In a flash.
More than ten days passed.
On this day.
At the foot of the back mountain, a great river flowed.
Chen Jichuan was in the water.
At times, he would use his shoulder blades to brace against the waves, running forward against the current.
At other times, he would raise his Inner Qi in the water, treading and moving his limbs non-stop—his feet kicking the water, his hands parting it. In the water, he took on the shape of a golden toad, swimming swiftly like the wind.
Occasionally, he would dive to the bottom, propelling himself downward with force to reach the riverbed.
Other times, he would regulate his breath and sit buoyantly on the water as if burdened by a thousand pounds, yet never sinking.
One motion, one stillness.
One rise, one fall.
He was like a flood dragon, elusive and mysterious, leaving people utterly baffled.
"Exposed shoulders kick the waves, advancing with strength against the current.
Breath raised, limbs perpetual, a golden toad agile as the wind.
Diving below, pressing through as feet brace, hands push upward.
Sit buoyant upon the water, heavy with Qi, rise like a flood dragon to confront the foe."
This was the "Wave Wrapping Skill."
Unlike other martial arts Chen Jichuan had studied, this particular skill was specialized for practicing technique on the water.
Years ago.
Deep within the Taiqing Eighteen Ridges, the second leader of the Taiqing Gang, Ruan Mu—nicknamed "Wave Chasing Silk"—had mastered this very martial art.
By a stroke of fortune, Chen Jichuan obtained it. For years, he practiced assiduously and found this skill to hold profound secrets beyond verbal description. Compared to "Iron Bull Skill," "Jade Belt Skill," and "Golden Shovel Finger," this was even more exquisite.
Among all his martial arts, only the "Lying Tiger Skill" and "Eagle Claw Skill" could compare to this one.
When Chen Jichuan first began cultivating this skill, he started in shallow waters, practicing slowly. Once he had become proficient in the basic movements, he gradually moved to deeper waters and finally to rivers, advancing step by step.
He did not dare to make precipitous progress for fear of injuring his body.
In reality.
Because he was in the Black Prison, confined to a cavern without time, opportunity, or suitable conditions, he had not practiced it in the real world. But within the Great Yann, he had already reached considerable mastery.
Not only could he dart freely up and down in the water, moving with complete ease,
he had also advanced to a deeper stage.
Standing motionless at the riverbed,
he let the rushing currents strike him while constantly resisting water's buoyancy and practicing holding his breath.
At the beginning of this exercise, Chen Jichuan had to wear iron garments just to steady himself and counteract the effects of buoyancy.
As the years went by,
he no longer needed the iron garments. Gaining an intimate understanding of water's properties, his internal organs were strengthened, allowing him to hold his breath for longer periods. In the water, with a calm mind, he could sense the subtle changes in the currents, which permeated every pore of his body.
This allowed Chen Jichuan to gain ever-greater mastery over his internal energy.
His energy had grown increasingly refined and concentrated.
By now, his internal energy felt fused into a single entity, ready to be summoned at will. A single punch from him could explode with a shocking crack, so loud it seemed impossible to purchase that kind of sound, no matter the cost—a level revered across the Jianghu as one of awe-inspiring mastery.
This was the level Chen Jichuan now stood at.
At this stage, skills like "Iron Bull Skill," "Jade Belt Skill," and "Land Flying Skill" had already plateaued.
These disciplines, honed through grueling cold winters and searing summers at the cost of bodily endurance, had reached their utmost limits.
The fundamental issue lay in insufficient medicine.
Practicing these skills in earlier days had been supplemented by medicinal pastes, wines, soups, and the like. But as his skills grew more advanced and his body became sturdier, injuries became harder to heal quickly with ordinary medicines. Weak medicinal potency could no longer bring about significant gains in strength or constitution.
Chen Jichuan had Source Power.
It allowed him to continue improving, but each small gain came at an exponentially higher consumption of Source Power.
Yet reliance solely on raw physical strength, without exploring the transformations of internal energy, would ultimately lead to mere brute force—a crude strength with no depth.
"One force subdues ten techniques—"
The saying was simple.
But the reality was clumsy.
The effort-to-reward ratio was unfavorable, and Chen Jichuan had to ponder carefully. Given the four-hundred-to-one time difference in the Great Yann World, he had time to explore and study the subtleties of internal energy transformations without rush.
For the sake of his future.
Solely relying on Source Power to enhance strength without advancing his mastery was not a sustainable path.
Thus.
To reach new heights.
It was this "Wave Wrapping Skill" that became the key focal point of Chen Jichuan's research.
"Training the entire body's strength, then channeling it into focus—whether thrown into a punch or a kick, the concentrated energy produces a crisp sound. This is 'Ming Strength.'
'Iron Bull Skill,' 'Jade Belt Skill,' and similar external arts hone strength to the extent of Ming Strength."
"If I want to improve further."
"I must carefully study internal energy so that the muscles, bones, and outer membranes of my body seamlessly connect. Movements will flow effortlessly, surging naturally with power, mastering both Gang Strength and Soft Force. This is the realm of 'dark strength.'"
Of course, some people continue to rely exclusively on brute Gang Strength. They may gain short-term power, but over time they will exhaust their Qi-Blood. By their forties or fifties, they will inevitably decline.
After decades of martial practice,
Chen Jichuan had accumulated rich insights, and his understanding of martial arts was far beyond ordinary practitioners.
In the Great Yann World,
martial arts had not yet formed a complete system several decades ago. Hard work and perseverance were often enough to achieve results.
Take Lul Peng, Yangg Xu, and Yangg Qing,
the foremost masters of Langning Mansion, for example. Through decades of unremitting effort, they had achieved significant accomplishments.
But at Chen Jichuan's current level,
sheer persistence in training was no longer sufficient.
"Ahead, there is no path."
"After Ming Strength, the journey to Dark Strength is one I must carve out on my own."
Perhaps.
He could wait ten or even a hundred years. Martial artists of the Great Yann might eventually uncover the path from Ming to Dark Strength. With four hundred years in the Great Yann equating to just one year in reality, Chen Jichuan had the patience to wait.
But for now.
He still wanted to try forging his own path, discovering the way forward through his own comprehension.
Diving beneath the water's surface.
Carefully perceiving.
Carefully understanding.
Carefully contemplating.
Time flowed by gradually as Chen Jichuan surfaced and submerged intermittently.
During the winter months, due to different specific heat capacities, the temperature of the water during the day was colder than the surrounding air.