The First Time I Cultivated, I Fell Three Hundred Times
Clouds and mist churned.
Dong Jian stood before the Body Refining Hall in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm, watching nine wooden posts slowly rise. The anticipation on his face faded bit by bit.
He had assumed that the Dragon Legacy would at least start by giving him a cultivation technique.
Barring that, a white-bearded old man should have appeared to tell him how to cultivate his Panda Martial Soul.
Instead, there was nothing.
No Soul Bone.
No Immortal Herb.
And certainly no unparalleled martial art poured straight into his mind.
There were only nine wooden posts that looked ready to throw him off at any moment.
The golden words on the stone stele in the center were still clear.
First trial: Unmoving as a Mountain.
Use Martial Soul Possession and stand firm for three shichen.
"Three shichen?"
Dong Jian walked a circle around the posts.
The tallest was nearly two meters high.
Even the shortest was half a meter high.
Each post was only as thick as the rim of a bowl, and its surface was smooth, without a single bump to brace against.
"All I have to do is stand still?"
Dong Jian looked at the Panda Martial Soul following behind him.
The black-and-white panda sat at the entrance to the hall, holding a stalk of bamboo.
Hearing Dong Jian, it raised its head.
Then it shook its head in a remarkably human manner.
"It's not just standing there?"
Dong Jian frowned.
The panda offered no further explanation.
It lowered its head and went back to gnawing on its bamboo.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The crisp sounds echoed through the empty hall.
"Easy for you."
Dong Jian walked up to the shortest post.
Since the secret realm had given him a trial, he had no reason to back down.
Besides, Su Yuntao had already decided that his Martial Soul could only follow a defensive path.
If he couldn't even control his body after being possessed by his Panda Martial Soul, then no matter how powerful the Soul Skills he acquired in the future, he would only be a living target in others' eyes.
Dong Jian concentrated.
The panda at the entrance raised its head, its body transforming into two streams of light, one black and one white, that instantly merged into his body.
Boom!
A familiar heaviness descended all at once.
Dong Jian's knees buckled, and he nearly fell straight to the ground.
His weight had at least doubled.
His muscles, bones, and skin had also been strengthened.
But that strengthening had not made his body any easier to move.
Instead, it was as though someone had pressed a boulder onto his shoulders.
Every movement was much harder than usual.
"First, get up there."
Dong Jian took a deep breath and raised his right foot.
The moment his foot landed on the post, the previously motionless post suddenly tilted to the right.
Dong Jian's expression changed.
He instinctively stomped down, trying to force the post back into place.
But the more force he used, the faster the post tilted.
"Not good!"
Before Dong Jian could pull his right foot back, he had already lost his balance.
Thud!
He fell face-first to the ground.
A sharp pain shot through his forehead.
"Hiss..."
Dong Jian lay on the ground and sucked in a breath.
This was clearly a spiritual world, yet the pain was frighteningly real.
He reached up and felt his nose.
It wasn't bleeding.
But the soreness hadn't lessened because of that.
The Panda Martial Soul reappeared at the entrance, holding its bamboo as it looked at him.
Dong Jian didn't know if it was his imagination, but he couldn't help feeling that there was a hint of disdain in its eyes.
"If you're so good, you do it."
Dong Jian spoke irritably.
The panda lowered its head and bit off a piece of bamboo, ignoring him.
Dong Jian climbed back to his feet.
He simply hadn't been prepared the first time.
He would definitely manage it this time.
He raised his foot and stepped onto the post again.
Sure enough, the post tilted to the right again.
Dong Jian tensed his right leg in advance and pressed hard to the left.
The post paused briefly.
Delighted, Dong Jian immediately lifted his other foot.
The next second, the post suddenly tilted to the left.
But Dong Jian was still pushing his body to the right.
As the two forces crossed, he spun halfway around in midair.
Thud!
His back slammed heavily into the ground.
"Cough!"
Dong Jian felt all his internal organs jolt.
If Martial Soul Possession hadn't improved his physical strength, that fall would have left an ordinary six-year-old unable to get up for half the day.
"Again."
Dong Jian gritted his teeth and stood up.
The third attempt.
The post tilted forward.
He reacted a moment too slowly and fell straight off.
The fourth attempt.
He managed to stand on the post, but lasted only two breaths.
The fifth attempt.
Dong Jian had just raised his left foot when the post suddenly sank.
His foot met empty air, and he fell even more miserably.
The tenth attempt.
The twentieth attempt.
The fiftieth attempt.
The muffled thud of a body hitting the ground rang out again and again in the Body Refining Hall.
Dong Jian had lost count of how many times he had fallen.
His forehead, shoulders, back, and knees all ached.
His mental fatigue was even more pronounced than his physical exhaustion.
Every time he stood on a post, he had to focus all his attention.
He had to judge which way it would sway next.
Then quickly adjust his body.
But no matter what he did, the post always changed direction at the most unexpected moment.
"It's impossible to stand steady on this thing."
After falling for who knew how many times, Dong Jian simply lay on the ground without getting up.
He gasped for breath, gazing at the Body Refining Hall's lofty dome.
If they were ordinary wooden posts, let alone three shichen, standing on one for an entire day wouldn't be difficult.
But the posts in the secret realm seemed able to sense his movements.
When he pushed left, the post went right.
When he leaned forward, the post suddenly sank.
Every time, it was as though it were deliberately working against him.
Dong Jian had tried everything.
Pressing with his legs.
Gripping with his toes.
Spreading his arms to keep his balance.
Even crouching on the post to lower his center of gravity.
None of it worked.
"Where exactly am I going wrong?"
Dong Jian closed his eyes and recalled each of his falls.
His reactions weren't slow.
At the very least, they were much faster than those of an ordinary six-year-old.
The real problem was the weight brought by his Panda Martial Soul.
In his normal state, a slight tilt only required an adjustment of his foot.
After Martial Soul Possession, every shift of his body produced stronger inertia.
Once he started to lose his balance, it was difficult to regain it.
Su Yuntao's assessment surfaced in his mind again.
A cumbersome body.
Insufficient speed.
Only suited for defense.
Dong Jian clenched his fists.
Was this Panda Martial Soul really only suited to standing in place and taking hits?
Crunch.
The sound of bamboo being bitten through rang out again.
Dong Jian opened his eyes.
At some point, the black-and-white panda had walked over to the posts.
It looked up at the tallest one.
Then it bent its legs slightly.
Whoosh!
Its round body sprang into the air.
Dong Jian's pupils narrowed.
The panda, which looked so sluggish, had leaped onto the tallest post with ease.
The post immediately swayed violently.
The panda didn't tense its body as Dong Jian had.
It was even still holding the half-eaten piece of bamboo.
When the post went left, its waist moved left with it.
When the post went right, it lifted one foot slightly.
Its entire body looked loose and relaxed.
Yet no matter how the post swayed, it remained standing steadily on top.
Dong Jian slowly sat up.
"It isn't fighting the post."
He had been trying all along to make the wooden post stop.
So whenever it began to tilt, he immediately pushed back against it.
But the post was clearly connected to some kind of mechanism inside.
The more force it bore, the stronger the rebound.
The panda was completely different.
It didn't care which way the post moved.
When the post went left, it went left with it.
When the post sank, its legs bent with it.
It looked as though the post was leading it around.
But a closer look revealed that no matter how its body moved, its center of gravity never left the middle of the post.
"It's not about making the post follow me."
"I have to follow the post."
Dong Jian got back to his feet.
The Panda Martial Soul jumped down from the post and merged back into his body.
The heaviness descended once more.
This time, Dong Jian didn't rush to get back on.
He stood before the post and slowly closed his eyes.
He recalled every movement the panda had just made.
Its body had seemed lax.
In truth, its legs, waist, abdomen and shoulders had been adjusting to every change in the post.
There had been no wasted force.
Nor any attempt to fight it.
It had simply gone along with it.
Dong Jian opened his eyes and stepped onto the post.
The post tilted to the right.
He didn't immediately push left.
Instead, he first relaxed his right knee and let his body shift slightly to the right with it.
Sure enough, the post swayed a little less.
Dong Jian lifted his other foot.
His full weight settled onto the post.
The post suddenly lurched forward.
Dong Jian bent at the waist with the movement.
He didn't fall.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
The soles of Dong Jian's feet were planted firmly on the post.
His body swayed from side to side with it.
On the fifth breath, the post suddenly changed direction.
Dong Jian reacted a moment too slowly and fell backward again.
Bang!
His back hit the ground.
This time, however, he didn't feel disappointed.
Dong Jian lay on the ground, a smile appearing on his face instead.
Five breaths.
He had lasted longer than before.
That proved his idea was right.
The weight brought by the Panda Martial Soul wasn't simply a burden.
The greater the weight, the steadier his center of gravity should have been.
The real problem was that he had yet to master this body altered by his Martial Soul.
Dong Jian climbed back onto the post.
His sixth attempt failed.
His tenth attempt failed.
His twentieth attempt failed.
Yet the time he could last grew longer and longer.
Five breaths.
Ten breaths.
Fifteen breaths.
Half an incense stick's worth of time later, Dong Jian stood on the post again.
This time, he didn't deliberately keep his eyes on it.
Instead, he focused on the soles of his feet, his knees, his waist and his abdomen.
The soles of his feet felt the changes in the post.
His knees absorbed the swaying.
His waist and abdomen readjusted his center of gravity.
His limbs, which had been separate from one another, seemed to become a complete whole at that moment.
The post continued to sway.
But Dong Jian was no longer flustered as he had been at first.
He stood there, his body swaying gently with the post.
Ten breaths.
Twenty breaths.
Thirty breaths.
Dong Jian's forehead was covered in sweat.
His legs had also begun to ache.
Yet his feet still hadn't left the post.
Just as he thought he had finally found the right method, the rumble of a turning mechanism suddenly came from deep within the Body Refining Hall.
Click.
The other eight wooden posts began to move at the same time.
They slowly rotated around the post Dong Jian stood on.
A wooden stick suddenly sprang out of the post nearest him.
Whoosh!
The stick cut through the air, sweeping straight toward Dong Jian's back.
Dong Jian didn't even have time to turn around.
Bang!
The stick slammed into his waist.
His newly stabilized center of gravity was thrown off in an instant.
Dong Jian was sent flying off the post again.
Before he landed, he only had time to see the golden words on the stone stele change.
Unmoving as a Mountain did not mean standing motionless.
Only by keeping one's center of gravity while under attack could one truly stand firm.
Dong Jian hit the ground hard.
All nine wooden posts stopped at once.
He clutched his waist and looked at the trial ground, which had fallen still again. The corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching.
"So all that before..."
"Was just a warm-up?"