After releasing all the dogs from the truck, the monk didn't linger and soon left due to matters at the temple.
Although the abandoned mountain top gave Wang Longhu a sense of unease, the dogs didn't mind at all. Without human presence, the deserted wilderness was their playground.
They didn't need to fear being driven away or worry about passing vehicles; they could play freely across the hills and fields.
Ignoring the pack of stray dogs in their new environment, Wang Longhu stepped onto the stairs and headed towards his grandmother's house.
Originally, there were sixteen households here at the mountain top, which gradually moved away. In Wang Longhu's last memory, after his grandmother left, only three elders remained.
To his surprise, during the two years he was away, even the last holdouts had vanished, leaving only abandoned and uninhabited houses behind.
Wang Longhu's grandmother's house was built at the highest point on the slope. The concrete construction meant that despite being uninhabited, the roof wouldn't blow off and be left open.
The windows and front door were in good condition, undamaged and unbroken, allowing him to move in without any repairs.
Looking at the wide-open yard outside and the overgrown woods behind the house, Wang Longhu nodded in satisfaction. Compared to his own home, this place offered more space for activities.
Wang Longhu retrieved the secret family stash of keys hidden above the doorframe and opened the wooden door, immediately faced with a pungent smell of mold and dust.
This place hadn't seen visitors for too long. Every piece of furniture and the concrete floors in the living room were covered with thick dust, and cobwebs filled every corner, housing insect carcasses.
Wang Longhu took a mask out of his pocket and put it on, then grabbed a broom without a word to begin the monotonous task of cleaning.
The house was simple in design; the front door led directly into the living room, beyond which a door led to the kitchen. The kitchen had a back door connecting to the backyard and stairs leading to the second floor, which had its own balcony.
In less than an hour, Wang Longhu finished cleaning the entire house and neatly arranged the bedding and daily necessities he brought along.
Unexpectedly, in his grandmother's room cabinet, he found a book wrapped in red cloth, "Selected Works of Mao," which immediately gave him a sense of reassurance.
Up next, he just needed to wait for the weighted gear, sandbags, and dumbbells ordered online to be delivered, and then he could fully dedicate himself to martial arts training.
Standing outdoors and observing the silent cluster of abandoned houses below, Wang Longhu sighed lightly and started doing one-arm push-ups on the spot.
Now, no one would come to disturb him anymore.
...
Evening.
Wang Longhu placed both feet on two upright 30cm-high bricks, maintaining the three-body stance without moving at all.
After days of rigorous training, his body's capacity to endure the energy blockade was increasing, allowing him to maintain the state of "energy not leaking" for up to ten minutes, marking great progress.
Clenching his teeth, Wang Longhu's eyes were red as he stared at the descending red sun, focusing his whole strength to rein the hot energy from bursting out through his pores.
Under the torment of internal and external pressure, Wang Longhu felt as if his body was like an air-filled balloon, ready to explode at any moment.
Beep beep beep!
At this moment, his phone in his pocket suddenly went off with the alarm.
Wang Longhu immediately stood upright, collected his energy, and pushed the energy straight into the Guanyuan Acupoint.
Yet, with so much heat, Wang Longhu couldn't absorb it all; some of the energy automatically rushed up into his head, stopping at his temples, gathering entirely there.
He felt both sides of his temples starting to swell slightly as if about to bulge out.
"Ah!"
Exhaling heavily to expel all the remaining unabsorbed energy, Wang Longhu looked at his phone and nodded in satisfaction, "Held for 11 minutes, progressing again."
[Name: Wang Longhu]
[Strength: 1.15]
[Physique: 1.49]
[Spirit: 0.91]
[Skills: Basic Fitness Lv2 (105/200), Three-Body Stance Lv2 (150/200), Xingyi Boxing (Beng Fist) Lv2 (2/200)]
[Potential Points: 0]
Ever since mastering the feeling of actively pushing his spine, Spirit's practice of the Three-Body Posture has improved rapidly, almost by leaps and bounds. At this rate of progress, he should be able to upgrade the Three-Body Posture to Lv3 by tomorrow.
He wonders what effect the Lv3 Three-Body Posture will bring.
"Grumble grumble!"
As soon as he got off the blue brick, Spirit's stomach rumbled loudly.
He had left in a hurry at noon, and there was no food in his grandma's fridge, so Spirit hadn't eaten since noon. If it weren't for the fact that the big monk said on V that he would drive over with food, Spirit would have gone down the mountain to a restaurant by now.
Beep beep!
A few horn sounds came from the mountain road. It was already sunset, and the road had become dark. A van with its headlights on stopped by the roadside, and the big monk got out.
"Master, you're finally here. If I had known you would flake, I wouldn't have believed you. You promised lunch, and now it's evening. Didn't they say monks don't lie?" Spirit ran to the roadside, both in big and small steps, with a quite resentful tone.
"The temple sent me to rent a bus from the passenger station, which delayed me. Sorry about that."
The big monk handed over a plastic bag, which Spirit quickly grabbed. Opening it, he saw four foam lunch boxes stacked inside.
"Mapo tofu? Spicy stir-fried green beans? Braised eggplant? One box of rice?" Spirit asked with wide eyes, "Why is it all vegetarian, why no fish or meat?"
"Why do you think? I packed it from the temple," the big monk said as he opened the car door and took out two large wooden buckets full of vegetables to feed the dogs.
He let out two long howls towards the forest, and soon, agile figures came running from all directions, surrounding the big monk, shaking their tails vigorously. They were the stray dogs that had been off playing somewhere.
Spirit ate the rice to fill his stomach, feeling both amused and helpless. It's not that he's picky and doesn't eat vegetables.
It's simply because Spirit had tested it before, and he only gains potential points when he eats a lot of fish and meat. The higher the nutritional value of the food, the more potential points he gains.
This dinner tonight is probably just enough to fill his stomach.
"I already paid the water and electricity bills for your grandma's place as you asked when I went to the village committee. Here's the receipt.
Also, I noticed this place is remote. Forget about going to the city, even going down the mountain is inconvenient. You might as well buy a bicycle or a motorcycle for commuting. Otherwise, if I go to Mount Putuo, getting things back here will be a hassle," the big monk said as he idled while the dogs were eating.
Spirit asked while eating, "I'll think about it. But Master, honestly, can you do lightweight skills, like Cloud Ladder Ascension, Divine Transformation, or Iron Palm Water Floating? If I could learn those, who needs a bicycle? I could just fly down the mountain."
"There are lightweight skills, but they're not as mystical as you say. Humans can't escape gravity on their own, you should trust physics on this,
but with training, reaching the level of leaping on rooftops and vaulting over walls is possible. But starting at your age is too late, it doesn't serve much purpose and is just wasting time. I don't recommend you learn," the big monk said offhandedly.
"There really are?" Spirit paused mid-bite in disbelief, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes, indeed. Actually, lightweight skills are just training jumping power and aerial holding power. In 'Shaolin Seventy-two Arts', there are methods like jump techniques, flying techniques, vertical leap techniques, rooftop walking, and wall-crawling exercises.
They essentially have you practice mountain running, stake running, bow running, and brick running first, then top exercises, pit jumping, platform jumping, and groove jumping, followed by Iron and Tin Stele, top exercises, carrying weights, using lead, using iron, shoe techniques, finger techniques, wall jumping, wall crawling.
If you practice this set hard for ten or so years, you'll be able to vault up and down, walk on flat ground without raising dust, and as long as there's a sturdy footing, you can achieve things like flying over grass, gliding on water, and walking on snow without leaving traces."
Seeing Spirit's eyes grow brighter and more eager, the big monk quickly poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "Age is very important for learning lightweight skills. There's a saying, 'Train lightweight skills as a child, soar upwards; train as an adult, always fail,'"
It's best to start learning lightweight skills around ten years old. Too early, and the muscles and bones aren't solidified and can easily get hurt, affecting normal development. Too late, and the muscles and bones become stiff, making every step difficult, and you risk injury. At your age, I advise against it."
The big monk didn't know Spirit's situation and wasn't optimistic about his understanding, but Spirit knew how big his golden finger was. With the help of the panel, learning lightweight skills wouldn't be a problem.
If someday he could walk on trees in the forest and fly low over grass, wouldn't that be carefree and endlessly fun?
"Master, I still want to give it a try. What if it works?" Spirit said sincerely.
The big monk, seeing his advice was ineffective, had no choice but to nod: "Alright, I'll go back and look for it, then send you the practice methods on V."
The young are stubborn. They won't turn back until they hit the wall, only after tasting hardship will they understand it's futile.
After seeing the dogs had almost finished eating, he tossed the wooden buckets back into the car, bade a farewell, and drove away.
Without the van's headlights, the mountain road became pitch black in an instant. Spirit felt uneasy as he looked around, and quickly ran back to his grandma's house holding his lunch box.