Chapter 24: Time Waits for No One, Add Points for Me

"No matter the fist technique, mastering it is never a matter of a single day or night. Especially you, Lu Yu; aside from archery, you can be said to know nothing about other martial arts." Wang Liang's expression was calm, but his gaze was fixed tightly on Lu Yu.

"Therefore, everything must start from the basics. Only when your basics are solid can I teach you fist techniques. This process will be very dull, far more tedious than your archery practice. Moreover, to achieve success, it will take at least several years, or perhaps a lifetime; are you mentally prepared for this?"

Lu Yu took a deep breath, his gaze firm, and he answered without hesitation: "I am!"

"Good, I hope you can truly live up to your word when the time comes." Wang Liang's tone was indifferent, but he secretly pondered that this kid had good perseverance and talent; perhaps he could really bring him a surprise.

"Uncle Wang..." Liu Kai, standing to the side, gathered his courage and said, "I also want to learn fist techniques from you."

"I want to learn too!"

"Uncle Wang, count me in!" The others responded one after another; who wouldn't want to possess powerful strength to make their lives better?

Wang Liang was not surprised by this, saying with a detached expression: "Teaching one is teaching, teaching several is also teaching; I just fear you won't be able to persist."

Upon hearing this, the crowd became excited and swore to the heavens to show their determination. By comparison, Liu Kai appeared much more composed, with a burning fighting spirit in his eyes.

"Alright." Wang Liang waved his hand. "Since you all want to learn, then let's begin."

"Gulp." Lu Yu couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Is it really starting? A feeling of nervousness and excitement spread in the bottom of his heart.

"No matter what martial art you practice, you must start from the most basic Standing Post. Without Standing Post, your legs will be weak and soft, your posture will deform when throwing punches, and in the end, you will get half the result with twice the effort. Therefore, to enhance your internal energy and steady your lower body, Standing Post is indispensable."

The crowd nodded repeatedly like chicks pecking at rice, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Standing Post is the foundation, and what I am about to teach you is the foundation of Standing Post, called Hunyuan Stake. Only after achieving some success with Hunyuan Stake can you practice Taiji Stake."

Once Taiji Stake is practiced well, you can formally learn Taiji Fist.

If you are still not satisfied, you can continue to learn San Ti Stake; this is the beginning of all changes in stance training. As the saying goes, ten thousand changes do not depart from the San Ti Style. Once you have learned the San Ti Style Standing Post, you can learn Xingyi Fist.

Not only that, but things like Five Animal Frolics, Eight Trigrams Palm, and so on can also be understood by analogy.

The crowd showed difficult expressions after hearing this, their previously high enthusiasm instantly extinguished by a basin of cold water.

Must practice Hunyuan Stake first, and after Hunyuan Stake is practiced well, must practice Taiji Stake, and only then can one learn Taiji Fist? If one wants to learn Xingyi Fist, one must practice San Ti Stake after Taiji Stake? How much time would that take?

"What, you find it difficult already?"

Wang Liang snorted coldly. "This is Internal Energy, the most important thing of all. Practicing fists without practicing energy leaves you with nothing in your old age. Furthermore, this doesn't even count Basic Gestures, Basic Leg Techniques, and Basic Footwork; these all must be learned from scratch! It's not too late to regret it now."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the crowd. "Those who still want to continue, take a step forward."

Lu Yu smiled and stepped forward without hesitation, with Liu Kai following closely behind.

Li Yang and the others looked at each other and also followed up one after another.

"Heh." Wang Liang smiled meaningfully. "No one is quitting? Good, then stand in the Hunyuan Stake for one hour first; after you finish standing, I will teach you Basic Gestures."

The posture of Hunyuan Stake is not complicated: the practitioner's feet are shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hands held in front of the chest with palms facing each other, as if holding an invisible round ball.

Keep the head upright and the body straight, tuck the chin slightly, breathe naturally, and imagine yourself merging into one with the surrounding nature.

Taking advantage of the gap while standing, Lu Yu quietly checked his attribute panel. Sure enough, a small line of text had appeared in the Skill column: 【Hunyuan Style: lv0】

He felt a burst of secret joy; he had learned a new skill. He wondered what kind of magical characteristics would be unlocked after leveling it up to level 1?

"Calm your mind and don't let your thoughts wander!" Just then, Wang Liang walked past him and cast a sharp glance.

Lu Yu felt a bit embarrassed. Wang Liang's gaze was too sharp; his little thoughts had been seen through.

The surroundings were strangely quiet. Occasionally, someone would pass by and, seeing the few people standing straight, would show a blank expression, not knowing what they were up to.

Time ticked away second by second. At first, the few were still muttering in their hearts, "Isn't this Hunyuan Stake just about the same as standing at attention?"

Not long after, it turned into, "My legs are so sore, my head is so itchy, is there a bug crawling on me?" By the end, it was simply, "Help, I really can't hold on anymore, how much longer is that one hour?"

"Can't hold on after less than ten minutes?" Wang Liang sneered. "If you can't hold on, then honestly give up. Not everyone can become a Martial Artist; you must learn to recognize reality."

Hearing this, the corners of Lu Yu's mouth twitched slightly. Wang Liang was not only sharp-eyed but also had a Poison tongue.

However, he felt he could still endure it, likely because his Constitution was slightly stronger than an ordinary person's. He even felt it was somewhat easy, only his arms were starting to ache slightly from being held in a circle for so long.

Another ten minutes passed, and finally, someone could no longer support themselves and retreated with a face full of shame.

"Go rest." Wang Liang waved his hand and looked at the others. "One has already failed to persist; if the rest of you feel you can't hold on either, then come out."

No one responded; everyone was gritting their teeth and holding on hard.

A few more minutes passed, and one after another, people chose to give up.

Ten minutes later, Li Yang also failed and retreated to the side with a red face.

At this moment, only Lu Yu and Liu Kai remained, still persisting.

Liu Kai gritted his teeth, secretly competing in his heart. Losing to Lu Yu in archery was one thing, but he absolutely could not lose this time in learning martial arts! He, Liu Kai, was definitely not inferior to anyone!

"Is this proficiency increasing too slowly?" Lu Yu looked straight ahead, but his attention was entirely on the attribute panel.

At least forty minutes had passed, and the proficiency of Hunyuan Style was only about 4%. That is to say, standing for ten minutes only increased proficiency by 1%. To reach level one, he would have to stand for at least 1000 minutes, which is more than 16 hours!

At first glance, it seemed easier than practicing 【Basic Archery】, as he only had to stand still, and he could finish it in two days.

But in reality, this feeling was much more miserable. When practicing archery, only the arms were sore, and he could even have someone help massage them, although it was the handiwork of a rough man.

But now, his whole body was aching, every muscle was protesting, as if countless ants were gnawing at him.

He couldn't help but wonder, after standing for this one hour, would he still be able to continue a second time? And what about a third time? He estimated that by then, he would be at his limit.

Calculated this way, just raising 【Hunyuan Style】 to lv1 would take four or five days? And this was merely the Entry level.

Wang Liang had said that only with small success in 【Hunyuan Style】 could one learn 【Taiji Style】, and only after 【Taiji Style】 was practiced well could one learn authentic Taiji Fist.

Heavens, when would this be practiced until? Don't forget, Standing Post is just the foundation; also serving as foundations are Basic Gestures, Basic Footwork, and Basic Leg Technique.

If one really had to follow the steps and progress gradually, it would be impossible without years of accumulation. At this rate, when would he be able to truly start practicing Taiji Fist?

Time waits for no one! Lu Yu was burning with anxiety. Thinking of this, his attention fell on the Experience Value.

The morning hunt had accumulated a total of 17 points of Experience Value. Using them on the level 4 【Basic Archery】 could only increase proficiency by 17%. But if used on the level 0 【Hunyuan Style】, it should bring unexpected results, right?