Chapter 35: First Glimpse of the Path

Hearing this, Wang Liang almost couldn't catch his breath, his heart frantically complaining: How much more "in place" do you want? You mastered the Taiji Style in a single day, and you actually still think it's not enough?

He always felt this kid was deliberately playing dumb, yet he couldn't produce any evidence.

Not far away, Li Yang and the others, who were currently holding a horse stance, also cast curious glances over.

"Hmm." Wang Liang frowned slightly and squeezed out two words, "It's passable."

"Then can I learn Taiji Fist now?" Lu Yu asked the question he had been hiding in his heart.

In an instant, the surroundings fell silent.

"Just about." Wang Liang nodded.

"What!" As expected, the moment his voice fell, Li Yang and the others were incredibly excited.

"Brother Yu can learn Taiji Fist already? So fast!"

"Didn't Uncle Wang say that mastering the Taiji Stake takes at least a month?"

"Yeah, you can only learn Taiji Fist after mastering the Taiji Stake. Does that mean Brother Yu has already..." The person speaking had their mouth open so wide a fist could fit inside.

"Really?" Lu Yu's face was also full of surprise, "That's great, Uncle Wang, thank you so much."

"Hmm." Wang Liang responded indifferently, though he felt inexplicably irritable inside.

If he didn't know Lu Yu's background inside and out, he would have suspected this kid was an Awakened.

Although practicing martial arts and having supernatural abilities seemed unrelated, the abilities of Awakened were strange and varied; there was nothing you couldn't imagine, and nothing they couldn't awaken.

However, ability awakening was like a talent, innate; you either had it or you didn't. How could someone be like an ordinary person for years and then awaken later?

Even if such a person really existed, he had never heard of it. Could this kid really be a once-in-a-century martial arts genius?

"Damn, Brother Yu really mastered it? Too awesome!"

"So envious, Brother Yu has already started learning Taiji Fist, while we're still practicing the most basic stuff. Sigh."

"Shut up!" Wang Liang turned around abruptly, "Horse stance time extended by ten minutes. Whoever talks nonsense again will have it extended by half an hour."

The few of them immediately became like frost-bitten eggplants, obedient and afraid to make a sound.

"Looks like I really can't catch up to him." Liu Kai smiled bitterly to himself, "However, for my own sake, I must persist."

An hour passed, and Lu Yu finished his Taiji Stake practice, blinked at Li Yang and the others, then looked at Wang Liang with a smile and said, "Uncle Wang, what's next?"

Wang Liang first closed his eyes as if to calm his emotions, then slowly opened them and said, "I had you start with the Wuji Style because walking is the foundation of Taiji. Taiji emphasizes that power originates from the heel, passes through the leg, is governed by the waist, and then travels to the fingers. From foot to leg, then to waist and hand, it is coordinated from top to bottom and completed in one breath. The lower body determines the upper body; the footwork must be precise and steady so the upper body won't sway."

Lu Yu nodded repeatedly.

"To judge whether someone is good at Taiji Fist, first look at the footwork, then see if the punches are precise, and combine that with the basic Breathing Method; this is a complete set of Taiji Fist."

"Footwork, fist technique, and the Breathing Method?" Lu Yu's eyes lit up. Breathing Method? Could it be that reaching a profound Realm allows one to cultivate True Qi?

Wang Liang glanced at him, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, and said, "This Breathing Method is not the martial arts mental cultivation method from wuxia novels. It's not as magical as you think; it's just a part of Taiji Fist."

Lu Yu smiled sheepishly.

"I will perform it for you in full first. Watch closely."

"Ah?" Li Yang, not far away, couldn't help but exclaim, his gaze involuntarily looking at Wang Liang's leg.

"Ah what? My leg is lame, not broken." Wang Liang said irritably, "After they finish their stance, you stand for another half hour." Li Yang was instantly filled with despair.

Soon, Wang Liang began to perform Taiji Fist. At first, there was nothing special about it; if it were some impatient young people, they would have lost interest long ago.

But as one watched, one would unknowingly become immersed in it.

His movements were continuous from top to bottom, as if he had merged with the surrounding environment. His steps were as light as a feather, yet his landing was as steady as Mount Tai, making it impossible for anyone to imagine he was a cripple.

A few minutes later, Wang Liang slowly finished his practice. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his complexion became visibly ruddy.

At the same time, Lu Yu looked at the skill column on his attribute panel, and sure enough, a line of small text appeared: 【Wang Family Taiji Fist: Entry】.

Below it was another line of grayed-out small text, which were the prerequisites, such as Taiji Style lv1, Basic Footwork lv1, etc. Fortunately, he had already met them all.

He let out a long breath. After so much effort, he had finally gotten his hands on 【Taiji Fist】. It wasn't easy.

I wonder what powerful traits can be unlocked. It must be a bigger improvement than 【Taiji Style】, right?

It's just strange that, unlike Basic Arrow Technique, Basic Footwork, etc., the proficiency of this Taiji Fist doesn't seem to be measured by levels, but by descriptive terms like "Entry."

"This is Wang Family Taiji Fist," Wang Liang said, "True Taiji Fist was lost long ago. The various Taiji Fists today are all deduced and perfected by predecessors based on some moves left in ancient books, combined with other martial arts, but the general principles are all about the same..."

Before he could finish speaking, a burst of light footsteps approached from afar.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll teach you the specifics after you've had lunch."

"Mm, okay." Lu Yu felt a bit puzzled.

"Brother." A crisp child's voice rang out. Lu Jun came bouncing over and said with a grin, "Mom asked me to call you home for dinner. Wang, Uncle Wang..."

He shrank his neck. In his eyes, Wang Liang was like a strict, weird uncle.

"Uncle Wang, then I'll head back first. Everyone, see you this afternoon." Lu Yu smiled and said goodbye to the group, then took his younger brother home.

The others also finished their practice and went home, as they were all starving.

Only Li Yang stood alone in the open space, looking at Wang Liang with longing eyes.

"Brother, Mom made lots of delicious food today, there's this much." Lu Jun spread his arms to gesture.

"Really?" Lu Yu couldn't help but pat his head, "Are you happy then?"

"Mm-hmm, happy!" Lu Jun nodded vigorously, then a trace of distress appeared on his little face, "But Mom said it's all for Brother, Brother works very hard and needs to eat more."

"It's okay, we'll all eat together when the time comes. After we finish, Brother will bring back even more delicious food."

"Mm-hmm!"

Before they even reached the door, the aroma of meat wafted over. A full basin of meat was placed on the table, steaming hot.

"You're back?" Lu Guohao smiled, "The meat is freshly cooked, hurry and eat. There's plenty today."

"Really?" Lu Yu also smiled, "Then I won't be polite." He was looking forward to gorging himself and gaining more Potential Points.