Nine o'clock.
The classroom for the lesson had changed from Martial Arts Room 2 to Room 1. Zhou Quan explained that Martial Arts Room 2 is specifically for [Contemplation], while Room 1 is for cultivating Breathing Technique and Pile Skill.
As for the other two rooms on the third floor, they are both Martial Arts Halls,
According to Zhou Quan, one is for Combat Technique classes, and the other is used for practical confrontations among the trainees.
"That's the entire layout of the third floor. The second floor is the living area with dormitories and a cafeteria. As for the fourth floor, it's not a place trainees can enter; those who can access the fourth floor are 'disciples'."
"By the way, after class, how about joining me at the cafeteria? I still have a few portions of top-quality nutritional supplements there. Perfect, the three of us can finish them today."
Zhang Fusheng thanked him with a smile, feeling increasingly on guard.
What exactly is this guy planning?
The feeling of being watched was very uncomfortable.
Dad often said that when facing sudden changes, always strike first and don't give the opponent a chance to make a move... Or, should I find a way to kill him?
Zhang Fusheng quickly dismissed the thought.
He had seen his dad handle corpses and even helped him, but when it came to killing, he had never done it in either of his two lifetimes.
Why did I suddenly have this thought?
Zhang Fusheng's mind was racing. Was it because of the Grim White Bone Observation?
He shuddered. Fifty-one years of cultivation in the White Bone Observation had made him habitually view all beings as white bones.
Had he become somewhat... cold-blooded?
Lost in these chaotic thoughts, he noticed that most of the students were present in the martial arts room. With a brief glance, it seemed there were one or two new faces in addition to the thirty-or-so people from yesterday.
"The master has divided the course into four main categories: Contemplation, Breathing, Pile Skill, and Combat Technique."
A woman stood at the front, clearly the 'instructor' for this class.
The woman had a delicate oval face, but the almond eyes beneath her long lashes conveyed a sharpness.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her red hair, which swayed in the occasional breeze like a flickering flame.
She appeared like a sheathed sword ready to strike, elegant, solemn, and dangerous.
"The second disciple of the master, Chen Yuque, Senior Sister Chen," Zhou Quan whispered, "Yesterday's Senior Brother Niu is the master's eldest disciple."
Zhang Fusheng blinked, slightly taken aback. That seemingly simple-looking young man was actually the senior brother?
"But in my view,"
Chen Yuque began to speak leisurely:
"Cultivation actually has three directions: nurturing techniques, practicing techniques, and combat techniques."
"The Contemplation Technique is purely a nurturing technique, the Breathing Technique practiced alone is a nurturing technique, but combined with Pile Skill, it becomes a practicing technique."
"New trainees who haven't learned the Breathing Technique and Pile Skill yet, step forward."
Zhang Fusheng and two other new trainees stepped out.
"Hmm." Chen Yuque nodded briskly, "Sit over there, and then follow me to practice the Compassion Stance... The rest of you, start practicing your stances and breathing on your own!"
She then took on a highly challenging and unusual posture: her right foot half-squatting on one leg, left leg resting on her right knee, as if sitting on a non-existent chair, legs crossed in an excessively proper manner,
while her left hand floated under her abdomen in a flower-picking gesture, and her right hand lightly tapped her brow with clenched fingers.
Zhang Fusheng and the other two trainees followed suit. He managed to hold the stance for a few seconds, while the other two almost immediately fell over.
"This is called the Flower Picking Stance."
Chen Yuque's voice came calmly:
"If you can hold it steady within a month, it's not bad. Pile Skill is important, but not that crucial; it's more used in conjunction with Breathing Technique to accelerate the flow rate of the Mysterious Factor in the body."
As she spoke, she pulled out a short stick from somewhere.
"Now, get back in the Flower Picking Stance, and I'll guide you through the feeling of standing successfully... You first."
She pointed the short stick at Zhang Fusheng.
"Yes, Senior Sister Chen."
Zhang Fusheng stepped forward, bent one leg, and took a half-squat, half-seated stance, one hand in the flower-picking gesture and the other tapping his brow.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Chen Yuque slightly nodded:
"Not bad."
On the fourth second, as Zhang Fusheng struggled to maintain his balance and was about to fall, the red-haired woman's short stick lightly brushed against the top of his head.
Yet, just this one light touch of the short stick.
Zhang Fusheng could feel the overwhelming and irresistibly subtle force from the stick, forcibly adjusting his posture, the bend of his knee, and his center of gravity...
The Flower Picking Stance seemed not so difficult to hold anymore.
The short stick was pulled back, and Senior Sister Chen looked at the other two trainees, applying the same method.
"This is the standard Flower Picking Stance; even without the Breathing Technique, Contemplation Technique, or Mysterious Factor, standing for an hour daily can improve physical fitness to some extent."
Combining it with the Contemplation Technique?
A spark of inspiration flashed in Zhang Fusheng's mind as he struggled to maintain the posture, envisioning himself as a rigid and grim white bone.
The sensation of instability abruptly vanished.
He truly felt like an ageless skeleton, with fatigue and soreness gone, even experiencing a 'refreshing' feeling as he stood there.
At this moment, the other two new trainees persisted for about ten seconds before they collapsed to the ground, while Zhang Fusheng stood steady, unmoving.
Twenty seconds, thirty seconds, one minute.
Not far away, Zhou Quan and the other senior trainees looked at Zhang Fusheng with a hint of bewilderment in their eyes.
Chen Yuque was somewhat surprised, observing Zhang Fusheng closely.
Five minutes later, he was still maintaining an almost perfect Flower Picking Stance.
"Not bad," she nodded. "Have you practiced Pile Skill before?"
"No," Zhang Fusheng responded.
"No?" Chen Yuque raised an eyebrow, walked up, and without hesitation, squatted down, reaching out to pinch Zhang Fusheng's calf.
"Really haven't practiced, that's interesting... but talent in Pile Skill isn't much."
Chen Yuque said calmly,
"If you have this kind of talent in Breathing Technique and Contemplation Technique, then you would truly be a genius."
She stood up:
"Now, I will teach you three the Breathing Technique, our style at Hongji, called 'Spring Thunder.'
'Spring Thunder,' its imagery is the end of winter, a clap of thunder awakening all hibernating things, breaking the silence, shattering shackles, everything reviving, complementing the Grim White Bone Observation.
Zhang Fusheng listened intently, and Senior Sister Chen was very responsible, explaining the Spring Thunder Technique while tapping a short wooden stick on the three of them,
each tap landing on a key point of the Spring Thunder Technique.
"By cultivating Contemplation, you may observe the Mysterious Factor; by cultivating Breathing Technique, you can push the Mysterious Factor into your blood and energy, circulating it throughout your body."
"Regulate your breath, synchronizing with the rhythm of the first thunder of early spring... what is the first thunder of early spring?"
Chen Yuque put down the short stick, took a slight breath, and exhaled through her nose.
'Boom, crash!'
The airflow collided, and cooperated with the sound of tendons and bones, actually produced a real thunder sound!
"After entry into the Breathing Technique, the blood and energy move the tendons and bones, sometimes creating small thunder sounds."
"If a Minor Achievement is attained, the energy reaches all meridians, and the small thunder sounds can continue endlessly."
"When achieving Great Success, with each breath, every part of the body is reached, and just by exhaling, you can, like me, create a deafening thunder sound."
Chen Yuque spoke eloquently:
"Of course, the Breathing Technique is just supplemental, not as important as the Contemplation Technique. The Spring Thunder Breathing Technique can only be cultivated to Great Success... alright, practice according to my instructions."
"Breathing Technique depends on root bone, if you can achieve entry level within a month, your root bone is adequate."
Zhang Fusheng then stood silently in the Flower Picking Stance, performed the Grim White Bone Observation, adjusted his breathing, attempting to subtly match the rhythm of the thunder sound.
"Just get slightly familiar with it, with my root bone, it's impossible to master it quickly; I'll have to rely on the Contract." This was his thought, but suddenly he sensed something was off.
Wait a moment.
Meanwhile, Chen Yuque had already turned to the side, guiding the senior trainees one by one on the Flower Picking Stance and Spring Thunder Technique.
"Not being able to master the Breathing Technique is understandable; if the root bone is inadequate, with blocked energy and blood, and poor meridian flow, it's all understandable. But can't even maintain the Flower Picking Stance?"
"And you, how long have you been training, and still can't stand for ten minutes?"
"Lower your center of gravity, lower your center of gravity!"
She moved among the trainees, and if anyone's movement was slightly off, she'd immediately correct it with a stick.
"Your name is Wang Xiangnan, right? You are standing well, but still missing something, the Flower Picking Stance is about..."
During the instruction.
'Buzzing roll.'
There was a faint thunder sound from tendons and bones, echoing in the Martial Arts Hall.
"Yes, that's the correct thunder sound."
Chen Yuque commented casually:
"A standard spontaneous thunder sound, if you can make it continuous, that's a Minor Achievement... Hm??"
She suddenly realized something was wrong.
This thunder sound was not emanating from among the senior trainees.
'Buzzing roll.'
Another faint thunder sound, and everyone in the Martial Arts Hall simultaneously looked towards the corner where the three new trainees stood separately.
Looking at the delicate young man standing in a perfect Flower Picking Stance.
'Buzzing roll.'
From his body, a third faint thunder sound emerged.
"Another monster?" Chen Yuque rubbed her forehead.