After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

In the medical room at Hoffenheim's training base, the smell of disinfectant had become the most familiar scent to Yan Yuan these past few days.

During his latest medical checkup, Dr. Marcus looked very satisfied. Looking at the latest local ultrasound images, he said:

"Yes, the recovery is going very well. Yan's edema has subsided significantly, and her microcirculation is also recovering well. At this rate, she should be able to start light ball training early next week, but physical contact is absolutely prohibited in the short term."

Upon hearing this, head coach Nagelsmann, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly and turned to Yan Yuan, saying:

"Did you hear me, kid? Ball training doesn't start until next week! Until then..."

He turned to Yan Yuan, who was sitting beside the examination bed, and his tone suddenly became stern.

"The training room? The treadmill? The weight machines? No touching any of them. I don't want to see you secretly doing extra training. And don't think I don't know you're always sneaking in a few extra laps during your recovery period! Stop these little tricks immediately, from this moment on!"

"Hehe...yes...Coach."

Yan Yuan, embarrassed by being exposed, touched his nose.

At the age of 17, his body was brimming with inexhaustible energy, making a naturally self-disciplined person stay quietly and do nothing.

This feeling was even more unbearable for Yan Yuan than being injured.

Next, Nash gave him two main tasks: recovery training and continuing to watch matches.

If you can't do ball training, you can continue to do those exercises that don't require much physical exertion.

Yan Yuan knew his mentor was acting in his best interests and considering the long term, so he nodded vigorously: "Understood, Coach. I will watch the recordings carefully and learn from them."

Leaving the medical room, the perspective returns to the training field.

His teammates were playing a scrimmage in the distance. The shouts, the squeaking of their shoes on the grass, and even the dull thuds of their collisions all tugged at Yan Yuan's heart like hooks.

But he could only wrap himself in his loose sports jacket and slowly stroll back to the quiet tactical analysis room.

Over the next few days, Yan Yuan's life became unusually regular: in the morning, under the guidance of the rehabilitation therapist, he would do extremely light, low-intensity activities aimed at maintaining muscle activity and promoting local blood circulation, followed by ice application;

In the afternoon, I stayed in the tactics room, watching recordings of top-level matches repeatedly on the huge screen, like a sponge absorbing water.

There are also highlights of attacking players carefully selected by Nagelsmann and classic match analyses, with a particular focus on observing their positioning choices off the ball, how they stretch the defense, and how they make optimal passes under high-pressure pressing.

Yan Yuan was very serious and dedicated.

On the screen, Ronaldo's ghostly late runs, Lewandowski's use of leaning against defenders to absorb their force in the penalty area, Mbappe's decision-making after using his speed to create space...

He pondered these videos repeatedly, lost in thought.

But as the days went by, Yan Yuan's desire for the competition became uncontrollable.

He didn't just want to understand; he wanted to play! He wanted to compete! He wanted to experience the thrill of battling on the court and fighting for every inch of space!

Imagine a 17-year-old boy, who is in the prime of his life.

Every day, you can only watch your teammates sprint, compete, and sweat profusely on the field, while you can only sit on the sidelines or on a physiotherapy bed. This feeling is absolutely unpleasant.

During a break from his recovery treatment, he returned to his dormitory, gently touching the bruises under his ribs, and couldn't help but summon the system in his mind:

[System, review my last injury. Besides the other person's rough handling, what was my subjective reason for the injury?]

After considering the situation, the system replied:

[Source of the injury: A collision from the side and rear of a Spartak Moscow defender.]

Location of impact: Right side of the torso, rib area; point of impact is the point of force.

Physical condition: Before the impact, the body was accelerating at full speed in an attempt to break free of contact, and its center of gravity was in the process of dynamically shifting and adjusting.

The underlying cause is determined to be insufficient instantaneous stability of the core muscle groups under high-speed combat conditions. This results in a weaker ability of the upper body to resist displacement when impacted, exacerbating the imbalance of the center of gravity. The unstable posture upon landing causes excessive pressure on the soft tissues of the ribs, ultimately leading to contusions.

[In layman's terms: The host's lower body (core and lower limbs) currently lacks the stability required for high-level combat, making it unable to effectively dissipate the enormous kinetic energy generated during impact, which is the root cause of this injury.]

"Unstable lower body..." Yan Yuan muttered to himself, these words were etched into his heart like a brand.

He recalled the feeling of being almost thrown into the air and flying sideways when he was hit, that sense of helplessness and loss of control.

Indeed, in high-intensity matches like the Champions League, the contest of strength and balance is everywhere, and a moment of weakness can lead to injury.

This is not a problem that can be solved by speed and skill alone.

He desperately wanted to improve his physical resilience and make his body more "resistant".

However, reality is cruel.

He's now restricted from even jogging, let alone strength training and sparring.

The frustration of being eager to achieve quick results but being held back by physical injuries grew stronger.

"Am I just supposed to wait here all this time?" Yan Yuan was unwilling to give up.

He opened the system's powerful but heavily pay-to-win [Skill Shop].

The dazzling array of skill trees, physical enhancements, and technical fine-tuning panels is overwhelming.

He subconsciously filtered for options that boosted strength and combat attributes, and most of the results were high-end items like the [Rock Solid Combat Training Pack] (5600 points) and [High Wall Will: Increased Combat Stability] (7500 points), which made him gasp at the price. In addition, without exception, they all had warnings such as "Requires basic physical strength", "Requires high-intensity training support" or even "Not suitable for redemption during the recovery period".

His current points are simply not enough, and his physical condition does not allow him to do a lot of training.

He flipped through the pages with a bit of frustration, his gaze aimlessly sweeping over the less noticeable categories like "Life Skills".

Suddenly, a skill with an icon featuring a strong Eastern ink painting style caught his eye:

[Skill Name: Tai Chi Master]

[Skill Type: Life Skills]

[Effect Overview: Grandmaster-level Tai Chi Chuan originates from the wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophy and martial arts. This skill focuses on guiding the body's internal circulation, strengthening deep core muscles and lower limb joint stability, enhancing body awareness and coordination, and achieving a state of "relaxation without slackness, and sinking without stiffness".]

Long-term practice can slowly but steadily improve a practitioner's basic physical fitness, and has significant benefits for the recovery from chronic strain and injuries.

The essence lies in the tempering of center of gravity control and lower body foundation, combined with unique stance training, silk-winding techniques, and shifting footwork, which significantly improves core stability, sensitivity of center of gravity shifting, and lower body support, especially static and dynamic impact resistance. It is gentle and slow, without violent impact, making it ideal for strengthening the lower body foundation during recuperation and rehabilitation.

[Redeemable Points: 2700]

"Tai... Chi?" Yan Yuan was not entirely unfamiliar with the term. When he was a child, he would occasionally see elderly people practicing it in the park in the Chinese community of Birmingham. At that time, he felt that they were slowly drawing circles.

But this skill description seems to be exactly what he needs right now!

Gentle means it won't worsen the injury; healing means it can help with recovery; and most importantly, it improves lower body stability!

He glanced at his total points: 7680. 2700 is not a small amount, especially for him, every point is "hard-earned money" from competitions and training.

But thinking about the pain of Moscow, and the even fiercer competition on the field in the future...

He gritted his teeth, locked onto the skill icon with his mind, and clicked to confirm the redemption!

[Exchange successful! 2700 points consumed, obtained the life skill [Tai Chi Master]. Current total points: 4980.]

[Skills being distributed: Tai Chi principles (Grandmaster level), stance training understanding (Grandmaster level), cloud hands (Grandmaster level), and footwork and body posture essentials instruction completed.]

[It is strongly recommended that the host combine this practice with daily training. The skill's effects will gradually integrate into the body's instincts over time; only persistence will yield results.]

After the system finished speaking, an indescribable feeling flowed through Yan Yuan's limbs.

This doesn't feel like the overwhelming sense of knowledge you get when exchanging for other skills.

Instead, it is a profound guidance that resonates with the body's deep bones, muscles, and even breathing rhythms.

Yan Yuan already had the essentials of Tai Chi movements in his mind, and his body instinctively longed to stretch, coil, and feel the inner "qi" and "intention".

Let's start practicing right away.

Yan Yuan stood on the empty floor in the center of the room, took a deep breath, and relaxed his whole body.

"Phew..." He got into the starting stance.

The movements instilled by the system naturally came to mind: starting posture, sinking shoulders and dropping elbows, relaxing the waist and tucking in the buttocks, standing with feet shoulder-width apart... and the mind sinking down to the lower abdomen.

He began to move slowly.

The movements were extremely slow; the arms were raised, swung outward, and retracted, each movement like exploring and moving forward in viscous air.

His breathing became deep and steady as he tried to feel the flow of his weight between his feet, with his waist and hips controlling every slight tilt of his body to stabilize his foundation.

On the first night of training, he practiced for less than twenty minutes and felt there was nothing special about it; it was just a slow, awkward stretching exercise.

The next morning, he quietly tried it out again in the green belt next to the dormitory.

He focused particularly on the "core skill of Tai Chi" emphasized by the system—standing meditation.

This is commonly known as horse stance.

According to the system's guidance on the "Hun Yuan Zhuang" (a type of standing meditation): knees slightly bent but not extending past the toes, buttocks lowered as if sitting on a high stool, tailbone slightly curled forward, spine straight upward like a flagpole, Baihui acupoint as if gently lifting, hands held in front of the chest to hold the Yuan and guard the One.

While seemingly motionless, the bones throughout the body are actually undergoing subtle adjustments and alignment.

His fascia was stretched and integrated under invisible tension, and every muscle in the core area was resisting the slightest sway in a state of both relaxation and high alertness, constantly searching for an absolute point of balance and stability.

On his first attempt, Yan Yuan could not last a minute before his thighs began to ache and tremble, and his waist and abdomen also felt strained.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered, strictly following the posture adjustments corrected by the system. Each time he resumed standing in the stance, he tried his best to hold the position for a few more seconds.

Gradually, this became the most important "training" he did in private, outside of his recovery schedule.

In the morning mist, in the quiet corners during lunch breaks, and as the sun sets after dinner, Yan Yuan's steady and unwavering figure begins to appear in every quiet corner of the Hoffenheim training base.

He was wearing ordinary training clothes, standing quietly with his knees slightly bent and his legs firmly planted on the ground.

Yan Yuan also practices Cloud Hands, experiencing the balance in the flow and feeling the exquisite coordination of the body as a pivot in dissolving force.

This unusual scene quickly caught the attention of his teammates.

"Yan, what are you doing? Are you practicing standing as punishment?" Gnabry was the first to notice, and exaggeratedly imitated his posture, but almost fell over after a few seconds.

Xu Bu Na watched with great interest: "It looks... very calm? Like meditation? Is this Chinese Kung Fu?"

Amiri observed more closely: "Hmm... this posture looks like it requires a lot from the legs and waist, and the core needs to be very stable, like... a standing plank?"

On one occasion, on his way back to his office, Nagelsmann spotted Yan Yuan standing alone on a corner of the grass.

He stopped in his tracks out of curiosity and observed for a long time.

Yan Yuan was concentrating on standing meditation. He was calm, focused, and breathing deeply, with a relaxed yet upright posture.

"What are you doing?" Nasser scratched his head and asked.

Yan stopped his movements, smiled, and said to his mentor, "Coach, this is Tai Chi, a branch of Chinese Kung Fu." He patted his leg and said...

"This standing meditation exercise is especially helpful for increasing core and lower body strength. It is gentle and does not strain the ribs, but it can activate the muscles and bones throughout the body, helping us improve our stability and balance. It can also regulate breathing and relax the mind. I am using it to aid in my recovery."

Nagelsmann nodded, his eyes showing approval:

"Hmm...that's an interesting method, Yan, I'll try it too."

Curious, he walked to the spot where Yan Yuan had been standing in meditation, and imitated Yan Yuan by slightly bending his knees and tucking in his buttocks as he sat down.

"Is that so? The center of gravity is in the middle of the body?" Nash asked.

Then, Yan Yuan, like a Tai Chi master, corrected his mentor's subtle postures:

"Coach, imagine your back is against a comfortable wall. Don't bend backward or be too tense. The most important thing is to feel the vertical feeling of the power flowing from your feet to the top of your head."

Nagelsmann tried a few times, then nodded and shook his head:

"Oh... this movement is much harder than I expected! I can feel my muscles trembling slightly, and my lower body keeps wobbling. It seems that core training is really effective."

He stretched a bit, then patted Yan Yuan on the shoulder.

"This training feels alright. Keep doing it as long as it doesn't worsen your injury and helps you recover. Chinese wisdom... is indeed very unique."

Nashman is quite fond of this method of integrating mind and body into training.

With the coach's tacit approval and even encouragement, Yan Yuan practiced with more peace of mind.

The guidance provided by the 2700 points "tuition fee" is very ingenious.

Whenever his Tai Chi movements deviate from the correct form, an intuition that "correction is needed" automatically arises within his body, prompting him to constantly adjust and bring his posture closer and closer to the standard posture.

After each standing meditation session, Yan Yuan would feel his legs were as heavy, sore, and numb as if they were filled with lead, but his mind was exceptionally clear and bright, and his breathing was particularly deep and comfortable.

The bruised area on my ribs, when I practice standing meditation, expands and contracts with the depth of my breathing, producing a warm, slightly tingling, comfortable feeling. It seems that every deep breath is washing away the blockage and accelerating the healing process.

The days passed by unhurriedly, with the slow and deliberate practice of standing meditation, the gradual development of Tai Chi, the continuous absorption of competition analysis, and regular physical therapy.

Gradually, Yan Yuan felt much lighter and recovered faster than the doctor had expected.

More importantly, it is in that still, unwavering stance, in that seemingly monotonous "rooting in the ground" day after day.

Yan Yuan could indeed feel some extremely subtle yet undeniable changes occurring within his body.

His thighs and waist seemed to be infused with a more "resilient" and "cohesive" power.

This strength isn't the bulging muscle mass you get from lifting weights in the gym, but a deep-rooted, weighty sense of "stability."

This is a kind of lower body stability that the body instinctively generates when facing an impact.