Chapter 28: Cultivating Movement Techniques

When Feng Zi returned home, it was already the Hour of the Rat, and his parents had long since fallen asleep.

He tiptoed to lock the courtyard gate, lit a candle, and hid the precious bow gifted by Young Master Lu beneath the innermost secret compartment under his bed—

Yes, in order to properly safeguard rare items, Feng Zi had set up three layers of secret compartments!

Afterwards, he consumed a piece of Blood Vine, took out the manual for the "Ten Thousand Mile Journey" technique, and only then blew out the candle and went into the courtyard.

After a full day, Feng Zi had gained quite a lot, but the problems needing to be dealt with were also popping up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain:

In terms of gains alone, he had obtained two techniques, one Human Grade "Ten Thousand Mile Journey" and one "Chongming Sword" of unknown grade, as well as the precious bow gifted by Young Master Lu.

But the problems were troublesome—how was he to break through to the Transformation Realm? And where was he to learn the bird-seal script that was no longer in use?

But one must eat a meal one bite at a time and walk a road one step at a time; needless worrying would not solve the problems.

Therefore, on the way home, Feng Zi had figured it out: the top priority was to first master the "Ten Thousand Mile Journey" that needed to be returned.

Feeling the Qi and Blood Power within his body gradually reaching fullness, Feng Zi opened the book and, by the light of the bright moon, began to practice this technique.

He had originally thought that since he had never practiced movement techniques before, it might be difficult to get started, so he had already prepared himself mentally.

But perhaps it was because practicing Horse Stance had laid a solid foundation, or perhaps it was because the core of the techniques were interconnected:

Once he cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, he actually found the knack for practicing the movement technique very quickly!

Feng Zi had originally thought that movement techniques were for training the legs, but gradually, he realized—

The so-called movement technique was, in the final analysis, a type of martial art, and its core of cultivation was no different from Fist Technique.

Movement techniques appeared to be training the lower body, but in reality, they were still exercising the dantian and the waist and abdomen;

Just like Fist Technique and Horse Stance, which appeared to be training the fists, palms, and lower stance, they were all actually training the core strength of the waist and abdomen.

"Perhaps this is the concrete manifestation of 'master one method, master all methods'." Feng Zi gradually developed this realization in his heart.

At first, he was still deliberately guiding the strength of his waist and abdomen, channeling it through his legs down to the meridians in his soles.

Gradually, Feng Zi's mind forgot about this point, yet his body spontaneously utilized the cultivation method of the Ten Thousand Mile Journey.

And when the Qi and Blood Power within his body was completely refined, the Ten Thousand Mile Journey, like the Taizu Changquan, became a part of Feng Zi's instinct:

When he exerted force from his waist, his legs moved accordingly, and a distance of over ten zhang was actually covered by Feng Zi in a single stride!

"With this, I have already entered the path of the Ten Thousand Mile Journey technique..."

Feng Zi sighed with emotion in his heart, exhaled all the turbid air from his chest, and looked toward the sky, discovering that a touch of bright gold had already appeared at the edge of the eastern sky.

Knowing that dawn was approaching, he sat cross-legged and let his perception sink into his heart:

【Martial Master (Fullness): 605/1000】

【Taizu Changquan (Pure Mastery): 2689/3000】

【Ten Thousand Mile Journey (First Glimpse of the Path): 101/800】

Regarding the progress of bringing this movement technique to the entry level in a single night, Feng Zi did not feel much surprise in his heart:

Martial cultivation was just like this; entering the path was arduous but not difficult, yet if one wanted to cultivate it to the realm of Peak Perfection, that was an extremely difficult matter.

And because of this, looking back now, he also knew—how unsatisfactory the aptitude of his former self, who had never even entered the path, had been!

But fortunately, his current self already possessed the talent of 【Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent】.

As long as he cultivated with a single-minded focus, he would be able to walk steadily and go even further!

And what surprised Feng Zi even more was that even though he hadn't been practicing Fist Technique, the progress bar for Taizu Changquan had also increased by 100 points!

"Sure enough, the core of martial arts methods is interconnected after all." He rejoiced in his heart.

Pushing down the emotions that had arisen in his heart, Feng Zi thanked this talent once more in his mind, then washed his body clean, put on his upper garment, and turned back to the house to light the fire and cook.

The Ten Thousand Mile Journey, which had already turned into instinct, activated, and in the blink of an eye, Feng Zi returned to the house, even nearly tripping over the threshold in the process!

As a Martial Master, to nearly fall over an ordinary threshold was a novel experience for him.

While lighting the fire to boil porridge by the stove, Feng Zi muttered to himself: "It seems I must be mindful of the changes brought about by practicing the movement technique over the next few days."

By the time the rice porridge in the pot was cooked, the two elders had also risen at the sound of the rooster's crow.

Seeing his parents push open the door, he greeted the two elders to the table to eat, while scooping out some pickled wild vegetables from a jar and cutting them into small pieces.

Watching Feng Zi busy in front of the stove, Feng Fu suddenly asked: "Zi'er, how is... Young Master Lu's home?"

This question was very inexplicable, but Feng Zi understood the worry in his father's heart:

The other party was afraid that after attending Lu Hanwen's banquet, he would look down on his own family due to the huge disparity in their family circumstances.

Feng Fu's worry did not stem from the material level, but from the immense "sense of unworthiness" in his heart, born from his background as a farmer.

Of course, Feng Zi would not have such thoughts; he just raised his eyebrows, brought the cut wild vegetables and the porridge to the table together, and smiled:

"Dad, you're overthinking things; you're just simply hungry—

"Even if Hanwen-xiong's home were paved with gold bricks, that is still someone else's home; if you stay there for too long, you'll feel uncomfortable all over. How could it be as comfortable as staying in one's own home?"

Having said that, he picked up a chopstick of wild vegetables and took a sip of the hot rice porridge: "You and Mom don't need to think about anything; just eat well and live your lives well, that's all."

Upon hearing this, Feng Fu remained silent, stirring the rice porridge in his bowl.

Not until Feng Zi had finished half of his breakfast did Feng Fu speak again: "Zi'er, you are now the number one in the Martial Assembly; when do you plan to go to the Martial School?"

Regarding this question, Feng Zi already had a plan in his heart and answered frankly:

"I'll set off in about ten days—once I've finished practicing the technique I borrowed from the County Government Office, it will be time to go."

He had already decided that, with the blessing of the 【Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent】 talent, he would practice without sleep or rest for ten days...

Even if he couldn't cultivate the Ten Thousand Mile Journey to the highest realm of "Peak Perfection," he could at least cultivate it to the realm of "Pure Mastery"!

And by that time, his cultivation should have reached its peak (the full 1000/1000 progress bar), and it would be time to set off.

After all, Feng Zi still wanted to learn more about this unknown world, and he also wanted to follow the clues provided by Li Shou to seek the opportunity to break through to the Transformation Realm.

Besides this, because the Martial School would be held in three months, he still had to leave enough time for the journey to Baishan City:

Therefore, he could stay in his hometown for at most ten more days before he had to set off.

Of course, Feng Zi also saw the worry in his parents' eyes and smiled to comfort them:

"Father, Mother, set your hearts at ease—if I fail to achieve a good ranking at the Martial School, I will return home immediately to let you know I am safe;"

"If I successfully obtain the qualifications to participate in the Martial Examination, I will also write you a letter and entrust a traveling merchant to deliver it to you."

Seeing that his parents no longer had any questions, Feng Zi finished the rice porridge in his bowl, returned to his room, consumed another segment of Blood Vine, and continued his cultivation:

Just while eating, he had thought of an idea that urgently needed verification—

Since the core of cultivating the Fist Technique and movement techniques is the same, both lying in the training of the waist and abdomen, then is there a possibility... that these two could be cultivated simultaneously?