"Ah~~!"
Early in the morning, Wang Longhu stood on the balcony stretching his muscles.
As he stretched his arms upward, there was a crazy crackling sound of bones all over him, like a human firecracker.
"I must say, the air in the mountains is really nice." Breathing in the fresh mountain air, Wang Longhu squinted his eyes and praised comfortably.
Looking down from the balcony, the cement ground in the courtyard was filled with dogs curled up and sleeping. Wang Longhu smiled, comparing it to the dangers they would face while roaming city streets.
Living in the mountains seems like a paradise for these stray dogs.
Picking up his phone, Wang Longhu opened Douyin to see if there was any feedback on the video he posted last night.
Unexpectedly, it performed surprisingly well, receiving a like and dozens of comments.
[AAA Business and Sales - Xiao Li: Where did this clown come from? I advise you to find a job quickly.]
[Flying Dragon Across the River: Did you really make that sound with your fists? It's unscientific. I've been trying in my room for over ten minutes and couldn't replicate your effect.]
[Qiqiang Martial Arts Hall - Martial Artist Li Mang: Have you practiced your Xingyi Boxing to the Ming Jin level? Can we privately exchange some experiences? I'm also from Zhejiang Province.]
[Humble Yet Close: I'm so fortunate! The old saying goes that a sound worth a thousand pieces of gold; tonight I get to witness it for real. Master, can you leave a contact? I'd like to consult you about martial arts training.]
…
In the comment section, there were those who didn't understand and deliberately mocked, as well as surprised or doubtful martial artists. Wang Longhu read through the comments without responding.
He posted the video just to prepare for his livestream, not to attract or cultivate fans. Having followers on Douyin is the least important thing; it's crucial to earn money during the livestream.
Watching the first glimpse of the rising sun, Wang Longhu took up the three-body pose and immersed himself in his Pile Skill.
With increasing proficiency in the three-body pose, Wang Longhu experienced more insights into this Xingyi Boxing's Pile Skill.
Seeing the Pile Skill as a stance for both physical training and refining essence to transform into Qi, Wang Longhu tentatively called this heat 'Vital Energy'.
Vital Energy can enhance physical strength and constitution, but if not confined within, letting it leak out would be futile, providing no benefit.
If the Vital Energy is gathered in the Guanyuan Acupoint, it can be absorbed and digested, permanently improving strength and constitution.
The human body is like a bottle, with a capacity limit. If your body's capacity for Vital Energy is 100 and you reach 101 without absorption, once the pores cannot hold, the Vital Energy will instantly turn to sweat and leak out, leaving the martial artist exhausted with wasted effort.
However, if you successfully absorb at 101, your body's capacity limit would break and improve, allowing more accumulation of Vital Energy.
Persistently training hard in this way, your physique will gradually become stronger, simultaneously, the capacity for Vital Energy within will be vast like the sea.
Wang Longhu's self-summary of this concept unintentionally resembled those martial arts novels, where Vital Energy is akin to Inner Strength. A martial artist training for 60 years vs. one for 1 year naturally has differing capacities for Vital Energy.
Thus, when a master faces a novice, the master can outlast the opponent purely by consuming Inner Strength.
While holding the three-body pose, sealing the pores to lock in Vital Energy, Wang Longhu occasionally felt the Vital Energy, unable to escape, wandering within his body.
Instead of rampantly rushing, it originated from his spine and spread through the Twelve Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians across his body, looping, forming an invisible circuit.
Three-body pose +5
Three-body pose +5
Three-body pose +5
…
Firmly holding the three-body pose, with nothing but the rising sun in sight, Wang Longhu inexplicably felt a bit dazed, entering a state of forgetting who he was and what he was doing.
So much so that he didn't realize his proficiency in the three-body pose was steadily increasing.
When the proficiency reached 200, advancing to Lv3, the dazed Wang Longhu felt an indescribable, profound understanding.
At that moment, his body seemed like it's composed of five steel pipes, with Vital Energy aimlessly wandering through his limbs and bones.
The surface of the steel pipes was covered with densely packed small pores, currently blocked.
As a flow of Vital Energy passed through the steel pipe representing his right hand, Wang Longhu subconsciously relaxed slightly, and suddenly, all pores on the pipe's surface opened wide. The amassed Vital Energy surged like a floodgate opening, rushing into his right arm.
Shooting out through the small opened pores on the surface of the 'steel pipe' representing his right hand.
This unprecedented transformation frightened Wang Longhu into waking up instantly, instinctively pressing a palm against the cement railing of the balcony.
Failing to timely seal the pores, Wang Longhu leaked all his Vital Energy, dripping with sweat, drenched like just crawling out of a pond within seconds.
"What's happening?" Wang Longhu muttered to himself in fear, while unable to resist reminiscing the sensation just now.
Since learning the three-body pose from Master Chen, Wang Longhu had never experienced something like today, where only his palm pore opened to release Vital Energy, while other body areas remained tightly sealed.
The sensation was akin to a water gun, only allowing Vital Energy an outlet for discharge.
"It feels like Master Chen didn't teach me thoroughly. A single three-body pose has so many variations." Wang Longhu said, frowning, withdrawing his palm.
But when he saw the spot on the cement fence he had hit, his face changed dramatically, showing an expression of utter shock.
It cracked!
A wet palm-shaped mark appeared on the cement fence, with three hair-thin cracks visible within it.
Though not very noticeable, Wang Longhu, who had just thoroughly cleaned the house yesterday, was certain that it was perfectly intact before.
In other words, these cracks were caused by him.
"Oh my gosh..." Wang Longhu touched his right hand, his face pale, unsure how to describe his feelings for a moment.
Is it really possible for humans, even those who practice martial arts, to cause such damage?
You have to know, this is cement we're talking about.
...
[Name: Wang Longhu]
[Strength: 1.20 (+)]
[Physique: 1.54 (+)]
[Spirit: 0.91 (+)]
[Skills: Basic Fitness Lv2 (105/200), Three Forms Style Lv3 (0/300), Xingyi Boxing (Beng Fist) Lv2 (2/200)]
[Potential Points: 0.08]
After glancing at the panel, Wang Longhu realized that his Three Forms Style had broken through, gaining 0.05 potential points for leveling up from Lv1 to Lv2.
Leveling up from Lv2 to Lv3 gave him 0.08 points, equivalent to the benefits of two luxurious meals.
Without thinking much, Wang Longhu added it to his physique.
When his physique reached 1.62, Wang Longhu genuinely felt a surge of vigorous energy within him, sweeping away any sense of fatigue or weariness. He felt clear-headed and it seemed as if his body had become much more agile.
"Going down the mountain, I missed out on food supplements all day yesterday, losing two potential points. I have to make up for it today." Wang Longhu went to the first floor, filled a basin with water, wiped his body with a towel, changed into a set of clean clothes, and then headed out to practice boxing.
The dogs lying on the ground outside in the yard merely lifted their heads to glance at him, then lowered them again to resume their naps.
Perhaps, in the minds of these stray dogs, it's simply a matter of time; once the time comes, that familiar big monk will come with vegetables to feed them.
...
Walking in the middle of the road, after doing ten one-arm push-ups, Wang Longhu switched positions, using his hands to move forward in a handstand. After a dozen or so steps, he immediately stood up to do ten single-leg squats, then switched back to one-arm push-ups, repeating the cycle.
Now Wang Longhu's Beng Fist could match his footwork, striking fast and hard.
If he didn't add weight to his body for increased difficulty and continued to rigorously train his Beng Fist, his proficiency would only increase at a painfully slow rate.
Since the sandbags and weighted equipment he ordered were still in transit, Wang Longhu temporarily switched to practicing prison-style workouts, just in case this skill leveled up to Lv3, resulting in another gain of 0.08 potential points.
Buzz!
Just as Wang Longhu was walking on his hands, a loud car roar suddenly came from the turning point on the mountain road.
That was definitely not a sound a 3.0T engine could produce.
Wang Longhu looked over and saw a succession of luxury cars driving up the mountain. Leading the way was a Mercedes G-Class with unusually large tires, looking very out of place; Wang Longhu had never seen such a strange model before.
The second car was an Audi A6 Avant, but with that carbon fiber body kit and the roar, Wang Longhu felt it should be an RS6.
The third car was the most normal, a Range Rover, though it's a luxury car, there was nothing more to say about it.
Wang Longhu was astonished that three luxury cars could simultaneously appear in such a remote, godforsaken place like Longduan Top. His odd handstand position in the middle of the road also bewildered the car owners.
It's a good thing it was daytime; otherwise, seen at night, anyone would be scared witless.
"Excuse me, could you make way?" the owner of the big G-Class poked his head out and asked gently.
Wang Longhu put down his legs, walked to the roadside rather embarrassed; he thought nobody would visit this place for a hundred years, so practicing freely on the road wouldn't be noticed by anyone.
But who would have thought today, of all days, he would encounter a group of unknown wealthy individuals, truly embarrassing him to no end.
"Thank you." The driver pulled back in, closed the window, and immediately revved the engine past Wang Longhu, the two cars behind following closely, soon leaving Wang Longhu far behind.
"Freaky, is that guy mentally ill, handstanding in such a place, it's terrifying. Zhou Juanjie, are you sure the bed-and-breakfast you booked is okay? This lunatic won't show up at the place we're staying, right?"
Turning to look at Wang Longhu's image growing distant through the car window, a young, hotly dressed girl in the G-Class couldn't help but ask.
"You think you're filming a horror movie? The place I booked is legitimate, with security and cameras." The young wealthy driver replied helplessly.
Soon, the three luxury cars reached the area where Wang Longhu's grandma's house was located, but they did not stop. Instead, they entered another road junction, heading towards the neighboring mountain.