Stance Training and Breathing Technique

In a courtyard spanning three or four hundred square meters, more than thirty people practiced without pause.

Fists, kicks, grappling holds, stone discs raised high.

With Jiang Shu's current discernment, he could clearly see that, aside from a handful, the rest of the thirty-odd people had all reached the realm of Qi and Blood Circulation.

At that realm, they no longer needed padded clothes to ward off the cold.

With every movement and stillness, their blood qi surged like rolling waves. Their limbs and spine opened and closed in every direction, like fully drawn bows, displaying an imposing aura.

He watched for quite a while before taking off his padded jacket, carefully wrapping the small bag of lime powder and the electric baton in it, and setting them at the edge of the courtyard.

Though these fist-and-foot techniques could not be called exquisite, compared to the martial arts moves from his previous life and Xuanxing, they clearly carried a far stronger air of slaughter.

Jiang Shu learned as he fought. Facing an empty patch of ground, he suddenly spun, closed in within an instant, and thrust out his palm in a claw—all in one fluid motion.

"Old Man Chou has risen. Silence."

Suddenly, a creak came from the room on the southern side of the courtyard, and its door opened a narrow crack.

A pretty maid hurried out, her voice soft.

Upon hearing her, the martial hall apprentices in the courtyard all stopped at astonishing speed, adjusted their breathing, and stood silently where they were.

The martial halls within the county town rarely accepted formal disciples.

Most only took in apprentices, who wore ordinary training clothes and practiced martial arts in the outer courtyard.

They paid ten taels in training fees each month, and only once every three to five days could they receive a little instruction from their teacher.

"This old man's surname is Chou. You may call me Teacher Chou, or Old Man Chou."

Before the man appeared, his voice came first.

The aged voice seemed to ring beside everyone's ears, stirring their eardrums.

Only then did the room's door fully open.

The old man walked out slowly, his body slightly stooped, standing barely over one meter sixty.

Yet every step he took shook Jiang Shu to the core, like a gaunt, starving tiger walking toward a sheep.

"Martial Dao is like climbing a towering mountain, like wading through deep waters. Without great perseverance and great boldness of spirit, one cannot scale its heights or cross its depths. Even Skin Polishing, the First Realm of Martial Dao, requires long devotion to Stance Training, prolonged practice of breathing, circulation of blood qi, and Force Skin Refining."

"Today, since the mood has struck me, I'll demonstrate. Someone, come forth."

As soon as Old Man Chou finished speaking,

an apprentice in black training clothes strode briskly forward, holding a stone disc before his chest.

The stone disc weighed roughly five hundred jin. The apprentice set his stance, rooted himself to the ground, united waist and horse, circulated his blood qi, and with a loud shout, lifted the stone disc before his chest.

Under the puzzled gazes of several new apprentices, Old Man Chou extended an arm that seemed little more than skin and bones. His five fingers formed a claw and struck the stone disc.

The stone disc showed no change at all, only giving a soft sound.

Without pausing, he struck a second time.

The stone disc trembled. At its edge, five clear finger marks appeared where he had struck.

The third strike.

Several cracks burst across the stone disc. At its center were five finger holes half an inch deep, a horrifying sight.

"Everyone who comes here knows that Stance Training is divided into three stages: Qi and Blood Sensing, Qi and Blood Circulation, and Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation. Their corresponding strengths are three hundred jin, six hundred jin, and nine hundred jin!"

"After the Qi and Blood Great Circulation, a mysterious force will gradually arise within the body. Use that force to temper our skin into a membrane, and that is the First Realm of Martial Dao—the Skin Grinding Realm. This realm is likewise divided into three stages: Cowhide, Stone Skin, and Iron Skin. The newcomers may come up one by one, take a close look, and ponder it carefully."

He gave no lengthy explanation of the differences between the minor stages. The stone disc had already provided the best answer.

Old Man Chou stood to one side with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Shu was the first to step forward. Touching the finger holes, he instinctively inserted his own fingers into them as well.

A trace of warmth still lingered inside the holes. Feeling the real, rough texture within them, he found fine stone dust sticking to his fingertips.

In Legend of the Condor Heroes, even Wang Chongyang, the greatest man under heaven, could not carve words into a stone wall.

Yet in this world, piercing a stone disc with one's fingers was merely the first realm of Martial Dao.

If he possessed such a realm, he could have punched Zhao Tai to death on the spot. Even if the Green Snake Gang's leader had come, would he have dared utter half a word?

Skin Polishing.

Cowhide, Stone Skin, Iron Skin.

This was true Martial Dao!

It was absolutely not merely an increase in strength!

The Skin Polishing realm alone possessed such might.

What lay beyond Skin Polishing?

The wonders of Martial Dao in this world might perhaps come close to Divine Ability!

Jiang Shu's blood churned. He forcibly suppressed the thirst for strength buried deep in his heart, took several steps back, and left the chance to examine the stone disc to the other apprentices.

"You lot still have much to learn. New apprentices, step out. Follow me in learning the Breathing Technique and the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance for half an hour. The rest of you, stand to the side and continue practicing your stances."

"Keep five feet apart. Squat down."

A quarter of an hour later, once the newcomers had all witnessed a martial artist's prowess, Old Man Chou spoke again.

"Every martial hall's Stance Training has its own visualization object."

"Our Hungry Tiger Martial Hall's Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance requires you to imagine yourselves as supreme ferocious tigers that have gone hungry for days, crouched within a cave. There must be endurance, but also an imminent eruption."

"Match my breathing!"

Old Man Chou, who had practiced stances for who knew how many years, crouched like a ferocious tiger.

His breaths were long and heavy, especially clear in the silent training ground.

Breathe out... breathe in... breathe out... breathe in.

Jiang Shu had already achieved minor success in the Horse Stance and sensed his own blood qi. Watching Old Man Chou's posture, he gradually found the rhythm of the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method, uniting his waist and hips in the tiger-crouching Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance.

"You, stop. Go over there. Later, have your senior brother teach you Stance Training. First, lay your foundation firmly."

Not every newcomer could find the rhythm as Jiang Shu had.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Old Man Chou ended the exercise. He pointed at a chubby boy among the new apprentices, signaling for him to go to the edge of the courtyard.

The chubby boy's face flushed red. He knew his breathing had gone awry.

At that moment, everyone in the courtyard was practicing the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method. Whoever's breathing was uneven stood out at a glance.

Before long, all the newcomers who had arrived within the past five days, faces red with embarrassment, had gone to the other side. Only Jiang Shu remained, struggling to hold on.

A Panel slowly appeared in his mind:

Jiang Shu—

Hungry Tiger Breathing Method: Beginner (6/1000)

Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance: Beginner (9/1000)

"Alright, stop for now. Give the newcomers a break."

Jiang Shu had no idea how long he had stood there with his eyes closed, stubbornly enduring, when Old Man Chou's voice sounded beside his ear. Only then did he release his breath, nearly collapsing onto the ground.

A fierce hunger rose from his gut, which rumbled low.

"Every martial hall has its own Stance Training and Breathing Technique. But Stance Training and Breathing Technique alone are not enough. After all, it is not as though one cannot buy Stance Training and Breathing Techniques at the county town's Black Market. So why do so many people still come flocking to martial halls to learn martial arts?"

"That is because—secret medicine! Whether it is Stance Training or a Breathing Technique, both circulate blood qi. Without enough meat to replenish yourselves, you will only damage your bodies and weaken your blood qi."

"But meat is hard to come by. Nearly all the meat in Pingling County is in the hands of the County Government and wealthy households. For commoners wishing to buy even a little meat, the price is exorbitant—not lower than a martial hall's training fee! Yet if you join a martial hall, the secret medicine of our Hungry Tiger Martial Hall can not only relieve the soreness in skin, flesh, tendons, and bones after practicing stances and breathing, but also strengthen your blood qi. One serving is worth ten jin of meat!"

"Of course, what you are drinking now is merely meat soup diluted from secret medicine. But even so, this soup cannot be bought anywhere outside!"

Old Man Chou's breath was long and steady as he shouted loudly.

As his voice fell, two maids carried wooden buckets out from the room.

The distinct fragrance of Secret Medicine Meat Soup drifted through the courtyard, stirring the hunger in every apprentice's belly.

Under the maids' watchful eyes, the apprentices lined up. Each received exactly one bowl of meat soup, and none dared let even a drop overflow.

"Practice the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance within half an hour after drinking the Secret Medicine Meat Soup, and you will achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

After circling the entire courtyard several times and seeing that none of the thirty-odd apprentices had fallen into disorder, Old Man Chou finally said leisurely,

"Martial arts have methods of training, nourishing, and fighting."

"Stance Training is training. The Breathing Technique is nourishing. Once you finish this round of Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance, this old man will teach you the fighting methods of our martial hall."

"A tiger has only three Killing Moves."

"Pounce."

"Overturn."

"Scissor."