Early in the morning, the faintly discernible first glimmer of dawn, quietly emerged in the eastern sky while Heaven and earth were still shrouded in the dark.
Inside the practice room, sweat poured down Gu Yue"s face. The movements of his fists, fierce yet st.u.r.dy, speedily advancing and retreating, flexible with hundreds of forms; maneuvering twist and turns, no one could keep in step with it. The set of fighting techniques were vivid- realistic when fully applied. They were simply…exquisite.
The sound of wind broken by the punches never stopped.
This is the primary lower-level martial arts, Luo Han technique. This fighting technique is a stable and gentle technique, with a mixture of firm and gentle motions in its power. It is most suitable for beginners in martial arts to refine their body and lay a foundation.
Up to 70% of the students in the school practiced this LuoHan technique for their first set of martial arts.
All martial arts are the same; easy to learn, hard to be perfected. The amount of students practicing LuoHan technique was like the stars in the sky, but few of them could actually master it to the end.
The practice of the martial art skills is divided by a distinct boundary. At the beginning in learning martial arts, to be able to use the whole set of the technique from first to last. top to bottom, this was the introductory stage.
Then, continuing to practice the technique until it became familiar, not only it will be easier in it"s execution, but some of the moves can be removed from the set and combined according to the situation.
That is the mastery stage.
To be proficient in martial arts, it was already a limit for ordinary martial artist. To continue practicing it, it’s not something that can be achieved by just being diligent.
Not only do you have have to grasp the understanding of the moves, you have to capture the essence of it too. To be able to bring out the true power of the martial arts, that is the small success stage.
After small success stage, is, of course, the big success stage. Upon reaching this stage, the martial art skill has ‘attained perfection’ (idiom) and can ‘change something decayed into something amazing’ (idiom). Though it is the weakest low-level technique, it could even compete with high-level skills when fully executed.
But, big success stage is really too difficult. Even for such basic skill like the Luo Han technique, those who could really cultivate it to big success stage are like ‘phoenix feathers and unicorn horns’ , extremely rare.
Gu Yue’s innate talent in practicing martial arts is not bad. As he has been cultivating this set of Luo Han technique for several years, he has reached the small success stage.
Of course, that was because his cultivation boundary was slow and difficult to break through.
In order to practice medium-level skills, he needed bone-refining so right now he could only practice Luo Han technique.
At the moment he executed the skill, each move and form was perfect, his punches were bold and powerful. In the midst of this stable and
All the way until he finished practicing the whole set of the technique, Gu Yue felt extremely happy and to his heart’s content. Under the powerful sense of spirituality, numerous minor flaws in the technique have been amended to perfection. All kinds of feelings continuously emerged from his heart. This same set of Luo Han technique, the power gradually increased when fully executed, his realm "increased rapidly" (idiom).
“Oh yeah! If only I had such capability in the past, not to mention using several years practicing the Luo Han technique, I could have made it to small success in less than half a month.”
GuYue couldn"t help feeling excited as his spiritual power has shown a faint indication of evolution. Becoming an ability user, that ‘settled it’ (idiom), but he didn’t plan to abandon martial arts. Instead, in order to boost the derivation of power, he became even more hardworking in his practice.
After he finished practicing the technique, the first rays of morning sun had appeared, making the sun looked as if it were on fire.
‘Early morning is the golden time of the day’ (idiom); the best time of the day to cultivate. GuYue took out the bowl of medicine that he has simmered.
Seven or eight precious herbs have been simmered down to three bowls of medicine. More than 100,000 in credit was used to exchange for this bowl of medicine. The medicine was fragrant to the nose, intoxicating whoever smelled it. Bringing the bowl in front of him, he could already feel the rich power of medicine contained in it.
“These ingredients are herbs with an efficiency and medicinal power worth hundred of years…This body-tempering medicine better not disappoint me.”
This medicine was not meant for drinking but for soaking. Gu Yue took off his clothes and used the medicine to smear all over his body, not missing any spots even the sole of his foot. After that, he poured the rest of the medicine into the hot bath water and immersed his whole body inside.
This is the start of yin yuan technique, and beginning of the formal cultivation.
No matter if it were martial artist or ability users, all have to cultivate from the start; the yin yuan technique was indispensable. The extreme ice element art that Gu Yue practiced was taught by his father in his childhood. It was far more superior comparing to the foundation yin yuan technique that normal people practiced.
The foundation of the yin yuan technique is simple and easy to understand, it’s the mildest one. It’s an equivalent of the basic yin yuan method, the base of all cultivation.
In the new age, the threat from evolved beasts constantly exist. So, cultivation methods are widely pa.s.sed on. It was not difficult to obtain some basic cultivation method.
But of course, those easily obtained are normally some of generic quality.
For really exquisite and profound cultivation methods, it is naturally kept in those cultivation families and certain influential forces, only internal members can cultivate the inheritance.
Silently chanting the method, Gu Yue just activated his extreme ice element art and felt streams of scorching hot air flowing from his skin to his body like blazing flame.
His body felt like being torn in the burning, extremely painful everywhere, not a single inch on his skin was spared.
This body-tempering medicine is comprised of herbs with hundred years old of effect carefully simmered into medicine, it’s the tiger wolf medicine. In addition, Gu Yue‘s body is originally lack of nutrition, just like a long drought in his body, making the effect of the medicine even more intense.
If this was the time of the common era, anyone who have a slight knowledge of medicine would know of this and definitely won’t do it like this.
But body-tempering cultivation is just like that, if want your cultivation to improve by leaps and bounds, pain was inevitable.
Gu Yue‘s expression looked serene, no matter how intense the pain on the flesh and body, it paled in insignificance by comparison when his spirit was completely smashed to bits when the disc in his spiritual s.p.a.ce exploded.
Continuously chanting the method’s formula, he kept refining the frantic power of the medicine. Gu Yue could feel that every cell in his body seemed to be cheering excitedly, frantically moving around, swallowing the medicine in big gulps.
As if he was injected with hormone, even naked eyes can see that his thin body has rounded up. He could clearly feel that his body became at least twice as powerful.
If he was barely stepping into the threshold of his third refinement before soaking his body, now he has solidly stepped into it. Apart from that, he was steadily progressing towards a higher level.
“Just like this, I have reached the peak of finishing my third refinement?”
After an hour, Gu Yue opened his eyes and looked at his body with surprise.
His physical condition was unprecedented, like never before. The powerful energy hidden within his muscles were ready to burst out. The constant feeling of him worrying about his own weakness no longer exist. With his current condition, he felt like he could easily defeat 3 of his previous self.
Without the slightest astonishment, the power from the medicine flowing into the body is still rich. Gu Yue didn’t stop cultivating, he understand clearly all the profound mysteries from his third refinement.
He broke through without any obstacle.
There are no bottlenecks in cultivation when you"re refining your body from the first refinement to the third.
Gu Yue was unable to breakthrough for such a long time because of malnutrition, not because of some bottleneck. Because he was stuck in his second level of refinement for years, he was well-versed regarding the difficulties in conditions of cultivation, without any doubts.
The Yin yuan technique kept flowing, and the feeling of his muscles bulging constantly appeared, it was a sign of completion in muscles refinement.
Gu Yue was not anxious to breakthrough, he continued to devour the power from the medicine.
What he wanted to do was to push the refinement of his muscles to the peak. Until the water overflowed by itself, to the degree the tempering with source energy automatically penetrated deep into the bone marrow.
“I broke through! My fourth refinement!”
After a long time, he could feel that the source tempering within his body has been filled to the peak. GuYue gave a violent shout, pushing the extreme ice element art to the extreme and begun to attack the boundary between the muscles and the bones.
A muscle-tearing pain instantaneous surged. Simultaneously, an itch carved deep inside the bone marrow followed right after.
Such horrifying feeling, giving him a taste of ‘death is better than living’ again.
“Source tempering of marrow, haha, I really broke through.”
Gu Yue was rather more happy than he was surprised. To be able to advance so easily and delve into his fourth refinement, even he himself felt it was a bit inconceivable.
It is needed to know that from refining your body from the third to fourth, it was from the boundary of muscle-refining directly to the boundary of bone-refining. That would require breaking through a small bottleneck.
Generally, even talented students would need at least six months of bitter practicing.
Continuing to devour the medicine’s power, GuYue paid no heed to everything outside. Not sure for how long, the influx of power flowing into the body finally disappeared. He suddenly opened his eyes and found out that the water in the bath tub/barrel has became clear. The rich, ink-like medicine for body-refining has been used up.
[ED: No yucky from the breakthrough?]
“Haha, sure enough you get what you pay for. A bowl of medicine can facilitate the reach of the fourth refinement, completely entered the bone-refining boundary. Refining bones to be as hard as steel, the physical strength did not just increase by a bit. If I were to meet that baldy again, I will not be necessary afraid of him even when meeting head-on.”
He has a clear understanding regarding to his own strength, and even the ability to defeat the baldy who had finished his fifth refinement. That was because the opponent’s martial art focused on strength, not much on speed and skill.
But with his strong spirit sense of perception, he can easily see the flaws in the other"s moves. Thus, ‘using the weak to defeat the strong’ (idiom), he bested him in one stroke.
But if he were to fight head-on, he himself would not even be a match. In one move, he would have been disabled if not dead. The gap between two levels in cultivation, for the difference in strength, it was almost ten times over. It’s not something to be judged lightly.
Until now, having a cultivation of within bone-refining, Gu Yue can finally have the confidence to defeat martial artist at the fifth level.
Even when facing normal/general martial artist who had completed their sixth refinement, it is not impossible to find a way to win.
“En, now I can practice intermediate martial arts. That ‘Rushing Wolf Fist‘ that Aunt Mei taught will be great.”
After scrubbing his body clean, Gu Yue was deeply moved with thousands of emotions. ‘Poor in literacy, rich in martial arts’ (idiom?), as expected not too bad.
Two days ago, the him who was poor like a pair of ding dongs (TL: LOL, should just mean he was so d.a.m.n poor) could just hover around the second level.
But now in just half a day and using refining medicine worth tens of thousands credits, his cultivation broke through from early stage body-refinement three to peak stage of body-refinement 4.
Advancing close to two levels in cultivation, it seemed as if the bitter practice he had endured for the past two years was not completely worthless.
Other than that, Gu Yue knew that the body did not fully absorbed the power of the body-refining medicine. A large part of the medicine settled into the depths of his body instead. When the body used up its own power, the medicine will be squeezed out and finally be absorbed by the muscles and bones.
For the next few days, his cultivation will advance even further. Before the medicine in his body is used up, he must never absorb another bowl of medicine. Otherwise, not only will it be a wastage of medicine, it will cause his physique to weaken, leaving a deep and hidden adverse effect.
Of course, even after he fully digested the medicine and started the second dosage of body-refining medicine, the effect will never reach up to the one experienced today.
Ultimately, it was because this is the first time he used medicine in his cultivation plus his body itself was in a state of hunger that he managed to get such a surprising effect.