Chapter 32: Better to Fight Once Than Practice a Thousand Times
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When Chen Jie returned to the main house, Aunt Thirteen had already finished preparing the medicinal tonic.
After drinking the decoction, Liu Qi and Eighth Sister both began working hard to draw out its medicinal effects.
However, after helping Chen Jie perform “Separating the Muscles and Misaligning the Bones” for half an hour and stimulating the medicine’s potency, Aunt Thirteen stopped.
Now that Chen Jie had officially become a disciple of the Liu Family’s Piercing Kick School, she naturally had to teach him the true essence of exerting force.
She looked up at him and said solemnly,
“Junior Brother, your strength has already begun to increase. You’ve officially entered the foundational Muscle-Strengthening realm!”
“Next, I’ll teach you the true method of exerting force in the Piercing Kick School. You must study it carefully!”
“A towering building rises from level ground. The firmer your foundation, the greater your achievements will be in the future.”
“As the saying goes, the hands are two gates, but it is the legs that strike people! The offensive core of Piercing Kick lies in leg techniques, but it places even greater emphasis on integrating offense and defense. Its demands on footwork and body movement are extremely high!”
“Force rises from the ground, but the waist is its master. If you wish to master Piercing Kick, the strength of your waist is absolutely crucial—!”
Bang!
As she spoke, Aunt Thirteen stamped her foot and kicked diagonally forward with one leg. At the same time, she twisted her waist, her body resembling a drawn bow pulled taut.
Bang, bang, bang!
In the next instant, she surged forward, taking one step and launching one kick at a time. Her movements were broad and forceful, driving straight ahead with overwhelming aggression, while both fists formed a defensive posture.
Whoosh—!
A fierce wind swept through the surrounding air, and Aunt Thirteen’s movements grew faster and faster.
They appeared simple and casual, yet contained a terrifying explosive force.
Heavy, powerful, fierce, and domineering!
This was the martial form of Piercing Kick. Even though Aunt Thirteen was merely demonstrating and had not unleashed her full strength, the ferocious force still produced ear-piercing blasts.
That was the characteristic of the fist force possessed by a master at the perfected Bronze Skin, Manifest Force realm. Once unleashed, its speed surpassed the limits, compressing the air and producing explosive sonic booms.
As Aunt Thirteen’s movements accelerated, Chen Jie had no choice but to widen his eyes and hold his breath.
Several minutes later, Aunt Thirteen pushed off with her foot and steadied herself.
Hoo—!
She exhaled and adjusted her breathing, gradually recovering her composure.
Then she continued speaking to Chen Jie:
“The force of Piercing Kick can be summed up in five words: continuous, yielding, hard, crisp, and slippery! Only after comprehending the essence of exerting force contained in these five qualities can you be considered to have truly entered the path of Piercing Kick!”
“Furthermore, every martial art is divided into training methods and combat methods!”
“Training methods are merely the foundation. The true core lies in combat. A thousand lessons cannot compare to one observation, a thousand observations cannot compare to one practice, and a thousand practices cannot compare to one real fight!”
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“Combat! That is the core of every martial art. Without combat, all you have are pretty movements that look impressive but are useless.”
Swish!
She placed one leg upon a wooden post and said to Chen Jie,
“I’ll slow my movements now. Watch carefully how I raise my leg, and pay attention to how I generate force from my waist—!”
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, and her expression became slightly unnatural.
Nevertheless, she did not stop moving.
She kicked diagonally upward, lowering both arms as her waist twisted in an instant.
The moment her slender leg was launched, it accelerated, finally touching the wooden post lightly.
Her straightened legs formed a single line, and her flawless figure was fully revealed before Chen Jie.
At that moment, Aunt Thirteen was wearing close-fitting training clothes, with her hair tied up, giving her an elegant, buoyant air.
Looking at her, Chen Jie found it extraordinarily difficult to concentrate.
Hoo—!
He could not help taking a deep breath to calm himself.
Why was comprehending the essence of martial force so difficult?!
In that instant, Chen Jie realized that everything Aunt Thirteen had said had vanished completely from his mind.
What force to generate, what movements to use, how to twist the waist—!
It was too difficult!
His mind had gone utterly blank.
Aunt Thirteen acted as though she had not noticed his expression and said calmly,
“Still your mind and regulate your breathing. Focus your attention. Next, I’ll teach you the method for tempering your state of mind!”
“Before training the body, one must first train the will. Every martial art possesses its own conception, and only when movements and conception complement each other can a martial art unleash its greatest power!”
“Come over here. Stand close to me and raise your leg!”
Chen Jie hurriedly cast aside his wandering thoughts and went to Aunt Thirteen’s side.
Swish!
Imitating her, he placed one foot upon the wooden post.
Aunt Thirteen glanced at his posture and smiled.
“Why are you standing so far away? Can you clearly see how I shift my strength? Come closer and hold my foot down. Feel how the force is transmitted.”
Chen Jie froze for a moment. He lowered his leg, stood beside Aunt Thirteen, and pressed down with both hands.
Hiss—!
The moment his hands touched her leg, Chen Jie became completely flustered, and his head began buzzing again.
Aunt Thirteen’s expression changed when Chen Jie wrapped both arms around her leg. She hurriedly said,
“Let go! You—you’re holding my leg! I told you to press down on my foot!”
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“Oh—!”
Chen Jie quickly released her and pressed down on the foot she had placed against the wooden post.
Aunt Thirteen repeatedly took deep breaths, forcing herself to remain calm.
After a moment, she finally steadied her mind and said,
“Training the spirit can strengthen your martial will. It also allows you to focus your attention intensely and improves your reaction speed. Its benefits are far more numerous than you can imagine!”
“Once your martial will has been tempered to a certain level, you can awaken the human sixth sense!”
“The sixth sense can not only detect danger, but also form conscious predictions. It is extremely important to every martial artist!”
Chen Jie listened in confusion and could only nod repeatedly.
Aunt Thirteen had already reached the perfected Bronze Skin, Manifest Force realm. Her state of mind was as firm as a rock.
At that moment, she was imparting martial knowledge to Chen Jie and had no distracting thoughts whatsoever.
After exhaling, she continued,
“When you exert force, if you can concentrate your attention, gather your strength at a single point, and unleash it instantaneously, that means your martial conception has begun to enter the state of ‘Maintaining Thought’!”
“For those in the foundational Muscle-Strengthening and introductory Meridian-Washing realms, martial conception may not seem particularly important.”
“But once you break through to the Bronze Skin, Manifest Force realm, martial conception becomes the key to advancing in martial cultivation.”
“Any martial artist who wishes to break through to Iron Bones, Hidden Force must temper the six senses and maintain a single-minded focus. To break through to Marrow Transformation, Transformed Force, one must achieve inner observation and unite the six senses with the spirit!”
“Maintaining Thought, Guarding the One, Inner Observation, Guarding the Apertures, Fasting of the Heart, Contemplative Stillness, and Sitting in Oblivion!”
“As martial cultivation advances, the body grows stronger, while the spirit and martial conception rise in tandem. Neither can be lacking!”
“—”
For the rest of the time, Aunt Thirteen continued teaching Chen Jie the techniques of the Piercing Kick School.
Chen Jie held down Aunt Thirteen’s foot. Although he felt awkward and unaccustomed to it at first, he soon calmed down and began carefully observing how the strength in her waist shifted and transferred.
After finishing her instruction, Aunt Thirteen did not linger. She ordered Chen Jie to practice diligently, then turned and left.
Temper the martial will!
To be honest, cultivating his state of mind was not especially difficult for Chen Jie.
Put simply, was it not merely entering a state of meditation and emptying his thoughts completely?
Yet in his current state, Chen Jie found it difficult to calm himself.
Haste makes waste!
He had only just come into contact with the cultivation of the mind and will. How could he possibly comprehend it so easily?
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