Chapter 8: Mind and Body as One

Feng Zi thought about it at length — he discovered that, as long as one had the will, everything one saw and pondered could be transformed into one's own understanding of martial cultivation.

But idle thoughts were ultimately useless; as the ideas in his heart grew more and more numerous, Feng Zi could no longer hold himself back.

He abruptly stood up and practiced the Taizu Changquan.

How could he make his fists faster?

How could he better gather the strength of his entire body into a single point?

When throwing a punch, were there any flashy and superfluous movements?

These questions were nothing new — ever since he began cultivating the martial path, Feng Zi had been seeking answers to them every day.

After comprehending those brand-new understandings, he only felt that his fists had become faster and fiercer.

Practicing the Fist Technique again and again, the muscles all over his body bulged and then relaxed, and tremendous power flowed through his meridians —

As time went on, the Qi and Blood Power within Feng Zi's body grew increasingly thick and abundant.

But to his pleasant surprise, he discovered that this power no longer resembled before — no longer surging day and night like untamed boiling magma!

After throwing his final punch, Feng Zi immediately withdrew his stance and let out a long breath.

In an instant, the surging Qi and Blood Power within his body likewise calmed down, as still as a pool of dead water, undisturbed by any ripple.

Carefully sensing the various changes within his body, Feng Zi could not help but light up:

Success!

He could clearly sense that the occasional inability to control his strength from before would never happen again.

At the slightest thought, several lines of text floated into view before Feng Zi:

【Martial Master (Great Accomplishment): 497/1000】

【Taizu Changquan (Entering the Hall): 17/1000】

【Zhao Family Long Fist (Peak Perfection): 1514/3000】

"Hiss… this progress is truly somewhat unexpected."

Seeing those lines of text before him, Feng Zi was also greatly shaken:

In this short span of less than a morning, not only had his understanding of the Taizu Changquan risen to a higher level, he had even advanced a minor realm!

But Feng Zi did not let these achievements go to his head:

He understood that the reason his comprehension of Fist Technique was so fast was ultimately thanks to "secretly learning" from other Martial Artists, as well as the insights gained when breaking through a major realm.

Such opportunities could not be sought at will; naturally, Feng Zi would not take these things for granted.

As for the strength of a Martial Master at the Great Accomplishment realm…

Feng Zi subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the power within his body, but discovered that his Qi and Blood Power had not increased much.

"Why is that?" Feng Zi was quite puzzled by this phenomenon.

As he pondered, he recalled the feeling of breaking through to the Martial Master realm last night —

Feng Zi remembered that he had endured the agony of Broken Bone Rebirth again and again, and his entire being had been transformed because of it.

It was precisely because of this that, afterward, his strength had undergone a qualitative leap, and his perception had greatly strengthened!

After that, nothing else should have happened.

Recalling this, a guess gradually formed in Feng Zi's mind:

"In other words… ever since the Broken Bone Rebirth, the Fullness of the Qi and Blood Power within my body has already been no different from that of a Martial Master at Great Accomplishment.

"It's only because my realm advanced too quickly that I am unable to exert my full strength —

"The so-called 'increase in strength' is, in essence, the process of my gradually regaining control over my own power — of my mind and body becoming one."

Whether the truth was really so, Feng Zi naturally did not know, but this guess was indeed very reasonable.

Letting out a long breath of stale air, Feng Zi took off the upper garment long since soaked through with sweat, continued throwing punches, and thought in his heart:

"Now that I am already a Martial Master at the Great Accomplishment realm, even when facing Lu Hanwen and Li Shou, who are also Martial Masters, I should have some chance of winning.

"As for the advancement of my realm… a Martial Artist's cultivation values both long years of arduous practice and tempering of the flesh, and the replenishment of Qi and Blood is also very important —

"When practicing fist arts at the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall, the hall master provides an extremely nourishing meal every day, and every three to five days, he has me undergo a medicinal bath.

"Now that I think about it, the reason I was able to become a Martial Master within seven days is in no small part due to the Qi and Blood Power accumulated in my body over these past two years!"

Thinking of this, Feng Zi顺势 thrust out an elbow, but the corner of his mouth could not help but twitch slightly, and he felt quite helpless:

"Sigh… my family's circumstances are difficult, and my parents have it far from easy either; being able to let me eat three full meals a day and replenish the Qi and Blood consumed during training is already extraordinarily hard for them!

"If I want to continue enjoying food supplements and medicinal baths, that really is a bit of wishful thinking."

Such was the现状; 消极 complaining was meaningless.

Feng Zi continued practicing the Taizu Changquan, and a plan had already formed in his heart:

"Very well, since things are as they are, I suppose in these seven days I won't be able to increase my Qi and Blood Power by much.

"Rather than that, I might as well devote all my thoughts to practicing fist arts — through mastery of Fist Technique and refinement of skill, I can add a few more chances of coming out on top!"

As his strength continuously improved, Feng Zi did not realize that his state of mind had long since ceased to be what it once was:

For him, advancing his realm was no longer as hard as ascending to heaven; the greatest obstacle within it was no longer his own talent, but the lack of resources!

Since he had already made up his mind, Feng Zi calmed his heart and devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

After practicing the Taizu Changquan with all his might a dozen or so times, Feng Zi raised his head and saw that the sun was high.

He reckoned that it was less than a quarter of an hour until noon, so he stopped practicing fist arts, gave his body a simple rinse, and casually washed the sweat-soaked upper garment along with it.

Afterward, Feng Zi returned to the house, washed the family's rice once and set it to cook on the stove, and also stir-fried a few simple dishes.

Feng Zi understood that, devoting his whole heart to martial arts, he could not help his father work the fields, nor could he help his mother mend clothes — at the very least, he ought to do his best to share some of the burden for his parents.

When the rice in the pot had already steamed through and Feng Zi had plated the few dishes, Feng Mu returned home carrying a bundle stuffed full of clothing.

Seeing that only Feng Zi was busy in the house, Feng Mu asked with some surprise: "Zi'er, your father hasn't come back yet?"

Hearing this question, Feng Zi was taken aback — that's right, ordinarily at noon, it was usually his father who returned first.

But on second thought, he smiled and welcomed his mother inside, soothing her:

"Don't overthink it, Mother. On my way back from the County Government Office, I even saw Father busy with farm work in the fields and had a few words with him.

"Maybe he was just so busy he lost track of time—please sit and rest for a while. I'll put the dishes in the steamer to warm up first, and we'll eat as soon as Father gets back."

Feng Mu thought it over, and it did make sense, so she went along with Feng Zi's arrangement.

Not long after the two of them sat down, Feng Fu's hearty voice rang in from outside the courtyard: "Zi'er, mother of the child, I'm back!"

Hearing Feng Fu's voice, both Feng Zi and his mother were stunned—

Father had been honest and steady his whole life, never even speaking loudly—was some happy event behind this today?

And, whether or not it was his own错觉, Feng Zi couldn't shake the feeling…that he seemed to have heard a cow's lowing?