fast as the one he had thrown when they first met.

This means Master is demonstrating the strength of Bright Force. Duan Xuan murmured before asking, "Master, how should we accumulate blood and qi?"

"Martial cultivation focuses on three words: eat, kill, train!

"What you eat is meat. Meat can generate blood and qi. You must also consume more expensive medicinal pills—Blood Qi Powder, Blood Qi Pills, and so on.

"They contain blood and qi essence several times, ten times, or even dozens of times greater than meat.

"Taking them slowly through proper methods can prevent your body from exploding and dying, while also increasing your blood and qi to unimaginable levels.

"The second method is killing: stimulating the body's potential through actual combat.

"Integrate the moves you usually train, temper the five viscera and six bowels, the eight extraordinary meridians.

"Because martial arts techniques are all created around blood and qi.

"Only blood and qi can drive every move and stance. They are not those pretty but useless flowery displays.

"Thus, in battle, blood and qi drive the techniques, while the techniques continuously temper blood and qi, making it stronger and more stable.

"The third method is also the weakest of the three for increasing blood and qi.

"That is training. Martial arts methods are divided into two kinds: techniques and stances.

"Techniques are the moves and forms you can see. They are killing arts, or something else.

"Stances are methods for gathering blood and qi, allowing you to better suit the techniques.

"Open your eyes wide. Watch carefully!"

The moment he finished speaking, Chen Feng assumed an ancient stance. He sank into a horse stance, standing rooted like a pine.

His left foot stabilized his entire body. His right foot crashed down with a boom, sending a ring of earth-colored ripples spreading out.

Then his left fist thrust forward like a demon-drilling awl that shattered obstacles. His right fist guarded his chest like a spear poised to strike.

The left and right fists worked with the crouching stance. There was not the slightest hint of defense; every fist had transformed into an attacking posture.

Yet from any angle, this stance was flawless. Chen Feng's body was not tensed, but he still gave the impression of an ancient tower descending to the earth.

"Strength rises from the ground. The Mountain-Breaking Stance emphasizes strength enough to pull up mountains, qi enough to cover the world.

"You must borrow the earth's own power to strengthen yourselves, strengthen your hearts, and break open the barriers within your minds.

"Feel the courage to charge forward without turning back. Only then can you gather blood and qi."

After speaking, Chen Feng continued holding the stance.

In an instant, everyone could feel the blood and qi around Chen Feng gathering.

No, it was not coming from Chen Feng himself. The power from the earth was pouring into his body.

It continuously transformed into blood and qi, circling around his entire body.

Break mountains, break mountains. If one wished to break a mountain, one first had to be as unyielding as a mountain—or even sturdier than one.

Only then could one forcibly break open another mountain!

"Come, give it a try!"

Duan Xuan, Lin Hu, and the others began imitating Chen Feng's movements.

Their left feet pressed into the ground, their right feet slammed down heavily, then they threw out their left fists, followed by their right.

The stance seemed plain and unremarkable, but to truly achieve the effect of gathering blood and qi required absolute concentration.

The five tried several times, yet only Lin Hu achieved about thirty percent of the resemblance and grasped a trace of its essence.

Very soon, his body began to grow feverish. A faint ripple rose from the ground toward his heels, and his frozen feet quickly warmed.

Chen Feng repeatedly praised him. Before long, the thin, tall Liu Mingze, whose innate bones were also lower-grade Class A, actually rooted himself to the ground as well.

He successfully drew the so-called power of the earth into his body.

Like Lin Hu, he tensed both arms and leaned forward. That heat rushed into the soles of his feet.

"Not bad, not bad. Class A innate bones.

"Combined with your naturally strong blood and qi, you grasped the mysteries of the Mountain-Breaking Stance the fastest!"

Chen Feng waited for another incense stick's worth of time. Zhao Bastard and Zhao Hui, the siblings who both had Class B innate bones—

Because their blood and qi were not bad either, they gradually grasped the key points of the Mountain-Breaking Stance.

Sect Master Sheng's blood and qi was inferior to Lin Hu's and Liu Mingze's, but he had still successfully condensed his blood and qi.

Duan Xuan's innate bones were better than the two of them, yet he could not sense anything unusual no matter what he did.

Chen Feng shook his head. "Your blood and qi have declined too severely. Even with Class A innate bones,

"it will be difficult for you to sense the key points of the Mountain-Breaking Stance.

"Ah...

"Remember this: what the Mountain-Breaking Stance must break open is the heart trapped by the mortal world.

"You must possess the momentum to charge forward without turning back, never admitting defeat. Only then is it mountain-breaking.

"Can you understand what your master is saying? If you lack the spirit to smash through bamboo with unstoppable force, it will be hard for you to command the blood and qi granted to us by the earth."

Listening to Chen Feng, Duan Xuan merely nodded silently.

"Master, what is Bright Force? Just now, you said martial arts have three thresholds.

"When exactly can we break through those three thresholds?" Lin Hu asked in his grating voice.

"Do not speak of three thresholds yet. Right now, you need to use the Mountain-Breaking Stance to fill your entire body with blood and qi.

"When your blood and qi reach a certain peak, your body will be the first to sense it.

"That will be the moment to break through the threshold.

"And every time you cross a threshold, you will undergo a complete rebirth.

"Especially the third threshold—the realm of Transforming Force!

"Furthermore, so long as your blood and qi have not been damaged, the better your innate bones, the higher your limit.

"That means fewer obstacles when breaking through thresholds, and greater chances of success!

"It is no exaggeration to say that an ordinary disciple with Class C innate bones has less than a twenty percent chance of breaking through the first threshold and reaching Bright Force.

"For Class B innate bones, it is thirty to forty percent.

"But disciples with lower-grade Class A innate bones have a direct sixty to eighty percent chance!"

Proud smiles appeared on Lin Hu's and Liu Mingze's faces.

Zhao Huazhong and Zhao Hui were dejected, but they still held hope in their hearts.

Duan Xuan was neither disappointed nor doubtful of whether he could succeed. He simply listened quietly.

The world was this cruel. Other than success, he had no choice.

"Enough. It is still too early to speak of these things. Focus on practicing the Mountain-Breaking Stance. Once your foundation is solid,

"I will teach you the first form of the Broken Mountain Fist.

"Lin Hu, Liu Mingze, if either of you has anything you do not understand, come ask me at any time!"

"Yes, Master!"

Because of innate bones, Chen Feng had openly shown favoritism. Yet no one felt it was unfair.

Duan Xuan glanced at Zhang Chen. That warmhearted senior brother smiled and said, "Junior Brother Duan Xuan, don't lose heart. Practice well—you can do it.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask your senior brother!"

Duan Xuan thanked him, found a relatively quiet spot, and immediately assumed the stance.

Second by second, Lin Hu, Zhao Bastard, and the other three each gained different insights.

The blood and qi gathering within their bodies also grew increasingly abundant.

In contrast, Duan Xuan gritted his teeth and stood in the open space, still trying to break through the barrier in his heart.

He gained nothing at all.

Not until evening did Lin Hu and the others joke around with the other disciples and head to the dining hall for dinner.

As they passed in front of Duan Xuan, none of them even glanced at him.

Duan Xuan did not live in the dormitory, so there was no dinner for him at night. His stomach growled loudly.

Yet he still refused to leave with the disciples returning home.

"The mountain I must break stands before me. I will break it open.

"No, it is not merely a mountain I will break.

"I will break the shackles of this world, break the injustice of this world. I will use the Broken Mountain Fist to break through every obstacle!"

"Junior Brother Duan Xuan?" Zhang Chen held a steamed bun as he looked at Duan Xuan, exhausted to the point that a trace of white foam clung to the corner of his mouth.

He was drenched in sweat, his body already sour and beginning to stink.

His muscles—no, he had no muscles. It was those limp tendons, each one trembling violently.

His calves and thin body had shriveled together, making Zhang Chen feel somewhat unable to bear the sight.

Yet Duan Xuan was not interrupted. His eyes remained closed.

He kept trying to establish resonance with the earth, trying to find that feeling of charging forward without turning back, never admitting defeat.

His body, every muscle and tendon, every organ, told him that he could not go on.

But Duan Xuan answered in his heart with only one word.

"Break!"

Darkness swept over his vision, and he nearly fainted, yet his legs seemed rooted deep in the ground.

He actually forced his upper body upright again.

[Human effort is rewarded; Heaven rewards diligence]

[Broken Mountain Stake Method: Beginner (1/300)]

"You've comprehended the Mountain-Breaking Stance, Junior Brother. Congratulations!"