Rhythmic Breathing

"Before, I taught you one form at a time. Now, I'll link these six forms together and demonstrate them for you."

Zhao Mu looked at the group and began the sequence. As he moved, he called out, "This is Wild Deer Watching the Moon."

"Fierce Tiger Leaping Over Stream."

"White Tiger Gazing at the River."

"Fierce Tiger Pouncing on a Sheep."

"Antelope Offering Food."

"The final form, Leopard Drilling the Forest."

Zhao Mu thrust his blade, swiftly withdrew it, then stood sideways and looked at them. "These six forms are a small system. When practicing the sequence, you must bring out its overall unity."

"How much you can discern and how much you can learn depends on your own comprehension."

"Figure it out yourselves, then show me."

Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Duan Rong stood apart and began practicing on their own.

Zhao Mu lingered before Kong Bin for several breaths, watching him practice carefully for a while. When he reached Zhang Zheng, however, he only paused briefly before moving on.

The instant Zhao Mu passed him, obvious disappointment appeared on Zhang Zheng's face, though he suppressed it at once.

After passing Zhang Zheng, Zhao Mu spotted Duan Rong at a glance. He froze, momentarily lost in a daze.

This is... Rhythmic Breathing? Zhao Mu was faintly startled.

The so-called Rhythmic Breathing when practicing a sequence meant that the pauses between moves had a rhythm and conformed to the principles of exerting force.

The force throughout one's body contracted and expanded like breathing. Only then could it be called Rhythmic Breathing.

Rhythmic Breathing was a crucial threshold in martial training. It would not directly increase one's strength, but it was a mark of talent for martial arts.

Only by thoroughly understanding the moves, as well as the transitions and connections between them, so that every release and contraction conformed to the principles of exerting force, could one display Rhythmic Breathing.

It was a profound grasp of the sequence as a whole. Some martial artists spent their entire lives unable to cross this threshold.

Zhao Mu himself had only suddenly grasped it three months after being selected as an apprentice, yet he had never expected that Duan Rong, merely a Menial Disciple, could already display Rhythmic Breathing.

I nearly misjudged him... This kid... is a martial arts prodigy!

When he had taught Leopard Drilling the Forest, Zhao Mu had already discovered that Duan Rong's understanding of the moves was extraordinarily sharp. Today's lesson on the sequence's overall unity had proven it even more.

The ability to deeply comprehend martial sequences was a talent more important than one's natural physique.

At its core, martial training depended on the brain.

A simple mind with well-developed limbs could never become a master!

Zhao Mu watched Duan Rong with a faint smile, a trace of delight rising in his heart.

He had originally thought Kong Bin was promising, but now it seemed Duan Rong was even more formidable than Kong Bin.

After all, every time a Menial Disciple was selected as an apprentice, he, as the instructor escort, received a reward of two taels of silver.

If both Duan Rong and Kong Bin were selected, that would be four taels of silver.

Who wasn't short of money these days?

"Kong Bin, come here. Look at how Duan Rong practices!" Zhao Mu suddenly turned toward Kong Bin and said.

Kong Bin was slightly taken aback. He stopped his sequence and walked over expressionlessly.

"Do you see? You need to dare to pause. Your problem is that the pauses between moves are too short. You only care about superficial fluidity, without any contraction and release of force."

"Stop when you should stop, and be fast when you should be fast! Do you understand?"

Kong Bin said nothing, secretly clenching his fists.

Zhao Mu glared at Kong Bin. "All right. For the next few days, practice on your own. Gather here at Chen Hour on April 8th. Anyone absent or late will be treated as having forfeited their qualification for the assessment."

After saying that, Zhao Mu turned to Li Chong. "Have you wiped down the blade?"

Blood kept flowing from Li Chong's bitten lip into his mouth, but he felt none of its salty bitterness. He merely stood up woodenly, returned the blade to Zhao Mu, and said, "It's done."

Zhao Mu snorted coldly. He drew the blade and saw that only one side had been coated with castor oil, but he did not pursue the matter. He simply sheathed it and walked out through the courtyard gate.

The moment Zhao Mu left, Duan Rong immediately stopped practicing the sequence.

He had no interest in performing for others, and his focus in training was not on sequences at all, but on stance work to cultivate force.

Without wasting any time, Duan Rong assumed the Perfectly Round Stance.

Kong Bin was slightly stunned. In his view, Duan Rong was afraid of letting him see through his methods, which was why he had stopped practicing the sequence and begun stance work the instant Zhao Mu left.

Kong Bin said nothing. He turned and walked to one side, beginning to work things out on his own.

As Kong Bin practiced, he pondered what Zhao Mu had meant by saying he needed to dare to pause.

Just then, Li Chong suddenly leaped over with a crazed expression. A faint bloodstain marked the corner of his mouth. Pointing his blade at Duan Rong, he said, "Duan Rong, if you've got any guts, trade a few moves with me. I want to see whether you really train better than I do!"

Duan Rong had been standing in the Perfectly Round Stance just fine when Li Chong suddenly made this fuss, and he immediately grew impatient.

I just want to train quietly and prepare for the assessment. Why are there so many fucking idiots looking to cause me trouble?

Duan Rong turned to look at Kong Bin. He knew that among the three of them, Kong Bin's words still carried weight.

But Kong Bin merely stood there expressionlessly, showing no intention of breaking up the fight.

Clearly, Kong Bin wanted even more than Li Chong to see what Duan Rong was made of.

Duan Rong sighed inwardly. It had always been this way: King Yama was easy to get past, but the little devils were hard to deal with. Unless he showed some real skill, these flies would never go away.

Duan Rong picked up the chipped, discarded blade at his feet, looked at Li Chong, and said, "Little baby, with those pathetic tricks of yours, you still dare come looking for trouble? What a humiliating spectacle!"

"What did you say?" Li Chong was so choked by Duan Rong's words that he nearly spat blood. His eyes instantly reddened like a rabbit's.

In his fury, Li Chong hopped forward with his left leg, leaned his center of gravity forward, lifted his right leg, and pivoted on his left. The blade in his right hand swept horizontally with his arm, slashing at Duan Rong's waist.

This slash was powerful and heavy. Li Chong had used all his strength the moment he attacked.

The reason Li Chong dared challenge Duan Rong was that he believed he had cultivated force better than Duan Rong.

After all, whenever the three of them practiced their stances, Zhao Mu adjusted their postures. Each time, Li Chong gritted his teeth and persisted until he dispersed his force together with Kong Bin.

After more than two months, the force he had cultivated had begun to take shape.

Duan Rong had merely performed the sequence well enough to be noticed by Zhao Mu these past two days, and no one had ever guided him in stance work.

Therefore, Li Chong believed that in terms of force, he could absolutely overpower Duan Rong.

Thus, the instant he attacked, he used Fierce Tiger Leaping Over Stream in order to maximize his advantage in force.

Once this move came out, Duan Rong would definitely be unable to take it and could only retreat.

As long as Duan Rong retreated, his footwork would inevitably fall into disarray. Li Chong would then dart forward and unleash his killing move—Leopard Drilling the Forest. At this moment, Li Chong's heart was filled with viciousness; even if he injured Duan Rong, he would not hesitate.

I'll show you for looking down on me! A trace of madness showed in Li Chong's reddened eyes.

In truth, Li Chong did possess some talent for martial arts. The fact that he could combine Fierce Tiger Leaping Over Stream and Leopard Drilling the Forest into a chained attack showed that he had thoroughly grasped the sequence of those two moves.

That was also why Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng were willing to associate with him. Li Chong's insights into sequence moves were sometimes quite profound, giving the two of them considerable inspiration.