Chapter 101
Waving off the Pressure Form Perfection Style's holographic display, Ji Wuye's crimson eyes shone with quiet satisfaction as another transparent screen materialized before his vision.
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STATUS SCREEN
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[->] Name: Ji Wuye
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[->] Level: 16
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[->] Strength: 102 (+10)
[->] Agility: 96 (+10)
[->] Qi: 91 (+5)
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[*] Skills:
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- Quick Adaptation (E)
- Healing Art Primer (2nd) (E)
- Cloudsoaring Steps (2nd) (E)
- Pulse of Blade Sword Art (1st) (??)
- Deflecting Blows (E)
- Feline Reflexes (E)
- Pressure Form Perfection Style (2nd) (D)
- Slash Breaker (E)
- Qi Training (???)
- The Unbreakable Vajra Form (1st) (C)
- Heavenly Dragon Fusion Gongfa (1st) (C)
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"My Qi increased by five points, while the rest increased by ten," Ji Wuye murmured, the edges of his lips curving upwards in a small, satisfied smile before dismissing the hovering screen with a wave of his hand.
The first mini-goal - reaching the equal strength of those vaunted young geniuses - had been completed.
Now, all that was left was...
"To reach the 4th realm," he stated, voice firm with determination as he stood up fluidly from his cross-legged position.
Ji Wuye strode towards the center of the tranquil courtyard, the loose folds of his white martial robe whispering around his feet. Settling down again in a lotus position, he rested his hands on his knees, fingers steepled.
The first training method of the Unbreakable Vajra Form's first stage, Earthen Roots - the Grounding Meditations.
Ji Wuye's eyes slid shut as he inhaled deeply, the crisp night air filling his lungs. As he exhaled, his mind carefully emptied of all thoughts, focusing solely on regulating his breathing rhythm.
In...out...in...out...
After the Grounding Meditations would come the Earthen Endurance Trials to test his body's fortitude, followed by the Breath Control Exercises to refine his internal cultivation, and lastly the Rooting Stances to further ground his mind and form.
As Ji Wuye diligently carried out each step of the training regimen, holographic notification windows periodically flickered into existence beside him.
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[>> [THE UNBREAKABLE VAJRA FORM (C)] <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill - Internal Arts has slightly increased!
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[>> [THE UNBREAKABLE VAJRA FORM (C)] <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill - Internal Arts has slightly increased!
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[>> [THE UNBREAKABLE VAJRA FORM (C)] <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill - Internal Arts has slightly increased!
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…
Time flowed like the inexorable current of a great river. The black canopy of night gradually paled to shades of indigo and navy, then blushed with the first rosy fingers of dawn.
The courtyard stilled as the hoots of owls and flapping of leathery bat wings faded, replaced by the melodious twittering of songbirds greeting the emerging sun.
The frigid wind that had bitten at exposed skin just hours ago gentled to a mild, fragrant breeze carrying the dewy freshness of morning.
By now, Ji Wuye's eyes had reopened, revealing luminous crimson irises that seemed to blaze from within as they slowly scanned his surroundings.
"So it really would take a long time to master," he murmured. A weary sigh escaped his lips.
After comprehending the core concepts behind the Unbreakable Vajra Form, he knew practicing just the foundational Earthen Roots stage alone would require a grueling four years of constant.
The reason such a prolonged period was mandated lay in the profound, fundamental changes the Earthen Roots training sought to instill within the practitioner's body, mind and soul.
Through the meditations, Grounding Meditations, stances and breathing exercises, the goal was for one's entire being to progressively align and resonate with the ancient, immutable essence of the earth itself.
Just as the mountains stood unwavering against the endless eons, rooted deep within the world's bedrock - so too must the practitioner shed their transient, shifting human nature to embody the earth's eternal, indomitable spirit.
Then after that, by ceaseless practice of the Earthen Endurance Trials, it would gradually desensitize Ji Wuye's body to discomfort, pain and extreme environmental conditions until he could endure trials that would break most mortals.
Carrying heavy loads for endless miles, standing firm against the onslaught of powerful forces, enduring intense heat or bitter cold for extended periods - tempering the body's endurance and resilience to such extremes required systematic, grueling training regimens.
Once the practitioner's physical vessel had been fortified through those trials by fire, then came the equally daunting challenge of mastering and manipulating their Qi itself, the Breath Control Exercises.
Harnessing the power of one's breath to precisely circulate and reinforce vital energies necessitated a profound, intricate understanding of the body's subtle energetic pathways and a finely tuned control over every involuntary internal process.
However, the most arduous hurdle awaited in the final integration of mind, body and Qi into perfect, synced harmonization.
This delicate merging of the practitioner's entire being into a unified whole could not be forced or rushed through sheer effort.
It was an organic melding that required patience and wisdom to guide the illusion into reality. Only once thought, action and spiritual essence flowed as naturally as a river's ceaseless current could the true essence of the Unbreakable Vajra Form be grasped and the practitioner ascend to its higher levels.
"It's no wonder that 'man' had such a bulky build and bald head," Ji Wuye mused, recalling the genius martial artist who had practicted this martial art. The toll such arduous training would have exacted on mind and body was unimaginable to most.
As these thoughts drifted through his mind, Ji Wuye remained seated in a lotus position, eyes closed in meditative repose.
The first golden fingers of dawn's light crept over the abandoned courtyard, bathing the solitary figure in a warm, shimmering radiance. The rising sun's heat seemed to soak into his very pores, infusing him with vital energy.
His martial robe lay adored with aqua stripes folded on the weathered stone ground around him, the loose folds pooling around his waist and leaving his powerfully muscled torso bare.
While others may have balked at undertaking an inner art that demanded four relentless years of total immersion simply to grasp its foundational form, to Ji Wuye it was an opportunity he had quite literally spent a lifetime striving towards.
"Of course, I have prepared everything for this,"
Just as his skill Quick Adaptation represented a pivotal milestone, so too was mastering the Unbreakable Vajra Form one of his paramount goals since his past life.
To surrender that hard-won chance at achieving an strong, impregnable physique purely due to the prolonged time and adversity involved was utterly inconceivable.
"Now...shall we head out of the sect?"
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