At Yu Gang's summons, Chen Chuan walked to the center of the training area and came to a stop in front of him.
Lu Ke, who had been training on his own off to the side, slowed his pace and glanced over.
Yu Gang stood there, his face expressionless. He didn't verbally rush him, but Chen Chuan felt an invisible pressure, as if being urged to make a move quickly.
He subconsciously activated his Breathing Technique, clenched his fist, and threw a punch at Yu Gang's chest. THUD. It felt like hitting a thick tire. A shockwave traveled back, forcing him to stumble back several steps.
Yu Gang's critique was blunt. "Your punching form is as amateur as it gets. You lack power, and you're as slow as a snail. Any student with just one month of training could easily take you down. There's no way you'll pass the entrance exam like this. Not even if you pulled strings."
Watching from the side, a slight smirk touched the corner of Lu Ke's mouth.
Yu Gang noted Chen Chuan's calm expression and added, "But it looks like you're holding back. Use your full strength. Otherwise, I can't create a plan based on your actual condition."
Chen Chuan knew that during his training, it would be impossible to avoid revealing the power of his Second Self. So this time, he decided to stop holding back.
He took a breath and returned to his spot. With a low shout, he threw another punch. This time, his Second Self, standing behind him, instantly overlapped with his body. BANG! The same counter-shockwave hit him, and he stumbled back several steps again, but anyone could tell this punch carried significant weight.
Lu Ke couldn't help but sit up a little straighter.
Yu Gang remained motionless, but a hint of surprise showed in his eyes. 'Talent...?' he thought. Out loud, he commented, "Now that's more like it. If you correct your force generation and coordinate your breathing, your striking power can increase even more. Hmm, in that case..."
He seemed to be considering something. After a moment, having apparently organized his thoughts, he spoke. "The current fighting systems can be broadly divided into Old Martial Arts and New Martial Arts. The academy's mainstream is New Martial Arts, focusing on techniques like unarmed striking, Wrestling Takedowns, and Twisting Skills. The training system for New Martial Arts is practical and reliable, making it the most widely used and the mainstream at Wuda. So, we'll start with New Martial Arts."
This was the first time Chen Chuan had heard of Old and New Martial Arts. Curious, he asked, "Mr. Yu, is everything we're learning now New Martial Arts? What are the Old Martial Arts like?"
Yu Gang explained, "The Old Martial Arts are complex and numerous, but they generally focus on fighting with weapons. Fist and foot techniques are secondary. That's because the Martial Arts of the old era were meant for both fighting other people and for survival."
"In the old era, this choice was a necessity. If you were in a life-or-death battle, or even hunting wild beasts, would you choose to be bare-handed if you had a tool?"
Chen Chuan answered decisively, "Of course not."
Yu Gang said, "So the direction of the Old Martial Arts is very clear. Many of their fist and foot techniques were just supplementary exercises for using weapons. When fighting empty-handed, many of these movements become redundant, putting them at a disadvantage against the purely unarmed New Martial Arts. However, some of the modified, purely unarmed styles are still quite good."
"Of course, this isn't to say New Martial Arts practitioners don't master weapon combat, but it's treated as separate from unarmed combat. It's different from the Old Martial Arts' emphasis on integrating weapons and fists."
"Alright, we've gotten sidetracked. Let's focus on the present. I will teach you a basic Fighting Skill. It's known colloquially as 'Small Scattering Hand' or 'Great Scattering Hand.' The only difference is the emphasis on offensive or defensive philosophy. There's another style, 'Orthodox Scattering Hand,' that isn't taught publicly. You're only allowed to use it after getting a certificate from the Martial Arts Academy. The style I'm teaching you is the Great Scattering Hand. Watch my movements carefully."
He moved to the side and adopted a fighting stance. His feet were one in front of the other, his body slightly lowered, his weight balanced lightly on the front foot and heavily on the back. One hand extended forward, while the other guarded his abdomen.
He said, "This guard isn't fixed. It changes depending on the opponent and your strategy. For instance, against someone skilled in wrestling and twisting techniques, you can lower your center of gravity. Against a swift opponent, you can raise your center of gravity to move faster. Your fists can also change to open palms or fingers at any time. It all depends on how you fight and how proficient you are with the techniques." After speaking, he straightened up and said, "Now you try it."
Chen Chuan walked to the center and copied the stance Yu Gang had just demonstrated. Yu Gang came over and corrected his posture. "Don't be so tense. Don't hold your head so high. Tuck your chin. Be conscious of protecting yourself with your hands..."
Under his guidance, Chen Chuan soon had a passable imitation of the stance. Yu Gang then taught him how to form a fist and hold his palm, how to generate force for simple punches and kicks, and the use of some common advancing and retreating footwork.
Since there weren't many techniques taught at the beginning, after a morning of practice, Chen Chuan had at least memorized them all, even if he was far from mastering them.
In the afternoon, besides continuing to familiarize himself with these techniques, he mainly focused on training his fundamentals, again under Yu Gang's strict supervision. There were breaks for rest and nutritional supplements. He trained like this until around five in the evening, at which point he was sent to run home.
Throughout this process, he didn't forget the most important thing: the Breathing Technique. In addition to using it fully during his daytime training, he used his Second Self to practice the Basic Breathing Technique at night. This continued until his Second Self became almost completely ethereal, at which point he would go to bed.
For the next several days, he maintained this training rhythm. In less than ten days, he could already execute some of the Great Scattering Hand techniques with a fair degree of skill.
He also discovered that once he grew familiar with a movement, whenever he used his Breathing Technique, he would instinctively know the correct way to generate force for the corresponding move.
If he fumbled a move or his form was wrong, the flow of his breath would be disrupted. Conversely, when his breath flowed smoothly, his power would gather accordingly. This way, he could even use his breath to better guide his movements.
This was undoubtedly the effect of the Breathing Technique. No wonder Yu Gang said it was the core of the core.
Because he could constantly feel himself improving, he threw himself into it completely. His daytime training gradually strengthened his physique, allowing him to maintain the Breathing Technique for longer periods under normal conditions. In turn, the Breathing Technique improved his training efficiency. It was an excellent state to be in, and his progress was obvious.
Moreover, he made another discovery: the maximum time he could use his Second Self was also slowly increasing. This was likely a positive feedback loop from his training, driven by the sense of pleasure that came from constantly growing stronger.
In mid-June, he went to find Yu Gang. "Mr. Yu," he said, "lately, I've noticed my body feels slightly warm after every time I practice the Basic Breathing Technique. Do you know why that might be?"
Yu Gang seemed a little surprised. He stared at him and asked, "Warm? After every breathing exercise? Are you sure?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "I'm sure. It happens right after I use the Breathing Technique. At first, it was just a faint sensation, but it's become more and more obvious these past two days."
Yu Gang asked again, "For how long, approximately?"
Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "About four or five days now."
Yu Gang couldn't help but cross his arms and sink into thought.
Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Yu, is something wrong?"
Yu Gang said, "Nothing's wrong. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs when practicing the Breathing Technique. It just usually takes a while. I didn't expect it to happen so soon for you. It seems you can move on to the next stage of training ahead of schedule."
The sensation of warmth from practicing the Breathing Technique was a sign that the practitioner's body was fully adapting to the breathing rhythm. For adolescents whose bodies hadn't fully developed, this was particularly significant. As they aged, they would enter a long period of improvement.
But for the average person, this phenomenon would often take tens of days, or even six months to a year, to appear. Some people might never experience it in their entire lives. And how long had Chen Chuan been training?
Half a month, at most.
He couldn't help but think, 'It really is talent, isn't it...'
That afternoon, Yu Gang called both Chen Chuan and Lu Ke over. "Chen Chuan," he said, "for the next period, you can begin sparring. Lu Ke, you will be Chen Chuan's training partner. You can put your own training on the back burner for now."
Lu Ke felt a little resentful, but he put on a smile and said, "Yes, Master." Then he added, "Young Master Chen, just let me know if you need anything."
Chen Chuan said, "You're too kind, Brother Lu."
From that day on, his training included two-person drills for offense and defense, as well as some coordinated reaction exercises. Lu Ke's main role was to accommodate him and help him further familiarize himself with the application of Great Scattering Hand in both attack and defense.
After seven days of this, Yu Gang had the two of them start attempting actual sparring. To avoid injury, they naturally wore protective gear and gloves.
However, at Wuyi University Hall, there was no protective gear unless it was for weapons instruction or regular practice. So later on, he would gradually remove these protections.
"Today is your first day of sparring, so you'll fight three rounds. Each round will have a three-minute time limit, with a five-minute rest in between. I'll be scoring you. Whoever gets the lower score will be in charge of organizing the equipment and cleaning the grounds today."
After briefly explaining a few other rules, Yu Gang stepped aside and signaled for the two to begin.
Chen Chuan and Lu Ke walked to the center and, following martial arts etiquette, gave each other a fist-and-palm salute. But before Chen Chuan could fully lower his hands, Lu Ke suddenly shot a punch straight at his torso!
...
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