Chapter 7: Chapter Seven

Once he starts practicing, he must devote himself wholly—this is Bai Lang's habit; after his transmigration life offers little pleasure, and both his physical condition and inner interests have no love for the so‑called sensual entertainments of that world, so the only remaining joy is practicing martial arts.

Bai Lang concentrates fully on rehearsing his own fist style while coordinating the flow of Internal Force with his breathing—this introductory internal‑energy cultivation method is meant to balance movement and stillness, and pure seated breathing cannot work. The fist style Bai Lang now practices already has his own routine and ideas—San Shi Er Lu Chang Quan is the foundation, and the fist manual is a basic exposition of fist theory compiled by the Chang Le Sect and many medium‑sized sects, a study of introductory punches and footwork; anyone with a bit of talent in martial arts can, through this research, develop a style that suits them better.

The martial path is flourishing—that is the reality of the world Bai Lang was sent to. Bai Lang's intelligence is already sharp, and his modern memories make him "well‑versed and broad‑sighted," yet the martial arts he has seen in wuxia and web novels are too lofty to be of any use for the fist style he now cultivates… so he can only explore on his own according to what the manual describes.

When internal energy circulates, the fist and foot techniques follow; each person's qi flow differs, naturally allowing them to discover different skills—this is perhaps the most basic level of personal "creation" of martial art. Generally the styles uncovered are those that suit the individual; Bai Lang spent three years and finally reached this stage.

His fist style is now fairly integrated; as for when he can be said to have entered the hall or reached the pinnacle—that may be a lifetime's matter, for the foundational fist and foot work is a study that may never be exhausted. "A perfect, flawless fist style does not exist; one can only work hard and strive to approach it." That is the conclusion Bai Lang reaches using a "modern" mindset.

The sky gradually brightens, and Bai Lang remains absorbed in his fist style, ignoring the Ri Ben corporate drones that have already appeared on the road as if they do not exist. Each of his punches and kicks carries its own spirit, and when Internal Force infuses them, the power of the techniques is far from trivial—many special striking effects are regarded as mere legends in this world.

There are also onlookers who watch his training, constantly exclaiming in admiration—though they are merely looking for spectacle and actually understand nothing. Perhaps they only think this Chinese kung fu looks impressive. The form Bai Lang now practices resembles Bajiquan: a strike, a tear, then a progressive crushing punch, looking exactly like the Eight-Level Ultimate Tiger Climbing Mountain.

This move is fairly famous in Ri Ben as well; not only in anime, even the short clips in mobile games are overused. Because of the Tiger Climbing Mountain, the surrounding men and women quickly recognized it, and Bai Lang even mixed in some Ultimate Secret of Tiger Form fist, giving the onlookers the impression that a real fierce tiger was attacking.

Those people all stepped back in unison, some even falling flat on their backs. Though Bai Lang made no sound, the viewers seemed to hear the tiger's roar and to see a tiger leaping in the park. In fact they were not mistaken; if he continues cultivating, Bai Lang could truly condense the essence of his fist style and manifest the form of a tiger. But this is only an illusion created by momentum; not even an Innate Expert, let alone a warrior who has opened the Eight Extraordinary Vessels or the Twelve Primary Channels, could shatter such a phantom with a single shout.

It is merely a small scene on the martial path; being able to forge such an illusion shows his aptitude is decent enough to continue advancing in the martial way. Bai Lang, at his age, is about to reach this level, so his future is still promising—quite good, considering those who reach this level at ten or even younger are usually elite sect disciples, and among them some have skipped this stage entirely, starting directly from opening the Ren Du Channels.

The onlookers grew increasingly excited; some even made phone calls—presumably to a TV station or newspaper, just to get a news tip. Bai Lang's practice was nearly over; he settled his stance, exhaled a long breath, and let out a prolonged "Ha." Ignoring the spectators, he prepared to return to the hotel for a shower and breakfast, thinking, "Next we have to go to Oniya Hakkai, the tourist spot…"

Before the bored TV crews arrived, Bai Lang had already finished breakfast—his appetite was sizable, far better than the cat‑food level of Ri Ben people, and he boarded the tour bus with his luggage. Basically, Bai Lang now roughly understands what these ten years will bring—"Basically they're giving me ten years of cultivation for free? Can I stay in this world? It looks difficult… I just don't know if time passes the same in these two places."

In Bai Lang's view, these ten years will at most forge his momentum, and cultivating inner skill in this world is likely a case of diminishing returns—because while cultivating Internal Force he can feel the primordial qi between heaven and earth is extremely thin. If he were not currently at the level of outer‑gate martial cultivation, someone already deep into inner cultivation would probably waste those ten years.

Thus it seems Yu Yu really isn't a cheat‑code at all, perhaps even a death‑bringer. Yet it can't be discarded now, and Bai Lang has no desire to test the consequences the voice warned about.

Oniya Hakkai is rather unremarkable; at least Bai Lang sees no appeal in its few ponds—though the water is crystal clear and the fish swimming inside are huge, rumored to be seventy or eighty years old, Bai Lang finds it meaningless. It's just a tourist spot, probably only to lure foreigners and sell souvenir trinkets.

Later that day, their bus arrived at another lodging—rumored to be a hot‑spring inn. Yet Bai Lang recognized it as just a poor, remote countryside, a cluster of small villas, also without streetlights. A railway does pass not far away, and after dropping off his luggage, Bai Lang strolled around the vicinity.

Aside from the hot‑spring inn itself, the only things here that connect to modern society are a vending machine about two hundred meters away and a 7‑11 convenience store; Bai Lang bought a bottle of water at the store and leaned against the wall outside to sip it slowly. At that moment, students were returning home after club activities, and watching the passing middle‑schoolers gave him a bit of a feeling—"The age of this body is probably just that of a high school student…"

Ri Ben female students wear makeup; at least Bai Lang thought their appearances were decent, though the leg shape inside those skirts was rather ungraceful, and they weren't tall—Bai Lang, at 1.76 m, isn't short for his age group. While he was idly watching the passing students, a truck suddenly lurched crookedly toward him…