Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

The tingling and numb sensation from his spine grew stronger and stronger. He spread his feet apart, bent his knees slightly, and stood up in the Tiger-Taming Stance again.

With each breath, his lungs roared like a furnace filled with wind. But the most significant change was in his spine; as he breathed, his vertebrae resonated in a wondrous way with the rise and fall of his chest.

Lin Hai's back straightened involuntarily, his spine emitting a series of soft, rapid "crackling" sounds, like a giant dragon that had been sleeping for many years stretching its stiff body. With each breath, he urged the blood and qi within his body to wash over the newly awakened "dragon."

Lin Hai closed his eyes, immersing himself entirely in the evolution of his spine.

He could clearly feel his spine burning hot. The fascia and muscles that originally wrapped around his spine became more resilient and elastic under the tempering of this heat. Deep within the spinal cord, impurities were forcibly stripped away by the blood and qi, and expelled from his body through his pores.

More than an hour later.

The burning sensation on my back gradually subsided, replaced by an unprecedented feeling of clarity and lightness.

Lin Hai slowly packed up the stakes and opened his eyes. His short jacket was completely soaked with sweat, emitting a faint, fishy smell. These were impurities expelled from his bone marrow.

He walked to the well, drew several buckets of cold water, washed himself from head to toe, and changed into a clean shirt.

Walking to the center of the courtyard, Lin Hai took a deep breath, took a few steps, and began practicing the Tiger-Taming Fist.

Begin with a forward step and a punch.

There are no fancy moves, just the most basic Tiger Emerging from the Forest.

However, the moment he threw that punch, Lin Hai felt completely different.

In the past, when he exerted force, although he was strong, there was always a transmission process and time involved in the transfer of power from his waist and hips to his arms.

But now, when he exerts his strength, the awakened "dragon spine" is like a fully drawn longbow, suddenly snapping open.

"Snapped!"

A crisp, crackling sound rang out in the air.

The power surged up his spine, up his shoulder blades, and down to his fingertips in an instant. This explosive burst of power was almost instantaneous.

This is what Master Lu Zhengchuan once mentioned: "Power originates from the spine, and it arises with the speed of a spirit."

The saying "power originates from the spine" does not mean that the spine can generate strength out of thin air, but rather that the spine is the main channel for transmitting power. The foundation of the feet, the pivot of the waist, and the transmission of power through the spine are perfectly combined under the unification of the spine.

Now he doesn't need to consciously control it. As long as he has the will, the power can be delivered to his limbs unimpeded through the main channel of the spine.

Moreover, his physical reaction speed has also improved significantly. His hands, eyes, body, techniques, and steps are now coordinated more seamlessly, and his limbs are pushed to their limits, moving with both lightness and swiftness.

Lin Hai leaped and bounded in the courtyard, his Tiger-Taming Fist moves becoming less clumsy and more powerful and agile.

After finishing his set of punches, Lin Hai stopped and stood still. He could feel a transformation taking place deep within his bone marrow. Blood and energy were continuously being generated from his bone marrow, nourishing his entire body.

He clenched his fist, feeling the pure and powerful energy within his body.

"I've successfully passed the Marrow Transformation Gate," Lin Hai murmured to himself.

At the moment of the Dragon Spine Awakening, his Marrow Transformation Technique was also completed naturally.

The three stages of foundation building are: tendon strengthening, bone strengthening, and marrow strengthening.

Yi Jin (易筋) cultivates whole-body strength, Yi Gu (易骨) strengthens the physique, and Yi Sui (易髓) is the most crucial step. Blood originates from the marrow, and Yi Sui is equivalent to changing the blood. Completing this step means that the foundation of the Lian Li realm has been solidified, and the body's potential has been greatly developed.

Lin Hai recalled the scene from a few days ago when he asked his master, Lu Zhengchuan, for advice.

At that moment, Lu Zhengchuan, holding that brass pipe, tapped the ashes off his pipe on the bluestone steps and looked at him as he spoke.

"Lin Hai, remember this: there are no shortcuts to breaking through to the Ming Jin level."

"True Ming Jin (manifest strength) comes naturally. You need to constantly practice standing meditation and boxing, using your strength to temper your entire body's muscles and bones. When your physique becomes strong enough to reach a critical point, and you can deliver a punch that resonates with your muscles and bones, that's when you officially enter the realm of Ming Jin."

At this moment, Lin Hai stood still, quietly sensing the subtle changes in his body.

After awakening his Dragon Spine and completing the Marrow Transformation, he vaguely sensed a strange resonance occurring between his bones and fascia. A tingling, itchy sensation emanated from deep within his bone marrow, as if countless tiny electric currents were coursing through him.

He has a strong intuition.

As long as he fully mobilizes his qi and blood now and unleashes the force of over two thousand jin along the dragon's spine, he will immediately be able to unleash the first burst of Ming Jin and step into that completely new realm.

However, Lin Hai stopped.

He slowly pressed the surging blood and qi in his body back to his dantian, and the tingling, itchy sensation subsided.

"No rush." ​​Lin Hai looked at his hands calmly. "It's all about accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing its full potential. Since the foundation of the Strength Refinement Realm can still be solidified, let's hold off for a bit longer."

Ordinary people are eager to break through to the Ming Jin realm because they have already reached the physical limits of the Lian Li realm.

But Lin Hai is different.

With the Earth-Splitting Crocodile Dragon clone present, the limits of his physical strength are unfathomable. The more solid his foundation is during the Strength Refining stage, the more terrifying his explosive power will be after entering the Manifest Strength stage.

His current strength is approaching 2,500 jin, which far exceeds ordinary people's understanding of the Strength Refinement Realm. But since this path has not yet reached its end, he will continue on it.

……

A few days later, at Fuhu Martial Arts School.

"Good punch."

Lin Hai was practicing his boxing in the courtyard when his senior brother, Chen Wu, wearing a gray coarse cloth jacket and carrying a tea mug, walked in.

Lin Hai stopped his boxing stance, exhaled a breath of stale air, turned around and called out, "Senior Brother."

Chen Wu walked down the steps, looked Lin Hai up and down a few times, and nodded repeatedly: "Junior Brother Lin, you have a really steady mind. If an ordinary person had your strength, they would have been unable to resist pursuing the explosive power of Ming Jin long ago. Master often said that practicing martial arts is like cooking porridge; it will naturally cook when the heat is right. Your heat is already very thick."

"My master taught me that the more solid your foundation, the wider your future path will be." Lin Hai took over the conversation, walked to the stone table, picked up a towel, and wiped his face.

Chen Wu took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Alright, stop practicing for now. Go change into some clean clothes. Sixth Brother is back. He's treating us fellow disciples in Yangcheng to lunch."

Lin Hai went through the information in his mind. His sixth senior brother was named Zhao Xing. He was a martial arts fanatic. He had studied martial arts at a martial arts school in his early years. Later, he felt that he would not make any progress by working in isolation in Yangcheng, so he resigned from his job and went to travel in the north by himself. He was gone for more than a year.

"Sixth Senior Brother has returned to Yangcheng?" Lin Hai draped the towel on the wooden frame.

"I just got off the train last night," Chen Wu said. "We've decided to have dinner at Hongbinlou Restaurant in the concession. The top floor of Hongbinlou has a great view, directly facing the International Square. Today happens to be the day of the second match between the Black Dragon Society and the Jingwu Society. We'll welcome Lao Liu back while also watching the excitement of the martial arts world in Yangcheng."