A Cat Treads the Snow

After a lot of snow, you can't even tell if it's morning or afternoon just by looking at the sky.

Even at dusk, there was no sunset or evening glow to see.

The sky outside is rather overcast.

But as long as you don't look at the sky, and look in all directions, everything is quite bright, a cold white light.

The area around the back door of Chu Tianshu's house, about five meters in diameter, has a different color of light than other places.

The snow melted into water, revealing the dark, damp earth, where some tenacious weeds still clung to life, adorned with water droplets.

Newly fallen snowflakes melt as soon as they touch the ground, never accumulating.

The snow on the outer edge is more than ten centimeters thick, creating a significant difference in elevation compared to the nearby ground.

Chu Tianshu was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and loose pajama pants, his feet slightly apart, shoulder-width apart, his hands pressing forward in a semi-reclined stance.

Like the soft beating of a drum, a continuous, subtle, and surging sound emanated from him.

His heart rate is actually controlled at a lower level than normal.

A single beating is powerful enough to circulate blood throughout the body, activating every extremity without missing a single point.

But his heartbeat sounded like a leading beat.

After the heartbeat, the other thirteen hearts throughout the body beat in turn.

This creates an atmosphere of continuous drumbeats.

Chu Tianshu's entire body radiated a gentle warmth from the rhythm of the drums.

When snowflakes landed on his skin, they instantly turned into pale white vapor that rose gently into the air.

But his eyes were quite serene, gazing into the bamboo forest, each breath exuding a sense of tranquility.

Originally, whether it was the Palm Thunder or the Shaolin Fist, the principle was to close the pores and let the internal organs and heartbeat resonate within the body.

Even if an outsider is nearby, the sound they can hear is very faint.

When you can no longer close your pores and are sweating profusely, it means you've trained too hard and need to rest.

The current Heart Fire Fist Classic is different; it requires actively opening and closing the pores during practice.

It is alive inside and out, even the finest hairs on the skin are not overlooked.

Therefore, this kind of exercise results in more noticeable heat dissipation.

"Flesh and blood were steaming, the heart and bones were drunk, and even hair and nails were tangled together."

Chu Tianshu experienced the feeling described in the boxing manual. His whole body seemed to be melting in the baking, and his flesh, bones, internal organs and hair seemed to have no barriers.

Aperture Opening martial artists wouldn't normally sense such a significant gap.

But once Aperture Opening, the difference between bone and flesh becomes so obvious that it's hard to ignore.

This seamless physical sensation we experience today is not a return to primitive ignorance, but rather a complete mastery of everything, from the hardest bones to the softest hair.

Gradually, I felt that controlling my bones was as easy as controlling my muscles.

Chu Tianshu raised his right hand slightly, his index finger pointing upwards.

The rosy complexion caused her skin to swell slightly, giving it a radiant, jade- Ruyu.

The entire index finger, as red as jade, grew longer nails at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Two centimeters, three centimeters, up to five centimeters.

Chu Tianshu stared at the fingernail. Without moving his fingers at all, the fingernail automatically began to bend, curl, and retract to the fingertip.

Controlling your nails is as simple as controlling your muscles.

Chu Tianshu slightly raised his eyelids, and his curled fingernails suddenly snapped straight, making a sound like sheet metal being stretched.

"Receive!"

Chu Tianshu spoke softly, watching as the fingernails grew shorter and shorter.

He was controlling the muscles on the back of his finger to hold the nail in place.

Some of the normally fragile structures on the fingers have changed.

The nail plates are hidden beneath the skin, seemingly fused with the bone and flesh, curving and straight as desired, appearing perfectly normal, and completely undetectable.

When Chu Tianshu was studying at the Tongbei Fist Academy, he saw people come to exchange ideas.

A master of Tiger-Leopard Claw Art can also develop the skill of hiding fingernails.

However, by concealing their nails and exposing their claws, they did not actually move their nails; rather, they trained the soft muscles of their fingertips.

They will train the flesh on their fingertips to become longer and softer, growing a lot of it forward.

Thus, apart from their fingers appearing unusually long, they show no other abnormalities.

When it comes to fighting, the soft flesh contracts inward, tightening and reinforcing, naturally highlighting the nails and making them appear to be displayed.

This skill, in essence, still transforms into flesh.

The ability to instantly create new nail tips and subtly alter the nail structure, as Chu Tianshu is doing, is something that even master craftsmen cannot achieve.

"And hair."

Chu Tianshu pinched a strand of hair that was hanging down from his temple with his left hand, keeping the end of the hair stable within his field of vision.

Without moving your fingers, those strands of hair automatically twist together, curling up slightly at the ends.

Like the green tendrils on a loofah vine.

No, they're so agile, they look more like the tentacles of a little squid.

This makes my hair sensitive too.

Previously, Chu Tianshu's hair would only snap upwards when he suddenly unleashed his full power.

It's like the ancients' outburst of anger, which was actually only a very brief moment.

Now, he doesn't need to exert his full strength; he only needs to strain part of his scalp, and his hair naturally reacts.

However, the hair's reaction became more sensitive, but it didn't seem to be of much use.

The strength of hair is too weak; unless you grow a long braid, it's practically useless in battle.

However, if you actually leave yourself with a braid, it might itself become a weakness.

Unless you've been trained in whip-wielding skills since childhood, it's definitely not worth the risk.

"No, the original intention of the boxing manual is no longer just about fighting, but also includes more and more content on physical evolution."

Chu Tianshu looked at his hair.

"This change in hair, while not very useful in combat, is a very important sign in cultivation, indicating that I can begin to control the qi and blood in the brain."

There are also changes in Qi and blood inside the human brain.

Yu Dayou speculates that the final step in the Three United in One Body training is to train the brain, which is the same as training the scalp, head muscles, and skull, after having already trained the scalp, head muscles, and skull.

But this process is too dangerous.

Let alone Yu Dayou, a pure martial artist.

Even Chu Tianshu wouldn't dare to touch his own brain so easily.

While Mind Power Mind Power connected to the brain, it may deepen or transform certain unknown qualities of the brain, but it absolutely does not increase the brain's resilience.

If a practitioner of Mind Power cultivation is suddenly struck on the head, they will still suffer a concussion.

The refinement sought by the Three United in One Body clearly aims to enhance the strength of the mind as well.

Just like training your skin and flesh to become tougher.

"Strengthening the brain"—just hearing that sounds incredibly unreliable.

However, changes in the individual strands of hair can, to some extent, verify changes in the internal energy of the brain, helping martial artists to correct their training direction.

This is the effort that martial artists have made to achieve that outrageous goal.

"This Heart Fire Fist Classic is indeed far superior to the mere form."

Chu Tianshu pondered, "If I could use the Inner Sage, Outer King techniques in this state, how exhilarating would the experience of practicing martial arts be?"

However, when using the methods of Inner Sage, Outer King to assist in practicing martial arts, one will inevitably be deeply affected by the Mortal Body Obstacle.

Without the help of Hai Donglai and Blind Cheng.

Chu Tianshu was still unsure whether he could recite the Nine-Syllable Mantra in that state to dispel distracting thoughts.

That's a real shame.

Where can I find a group of experts who possess a strong murderous aura and have the time to recite the word "kill" for me?

As Chu Tianshu was pondering, he suddenly saw a cat run through the bamboo grove.

It was a black-backed, white-bellied cat with a thin face, round eyes, and pointed ears; it was very cute.

Especially above its eyes, there are two white patterns that look like two thickly drawn Bai Mei.

As the person and the cat stared at each other, the cat cautiously moved a little closer.

It didn't know how long it had been running in the snow; some of its fur had frozen solid.

Once inside the thawing zone, the cat shivered as it felt the heat emanating from Chu Tianshu.

"Meow!"

The Bai Mei cat let out a joyful meow, nuzzled up to Chu Tianshu's feet, and rubbed against his trouser leg.

"Whose child are you? It's freezing cold outside, letting your dog run around like that."

Chu Tianshu examined the area closely but didn't see any markings on the neck or legs.

When the land was distributed in their village, each household received a small plot of bamboo grove behind their house.

Actually, the entire bamboo forest is interconnected.

If you'd like to walk through the bamboo forest, you can come down from the road at the entrance of the village and walk all the way to the end.

Who knows which family this cat belongs to, or even if it's from the neighboring village?

"Never mind, come in and warm up for a bit."

When Chu Tianshu was a child, his family also kept a cat. It was a yellow and white tabby house cat, but it got lost later.

He doesn't like touching cats, but he really enjoys watching them.

I remember when I was little, we had a yellow plastic bowl at home, which was specifically for the cat. Whatever we ate, we would share with the cat.

After it has eaten its fill, it will go to the fields to dig holes and relieve itself, and play with other cats in groups in the village.

People don't know the proper etiquette regarding cat food, litter boxes, and the like.

After Chu Tianshu led the cat in, he closed the back door and put on a trench coat.

The Bai Mei cat obediently followed him out the front door and into the side kitchen.

Chu Tianshu used the microwave to microwave the leftover fish tail and bone soup from yesterday, poured it into a small bowl, and placed it on the ground.

The soup was just warm, neither too hot nor too cold.

The Bai Mei cat stuck out its tongue, but as if it had been burned, it quickly withdrew it, only to stick its tongue out again soon after.

Chu Tianshu leaned against the table, propping his chin up with one hand, watching the cat eat with a smile.

The cat ate very quickly, licking up the fish meat, chewing on the fish bones, and then slurping up the soup.

The warm soup and fish meat made it very satisfied. Like stretching, it stretched out its four legs, arched its back, and a whirring sound came from its body.

Even the frozen fur on its body suddenly loosened, and its entire body of cat fur became fluffy.

Chu Tianshu's expression shifted slightly. "Hmm?"

He actually saw a hint of the "Taiji Fist" style of loosening muscles and bones in this cat.

There are ancient legends that skills like closing pores and shaking muscles were learned from cats and dogs, but this doesn't mean that cats and dogs actually know kung fu.

The cat in front of me...

Chu Tianshu narrowed his eyes slightly, deliberately exuding a hint of hostility.

"Meow!!"

The Bai Mei cat let out a strange cry, then suddenly did a backflip, landing on both feet, its spine contracting, its front legs dangling in the air, its eyes fixed in a wary gaze.

Chu Tianshu's eyes widened suddenly.

After that flip, what was in front of me was no longer a cat at all.

It looks exactly like a cat-person from an animated film.

It has outstretched arms, a broad chest and narrow waist, and its feet firmly planted on the ground, resembling a human.

This Bai Mei cat even struck a standard boxing stance.

(End of this chapter)