Under the fist

Chapter 24: Foundation Gradually Stabilizing, Transforming Tendons and Bones

There was nothing more to say, and another day passed.

In the dead of night, as usual, Liu Da Nao's snoring could be heard from next door.

Lian Youming sat cross-legged on the kang, his upper body bare, a small piece of yellow essence in his mouth, his breath coming in shallow gasps, his cheeks bulging, his consciousness empty. At this moment, his thoughts in his imagination seemed to transform into a swimming fish, entering the six meridians of the "hand three yin" and "foot three yin".

As the thought passed by, these tendons trembled slightly, as if being guided by an invisible hand, gradually harmonizing with the surging rhythm and generating a strange force.

The Three Yin Earthly Fiend Force.

During the day, Lian Youming also asked Yan Lingyun what the meaning of "spiritual travel to the Three Yin" was. The little girl told him that a martial artist should control himself with his will.

However, a martial artist's will must be tempered and refined. Only by training one's muscles and bones can one transform clumsiness into skill. With a thought, one's breath surges, and one's muscles and tendons can be mobilized accordingly, thus achieving harmony and unity, subtly merging with the essence, energy, and spirit.

The "spirit journey through the three yin" is precisely the process by which his "spirit," "essence," and "qi" unite. If he cultivates to a certain level, his spirit will be stable and his essence will be solid, and his breath will gradually become longer. At that time, when he practices his skills and exerts his strength, once he can achieve a perfect harmony between his breath, intention, and muscles, he will have made some progress.

Lian Youming also realized that all of this was ultimately about improving his control over himself.

The more meticulous and detailed the skill, the more formidable it becomes.

The old man guarding the mountain was breathing almost nonexistently, yet his breath seemed endless, clearly a manifestation of his profound spiritual attainment.

With each breath, Lian Youming felt a sweet sensation emanating from the Huangjing (Polygonatum sibiricum), flowing into his abdomen along with his saliva.

His eyes widened suddenly, and he leaped off the kang (a heated brick bed), striking poses in the form of the twelve portraits of the Golden Bell Cover.

The movements are secondary; what's truly crucial is the muscle movement. Once the movement begins, the heart rate increases and blood and qi circulate rapidly, much like a sudden burst of intense exercise.

At the same time, Lian Youming suddenly felt a warm sensation emanating from his chest and abdomen. In just one breath, he had already used the breath he inhaled to dissipate the sweetness that had overflowed from the Huangjing.

This is the medicinal power and nourishing essence contained in Polygonatum.

Lian Youming quickened his movements, and his breathing became more forceful. As his cheeks bulged, the muscles surrounding his internal organs and his twelve meridians seemed to be mobilized under that strange rhythm, trembling slightly as if they had been forged through countless trials.

With each change of movement, the remaining fire in the furnace could be faintly seen making his muscles rise and fall, like a pebble thrown into water, creating shallow ripples.

Just as Yan Lingyun had guessed.

This skill does not emphasize attack and defense, but rather focuses on "defense".

Lian Youming felt his muscles trembling and stretching, as if forming a fleshy shield, solidifying into a whole.

He remembered someone saying that the strongest punch is one that concentrates all the power of the body into a single point.

This skill, however, does the opposite. It uses the user as a shield and the vibration of muscles to generate power, dispersing the concentrated force of the opponent's punch and achieving the purpose of neutralizing and transforming the opponent's power.

In this way, no matter how strong the punch, once the force is dispersed, even if a thousand pounds of force is applied, it will become like a child throwing a punch, and its power will be greatly reduced.

This is why this martial art requires the full use of all the muscles in the body, making it more physically demanding than ordinary martial arts. Therefore, it needs to be paired with a proper diet to strengthen the five vital energies and then the muscles and bones, in order to overcome this drawback.

Lian Youming practiced until the embers in the furnace went out and the Polygonatum in his mouth had no taste left, before he stopped.

Now that you're just starting out in martial arts, you absolutely must not rush into practicing.

Although the twelve meridians were constantly being activated by his mind, very few actually responded. If he wanted to achieve any real progress, he would have to persevere for a long time.

"Speaking of which, the Toad Fishing Technique seems to be able to neutralize other people's force. One is to store Qi in the Dantian, and the other is to form a shield with muscles and bones. I wonder what would happen if they were combined."

As Lian Youming pondered this, gazing at the moon outside the window, he assumed the posture of the Golden Toad Gazing at the Moon. He spread his legs, letting his arms hang naturally at his sides, tilted his head back to look at the moon, and inhaled deeply. A surge of cold air, like a gentle stream of water, enveloped his throat and tongue, finally sinking straight down, as if forming a round elixir. With the elixir in his abdomen, Lian Youming's breathing changed again, and he heard the croaking of a toad. In no time, he felt a swelling and fullness in his stomach, as if his entire body had expanded.

He could only maintain it for three to five minutes before he felt the Qi Pill begin to dissipate. Immediately, his breath dissipated, and he exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

The climate is still mild.

……

As the chill fades and the weather warms, the vegetation grows ever greener, and flowers bloom everywhere in the forest.

Lian Youming was busy working during the day, so he would practice his skills late at night when it was quiet.

Besides, he and Yan Lingyun grew closer and closer. Despite her young age, Yan Lingyun was able to explain the principles of boxing to him through her knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, as if she were an expert in everything and could explain the mysteries of the human body.

Lian Youming, on the other hand, greedily and frantically absorbed this knowledge he had never known before. Of course, all of this came at a price: the little girl would get cravings every few days, wanting to eat whatever she craved, and he would do everything he could to satisfy her.

As a result, in just over a month, while the other educated youths were getting thinner and thinner, Yan Lingyun visibly gained weight.

As his understanding of the Golden Bell Shield deepened, Lian Youming's appetite increased dramatically to an astonishing degree. His height and physique seemed to undergo a second growth spurt; his bones and muscles grew increasingly robust, and his aura became ever more powerful, to the point that he even collapsed the kang (heated brick bed) while sleeping on it.

Although the Solomon's seal replenishes his vital energy, hunger is a physiological desire. During the day, two bowls of thin porridge and a few steamed buns are not enough to fill his teeth. At night, he is so hungry that he is itching for food. His eyes are glowing green. He rummages through drawers and cabinets and eats everything he can. He is almost ready to eat people.

These days lasted until mid-May. More and more educated youth returned to the city. They had almost finished with the work down the mountain. Two days before they were to go up the mountain, Platoon Leader Yang, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, gave them a few days off.

So Lian Youming and Yan Lingyun discussed going into the mountains to explore in advance. They asked Liu Da Nao to borrow a homemade hunting rifle in secret, and also prepared a lasso for climbing and some tools for collecting herbs.

There is another thing besides that.

This Liu Da Nao seems to be a bit dim-witted. No matter how Lian Youming explained, no matter how hard he tried, he insisted that the young man in front of him was a reclusive qigong master. He kept shouting and making a fuss about wanting to become his disciple, and even gathered a group of old men and women to establish a qigong society in the district.

Unexpectedly, word got out, and the village secretary, having heard the news from somewhere, insisted on dragging him to the commune to show everyone his skills, saying it was to teach them, otherwise he threatened Lian Youming that he would be publicly tried and criticized.

Terrified, Lian Youming had no choice but to bite the bullet and perform a feat of breaking a boulder on his chest and splitting a brick with one palm under the blazing sun.

They thought that was the end of it, but after this incident, the villagers spread increasingly exaggerated rumors, almost calling Lian Youming a god, and nearly attracting reporters from the newspaper.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Lian Youming had no choice but to go and find Qin Yuhu to put the matter under control.

Around 3 a.m. that day, because the forest farm that Yan Lingyun went up the mountain was too far away, Lian Youming took advantage of the dim light to pack his things for going into the mountains and sneaked away from Kaoshantun with a bunch of equipment on his back.

The wave of people returning to the city is getting bigger and bigger, and it seems that they will have to leave soon too.

But Lian Youming really didn't want to leave now.

The main problem is that once he returns to the city, he will not only have to think about studying, but given his parents' personalities, they will also have to think about settling down and starting a family. At that time, he will be overwhelmed with trivial matters and will have no time to practice martial arts.

Moreover, the Northeast is a vast and resource-rich region, making it an excellent place to hone one's character.

During this period, in order to get food for Yan Lingyun, and taking advantage of the fact that his foundation was gradually stabilizing and he was really hungry, he went into the mountains alone several times late at night.

Unlike the harsh winter, once spring and summer arrive, it's like a completely different world inside. Lian Youming has caught a lot of wild animals and eats meat every meal. Not only does it greatly replenish his qi and blood, but his martial arts skills also improve significantly.

Having only mentioned Kaoshantun, Lian Youming exerted force with his feet, secretly channeling his "silk-reeling energy." As the muscles in his legs tightened, he strode into the night.

(End of this chapter)