Chapter 42: Cried

A moment earlier on the training ground, Zheng Fa stood with his eyes closed, unaware of how long he had been standing.

While standing the Pine-Crane Post, a faint, elusive current of Qi within him would flow intermittently through his body; the most noticeable sensation was from the roots of his thighs to his toes and the inner sides of his shoulder blades, and each time the current passed, these areas felt as though an itch had traveled from the bones to the skin.

Zheng Fa seemed entirely unaware of this, motionless, constantly recalling the postures of birds from documentaries in his mind, especially those resembling the movements in the "Spirit Crane Heart Sutra."

Miraculously, whenever a similar movement arose in his mind, the current within him would tremble, giving him a strange, cool sensation.

"Visualization method?" a hypothesis surfaced, and the current within him stopped trembling.

He settled his mind once more, ceasing to overthink.

The itch in his shoulder blades and pelvis grew stronger and stronger, maddening, nearly causing Zheng Fa to lose the stance of the Pine-Crane Post.

This itching reached its peak, then suddenly vanished; the spot on his shoulder blades that had been the itchiest seemed to have gained a new, never-before-existed organ.

Zheng Fa suddenly realized he had grown wings, grown crane legs, and his entire body was covered in feathers!

Or rather, the images of flying birds he had previously visualized in his mind gradually merged with himself, and he had become that strange bird-man from the "Spirit Crane Heart Sutra"!

And his consciousness seemed to have entered this bird-man's body.

Although his eyes were tightly shut, the darkness before him was broken by a bizarre scene:

He was flying! He was flapping his wings, slicing through the vast sky, rushing straight toward the clouds, as if aiming to reach the highest heavens.

An endless white sea of clouds swirled and rolled beneath him; his feathers reflected the red sun on the horizon, their edges dyed with golden light.

The currents within him, constantly trembling and growing stronger, became increasingly restless, surging left and right until they burst through his throat, transforming into a loud, clear cry.

The sea of clouds broke, the great sun sank; Zheng Fa slowly opened his eyes. Before him lay the familiar training ground, and everything that had just happened seemed like a dream.

The sky had already darkened. Xu Sect Instructor leaned against a stone bench nearby, eyes closed and asleep. He seemed to have been woken by the crane cry Zheng Fa had made; rubbing his eyes, he looked toward Zheng Fa, his gaze somewhat bewildered.

"What sound was that? Eh, you've finished practicing?" His gaze slowly fell to Zheng Fa's feet, and he looked slightly surprised: "Have you achieved mastery of the Pine-Crane Post?"

Zheng Fa glanced down at his feet and discovered that the green bricks beneath them had cracked inch by inch, forming a series of fissures—this was precisely the manifestation of mastering the Pine-Crane Post.

The secret manual of the Pine-Crane Post states: "The body is like clouds in the nine heavens; the feet root into the nine layers below."

When this stance technique is practiced to its utmost, a mere light press of the thumb can shatter the green stone blocks beneath Zheng Fa's feet.

In the process of comprehending the "Spirit Crane Heart Sutra," he had unknowingly achieved mastery of the "Pine-Crane Post," proving that the "Spirit Crane Heart Sutra" is indeed the core of the martial art "Spirit Crane Body."

"How long have I slept?" Xu Sect Instructor glanced at the surrounding sky, as if to confirm whether he had slept for a thousand years like in a storybook. Upon seeing the familiar scenery, he turned his head and stared intently at Zheng Fa, frowning deeply, muttering: "Something's wrong. No matter how talented you are, you couldn't achieve mastery this quickly!"

Recalling the crane cry he had just heard, his gaze trembled slightly. Looking at Zheng Fa, he opened his mouth as if to ask, yet dared not.

A thought seemed to have formed in his mind, but his expression told Zheng Fa that he himself did not dare to believe this hypothesis.

Just as Zheng Fa was about to explain, the Xu Sect Instructor before him leaped up; his body moved like a galloping horse, his fist like a shooting star, striking toward Zheng Fa's face.

Zheng Fa had no time to speak and instinctively raised his hand to block.

Though they were master and disciple in reality, they had already sparred many times. Although Zheng Fa's talent had shown itself to be very high, he still could not match the lifetime of Wu Gong possessed by the Xu Sect Instructor. Thus, although it was called sparring, it was mostly done with restraint; the strength displayed by the Xu Sect Instructor might not even have reached one-tenth, merely feeding techniques to Zheng Fa.

But today, the Xu Sect Instructor was different from the past; his fist momentum was like moving mountains and pushing seas, appearing as if he was unleashing his full strength.

As Zheng Fa moved his body, he discovered he too was no longer the same as before. The current within him, though still so thin and so faint, had become continuous and full of vitality, flowing everywhere along his body's movements, granting him a superlative reaction ability he had never possessed before.

He felt as though he had just stepped out of the sea onto the shore, experiencing a refreshing sense of freedom, as if escaping a cage.

Most importantly, he felt that a strange power had appeared in the surrounding space, flowing with his movements, causing the techniques in his gestures and steps to increase greatly in power.

This had never happened before.

In this state, Zheng Fa not only did not fall into a disadvantage but, exchanging fast strikes with the Xu Sect Instructor, appeared evenly matched.

The Xu Sect Instructor's tiger eyes gleamed; his movements suddenly changed, and Zheng Fa could only respond accordingly.

After two or three exchanges, Zheng Fa suddenly realized that the techniques he was using at this moment were precisely the "Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Hand" from the fourth volume of the "Spirit Crane Body"!

Of course! The Xu Sect Instructor was still feeding techniques, only deliberately guiding Zheng Fa to use the "Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Hand." Although he had not mastered the "Spirit Crane Body," having immersed himself in this martial art for twenty years, he was intimately familiar with every single movement.

"You have mastered it!" The Xu Sect Instructor watched as Zheng Fa's "Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Hand" techniques, though unrefined, carried immense power in every move, making him somewhat flustered and unwilling to resist directly; without the support of the "Spirit Crane Heart Sutra," this would be impossible.

Far from being discouraged, he laughed heartily, repeating: "You have mastered it! Mastered it!"

The laughter resonated through the night sky, then gradually grew lower, faintly carrying a hint of sobbing.

The corners of his mouth turned upward; he grinned, revealing two rows of large teeth, laughing as if he had lost all self-control.

Yet at the same time, two streams of hot tears rolled down his eyes.

Outside the training ground, Gao Yuan and the Xu Sect Instructor's nephew were walking toward the training ground, arms slung over each other's shoulders, carrying lunch boxes.

The Xu Sect Instructor's nephew was still apologizing to Gao Yuan: "I didn't expect you to find it so difficult, Senior Brother. I misunderstood you."

"Senior Brother, you don't know how it feels to be beside a genius; I have deeply experienced it. Sigh, I thought I had long grown accustomed to it." Gao Yuan spoke with depression: "But meeting someone as reasonable and understanding as you, Senior Brother, these grievances still need to be vented."

"It's nothing!" The Xu Sect Instructor's nephew patted Gao Yuan's shoulder: "Although Zheng Fa has talent, I have a method to resolve your inner conflict."

"Teach me, Senior Brother!"

"Who am I?" The Xu Sect Instructor's nephew patted his chest: "I am the beloved disciple of your Instructor, his direct disciple! Furthermore, I am his nephew, the only male heir of the next generation of the Xu family!"

"What do you mean?"

"I plan to speak with my uncle. Since Zheng Fa is so talented, the standards should be higher and the requirements stricter. In the future, let Zheng Fa practice more, while for us, offer more encouragement. Most importantly, stop comparing us to him!"

"This... isn't that too lacking in ambition?" Gao Yuan's expression was somewhat conflicted: "Shouldn't we look to the virtuous and emulate them?"

"No, this is called being down-to-earth!" Seeing his expression, the Xu Sect Instructor's nephew smiled and said: "What benefit does comparing us bring to Zheng Fa? Isn't that insulting his talent? Are we even worthy?"

"..." Gao Yuan opened his mouth but could not speak.

"Comparing with him, comparing again and again, what can the two of us gain besides being unable to sleep every day?"

Hearing this, Gao Yuan could not help but nod, clearly feeling a resonance, seeming to think there was some truth to it.

"So, the problem is not with the two of us, but with your young master, my uncle! It is them who use Zheng Fa's standards to demand things from us!" Seeing his agreement, the Xu Sect Instructor's nephew patted his shoulder and said: "In the future, we must persuade them not to compare the three of us!"

"It seems there is no need to persuade them." Gao Yuan suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"As long as the Xu Sect Instructor is not mad, he will not compare us to Zheng Fa."

Xu Jiaotou's nephew looked at Gao Yuan in slight bewilderment, clearly not understanding why this person would say such a thing.

"He... was beaten to tears by Zheng Fa." Gao Yuan pointed at the two sparring in the training grounds, then paused before adding, "Mm, he cried terribly."