Chapter 69 – Strength Training ‘Flow like Silk’
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In a quiet, secluded clearing at the back mountains, Lin Ming sat in his yard on a stone table. He was meditating in tranquility, as spinning autumn leaves slowly fell around and on his shoulders. In the peacefully quiet autumn morning, Lin Ming had risen out of bed before sunrise to breathe in the fresh mountain air and get his mind into its optimum condition.
Lin Ming had placed the ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’ jade slip on the stone table. This was an incomplete Earth-step martial skill. Even if Lin Ming had the ‘Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians as reference to help guide him, he still needed an extremely high level of perception to be able to fuse the two.
Perception had nothing to do with one’s martial talent, but it did touch on one’s soul talent a bit. Lin Ming’s soul talent was primary fourth-grade. Martial artists’ soul talents were generally low; Lin Ming’s soul talent could be considered top-tier in the Sky Fortune Kingdom, and was equal to superior fourth-grade talent in cultivation.
Lin Ming was adjusting his mind and emptying his useless thoughts. He was ready to use the entire day to perceive and understand the ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’.
He sank his soul force into the jade slip, and in Lin Ming’s mind appeared the incomplete scripture of the ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’.
“This ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’, the very beginning is incomplete…”
The ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’ was missing 70% of its information. If this debilitating flaw was only in the second half of the manual, then an unrivalled talent might be able to practice a small part of it. But currently, the missing sections started at the beginning, moreover, the flaws also passed through the entire heart mantra, which made this simply impossible to practice.
“No wonder this ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’ was lying out on the corner and no one asked for it. Even though the concept of vibrating one’s own true essence was simple, there wasn’t even an explanation on how to begin practicing the hand movements. The passage from the introduction which describes this is missing!”
However, in Lin Ming’s memories from the elder’s soul fragment, there was a vaguely basic and fuzzy memory of what Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’ was like.
Lin Ming took these two sets of manuals as one and began to reflect upon them together. He began to have a faint feeling as if he was just tracing the beginning of Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’.
“Breathing…” Lin Ming mumbled as he pondered, “The true essence vibrations’ start is… breathing!”
In the soul fragment’s memories, he had learned that the human body was composed of millions upon millions of tiny units. Whether it was the skeleton, or muscles, or blood, or anything else, they were formed from these small units that were smaller than dust. However, they actually had a very complex structure, and played different roles in the human body. When cultivation had reached a high enough realm, true essence would condense in the eye, and their vision would be improved to the limit of limits, and they would be able to discover these tiny units.
Each of these tiny units was alive. Each could breathe!
The average person’s body’s tiny units would have a breath disorder from all these tiny units breathing at different times, but if they managed to reach the Large Success stage of Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’, they would be able to control the breathing rate of these tiny units so that they were consistently unified, and it would then resonate…
This was the beginning of Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’, and was also the beginning of true essence vibration!
According to that elder’s memories, when a human was first conceived, in their mother’s womb they would be just a tiny unit that would grow. At that time, because the tiny unit is just one, their breathing frequency was consistent, and thus an embryo’s breathe was purest at that moment.
Lin Ming was suddenly enlightened.
Was it possible that the senior who created the ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’ had also discovered the secret behind the tiny units of the human body? This ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’ was missing its beginning portion. The grade of low-grade Earth-step was assigned to it by an elder at the Seven Profound Valley who was responsible for examining the jade slips before deciding where they went. Now, it seemed that it hadn’t been wholly accurate.
It was very possible that this was an even higher order cultivation method.
But adjusting the whole body’s tiny units so that their breath was consistent was not a simple matter. The ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering First’ was completely missing this part in its instructions. Lin Ming could only diligently try to recall bits and pieces from the fuzzy memories he had.
“Adjust the body through true essence to control the breathing of the tiny units, and finally achieve the goal of changing the tiny units’ breathing rate until they are consistent.”
Lin Ming sat down cross-legged and began to revolve the true essence within his body. He unendingly tried to match his own breathing with that of the tiny units inside his body.
Once. Twice. Lin Ming felt his breath become longer and longer. Gradually, he felt his own breathing begin to enter a subtle boundary. He began to feel his consciousness fade away, and his body become empty nothingness. The uncountable tiny units within his body began to move along with Lin Ming’s breath as if they were vibrating. He felt a scalding, burning sensation as if he were being swept away by a tide.
Lin Ming was in constant meditation and reflection; like this, he sat in the courtyard for an entire day.
That day, Lin Ming was like a still pond. Leaves fell on his shoulders, his head, and his arms, but Lin Ming remained motionless throughout. It wasn’t until the sun set over the mountains that Lin Ming woke from his long period of contemplation and slowly opened his eyes.
“This true essence vibration and Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’ boundary are just too mysterious. I have used an entire day but only managed to finally touch upon a clue. This true essence vibration involves the hidden secrets of the human body; the average person would simply not think of this. It is too fantastic!”
Although he hadn’t progressed much, Lin Ming had clearly seen the approximate direction to go. If he slowly perceived this through mediation, he would sooner or later be able to find out the mystery!
Lin Ming put away the jade sleep. Strangely, though he hadn’t eaten the entire day, he didn’t feel any hunger in his belly at all.
Martial artists before the Pulse Condensation Period had to eat meals and drink water just like the average man. Even someone at the Pulse Condensation Period could only stand hunger a few more days that a normal man, if they didn’t eat for a long time, they could also starve to death.
“I’m also not hungry at all. It seems the tiny units in my body have already breathed in true essence and are full. Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’ is too wonderful! It’s only today that I realize that perhaps the so-called strength of Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’ is not physical strength at all, but true essence strength. If I practiced true essence strength until I could freely wield it at will, then this would be the Large Success of Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’.
Lin Ming was unable to restrain a sigh filled with emotion. The ‘Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians’ were broad and profound. Over the countless long years, the Realm of the Gods’ sect seniors had been unendingly revising and cultivating the ‘Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians’. Each method inside was the sum of endless experience and had been time-tested. He had practiced it until now and had reached this level of cultivation, but it was only the tip of the iceberg.
“This is as far as I go today. Tomorrow I’ll have a look at the Seven Profound Martial House’s seven large cultivating rooms. I wonder what sort of mysterious effects these places will have on cultivation.”
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In the time that Lin Ming had practiced Strength Training’s ‘Flow like Silk’, Zhang Cang and Zhu Yan had walked together into the Seven Profound Martial House depositories. “This Lin Ming just chose a cultivation method. But with only one month, his practice will be inadequate regardless.” Zhu Yan said as he held a purple jade slip in his hand. This color represented a middle-grade human-step cultivation method.
Zhang Cang said, “I wonder what kind of cultivation method that boy will choose.”
Zhu Yan sneered, “This Lin Ming is too confident in his own strength. When he was at the First Stage of Body Transformation, he had threatened to overtake me. He will certainly choose some popular cultivation method that is difficult to cultivate. If so, even if his perception is good, I will let him have no time to practice…”
The popular cultivation methods needed an appointment in order to see them. But a time reservation’s length was arranged according to one’s own ranking. Sometimes a cultivation method had 5 to 6, or even 6 or 7 disciples waiting in line to study it. At this time, the allocated time would depend on ranking to be given out. If your ranking was low, then you would be at the end of the line and see very little of it.
But usually, of these 6 to 7 people, there were always several that were senior disciples. They had already studied these cultivation methods for a long time, to the extent that improving their own cultivation method by seeing the jade slip was useless. What they needed was more and more practice and actual combat.
However there was also no stipulation that said that senior disciples could not continue taking advantage of the jade slip. As long as Zhu Yan abused his relationships with people, Lin Ming would have to frequently let other people borrow the jade slip, and Lin Ming would not have the jade slip to practice.
Obstruction was within the regulations of the Seven Profound Martial House. Zhu Yan could not flagrantly deal with him, but he could do something that would hinder and disgust him.
Zhang Cang and Zhu Yan went looking through the bookshelves for Lin Ming’s name. They examined the jade signs for names. Naturally, the first ones they looked up were ‘Shadowless art’, ‘Absolute Nine Yang’, and other such top heart mantras and cultivation methods. However they could not find Lin Ming’s name among any of these. They retreated and thought for a moment, then continued looking through the lower-level cultivation methods, but still hadn’t found Lin Ming’s shadow.
“Mm? What’s going on?” Zhu Yan frowned slightly.
Zhang Cang suddenly said, “Zhu Yan, here, I found it.”
Zhu Yan walked over and saw Lin Ming’s name on a very short note. Mmm? The note only had one name?
Zhu Yan was slightly stunned. That this note only had one named proved that this cultivation method was a skill that received very little attention.
“Foundation Spear Technique?”
This Lin Ming actually chose this cultivation method? What the hell was he thinking?
“I also found the second.”
Hearing Zhang Cang, Zhu Yan looked again. This time, he was shocked once more. “Foundation Movement Technique?!?!”
Lin Ming had chosen the ‘Foundation Spear Technique’ and the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’?
Zhu Yan was mind boggled. This was inconceivable.
Seeing Lin Ming had chosen these cultivation methods, Zhang Cang said, “Zhu Yan, you really overestimated this Lin Ming. After he attained the rank 126 on the Ranking Stone I thought that he was some sort of impressive character, but it seems like only his luck is good. He had some sort of fortuitous encounter, so his strength rapidly increased. But sooner or later that will be useless. Look at these two sets of manuals, relying on these, how could he possibly hope to face other experts?”