Chapter 8: Kick Off The Official Training
Chen Chuan gobbled down the cooked meat and pumpkin porridge in the lounge.
The medicinal herbs added to the shredded meat during the stewing process neutralized its foul stench. Now, it gave off a faint medicinal fragrance and even contained a hint of sweetness. Chen Chuan could swallow it without much chewing. When the food settled in his stomach, he felt it warming up his entire body.
“When you start off the breathing technique’s training, it’s really harmful to your body,” Yu Gang said. “Don’t scoff at the black rat’s meat. It’s the most effective when it comes to repairing the damage done to the body. Martial artists of ages past often ate this, but it’s not easy to digest it. That’s why you need to eat it with pumpkins.”
Chen Chuan remembered something. He put down his bowl and spoon and asked, “I lived in the suburbs when I was young and heard the elderly folk there saying ‘Pumpkin rice, rat jerky, sweet and meaty, rich and flavorful.’ Was the rat jerky referring to this?”
“That’s right. It’s actually a nursery rhyme, but you only recited half of it. The rest goes: ‘North Ornament Highlands, extortionist officials, heartless men who hoard the gold.’
“The residents of North Ornament Highlands know that the rats in the mountains are not only edible, but also a high-quality medicine. That’s why the place is famous. In the olden days, when Great Shun was still an empire, the local officials forced the residents to search every inch of the place for those rats.
“Later on, after the Algae Sap Revolution, the republic was formed. Many companies used the brand new food synthesis technology, and food became cheap. The number of people eating rat meat dwindled, and only the elderly folk living in the suburbs and near the west of the city still love it. Youngsters like you usually find it disgusting.”
Chen Chuan had no strong emotion toward it. As long as something was clean and a normal ingredient, he could stomach it. Whether something tasted good or bad was nothing to him, especially since the rat meat had a beneficial effect.
During their conversation, Yu Gang had been observing Chen Chuan. He had not expected the youth to find the secret of the breathing technique within a day. When Yu Gang asked him to demonstrate the breathing technique a few times, he managed to do it accurately, which meant that he had really mastered it.
That was rare.
Even if someone managed to find the secret to mastering the breathing technique, it was not common for them to be able to immediately familiarize themselves with it. They had to get used to it through repeated practice. But Chen Chuan had done it right away. Yu Gang could have never imagined it.
He finally understood what his teacher had meant when he mentioned that some people possessed talent that other people did not have.
Chen Chuan was, without a doubt, talented. He was someone who could possibly find the truth in martial arts cultivation.
Lu Ke was impressed and spoke up while eating. “Mr. Chen, you’re amazing! It would be great if I could reach your level some day.”
“I used your medicine today. I’ll think of a way to replenish what I used. By the way, Mr. Yu, what’s the medicine called?”
“Since this step is known as the first training, the medicinal paste is known as First Training Powder,” Yu Gang answered. “You can buy this medicine for cheap within Martial Valor University, since you’re a student there. If you can, buy some to replenish whatever you’ve used of Lu Ke’s stock later.”
“I’ll remember that,” Chen Chuan answered seriously.
When Lu Ke saw that Chen Chuan had almost finished his bowl of food, he asked, “Should I get you a second helping?”
“I can do it on my own.”
Chen Chuan walked to the pot and emptied what remained of the medicinal porridge into his bowl, without leaving behind even a single grain. Then, he returned to his table and continued eating. Soon, he finished five hundred grams worth of black rat meat mixed with pumpkin. He felt warm all over, and he had regained a lot of his energy.
After waiting for a bit, Yu Gang said, “You’ve gained a basic grasp of the breathing technique. Usually, people need to get used to it and take their time mastering it, but we don’t have the time for that. I intend to have you start official training tomorrow. You will need to get used to the breathing technique while training.”
He had thought that even in the best-case scenario where Chen Chuan managed to master the breathing technique, he would need half a month or more to do so. But Chen Chuan had managed to save a lot of time. Even though his schedule remained tight, it was a lot more manageable compared to Yu Gang’s previous estimations. He no longer needed to compress a lot of the steps.
Chen Chuan felt quite excited. He asked, “Is the training you mentioned about fighting?”
“You’re far from ready for it. The most important part of any training is your body. That’s the prerequisite for everything. It’s the same for fighting. It involves power, speed, endurance, coordination, flexibility, reaction, and other things. It’s only when you have a solid foundation that you will be able to endure the various martial art techniques. Luckily for you, you’ve mastered the breathing technique, so your training’s difficulty has gone down a lot.”
Yu Gang went to a drawer and took out a book from it, then threw it at Chen Chuan. “I have all the training equipment you’ll need. Detailed notes of how you need to run, perform weighted training, jump, stretch, and everything else are in there. All the training is designed to complement basic martial art techniques. Take a look. Let me know if you get stuck on anything. Skip the parts that require you to have a sparring partner. I’ll get you one when you reach a suitable stage for it.”
The book was an internal publication by the Martial Valor University. It had been meant for distribution only within the university, but at some point, it had been made available to the public. It was published during the seventy-ninth year of the Development and Order Era, so it was more than a decade old. But it was common for general textbooks to be used for more than a decade in the Great Shun Republic. Chen Chuan’s high school textbooks had not been changed for thirty years.
“Did you cycle here? Don’t do that tomorrow. Run here. Practice your breathing technique while you’re at it. Aside from breakfast, have the rest of your meals here. I’ll explain the correct posture and key points of how to run now,” Yu Gang said.
Chen Chuan did not underestimate running because it was such a common thing and took note of the key points. Then, Yu Gang told him some of the taboos when it came to his diet. When Chen Chuan saw that it was getting late, he helped wash the dishes, bade goodbye to Yu Gang and Lu Ke, and rode back home.
It was a little after 6 p.m. when he reached the house. Nian Fuli had not come back yet. Chen Chuan told Yu Wan that he had already had dinner outside before going to the bathroom to wash up. Then, he went to the backyard to wash his clothes. After cleaning up, he returned to his study table and linked his mind to his second self.
Since he had already grasped the secret of the breathing technique, he had no need to keep the damage left behind by the medicine.
Even though the medicinal food could repair his body, based on what Yu Gang said, some of the damage might be irreparable and bring problems in the future.
If that were not the case, a normal martial arts student would not need to take several months or even longer to slowly master the breathing technique after their bodies were fully grown.
When the second self started blurring out again, Chen Chuan felt as if a burden had been removed from his body, and he felt much lighter.
At that moment, he noticed that the blurred out parts only stayed that way for a short moment before his second self solidified again.
Oh? Did I improve again?
Chen Chuan thought about it. Since he did not defeat anyone today, it must have been because he had gotten a grasp of the breathing technique. After all, he had been happy when he found the channel for his qi and blood.
He grabbed his alarm clock and shut his eyes to overlap with his second self. Just as he expected, there was improvement. The time he could overlap with his second self had increased by around three seconds.
By the looks of it, as long as he had positive emotions, he could nudge his second self to continue getting closer to materializing. He had been too narrow-minded before this.
He could not help but think: if this continued, would there come a day when other people could see his second self? Or would he go through other changes?
Chen Chuan was not sure.
At that moment, he was just pushing his second self to become stronger. The two of them worked and improved together. So, he looked forward to his second self’s future transformations.
Chen Chuan got up and went to the door to retrieve the book Yu Gang gave him. He started reading it seriously while waiting for Nian Fuli to come back so that he could tell him about what had happened during the day.
But even after he waited until the mantle clock struck ten times, Nian Fuli had not returned, which meant that he was most likely working overnight due to some official business. This was common, so Chen Chuan stopped waiting. He washed up and got into bed to sleep. He was quite tired, so he fell asleep soon.
The next day, Chen Chuan got up full of energy. After having breakfast, he left the house and ran.
Yu Gang had told him that there was another way to reach the Domain of Fists. He had to head south from a northern path. This path was longer, but the condition of the road was better, and he would run into much less trouble.
On his run, Chen Chuan noticed that the road was much smoother, but that was mainly because the residential buildings in the north were positioned in a more organized fashion. They were old, but they did not look as disorderly.
When Chen Chuan ran into an alley that was more than one hundred meters long and was located between two residential buildings, he saw a teenager of about seventeen years old brushing his teeth while squatting on the balustrade of his balcony. His hair was messy and stubbornly stuck out like a chicken’s nest. He even had recently tied boxing wraps on.
The teenager on the balcony heard rhythmic, quick footsteps, suggesting someone was running. He looked down and mumbled, “Sure is lively...”
Then, he stopped brushing his teeth for a moment and scratched his head. “Haven’t I seen him before?”
In just the blink of an eye, Chen Chuan ran through the alley, and the teenager could only see his retreating back. He did not think much about it and spat out his mouthwash before he did a backflip and jumped off the balustrade to land on his feet. He stretched and said energetically, “Do your best in your training today, Wei Dong!”
Soon, shouts and kicks came from the room attached to the balcony.
Chen Chuan’s run to the Domain of Fists only took a little more than twenty minutes due to the good road.
Lu Ke came out and greeted him. “Good morning, Mr. Chen. Come with me. Master Yu is waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Lu Ke.”
This time, they did not go upstairs, but instead went to the first floor. This was where training was usually conducted. Chen Chuan could tell that Yu Gang had broken down the wall between two classrooms, which made the place around 120 square meters. A punching bag hung off the ceiling not too far away, and plenty of cushions and machines were placed along the wall.
Yu Gang had his arms crossed over his chest while standing at the window and staring at something. Chen Chuan went up to him to greet him. “Hello, Mr. Yu.”
Yu Gang turned around and asked, “Did you use the breathing technique while running?”
Chen Chuan nodded.
“How did you feel?”
Chen Chuan thought about it, clenched his hands into fists, and said, “I felt as if my body really was one whole. I could summon strength easily, and I didn’t feel tired even after running for a long time.”
“The breathing technique is great at adjusting the circulation of your qi and blood, along with the rhythm of exercise. But you’ve only just begun, so you need to get used to it and practice it a lot. Before you completely master it, the breathing technique will hurt you. Do not use it for more than an hour a day for the first few days, because your body needs time to adjust and get used to it.”
Chen Chuan asked, “Mr. Yu, when can I be considered to have completely mastered the breathing technique?”
Yu Gang gave him a look. “Not all breathing techniques are created equal. If you can keep using this basic breathing technique for twenty-four hours, it means you’ve technically mastered it. But that’s only in theory. After all, there are limits to the human body. Since the breathing technique puts a burden on the body, you’ll be considered good if you can maintain it anywhere between three to five hours a day. That’s enough for a martial artist.”
There was something Yu Gang did not say. Since students who entered Martial Valor University could learn higher-level breathing techniques, no one would spend their energy learning a basic breathing technique. But Chen Chuan did not need to know about that. Otherwise, he might lose his passion for training. That was why Yu Gang chose to not say it.
“Got it, Mr. Yu,” Chen Chuan answered seriously.
His second self could help him absorb damage, so he should be able to spend much more time practicing the breathing technique every day compared to other people.
Yu Gang moved to the center of the hall and said, “Before we begin official training, let me see your foundation. Throw a punch at me.”