Old Liang patted his pockets and pulled out a shriveled cigarette box, shaking it twice to find it empty.
He shook his head and handed a few small bills to Qin Shi:
"Help me run an errand and buy a pack of Li Min, the soft kind."
Qin Shi, being very quick-witted, took the money and dashed off immediately.
In his previous life, he had gotten plenty of practice running errands for his driving instructor, gaining a lot of experience.
"Mr. Liang, your cigarettes."
"Hmm? You really do have a keen mind, kid."
Seeing the soft pack of Han Hua that Qin Shi brought, Old Liang raised an eyebrow.
A pack of Li Min cost just over fifteen, while Han Hua cost at least seventy.
Quite savvy indeed, much sharper than those kids I've been teaching!
"Yesterday, when I used bone stretching on you, I didn't go easy. I intended to make it tough for you, so you would quit.
I didn't expect you to be so tough, not only enduring it but also having a body built for such rigorous training."
Old Liang did not refuse and accepted the "Hua Zi", the favorite of old smokers, unwrapping it and lighting up:
"From now on, come here every day if you can. After training, we will stretch your muscles. The more we stretch your muscles, the stronger and more resilient your body will become."
Qin Shi silently breathed a sigh of relief, finally being accepted by Old Liang.
This physical education teacher at Sons and Daughters Ninth Middle School had real skills hidden up his sleeve.
If I gain his approval, it will be far more beneficial than spending a lot of money at an urban gym!
"Where did we leave off just now?"
"Form and void."
Old Liang had the other students running laps to warm up while he led Qin Shi into a classroom building.
As they walked, he spoke:
"The so-called 'void' is that energy within your body. It grows within your flesh and blood and nurtures your bone marrow.
In the old martial arts, muscle stretching was the way to transform the human body. In the earlier Old Era, it was a closely guarded secret.
Nowadays, almost everyone practices martial arts, with far less emphasis on such precision. To truly begin training, the first step is 'Capturing Qi Sensitivity.'
You need to grasp that energy solidly and guide it to flow through established routes, only then have you truly begun."
Old Liang crushed his cigarette butt, took out a key, and opened the training room.
The room, about a hundred square meters, was lined with mats, with several human-height redwood stakes in the corner and an anatomical chart with tiny red dots and text on the wall.
"Void is the Qi. So, tell me, what is form?"
Qin Shi thought carefully at these words, his eyes sweeping over the detailed anatomical diagram, and blurted out:
"It's the torso and limbs!"
Old Liang couldn't help but sigh, no wonder Sons and Daughters schools on Old Factory Street struggle to find good students.
A bit above average and they all end up in Tai'an Metropolitan Area.
What's left aren't exactly top-notch materials.
Qin Shi is just like that.
A solid top student at Sons and Daughters Ninth Middle School, ranked in the top ten of his grade.
Yet, placed in New Number One High School, how can he compete with the wealthier kids with all their resources?
He'd just fade into obscurity, wasting his talent.
"Correct. Capturing Qi Sensitivity, opening the joints, and creating a circulation, that was called 'Small Circulation' in the past martial arts world.
If you can complete twenty full circulations, your Life Force will definitely surpass ten points, enough to pass your rank advancement test."
Old Liang crossed his arms, his eyes revealing a scrutinizing look.
Bone stretching, Capturing Qi Sensitivity, opening joints, creating a circulation.
He had been running this tutorial class for years, with only a handful of students completing these four stages successfully.
The elimination rate for the first and second steps reached 80%.
Bone stretching was too painful, and capturing Qi Sensitivity was elusive and hard to grasp.
Moreover, these days, workers' children have tough lives, full of worries, and their spirits are restless.
If they see no results in ten or fifteen days, they naturally slack off and give up.
Qin Shi said solemnly:
"Mr. Liang, I want to give it a try."
This old martial method might be considered outdated.
But for now, it's the only way he can tap into developing his Life Force!
He must seize this opportunity!
"Very well."
Old Liang nodded in agreement. Since he had started the class, there was no point in hiding his techniques or keeping up appearances.
It was no longer the time in the Old Era when martial arts schools kept things close to their chest, teaching their disciples by holding back certain techniques.
Now, it was just about getting paid to do a job.
"Do as you did yesterday—open your horse stance and stabilize. I will teach you how to open up your limbs.
The human body has eight segments and nine sections. The segments are the lower leg, thigh, forearm, upper arm, waist, back, shoulder, and hand.
When you exert force, it starts from the foot, travels through the leg, is controlled by the waist, and takes form in the fingers. When the eight segments align, the force is unstoppable!"
Old Liang demonstrated in person, suddenly raising his arm, which lashed out like a whip, forming a straight line and exploding with a crisp "crack".
The speed was so fast, it almost left afterimages!
"Wow, so fast!"
Qin Shi only felt his face tighten, with the wind from the strike making his skin tingle as if electrocuted.
His eyelids twitched wildly, giving the illusion his head was about to be shattered!
"This punch represents about twenty years of training. With a Life Force below fifteen points, a hit to a vital spot would be fatal!
Such was the old martial way, where striking to draw blood and inflicting serious injury was commonplace."
Old Liang withdrew his stance and continued:
"The nine sections are divided into 'three joints of the hand,' 'three joints of the foot,' and 'three joints of the back.' In sequence, it's wrist, elbow, and then shoulder; hips, knee, and then ankle…"
Qin Shi listened intently. Fortunately, he had good learning ability, so it only took one explanation for him to remember it.
"I've told you everything. From now on, this training room is yours. Everything inside belongs to the school, so don't break anything, or you'll have to compensate for it."
Old Liang left with hands behind his back, limping as he exited.
This kid's physique is suitable for tough training and can withstand bone stretching, but I wonder how perceptive he is.
If he can't capture Qi Sensitivity in five days, he'll have to train like the other students, doing physical conditioning to enhance Life Force.
"Heh, old martial arts, supporting a hundred might not yield two or three good seedlings. No wonder it's dying out!"
Old Liang walked down the corridor, self-mocking, a touch of melancholy rising within.
Thinking back to the glorious days when the Ten Greats reigned supreme, each martial artist blazed like a scorching sun, admired and aspired to by many.
"It's a pity that the centuries-old martial arts methods ended in my hands."
...
...
"Capturing Qi Sensitivity, eight segments, nine sections. Compared to the foundations taught in the school's combat class, these old martial techniques are indeed esoteric and hard to grasp."
Qin Shi faced the wall in a horse stance, his eyes tightly fixed on the anatomical chart overloaded with details.
"What exactly is Qi Sensitivity? Mr. Liang said, muscles need to be tight, the breath relaxed, guiding Qi with the heart, moving the body with the Qi…"
He chewed over the meanings, understanding that bone stretching and back lifting were meant to make the body less stiff and more flexible.
Only when the body is "alive" can the Qi emerge to the surface.
"Using muscle memory, I recaptured the bone stretching technique yesterday. That warm flow gathering and surging like a spring, could that be Qi Sensitivity?"
After a long period of deliberation, Qin Shi, leveraging his Life Force, was able to grasp wisps of the elusive floating Qi Sensitivity.
But it remained intermittent, never forming a continuous thread, like a trickle of water slipping through his grasp.
"I had hoped to rely on my own efforts and talent, why must I be forced like this!"
Qin Shi sighed helplessly.
If that's the case, he decided not to hide anymore.
He would lay it all out—I am a cheater!
Monument, activate!
Inhale!
Exhale!
In an instant, with the precision of muscle memory, Qin Shi's physical body seemed to awaken.
Every muscle, every bone, every fiber began to stretch and contract as if alive!
They intertwined closely, blending seamlessly, forming a unified whole!
Dense streams of warmth flowed from all directions, converging at his chest and abdomen, rising and falling in sync with his breath.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
"It's working!"
Nearly twenty minutes passed, and just when Qin Shi's strength was about to be exhausted.
His eyes shone brightly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed vigorously.
Inhale!
As if a flash of spiritual enlightenment passed, he finally caught hold of that subtle thread of Qi Sensitivity!
It felt like pinching a thread and threading it through the tiny eyes of a series of needles.
The process was winding, tedious, and exceedingly challenging.
It required extremely sharp senses and immense patience to achieve!
"Don't rush! Remember this feeling! Engrain it in your mind!"
Qin Shi calmed himself, breathing steadily, his body stable, as if his feet were rooted, showing no signs of wobbling.
That faint thread of Qi Sensitivity became clearer, moving from a burning pain, itching, and numbness to a gradual warmth.
It felt like water moisturizing his taut muscles and swollen muscles.
Comfortable!
Who knew that practicing martial arts could feel so good!
"So this is the purpose of Qi Sensitivity. It nourishes the body and alleviates the fatigue from excessive training, similar to the state of deep sleep."
Qin Shi suddenly understood, noticing the information flashing on the Monument panel on his retina —
[Completed one set of exhausting training]
[Growth +50]
"Exhausting?"
Before Qin Shi could react, his legs trembled violently, his stance weakened, and he fell backward.
At that moment, Old Liang entered, seeing the disheveled boy with sweat-soaked and flushed skin.
He raised an eyebrow, noticing the change in Qin Shi's breathing pattern.
After a brief moment of surprise, the PE teacher showed an expression of disbelief.
"Did you grasp Qi Sensitivity?"
"Yes."
Old Liang's throat worked as he hesitated and asked again:
"What does it feel like?"
Qin Shi, supporting himself with his hands on the ground:
"Hungry, very hungry, extremely hungry!"
Old Liang, with his foot braced, stood at the door in a daze.
Gazing at Qin Shi for a while, he suddenly burst into laughter:
"After a lifetime of bad luck, I've finally grabbed a stroke of luck! What's your name again?"
"Qin Shi."
"Qin Shi… good name!"
With a cigarette hanging from his mouth, Old Liang's previously hunched back due to his limp seemed to straighten a bit.
"Hahaha, come with me, I'm treating you to a meal!"